International events of the past week

(Baonghean.vn) - The King of Thailand passed away; Russia completed the transfer of the state-of-the-art S-300 missile defense system to Iran; the United Nations has a new Secretary General; US presidential candidates face off for the second time,... are the most notable international news of the week of October 10-14.

1. The King of Thailand passed away

King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand breathed his last on the afternoon of October 13 at the age of 88. Thailand will mourn the king for one year.

Bhumibol Adulyadej was born in 1927 in Massachusetts, USA, where his father studied medicine, and spent most of his childhood in the US and Switzerland. He ascended the throne on June 9, 1946, at the age of 18, after his 20-year-old brother, King Ananda Mahidol, was shot dead.

He has re-established the influence of Thailand's monarchy during its 70 years on the throne. To most of the country's 68 million people, he is seen as a unifying force, a pillar of stability during a turbulent time.

2. Russia completes contract to transfer S-300 to Iran

Russian S-300 missile defense system.

Russia's RIA news agency quoted Russia's arms export management agency as saying that Russia has completed the transfer of the S-300 air defense missile system to Iran under a contract worth about 900 million USD signed in 2007. Previously, in early August, Russia also transferred half of the S-300 air defense missile systems to Iran.

The S-300 contract was signed in 2007, under which Russia provided Iran with five S-300 PMU-1 missile divisions with 40 launchers. However, in September 2010, then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev canceled the contract to comply with a UN Security Council resolution banning the supply of conventional weapons to Iran.

Iran then filed a lawsuit with the Arbitration Court in Geneva, Switzerland, demanding that Russia pay nearly $4 billion in compensation for breach of contract.

In April 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree lifting the ban on supplying S-300 systems to Tehran after Iran and world powers reached a historic agreement on Iran's nuclear issue. Iran also withdrew its lawsuit against Russia.

3. The United Nations officially has a new Secretary General.

Mr. Antonio Guterres - New Secretary General of the United Nations.

Mr. Antonio Guterres, former Prime Minister of Portugal, officially became the 9th Secretary-General of the United Nations and took over this position from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon since early 2017.

After 7 rounds of voting by the Security Council, Mr. Guterres - Former Prime Minister of Portugal, was officially approved by the UN General Assembly with applause. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised Mr. Antonio Guterres as a great choice. He is the hope to help solve the security and instability issues of the world today.

Mr. Guterres, 67 years old, was Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995-2002 and then became the head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees for the past 10 years. He is also fluent in four foreign languages: English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

Speaking upon his election, Mr. Guterres said that although there are still many tasks to be solved, he will prioritize solving issues of gender equality, victims of war and poverty.

4. The second heated direct dialogue between the two US presidential candidates

Two US presidential candidates in dialogue.

At exactly 8:00 a.m. (Vietnam time) on Monday, October 10, 2016, the second live debate between the two US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump began at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Just like the first “war of words”, the second duel lasted 90 minutes. However, unlike the previous time, in addition to questions posed by the moderator, the two candidates also had to answer questions from the audience attending the program. The audience watching the program live were all voters who had pledged to vote for no candidate, selected by the Gallup Institute (USA).

Each candidate has 2 minutes to answer and 1 minute to discuss the issue raised by the moderator. This debate is moderated by 2 journalists: Anderson Cooper (host of CNN) and Martha Raddatz (ABC).

5. US attacks Yemen rebels

The US destroyer USS Mason was targeted three times in two days.

The US has struck three radar sites in Houthi rebel-controlled areas of Yemen, in response to a US destroyer being nearly hit by missiles twice.

The destroyer USS Nitze launched Tomahawk cruise missiles at three coastal radar sites in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen at around 4:00 a.m. on October 13, Reuters reported, citing unnamed US officials. Based on an initial assessment, the Pentagon said the targets had been destroyed.

The attack, authorized by US President Barack Obama, was Washington's first direct military action against Houthi rebel-controlled territory in Yemen's conflict.

Peace

(Synthetic)