South Korea spends more money to keep US troops; France awards first feminist prize
(Baonghean.vn) - South Korea agrees to pay more money to retain US soldiers; France awards its first feminist award; European Parliament mentions the possibility of delaying Brexit; Two high-ranking US officials decide to resign... are the world's outstanding news in the past 24 hours.
South Korea agrees to pay more money to keep US soldiers
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| US servicemen walk outside a shopping mall in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Photo: AFP |
According to Bloomberg News, the US and South Korea have signed a formal agreement that Seoul will pay a cost of 1.04 trillion won ($920 million) in 2019 to maintain the operations of 28,500 US troops in South Korea. The cost in 2018 was 960 billion won. The increased cost that Seoul must pay for 2019 (8.2% compared to the previous year) is part of the requirements from the Donald Trump administration for countries hosting US troops to pay more.
The recently signed agreement on sharing the cost of maintaining the US military in South Korea is only valid for one year. This means that the two sides will soon have to start new negotiations regarding this cost-sharing level.
Two senior US officials decided to resign.
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| US President Donald Trump's communications director, Mr. Bill Shine. Photo: dw.com |
On March 8, the White House announced that Bill Shine, the communications director for US President Donald Trump, had resigned. In the announcement, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said that Bill Shine's resignation had been accepted by the President. However, Bill will continue to support President Trump and his agenda and will serve as a senior advisor in President Trump's 2020 re-election campaign.
On the same day, US officials said that US Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, who is considered the leading candidate to become the next Secretary of Defense, decided to resign after nearly two years to return to work as President of the University of Texas at El Paso, leaving the top position of the Pentagon vacant.
France awards first feminist prize to woman who helps victims of sexual assault
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| Cameroonian social activist Aissa Doumara Ngatansou. Photo: en.rfi.fr |
On International Women's Day, March 8, the French Government awarded the country's first Simone Veil Prize for feminism to Aissa Doumara Ngatansou, a Cameroonian social activist, for her tireless efforts over the past 20 years to help victims of sexual assault or forced marriage. This is the first time the Simone Veil Prize has been awarded. The prize was established to commemorate the late French Minister of Health Simone Veil.
The prize, worth 100,000 euros (about 112,000 USD), was presented to Aissa Doumara Ngatansou by French President Emmanuel Macron at a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Speaking after receiving the award, the activist said she dedicated the prize to "all women who are victims of violence and forced marriages", as well as those who are displaced by conflict in Nigeria.
Venezuela announces cause of widespread power outage |
| Overview of the power outage in the capital Caracas, Venezuela on March 8, 2019. Photo: AFP/TTXVN |
The Venezuelan government accused the sabotage that caused a widespread power outage across the country on March 7 of stemming from an attack on the Automatic Control System (ARDA) at the Guri hydroelectric plant in Bolivar state. According to a VNA correspondent in South America, speaking on national television, Venezuelan Minister of Information and Communications Jorge Rodriguez also accused some extremists in the US and the Venezuelan opposition of being behind the sabotage to cause chaos in the South American country's socio-political situation.
Initial investigations indicate that this was a remote attack on the electronic network of ARDA, a computerized nerve center responsible for controlling 20 generating units in Guri that supply 80% of the electricity consumed in the entire Venezuelan territory.
European Parliament raises possibility of delaying Brexit
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| President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani. Photo: AFP/TTXVN |
On March 9, President of the European Parliament (EP) Antonio Tajani stressed that it is important to prevent Britain from leaving the European Union (EU), also known as Brexit, in a chaotic manner without an agreement. In an interview with the German media group Funke, President Tajani stated: "The problem now is to avoid the biggest mistake - a chaotic Brexit without an agreement", because this situation would be a disaster not only for the British economy but also "hurt the EU". The EP President also affirmed that he would be happy if Britain remained a member of this union.
The EP official also said that it is possible to delay the Brexit deadline by a few weeks, up to the beginning of July. According to him, the UK will need to give a reason for delaying the Brexit deadline, for example, wanting to take advantage of the time to hold a new election or referendum.
