US-China summit postponed to April; EU “not keen” on pouring money into Syria

The US-China summit will be postponed until April

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) and US President Donald Trump during a meeting in Beijing, China, November 9, 2017. Photo: AFP/ VNA

Bloomberg news agency reported on March 14 that the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to find a solution to the current trade war will not take place this March, and will most likely be held as early as next April.

Bloomberg quoted an anonymous source as saying that negotiators from both sides are trying to negotiate an agreement to resolve the trade dispute between the two countries.

Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi Jinping could meet to sign a formal trade agreement around March 27, possibly at Mr. Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

The European Union is “not interested” in pouring money into Syria.

The Syria Reconstruction Conference on March 14 entered its final day in Brussels, Belgium. With the theme “Supporting the future of Syria and the region”, one of the main goals of this Conference is to mobilize more international assistance to support the Syrian people. In a condition set out at the Conference, the European Union - the largest donor to Syria in recent times - affirmed that this Union will not fund reconstruction unless a political process is initiated in Syria.

International conference in Brussels in an effort to find nearly $9 billion to help Syrian refugees. The United Nations estimates $5.5 billion is needed to help the 5.6 million Syrians forced to flee to countries such as Türkiye, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. $3.3 billion to help Syrians living inside the country.

US and Poland negotiate plans to increase military presence

US military forces.

Defense One news site quoted Acting US Assistant Secretary of Defense Catherine Wilbarger as saying that the US and Poland are negotiating to deploy more US troops permanently in Poland. According to the source, on March 13, US Deputy Secretary of Defense John Rude held a meeting with Polish officials in Warsaw to discuss the establishment of a permanent US base in the country.

The US currently has about 4,500 troops stationed in Poland under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Polish government wants the US to open a permanent military base on its territory, but has been repeatedly refused by Washington.

Singapore-Malaysia agree to return to original port boundary

Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and his Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah at a press conference on March 14, 2019. Photo: channelnewsasia.com

According to Kyodo, on March 14, Singapore and Malaysia took steps to ease maritime tensions by agreeing to return to the original port boundaries between the two countries.

According to a joint statement issued after a meeting between Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and his Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah in the administrative capital Putrajaya, the two countries agreed to "mutually suspend the enforcement of their overlapping port boundaries." The two countries will temporarily return to the status quo they had before tensions flared late last year.

On March 14, three Norwegian lawmakers nominated Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish schoolgirl who has participated in many campaigns against climate change, for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize. Speaking to the press, MP Freddy Andre Ovstegard said: "We nominated Greta Thunberg because if we do nothing to stop climate change, it will cause war, conflict and refugees. Greta Thunberg has launched a mass movement that I consider a great contribution to peace."

Eight months ago, on a Friday, Greta Thunberg (then 15 years old) skipped school and sat in front of the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm to demand the Swedish government take timely action to stop global warming. Her actions went viral and now have become a worldwide movement #FridaysForFuture.