North Korea admits Trump-Kim summit had no results

North Korea admits for first time that Trump-Kim summit had no results

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met US President Trump in Hanoi in late February 2019. Photo:CNN.

"Public opinion at home and abroad is feeling sorry and blaming the US for the second summit not reaching any agreement," the Korean Central News Agency said.KCNAsaid in an editorial on March 8. This is the first time KCNA mentioned that the summit in Hanoi between Chairman Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump on February 28 did not achieve the expected results.

The situation on the Korean peninsula shows signs of becoming more complicated, as South Korean intelligence said North Korea has restored the Sohae satellite launch facility, even though Kim Jong-un agreed to dismantle the test site in 2018. Trump declared that he "would be very disappointed with Chairman Kim" if this information is true.

Many relatives of passengers on the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared exactly 5 years ago, called on the authorities to continue the search activities. Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, carrying 239 passengers and crew, disappeared while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

Malaysia's Transport Ministry said earlier this month that the country would consider resuming the search for the plane if the companies involved in the search come up with reasonable and credible proposals. This is considered the world's most mysterious missing plane case. Over the past five years, more than 30 pieces of debris, believed to be from MH370, have been found along the Indian Ocean coast, but so far only three pieces have been identified as belonging to the ill-fated plane.

39 candidates running for President of Ukraine

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko speaks at a meeting of the Batkivshchyna party in Kiev on January 22, 2019. Photo: AFP/TTXVN

On March 8, the Central Election Commission of Ukraine announced the final list of candidates registered to run in the presidential election on March 31. According to the commission, a total of 39 politicians registered to run, after 5 candidates withdrew from the race. The "heavyweight" candidates who are considered likely to win include current President Petro Poroshenko, leader of the nationalist Batkivshchyna (Motherland) party - former Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko and actor Volodymyr Zelensky, leader of the "Servant of the People" party.

Analysts say the election campaign will be intense and tense due to the current complex economic, social and political situation in Ukraine. Many fear the risk of violence.

French Foreign Ministry fined 450,000 euros for having few women in key positions

The French government has fined the Foreign Ministry 450,000 euros for not appointing enough women to senior positions in 2017. Under a 2012 law on gender equality, senior positions in state agencies, as well as large companies and corporations, must be at least 40% women. In 2017, the French Foreign Ministry's figure was only 29%. The court fined 90,000 euros for each of the five positions that were not filled according to the quota.

A representative of the French Foreign Ministry said that the ministry then made great efforts in 2018 to improve the number of female leadership positions and the rate had reached 39%. The French Ministry of Economy and Finance was also fined 1.7 million euros for not meeting this target.

China officially voices support for Huawei in the war with the US

Speaking at a press conference on March 8 on the sidelines of the annual National People's Congress session, Foreign Minister Wang Yi assessed the recent US decisions regarding Huawei and its Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou as "deliberate political moves." AFP quoted Mr. Wang as emphasizing that the Beijing government supports Huawei in using "legal weapons" to protect its interests and not become "silent lambs."

China will take all necessary steps to resolutely protect the legitimate rights and interests of its enterprises and citizens, according to the Chinese Foreign Minister. However, Mr. Wang did not specify what measures Beijing might take.