Yellow Vest protests in France enter 10th week; US prepares to restrict Chinese telecom products
(Baonghean.vn) - Yellow Vest protests in France for the 10th consecutive week; President Trump and leader Kim Jong-un will meet again at the end of February; Afghanistan captures a notorious IS commander; 66 people killed in a gasoline pipeline explosion in Mexico... are the world's top news in the past 24 hours.
President Trump and leader Kim Jong-un will meet again at the end of February
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| US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their first meeting last year on Sentosa Island in Singapore. Photo: Reuters |
Reuters news agency quoted the White House announcement confirming the plan for the second US-North Korea summit after Mr. Trump met General Kim Yong Chol, North Korea's chief nuclear negotiator, in Washington.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said that while Trump's talks with North Korea were productive, the US "will continue to maintain pressure and sanctions on North Korea." She also said the time and location of the meeting will be announced later, adding that the two sides are still discussing the location and other specific logistical issues.
Yellow Vest protests in France continue for the 10th consecutive week
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| "Yellow Vest" protesters gathered in Paris, France, on January 12, 2019. Photo: AFP/TTXVN |
On January 19, the Yellow Vests in France continued to take to the streets for the 10th consecutive week of protests, even though the Government of President Emmanuel Macron organized debates at city councils as forums for the Yellow Vests to express their views instead of taking to the streets.
AFP news agency (France) quoted police sources as saying that this week's protest was at least as large as last week's protest when over 80,000 people took to the streets to protest what they considered injustice, favoritism towards officials and government indifference.
About 80,000 security personnel have been mobilized to maintain order across the country, including about 5,000 in Paris.
US prepares to restrict Chinese telecommunications products
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| A Huawei booth at the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai, China. Photo: AFP/TTXVN |
The US government is preparing an executive order that would significantly restrict the operations of Chinese state-owned telecommunications companies in the US due to national security concerns. While it would not completely ban Chinese telecommunications companies from selling in the US, the order would give the US Commerce Department more authority to review and decide which products from companies with ties to countries like China are allowed to be sold in the US market, the source said.
According to some experts, this decree, expected to be announced in the coming weeks, is likely to cause serious damage to the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei. Huawei is likely to be banned from selling in the US or, more seriously, will not avoid the risk of stopping operations that the telecommunications group ZTE has faced. However, so far, the White House National Security Council has not confirmed this information.
Gasoline pipeline explosion in Mexico, 66 people died
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Mexican army soldiers deployed at the scene of the explosion. Photo:AFP |
A gasoline pipeline exploded in the town of Tlahuelilpan, in the central Mexican state of Hidalgo, causing a massive fire that killed 66 people and injured 76, AFP reported. Hidalgo state Governor Omar Fayad said the explosion occurred while people were using buckets and plastic cans to steal gasoline from a leaking pipeline.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador expressed his sadness at the tragedy and called on the government to help those affected in Tlahuelilpan. Mr. Obrador pledged to step up efforts to crack down on fuel theft after the fatal pipeline explosion.
Afghanistan captures notorious IS commander
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Afghan security forces participate in a campaign to hunt down insurgents in Ghazni province. Photo: THX/TTXVN |
The Afghan army announced the arrest of a notorious commander of the self-proclaimed "Islamic State" (IS) in Maimana, the capital of the northern Faryab province. Speaking to reporters, Abdul Hadi Jamal, a military spokesman in the northern region of Afghanistan, said the notorious IS commander disguised himself as a civilian and was planning to go to an unknown destination.
Law enforcement discovered and arrested him in Maimana city on the afternoon of January 18. However, this official did not identify or provide further details about the captured IS commander, but said that an investigation is ongoing. IS has not yet responded to the above information.