Outstanding international events of the past week

(Baonghean.vn) -New UN Secretary-General sworn in;The US Federal Reserve raises the base interest rate;Syrian army liberates "death zone" Aleppo;Russian President Putin is the world's number 1 powerful person in 2016;... are the international news highlights of the past week.

1.New UN Secretary-General sworn in

New UN Secretary-General Guterres

On December 12, former Portuguese Prime Minister António Guterres was sworn in as Secretary-General of the United Nations, replacing Ban Ki-moon, who will step down at the end of this month.

Information on the official website of the United Nations said that Mr. Guterres, 67 years old, served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995-2002 and as UN High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to May 2015. He will become the world's top diplomat from January 1, 2017, for a five-year term.

Mr. Guterres was officially elected as the Secretary-General of the United Nations at the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on October 13. This is the first time in history that the selection of a new Secretary-General of the United Nations has been discussed publicly with each candidate running for the position of head of this organization.

During the swearing-in ceremony, Mr. Guterres and the 193-member General Assembly expressed their gratitude to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his exceptional contributions to the organization's work over the past decade.

2.The US Federal Reserve raised the base interest rate

The US Federal Reserve (FED) has decided to increase the base interest rate to 0.75% - Photo: Reuters

On December 14, the US Federal Reserve (FED) increased the basic interest rate by 0.25% to 0.75% in the FED's first policy discussion meeting since Mr. Trump was elected.

According to AFP news agency, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the policy-making body of the FED, voted after two days of discussion, unanimously approving the increase in the basic interest rate from 0.5% to 0.75%. This increase was within the expectations of economic experts and the world market.

The FOMC believes that this increase is reasonable in the context of the US economy having improved a lot with a series of positive reports showing a strong recovery recently. However, the FOMC reiterated that the US economy still requires the FED to have a "gradual" increase in the basic interest rate in the process of moving forward.

The FED's previous rate hike was in December 2015, from 0.25% to 0.5%. The rate hike announced on December 14 was the second in a decade.

The FED's interest rate hike on December 14 also signals a possible faster pace of interest rate hikes by the FED in 2017. This may happen when the administration of President-elect Donald Trump implements its commitments to promote economic growth through tax cuts, reduced public spending, investment in infrastructure development and the elimination of cumbersome administrative procedures.

3. Syrian army liberates "death zone" Aleppo

Syrian pro-government forces fight in the Karm al-Jabal neighborhood of eastern Aleppo, Syria. (Photo: AFP).

Russian officials announced on December 9 that Syrian government troops are advancing deep into eastern Aleppo and control 93% of the city's territory.

The Syrian army's campaign to retake eastern Aleppo continues to yield major results, with Russian officials announcing that 93 percent of Aleppo has been completely liberated from the control of armed groups. Meanwhile, the United Nations General Assembly on December 9 passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Aleppo.

Russian officials announced on December 9 that Syrian government troops, with the support of their allies, are advancing deep into eastern Aleppo and control 93 percent of the city's territory. A Russian Defense Ministry official, Sergei Rudskoi, said that in the past four days, the territory controlled by armed groups has been reduced to one-third.

About 10,000 civilians have been evacuated from Aleppo in the past 24 hours, including 4,000 children. About 1,000 militants have surrendered and left Aleppo. Russian experts are also inspecting the liberated areas to ensure the safety of returning civilians, as well as providing assistance to Syrian evacuees.

4. Russian President Putin is the world's number 1 powerful person in 2016

President Putin received the highest support from the Russian people in 2016. Photo: AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin continued to be voted the most powerful person in the world in 2016 by the prestigious American magazine Forbes, marking the fourth consecutive year he topped the list.

In its annual ranking published on December 14, business magazine Forbes commented that the Russian President has known how to use his country's influence to effectively participate in almost all issues in the world and it seems that Mr. Putin continues to achieve what he wants.

Ranking in the top 2 most powerful people in the world this year is US President-elect Donald Trump. Last year, Mr. Trump ranked 72nd in the rankings.German Chancellor Angela Merkel ranked third. Ms. Merkel has led Europe's largest economic power for 11 consecutive years and will continue to run for re-election in 2017.

Incumbent US President Barack Obama ranked 2nd last year, this year he dropped to 48th place. Coming in 4th place on the list is Chinese President Xi Jinping and the last person in the top 5 most powerful people in the world is Pope Francis of the Vatican.

5.More than 1 billion Yahoo accounts had their information stolen

Illustration photo.

On December 14, Yahoo revealed that information of more than 1 billion customers was stolen in August 2013. This hack is twice as large as the 2014 hack that Yahoo revealed earlier this year.

According to the US newspaper SF Gate, the stolen information may include names, email addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth. In addition, Yahoo said that some encrypted/unencrypted security questions/answers and passwords may have also been stolen. Yahoo does not believe that credit card or bank account information was stolen by hackers.

Yahoo's announcement will certainly affect Verizon's $4.38 billion purchase of Yahoo. The deal was put in jeopardy when Yahoo revealed the loss of data on 500 million users in September. Verizon's lawyer said at the time that the hack could force Verizon to renegotiate the contract value.

In a blog post, Yahoo's chief information security officer Bob Lord said they have not yet been able to determine the source of the attack. In a statement released yesterday (December 14), Verizon said they will "reassess the situation while Yahoo continues to investigate the incident."

6. EU and Cuba sign agreement to normalize relations

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini.

Previously, relations between the two sides were interrupted for decades due to EU concerns about human rights issues in Cuba.

Cuba is the only Latin American country without a “dialogue and cooperation” agreement with the EU on issues such as trade, human rights and migration. However, EU ministers agreed last week to scrap a policy introduced in 1996 that said Cuba should first improve its human rights standards before closer ties with the bloc.

The signing ceremony in Brussels (Belgium) was attended by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and representatives of the 28 EU member states. This event is also an important milestone after many years of difficult negotiations between the two sides.

7. Russian President Putin meets with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a meeting on December 15. Photo: Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on December 15 had a two-day official meeting and discussed many important issues between Russia and Japan, especially resolving territorial disputes as well as strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries.

During talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the Russian leader noted that they meet on a regular basis.

"Regarding your efforts, we are witnessing a clear change in the development of Russian-Japanese relations. My colleagues and I hope that our meetings taking place today and tomorrow will make a significant contribution to the development of Russian-Japanese relations," Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

8.Church collapses in Nigeria160 people died

Scene of the church collapse in Nigeria on December 10.

A church in the city of Uyo, Nigeria, suddenly collapsed in the middle of a crowded prayer on December 10, killing at least 160 people and injuring many others. The accident happened at the Reigners Bible Church in Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom state, southern Nigeria.

CNN reported that the state's governor, Udom Emmanuel, was also present at the church shortly before the accident. He was lucky to escape death by a hair's breadth. Governor Emmanuel has declared that the entire state will observe two days of mourning for the victims early next week.

A source said the church was still under construction but was open to worshippers. As more and more people gathered to pray, the metal beams began to wobble and then broke, causing the ceiling to collapse.

Peace

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