North Korea criticizes US-South Korea; Fierce fighting in Afghanistan
(Baonghean.vn) - In the past 24 hours, there have been many outstanding news in the world such as: North Korea criticized the US and South Korea for going against the goodwill of peace, the US Senate Intelligence Committee approved the first female CIA Director; Japan enacted a law to encourage women to participate in politics; Malaysia abolished the tax on goods and services;...
US Senate Intelligence Committee approves Gina Haspel as CIA Director
Gina Haspel - candidate for the first female Director of the CIA. Photo: AFP/Getty Images |
On May 16, the US Senate Intelligence Committee approved the nomination of Ms. Gina Haspel - Deputy Director of the CIA, as the first female Director in the history of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), replacing Mr. Mike Pompeo, who moved to become US Secretary of State.
Although still controversial, President Donald Trump's nomination received 10 votes in favor and 5 votes against.
Ms. Haspel, 61, has worked for the CIA since 1985 and is considered an experienced intelligence officer with many years of overseas operations. Mr. Pompeo once assessed Ms. Haspel as "a typical intelligence professional" with more than 30 years of experience. According to him, Ms. Haspel is also considered a professional leader, capable of getting the job done effectively, as well as inspiring people.
North Korea criticizes US and South Korea for going against goodwill for peace
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US-South Korea joint military exercise. Photo: Reuters. |
On May 16, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) published a statement from North Korea strongly condemning the US and South Korea's joint military exercise called "Thunderbolt" scheduled to last until May 25.
North Korea considers the joint military exercise between the US and South Korea a major event, attracting the attention of the media worldwide, contrary to what North Korea had just agreed to at Panmunjom during the meeting with South Korea last April.
North Korea said the drills go against the peace-loving efforts and goodwill that North Korea has shown in recent times.
Syria: Rebels withdraw from last besieged area in central region
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| Syrian Government Forces. Source: AFP/VNA |
The Syrian government on May 16 regained full control of central Syria, after remaining fighters and their families were allowed to withdraw from the last besieged area in the central region.
The evacuation took place in the area between Homs and Hama provinces under an agreement between the rebels and the Syrian government. Hundreds of people flocked to the central area in the town of Rastan in Homs to welcome the return of Syrian security forces and attend a flag-raising ceremony there.
Rebels have also been evacuated from towns and villages in the Talbiseh and Al-Hula areas. Since the liberated area stretches along Syria’s main north-south highway between Hama and Homs, its capture would be crucial for traffic in government areas. The move would further solidify President Bashar al-Assad’s dominance over Syria’s most populated areas after years of fighting.
Indonesia arrests 3 terror suspects in Jakarta suburbs
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| Indonesian police stand guard at the scene of the attack. Photo: THX/TTXVN |
An Indonesian counter-terrorism squad on May 16 arrested three militants on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta after a series of suicide attacks in recent days that killed 32 people. The three suspects, two men and one woman, were arrested at two separate locations in Kunciran Induk and Kunciran Indah villages.
Local media quoted Mr. Kurniawan as saying that while arresting the three suspects, police seized a flag of the terrorist organization "Islamic State" (IS) and many weapons.
Japan passes law to encourage women to participate in politics
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| Japan passes law to encourage women to participate in politics. Source: Asia Times |
On May 16, the Japanese Parliament enacted a law to promote women's participation in politics, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government actively addresses the current situation of too few female politicians in the "Land of the Rising Sun".
One of the provisions of the law calls on political parties participating in local and general elections to “make efforts” to set specific targets for the number of female candidates. However, it is unclear whether the law will immediately reduce the current gap between men and women in Japanese politics, as the law is non-binding and has no enforcement measures.
According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), women make up only 10.1% of Japan's House of Representatives, placing the country 158th in the world in this regard. The Japanese government has set a goal of increasing the proportion of female candidates in general elections to 30% by 2020. In the October 2017 House of Representatives election, female candidates accounted for 17.7%.
Afghanistan: Fierce fighting, 10 government soldiers killed
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| Afghan security forces. Source: EPA-EFE/TTXVN |
Afghan military sources said on May 16 that fierce fighting broke out in four districts in the eastern province of Ghazni, killing 10 government soldiers and 44 Taliban insurgents.
The 203rd Corps Commander, General Shohuor Gul, said clashes continued throughout the night of May 15 and into the early morning of May 16 as militants launched large-scale attacks on security posts in Gilan, Zana, Khan and Jaghato districts.
Among the dead were two Taliban regional commanders, Mawlawi Furqan and Abdul Salaam, Gul said. Eight other militants were wounded. He added that Afghan security forces were now in control of the area.
Malaysia's 92-year-old prime minister abolishes goods and services tax
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| New Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Source: THX/TTXVN |
Fulfilling its election promise, the government of new Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has decided to abolish the goods and services tax (SGT) from June 1.
In the announcement issued on the afternoon of May 16, the Malaysian Ministry of Finance also required all individuals and business organizations in Malaysia to strictly comply and ensure that the prices of goods and services are consistent with the new regulations.
The abolition of GST, which was introduced on April 1, 2015 at 6% under Prime Minister Najib Razak, in place of the sales and services tax (SST), has become one of the focuses of the Mahathir-led Pakatan Harapan (PH) to gain support from voters amid rising prices that are affecting people's lives. This commitment contributed to PH's resounding victory in the Malaysian House of Representatives election on May 9.
Twitter wants to fight offensive content
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| Twitter wants to combat offensive content. Source: TechCrunch |
Twitter announced that it will not only censor user posts but will also block messages that, although not in violation of Twitter's policies, are considered to have a tendency to "distort" information. Twitter said it will target "offensive behavior", such as mocking and mocking responses aimed at some users.
Twitter said it considers a number of factors when deciding whether content is harmful or offensive, not necessarily based on direct feedback or reports from users. Some red flags include accounts that do not verify their email addresses, a person registering multiple Twitter accounts, or an account that repeatedly posts and mentions accounts that are not on the account’s follow list.
This is Twitter's latest initiative in an effort to curb offensive content on the free-flowing social media platform.