The world last week in photos
(Baonghean.vn) - Let's review the outstanding world events of the past 7 days with Baonghean.vn online newspaper.
1. The COP21 Climate Summit opens in Paris.
On November 30, 2015, the 21st Conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) officially opened in Paris with the participation of 150 heads of state and government from 195 countries and territories worldwide.
The conference, held from November 29 to December 11, 2015, aimed to reach the first legally binding agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions, slow climate change, and prevent global warming by an additional 2 degrees Celsius – a threshold that scientists recommend would cause global flooding.
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| French President François Hollande (T) welcomes his US counterpart Barack Obama at the COP21 Climate Summit in Le Bourget on November 30. Photo: Reuters |
2. Tensions between Russia and Türkiye continue to escalate.
On November 30, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu rejected any suggestion that Ankara needed to apologize to Moscow for shooting down a Russian Su-24 bomber last week. This move came after Türkiye received strong support from NATO for its right to self-defense.
On the same day, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had refused to meet with the Turkish Prime Minister on the sidelines of the 21st Conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-21) in Paris, France.
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| Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
3. Horrific shooting in California, USA.
Around noon on December 2nd (US time), a shooting occurred at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, Southern California, resulting in over 30 casualties.
Currently, the FBI is investigating the incident as "an act of terrorism," but says there is no evidence to suggest the two suspects belong to a larger extremist organization.
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| SWAT teams are on the scene of the shooting. (Photo: KTLA) |
4. The Lao People's Democratic Republic celebrates its 40th National Day.
On December 2nd, a grand parade and march commemorating the 40th anniversary of the National Day of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (December 2nd, 1975 - December 2nd, 2015) was held at Thatluang Square in Vientiane, the capital city.
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| A military parade and procession commemorating the 40th anniversary of the National Day of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Photo: VNA. |
5. Britain conducted its first airstrike in Syria.
On December 3rd, a source within the British government stated that the country's Tornado bombers had carried out their first airstrikes in Syria. This move came just hours after the British Parliament approved Prime Minister David Cameron's plan to launch airstrikes against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) group in Syria.
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| A British Tornado bomber. (Source: EPA) |
6. Australia identifies area where MH370 may be found.
On December 3rd, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss stated that the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was on track, with three-quarters of the "hot spots" already searched.
Previously, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATB) released a report stating that the search area for MH370 was an arc running southwest, now narrowed to approximately 44,000 km2 from the initial 120,000 km2. The area with the "highest probability" of finding MH370 has been identified near the center of the arc.
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| The aircraft wing that washed ashore on Reunion Island has been identified as belonging to MH370. (Photo: Reuters) |
7. Thailand celebrates the King's birthday and National Day with great fanfare.
On the morning of December 5th, millions of Thais took to the streets to celebrate the 88th birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and also the National Day of the Land of Smiles.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej of the Chaktri Dynasty, crowned in 1946, is currently the world's longest-reigning monarch. He is one of the most beloved monarchs in Thai history, thanks to over 2,000 development projects that have transformed the lives of millions of impoverished farmers.
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| Cavalry troops parade during the 88th birthday celebration of the King and Thailand's National Day in Bangkok. (Source: AFP) |
Phuong Thao
(Synthetic)