US 'worried' about Russia's nuclear weapons, Syrian army wins big in East Ghouta

1. Does Russia's nuclear deterrence make the US and the West fear it?

US President Donald Trump (right), German Chancellor Angela Merkel (center) and French President Emmanuel Macron (left) meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on July 7, 2017. Photo: Reuters.

Russian President Putin has demonstrated that the West is failing to contain and stop Russia's advances, especially militarily.

US President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron had a phone call on March 2, expressing concern about Russia's "invincible" nuclear arsenal mentioned by President Vladimir Putin in his state of the nation address.

The White House cited a joint statement as saying that “the leaders shared concerns about President Putin’s recent statements on the development of nuclear weapons and agreed that this has affected positive negotiations on a range of issues between Russia and the West.”

2. Fierce fighting in Syria's Afrin, 41 Turkish soldiers killed

Turkish soldiers at a guard post in Afrin on January 29, 2018. Photo: AFP

Turkish officials said 41 soldiers were killed in the Afrin region in northwestern Syria, where Türkiye has been conducting a ground operation against US-backed Kurdish militias for more than a month.

Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli made the announcement in a speech at Istanbul National Defense University. Canikli also said that the Turkish military had taken control of 95 more villages as part of the “Olive Branch” operation in Afrin.

3. Italian Election: The Most Important European Election of 2018

Representatives of three political parties in the 2018 Italian parliamentary election. Photo: Financial Times.

On March 4, Italian voters went to the polls to elect a new Parliament in a general election considered the most important in Europe in 2018.

There are three strong candidates for this year's Italian election race. The first is the Right-wing Alliance, consisting of the center-right Forza Italia (FI) party of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the far-right Northern League (Lega) party and the Italians (FDI) party. Although he had to resign as Prime Minister for nearly 6 years and is now over 80 years old, former Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi has returned to the election race with strong commitments to drastically reduce taxes, increase minimum pensions and provide more benefits for poor families.

4.South Korean President Moon Jae-in appoints special envoy to North Korea

Mr. Suh Hoon (right) and Mr. Chung Eui-yong. Source: Yonhap

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will appoint two top security officials as special envoys to North Korea, the presidential office said on March 4. The trip is expected to promote dialogue between the two Koreas, leading to inter-Korean summit-level talks.

Speaking at a press conference in Seoul on March 4, South Korean Presidential Press Secretary Yoon Young-chan announced that the two special envoys from South Korea to North Korea on March 5 will be National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon and South Korean President Chung Eui-yong, Director of the National Security Office.

5.Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince makes first foreign trip in new position

Crown Prince-Minister Mohammed bin Salman. Photo: BBC.

According to information from the Egyptian Presidential Office, on March 4, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince - Mohammed bin Salman will arrive in Cairo, starting a 3-day visit to this North African country, starting his first foreign trip as Crown Prince.

As planned, the Crown Prince and Minister of Defense of Saudi Arabia will meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to discuss bilateral cooperation, as well as a number of regional and world issues of mutual concern to both countries.

6.SPD agrees to coalition, ending political deadlock in Germany

German Chancellor Merkel. Photo: Telegraph.

In an announcement released on the morning of March 4, the leadership of the German Social Democratic Party SPD said that 78% of the total of more than 460,000 party members participated in the vote and 66% of them approved the coalition agreement with the Christian Democratic Party - CDU and Christian Social Party - CSU to form a new government in Germany.

This information from the SPD party officially paves the way for the re-establishment of the "Grand Coalition" government in Germany because previously, members of the CDU and CSU parties had also approved the agreement with an absolute majority.

7.Iran finds black box of crashed plane carrying 66 people

Debris of the Iranian plane that crashed on February 18. Photo: AFP.

Rescue teams have recovered the black box of a plane that crashed last month in the mountains of southwestern Iran, killing 66 people.

"The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder have been handed over to the judiciary," Reza Jafarzadeh, public relations director of Iran's civil aviation organization, said on March 4, according toAFP.

Jafarzadeh said the two black boxes of the Aseman Airlines ATR-72 were found by rescue teams on March 3 in the Zagros Mountains. The search had been suspended for nearly a week due to bad weather.

8. Artillery and aircraft support, Syrian army wins big in East Ghouta

Smoke rises after an airstrike in Eastern Ghouta, Syria on March 2. Photo: THX/TTXVN

Syrian state media reported on March 4 that the country's military forces have recaptured several villages and towns in a rebel-held area near the capital Damascus, in the biggest advance since the start of a large-scale offensive last month.

Syrian government forces have recaptured at least six villages and towns around Eastern Ghouta, according to Syrian military media.