Poroshenko accused of election fraud; Indian, Pakistani soldiers exchange fire in Kashmir
(Baonghean.vn) - Indian and Pakistani soldiers exchange fire in Kashmir; North Korea's food reserves are not enough for a year; Ukrainian President Poroshenko is accused of election fraud; Facebook is willing to pay for journalism?... are the world's top news stories of the past 24 hours.
Ukrainian President Poroshenko accused of election fraud
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| Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Photo: Neweasterneurope |
On April 2, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who came in third in the country's presidential election held on March 31, accused current Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko of rigging the election results in his favor.
Speaking at a press conference, Ms. Tymoshenko said that Mr. Poroshenko, who came second in the election with a margin of just under 2 percentage points, had falsified the election results. However, Ms. Tymoshenko affirmed that she would not appeal the election results because she believed that the country's courts were under Mr. Poroshenko's control. Ms. Tymoshenko had been leading in the polls a few months before the election.
Indian, Pakistani soldiers exchange fire in Kashmir, 7 dead
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| Pakistani soldiers monitor Indian soldiers along the Line of Control (LoC), the temporary border between the two countries in the disputed Kashmir region. Photo: AFP |
The fighting left seven people dead, including three Pakistani soldiers and one civilian, and one Indian soldier and two civilians. The gunfight took place in the early hours of April 2, when relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors had only recently eased after a period of heightened tensions in February and early March 2019.
The Pakistani military said Indian militants opened fire on its military positions in the Rakhchakri border town in the disputed Kashmir region, which is under Pakistan's control. The statement also stressed that Pakistani soldiers responded effectively. For its part, India's military accused Pakistan of firing mortar shells into Indian-controlled areas along the disputed border between the two countries.
North Korea's food reserves are not enough for a year
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during a field inspection. Photo:AFP |
Chosun Ilbo quoted South Korean intelligence sources as saying that North Korea is facing a severe food shortage and the country is also lacking foreign currency due to sanctions. According toChosun IlboNorth Korean officials are taking increasingly drastic measures after a summit with the United States in February ended without easing economic sanctions.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) told lawmakers that Kim Jong-un had asked the North Korean Foreign Ministry to declare Pyongyang's severe food shortage to international organizations. According toChosun IlboSome experts estimate that North Korea's foreign currency, food and crude oil reserves will last less than a year.
Brexit deadlock again
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| Protesters protest against Brexit outside the British Parliament building. Photo: Reuters |
The Brexit process continued to fall into a deadlock as British lawmakers failed for the fourth time to find an alternative to Prime Minister Theresa May's divorce deal with the European Union (EU). In an effort to break the deadlock, British lawmakers on April 1 voted for a fourth time on four last-minute alternatives to May's deal. All four options were rejected.
Speaking after announcing the results of the fourth vote, UK Brexit Secretary Steven Barclay said the default option was for Britain to leave the EU on April 12 without a divorce deal, which would be a nightmare for many international businesses.
Facebook ready to pay for journalism?
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| Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg. Photo: Reuters |
Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg has just shared that Facebook is calculating the possibility of paying news organizations to use their quality news for the news section of the world's most popular social network. According to the news site Recode, the CEO of Facebook shared plans for a news tab dedicated to high-quality news that will be added to the company's social networking platform, expected to launch later this year. The Facebook boss also expressed his willingness to pay news organizations for the best quality information.
The Facebook chief shared the new idea more than a year after announcing that Facebook would display less news on its platform. Billionaire Zuckerberg said he wanted to create and have a section on Facebook dedicated to "high-quality news", and possibly pay newspapers to share their information there.