British Cabinet at Risk of Total Collapse; Trump Cuts Aid to 3 Central American Countries
(Baonghean.vn) - Trump cuts aid to three Central American countries; Nearly 30 million Ukrainian voters go to the polls to elect a new President; Israel reopens two border crossings in Gaza; British Cabinet faces the risk of complete collapse... are the world's top news stories of the past 24 hours.
Nearly 30 million Ukrainian voters go to the polls to elect a new President
|
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (left) votes at a polling station in Kiev. Photo: AFP/TTXVN |
30,000 polling stations in Ukraine opened for voters to elect a new President of the country from 8:00 a.m. on March 31. Nearly 30 million Ukrainian citizens whose names are on the voter list voted for the head of the country from among 39 candidates. The people of this country can vote at 101 polling stations organized in 72 countries, besides Russia. The Central Election Commission of Ukraine has asked nearly 3 million Ukrainians currently living in Russia to exercise their right to vote at polling stations in Georgia, Kazakhstan and Finland.
More than 2,000 official observers from international organizations and foreign countries have registered to observe the election. The Central Election Commission of Ukraine has also rejected the registration of 24 Russian observers. The first round of voting has 39 candidates and the two with the highest number of votes will face off in the second round on April 21.
Trump cuts aid to 3 Central American countries
|
US President Donald Trump. Photo: AP. |
The countries whose aid the US cut were criticized by President Trump for not taking action to stop illegal migration. "We will implement the president's direction to end foreign assistance programs for fiscal years 2017-2018 for Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. We will work with Congress on this process," a US State Department spokesperson said on March 30.
However, the 2018 fiscal year ended a few months ago and the US State Department did not specify how much aid money had not been transferred to these countries, but Washington's move may be purely symbolic.
Israel reopens two Gaza border crossings closed after rocket attack
 |
| Kerem Shalom border crossing in Rafah town, Gaza Strip. Photo: AFP/TTXVN |
Israel reopened two border crossings with the Gaza Strip that had been closed for nearly a week after rocket attacks from the territory into central Israel on March 31. A spokesman for COGAT, the Israeli Defense Ministry's agency in charge of monitoring border crossings, said the Erex crossing for people and the Kerem Shalom crossing for goods were reopened on the morning of March 31.
Previously, on March 25, these two border gates were closed after a rocket attack earlier that day injured seven Israelis and Israel launched airstrikes on Gaza in retaliation.
British cabinet faces complete collapse
 |
| British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at a House of Commons session on the Brexit deal in London, March 29, 2019. Photo: AFP/VNA |
Prime Minister Theresa May's government is facing the risk of "complete collapse" if she continues to fail to get support for her Brexit deal (Britain's exit from the European Union - EU) in parliament. The Sunday Times reported on March 30 that British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing the risk of mass resignations from veteran ministers who are divided over Brexit, depending on the direction she chooses next week.
According to the newspaper, at least six pro-European members of Mrs. May's cabinet will resign if she fails to break the current Brexit deadlock and decides to opt for a no-deal Brexit. However, not only pro-Europeans, at this point, even pro-Brexit ministers are threatening to resign if Mrs. May supports the solution of staying tied to the EU with a customs union or seeking a longer delay for Brexit.
Chilean scientist finds vaccine against virus that causes acute pneumonia
 |
| Photo: diarioeldia.cl |
According to a VNA correspondent in the Americas, a Chilean researcher has successfully developed a vaccine that is "safe and does not cause negative reactions in infants" against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the most common cause of acute pneumonia in young children in the world.
The new vaccine developed by biochemist Dr. Alexis Kalergis of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, who has been researching RVS since 2004, meets international standards of good manufacturing practice (GMP) and he has been granted permission to produce 25,000 doses for the next phase of research. In phase 2, Kalergis and his team must demonstrate the efficacy of the new vaccine at a mass level. If successful, the drug could be widely used in the Chilean health system within 2-4 years.
