North Korea, food crisis: Kim regime calls extraordinary meeting

Today's headlines: China increases the number of coal-fired power plants. New Vietnamese president appointed this week. More than 20 Pakistani migrants drowned off Italian coast. Yemen reopens port controlled by pro-Iranian rebels. Russian stock market and rouble fall sharply.

NORTH KOREA

The North Korean regime has called an extraordinary meeting to address the severe food crisis that has hit the country. Leader Kim Jong-un will chair the plenary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party, which has been in power since the end of World War II. 

CHINA

Despite its commitments to fight climate change, the Chinese government last year approved the construction of the largest number of coal-fired power plants since 2015. A European study reveals that the electrical capacity of the new plants is six times that of the rest of the world as a whole.

VIETNAM

The Vietnamese parliament will meet this week to appoint the country's new president. The role is largely ceremonial: the General Secretary of the Communist Party is the real holder of power. The favourite for the appointment is 52-year-old Vo Van Thuong, the youngest member of the Politburo.

PAKISTAN-ITALY

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has revealed that there are more than 20 Pakistani migrants among the victims of a boat that sank off the southern Italian coast. The small boat had departed from Turkey and also had Iranian and Afghan nationals on board.

YEMEN

For the first time in seven years, a container ship docked at the port of Hodeidah, controlled by pro-Iranian Houthi rebels. The arrival of the commercial ship was part of an agreement between the Shia militias and the government recognised by the international community and supported by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.

RUSSIA

The Russian currency market has fallen sharply since the beginning of the year. This is due to the European oil and gas embargo that is causing Russia to lose up to 500 million roubles a day. The 'strong rouble', which had held up throughout the year, is also falling. Today the exchange rate against the dollar has reached 75.6 roubles and that against the euro 80.74, the highest levels since last April.

GEORGIA-UKRAINE

On the occasion of the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Georgian President Zurabišvili stated that 'the government in Tbilisi has run into a dead end, isolating itself from democratic society and trying to justify an incomprehensible neutralism that is very unbalanced. Fortunately, the Georgian people stand in solidarity with their Ukrainian brothers'.

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