IN BRIEF (Page 12)

China Daily | Updated: 2019-05-07 07:02

Thailand

New king wraps up three-day coronation

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn greeted thousands of his subjects from a balcony of his Grand Palace on Monday, the third and final day of coronation ceremonies. The king and queen were greeted with a band playing the royal anthem and a 21-gun salute. The monarch and new Queen Suthida waved to a large crowd wearing yellow, the color associated with the king, and waving flags in a royal audience, a day after a grand procession through Bangkok. The three branches of the armed forces saluted the king before the prime minister and crowd chanted, "Long live the king!" The king then met foreign ambassadors and thanked them for their attendance, concluding the coronation ceremonies. The coronation started on Saturday, after a long period of official mourning for the king's revered father, who died in October 2016 having reigned for 70 years.

United Kingdom

Let's make a Brexit deal, May tells Labour

The Conservative government and opposition Labour Party have a duty to strike a compromise Brexit agreement to end months of political deadlock over Britain's exit from the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday. Writing in The Mail on Sunday newspaper, May told Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn: "Let's do a deal." The prospect of a cross-party compromise has alarmed many Conservatives, and May acknowledged that it was "not what I wanted, either". "But we have to find a way to break the deadlock - and I believe the results of the local elections give fresh urgency to this," she wrote. The Conservatives are desperate to move forward after losing hundreds of positions in last week's local authority elections. Labour also suffered losses as voters punished both main parties for the Brexit impasse. The EU has set an October 31 deadline for Britain to finalize details of its exit.

North Macedonia

Pro-Western candidate wins elections

Pro-Western candidate Stevo Pendarovski has won a presidential runoff in North Macedonia, an election official said on Sunday. The incoming president is a candidate of both the governing coalition of Social Democratic Union Party and Democratic Union for Integration, said Oliver Derkovski, the head of the State Election Commission. According to data on the website of the commission, with all ballots counted, Pendarovski won the election with 51.66 percent of the vote in the second round. The outcome of the elections cemented a path toward joining the European Union and the NATO, Pendarovski said.

Reuters - Ap - Xinhua

(China Daily 05/07/2019 page12)