Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, Jan. 18

DAVOS, Switzerland– United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for bridging the divides plaguing the world and restoring trust in his address at the World Economic Annual Meeting 2023 here. Making the remarks to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting, Mohammad Eslami, president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran,…

DAVOS, Switzerland — United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for bridging the divides plaguing the world and restoring trust in his address at the World Economic (WEF) Annual Meeting 2023 here.

The world faces interlinked challenges and “the gravest levels of geopolitical division and mistrust in generations,” he said, noting that “we need to bridge all these divides and restore trust.” (Switzerland-UN-Chief)

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TEHRAN — The Iranian nuclear chief on Wednesday stressed that there is no undeclared nuclear activity or site in Iran, according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency.

Making the remarks to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting, Mohammad Eslami, president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has also announced the same thing repeatedly. (Iran-IAEA-Nuclear)

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HANOI — Vietnamese Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan was named as the acting president on Wednesday, a day after former President Nguyen Xuan Phuc resigned, the official Vietnam News Agency reported.

Vuong Dinh Hue, chairman of Vietnam’s National Assembly (NA), signed an announcement on behalf of the NA’s Standing Committee about the new position of Xuan during an extraordinary meeting of the 15th NA held on Wednesday, it said. (Vietnam-Acting President-Appointment)

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KIEV — A helicopter crashed near Kiev on Wednesday morning, killing at least 16 people, including Ukraine’s Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky.

The crash in Brovary, a town in the suburbs of Kiev, also killed Monastyrsky’s deputy Yevhen Yenin while injuring 30 others, said the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. (Russia-Ukraine-Conflict) Enditem