News in Brief -(20-03-2019)

FE Team | Published: March 19, 2019 21:45:51

Pro-Thaksin candidates adopt
his name in Thai election
PHIMAI, Mar 19: It's election season in Thailand and a campaign truck is rolling at the crack of dawn through the streets of the northeastern town of Phimai, blaring the slogan "Vote Thaksin, Get Thaksin." It's a bit disconcerting, since the Thaksin everyone in Thailand knows is former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted by a 2006 military coup and living in self-imposed exile since 2008 to avoid serving a prison term for a conviction on a conflict of interest charge. — AP
Dengue leaves nine dead in Honduras
TEGUCIGALPA, Mar 19: At least nine people have died in Honduras this year from severe dengue fever, the Ministry of Health said on Monday. "We have 14 reported deaths, but of those only nine have been confirmed through laboratory tests," said Edith Rodriguez, head of surveillance of the ministry. The majority of the cases are in the department of Cortes in the northwestern of the country.—Xinhua
Taiwan, US plan new talks this year
TAIWAN, Mar 19: Taiwan and the US will hold talks later this year as part of efforts to counter growing pressure from Beijing to force the island into political unification with mainland China. The United States recognizes China diplomatically, but under President Donald Trump has stepped up 40 years of informal ties with Taiwan. China and the U.S. are currently enmeshed in a dispute over trade and tariffs. — AP
Pramod Sawant takes oath
as Goa chief minister
NEW DELHI, Mar 19: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Pramod Sawant was early Tuesday sworn in as the new chief minister of western Indian state of Goa, officials said. Sawant succeeds Manohar Parrikar, who passed away on Sunday following a prolonged illness. Goa Governor Mridula Sinha administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 46-year-old Sawant. — Xinhua
Australian PM pushes for regulation of ‘ungoverned’ social media
CANBERRA, Mar 19: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will lead a push for the G20 to bring order to "ungoverned" social media platforms. In a letter to G20 Chairman Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, published by News Corp Australia on Tuesday, Morrison asked for social media governance to be made the top priority at the next meeting of world leaders in June. — Xinhua
Chechnya human rights
defender gets jail term
GROZNY, Mar 19: A court in Chechnya has sentenced a human rights defender, Oyub Titiev, to four years in prison after he was found guilty of drug possession. Relatives and activists have said the charges against the head of the Chechnya branch of Russia's main human rights organisation Memorial are absurd and fabricated. — Al Jazeera
28 unexploded war bombs
found at Mongolia border
HOHHOT, Mar 19: A total of 28 unexploded bombs believed to be left by troops engaging in a 1939 war were discovered in areas near the China-Mongolia border, police said on Tuesday. Border police of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region found the rusted bombs, all 57-cm long and 14 cm in diameter, while patrolling the border. They have been transported to a storage place and will be destroyed. — AP
Jordan campaigns to combat drug addiction
AMMAN, Mar 19: Issam was reduced to tears recounting his life as a drug addict, as Jordanian authorities press an unprecedented campaign in the Muslim-majority country where substance abuse remains taboo. — AP