Shooting at US high school; Former Russian double agent discharged from hospital
(Baonghean.vn) - In the past 24 hours, many notable events have taken place in the world, such as: Russia strengthens security at the Arctic border; President Trump demands to punish countries that do not contribute enough money to NATO; Former Russian double agent discharged from hospital after being poisoned; Homemade Chinese aircraft carrier completes sea trials...
Shooting at high school in the US, 8 people died
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| Police cars parked outside the scene of the shooting. Photo:Click2Houston. |
On May 18, Texas police were called to Santa Fe High School, about 40 miles southeast of Houston. Police later said the incident was “active” but the situation was under control.KTRKThe shooter was a student and has been arrested, a government official said.
CNNCiting two government sources, it said that according to initial information, many people were killed after the shooting.CBSEight people were reported dead.
Russia deploys flock of "White Swans" to protect borders in the Arctic
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| Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers participate in a military parade rehearsal in Moscow on May 7, 2017. Source: EPA/TTXVN |
A Russian military official said on May 18 that Moscow will strengthen security at the country's eastern maritime border, accordingly, deploying supersonic Tu-160 bombers, also known as "White Swans."
Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper quoted the commander of long-range aviation operations of the Russian Aerospace Forces, Sergei Kobylash, as saying that this year Russia plans to deploy Tu-160 aircraft to Anadyr, the easternmost town in the Arctic.
Trump demands punishment for countries that do not contribute enough money to NATO
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| US President Donald Trump (right) during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House on May 17. Photo: Reuters |
The US leader did not hesitate to talk directly about money during a cabinet meeting on May 17 (US time) with the presence of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
President Trump seemed to have a list in mind and was just waiting for Mr. Stoltenberg to show up to name the ones he said should pay. "We have some countries that are not paying. Fine, they will be taken care of," Mr. Trump said bluntly.
The US leader did not forget to point out Germany, accusing Berlin of "not contributing what it should despite being the biggest beneficiary".
Former Russian double agent discharged from hospital after poisoning
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Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal before being poisoned. Photo:Telegraph. |
Sergei Skripal, the former Russian spy poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in the UK in early March, has been discharged from hospital in good health. The former Russian double agent had been treated at the hospital for 10 weeks since being poisoned on March 4.
A spokesman for Salisbury Hospital said patient privacy prevented the hospital from releasing details of Sergei Skripal's treatment. His daughter, Yulia, was discharged from hospital in early April after more than a month of intensive care.
Chinese company linked to chemical weapons in Syria
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| Children receive emergency treatment at a hospital in Eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts of Damascus (Syria) after a suspected chemical weapons attack on April 7. Photo: Reuters |
On May 18, France decided to freeze the assets for six months of companies based in China, Syria and Lebanon after these companies were accused of being involved in the chemical weapons program in Syria.
According to AFP news agency, there are 9 companies on the sanctions list. According to the list published by the French government, there are Sigmatec and Al Mahrous Group (both based in the Syrian capital Damascus), a trading company in Guangzhou (China) and Technolab company in Lebanon.
In addition, two Syrian citizens and a Lebanese man of unknown nationality will also face asset freezes.
North Korea has not approved the list of South Korean journalists attending the Punggye-ri event.
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| Map of North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test site. Source: EPA-EFE/TTXVN |
The South Korean Unification Ministry said on May 18 that North Korea has not yet approved the list of journalists selected by the South Korean government to attend the event to dismantle North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test facility next week.
A South Korean Unification Ministry official said the government had notified North Korea of the names of journalists who would be covering the event through a communication channel at the truce village of Panmunjom, but North Korea had not yet accepted the list.
Revealing the wedding cake at the wedding of British Prince Harry
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| Claire Ptak, owner of the famous Violet Bakery. Source: Reuters |
Artist Claire Ptak - owner of the famous Violet Bakery - said on May 18 that this will be a "non-traditional" wedding cake. The cake's design has been approved by Prince Harry and his fiancée, but the cake's design must still be kept secret until the official wedding day, May 19.
Claire Ptak and six colleagues worked for five days in the giant kitchen at Buckingham Palace to make this wedding cake.
The ingredients for the cake include about 200 Amalfi lemons, 10 bottles of Sandringham Elderflower Cordial, extracted from elderflowers grown at Queen Elizabeth II's Sandringham estate in Norfolk, 20kg of butter, 20kg of flour, 20kg of sugar and 500 eggs. The 3-tier wedding cake will be decorated with Meghan Markle's two favorite flowers: roses and peonies.
China's homemade aircraft carrier completes first sea trial |
| China's first domestically built aircraft carrier conducts sea trials on May 13. Photo: THX/TTXVN |
On the afternoon of May 18, China's first domestically built aircraft carrier, named "Type 001A", returned to port at the Dalian Shipyard in Liaoning Province, Northeast China, after completing its first sea trial.
The Type 001A left port on May 13 to begin its first five-day sea trial. During the trial, the ship tested its equipment and achieved the required goals.
Construction of the Type 001A aircraft carrier began in November 2013 and was launched in April last year. Chinese experts believe the carrier could be ready for operation in about two years after undergoing trials.
Thailand plans to train 5,000 "cyber warriors"
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| Thailand admits it needs to improve cyber security to deal with hackers. Photo: AFP |
Thailand's Defense Ministry is considering recruiting both civilians and military reservists as "cyber warriors" to counter cyber security threats.
Under the plan, the Thai Defense Ministry will hire civilian cyber experts and members of the military reserve force with in-depth knowledge of cyber issues to work together in a special unit dedicated to dealing with cyber threats.
Civilian applicants will not be subject to age or gender restrictions. However, members of the military reserve force are required to be no older than 35 years of age.
New Delhi will surpass Tokyo as the world's most populous capital region.
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| Traffic jam during rush hour in New Delhi, India. Source: AFP/TTXVN |
According to the United Nations report titled "World Urbanization Prospects", in 2015, the Delhi metropolitan area, which includes the capital and its adjacent satellite cities, had an estimated population of 25.9 million, but will grow by 67.7% over the next two decades to surpass 43 million. Tokyo will be the second largest metropolitan area with 36 million people and its population is likely to decline slightly from 37.3 million in 2015.
The megacities that will be among the world's top 10 in 2035 with faster population growth since 2015 will be Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, rising from 11.6 million to 26.7 million; Dhaka in Bangladesh, rising from 17.6 million to 31.2 million; and Mumbai in India, increasing by 41.6% over two decades to reach 27.3 million in 2035.
