World last 7 days - featured news

(Baonghean.vn) - Russian President Putin's official visit to Iran; Developments on the Korean peninsula; CIA releases 470,000 documents on terrorist Osama Bin Laden; Terrorist attack by pickup truck in New York (USA), 8 people dead;... are notable international news of the past week.

1. Russian President Putin officially visits Iran

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Tehran on November 1. Photo: VNA

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Tehran on November 1, beginning an official visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

President Putin discussed with the host country's officials a series of hot regional issues, including the conflict in Syria, the future of the historic nuclear deal that Iran signed with the P5+1 group (including the UK, France, Russia, the US, China and Germany) in 2015, as well as issues related to economic and bilateral relations.

President Putin will also attend a trilateral summit with the presidents of Iran and neighboring Azerbaijan. This is the second trilateral summit between the leaders of Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan.

At the summit, the three leaders discussed ways to enhance cooperation in the fields of trade, energy, communications, transport and transit. In addition, the leaders also exchanged views on environmental issues and the fight against terrorism.

2. US President visits Asia

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania begin tour of Asia.

On the morning of November 3 (Washington DC time), President Trump and his wife Melania Trump boarded Air Force One to begin an 11-day tour of Asia. His first destination will be Hawaii, followed by Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

In Vietnam, the US President will attend the APEC 2017 Summit Week in Da Nang and then fly to Hanoi, beginning an official visit to Vietnam.

Meanwhile, the White House has just announced that the president will extend his trip to Asia to attend the East Asia Summit in the Philippines. Previously, the news that the president had canceled his plan to attend the East Asia Summit raised concerns that this was a bad sign for the region, and it could also affect the main message of Trump's trip, raising questions about America's leadership role there.

3. Developments on the Korean Peninsula

Illustration photo: Yonhap

On October 30, North Korea announced that it would launch more satellites, just as any sovereign nation has the right to develop a space program. But it is considered just an excuse for the country to launch more long-range missiles.

Leader Kim Jong-un has ordered all North Korean workers in China to return home by the end of 2017. There are currently about 20,000 - 30,000 North Koreans working in China.

Japanese media reported that a tunnel under construction at the Pungye-ri nuclear test site collapsed, trapping about 100 people and killing 100. North Korea has not responded to this information.

Meanwhile, Russia and the US are sending nuclear bombers close to North Korea. In the US, a Democratic congressman has introduced a bill to prevent President Trump from launching a preemptive strike on North Korea. This bill has not yet been passed.

4. CIA releases 470,000 documents about terrorist Osama Bin Laden

Terrorist Osama Bin Laden.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo has authorized the release of nearly 470,000 documents about terrorist leader Osama bin Laden – the man behind the horrific terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in the US. This is a move "aimed at transparency and helping the public better understand the terrorist organization al-Qaeda as well as its former leader".

This is not the first time that private documents about Bin Laden have been released. Previously, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released several documents about the terrorist leader on May 20, 2015, March 1, 2016, and January 19, 2017.

“The release of letters, videos, and audio files collected from al-Qaeda is intended to provide Americans with additional information about the plans and operations of this terrorist organization,” Mr. Pompeo said in a statement.

5. Terrorist attack by pickup truck in New York (USA), 8 people died

The scene of the car crash in New York. Photo: Reuters.

The attack occurred at around 3:00 a.m. on October 31 local time in downtown Manhattan, New York.

At least eight people were killed and more than 10 injured after a truck suddenly crashed into a bicycle lane in Manhattan, New York, near the World Trade Center.

The suspect, identified as a 29-year-old man, crashed his truck into a school bus, Reuters reported. He was shot by police as he jumped out of the rented Home Depot truck. There were also two fake handguns in the vehicle.

Sputnik quoted local sources as saying that the suspect was identified as Sayfullo Saipov. He came to the US from Uzbekistan in 2010 and settled in Tampa, Florida.

6. Horrific murder in an apartment in Japan

The apartment of suspect Takahiro Shiraishi and the scene of the murder that is shaking the area.

A Japanese man was arrested on October 31 after police found parts of nine bodies in cold storage containers at the suspect's home.

Police searched the house in Zama City, south of Tokyo, while investigating the disappearance of a 23-year-old woman earlier this month, according to local media.

Authorities discovered several coolers in the 27-year-old suspect’s home, each containing human body parts. In total, there were nine bodies, eight women and one man, including the missing 23-year-old woman police were searching for. Two of the bodies were decapitated.

Police discovered two severed heads in a cooler at the apartment entrance on October 30 before finding the remaining body parts the following day, Jiji Press reported.

7.“Earthquake” in Spain

Hundreds of thousands of Catalans took to the streets to celebrate after the declaration of independence.

Less than an hour after the Catalan Parliament unilaterally declared independence, despite the objections of the Spanish Government, the central government in Madrid has for the first time activated Article 155 of the 1978 Constitution, thereby officially taking control of this autonomous region. This is considered a strong measure to resolve the worst political crisis in this European country in the past 4 decades.

When Article 155 comes into effect, the Spanish government has the right to take over the entire Catalan regional government, as well as the budget, police agencies and local media. On that basis, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced the dissolution of the Catalan legislature and set an early election in the region on December 21 to "restore democracy", and at the same time dismissed President Carles Puigdemont and the Catalan leadership. All of President C. Puigdemont's executive work has been taken over by Prime Minister M. Rajoy and transferred to Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria.

8. The US continues to release secret files on the assassination of former President Kennedy.

Former US President John F. Kennedy. Photo: Getty

On November 3, the US National Archives continued to release secret documents related to the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy, mainly CIA files.

The Telegraph reported that the US National Archives has just released nearly 680 more secret documents, including 553 never-before-seen documents from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Among the CIA documents are details of how Soviet diplomats were recruited to serve in diplomatic missions. The remaining documents were provided by the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense and a US House committee, related to the investigation into the assassination of former President Kennedy on November 22, 1963.

Former US President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963. The case has consumed a lot of public ink with many conspiracy theories. Thousands of books, articles, television shows and movies have explored the theory that Kennedy's assassination was a complex conspiracy. To this day, the case remains an unsolved mystery.

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