Ukraine takes surprise action in Syria, China sets world record, terrorist attack in Iran

World and Vietnam Newspaper highlights some outstanding international events in 24 hours.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (left) shakes hands with the de facto leader of the Syrian interim government in Damascus on December 30. (Source: Ukrainian Foreign Ministry)

Europe

* Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha arrives in Syria and meets with the de facto leader of the Middle Eastern country's interim government Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on December 30.

The visit comes as Kiev tries to establish ties with the interim government in Syria, after President Bashar al-Assad was ousted and fled to Russia.

Although details of the talks were not disclosed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously announced that his country had sent the first batch of humanitarian aid to Syria, including 500 tons of flour. (SANA)

* Russia will maintain a number of measures to ensure predictability in the nuclear missile field with the United States, despite deteriorating relations between the two countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on December 30.

However, he added that due to the current Biden administration's "anti-Russian stance," Moscow will not engage in dialogue on strategic stability or conduct arms control negotiations with Washington until the United States abandons this policy. (Sputnik)

* Georgia expressed readiness to re-establish relations with the United States and expects corresponding steps from the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, according to Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.

Georgia's goal is to re-establish relations with the United States from the ground up to renew the strategic partnership, and the Caucasus country is completely open to this, Kobakhidze said. (TASS)

* Croatia must enter the second round of presidential elections with candidates being President Zoran Milanovic and opponent Dragan Primorac.

Previously, the results of the first round of elections announced by the Croatian National Election Commission showed that Mr. Milanovic won 49.11% of the vote, while his opponent Primorac - a former Minister of Science backed by the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) - received 19.37% support. (DW)

Asia-Pacific

* China has completed the world's longest highway tunnel, the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, paving the way for the opening of a new highway connecting the northern and southern regions of the country's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2025. It is expected that driving time between the two regions will be shortened from about 7 hours to just over 3 hours. (THX)

* Philippine President Romualdez Marcos signed into law the 2025 national budget worth 6.33 trillion pesos ($109.3 billion), a 9.7% increase over the 2024 budget.

According to Mr. Marcos, this budget reflects the government's overall commitment to converting economic gains into long-term growth and the goal of improving the lives of the Filipino people.

* Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan are moving to reopen the border crossing after completing legal procedures, Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubayev said.

The nearly 1,000-km-long border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan has become a conflict zone between residents of the two countries' border regions due to previously undemarcated sections. (Sputnik)

* South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol faces the risk of arrest as an interagency investigation team is seeking a search and arrest warrant for the leader as part of an investigation into the imposition of martial law earlier this month.

The investigation team submitted both search and arrest warrants to the Seoul Western District Court at midnight on December 29. (Yonhap)

* Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar visits Qatar from December 30 to January 1, 2025. The purpose of the visit is to review various aspects of India-Qatar bilateral relations.

During the visit, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar will meet Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani to discuss political, trade, investment, energy, security, culture and people-to-people exchanges, as well as regional and international issues of mutual concern. (NDTV)

Middle East-Africa

* An Israeli court has canceled three hearings scheduled for next week to try Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges.

The decision came after Netanyahu was hospitalized to have his prostate removed. The Jerusalem court announced that Netanyahu's trial is scheduled to resume on January 6, 2025. (Times of Israel)

* Israeli airline El Al has suspended flights to Moscow until the end of March 2025, following the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane en route to Grozny, Russia, that killed 38 people.

Head of the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency Dmitry Yadrov said that the situation in the country's airspace was particularly tense on the day of the accident due to Ukrainian drone attacks on civilian infrastructure in Grozny and Vladikavkaz.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev asserted that the plane was not shot down intentionally in Russian airspace. (Sputnik)

* A suicide terrorist attack in Iran , in the coastal city of Bandar-e Lengeh in Hormozgan province on December 28, killed one policeman. A suspect has been arrested in connection with the incident, while the suicide attacker has died.

On December 29, the separatist jihadist group Ansar al-Furqan claimed responsibility for the attack. (IRNA)

America

* The US announced a $2.5 billion aid package for Ukraine, including $1.25 billion in military aid drawn from US reserves and a $1.22 billion aid package under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).

The aid package will provide a significant amount of ammunition for the NASAMS air defense missile system and the HAWK air defense system, as well as Stinger missiles and 155 mm and 105 mm artillery shells. (Ukrinform)

* Former President Jimmy Carter passed away on December 29 at the age of 100. US President Joe Biden declared January 9 a national day of mourning for the former leader and called on Americans to attend the memorial service. (TASS)

* Canada is committed to continuing to support Ukraine with military, financial, humanitarian and other assistance, according to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on December 29.

The two leaders agreed to call for a transparent and independent investigation into the causes of the recent crash of Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243. (Ukrinform)

* Argentina has referred the case of the officer arrested in Venezuela to all competent authorities to secure his release, according to Argentine Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein.

Corporal Nahuel Gallo, of the Argentine border security force, was arrested by Caracas on December 8 when he went to an immigration office near the Venezuela-Colombia border to request permission to enter Venezuela.

Venezuelan Prosecutor Tarek William Saab accused Gallo of being a member of a group of people who conspired to commit terrorist acts and destabilize Venezuela with the support of international far-right groups. (Sputnik)

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tin-the-gioi-3012-ukraine-co-hanh-dong-bat-ngo-o-syria-trung-quoc-lap-ky-luc-the-gioi-tan-cong-khung-bo-o-iran-299174.html