* German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the agreement reached at the United Nations climate talks COP24 in Katowice as "an important signal for multilateralism", government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in Berlin on December 17. * Russia's nuclear triad has grown significantly stronger and it is necessary to further strengthen the potential of its strategic nuclear forces next year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday (December 18). * The Republic of Korea and the United States will have a working-group meeting this week in Seoul ahead of the groundbreaking ceremony next week for the inter-Korean railway and road connection, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. * Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs announced on December 17 that the Infrastructure Protection Act (IPA), which is part of the city-state's counter-terrorism strategy, will take effect from December 18. * The Indonesian police has stepped up security measures to prevent terrorist attacks during the Christmas … [Read more...] about World News in Brief: December 18
December 17
VN-Index losses 18 points on December 17
Illustrative image (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Under selling pressure from the beginning of the session, the VN-Index was down by over 18.39 points at the end of December 17 from the previous day, ending up at 933.65 points. The transaction volume reached 255.17 million shares with a total value of more than 3.54 trillion VND (152.22 million USD). Upturn was recorded in the prices of 66 codes, while the prices of 44 others were unchanged, and 231 codes down. The HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) decreased 1.64 points to 105.01 points, with more than 40 million shares traded for over 540.1 billion VND. At the same time, the price of VIC suffered a slight drop of 0.2 percent, while that of VHM lost 2.9 percent. In the VN30 basket, as many as 26 codes went down, while only two others – DHG and PNJ – had increased. The sharpest fall was seen in the prices of MSN with 4.1 percent, followed by HSG with 3.4 percent, and HPG with 3.3 percent. The prices of the … [Read more...] about VN-Index losses 18 points on December 17
World News in Brief: December 17
* A powerful quake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale rocked Papua province in eastern Indonesia on December 16, but did not trigger potential for tsunami, the meteorology and geophysics agency of Indonesia disclosed in Jakarta. * British business minister Greg Clark said that a second Brexit referendum would increase uncertainty for the country and his preference would be for parliament to back Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal. * The Republic of Korea (RoK)'s military on December 17 confirmed the disablement of 11 guard posts of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) after the on-site verification works last week. * Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Union Minister for International Cooperation of Myanmar U Kyaw Tin in Luang Prabang, Laos, on December 16, with both sides agreeing to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation at all sectors. * At the foreign ministers' meeting on December 16 at the … [Read more...] about World News in Brief: December 17
What’s on December 17-23 (Daily updated)
MUSIC & PERFORMANCES Hanoi-Hanoi New Music Festival 2018 Dec 16 – 21 With the theme “Make a silence”, the festival this year will have three different parts: – The 4-DAY SYMPOSIUM: The 4-day symposium will have the respective 4 themes: Evolving Heritage; Technology On The Move; Post-colonial impact in music education and the context of music-politicization in South East Asia; Academia and non-academia. – 6 CONCERTs & PERFORMANCEs: The clash of academic and non-academic, where musical personalities from five different forms of music and performances are displayed. – 4 NIGHT CLUBs: Organised after 22:30, this will be space for artists to break all the rules in music, this promises to be the land of absolute freedom! For more information, visit: http://hanoinewmusicfestival.com/2018/ Hanoi-Contemporary Classical Concert “Taste of Time” Dec 17, 8 pm, L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street Featuring 7 distinctive … [Read more...] about What’s on December 17-23 (Daily updated)
World News in Brief: December 14
* The Republic of Korea (RoK)'s unification ministry said Friday the country was in close consultations with the United States and the United Nations (UN) to get sanctions exemptions for the groundbreaking ceremony later this month for the inter-Korean railway and road connection project. * Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on December 14 that some persons close to Saudi Arabia's crown prince assumed an active role in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. * China and Japan will hold their 10th round of high-level consultations on maritime affairs from December 17 to 18 in Wuzhen of east China's Zhejiang Province, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday. * Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 13 signed a degree to move the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District (FEFD) from Khabarovsk to Vladivostok, the Kremlin said in a statement. * Visiting North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Deputy Secretary Rose Gottemoeller on December 14 … [Read more...] about World News in Brief: December 14