US withdraws Patriot from 3 Middle Eastern countries; Argentina receives record loan from IMF
(Baonghean.vn) - The world over the past 24 hours has been filled with many events such as: The US withdraws Patriot missile systems from 3 Middle Eastern countries; China lowers import tariffs on some goods; The suspect in the poisoning of a former spy in the UK is suspected to be a Russian intelligence colonel; Argentina receives a record loan of 57 billion USD from the IMF...
US withdraws Patriot missile system from 3 Middle Eastern countries
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| The US Patriot PAC-3 missile interceptor system is displayed at an introduction ceremony at Suwon Air Base, South Korea. Photo: AFP/TTXVN |
On September 26, Middle Eastern media quoted a US official as saying that the Pentagon will withdraw Patriot missile systems from three countries in the Middle East. This is considered a move to "rebalance" forces away from this region.
The Pentagon will withdraw a total of four Patriot missile systems from Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, the source said. These missiles will be brought back to the US next month or within the next two months for upgrading and modernization. According to the source, the above Middle Eastern countries will have access to other defense capabilities. Patriot missiles are designed to intercept tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and other airborne threats.
Suspect in poisoning of former spy in UK is suspected to be Russian intelligence colonel
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Chepiga's 2003 passport photo (left) and a photo of suspect Boshirov released by British police. Photo:Bellingcat. |
Earlier this month, British prosecutors revealed that the two Russian suspects in the Novichok assassination plot against former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov. However, they said that Petrov and Boshirov were just fake names used by the two suspects to enter the UK. Bellingcat and Insider, two online investigative sites, identified the man claiming to be Ruslan Boshirov as Anatoliy Chepiga, a Russian colonel who fought in Chechnya, according toGuardian. This veteran was awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation in December 2014 and is serving in the Russian Military Intelligence Service (GRU), the unit Skripal once worked for.
Bellingcat said it established Boshirov’s true identity by visiting military academies in the Russian Far East where the two suspects likely studied, and then finding a photograph of a man in camouflage named Chepiga who resembled Boshirov. The reporters also obtained Chepiga’s passport data, which bore a resemblance to Boshirov.
Chinese and North Korean foreign ministers hold talks on denuclearization
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| Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (right) and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho. Photo: YONHAP/TTXVN |
On the sidelines of the 73rd annual high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York (USA), on September 27, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with his North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong Ho.
During the talks, the North Korean Foreign Minister stressed that his country is willing to work with China toward the goal of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and make efforts to ensure security and stability in Northeast Asia. The Chinese Foreign Ministry quoted Ri Yong Ho as saying that Pyongyang highly appreciated Beijing's support for North Korea's efforts to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula. For his part, Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed that China believes that North Korea has taken a series of positive measures to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, supports peaceful dialogue and promotes a peaceful solution to the issue. The top Chinese diplomat also expressed his goodwill to promote contacts with North Korea in all fields and maintain a positive trend in the development of bilateral relations.
Seven CIS member countries hold air defense drills
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| Russian Su-27 and MiG-29 aircraft. Photo: AFP/TTXVN |
On September 27, 7 CIS member states began air defense exercises with the participation of 100 aircraft, controlled by the Russian Air Force and Space Forces. More than 130 command and control posts of 7 CIS countries began performing tasks to perfect coordination skills within the framework of the air defense system.
During the exercise, the members will coordinate to carry out air defense operations against aircraft violating national airspace, hijacked aircraft, as well as rescue crews of aircraft in accidents. The aircraft participating in the exercise will conduct support exercises in the airspace of 7 CIS countries to identify aircraft violating airspace, aircraft violating airspace regulations, and hijacked aircraft.
China lowers import taxes on some goods and industrial equipment
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| Imported goods arriving at Chinese ports. Photo: Reuters |
The Chinese government has announced import tariffs on construction machinery and some other goods, but it is unclear whether the reductions will apply to US goods. The tariff cuts will take effect from November 1 and apply to 1,585 categories of goods, including various industrial and construction equipment and machinery, paper products and building materials.
This is the second time in less than a year that Beijing has cut import tariffs, after the government also implemented a similar policy for food and consumer goods in November 2017.
France arrests 18-year-old man plotting terrorist attack
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| French police arrested a suspect in Strasbourg city, suspected of being involved in the attack in Paris on May 13. Source: AFP/TTXVN |
French police have arrested and are investigating an 18-year-old man, believed to be from the Russian republic of Chechnya, on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack on French soil. The suspect was arrested in the northeastern city of Strasbourg. During questioning, he admitted to searching the internet for information about the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization. However, he denied following extremist jihadist ideology.
French media said the suspect's brother was also detained to investigate plotting another terrorist attack.
16 senior Samsung executives convicted of obstructing union activities
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| Samsung Group headquarters in Seoul, South Korea on August 8, 2018. Photo: Yonhap/ VNA |
Prosecutors on September 27 indicted 16 current and former officials of Samsung Electronics and Samsung Electronics Services after announcing the results of a five-month investigation into South Korea's richest conglomerate over alleged labor law violations.
Prosecutors said the men allegedly prevented employees from forming or joining unions since 2013. They pressured employees to quit unions, threatened to cut wages for those affiliated with unions and bankrupted subcontractors that appeared to favor unions.
Argentina receives record $57 billion loan from IMF
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IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde (left) and Argentine Economy Minister Nicolas Dujovne hold a press conference in New York. Photo:AP. |
The South American country has received the largest loan in IMF history with strict terms, from a commitment to not run a budget deficit to limits on central bank intervention. The record loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be disbursed in several tranches over the next three years, reaching a total value of up to57.1 billion USDThe support package aims to revive the country's financial system, which is in crisis.
According to Economy Minister Nicolas Dujovne, the IMF agreed to increase7.1 billion USDfor a last-minute financial aid package for the South American country. The record financial aid package also comes with extremely strict conditions. The Argentine government must commit to not having a budget deficit in 2019. The central bank is only allowed to intervene in the currency market in cases of force majeure.
Uber must pay $148 million in compensation for data leak incident
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| Source: Theguardian |
Ride-hailing service provider Uber Technologies Inc - headquartered in California, USA - has paid a fine of 148 million USD for a data leak that affected about 57 million drivers and customers using Uber's technology taxi service in the US in 2016.
This is the largest compensation ever in the US related to information security issues. The incident has significantly affected the reputation of Uber, whose market capitalization is estimated at more than 70 billion USD.
