EU adds $5 billion to Ukraine, Moldova expels Russian diplomat, US Secretary of State visits Saudi Arabia

The World & Vietnam Newspaper highlights some notable world news this morning, March 20.

Asia

YONHAP. South Korea's domestically developed KF-21 fighter jet successfully conducted its first aerial refueling test on March 19, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced.

A tanker (left) refuels a KF-21 fighter jet (bottom) after the fighter jet took off from an air base in Sacheon, 296 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (Source: Yonhap)

KOREA TIMES. South Korea's Financial Services Commission announced an ambitious plan to provide 420 trillion won ($315 billion) in policy loans to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

JNTO. In February, Japan welcomed 2.79 million visitors , a record high for a month and higher than any month since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.

SCMP. Hong Kong (China) welcomed 7.8 million tourists in the first two months of this year, recovering 73% compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic, of which the number of tourists from Southeast Asia returned to 98% compared to before the pandemic.

MEA. Mr. Vinay Kumar, who has been serving as Ambassador to Myanmar since late 2021, has been appointed as Indian Ambassador to Russia and is expected to take up his new assignment soon.

KPL. The President of Laos signed a decree on restoring the value-added tax (VAT) rate to 10% to support budget revenue and contribute to socio-economic development after more than two years of applying the 7% tax rate.

BANGKOK POST. A team of researchers from Thailand's King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi has developed a technique to convert two types of food waste into fuel equivalent to low-quality coal .

AFP. Pakistan will remain one of the three countries with the highest smog levels in the world in 2023, according to data released by IQAir, a Swiss air monitoring organization, on March 19.

ILO. The Israel-Hamas conflict will wipe out more than 500,000 jobs between October 2023 and January 2024 across the occupied Palestinian territories, according to a report by the International Labor Organization (ILO).

ANADOLU. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on Israeli authorities to ensure unhindered access for humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

AL JAZEERA. Israeli Intelligence Director David Barnea has left Doha, Qatar, but ceasefire talks in the Gaza Strip continue in the country.

Europe

SKY NEWS. The British House of Commons has again failed to pass the Rwanda bill after the government amended some of its provisions.

This new move will make it difficult to implement the plan to transfer illegal immigrants entering the UK by sea to the African country. (Source: British House of Commons)

BBC. British Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden called on countries to unite in response to the risk of artificial intelligence (AI) being exploited for malicious purposes to threaten elections and spread misinformation.

EURO NEWS. The EU is set to impose tariffs on grain imports from Russia and Belarus, a move aimed at placating farmers in the bloc and some member states.

GUARDIAN. The EU Council has approved a plan to provide an additional €5 billion ($5.44 billion) to support the Ukrainian armed forces through the European Peace Fund (EPF).

AFP. Switzerland and the EU have officially launched negotiations to strengthen ties between the trading partners.

X. "We need more protection, namely a real number of air defense systems that our partners possess," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shared on the X network.

FINANCIAL TIMES. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced a 500 billion euro ($542 billion) aid package for Ukraine, including 10,000 rounds of ammunition, and said the United States remained a reliable partner.

AP. Moldova's Foreign Ministry has expelled a Russian diplomat over the opening of polling stations for Russia's presidential election in the breakaway region of Transdniestria.

DW. German authorities have arrested two suspected members of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization plotting to attack the Swedish Parliament building.

LE PAIS. At least six people were killed and three seriously injured when a truck crashed into several vehicles at a police checkpoint on the AP-4 motorway near the city of Seville, southern Spain.

CNN. An MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) lost contact with US soldiers at Miroslawiec base in Poland during a training flight, before making an emergency landing in a deserted area.

America

NBC. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to meet with Saudi Arabian leaders in Jeddah today, March 20, before traveling to Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials.

CNN. US President Joe Biden signed an executive order requiring increased research on women's health, aiming to narrow the gender gap in clinical trials and health care.

BLOOMBERG. US airline United Airlines will update its safety procedures and training for employees following a safety review following a recent incident involving one of its aircraft.

After the Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft of Alaska Airlines (USA) had its door blown off in early January, the issue of aviation safety in the US has received more attention. (Source: Getty Images)

PRENSA LATINA. Hundreds of Cuban and international experts attended the 3rd Patria (Fatherland) Dialogue from March 18-20 in the capital Havana on the occasion of Cuban Press Day (March 14).

CBC. The Canadian Parliament has passed a non-binding motion calling on the international community to work toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

AP. China's General Administration of Customs has granted licenses to 10 Panamanian companies to export beef, pork, chicken, cooking oil and fishmeal to the market of 1.4 billion people, Panama's Ministry of Agricultural Development announced.

FAO. Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Qu Dongyu called on Latin American and Caribbean countries to focus on supporting the most vulnerable population groups so that “no one is left behind”.

TELESUR. Deforestation in Brazil in the first two months of 2024 decreased by 63% compared to the same period last year, according to data from the Amazon Institute for People and the Environment (Imazon).

Africa

NEW ARAB. Libya ordered the "immediate" closure of its main border crossing with Tunisia on March 19 following clashes between armed groups and Libyan security forces.

AFRICA NEWS. A bus carrying students from Kenyatta University, Kenya’s top university , collided with a truck after losing control on a rain-slicked road, killing 11 people and seriously injuring 42 others.

Oceania

ABC. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi co-chaired the 7th Australia-China Diplomatic and Strategic Dialogue in Canberra today, March 20.

WWT. Around 47% of Australians faced extreme weather conditions this summer with record heatwaves, cyclones and severe storms.

JAPAN TIMES. Japan and Pacific island nations, including Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Tonga, will hold their second ministerial-level defense dialogue from March 19-20.

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