North and South Korea agree to restore communication channels, improve tiesThe two leaders agreed to “restore mutual confidence and develop their relationships again as soon as possible,” Blue House spokesman Park Soo Hyun said in a televised briefing. Park said the two Koreas subsequently reopened communication channels on Tuesday morning.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/27/north-and-south-korea-agree-to-restore-communication-channels.htmlBiden, Kadhimi seal agreement to end U.S. combat mission in IraqU.S. President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi sealed an agreement on Monday formally ending the U.S. combat mission in Iraq by the end of 2021, but U.S. forces will still operate there in an advisory role.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/biden-kadhimi-seal-agreement-ending-us-combat-mission-iraq-2021-07-26/Communist Party plans pickets across Russia after election officials reject Pavel Grudinin’s State Duma candidacyThe deputy chairman of the party’s Central Committee, Vladimir Kashin, told Open Media that pickets are planned for July 30 and 31, as well as August 1. The KPRF also plans to seek permission to hold rallies on August 14 and 19, and on September 1. “If the rallies are not authorized, then we have working mechanisms to get around these bans. There will be Reds in the cities,” Kashin said.
https://meduza.io/en/news/2021/07/27/communist-party-plans-pickets-across-russia-after-election-officials-reject-pavel-grudinin-s-state-duma-candidacyhttps://archive.is/GmWomBanning Navalny’s website is ‘unacceptable’ & officials are abusing power against opposition figures – Senior Russian CommunistWith a parliamentary vote just around the corner, the authorities are abusing their power and using it to “prevent [opposition] candidates” from running against the ruling party, United Russia, he added. “I don’t read Navalny’s website and haven’t seen what it says. But if there are no calls for extremist activity there, it is an unnecessary measure. My personal opinion: there was no need to block it if there were no violations,” he continued.
https://www.rt.com/russia/530331-navalny-website-roskomnadzor-blocking/Housing campaigners hail Oxford City Council for passing anti-DSS discrimination motionHOUSING campaigners have hailed Oxford City Council agreeing to stamp out “DSS discrimination” against tenants in receipt of housing benefit and universal credit — and called on town halls across the country to do the same.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/housing-campaigners-hail-oxford-city-council-passing-anti-dss-discrimination-motionUK MPs warn of collapse of country’s ‘hollowed out’ justice system due to stagnant pay & years of government cuts in legal aidIn a new report, the House of Commons Justice Committee has urged the government to consider implementing major reforms and conduct a review on how it funds legal aid. In this system, the state pays defence counsel fees for defendants who cannot afford to hire their own lawyer.
https://www.rt.com/uk/530381-uk-report-legal-aid-funding-cuts/AMLO Proposes Replacing OAS With Truly Autonomous OrganizationAMLO proposes regional integration similar to the European Union to CELAC as the cooperation and consolidation processes in Latin America and the Caribbean are moving forward with CELAC's leadership. The President of Mexico expressed that in this process, the substitution of the OAS for a truly autonomous organization, not a lackey of anyone, should not be ruled out.
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/AMLO-Proposes-Replacing-OAS-With-Truly-Autonomous-Organization--20210726-0019.htmlCuba Blames The U.S. For A Molotov Cocktail Attack At Its Paris EmbassyThe Cuban Foreign Ministry's International Press Center said three Molotov cocktails were thrown, with two hitting the embassy and setting a fire. Cuban diplomats extinguished the blaze as French firefighters and police arrived at the scene, it said.
https://www.npr.org/2021/07/27/1021130476/cuba-blames-the-u-s-for-a-molotov-cocktail-attack-at-its-paris-embassyEmmanuel Macron ‘pushes for Israeli inquiry’ into NSO spyware concernsIn a phone call, Macron expressed concern that his phone and those of most of his cabinet could have been infected with Pegasus, hacking software developed by the Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group, which enables operators of the tool to extract messages, photos and emails, record calls and secretly activate microphones from infected devices.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/25/emmanuel-macron-pushes-for-israeli-inquiry-into-nso-spyware-concernsFears of Toxic Smoke After an Industrial Explosion in GermanyFederal authorities had quickly declared the situation an “extreme threat” and warned local residents to avoid the area, stay indoors, shut their windows and doors, and switch off home air conditioning units fed by outside air, as they assessed the toxicity of the smoke that billowed out from the site.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/27/world/europe/industrial-explosion-germany.htmlhttps://archive.is/z5cQ6