British Prime Minister Faces No-Confidence Vote; Philippines Extends Martial Law in Mindanao

British Prime Minister faces vote of no confidence

Prime Minister Theresa May's leadership is increasingly being questioned from within and outside the ruling party because of the Brexit process - Photo: Reuters

On December 12, MPs of the British Conservative Party initiated a vote of no confidence within the party against Mrs. May - the current Prime Minister and Party Chairwoman, in the context of the UK's exit from the EU (Brexit) process falling into chaos. Mr. Graham Brady, Chairman of the Conservative Party's 1922 Committee, said the vote will be held from 6pm to 8pm on December 12 (London time) at the headquarters of the British House of Commons. The votes will be counted immediately afterwards, the final results will be officially announced on the night of December 12, which is early tomorrow morning Vietnam time.

Theresa May will lose her party leadership and her position as prime minister if 158 of 315 Conservative MPs vote no confidence in her. If the result is unfavorable to May, the UK will have to delay the Brexit process, according to UK Justice Secretary David Gauke.

Two Koreas complete verification of destruction of guard posts at DMZ

A North Korean guard post in the DMZ was destroyed on November 20, 2018. Photo: Yonhap/TTXVN

South Korea and North Korea have completed the verification process of the destruction of guard posts in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). In a statement to the press on December 12, the South Korean Ministry of National Defense stated that 11 inspection teams from North Korea had completed the verification of the destruction of 11 South Korean guard posts on the southern side of the DMZ and crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) to return to Pyongyang at around 4:53 p.m. local time (around 2:53 p.m. Vietnam time).

Earlier that morning, South Korea also sent 11 teams, each consisting of 7 inspectors, to verify on-site the dismantling of weapons and withdrawal of troops at 11 guard posts on the North Korean side. These teams crossed the MDL through newly opened roads connecting the guard posts of the two sides.

Is China's Ministry of Public Security behind the arrest of Canadian citizens?

Michael Kovrig was arrested in China after Canada arrested Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou - Photo: AFP

The International Crisis Group has accused Chinese state security of being behind the arrest of former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig in Beijing on Monday night. According to Reuters, Michael Kovrig works for the International Crisis Group (ICG) as a senior adviser on Northeast Asia.

Also on December 12, the Chinese Foreign Ministry informed that Canadian citizen Michael Kovrig may have violated China's foreign non-governmental organization (NGO) law because he worked for the ICG but the organization was not registered. However, Mr. Kovrig "disappeared" just 9 days after the arrest of Huawei's CFO, Ms. Meng Wanzhou, in Canada, which shocked the world, causing public opinion to raise questions. It can be said that Canada, and behind it the United States, has angered Beijing. Last weekend, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Le Yucheng summoned Canadian Ambassador John MacCallum to warn of "serious consequences".

Yemen peace talks make little progress

Negotiations between the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels in Sweden have continued for the past week, but have made little progress. The talks between the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels in Sweden focused on a prisoner exchange, consultations on thorny issues such as the status of the port city of Hodeidah, and the reopening of Sanaa airport, in an effort to build trust between the warring parties in Yemen.

The biggest breakthrough at the talks was the exchange of lists of 15,000 prisoners by both sides. The prisoner exchange will take place via the Houthi-controlled Sanaa airport in northern Yemen and the government-controlled Sayun airport in the south. The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross will oversee the process. Aside from this one bright spot, the Yemen peace talks have yet to resolve major sticking points such as a ceasefire in the port of Hodeidah and the reopening of Sanaa airport.

Philippines extends martial law in Mindanao

Philippine soldiers in the Marawi area, Mindanao. Photo: AFP/VNA

On December 12, the Philippine Congress approved the extension of martial law in Mindanao island for another 12 months after President Rodrigo Duterte proposed tighter security measures to prevent radical Islamic groups from returning to the southern region.

With 235 votes in favor and 28 against, Philippine lawmakers approved the extension of martial law in Mindanao until the end of 2019. This is the third time the Philippines has had to extend this status in Mindanao. Previously, martial law was declared in Mindanao on May 23, 2017, when terrorists from the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups attacked the city of Marawi. Under the 1987 Constitution, martial law is effective for 60 days, but at the request of President Duterte, Congress extended martial law until December 31, 2017.

Two more Japanese medical schools admit to discriminating against female students

Protesters protest against gender discrimination policies at Tokyo Medical University - Photo: SHUTTERSTOCK

Months after Japan Medical University was exposed for manipulating exam scores to disqualify female applicants, two more universities in the country have admitted to similar gender discrimination. According to the Guardian (UK), Juntendo University and Kitasato University (both in Tokyo) recently admitted to setting lower admission scores for male applicants than for female applicants to ensure that enough male graduates continue to pursue medical careers.

At first, Juntendo and many other universities insisted that they did not have a policy of discrimination against women and refused to admit that their admission policies were problematic. Only after the irrefutable conclusions of independent investigators did they admit their mistakes.