U․S․ Congress approves China sanctions over Uighur oppressionMay 28, 2020 - 12:07 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved legislation calling for sanctions on Chinese officials deemed responsible for the oppression of Uighur Muslims, sending the bill to the White House for President Donald Trump to veto or sign into law, Al Jazeera reports. The Uighur Human Rights Act passed by a 413-1 vote on Wednesday, May 27 and came hours after Secretary of State Mike Pomp notified Congress that the administration no longer considered Hong Kong autonomous from China. The bill calls for sanctions against those responsible for the repression of Uighurs and other Muslim groups in China's Xinjiang province, where the United Nations estimates that more than a million Muslims have been detained in camps. It singles out the region's Communist Party secretary, Chen Quanguo, a member of China's powerful Politburo, as responsible for "gross human rights violations" against them. "Beijing's barbarous actions targeting the Uighur people are an outrage to the collective conscience of the world," Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, told the house in support of the bill. Photo: Umit Bektas/Reuters Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |