Hot world events in the past 24 hours

1.Iran finds wreckage of plane carrying 66 people

Improved weather helped search and rescue teams reach the scene. Photo: Reuters.

Iranian rescue forces on February 19 found the exact location where the plane carrying 66 people crashed a day after the accident.

According toPress TVIranian search and rescue teams have reached the site where a commercial plane carrying 66 people crashed in the Zagros Mountains in southern Iran. Officials assume all crew and passengers on board the ill-fated plane are dead.

2.Japan and the US affirm cooperation on the North Korea issue

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley. Source: AP

Japan's Foreign Ministry said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley agreed to cooperate more closely on North Korea.

The agreement was reached at a meeting between Mr. Abe and General Milley on February 19 in Tokyo. The two sides agreed on the importance of applying maximum pressure on North Korea to force it to achieve complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization.

3.Philippines arrests Egyptian suspected of being an IS member

Philippine police. Photo: EPA/TTXVN

On February 19, Philippine police announced that authorities had arrested an Egyptian man suspected of being a member of the self-proclaimed "Islamic State" (IS) organization.

According to Philippine National Police chief Ronald Dela Rosa, Fehmi Lassoued was arrested last weekend along with a Filipino woman in a rented room in an apartment complex in Malate, Manila.
In addition, Philippine authorities also confiscated many types of firearms, ammunition, and materials for making homemade explosive devices in this room.

4.IS disguised as Iraqi soldiers, killed 27 militiamen

Iraqi militia in an attack on IS. Photo: IraqiNews.

Islamic State (IS) militants ambushed a Shiite militia group on February 19 and killed at least 27 gunmen, according to...AP.

The Joint Mobilization Forces (PMF), which groups most of Iraq's Shiite militias, said the attack took place last night in the al-Saadounya area, northwest of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, where militiamen were carrying out night raids.

In a statement posted on its Aamaq propaganda website later, IS claimed responsibility for the attack.

5.Russian Foreign Minister: US should not "play with fire" in Syria

US soldiers and military vehicles in Raqqa city, northern Syria. Photo: Reuters

News agencySputnikOn February 19, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed concern about the US actions in Syria. Mr. Lavrov said that the US's goal is to divide Syria, and he accused Washington of using the Kurds to undermine the territorial sovereignty of this Arab Republic.

“Such concerns arise when we are all too aware of the plans that the United States is starting to implement in this hot spot, primarily east of the Euphrates River, on vast territories between this river and the borders with Syria, Iraq and Türkiye,” Lavrov said.

6.Most Australians demand Deputy Prime Minister resign over extramarital affair

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is under pressure to resign over an extramarital affair. Photo: AFP

According to a poll released on February 19, up to two-thirds of Australians asked want Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce to resign after an affair with his former press secretary.

According to information from the Australian newspaper Newspoll, up to 2/3 of voters want Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce - the number 2 person in the government, to resign after an affair with his former press secretary.

Reuters news agency said the poll results showed increasing pressure on a government already riven by the scandal.

7.US Secretary of State "vows" to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table before the bombs fall

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Source: Reuters

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson affirmed on February 19 that the United States will continue diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula until “the first bomb is dropped”.

In the program “60 minutes” of CBS (USA), Secretary of State Tillerson said: “I will use all the time I have left and our diplomatic efforts will continue until the first bomb drops. My job is to never let that bomb drop. And we don’t know exactly how much time is left.”

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