6 'hot' events in the world in the past 24 hours

(Baonghean.vn) - The Russian Senate voted to set the date of the presidential election; Cambodian Prime Minister challenged the US to freeze assets;... are the outstanding international news of the past 24 hours.

1. Russian Senate votes to set presidential election date

President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Reuters

Reuters reported on December 15 that the Russian Senate voted to set March 18, 2018 as the date for the country's presidential election.

The decision was unanimously approved by senators in a vote, said the Speaker of the Russian Senate, Valentina Matvienko.

On December 14, at his annual press conference in 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would run in the 2018 election as an independent candidate, not on a party list, but he hopes to gain the support of parties and the majority of people.

2. Cambodian Prime Minister challenges US to freeze assets

Prime Minister Hun Sen. Photo: AFP

Prime Minister Hun Sen on December 15 challenged the United States and the European Union (EU) to freeze the assets of Cambodian leaders abroad following the scandal surrounding the dissolution of the opposition party.

“I challenge the US and the European Union to freeze the assets of Cambodian leaders abroad,”Reutersquoted Prime Minister Hun Sen speaking to a group of athletes in the capital Phnom Penh today, December 15.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said he has no money abroad, so any move to freeze assets by the US and EU will not affect him.

3. Japan expands sanctions list on North Korea

A North Korean missile launch. Photo: Reuters

The Japanese government decided on December 15 to add 19 North Korean companies to the sanctions list.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the above businesses operate in the fields of financial services, labor export, coal trading and other goods.

So far, a total of 56 North Korean companies, organizations and 62 individuals have been added to Japan's sanctions list. The Japanese Foreign Ministry said that 19 North Korean companies on the additional list were all on the US sanctions list since January 2016, including the Korea Computer Center.

Japan accuses the center of being involved in exporting North Korean labor abroad and is operating in a number of countries including Germany, China, Syria, India and the United Arab Emirates. Its expanded sanctions against North Korea will take effect today, December 15.

4. China conducts live-fire drills near North Korea

Photo: SCMP

The Chinese navy has begun live-fire drills off the Korean peninsula, amid heightened tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear program.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) newspaper quoted an announcement from the Liaoning Maritime Safety Administration saying that the exercise took place over four days in Bohai Sea, from the afternoon of December 14 to the afternoon of December 18.

Authorities have drawn up a rectangular exclusion zone in waters west of Lushun, Liaoning province, a key naval base of the North Sea Fleet - the force responsible for defending the Bohai and Yellow seas off the Korean Peninsula.

Responding to the rapidly growing missile threat from Pyongyang, the United States and its allies South Korea and Japan also regularly hold military exercises in waters near the Korean peninsula.

5. President Putin talks with Mr. Trump about North Korea

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump. Photo: AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump had a phone call to discuss the crisis over North Korea's nuclear program.

"At the initiative of the United States, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump held a telephone conversation. Deep issues of bilateral relations as well as the situation in crisis hotspots around the world were discussed, with a special focus on resolving the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula," TASS news agency quoted the Kremlin press service as saying on December 15.

The two leaders agreed to maintain contact, the Kremlin added. The White House later said the two leaders had "discussed working together to resolve the extremely dangerous situation in North Korea."

6. Spain arrests suspect in police killing

Police stand guard in Barcelona, ​​Spain. Photo: AFP/TTXVN

On December 15, Spanish authorities announced that they had arrested a suspect in the shooting that killed two police officers and another person at a farm in Teruel province, northeastern Spain.

Local police said the suspect was a Serbian citizen named Norbert Feher.

A local official said the killer was also a suspect in a previous shooting on December 5.

Investigators are currently determining the perpetrator's motive for the crime.

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