LA PAZ, July 1 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Bolivia’s state-owned company Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB) signed two separate agreements whereby Chinese and Russian companies will invest over US$1.4 billion to build two industrial complexes for the production of lithium carbonate, it was reported in La Paz.

China’s Citic Guoan and Russia’s Uranium One Group — both with a major government stake — will partner with YLB to build two lithium carbonate processing plants, President Luis Arce announced.

30 June 2023; MEMO: Iran's state-run Nour News said on Friday Israel's report that it had foiled an attack in Cyprus by capturing an Iranian agent was an effort to cover up its own domestic crisis, Reuters reports.

Israel said on Thursday its Mossad intelligence service carried out an operation in Iran to capture the suspected leader of an Iranian plot to attack Israeli businesspeople in Cyprus.

MADRID (AP) — Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez started Spain’s six-month presidency of the European Union with a lightning visit to Kyiv on Saturday to underline the bloc’s support of Ukraine in the face of the invasion by Russia.

Sánchez arrived in the Ukrainian capital by train from Poland.

The Spanish government said he would address Ukraine’s parliament at 0830 GMT (4:30 a.m. EDT) and then meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The two will give a news conference around 1030 GMT (6:30 a.m. EDT).

June 30 (Reuters) - The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on Friday removed 20 of its employees from services and said it was investigating about 1% of its total workforce thereby digging deeper into cases wherein workers may have inappropriately received pandemic benefits payments.

The tax agency is investigating a "limited number" representing about 600 of its employees, CRA said in an emailed statement.

CRA said the number of people being removed from service is "likely" to increase toward the completion of the review.

SHANGHAI, Jul 01 (APP): China Unicom Beijing and Huawei at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) Shanghai 2023, have presented their remarkable achievements from the 5G Capital innovation project during the first half of 2023, following the fourth anniversary of the successful commercial launch of 5G.

The collaborative effort between the two partners has led to significant advancements in the range, coverage and overall user experience of 5G networks.

01 July 2023; MEMO: The latest statistics published by the international Global Firepower website, which specialises in military affairs, indicate that Egypt continues to lead in the number of warplanes owned, while Saudi Arabia ranks ahead of Israel.

VANCOUVER, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Canada opened a new and permanent museum on Friday, highlighting the contributions of Chinese migrants to the country's development and growth.

The Chinese Canadian Museum, which was officially opened in Vancouver's Chinatown, was to honor the history, legacies and contributions of Chinese Canadians, organizers said.

The Chinese workers first arrived in the Canadian province of British Columbia in 1788 for the gold rush that swept the west coast of North America.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The European Union’s border agency is seeking “clarifications and information” from Greece’s coast guard on two alleged cases of migrants who crossed by boat being illegally deported back to Turkey, a European official said Friday.

The official said Frontex’s executive director Hans Leijtens wrote to a senior police official representing Greece on the Frontex management board, requesting a reply by July 10. The agency helps patrol EU member Greece’s eastern borders.

BAGHDAD, Jul 1 (NNN-NINA) – Hundreds of Iraqis rallied yesterday, in the capital Baghdad, to protest against the burning of the Muslim holy book, the Quran in Sweden.

The angry protesters, the majority of whom were followers of Shiite cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, gathered in the Salhiyah neighbourhood, where the Swedish embassy is located, just outside the heavily-fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad.

30 June 2023; MEMO: An Israeli court in occupied Jerusalem yesterday froze a military order to dismantle a new illegal West Bank outpost set up last week near the illegal settlement of Eli.

Following the Israeli settlers' appeal to the District Court of Jerusalem, Israeli forces from the Civil Administration were sent to the site and stopped its preparation for evacuation and demolition.

30 June 2023; MEMO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday slammed Sweden after it allowed a copy of the Quran to be burnt in Stockholm and said Ankara would never bow down to a policy of provocation or threat, Reuters reported.

"We will teach the arrogant Western people that it is not freedom of expression to insult the sacred values of Muslims," he told party members on the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha.

30 June 2023; MEMO: Iran has summoned the Swedish chargé d'affaires to protest against the burning of a copy of the Quran in Sweden, state media reported, Anadolu Agency reports.

The Swedish envoy was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, and urged to prevent insults to the moral and religious values ​​of Muslims on Thursday, according to IRNA, the official Iranian news agency.