South Korea deploys bunker-busting missiles, Russia ready to negotiate with Ukraine, EC creates conditions for increased defense spending

The World and Vietnam Newspaper highlights some notable world news this morning, February 19.

Asia

KYODO. The Japanese government approved new greenhouse gas reduction targets through 2040, along with a revised energy plan and industrial policy.

Under its new climate policy, Japan plans to cut 46 percent of its 2013 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. (Source: Getty Images)

YONHAP. Seoul confirmed that chatbot DeepSeek sent Korean user data to a third party, the Chinese company ByteDance.

KOREA TIMES. South Korea has deployed a new domestically developed bunker-busting missile capable of striking enemy targets underground.

KOREA HERALD. South Korea has discovered that 249 teachers at public and private schools sold mock exams to privateeducational institutions, illegally profiting about 21.3 billion won ($14.7 million) over six years.

THX. The China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) announced a plan to develop about 1,000 world-class scientific journals by 2035.

JAKARTA POST. The Saudi Arabian Embassy in Jakarta, in coordination with the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KS Relief), provided 7,911 food packages to Indonesian people.

BANGKOK POST. Thailand has launched a “Senior Community Cyber Police Club” to provide knowledge to seniors to identify and prevent scams, especially online scams .

STRAITS TIMES. Singapore announced its 2025 National Budget, which includes a number of support packages for people and businesses and stimulus for the economy through large investments.

Each Singaporean household will receive S$800 (about $591) in subsidies from the Community Development Council (CDC) to help offset rising costs.

THE PENINSULA QATAR. A copper mine in central Kazakhstan collapsed, trapping seven workers.

TIMES OF INDIA. India and Qatar upgraded their relationship to a strategic partnership and exchanged several memorandums of understanding focusing on trade, energy, investment, innovation, technology, food security and culture.

Europe

REUTERS. The European Commission (EC) is ready to relax budget rules to facilitate increased defense spending by member states.

The EC's move comes as US President Donald Trump pressures Europe to increase defense funding. (Source: CEPA)

REUTERS. EC President Ursula von der Leyen affirmed that European security is at a turning point, and called for unity in outlining a common strategy.

SPUTNIK. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready for negotiations with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

Responding to a regular press conference, Mr. Peskov emphasized; "President Putin has said many times that if necessary he will negotiate with Mr. Zelensky."

CNN. Russia and the United States have agreed to resolve issues that have hindered bilateral relations and begin developing a roadmap to end the conflict in Ukraine.

AL JAZEERA. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the US-Russia meeting in Saudi Arabia, saying " fair negotiations " needed the participation of Kiev and European countries.

ANADOLU. Turkey has arrested 282 people suspected of being members of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

EURONEWS. The knife-wielding suspect who broke into the Dutch parliament building last week is suspected of preparing to commit a terrorist act , according to Dutch prosecutors.

BARRON'S. A new museum dedicated to archaeological artifacts recovered from the seabed will open in 2026 in the port of Piraeus, near Athens, Greece.

BRUSSELS TIMES. The Belgian environmental organization Bebat has launched the "Mission Possible!" campaign with the aim of collecting 60 million used batteries and accumulators in Wallonia and Brussels.

America

AP. Mexico busts major drug bust in heart of gang territory, seizes 200 kg of methamphetamine

Mexico has announced a series of major drug busts in recent weeks, in a sign of its stepped-up efforts to combat drug trafficking. (Source: The Legal Affair)

AFP. The United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) carry out new drone strikes in Puntland.

REUTERS. A US judge temporarily denied the request. banned the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing student data from the Ministry of Education.

FOX NEWS. xAI - billionaire Elon Musk's artificial intelligence (AI) company revealed the latest version of its chatbot Grok .

According to Mr. Musk, Grok 3 is built to understand the nature of the universe and provide maximum truth, with 10 times more computing power than the previous version.

REUTERS. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has called on Brazilians to join protests planned by the opposition against President Lula da Silva on March 16.

CNN. Argentine President Javier Milei faces a judicial investigation after being accused of fraud related to the promotion of the LIBRA cryptocurrency.

Africa

AFP. The Republican Alliance (Unir), led by Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé, won 34 of 41 seats in the election aimed at converting to a parliamentary system.

Togo's new constitution abolishes universal suffrage for the head of state and establishes a parliamentary system. (Source: Livelaw)

REUTERS. Egypt will host an emergency Arab summit to discuss developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict .

EGYPT TODAY. Egypt has successfully eliminated eight dangerous criminals, including the ringleader who was wanted for 191 years in prison, in the Upper Assiut province.

AFRICAN NEWS. At the 38th General Assembly of the African Union (AU), leaders of the continent passed a resolution calling on the US to lift the economic, financial and trade embargo against Cuba.

Oceania

ABC. New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is set to travel from February 20 to March 2 to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, China, Mongolia and South Korea.

9NEWS. The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut its key interest rate for the first time in more than four years, but warned that global uncertainty could derail its path to easing monetary policy.

EFWA. According to a report released by End Food Waste Australia (EFWA), businesses in this country have reduced food waste by 13% since 2022.

International organization

REUTERS. The United Nations has called on international donors to raise $6 billion to help millions of Sudanese people facing a dire humanitarian crisis.

AFP. EC Vice President and High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas affirmed that Latin American and Caribbean countries are strategic partners of the EU at a "very important moment".

IUCN. Conservation efforts have helped increase rhino numbers in Africa in recent years, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) said.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/diem-tin-the-gioi-sang-192-han-quoc-trien-khai-ten-lua-pha-buongke-nga-san-sa-ng-da-m-phan-ukraine-ec-tao-dieu-kien-tang-chi-tieu-quoc-phong-304726.html