Hanoi (VNA) – 2018 is a turbulent year in world events, full of ups and downs. Below are the top 10 world events of 2018 selected by the Vietnam News Agency. 1. A turning point in the Korean Peninsula peace process: President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in (L) and leader of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Kim Jong-un at their meeting in Pyongyang on September 19 (Photo: AFP/VNA) Korean Peninsula affairs recorded a breakthrough change with several historical events taking place in 2018. Inter-Korean summits resumed after a gap of more than a decade, adopting the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula on April 27 and the Pyongyang Joint Declaration on September 20. In addition, the first-ever summit between the US and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was held in Singapore and issued a Joint Declaration on June 12. These events helped turn the situation from the edge of war to dialogue and … [Read more...] about Top 10 world events of 2018
Whatsapp launched year
Youtube rival TikTok announces operations in Vietnam
The Hanoitimes - TikTok became the world’s most downloaded app on Apple’s App Store in the first half of 2018 with an estimated 104 million downloads. Vietnam gathers favorable conditions for Google to set up rep. office Vietnam’s internet economy a “dragon being unleashed”: Google-Temasek Vietnam minister wants local social networks to compete with Facebook, Google TikTok, a social media app for creating and sharing videos as well as live broadcasting developed by China’s Bytedance, has been officially introduced in Vietnam after becoming known for Vietnamese Internet users for a year. Illustrative photo Diep Que Anh, PR manager of TikTok in the Vietnamese market, said that TikTok Singapore has a team of more than 70 staff to support this market and the personnel will amount to hundreds to follow the growing number of users in Vietnam, she noted. “Vietnam sees the fastest growth of TikTok users in the Southeast … [Read more...] about Youtube rival TikTok announces operations in Vietnam
Death by ‘fake news’: social media-fuelled lynchings shock India
The smartphone footage shows the two blood-soaked men pleading for their lives. Moments later they were dead, two more victims of lynchings sparked by rumours spread on Facebook and WhatsApp in India. The two men were young and well-educated. Gregarious, dreadlocked musician Nilotpal Das, 29, and his businessman friend Abhijeet Nath, 30, were both from Guwahati, capital of the northeastern state of Assam. On the fateful day last month when they were beaten to death by a crazed village mob wielding bamboo sticks, machetes, and rocks, the friends were driving back from a day in the country, near a popular waterfall. "He liked to listen to the sounds of nature to find inspiration for his music," his grieving father Gopal Chandra Das, 68, told AFP at their home, the television table in the living room now a shrine to his son. Viral rumours about kidnappers, spread through Facebook and WhatsApp, have led to the lynching deaths of some 20 people in the last two months in India, according to … [Read more...] about Death by ‘fake news’: social media-fuelled lynchings shock India
South Sudan foes ’agree on points’: Khartoum
Viet Nam News KHARTOUM — South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and his arch-foe Riek Machar have "agreed on some points" at peace talks in Khartoum and a deal is to be signed, Sudanese officials said on Tuesday. Authorities in Khartoum said the deal would be signed on Wednesday at the presidential palace in the Sudanese capital, but they did not give details and Machar’s group said the opposition needed more time for a "framework agreement". After East African leaders stepped up calls for an end to a brutal civil war in the world’s youngest country, a new round of Kiir-Machar talks opened on Monday in Khartoum hosted by Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir. "President Salva Kiir and Doctor Riek Machar, in a closed meeting with President Bashir, have agreed on some points," Sudanese Foreign Minister Al-Dierdiry Ahmed told reporters. "The details will be announced tomorrow." Sudan’s External Information Council, a wing of the information ministry … [Read more...] about South Sudan foes ’agree on points’: Khartoum
Asian push to crack down on ‘fake news’ sparks alarm
Inflammatory stories masquerading as real news pose a particularly toxic threat in Asian countries with long-standing religious and ethnic divides, but promises by some regional leaders to tackle the problem carry equal menace. Borrowing from U.S. President Donald Trump's political playbook, government heads with an authoritarian streak are using the mantra of "fake news" to shield themselves from negative media coverage, and push legislation that critics say is aimed more at stifling dissent than punishing fabrication. The problem they profess to be addressing is a genuine one. Internet penetration is now so extensive - even in the poorest areas - that fake stories dressed up as fact can go viral on social media overnight and reach massive audiences with often dire consequences. In India last year, seven people were killed by a mob after a false story spread on WhatsApp that they were child-traffickers. A number of Asian leaders have tapped into the resulting public concern and … [Read more...] about Asian push to crack down on ‘fake news’ sparks alarm