US-Philippines relations are very strong, Sweden "goes home" to NATO, Russia opens consulate general in Maldives

The World & Vietnam Newspaper highlights some notable world news this morning, March 12.

Asia

AP. The alliance between the United States and the Philippines is strong and many American businesses are keen to invest in the Southeast Asian country.

This was the statement of US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo during her official visit to the Philippines from March 11-12. (Source: AP)

AKP. Cambodia places high importance on digital revolution , Prime Minister Hun Manet said at the opening ceremony of the first Digital Government Forum.

MANILA TIMES. The Philippines aims to produce 128,000 professionals in the semiconductor industry, including engineers and technicians, by 2028, President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. said.

BANGKOK POST. The Election Commission (EC) of Thailand has set up centers in all provinces to coordinate preparations for the Senate elections.

THAIGER. Building an AI workforce and creating a large Thai language model are two of the six key projects proposed in the second phase of Thailand's national strategy and action plan on AI.

ANTARA. Heavy rains have triggered floods and landslides in Indonesia's West Sumatra province, killing at least 19 people and leaving seven missing, while forcing more than 70,000 people to evacuate.

YONHAP. Receiving Governor of the US state of Arkansas, Ms. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, President of the Republic of Korea Yoon Suk Yeol hopes that the cooperative relationship between Korea and the state of Arkansas will be deeper in all aspects.

KOREA TIMES. The South Korean Health Ministry has sent a notice of suspension of practice licenses to 4,900 medical interns who went on strike to protest the government's plan to increase enrollment quotas for medical students.

PTI. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the country has successfully conducted the first test launch of an indigenously developed missile capable of carrying multiple warheads.

DHAKA TRIBUNE. Bangladesh has announced an international tender for 24 oil and natural gas exploration blocks in the Bay of Bengal, as it seeks to boost energy production.

XINHUA. Israel has released 56 Palestinian detainees during a recent ground operation in the war-torn territory, according to a statement from the Gaza Strip Border Authority.

ANADOLU. Saudi Arabia's King Salman has called in his Ramadan message to the international community to end "horrific crimes" in Gaza, where the Israel-Hamas war has been raging for more than five months.

Europe

AP. For the first time, the Swedish flag was raised at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, marking the Nordic country's membership in the world's largest military alliance.

With Sweden officially joining NATO, after Finland, all countries bordering the Baltic Sea, except Russia, have become members of this military alliance. (Source: AP)

AFP. Poland wants to negotiate with its NATO allies to increase annual defense spending to 3% of GDP instead of the current 2%, President Andrzej Duda has announced.

REUTERS. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg indirectly rejected French President Emmanuel Macron's statement that Western allies should not rule out deploying troops to Ukraine.

“NATO has no plans to send troops to Ukraine, NATO is not involved in the conflict and neither are NATO allies.” (NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg)

BREITBART. Some European countries that support the continuation of the conflict in Ukraine will change their stance if former US President Donald Trump returns to power in the United States, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.

BELTA. The Belarusian Ministry of Defense announced the start of combat readiness checks of the country's military branches and services.

SIPRI. European countries nearly doubled their arms imports in the five-year period from 2019 to 2023 compared to the previous five years, according to new research from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

INTERFAX. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree to open the Russian Consulate General in the capital of Male, the Republic of Maldives.

GUARDIAN. The British government has pledged £117 million ($150 million) over the next four years to protect Muslim communities amid a rise in Islamophobic incidents.

AFP. Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will consult the parties that won parliamentary seats in the inconclusive general election on March 10 on forming a government from March 12-20.

America

AFP. EU evacuates entire Diplomatic staff have been evacuated from Haiti due to a serious deterioration in the security situation, with armed gangs controlling much of the country's capital.

Điểm tin thế giới sáng 12/3: chương mới của Thụy Điển,

Humanitarian conditions in the Haitian capital are currently extremely precarious as hospitals have been attacked, food supplies are severely lacking and much of the infrastructure is under blockade. (Source: DW)

AP. CARICOM, an alliance of Caribbean nations, has summoned envoys from the United States, France, Canada and the United Nations to a meeting in Jamaica to discuss the violence raging in Haiti.

GUARDIAN. The Panamanian government has accused international aid organizations of abetting the flow of refugees from South America who are walking through the Darién Gap jungle on their way to the United States.

COSTA RICA NEWS. Costa Rica has begun implementing a series of projects to produce electricity from renewable energy sources with a total investment of 540 million USD to achieve its emissions target by 2050, as committed at COP26.

BUENOS AIRES TIMES. Argentina has created a crisis committee to address violence linked to drug gangs in the city of Rosario, the capital of Santa Fe province.

TELESUR. Heavy rains in the Bolivian capital La Paz have forced the city government to declare a state of emergency.

AP. Mexico's Ministry of Health has warned of a possible dengue outbreak, after recording nearly 6,200 cases of dengue in the first two months of this year, an increase of 468.4% compared to the same period in 2023.

Africa

SUDAN TRIBUNE. There will be no ceasefire during Ramadan unless the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) withdraw from residential areas, according to General Yasser al-Atta, a senior Sudanese military official.

SABC NEWS. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has criticised the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party for calling on the US to intervene in the general election in May.

AFRICA NEWS. Libya's three key leaders agree on the "necessity" of forming a new unity government , to oversee presidential and parliamentary elections, provide essential services to citizens...

Oceania

NZ HERALD. Fifty passengers were injured after a "technical problem" caused severe shaking on a LATAM Airlines (Chile) flight from Sydney, Australia, to Auckland, New Zealand.

A merger between Chile's LAN Airlines and Brazil's TAM Airlines, LATAM Airlines is Latin America's largest airline headquartered in Santiago, Chile. (Source: AP)

ABC. The Australian government plans to abolish nearly 500 annoying miscellaneous tariffs from July 1, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has said.

AP. US President Joe Biden signs the Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the leaders of the Pacific nations of Palau, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia in Washington DC

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