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Russia, Iran and other states agree on Caspian Sea access The leaders of five countries bordering the Caspian Sea signed a landmark convention Sunday regarding the legal status of the body of water. Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan signed the deal in the small seaside city of Aktau, in Kazakhstan. The inland sea has been a bone of contention among the five bordering countries since the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991. Watch video 02:01 Azerbaijan - autocracy and power supplier The agreement is expected to ease regional tensions, and could accelerate the development of lucrative oil and gas projects. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazerbyev, who hosted the meeting, said before the signing ceremony that the leaders were "participants in a historic event."
German student David Missal expelled from China after making human rights film German journalism student David Missal has been denied a new Chinese visa to complete his studies at Beijingʼs prestigious Tsinghua University after he made a film about the countryʼspersecution of human rights lawyers. Missal told the German news agency dpa that he was due to leave the country on Sunday after his residence permit was shortened and his student visa was not extended. The 24year-old told dpa that he assumed that the decision was linked to the mini-documentary he produced for his masterʼs program, as his student visa didnʼt allow him to carry out such activities.
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Chancellor Angela Merkel in Spain for talks on refugees, migrants She also spoke out against racism
Germany: Fewer attacks on migrants Germany saw just over 700 antimigrant attacks in the first half of 2018, according to the latest Interior Ministry figures. Numbers published by German media on Sunday show that officials recorded 627 assaults against individuals and 77 attacks on refugee shelters, leaving 120 people injured overall. The offenses included grievous bodily harm, arson, damage to property, incitement of hatred and weapons law violations. The latest figures mark a significant reduction in xenophobic attacks from the previous two years. Last year, the government recorded some2,200 attacks on migrants and refugee shelters, while in 2016 there were more than 3,500 cases.
NASA launches historic Parker Solar Probe to the sun Speaking alongside Spainʼs new prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, German Chancellor Angela Merkel advocated a "fair distribution" of migrants across the EU. Speaking in southern Spain after a working lunch on Saturday, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez advocated a "fair distribution" of migrants — an approach they intend to promote at next monthʼs EU summit in Austria. Merkel said "It is good to know that the German and Spanish governments have the same approach: as Europeans, we are only strong when we work together to resolve the issues of the future." Last Monday, Spain became the first EU country to sign an agreement with Germany for the return of asylum seekers if they had lodged an asylum claim in another EU state. Merkel thanked Spain for the agreement which, she said, would bring better order to migration. imilar bilateral agreements are being sought with Greece and Italy to stop "secondary" migration to Germany. Under EU rules, a migrant has to regis-
ter in the first EU state of their arrival from outside the bloc. African cooperation The chancellor also said Germany wanted "close, real cooperation with African countries from which both sides can win." She added "We must not talk about, but with Africa." "We have to intensify our support for Morocco and Tunisia," Merkel said. "They are border countries and they need our help." Fighting racismMerkel also spoke out against racism: "No country can be exempt from this challenge," Merkel said. "The racist tendencies we are seeing, regrettably, in all member countries are something we have to fight against." The chancellorʼs two-day visit is expected to include discussions on economic and monetary reform in the EU, the recent NATO summit and European defense. A visit the nearby Donana national park is due to be part of Merkelʼs Spanish visit.
NASAʼsParker Solar Probeblasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Sunday, marking the start of a historic mission towards the sun. The spacecraft, about the size of a small car, is set to travel directly through the sunʼs atmosphere, making it the first probe to reach the sunʼs corona where temperatures exceed a million degrees Fahrenheit (555,000 degrees Celsius). The probe was finally launched on top of a Delta IV Heavy rocket into the night sky at 3:31 am local time (07:31 UTC), after a last-minute technical glitchpostponed the launch by 24 hours.
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