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Pelosi vows support for Taiwan during controversial visit
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Pelosi vows support for Taiwan during controversial visit

3 August 2022
The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, has vowed continued American support for Taiwan during a controversial visit to the Island which has been condemned by China. China considers Taiwan as a renegade province, and the United States, in line with the rest of the international community, has since the 1970s maintained only full diplomatic relations with Beijing, even though it has an informal diplomatic presence on the Island, and maintains with it strong military co-operation. Pelosi, the third highest ranking US official, after the President and the Vice President, made the visit to Taiwan despite concerns from the White House and the US military and security establishment. Speaking at the presidential palace in Taipei, Pelosi said: "We will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan and we are proud of our enduring friendship. Now, more than ever, America's solidarity with Taiwan is crucial. And that is the message we are bringing here today." During the meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing Wen, Pelosi was presented with "The Order of Propitious Clouds", which is a Taiwanese civilian honour. Presenting Pelosi with the Special Grand Cordon, which is the award's top rank, President Tsai said she was awarding it to Pelosi to thank the US for its support.
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Al Qaeda leader killed in a CIA anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan
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Al Qaeda leader killed in a CIA anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan

2 August 2022
The United States delivered a heavy blow against the Al-Qaeda terrorist group on Sunday, killing its leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in a CIA drone strike on the house where he was staying in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul. “Justice has been delivered and this terrorist leader is no more,” US president Joe Biden said in a special televised address from outside the White House. Intelligence had located al-Zawahiri’s family in Kabul earlier this year, Biden said, adding that no members of the family or civilians had been killed in the attack. Earlier, US officials speaking on the condition of anonymity told reporters earlier that the CIA carried out a drone attack in Kabul using two missiles. Al-Zawahiri was on his balcony at the time, they said. The killing of Zawahiri in Kabul also raises questions about the return of international terrorism to Afghanistan after the Taliban take-over last year.
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Kosovo-Serbia tensions defused after a flurry of overnight diplomatic activity
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Kosovo-Serbia tensions defused after a flurry of overnight diplomatic activity

1 August 2022
A flurry of diplomatic activity on Sunday night helped defuse tensions between Kosovo and Serbia which saw both sides mobilising military forces. The crisis revolved around a decision of the government of Kosovo that would introduce new rules requiring Serbs in Kosovo to swap their Serbian-issued car number plates for Kosovan-issued ones. The rules were due to come into force at midnight on Monday. But on Sunday ethnic Serbs in the north barricaded roads and armed men fired shots in protest. The rules' implementation has now been delayed for a month following consultations with the US and EU. NATO described the situation as "tense" as hundreds of ethnic-Serbs parked trucks, tankers and other vehicles near two key border crossings with Serbia in protest over the new rules, forcing the police to close the two crossings. The mission led by the alliance in Kosovo, KFOR, said it was "prepared to intervene if stability is jeopardised, in accordance with its mandate, coming from UNSC resolution 1244 of 1999."
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Putin signs new doctrine for the Russian Navy
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Putin signs new doctrine for the Russian Navy

31 July 2022
Russian president Vladimir Putin has signed the new doctrine of the Russian Navy. The Doctrine outlines the boundaries and areas of the country’s national interests, Putin said before reviewing ships at the annual Main Naval Parade in St. Petersburg on Sunday (31 July). "Russia’s new Maritime Doctrine has been approved. We openly designated the boundaries and areas of Russia’s national interests, both economic and vital strategic areas. First of all, these are our Arctic waters, the waters of the Black, Okhotsk and Bering Seas, the Baltic and Kuril straits. We will firmly provide for their protection by all means," Putin stressed. Putin said, "the Navy’s capabilities are a key word here." "It is capable of swiftly counteracting all those who will venture to encroach on our sovereignty and freedom and accomplishes strategic tasks successfully and with honour on our country’s frontiers and in any part of the World Ocean," he said.
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Ukrainian grain looted by Russia shipped to Lebanon
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Ukrainian grain looted by Russia shipped to Lebanon

29 July 2022
A Syrian cargo ship, sanctioned by the United States and carrying what Ukraine says is stolen barley from the war-torn country, has docked in Lebanon, the Ukrainian diplomatic mission in the Mideast nation said on Thursday (28 July). According to the Ukrainian Embassy in Beirut, the cargo vessel Laodicea docked in the port of Tripoli, Lebanon’s second-largest city. It was carrying 5,000 tons of flour and 5,000 tons of barley, the embassy said. Ukraine has accused Russia of plundering grain and steel from its territory since Moscow invaded the country in late February. Earlier Thursday, Ukrainian Ambassador Ihor Ostash met with Lebanese President Michel Aoun and warned the Lebanese leader that purchasing stolen goods from Russia would “harm bilateral ties,” according to the embassy statement. Kyiv had previously praised Lebanon for condemning Russia for its war on Ukraine. Ukraine has promised to export wheat to Lebanon, currently experiencing a crippling food security and economic crisis.