Trump “touches the neck” of Prosecutor Mueller; China elects government positions

1. The Russian presidential seat continues to call Mr. Vladimir Putin's name

Russian President Putin.

As expected, with 76.6% of the votes, exceeding the majority needed to avoid a runoff, Mr. Putin continued to win the election in the race for the Russian presidency for another term.

Since coming to power in Russia on New Year's Eve 1999, Mr. Putin has focused on stabilizing the country and improving the quality of life of Russians after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

As the embodiment of Russia's resurgent power on the world stage, Mr. Putin has won enormous popularity among Russians. More than 30,000 people gathered in Manezh Square next to the Kremlin in temperatures of 10 degrees Celsius (15 degrees Fahrenheit) to await his victory speech.

2. China elects government positions

Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Photo: AP

On the morning of March 19, the first session of the 13th National People's Congress of China held its 7th plenary session to elect government positions.

According to the list nominated by Premier Li Keqiang, the Conference elected Han Zheng, Sun Chunlan, Hu Chunhua and Liu He as Vice Premiers of the State Council. Wei Fenghe, Wang Yong, Wang Yi, Xiao Jie and Zhao Kezhi as State Councilors.

Previously, the 1st Session of the 13th National People's Congress of China also passed the Draft Decision on the Plan for Reforming the State Council's Structure to strengthen the government apparatus to operate more effectively and professionally. It is known that since the reform and opening up, China has carried out 7 reforms of the government apparatus.

3. Japan asks South Korea to arrange a meeting with Kim Jong-un

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Photo: Getty

NewspaperDong-A IlboSouth Korea's Yonhap News Agency quoted a source as saying that Japan has asked South Korea to act as a bridge for talks between Prime Minister Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Neither South Korean nor North Korean officials have commented on Japan's proposal.

The news came less than a week after Japanese media said Tokyo did not rule out the possibility of arranging a Japan-North Korea summit to discuss bilateral issues, and that this could be a sign that relations with North Korea are warming. Meanwhile, North Korea's news agencyKCNAMarch 17 called on Japan to change its tense policy with Pyongyang.

4. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho visits China

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho. Photo: Reuters

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho arrived in Beijing, China, on March 19 to discuss the situation on the Korean peninsula.

China has long advocated a peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue and security on the Korean Peninsula.

Most recently, on March 12, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized that North Korea and South Korea need to increase communication and properly resolve sensitive issues, in the context of a planned summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

5. Criticizing the investigation, President Trump "touches the neck" of Prosecutor Mueller?

Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, former FBI Director and head of the investigation team into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US election. Photo: Tablet Magazine.

A day after it was reported that Mr. Mueller questioned former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, US President Donald Trump criticized former FBI officials, implying partisan bias within the investigation team.

On his personal Twitter page, US President Donald Trump wrote: “Why does Mueller’s team have 13 hard-core Democrats, including strong Crooked Hillary supporters, but no Republicans? The team recently added a Democrat… Does anyone think this is fair? And was there any collusion?”

It seems that this is the first time Mr. Trump has directly named someone he wants to criticize on his personal Twitter page and did not hesitate to mention the name Mueller, who is also a member of the Republican Party.

6.Former South Korean President Lee Myung Bak may be arrested

Mr. Lee Myung Bak arrives at the Seoul prosecutor's office for questioning on March 14. Photo: Reuters

Former President Lee, one of the latest former officials to be caught up in a criminal investigation in South Korea, is being investigated in various cases on suspicion of embezzling millions of dollars.

Yonhap news agency on March 19 quoted the Seoul prosecutor's office investigating the case as saying they had officially sent an arrest request to the court."Each of the charges he faces is so important that it requires a formal arrest. We believe there is a high risk of destroying evidence," a senior prosecutor said, explaining why he wanted the suspect arrested.

The court is expected to make a decision later this week. If the request is approved, Mr. Lee will be the fourth former high-ranking official to be arrested in South Korea's corruption investigation.

7.The former spy case:Russia demands Britain prove or apologize

Russian President's spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Source: TASS

Russian President's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on March 19 that Britain must soon provide evidence for its accusation that Russia was behind the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter or must apologize to Russia.

Speaking at a press conference in Moscow, Mr. Peskov stressed that the British accusations were "incomprehensible, baseless and slanderous."
Previously, Russian President Vladimir Putin also affirmed that the accusations that Moscow was behind the incident in the British city of Salisbury were "baseless" and Russia was ready to cooperate with London to clarify this incident.

8.Rebels shoot down Syrian army Su-24 fighter jet

Russian Su-24 fighter jet.

According to Sputnik, the moment the Su-24 fighter jet believed to be of the Syrian army was shot down appeared in a video posted on Twitter.

The crashed plane fell down at high speed with black smoke trails appearing behind it before plummeting to the ground.

The downed plane crashed in an area controlled by the Syrian army, Al-Masdar news agency reported. However, the pilot's condition is currently unknown.

Also according to Al-Masdar news agency, Jaysh Tahrir al-Sham gunmen previously announced the resumption of attacks on Syrian army positions in the Eastern Qalamoon mountain area.