A massive military parade is taking place through Ho Chi Minh City to honor the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. After decades of fighting, North Vietnamese forces eventually captured the city in 1975, formally known as Saigon.
Joint airstrikes by American and British forces have been conducted near Yemen’s capital Sanaa, allegedly targeting what British authorities claim are Houthi armed group drone factories.
The UK offered a detailed justification for the start of the strike on Wednesday morning, in contrast to the US, which only provided a few details about the hundreds of strikes it has carried out since March 15 when it first launched its renewed campaign.
The British Ministry of Defence claims that the strikes, which took place overnight, took place 24 kilometers (15 miles) south of Sanaa and hit buildings that had been identified by UK intelligence as being used to manufacture drones.
No details were given, but the ministry claimed the operation was intended to reduce casualties for civilians.
The US has not yet made a comment on the joint operation, despite having repeatedly attacked Houthi targets in the past month.
As long as they continue to target shipping in the Red Sea, US President Donald Trump ordered the military to launch “decisive and powerful” strikes on the Houthis in mid-March.
The strikes have “killed Houthi fighters and leaders… and degrading their capabilities,” according to the Pentagon, which have hit more than 1, 000 targets across Yemen since then.
However, more people are concerned about casualties in the military.
68 people were killed when a recent US strike hit a detention facility housing African migrants, according to Houthi-affiliated media.
In addition, Sanaa-based rights organization Mwatana for Human Rights claims to have found hundreds of additional civilian casualties in recent US attacks.
Yemeni civilians have been the targets of arbitrary and disproportionate attacks by warring parties for more than ten years, according to Mwatana chairwoman Radhya al-Mutawakel.
They now find themselves potential targets of US forces’ attacks, she continued, “at a time when they were hoping to see an end to this bloody chapter of their lives.”
The Pentagon is aware of claims of civilian casualties from the strike from Monday, according to an unnamed US defense official who spoke to Reuters.
Tropical fruits like bananas (one percent domestically grown), pineapples (10 percent), and avocados (10 percent) are primarily imported from countries like Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Mexico, while the majority of apples (95 percent) and oranges (80 percent) are grown domestically, particularly in the US states of Washington, California, and Florida.
Similar to corn (99%), potatoes (95%), pumpkins (95%), and beans (88%), mostly grown in the US, particularly in states like Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, and Nebraska.
Iowa and Illinois lead in corn and soybean production, while Idaho excels in potatoes, two of these states are renowned for their extensive agricultural output. Only one-third of the tomatoes consumed in the US are domesticated, with Mexico accounting for the majority of the production.
Although some rice and specialty grains are imported, the majority of the country’s staple products, such as sugar (70%) and wheat (80-90%), are produced in the US.
The majority of meat is raised in the US, particularly in Texas, Nebraska, Kansas, Georgia, and Arkansas, which are known for their large-scale livestock farming operations, especially beef (90%), and poultry (95%), respectively. In the US, eggs and cheese are primarily produced there (95%), and cheese is a major product.
At least two-thirds of the seafood consumed in the US is imported from countries like China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Canada, while the rest is produced either wild-caught or farmed.
Because of the climate’s prohibitive cultivation, only about 1% of the tea and coffee consumed in the US are domestically grown. Tea is primarily imported from China, India, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Brazil, Colombia, Vietnam, and Ethiopia, while tea is also imported from China, India, Sri Lanka, and Kenya.
The majority of soda is produced domestically, or 90%. The US market is dominated by major players like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Keurig Dr Pepper, each with its own number of factories.
In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam celebrated the end of its war with the United States by hosting a grand military parade that included thousands of Vietnamese and sang patriotic songs.
The country’s reunification took place on April 30, 1975, when communist-led North Vietnam seized Saigon, the country’s capital, and gave its new name, Ho Chi Minh City, in honor of its founding leader, on April 30.
As fighter jets and helicopters carrying red flags flew overhead, a lotus-shaped float carrying a portrait of Ho Chi Minh was close to the start of the show.
According to Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng, who was reporting from the city, thousands of people stayed overnight in the streets to get the best view of the parade, which was both a day of mournful reflection and a day of celebration.
Veteran, 75, Tran Van Truong, who had traveled from the capital, Hanoi, to see the parade, said, “I am proud of having contributed to the liberation of the south.”
Truong told the AFP news agency, “But what’s gone is gone is gone, I have no hatred for those on the other side of the battle.” We should “raise our hands to applaud the war’s conclusion.”
More than 300 soldiers from China, Laos, and Cambodia also took part in the event for the first time.
According to state media, more than 300,000 Chinese soldiers participated in the bloody conflict, providing essential anti-aircraft defense support and providing logistics and supplies.
According to Zach Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington with a focus on Southeast Asian politics, “Hanoi is signaling to China that they recognize its historical contribution.” They can also use this as a signal that “Don’t think our foreign policy is leaning in favor of Americans.”
Vietnam and the US have diplomatic ties dating back 30 years.
Vietnam’s relationship with the US became the most effective diplomatic relationship it can have with any nation, and it also has the same level of relations as China and Russia.
However, President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs and the cancellation of significant foreign aid, which have had an impact on Vietnam’s efforts to end war, have caused the relationship with Washington to deteriorate.
Existing weapons and unexploded ammunition are still a threat to lives in the countryside as a result of Agent Orange contamination. Due to the administration’s extensive cuts to USAID, those projects’ future is now in jeopardy.
Jamal Murray scored 24 of his game-high 43 points in the second half, and the hosts Denver Nuggets pushed the Los Angeles Clippers to the brink of elimination with a 131-115 win in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round series.
Denver have won the past two games to take a 3-2 lead in the first-round matchup. Game 6 is on Thursday night in Los Angeles.
Murray scored 11 points in a momentum-turning third quarter on Tuesday night and added 13 more in the fourth, the last on a 3-pointer with 2 minutes 13 seconds left that put the Nuggets up by 20.
Nikola Jokic had 13 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds – his third triple-double of the series – for the Nuggets, who never trailed. They led by 22 in the fourth quarter for the second straight game, but unlike Saturday, they did not give away the entire lead.
The Clippers used a 17-4 run to get within 116-107 with 4:01 left, but Aaron Gordon hit a lay-up, Murray made a free throw after a transition foul and then a fallaway jumper, and Gordon drained a 3-pointer to seal it.
Russell Westbrook, who missed Game 4 with a foot injury, scored 21 points off the Denver bench. Gordon had 23 points, Michael Porter Jr contributed 14 points, and Christian Braun had 11 points and 12 rebounds.
The Nuggets shot 17-for-33 (51.5 percent) from 3-point range.
Los Angeles’ James Harden was held to 11 points on 3-for-9 shooting, but Kawhi Leonard had 20 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and Ivica Zubac added 27 points.
Porter opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer and a three-point play, Murray drained one from deep and fed Westbrook for a 12-footer to make it 110-88 before Los Angeles closed within nine.
Murray and Porter hit 3-pointers to prompt a 10-2 run at the start of the third quarter, and the Nuggets went ahead 84-67 midway through the period.
The Clippers scored seven points in 43 seconds to get within 88-80, but Braun’s 3-pointer made it 99-83 heading into the fourth.
Denver won Game 4 101-99 at Los Angeles on Sunday when Gordon sensationally dunked the ball at the buzzer.
The Indiana Pacers and the Boston Celtics became the latest teams to book their places in the second round of the NBA playoffs on Tuesday as the Detroit Pistons thwarted the New York Knicks to keep their postseason hopes alive.
In Indianapolis, the Pacers battled back from a 20-point deficit and then rallied again in overtime to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 119-118 and seal a 4-1 victory in their NBA Eastern Conference duel.
The reigning NBA champions Celtics had an easier time of it as they overpowered the Orlando Magic with a series-clinching 120-89 victory at Boston’s TD Garden.
The Knicks, leading their series 3-1, missed the chance to join Boston and Indiana in the second round after losing 106-103 to Detroit at Madison Square Garden.
The Pacers advanced to an Eastern Conference semifinal series with top seeds Cleveland after pulling off a remarkable overtime Houdini act.
The Pacers trailed 118-111 with 40 seconds remaining but launched an 8-0 run that culminated with Tyrese Haliburton’s driving layup to clinch victory with 1.3 seconds left on the clock.
A late blunder by Milwaukee’s Gary Trent Jr, who fumbled a wide-open pass to turn over possession and set up Haliburton’s winning layup, proved pivotal.
“Both teams literally left every single ounce of everything they had out there, including timeouts – nobody had anything left,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.
“But you know, fortune favours the bold. And our guys were bold in the last three quarters, and we’re very grateful and thankful to be moving on.”
According to South Korean lawmakers, about 600 North Korean soldiers have died fighting in Ukraine, according to intelligence officials.
Lee Seong-kweun and Kim Byung-kee told reporters that an estimated 4,700 North Koreans have been killed or injured so far in the war after a closed-door briefing by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) on Wednesday.
Two days after Pyongyang revealed for the first time that it had sent troops to Russia in support of Moscow’s war, Lee and Kim, who co-chair the legislature’s intelligence committee, made their remarks.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was quoted as saying in a report from the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Monday that he had ordered the deployment of troops to “annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk area in cooperation with the Russian armed forces.”
The spy agency’s alleged claim that about 300 North Korean soldiers were killed in the conflict increased significantly from the NIS’s briefing to lawmakers in January.
According to the NIS, Lee and Kim, who represent the conservative People Power Party and the liberal Democratic Party, have deployed about 15, 000 soldiers overall.
Additionally, the lawmakers noted that Pyongyang may have received assistance from other countries in the form of drones, electronic warfare equipment, and SA-22 surface-to-air missiles.