Shooting at a shopping mall in New Mexico; Thailand tightens asset declarations

Thailand tightens asset declaration

Scene outside a university in Bangkok, Thailand. Illustration photo: AFP/TTXVN

Starting in December 2018, Thai civil servants holding leadership positions in the administration, education, military, police and financial institutions must declare their assets to the National Anti-Corruption Agency. This is a new regulation compared to the current law, which only binds members of the government.

However, controversy has erupted as many have argued that the asset declaration regulations are “unnecessarily” complicated, putting many civil servants at risk of being investigated for simply making false declarations. Yesterday, a series of members of the National University Council announced that they would resign this weekend because they did not want to become “subjects to criminalization”. In response, the chairman of the Thai Anti-Corruption Commission, Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit, called for an extension of the new regulations to “avoid losses” to the education sector.

UN Secretary-General calls for maximum restraint in Gaza

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike hit the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa television station in the Gaza Strip on November 12, 2018. Photo: THX/TTXVN

On November 12, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterrez called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, after Palestinians fired a series of rockets into southern Israel, prompting Israel to respond with airstrikes.

Earlier in the day, the Ezzedine al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, admitted to launching a series of rockets into southern Israel. Later, Israeli warplanes bombed the studio of a Hamas television station in the Gaza Strip.

Aung San Suu Kyi stripped of title "Ambassador of Conscience"

Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi. Photo: Lam Khanh/VNA

London-based Amnesty International announced on November 12 that it was stripping Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's de facto leader, of her "Ambassador of Conscience" title, its highest honor, due to her "indifference" to the genocide committed by the country's military against Rohingya Muslims.

This is the latest in a series of similar moves by international organizations to strip Aung San Suu Kyi of her international awards and honors, since the Myanmar military expelled 72,000 Rohingya Muslims from the predominantly Buddhist country. This action by the Myanmar military has been classified as genocide by the United Nations.

Mexican President-elect is actively looking for a buyer for his private jet.

The Mexican presidential plane in Berlin, Germany in 2016. Photo: AFP

Leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador won a landslide victory in Mexico’s early July elections and is expected to take office in early December. One of his key policies is to fight corruption and waste. To set an example, the 65-year-old politician announced that he would fly commercial and sell the presidential plane, a Boeing 787.

The luxury jet was purchased by the previous administration for an estimated $218 million (5,085 billion VND) and Mr. Obrador said the country still has to spend about $25 million on maintenance each year. In September, Mr. Obrador traveled on a commercial flight and was delayed for hours due to bad weather. However, the politician insisted that he would not change his mind.

China deletes nearly 10,000 "politically harmful" social media accounts

Wechat messaging application on Chinese users' phones. Photo:Reuters

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said yesterday that it had blocked more than 9,800 social media accounts for "disseminating politically harmful information, deliberately defaming the history of the Communist Party of China and damaging the country's image." This is part of Beijing's campaign to tighten control over media and social media. The CAC also summoned representatives from major Chinese media groups such as Wechat and Weibo, asking them to stop the "uncivilized development" of news sites on social media platforms. "The chaos of self-published accounts has seriously affected the law and the interests of the people," the CAC representative said.

The term “self-published media” refers to social media accounts that are not registered with Chinese authorities. This form of reporting has become popular in recent years with a variety of topics, gaining attention from users in China for information that is more sensational than official sources.

US: Shooting at a shopping mall in New Mexico, many people injured

Illustration photo: AFP/VNA

Police in the US state of New Mexico said that on the evening of November 12 local time (morning of November 13 Vietnam time), a shooting occurred at a shopping mall in this state, injuring 3 people. The health status of the victims is currently unknown.

The incident occurred in the context of the US still debating the issue of gun ownership, when more and more shootings occurred in many places across the US.

Libya: General Haftar declares not to attend Palermo conference

LNA forces commanded by General Khalifa Haftar in a campaign against jihadists in Benghazi, Libya on May 20, 2017. Photo: AFP/TTXVN

According to AFP, the office of Libyan General Khalifa Haftar announced on November 13 that this powerful figure will not attend the roundtable talks at the Palermo (Italy) conference to stabilize this North African country, but will meet regional leaders on the sidelines of the conference. General Haftar's self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA) said that this general has arrived in Italy to hold a series of meetings with presidents of countries in the region to discuss the latest developments in Libya and internationally.

Italy is hosting a conference on Libya in Palermo to push for a new UN plan to help the North African country restore stability. Italy hopes the conference will help put pressure on Libyan parties to resolve their differences.

Beijing issues yellow alert for air pollution

Smog covers the capital Beijing. Photo: AFP/TTXVN

Beijing's air pollution emergency response agency issued a yellow alert for smog on November 13, reminding residents to take precautions. The smog will last until November 15, according to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment. During this time, the central region of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province is expected to experience moderate to severe air pollution.

A yellow alert is issued when the air quality index exceeds 200 mcg or the PM2.5 particle density exceeds 150 mcg per cubic meter of air for two consecutive days. According to Beijing's current three-tier air pollution warning system, a yellow alert is the least polluted level, followed by an orange alert and a red alert.