China denies US claims of 'undercover police station'; Japanese plane crashes during exercise; Germany develops new combat UAV

Two Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers, capable of carrying nuclear warheads, have conducted routine patrol flights over the neutral waters of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea, off the coast of Russia's Far East. (Source: TASS).

The World & Vietnam Newspaper highlights some of the day's international news highlights:

Asia

* China strengthens strategic cooperation with Russia . TASS news agency reported that Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu stressed on April 18 that his visit to Moscow was designed to show the world that Beijing definitely intends to strengthen strategic cooperation with Moscow.

Earlier in the day, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said military cooperation between his country and China had a "stabilizing" effect on the world situation and helped reduce the possibility of conflict. ( Reuters )

* Ukraine's reaction to Russian President's visit to Kherson, Lugansk. On April 18, Kiev accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of visiting Moscow's scene after the Kremlin announced that the leader had visited Kherson region and the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (LPR).

On Twitter, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's adviser Mykhailo Podolyak criticized: "Putin's degradation is impressive." According to the adviser, Putin is visiting the occupied territories of Ukraine "to enjoy the crimes of his sycophants one last time ." (AFP).

* Plane crashes in Japan during exercise. A light aircraft belonging to the Japan Coast Guard crashed in the southwestern area of Oita Prefecture, injuring crew members on board. According to Coast Guard officials, the single-engine propeller plane took off from Kitakyushu Airport at 9:15 a.m. (local time) and crashed into a field at 10 a.m. the same day in Usa City, Oita Prefecture during an exercise.

Two crew members, the pilot and a trainee, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to hospital. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the accident (AFP).

* China will “overtake” the US economically in the next 5 years. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), China will be the leading contributor to global growth in the next 5 years, with its contribution expected to be double that of the US. Bloomberg news agency analyzed data from the IMF's World Economic Outlook report released last week, showing that 22.6% of total global economic growth in 2028 will come from China. Meanwhile, India and the US will contribute 12.9% and 11.3% to global growth, respectively, during the same period.

According to IMF calculations, 75% of global growth is expected to be concentrated in 20 countries, more than half of which will come from 4 countries: China, India, the US and Indonesia. Germany, Japan, the UK and France will still be among the 10 countries that contribute the most to the world economy. (IMF)

* China rejects US accusations of "undercover police station" in New York . On April 18, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin rejected US accusations of a Chinese "undercover police station" in New York.

Speaking at a press conference, Mr. Uong Van Binh emphasized that China maintains a policy of non-interference in other countries and that the alleged police stations do not exist. The statement was made after US authorities on April 17 arrested two New York residents on charges of running a Chinese "undercover police station" in Chinatown, Manhattan ( Reuters ).

* G7 Foreign Ministers issue Joint Statement, mentioning the East Sea, North Korea... but not increasing pressure on Russia. On April 18, Foreign Ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized countries meeting in Japan issued a joint statement, emphasizing that parties in Sudan need to immediately end hostilities and return to negotiations without any preconditions. The G7 did not announce any new sanctions against Russia related to the military campaign in Ukraine.

However, the G7 announced that it would step up coordination to prevent countries from helping Russia evade sanctions and buy weapons for the war. Regarding North Korea's missile tests, the G7 foreign ministers asked Pyongyang to refrain from actions that could destabilize the region and not conduct further nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches.

The G7 also opposed China's "militarization" of the South China Sea. "There is no legal basis for China's expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea and we oppose China's militarization of the region," the G7's top diplomats said. (France Diplomatie)

* Apple “reduces” China, “increases” India. On April 18, the American technology giant Apple opened its first retail store in Mumbai - India's financial center, in the context that Apple is shifting its retail market focus as well as its production center to this South Asian country.

About 300 people queued up early, many of them outside the store the night before, to get their hands on the Apple products. Apple plans to open its second store in the capital Delhi on April 20, signaling the company’s determination to expand its market in India.

Apple launched its online stores in India in 2020, but plans to launch physical stores were delayed due to regulatory hurdles and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. India has the second-highest number of smartphone users in the world after China, with about 600 million out of a population of 1.4 billion.

Apple has been expanding its manufacturing investment in India since it began assembling iPhones in the country in 2017, through electronics giant Foxconn, amid the Indian government's push for domestic manufacturing.

Accordingly, Apple has built a total of 11 manufacturing facilities and factories in India. This American technology company also plans to assemble iPad and Airpod products in India (Reuters).

Europe

* Germany develops new combat UAV. German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall is developing a completely new type of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for aerial combat missions. This is the first time a combat UAV has been built in Germany.

According to German media, Rheinmetall's combat UAV model is designed to include a Luna NG UAV with a 5-meter wingspan, capable of reconnaissance, carrying a number of smaller drones carrying weapons. These drones will be released from the Luna NG aircraft and controlled towards ground targets.

This would increase the ability to strike targets with precision compared to the free-falling, unguided explosives from small drones currently being used by the Ukrainian military in its fight against Russian forces.

Rheinmetall says it will be the “most versatile and effective” multi-role UAV of its kind, capable of carrying eight armed drones and effectively combining the advantages of both DW and DW systems.

* Russia sends strategic bombers to patrol the Far East . TASS news agency quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying on April 18 that two Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers - capable of carrying nuclear warheads - conducted routine patrol flights over the neutral waters of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea, off the coast of Russia's Far East. This patrol was part of a surprise inspection of the Pacific Fleet's combat readiness.

"As part of a surprise inspection of the combat readiness of the Pacific Fleet... two Tu-95MS strategic bombers performed a scheduled flight in the airspace over the neutral waters of the Bering and Okhotsk Seas," the ministry's statement said ( Sputniknews ).

* Russia resumes inspections of ships carrying grain to Ukraine under the Black Sea Grain Initiative . The Russian Foreign Ministry said that inspections of ships under the provisions of the Black Sea Grain Initiative have resumed. The ministry official said the inspections were interrupted because Ukraine did not fully comply with the agreement, but the issue has now been resolved.

Under the terms of the Black Sea Grain Initiative signed between Russia and Ukraine last July under the mediation of the UN and Türkiye, all ships carrying grain exported under the initiative are subject to inspection by authorities from all four countries before and after arriving in Ukraine. The inspections take place inside Turkish territorial waters and are carried out by members of the JCC.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative was extended for 120 days in November 2022 and again for 60 days on March 18. Russia recently announced that it would not negotiate an extension of the agreement beyond May 18 unless there was progress in resolving systemic issues related to payment connections, machinery supplies and insurance . ( RIA Novosti ).

* Sweden holds biggest military exercise in history, showing off to NATO. Sweden has launched its biggest military exercise in more than 25 years, involving 26,000 troops from 14 countries, as Stockholm's bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) faces many obstacles. The Swedish Armed Forces said the exercise, which will be carried out in the air, on land and off the country's coast, is expected to last until May 11.

Accordingly, the defense forces of the United States, United Kingdom, Finland, Poland, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Denmark, Austria, Germany and France all participated. With the participation of most NATO members, the exercise became the center of attention in the context of Stockholm's efforts to join the military alliance facing some difficulties. ( AFP )

* Russia has not received any peace proposals from France . The Kremlin said on April 18 that Brazil's efforts to mediate in the conflict in Ukraine "deserve attention", but also noted that Russia has not received any plans for a peace deal proposed by France.

Earlier, Bloomberg reported that French President Emmanuel Macron was seeking to approach China with a plan that could lay the groundwork for talks between Moscow and Kiev. Meanwhile, the US has criticized Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for his recent comments that the West was “encouraging” war by arming Ukraine. ( Reuters )

* Estonia has a new cabinet . Estonia's new coalition government led by Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has been sworn in. Previously, Prime Minister Kallas's center-right Reform Party easily won the general election last month with 32% of the vote.

The Reform Party then formed a coalition with Estonia 200 and the Social Democrats. The three parties pledged to invest in energy security, implement green reforms and modernize tax policy. The ruling coalition also plans to maintain its goal of increasing defense spending to at least 3% of GDP. The Reform Party's main rival is EKRE, which came in second in the recent general election with 16% of the vote (AP News)

* ChatGPT to operate in Italy, if.... The head of Italy's Data Protection Authority (Garante), Pasquale Stanzione, said the agency is ready to allow ChatGPT - an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot from the US company OpenAI - to operate again by the end of April if OpenAI takes "useful steps" to address Garante's concerns.

In late March, Microsoft Corp.-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT was blocked on online platforms in Italy after Garante temporarily restricted the company's use of users' personal data there and opened an investigation into possible breaches of privacy rules. Italy was the first Western European country to restrict ChatGPT, but the chatbot's rapid growth has drawn the attention of lawmakers and regulators in several other countries . (Euronews)

America

* US Secretary of State sets conditions for improving ties with China. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on April 18 that the United States could move forward with China after President Joe Biden's meeting with President Xi Jinping last year, but that would require Beijing to clarify its intentions. Blinken made the remarks at a news conference at the end of a Group of Seven foreign ministers' meeting in the central Japanese town of Karuizawa. Biden met President Xi Jinping in Indonesia last November for a three-hour meeting aimed at preventing tensions between the two countries from spiraling into a new Cold War. (Reuters)

* The United States reaffirms its cooperation with Ukraine on security issues . US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke by phone with his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov to discuss priorities ahead of a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG), scheduled for April 21 at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The meeting will mark one year since Secretary Austin first convened the UDCG in Ramstein to coordinate security assistance to Ukraine.

This was the UDCG’s 11th meeting and the group’s first since the leak of classified US military information, some of which was said to be related to the conflict in Ukraine. During the phone call, the two ministers affirmed that their commitment to cooperation with Ukraine was unlikely to be hampered by recent intelligence leaks.

Since Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine in February last year, many Western countries have provided financial and military support to Ukraine while imposing sanctions against Russia (Reuters).

* Shots fired near US Vice President K. Harris's residence. The US Secret Service is investigating reports of a shooting near Vice President Kamala Harris's residence in Washington, DC, early on April 18. According to the initial investigation, there were no casualties recorded after this shooting, and there is also no indication that this incident was aimed at any important figures or the official residence of US Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband. US police have blocked off roads around Vice President Harris's residence to serve the investigation. (CNN).

* US billionaires have gotten 30% richer in the past 3 years. According to a newly released Oxfam report, the number of billionaires in the US has increased and their assets have increased by about 30% since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and by nearly 90% over the past decade. Based on Forbes data, the report stated that the assets of US billionaires have increased by about 30% (more than $1,000 billion in real terms) compared to when the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, and increased by 86% compared to 2013. Oxfam noted that the US now has more than 700 billionaires, nearly 60% more than a decade ago.

Meanwhile, about 30% of the US workforce earns less than $15 an hour. These figures show the income gap in the US. Accordingly, Oxfam calls for a wealth and income tax on the richest people to reduce income inequality in this country (Oxfam)

* Russia and Brazil promote cooperation. Speaking after talks on April 17 in the capital Brasilia, Foreign Minister Lavrov said the two sides discussed developing cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy, in space and agriculture, health care and pharmaceuticals. The two countries also outlined a schedule for resuming the activities of bilateral institutions, including the Russia-Brazil Intergovernmental Commission, which was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Regarding the issue of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Lavrov thanked Brazil for its goodwill in contributing to finding a solution.

During the talks, he also invited his Brazilian counterpart to visit Russia. For his part, Foreign Minister Vieira stressed that Brazil considers Russia an important trade partner. Last year, bilateral trade turnover reached a record high of 9.8 billion USD. During the talks, both sides expressed their desire to deepen and diversify trade relations as well as investment cooperation in order to increase the turnover of goods exchange to 10 billion USD.

The Russian Foreign Minister is on a tour of Latin American countries from April 17-21, with Brazil as the first stop. He also met with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and delivered a letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin inviting the Brazilian President to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia (TASS).

Africa – Middle East

* US diplomatic convoy attacked in Sudan . On April 18, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that a US diplomatic convoy in Sudan was hit by gunfire in an attack carried out by gunmen linked to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan.

Mr. Blinken condemned the attack, emphasizing that Washington is deeply concerned about the overall security environment in Sudan because this affects not only civilians but also diplomats and aid workers. Secretary of State Blinken stated that the US is coordinating closely with other countries with influence in Sudan, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom as well as the African Union (AU) and other international organizations.

Earlier, in separate conversations with RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and Sudanese army commander General Abdel Fattah, Secretary of State Blinken stressed that any actions that endanger US diplomats are "unacceptable." (AP News )

* Israel boosts solar energy storage. The Israel Electricity Authority (EAI) has announced a special transmission fee incentive to encourage small-scale solar power plants to increase investment in solar energy storage products. Israel is striving to achieve a renewable energy share of 30% of the total grid output by 2030.

The new measure is intended to encourage solar power plants to increase their on-site use during the day and switch to supplying the system at night, avoiding grid overload. According to EAI calculations, Israel will need a total storage capacity of about 2GW/8GWh to ensure that 30% of the output fed into the national grid is solar, equivalent to about 12GW of solar power. (Time of Israel).

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