Briefly

DPRK
Minister hits out at Washington's policy
Ri Son-gwon, foreign minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, on Friday criticized Washington's policy toward Pyongyang, saying his country will build up a more reliable force to cope with the long-term military threats from the United States. Ri made the remarks on the two-year anniversary of the first DPRK-US summit in Singapore on June 12, 2018, during which the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump reached a consensus on security guarantees for the DPRK. In recent days, Pyongyang has excoriated Seoul over defectors launching leaflets into the DPRK and announced it was cutting all official communication links with Seoul.
SYRIA
Assad sacks premier before elections
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday sacked his government's prime minister Emad Khamis, the state news agency SANA reported. Assad named Hussain Arnous as the new prime minister, who will also retain his previous duties as minister of water resources. The current government will continue its duties until new parliamentary elections next month. The new move came in light of the tough economic situation that Syria is passing through with a steep devaluation of the Syrian currency amid soaring prices. Some anti-government protests took place in Syria's southern province of Sweida over the past few days, demanding the downfall of the government.
NEW ZEALAND
City dumps statue of 'murderous' namesake
The New Zealand city of Hamilton on Friday removed a bronze statue of the British naval officer for whom it is named-a man who is accused of killing indigenous Maori people in the 1860s. The removal by city authorities came a day after a Maori tribe asked for the statue of Captain John Hamilton to be taken down and one Maori elder threatened to tear it down himself. Cities around the world are taking steps to remove statues that represent cultural or racial oppression as support grows for the "Black Lives Matter" movement following the death of African-American George Floyd at the hands of white police officers last month in Minneapolis.
TURKEY
Consulate worker gets jail on terror charges
A Turkish court jailed a local employee of a US consulate for nearly nine years on Thursday for aiding a terrorist organization, a ruling the United States said would undermine the trust underpinning bilateral relations. Metin Topuz's trial has been a major source of tension between the two NATO allies, which are also at odds over Ankara's purchase of Russian missile defense systems and US support for Kurdish fighters in northeast Syria. Topuz, a translator for the US Drug Enforcement Administration at the consulate in Istanbul, was sentenced to eight years and nine months for aiding a network Turkey blames for a 2016 coup attempt, the state-owned Anadolu agency said.
Xinhua - Agencies
Today's Top News
- Tourists flock to locations featured in hot TV shows
- Intl volunteers serve as bridge linking Jingdezhen, world
- Global investors more bullish on Chinese assets
- Advanced weapon systems make debut
- Authority suspends antitrust investigation against DuPont
- Playing its appointed part in US' strategy will not bring Manila its desired rewards