Xi-Trump phone call: Taiwan and soybeans discussed

Today's news: suicide of three Indian minors in Ghaziabad, online gambling addiction under scrutiny. US oil giant Chevron signs agreement with Syria for offshore oil and gas fields. Islamabad declares operation in Baluchistan over and points finger at India. Passengers' phones checked on Moscow subway.

CHINA-UNITED STATES

Chinese President Xi Jinping had a telephone conversation with Donald Trump yesterday, the first since last November. The US president, who is expected in China in April, announced the phone call on his social network Truth, writing that Beijing is considering significantly increasing its purchases of soybeans grown in the United States. For his part, Xi said that Taiwan is the most important issue in relations between China and the United States and warned Trump to be “cautious” in supplying weapons to the island. However, both leaders reiterated the importance of stable relations between the two powers.

INDIA

India is in shock over the tragic death of three underage sisters who died after jumping from the ninth floor of their apartment building in Ghaziabad in the early hours of yesterday, in what police suspect to be a case linked to “excessive online gaming.” The extreme act was reportedly motivated by a family dispute over their growing addiction to a role-playing game linked to Korean popular culture. In addition to this, investigations so far have indicated social isolation, distorted family dynamics, and financial difficulties that the family was experiencing as the main causes.

SYRIA

US energy giant Chevron has signed a preliminary agreement with Syria and UCC Holding, a Qatari company, to explore oil and gas fields off the country's coast. The energy agreement follows an even larger investment in Syria by Saudi Arabia. Chevron is already active in the eastern Mediterranean, where it operates the giant Leviathan gas field in Israel, which has helped make the country a net gas exporter.

PAKISTAN

Pakistani security forces said they had successfully concluded Operation Radd-ul-Fitna-1 in Baluchistan, with a toll of “216 terrorists killed” during operations lasting several days. Islamabad also acknowledged the deaths of “36 innocent civilians” and 22 of its own security forces, pointing the finger at “Indian-sponsored terrorist elements” to explain the continuing instability in the region bordering Iran.

SOUTH KOREA

Lim Dong-hyun, grandson of Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, recently participated as a speaker at an informational meeting for students at a private school in Daechi-dong, recounting his journey to admission to Seoul National University, the most prestigious university in the country. Offering advice on how to prepare for the Korean College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), he urged students to avoid using smartphones for three years, emphasizing the importance of concentration and discipline in their studies.

RUSSIA

Passengers' phones will be randomly checked in the Moscow metro under new measures decided by the Ministry of Transport, both on platforms and during journeys, in addition to checks at entrances “as necessary,” along with all other security measures. Metro staff will not have the right to issue fines for refusing to turn on phones, but will be able to expel passengers from carriages and stations.

TAJIKISTAN

Tajikistan's Minister of Labor, Solekha Kholmakhamadzoda, presented the Dušanbe government's plans for the “diversification of labor migration,” expanding cooperation with European and Asian countries, with agreements signed with the governments of the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg) and Japan in the sectors of agriculture, construction, social assistance, and medicine, especially for ‘skilled workers’.