US does not reduce number of troops in South Korea, Czech Republic used to produce nerve agent
(Baonghean.vn) - The world in the past 24 hours has been highlighted with news such as the US not reducing its troops stationed in South Korea, the Czech Republic confirming that it once produced the nerve agent Novichok, Syrian rebels handing over weapons to the government, strikes receiving wage compensation in France, thousands of people evacuated due to volcanic eruption in Hawaii...
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to dismiss many generals
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Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: pravda. |
Pravdareport.com reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree dismissing five generals, including: Prosecutor General of the Udmurtia Republic Sergei Panov; Prosecutor General of Tula Province Aleksandr Kozlov; Heads of the General Department of Investigation of the Perm Region Investigative Committee Lieutenant General Olga Zabbarova and Head of the General Department of Investigation of the Ryazan Region Investigative Committee Major General Vladimir Makhleidt.
In addition, Lieutenant General Viktor Koshelev, Director General of the General Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in charge of the Perm Region; Major General Igor Batalov, Director General of the Department in charge of the Murmansk Region of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; Colonel Yuri Kuznetsov, Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in charge of the Krasnodar Region; Major General Ivan Lukin, Deputy Director of the Center for Criminal Expertise of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were all dismissed.
Meanwhile, a source from the ministry said the reason for this personnel reshuffle was because the generals had reached 60 years old and were simply being retired.
US President not seeking to reduce troops stationed in South Korea
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| US soldiers at Yongsan military base in Soeul, South Korea. Source: AFP/TTXVN |
According to Reuters, in a statement on May 4, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said that President Donald Trump did not instruct the Pentagon to "prepare options to reduce the number of US troops in South Korea" in preparation for the upcoming summit between him and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Accordingly, reducing the number of troops is not a "bargain" for the dialogue between the two US-North Korean leaders.
The statement was made a day after the New York Times reported that President Trump is considering options to reduce the US military presence in South Korea.
Syrian rebels hand over weapons in new deal with government
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| Syrian rebels in Eastern Ghouta on February 15. Source: AFP/VNA |
Syrian rebels have handed over heavy weapons for the second consecutive day, after agreeing a new deal with the government to withdraw fighters from towns in central Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on May 4.
Earlier this week, opposition fighters agreed with government forces and their allies on a ceasefire in the rebel-held towns of Talbisseh, Rastan, and Al-Houla in the central Syrian province of Homs.
“Fighters are handing over heavy and medium weapons to Russian and Syrian government forces for the second consecutive day,” the SOHR representative said.
The head of the organization added that the weapons included artillery and machine guns, and announced that once the handover of weapons was completed, the rebels who wanted to leave would be evacuated along with civilians.
Czech Republic admits to producing nerve agent Novichok
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| Czech President Milos Zeman - Photo: Reuters |
Czech President Milos Zeman confirmed that his country had participated in the production of Novichok, the deadly poison used in the assassination of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK in March. "We must admit that we produced and tested Novichok, although only in small quantities and they were destroyed," the Czech leader told state-run Barrandov TV on May 4.
"It would be hypocritical to pretend that it didn't exist. There's no point in lying," Mr Zeman said, citing a report by Czech military intelligence.
Accordingly, the chemical agent coded A230 produced by the Czech Military Research Institute in Brno city is actually Novichok.
By admitting that the Czech Republic produced Novichok, President Zeman indirectly rejected the conclusion of the Czech Security Service that the substance produced in Brno was just another substance in the same family as Novichok.
US warns China of consequences of militarizing the East Sea
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Vanh Khan Reef, one of seven reefs in Vietnam's Truong Sa archipelago, was illegally built into an artificial island by China. Photo:Reuters |
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the United States is well aware of China’s militarization of the South China Sea and has raised concerns directly with China about it. The spokeswoman also warned of short-term and long-term consequences for China’s actions.
Beijing on May 3 brazenly asserted its right to build "defense" facilities but refused to confirm information that China had installed new missiles on illegally built artificial islands in Vietnam's Truong Sa archipelago.
Striking French railway workers receive wage compensation
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SNCF employees on strike in Paris on April 13. (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
A fundraiser to compensate French railway workers for recent strikes has raised more than 1 million euros ($1.2 million), a month after protests against the government's plans to reform the sector disrupted rail services.
More than 26,000 donors have contributed to a fund set up on March 23 to help employees of the French national railway company SNCF who are on strike and without pay.
Since April 3, railway workers have been on strike for two days every week to protest French President Emmanuel Macron's plan to reform the railway sector by stripping railway workers of their privileges and changing the type of business for SNCF.
Nobel Prize in Literature postponed for first time in 70 years due to sex scandal
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The Swedish Academy, which is facing a series of sexual harassment allegations, has also been criticized as an old-fashioned and patriarchal institution. Photo:AFP. |
On May 4, the Swedish Academy, a long-standing institution facing unprecedented criticism, announced that no winners would be selected in 2018. Instead, the academy will award the Nobel Prize in Literature to two authors in 2019.
"In principle, the Nobel Prize must be awarded annually, but the decision to award the Nobel Prize has been postponed on several occasions in its history. One of the cases that can justify an exception is when there are serious problems within the awarding institution, from which the decision to award the prize could be considered to lack prestige," according to the Nobel Foundation's statement.
For that reason, the Nobel Foundation believes that the Swedish Academy will devote all its efforts to restoring its reputation as the institution that awards the Nobel Prize in Literature.
This is the first time the Nobel Prize in Literature has been postponed in more than 70 years. The last time the award was interrupted was at the height of World War II.
Hun Sen denies accusations that Cambodia's election lacks democracy
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Prime Minister Hun Sen poses with supporters before a round of grassroots elections in 2017. Photo:AFP. |
The Cambodian Prime Minister said the upcoming election is democratic because all major and minor political parties participate. "It is clear that Cambodia is practicing democracy because major and minor political parties all have the right and opportunity to participate in a free and fair election,"Khmer Timesquoted Prime Minister Hun Sen writing on Facebook.
In addition to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), the Cambodian Youth Party and the Cambodian National Party have registered their candidates for the July 29 election. In addition, more than 10 other parties are also contacting the National Election Committee to fill out applications.
Sam Rainsy, former leader of the dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), who has been living in exile abroad since 2015, last week called for a boycott of the election, saying there was no opposition party large enough to compete with the CPP.
Hawaii volcano erupts, thousands evacuated
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| Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupts. Photo:NPR. |
Kilauea, the most active volcano in the US Hawaiian archipelago, erupted at 4:45 p.m. on May 3 local time (9:45 a.m. on May 4 Hanoi time), causing lava to spill near residential areas.AFPHawaii's governor has ordered a mandatory evacuation of 1,700 people and released disaster relief funds. Another 10,000 people may also need to move to safety.
The Hawaii Civil Defense Agency said lava flows were flowing from cracks in the ground. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has deployed teams of experts on land and in the air to assess the level of activity at Kilauea. The eruption was preceded by more than 100 small tremors, culminating in a magnitude 5 earthquake this morning.
"I felt a strong vibration under my feet and saw a column of pink smoke. We were prepared for an eruption after a series of small tremors," said Janice Wei, a resident on the island of Hawaii. "It was like a curtain of fire," witness Jeremiah Osuna described the lava flow, also posting a video of lava pouring from the ground.
Hawaiian authorities warn that winds could carry volcanic ash, as well as potentially deadly sulfur dioxide gas. Some methane explosions could also send large rocks hurtling toward nearby areas.
