A Russian ship sank in the Mediterranean, China criticized the US National Defense Authorization Act of 2025, North Korea dissolved all agencies in charge of inter-Korean relations, Russia sentenced an American citizen to 15 years in prison for espionage... are some of the notable international events in the past 24 hours.
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| France's new cabinet has just been introduced and has already encountered its first hurdle. (Source: AFP) |
The World & Vietnam Newspaper highlights some of the day's international news highlights.
Asia- Pacific
*Japan wants to strengthen alliance with the US: Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru on December 24 expressed his desire to strengthen the alliance with the US, while promoting an early meeting with President-elect Donald Trump.
Speaking at a press conference, Prime Minister Ishiba emphasized: "I think it is important to further strengthen the US-Japan alliance... and share a common understanding of the situation in Northeast Asia," while confirming that no time has been set for a potential meeting with Mr. Trump.
In addition, Prime Minister Ishiba announced that the Japanese Cabinet plans to approve the national budget for the next fiscal year on December 27. He also pledged to implement measures to raise the minimum wage and remove people's concerns about the future to boost private consumption. (Reuters)
*China criticizes US National Defense Authorization Act 2025: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said on December 24 that China has sent a strong protest note to the US regarding the signing of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025, which includes negative content related to Beijing.
China calls on the US side to abandon its Cold War mindset and ideological prejudice, view China's development and China-US relations objectively and rationally, and earnestly abide by the "one China" principle and the three China-US joint communiques.
Ms. Mao Ning declared that China will take resolute and strong measures to protect its sovereignty, security and development interests. (THX)
*China declares its readiness to cooperate with Japan: The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will visit China on December 25.
Responding to a regular press conference on December 24, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning emphasized that Beijing is willing to cooperate with Japan to enhance common interests and consolidate a constructive and stable relationship.
This one-day visit is Mr. Iwaya's first since taking office as Japanese Foreign Minister last October. (Reuters)
*Philippines rejects China's criticism of plan to buy US missiles: On December 24, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro rejected China's criticism of Manila's plan to buy US medium-range missile systems, calling on Beijing to stop "warlike rhetoric" and "interference" in internal affairs.
A day earlier, the Philippine Army announced plans to purchase the US Typhon missile system as part of efforts to protect Manila's maritime interests, a move that immediately drew warnings from China about an "arms race" in the region.
Philippine military officials revealed that the Typhon system can protect ships within 370 km of the coast, the limit of the country's maritime rights under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). (AFP)
*North Korea disbands all agencies in charge of inter-Korean relations: On December 24, a South Korean Unification Ministry official revealed that North Korea is believed to have disbanded all 10 official organizations in charge of inter-Korean affairs, following leader Kim Jong-un's order to legalize South Korea as its main enemy last year.
Specifically, of the 11 North Korean organizations listed in charge of inter-Korean relations in the 2023 edition, all were either removed or marked as "presumed to have been dissolved" in the 2024 version, including the National Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland - a state agency formerly in charge of negotiations with South Korea. (Yonhap)
Europe
*Ukraine accuses Russia of using 60 UAVs in night attack: The Ukrainian Air Force confirmed that Russia attacked with 60 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on the night of December 23 to 24 (local time), of which 36 were shot down and 23 were electronically suppressed.
On its Telegram channel, the Ukrainian Air Force said Russian UAVs were shot down in eight regions across the country.
Moscow is pressing hard on a 1,000-km frontline across eastern and southern Ukraine nearly three years after launching a full-scale invasion. Over the past few months, Russia has launched near-daily drone strikes aimed at exhausting Ukraine’s air defenses and attacking critical infrastructure. (Reuters)
*Russia sentences US citizen to 15 years in prison for spying: State news agency RIA reported that a Russian court sentenced US citizen Eugene Spector to 15 years in prison for spying.
Spector - born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) and later moved to the United States, is serving a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence in Russia for bribery - was charged with espionage last August.
According to Russian state media, before his arrest in 2021, Mr. Spector held the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of Medpolymerprom Group - a company specializing in the preparation of cancer treatment drugs.
In the first case, Mr. Spector pleaded guilty to helping bribe Anastasia Alekseeva, an aide to former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich. (Reuters/TASS)
*France announces new Cabinet list: On the evening of December 23, 2024 (local time), French Prime Minister François Bayrou officially announced the composition of his new Cabinet, 18 days after President Emmanuel Macron appointed him as Prime Minister on December 5, 2024.
The new cabinet of 34 ministers, including figures from the right, center and left, is considered capable of avoiding censorship, not abusing Article 49.3 to pass bills, and avoiding falling into the situation of being voted on no confidence, which could lead to dissolution like previous governments.
The first Council of Ministers meeting of the François Bayrou government will be held on January 3, 2025, the Élysée Palace announced. (AFP)
*Russian cargo ship sinks in Mediterranean: On December 24, the Crisis Management Center of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the Russian cargo ship Ursa Major sank in the Mediterranean, 14 out of 16 crew members were rescued, while 2 people are missing.
On its Telegram channel, the center said: "The Russian dry cargo ship Ursa Major sank in international waters in the Mediterranean after an explosion in the engine room. Of the 16 crew members, 14 were rescued... 2 are missing. Teams from the Crisis Management Center, the Situation Center of the Ministry of Transport and Russian foreign missions are monitoring the situation."
Several vessels traveling in the same area joined the rescue operation, later the Spanish rescue ship Clara Campoamor and a Spanish Navy patrol boat also joined the search. The Ursa Major is a cargo ship built in 2009. (Sputniknews)
*US spy drone flies near Russian border: Polish radio station RMF FM reported that on December 23, the US Global Hawk spy drone flew over 7 countries and approached the Russian border. This type of UAV has repeatedly conducted reconnaissance before major attacks on Russian territory, including the use of Western-made long-range missiles such as ATACMS.
According to the radio station, the UAV took off from Sicily and flew over Greece and Bulgaria. After flying over Romania, the UAV turned towards Hungary, then flew over Slovakia.
Global Hawk is one of the largest reconnaissance UAVs, collecting and transmitting data in real time. Global Hawk can fly continuously for 24 hours. Its flight speed is about 650 km/h and it is capable of traveling a distance of up to 20,000 km. (Sputnik)
Middle East-Africa
*Turkish President to visit Syria: On December 24, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will lead a delegation of many ministers to visit Syria.
The delegation will include ministers in charge of economy and investment. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin recently visited Damascus.
The Turkish President's office said the exact date for President Erdogan's visit to Syria is being arranged. (Sputniknews)
*Gaza hostage deal progresses: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on December 23 informed the parliament about the progress in the hostage rescue negotiations in Gaza after more than 14 months of conflict. This statement was made in the context of indirect negotiations between Israel and the Hamas Islamist movement taking place in Doha under the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
"Although I cannot reveal details, I can confirm that there has been some progress. We will not stop working until we bring them all home," Netanyahu said, sending a message to families that the government would not abandon their loved ones.
According to statistics, in the attack on October 7, 2023, Hamas took 251 hostages. Currently, 96 people are being held in Gaza, of whom 34 have been confirmed dead by the Israeli army. (Al Jazeera)
*Israeli army discovers weapons cache in southern Lebanon: On December 23, the Israeli army announced the discovery in southern Lebanon of a weapons cache containing more than 100 explosive devices, 20 rocket launchers and dozens of missiles. Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said: “The 769th Brigade continues to operate in southern Lebanon under the agreement between Israel and Lebanon.
Israeli forces searched buildings in the area and discovered a weapons cache containing more than 100 explosive devices and about 20 types of rocket launchers. In addition, during other raids, Israeli soldiers found mortar shells and tactical military equipment. All of the military materials were confiscated and destroyed.” (Al Jazeera)
America - Latin America
*Trump's view on peace in Ukraine: On Fox Business , US President-elect Donald Trump's special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said Trump wants to achieve a peaceful and just world in Ukraine.
Mr. Kellogg has previously expressed his view that Russia and Ukraine are ready to negotiate to end the conflict. He did not rule out the possibility that Mr. Trump could end the conflict in Ukraine by the end of this year.
Reuters quoted sources as saying that Mr. Kellogg will visit Kiev and several European countries in early January, "as the new US administration tries to end the conflict in Ukraine as quickly as possible." Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgy Tikhy said the time for Mr. Kellogg's visit to Kiev has been determined.
Meanwhile, commenting on the rumors of Mr. Kellogg's visit to Moscow, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said there had been no request sent to Moscow about organizing this visit. (Reuters)
*US President signs 2025 defense budget law: The White House announced that US President Joe Biden has signed the 2025 defense budget law.
Earlier, both houses of the US Congress unanimously passed a defense budget bill worth 895 billion USD.
On December 18, according to sources, the draft 2025 defense budget includes measures to increase the US presence in the Indo-Pacific region, increase military salaries, build seven new warships and strengthen the country's defense industry. (Sputniknews)
*Billionaire Elon Musk likened to US Prime Minister: Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales of Texas has compared billionaire Elon Musk to an unelected prime minister after the Tesla CEO was embroiled in a noisy budget dispute in the US Congress last week, raising concerns about the risk of a government shutdown and signaling pressure from a Republican-led central government.
“We have a president, we have a vice president, we have a speaker of the House. But we still feel like Elon Musk is our prime minister,” Gonzales said on CBS on the evening of December 22.
Musk, who spent $277 million to help Trump win the November 5 presidential election, repeatedly protested on social media site X the first government budget deal introduced to the House of Representatives. Just hours later, Trump intervened and the budget bill was rejected. (AFP)
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