Năm: 6

U.S. warns North Korea of ‘overwhelming’ response to use of nuclear weapons

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis (left) speaks as South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo listens prior to their meeting at Defense Ministry in Seoul Friday. | KIM MIN-HEE / POOL PHOTO VIA AP

jAPAN TIMES

AP Feb 3, 2017

Seoul – In an explicit warning to North Korea, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Friday said any use of nuclear weapons by the North on the United States or its allies would be met with what he called an “effective and overwhelming” response.

U.S. defense secretaries have long offered assurances to South Korea and Japan that its nuclear “umbrella” will protect them, but Mattis’ statement was perhaps more pointed than most. He made the remarks during an appearance with his South Korean counterpart, Defense Minister Han Min-koo. Tiếp tục đọc “U.S. warns North Korea of ‘overwhelming’ response to use of nuclear weapons” →

Brazen Killing of Myanmar Lawyer Came After He Sparred With Military

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By WAI MOE, MIKE IVES and SAW NANG FEB. 2, 2017

The funeral of U Ko Ni, a top adviser to the governing National League for Democracy, in Yangon, Myanmar, on Monday. Ye Aung Thu/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

YANGON, Myanmar — The soft-spoken rights lawyer had devised a plan to replace Myanmar’s Constitution with one that would strip the military of its extraordinary political powers.

The lawyer, U Ko Ni, a top adviser to the governing National League for Democracy, had recently been working on a new draft, a colleague said, and he hoped to promote his project at a conference this month.

But when he returned to the Yangon airport on Sunday from a trip to Indonesia, cradling his young grandson in his arms as he waited for a taxi, a man drew a pistol and shot him in the head.

The killing appears to have been a rare political assassination in Myanmar, fueling rumors, distrust and worry about the country’s future.

“This bullet was not only for Ko Ni,” the colleague, U Thein Than Oo, a human rights lawyer in Mandalay, Myanmar, said by telephone. “It was for the N.L.D. and the people who want to amend and replace the 2008 Constitution and support the peace process.”

Rohingya Face ‘Campaign of Terror’ in Myanmar, U.N. Finds

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
By NICK CUMMING-BRUCE FEB. 3, 2017

A refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, near the Burmese border. Over 200 Rohingya villagers who fled Myanmar to Bangladesh gave harrowing testimony to United Nations investigators about the treatment they received. Allison Joyce/Getty Images

GENEVA — Members of Myanmar’s Army and the police have slaughtered hundreds of men, women and children, gang-raped women and girls, and forced as many as 90,000 Rohingya Muslims from their homes, according to a United Nations report released on Friday.

The report, the world body’s first official account of a four-month government crackdown on ethnic Rohingya in Myanmar, said the actions of members of the army and the police “very likely” were crimes against humanity.

“The gravity and scale of these allegations begs the robust reaction of the international community,” said Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, whose office released the 50-page report.

Jim Mattis Says U.S. Is ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ With Japan

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By MICHAEL R. GORDON and MOTOKO RICH FEB. 3, 2017

The American defense secretary, Jim Mattis, left; Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, second right; and the Japanese defense minister, Tomomi Inada, right, in Tokyo on Friday. Pool photo by Eugene Hoshiko

TOKYO — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis assured Japan’s prime minister on Friday that the United States would stand by its mutual defense treaty with the country, despite statements by President Trump during last year’s campaign that suggested he might pull back from American security commitments in Asia.

“I want there to be no misunderstanding during the transition in Washington that we stand firmly, 100 percent, shoulder to shoulder with you and the Japanese people,” Mr. Mattis said at the start of a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Travel Ban Drives Wedge Between Iraqi Soldiers and Americans

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By DAVID ZUCCHINO FEB. 3, 2017

Iraqi soldiers in Mosul. “This decision by Trump blows up our liberation efforts of cooperation and coordination with American forces,” one officer said. Ivor Prickett for The New York Times

BAGHDAD — Capt. Ahmed Adnan al-Musawe had survived another day battling Islamic State fighters in Mosul last weekend when he heard startling news: The new American president had temporarily barred Iraqis from entering the United States and wanted tougher vetting.

Captain Musawe, who commands an infantry unit of the Iraqi Army’s elite counterterrorism force, considers himself already fully vetted: He has been trained by American officers in Iraq and in Jordan. And backed by American advisers, he has fought the Islamic State in three Iraqi cities, including three months of brutal street combat in Mosul.

“If America doesn’t want Iraqis because we are all terrorists, then America should send its sons back to Iraq to fight the terrorists themselves,” Captain Musawe told a New York Times reporter who was with him this week at his barricaded position inside Mosul.

President Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order has driven a wedge between many Iraqi soldiers and their American allies. Officers and enlisted men interviewed on the front lines in Mosul said they interpreted the order as an affront — not only to them but also to fellow soldiers who have died in the battle for Mosul.

North Korean Leader’s Top Enforcer Is Now the One Getting Purged

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By CHOE SANG-HUN FEB. 3, 2017

The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, at an undisclosed location in January. The decision by Mr. Kim to purge his top enforcer highlights the turmoil that has engulfed the upper reaches of his regime. Korean Central News Agency, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

SEOUL, South Korea — The chief of North Korea’s powerful secret police, long considered the right-hand man for the top leader, Kim Jong-un, has been dismissed on charges of corruption and abuse of power, the South Korean government said on Friday.

The firing of the chief, Gen. Kim Won-hong, as minister of state security highlights the turmoil that has engulfed the upper reaches of Mr. Kim’s government. The general is the latest in a series of high-ranking party and military officials Mr. Kim has fired, demoted or executed as he tried to consolidate his totalitarian power through what South Korean officials and North Korean defectors have called a “reign of terror.”

Nước Đức: Khi niềm tin bị đánh cắp

~ Phạm Thu Hương ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

BQT – 15:39 | 29/12/2016

Người dân Đức ứng phó với khủng hoảng, khủng bố với một tâm thế hoàn toàn khác so với nhiều nơi trên thế giới.

Vụ khủng bố bằng xe tải hạng nặng tại chợ Giáng sinh ở Berlin ngày 19/12 mà một số báo chí gọi là “vụ 11/9” của Đức, khiến 12 người thiệt mạng và hàng chục người bị thương, còn đang trong quá trình điều tra nhưng dư âm của nó đang còn nóng và chắc chắn sẽ còn theo người dân Đức trong thời gian tới.

Nhưng vì sao là Đức và vì sao đúng dịp này? Liệu bọn khủng bố quốc tế có đạt được điều mà chúng mong muốn qua những hành động vô nhân tính này hay không?

nuoc duc khi niem tin bi danh cap
Quang cảnh đổ nát của khu chợ sau vụ việc kinh hoàng. (Nguồn: Reuters)

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Đại chúng hay tinh hoa?

~ Phạm Thu Hương ~ 2 bình luận

Nguyên Ngọc Thứ Năm,  26/1/2017, 12:51 (GMT+7)

Một trong những khó khăn có thật và lớn khiến những người đang chịu trách nhiệm về giáo dục rất đau đầu là phải giải quyết thế nào cho đúng mối quan hệ giữa số lượng và chất lượng. Ảnh: Hải Nguyễn

(TBKTSG Xuân) – Mấy năm gần đây tôi thường theo dõi các cuộc thi tú tài ở Pháp, vì thích thú, và cũng có phần muốn từ đó thử nghĩ lại thêm về giáo dục ở ta. Hình như vừa qua ta chú ý nói nhiều đến đại học, hẳn vì ở đây dễ thấy rõ sự quá lạc hậu so với thế giới, cũng lại là nơi liên quan trực tiếp đến việc đào tạo nhân lực cho xã hội. Song cũng có thể vấn đề chính của giáo dục còn ở chỗ khác, ở phổ thông, nơi ít được dư luận quan tâm hơn. Có vấn đề ở phổ thông rồi, tất đại học không thể không có vấn đề.

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Hạnh phúc nơi tình người vẫy gọi

~ Hoàng Thiên Nga ~ 2 bình luận

Hoàng Thiên Nga

          Mắt ông không còn nhìn thấy nữa, nhưng tựa vào cánh tay gầy của bà, đôi tình nhân không tuổi ấy không ngần ngại chọn Việt Nam làm đích trở lại hằng năm cho tới khi nào còn có thể, chỉ để được giúp đỡ và sẻ chia…

Tay trong tay đôi tình nhân không tuổi hạnh phúc đi khắp thế giới
Tay trong tay đôi tình nhân không tuổi hạnh phúc đi khắp thế giới

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North Korea No. 2 threat to Beijing after U.S., Chinese military strategists say

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks at what is believed to be the tip of a rocket warhead after a simulated test of atmospheric re-entry of a ballistic missile at an unidentified location in this undated photo released in March. | REUTERS

Japan Times

Kyodo Jan 31, 2017

TAIPEI, KYODO – North Korea is seen as the No. 2 threat to China after the United States, according to a recent document written by strategists with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and seen by Kyodo News.

It shows that despite the two neighboring countries’ traditionally friendly diplomatic ties, North Korea is seen, from a military perspective, as a threat in view of its nuclear arms and missile programs.

The document, issued in May 2016, is a wartime exercise guideline for designed to prepare in the event of threats from hypothetical enemies.

In their analysis of the situation facing China, the strategists cite “five potential threats,” the foremost of them being the United States and its “rebalance” to Asia. Tiếp tục đọc “North Korea No. 2 threat to Beijing after U.S., Chinese military strategists say” →

Trump Tells South Korea That Alliance With U.S. Is ‘Ironclad’

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

By CHOE SANG-HUN JAN. 30, 2017

Hwang Kyo-ahn, the acting leader of South Korea, spoke by phone with President Trump from Seoul on Monday. The call followed North Korea’s warning that it could test an intercontinental ballistic missile “anytime.” Yonhap/European Pressphoto Agency

SEOUL, South Korea — President Trump assured South Korea’s acting president on Monday of the United States’ “ironclad” commitment to defend the country, agreeing with Seoul to strengthen joint defense capabilities against North Korea.

Mr. Trump’s assurances came amid anxiety in South Korea over the future of the alliance with the United States. During his campaign, Mr. Trump cast some doubt on the United States’ defense and trade commitments, saying that South Korea was not paying enough to help keep 28,500 American troops in the country.

But speaking by phone to Hwang Kyo-ahn, the acting president of South Korea, Mr. Trump said that the coming visit to South Korea by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis reflected the close friendship of the two countries and the importance of their alliance. Mr. Mattis is scheduled to visit South Korea on Thursday on his first official trip abroad, which also includes a stop in Japan.

“President Trump reiterated our ironclad commitment to defend the R.O.K., including through the provision of extended deterrence, using the full range of military capabilities,” the White House said in a statement after Mr. Trump’s phone conversation with Mr. Hwang, using the initials for South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.

Billionaire Is Reported Seized From Hong Kong Hotel and Taken Into China

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By MICHAEL FORSYTHE JAN. 31, 2017

Xiao Jianhua at a park in Beijing in an undated photograph. He has been missing since Friday. The New York Times

HONG KONG — A Chinese-born billionaire who has forged financial ties with some of the country’s most powerful families was taken by the Chinese police from his apartment at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong late last week and spirited across the border, a person close to the businessman said on Tuesday.

The billionaire, Xiao Jianhua, who has been missing since Friday, is in police custody in China, where he apparently is safe, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of arrest. Mr. Xiao is a Canadian citizen with an Antiguan diplomatic passport, though he was born in China.

His removal from Hong Kong appears to contravene the “one country, two systems” rule that allows the former British colony to run its own affairs and bars the Chinese police from operating here.

Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh to Be Relocated to Remote Island

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By MAHER SATTARJAN. 31, 2017

The Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, this month. The United Nations has called the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic group denied citizenship in Myanmar, the most persecuted minority in the world. Allison Joyce/Getty Images

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh’s government is moving forward with a plan to relocate Rohingya refugees staying in camps near the country’s largest tourist resort towns to a remote island that is underwater for much of the year.

A cabinet order on Thursday directed officials to have the refugees transferred to Thengar Char, an island in the Bay of Bengal that is lashed by high tides year round and submerged during the monsoon season. The suggestion that they be moved to the largely uninhabitable marshland several hours by boat from the mainland drew criticism from around the world.

Dangerous Fruit: Mystery of Deadly Outbreaks in India Is Solved

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

By ELLEN BARRYJAN. 31, 2017 New York Times

A man comforted his sick daughter at a hospital in Muzaffarpur, India, in 2013. Kuni Takahashi for The New York Times

NEW DELHI — Three years ago, Dr. Rajesh Yadav, an investigator with the India Epidemic Intelligence Service, moved to the city of Muzaffarpur, the site of one of the country’s most mysterious outbreaks. And he waited.

Every year in mid-May, as temperatures reached scorching heights, parents took children who had been healthy the night before to the hospital. The children awakened with a high-pitch cry in the early morning, many parents said.

Then the youths began having seizures and slipping into comas. In about 40 percent of cases, they died.

Every year in July, with the arrival of monsoon rains, the outbreak ended as suddenly as it began.

Beginning in 1995, investigations variously ascribed the phenomenon to heat stroke; to infections carried by rats, bats or sand flies; or to pesticides used in the region’s ubiquitous lychee orchards. But there were few signposts for investigators.

Continue reading on New York Times

Granny prostitutes reflect South Korea’s problem of elderly poverty

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

“In order to survive, I just close my eyes and get it over with,” a 78-year-old sex worker tells the investigative programme Get Rea!

An elderly ‘Bacchus lady’ approached by the programme Get Rea! on the streets of Seoul.

SOUTH KOREA – It’s 10.30am and Madam Park (not her real name) is out prowling the streets of central Jongo district, Seoul, waiting to make a quick sale.

This 78-year-old targets grey-haired men, in practising the world’s oldest profession.

At Seoul’s heart, next to the busy business district, is a street where sex is for sale by women old enough to be grandmothers. These so-called ‘Bacchus ladies’ – named after a popular energy drink – are the subject of an investigation by Channel NewsAsia’s Get Rea! documentary on South Korea’s elderly poor, which premieres on Jan 31.

At her age, Mdm Park should be at home, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. Instead, she stands on the streets for at least 6 hours a day, waiting for customers.

“In order to survive, I just close my eyes and get it over with,” she said in Korean. “In one day, if there is good luck, we meet three to four men and receive about 100,000 won (S$120).”

She does this so that she can afford the US$250 (S$350) worth of arthritis medicine a month. Her arthritis is so severe that she can barely walk.

When Channel NewsAsia approached her on the street, she said: “You came to play? To meet someone? The room fee is US$10. The fee for the woman is US$30.” Tiếp tục đọc “Granny prostitutes reflect South Korea’s problem of elderly poverty” →