US, North Korea will stop conflict and confrontation; Thailand holds early voting
(Baonghean.vn) - Flash floods in Indonesia killed at least 63 people; the US and North Korea will not return to the days of conflict and confrontation; Thailand held early voting at 395 polling stations; Venezuelan opposition leader launched a "new phase" to overthrow the President... are the world's outstanding news in the past 24 hours.
EU reaffirms non-recognition of Crimea referendum results
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| EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. Photo: THX/TTXVN |
Sputnik reported that the European Union (EU) has issued a statement regarding the 5th anniversary of the referendum in Crimea, reaffirming its policy of not recognizing the results of the referendum and applying additional sanctions against the Russian Federation.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini stressed: "The EU remains fully committed to the non-recognition policy of Crimea, including sanctions. The EU once again calls on UN Member States to consider adopting similar non-recognition measures in accordance with General Assembly resolution 68/262."
Venezuelan opposition leader launches “new phase” to overthrow president
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| Opposition leader Juan Guaido. Photo: AP. |
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has announced a “new phase” in his bid to overthrow Venezuelan President Maduro, including a tour of the country before seizing the presidential palace. The opposition leader and self-proclaimed president also called on the public to support what he called “Operation Freedom.”
Venezuela suffered a massive cyberattack this week that knocked out the country's electricity supply, sparking social unrest. However, electricity and water services have now been restored. President Maduro also signed a decree creating a special military force responsible for protecting and supporting electricity and water plants.
The US and North Korea will not return to the days of conflict and confrontation.
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| North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (2nd right) and US President Donald Trump (3rd left) during their meeting in Hanoi on February 28. Photo: AFP/TTXVN |
According to Yonhap news agency, a senior official of the South Korean Presidential Office said on March 17 that the US and North Korea have made a lot of progress in nuclear negotiations over the past year, so the two countries will not return to the state they were in before the negotiations began.
A VNA reporter in Seoul quoted the above source as saying that the above viewpoint was given in the context of public insecurity when North Korea threatened to abandon nuclear negotiations with Washington after the second US-North Korea summit last month failed to reach an agreement.
Flash floods in Indonesia kill at least 63 people
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| Rescue work and search for victims' bodies continue. Photo: AP |
The death toll is expected to rise as rescuers continue to search for survivors in the town of Sentani, which was hit by floods on March 16. Flash floods in Sentani, triggered by heavy rains and landslides, have killed at least 63 people and injured 59, with dozens of houses damaged, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster Agency.
According to Mr. Sutopo, about 4,000 people are taking shelter at government offices after their homes were swept away by the flood. Tents have also been set up to provide temporary shelter and treatment for the injured.
Many Syrian civilians killed after coalition airstrikes
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| Smoke rises after shelling targeted a stronghold of the self-proclaimed Islamic State group in Baghouz, eastern Deir Ezzor province, Syria on March 9, 2019. Photo: AFP/TTXVN |
A large number of civilians, mostly women and children, were killed in an airstrike by the US-led coalition in eastern Syria, the official Syrian news agency SANA reported, citing local sources. According to SANA, US-led coalition warplanes bombed the Baghouz refugee camp in the eastern Syrian province of Dayr al-Zawr, causing many casualties.
Recently, the US-led coalition has increased airstrikes in the town of Baghouz, which is believed to be the last stronghold of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) in Syria.
Thailand holds early voting at 395 polling stations nationwide.
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| Voters cast early ballots at a polling station in Bangkok, Thailand, March 17. Photo: AFP/TTXVN |
On March 17, the Kingdom of Thailand held an election for about 2.6 million voters who registered to vote early a week before the official general election. In the past, early voting was often of little interest, but today, the election atmosphere was very bustling. This proves that the interest of Thai voters in exercising their rights and obligations as citizens through their votes has been raised much higher than in previous elections. On March 24, more than 51 million voters are eligible to participate in the much-anticipated general election, of which it is estimated that about 7 million will be voting for the first time.
Thai voters last went to the polls in early 2014, but anti-government street protesters blocked the general election by besieging polling stations. The results were later annulled on legal grounds.
