What did the Chinese general discuss with Mr. Putin? The IS leader was killed by the US, why did Myanmar pardon 3,000 people?

Tin thế giới 17/4: Tướng Trung Quốc gặp ông Putin bàn chuyện gì? Thủ lĩnh IS bị Mỹ tiêu diệt, tại sao Myanmar ân xá 3.000 người?

Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, April 16 (photo: TASS)

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

Europe:

* Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu in Moscow. The meeting took place after Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Russia in mid-March this year. A month earlier, on February 22, President Putin also received Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Wang Yi.

During the meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent visit to Russia was very productive and that relations between Russia and China are developing well in all areas, including the military . President Putin said that Russia and China regularly exchange information through military agencies and conduct joint exercises. He also said that military cooperation between Russia and China is one of the most important areas contributing to strengthening strategic relations between the two countries. (TASS)

* Russia, India discuss free trade deal. India and Russia said on April 17 that they are discussing a free trade deal. For decades, Russia has been India's largest supplier of military equipment and the fourth-largest market for Indian pharmaceuticals. In March 2023, Russia replaced Iraq as India's top crude oil supplier. As of March 31, India's total imports from Russia had increased nearly fourfold to $46.33 billion (Reuters).

* Russian Defense Ministry conducts surprise inspection of Pacific Fleet. On April 17, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the surprise inspection of the Pacific Fleet. According to TASS news agency, more than 25,000 servicemen, 167 warships, including 12 submarines, 89 aircraft and helicopters are participating in this surprise inspection (starting from April 14). Minister Shoigu said that these forces and units are in a state of high readiness to carry out training missions .

As part of the snap inspection, the formations and military units of the coastal forces and marines of the Russian Pacific Fleet were put on alert, put on high alert and began moving to the assembly areas. The warships, boats and support vessels of the Pacific Fleet left their deployment points for the designated areas in the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea to carry out combat training tasks, including firing, tactical exercises and joint operations. The anti-submarine forces on duty conducted searches for enemy submarines as part of the snap readiness inspection. (TASS)

* Finland operates Europe's largest nuclear reactor. After months of delays, Finland officially operated its next-generation Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor on April 16, which is also the largest nuclear reactor in Europe.

The reactor currently produces about 14 percent of the country's electricity and is expected to operate for "at least the next 60 years," according to TVO, which operates Olkiluoto 3. It is 12 years behind schedule. More than 50 percent of Finland's electricity comes from nuclear power, according to Finland's transmission system operator, Fingrid. (AP News)

Asia:

* South Korea, the US and Japan conducted a joint missile defense exercise in international waters east of the Korean Peninsula. Three destroyers equipped with the advanced Aegis combat system participated in the exercise, including the ROKS Yulgok Yi I of South Korea, the USS Benfold of the US and the JS Atago of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.

The last time South Korea, the US and Japan conducted a trilateral missile defense exercise was in February 2023. In recent times, South Korea, the US and Japan have conducted many joint exercises, including a trilateral missile defense exercise in February and an anti-submarine exercise on April 3. At the same time, North Korea also conducted many missile launches into the East Sea of the country. (Yonhap).

* Myanmar pardons more than 3,000 people on the occasion of Myanmar New Year . On April 17, the Myanmar government said it would pardon more than 3,000 prisoners, including more than 100 foreigners. Myanmar usually pardons thousands of prisoners in an annual amnesty to mark its traditional New Year. On this occasion last year, Myanmar released 1,619 prisoners. (VNA ).

* The move shows that Korea-Japan relations are warming up. On April 17, Japan and Korea restarted the foreign and defense policy negotiation mechanism, which had been suspended since 2018. This is an indication that the bilateral relationship between Korea and Japan is gradually thawing.

During the meeting, the two sides are expected to share their assessments of the security situation in Northeast Asia and the Korean Peninsula, as well as their respective defense and security policies. The Korea-Japan defense diplomacy consultation mechanism was launched in 1998 following an agreement between the two countries' foreign ministers a year earlier (Yonhap).

* Australia and the US hold the 'biggest' military exercise in history. The Australian Ministry of Defense announced that the country will hold the 10th Talisman Sabre exercise, the largest ever. The exercise will involve about 30,000 troops, double the number in 2021.

Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023 will take place from 22 July to 4 August in Queensland, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and New South Wales. It is the largest bilateral combined training exercise between the Australian Defence Force and the US military, reflecting the Australia-US alliance.

Countries confirmed to participate in the Talisman Sabre 2023 exercise include Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, France, Britain, Canada and Germany. The Philippines, Singapore and Thailand will attend as observers (Reuters).

* India: 11 people die, more than 40 hospitalized due to heatstroke. Heatwave above 38 degrees Celsius has killed at least 11 people and hospitalized more than 40 people due to heatstroke after attending a 5-hour outdoor event in the eastern Indian state of Maharashtra on April 16. In early April, the India Meteorological Department said that most of the country will experience severe heatwave until June. This year, India recorded its hottest February since 1901. (Indiatimes)

America

* Shooting in Mexico, at least 7 people killed. Mexican authorities said on April 15, gunmen stormed La Palma water park in Cortazar city in the central state of Guanajuato and opened fire, killing 7 people, including 1 child.

Guanajuato, a prosperous industrial state, has seen a surge in drug-related violence in recent years. The state has become one of the most violent in Mexico due to a conflict between the Santa Rosa de Lima criminal group and the Jalisco New Generation cartel, which specializes in fuel theft and drug trafficking.

Mexico has recorded more than 350,000 murders, most of them by criminal gangs, since the government deployed troops to fight drug cartels in 2006. (CNN)

* Russian Foreign Minister visits 4 Latin American countries. The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Brazil, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba. The main goal of Foreign Minister Lavrov's trip is to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with Latin American countries in the fields of politics, trade and economy, education, humanitarian affairs, culture and other fields.

The Russian Foreign Ministry's announcement stressed that Latin America is a region with friendly relations with Russia, one of the centers of shaping the multipolar world, and Russia plans to maintain a dynamic dialogue with the region, developing constructive cooperation without any external impositions (TASS).

* World's largest ruby auctioned in New York (USA) . Sotheby's auction house said it will auction the world's largest ruby next June in New York City (USA) and is estimated to sell for more than 30 million USD.

It will be the most valuable ruby ever sold at auction. Uni Kim, a jeweler at Sotheby's, expects the 55.22-carat Estrela de Fura ruby to sell for more than $30 million. The 25.59-carat "Sunrise Ruby" from Myanmar currently holds the world record, selling for $30.3 million at Sotheby's Geneva in May 2015. (CNN)

Middle East-Africa

* UK, US call on Sudan to stop fighting, UN holds emergency meeting. On April 17, the US and UK called for an "immediate end to violence" in Sudan after fighting between the country's army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) left nearly 100 people dead. Fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF over the past two days has killed at least 97 civilians and injured more than 590. The UN Security Council is scheduled to hold a closed-door meeting on April 17 to discuss the situation in Sudan (VNA)

* US kills 1 IS leader in Syria. On April 17, a US helicopter carried out an airstrike on the positions of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization in northeastern Syria. At least 3 people were killed, including 1 person believed to be a senior leader of IS in Syria. Currently, US forces maintain a key mission of defeating IS in Syria and Iraq as part of a campaign to prevent the terrorist organization from regrouping. A week ago, the US conducted an airstrike and captured an IS spy and 2 members of the organization in eastern Syria. (Al Jazeera)

* Massacre in Burkina Faso, more than 80 people were killed and injured. The Burkina Faso government announced that unidentified gunmen killed 40 people and injured 33 others in an attack in the north of the country.

Since 2015, Burkina Faso has been caught in a spiral of jihadist violence that began in Mali and Niger a few years earlier and spread to the country. According to humanitarian organizations, violence in Burkina Faso has claimed the lives of more than 10,000 people in the past seven years (including civilians and soldiers) and displaced about 2 million people. (Reuters)

Chọn Nga bắt đầu chuyến công du sau nhậm chức, Bộ trưởng Quốc phòng Trung Quốc: Quan hệ hai nước ưu việt, đang kề vai sát cánh

Choosing Russia to start his tour after taking office, Chinese Defense Minister: The relationship between the two countries is excellent, standing shoulder to shoulder

On April 16, during his first visit to Moscow since taking office as Chinese Defense Minister, Mr. Li Shang...