Xinhua world news summary at 1600 GMT, May 19
ANKARA– Turkey would say “no” to Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership bid, as the country would not make the same “mistake” again, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday. GENEVA– The World Health Organization validated on Thursday the CONVIDECIA COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese developer CanSino Biologics for emergency use, making it the…
MOSCOW — Russia on Thursday demanded the Slovenian embassy in Moscow reduce its diplomatic staff by four people, about 40 percent of the total number, within 10 days.
The decision was taken in response to Ljubljana’s move last month to reduce the size of the Russian embassy and the deterioration of its working conditions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.(Russia-Slovenia-Retaliation)
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ANKARA — Turkey would say “no” to Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership bid, as the country would not make the same “mistake” again, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.
“We told our relevant friends that we would say ‘no’ to Finland and Sweden joining NATO, and we will resolutely continue this policy,” he said.(Turkey-NATO-Finland-Sweden)
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GENEVA — The World Health Organization (WHO) validated on Thursday the CONVIDECIA COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese developer CanSino Biologics for emergency use, making it the third Chinese vaccine after Sinopharm and Sinopec having been certified by WHO Emergency Use Listing.
The WHO said in a statement that the assessment of CONVIDECIA was “based on the review of data on quality, safety, efficacy, a risk management plan, programmatic suitability and a manufacturing site inspection conducted by WHO.”(WHO-COVID-19-Vaccine)
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MOSCOW — Russia said Thursday that a new batch of 771 Ukrainian soldiers blocked at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol have surrendered over the past 24 hours.
“A total of 1,730 militants have surrendered since May 16, including 80 wounded,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that all those in need of inpatient treatment are hospitalized in Donetsk.(Russia-Azovstal-Surrender) Enditem
