G20 Summit opens; Ukraine cancels nearly 100 bilateral agreements with Russia

G20 Summit officially opens in Argentina

Leaders of countries attending the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina on November 30, 2018. Photo: Reuters

On November 30, President of Argentina Mauricio Macri officially opened the G20 Summit with the presence of leaders of the world's leading developed and emerging economies, as well as many representatives of international and regional organizations. With the main theme "Building consensus for equitable and sustainable development", host country Argentina hopes that this will be an opportunity for member economies to discuss and seek solutions to the world's hot issues, aiming to reach a common statement focusing on balanced and sustainable development.

During the two-day conference, G20 leaders will focus on discussing a series of major issues such as trade, climate change, the future of jobs, infrastructure for development, the future of sustainable food...

Ukraine cancels nearly 100 bilateral agreements with Russia

Speaking on television on November 29, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin announced that his country had recently canceled 48 bilateral agreements with Russia and would continue to cancel 40 more in the near future.

The announcement comes as relations between Ukraine and Russia continue to deteriorate following a clash between warships from both countries in the Kerch Strait, in the Sea of ​​Azov, off the coast of Crimea. Mr. Klimkin said: All documents signed between Russia and Ukraine before 2014 are no longer meaningful. However, this country will be careful so that the cancellation of these agreements does not harm the interests of Ukrainian citizens.

UN grants sanctions exemption to charity providing medical aid to North Korea

South Korean humanitarian aid trucks for North Korea. Photo: YONHAP/TTXVN

The Eugene Bell Foundation said it received a notice from the chairman of a UN Security Council committee early on November 30, stating that its request for humanitarian sanctions exemption submitted to the committee in February had been approved.

Accordingly, all items of equipment related to the tuberculosis isolation facility, manufactured by a South Korean company, have been authorized to be shipped to North Korea. The Eugene Bell Foundation said it has asked the South Korean government to expedite the necessary licensing procedures for the shipment and to help ensure that the goods will arrive in North Korea in time for the team’s arrival in the spring of 2019. The Eugene Bell Foundation has long provided humanitarian medical aid to North Korea, especially related to multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

First EU country extradites Chinese official accused of corruption

In a recent statement, China's National Supervisory Commission said the extradited man, born in 1956 and formerly working in the southeastern province of Zhejiang, fled abroad in 2005 after facing allegations of abuse of power and bribery at home. Last October, at China's request, Interpol issued a Red Notice asking member countries to locate and arrest the suspect.

Shortly afterwards, police in Bulgaria - the country that had just become the first member of the European Union (EU) - arrested him and a local court later allowed the suspect to be extradited to Chinese authorities.

Newly found debris believed to be from ill-fated MH370 plane

Relatives of the victims handed over to the Malaysian government debris suspected to be from MH370. Source: AFP

On November 30, relatives of the victims of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 handed over to the Malaysian government some newly found debris believed to be from the ill-fated plane, in the hope of reopening the search and investigation into the mysterious air crash four years ago.

Responding to the press, Mr. VR Nathan, the husband of a passenger on the MH370 plane, said that five pieces of debris found off the coast of Madagascar were handed over to Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke on November 30 in the administrative capital of Malaysia Putrajaya. Mr. Nathan expressed his hope that this discovery could motivate the government to continue the investigation to find an answer to the MH370 incident.

Japanese government to pay compensation for noise at Yokota base

Yokota Air Base. Source: The Japan Times

On November 30, the Tachikawa Court of the Tokyo District Court ruled that the government must pay a total of 95.6 million yen ($844,000) in compensation to 144 residents living around the Yokota base for aircraft noise in the past. However, the court rejected the plaintiffs’ request to stop future flights or compensate for future noise.

Yokota Base is a joint US-Japan military base that hosts the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF). Residents living near the base are eligible for compensation if they are exposed to noise levels of 75 or higher on the noise pollution scale as in previous rulings.

Hackers stole data of 500 million customers of 'giant' Marriott

Global hotel giant Marriott International says personal data of about 500 million of its customers may have been stolen by hackers in an attack on the reservation database at its Starwood chain of hotels.

In a statement on November 30, the management board of this prestigious hotel group confirmed that in a recent investigation into a "data security incident" of the Starwood system, cybersecurity experts discovered "unauthorized access to the Starwood network since 2014". The consequences could be the theft of personal data of about 500 million guests. This data could include names, email addresses, phone numbers, parcel delivery addresses, passport numbers, Starwood guest account information, date of birth, gender, destination and departure information, booking dates, etc.