Trump accuses China of “blocking the way”; Thailand builds cave museum about trapped soccer team
(Baonghean.vn) - The world in the past 24 hours has been filled with many events such as: Trump accused China of "obstructing" the agreement with North Korea; Russia deployed military police in the Golan Heights; the French National Assembly passed the asylum and immigration bill; Thailand built a museum in the cave where the young soccer team was trapped...
Trump accuses China of 'blocking' deal with North Korea
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US President Donald Trump at a political rally on July 31 in Tampa, Florida, USA. Photo:AP. |
"We're getting along so well with North Korea, and I think we're getting along so well with China that it's getting in our way,"SCMPquoted US President Donald Trump speaking at a political rally on July 31 in Florida, referring to the commitment to "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula that he reached with leader Kim Jong-un.
"No tests, no missile launches. We'll see what happens," Trump added, noting that Kim has yet to conduct any more missile launches.
This is not the first time Trump has criticized China for interfering in the situation in North Korea, in the context of Washington and Beijing's fierce trade conflict. Yesterday, the US President also threatened to increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10% to 25%.
Russia deploys military police in Golan Heights
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Mr. Sergei Rudskoi speaks at a press conference. Photo: AP. |
The Russian Defense Ministry said on August 2 that it has deployed military police in the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria and set up eight monitoring posts to avoid the risk of provocations.
Speaking at a press conference in Moscow, the head of the General Department of Operations of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Colonel General Sergei Rudskoi, stated that the country's military police, in coordination with the UN peacekeeping force, conducted patrols for the first time in six years in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which had been suspended since 2012 for security reasons.
According to Mr. Rudskoi, the deployment of military police in the Golan Heights is only a temporary measure and the surveillance posts in this area will be handed over to Syrian Government forces when the situation is stabilized.
French Parliament passes asylum and immigration bill
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| Migrants and refugees in Nantes, France on July 23. Photo: AFP/VNA |
On August 1, in the final voting session, the French National Assembly passed the controversial asylum and immigration bill with 100 votes in favor, 25 votes against and 11 abstentions.
The bill, drafted by the French Interior Ministry, would double the detention period for illegal immigrants to 90 days; reduce the time for asylum seekers to apply from 120 days to 90 days; halve the processing time to six months and give them two weeks to appeal if their asylum application is not approved. The bill would also impose fines and up to a year in prison for those who illegally cross the border into France, and make it easier to deport asylum seekers for economic reasons.
Thailand builds museum in cave where soccer team was trapped
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The area in front of Tham Luang cave has a no entry sign after the rescue operation of the young soccer team ended. Photo:Reuters |
Thailand on August 2 began construction of a museum to commemorate the dramatic rescue of the Wild Boars soccer team and the diver who died. The groundbreaking ceremony for the museum in Tham Luang cave took place after a Buddhist ceremony to pray to local gods for protection.
The museum is expected to take five months to complete at a cost of 10 million baht ($300,000), funded by Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipat, a Chiang Rai native.
Iran prepares for large-scale military exercises in the Gulf
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Iran's navy fires a Mehrab missile during a military exercise in the Strait of Hormuz. Photo: AFP |
An anonymous US defense official said on August 2 that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has mobilized more than 100 vehicles, mostly high-speed armed boats, along with hundreds of infantrymen for the exercise that could take place in the next 48 hours.Reutersreport
"We have seen increased Iranian naval activity in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman. The US military is closely monitoring the situation and will coordinate with partners to ensure freedom of navigation and the free flow of goods on international sea lanes," said Colonel Bill Urban, spokesman for the US Central Command.
This year’s drills were held earlier than in previous years. This is seen as Iran’s way of sending a warning message to the US, in the context of escalating tensions between the two countries after US President Donald Trump decided to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal and apply new sanctions against Tehran.
US arrests 3 Ukrainian hackers for stealing tens of millions of dollars
ReutersCiting an announcement made by the US Department of Justice on August 1, it said that three Ukrainian citizens were arrested after being accused of attacking more than 100 US companies, causing a loss of tens of millions of dollars.
Prosecutors say three hackers arrested in Europe between January and June were members of the FIN7 cybercrime group.
Among them, the suspect Fedir Hladyr, 33, has been transferred to a detention center in Seattle. The US government confirmed that it will seek the extradition of the remaining two suspects, Dmytro Fedorov, 44, and Andrii Kolpakov, 30, to the US.
FAO needs $120 million to feed 3.6 million hungry people worldwide
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| Malnourished children in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Source: AFP/VNA |
On August 1, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said it urgently needs about 120 million USD to provide aid to 3.6 million people in the affected countries and regions in the remaining months of 2018.
Without urgent support, "there is a risk that the situation will worsen in affected areas in the second half of the year, as needs for hunger relief and humanitarian aid increase," the FAO said.
Crises facing funding shortages include drought in Afghanistan, Sudan and Syria, severe monsoons in Bangladesh, renewed violence in the Central African Republic, the approaching hurricane season in Haiti and crop failures in Iraq, Myanmar and the Sahel region.
