Briefly

VIETNAM

Vo Thi Anh Xuan named acting president

Vietnam's Vice-President Vo Thi Anh Xuan was named as the country's acting president on Thursday, a day after former president Vo Van Thuong resigned, Vietnam News Agency reported. The decision was made at an extraordinary session of the Vietnamese National Assembly, it said. Xuan will serve as the acting president until a new president is elected, the assembly's Standing Committee said. The meeting also relieved Thuong from his duties as president of the 2021-26 term and a 15th tenure's National Assembly deputy.

PORTUGAL

Luis Montenegro appointed new PM

Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced on Wednesday night the appointment of Luis Montenegro, leader of the Social Democratic Party, as the country's new prime minister following political consultations on forming a new government. Montenegro's Democratic Alliance beat the incumbent Socialist Party in the March 10 elections but won just 80 seats, far short of a majority in the 230-seat parliament. The Socialist Party won 78 seats. The new government is expected to assume office on April 2.

CHAD

Clashes between rival communities kill 42

Clashes between two communities in eastern Chad have killed at least 42 people, the public security ministry said on Thursday, in a desert region of the vast Sahel country often hit by land disputes. The ministry did not say exactly who was involved in the fighting or how long it went on, but the area regularly sees clashes between sedentary farmers and nomadic breeders, or other groups, over land. The fighting led to the arrest of 175 people at the scene, where "a large part" of the village of Tileguey in Ouaddai Province was "set on fire by armed men", it said.

EAST EUROPE

Russia says captured another frontline village

Russia's Defense Ministry said on Thursday it had captured another village in the Donetsk region, around 10 kilometers from the strategic stronghold of Avdiivka. "The Russian armed forces liberated the village of Tonenke," it said. It was the second village west of Avdiivka that Moscow claimed to have seized this week, with Russia seeing some recent successes on the battlefield as Kyiv suffers from a shortage of ammunition.

Xinhua - Agencies