(VOVWORLD) - Steadfast Defender 2024, NATO’s biggest military exercise since the end of the Cold War, began Wednesday with the departure of the USS Gunston Hall from a naval base in Norfolk, Virginia.

(VOVWORLD) -Baghdad on Wednesday protested US airstrikes targeting military positions in Iraq, calling it a violation of Iraq’s territorial sovereignty.

(VOVWORLD) -Russia had to divert an IL-76 transport plane with 80 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board out of danger following the crash on Wednesday of another plane carrying 65 Ukrainian POWs, according to a Russian MP.

(VOVWORLD) -President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife left Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday evening, ending their two-day State visit to Vietnam at the invitation of President Vo Van Thuong and his wife.

(VOVWORLD) - North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles toward the sea off its west coast on Wednesday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

(VOVWORLD) - A Vietnamese diplomat underscored the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire and appealed to the parties concerned to comply with international law, exercise maximum self-restraint, avoid any action that may cause tensions or violence, and create a favorable environment for peaceful dialogue.

(VOVWORLD) -National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue hosted separate receptions in Hanoi on Wednesday for British Ambassador to Vietnam Ian Frew and New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam Tredene Dobson.

(VOVWORLD) -Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse hosted a banquet for diplomatic corps in Vietnam on Wednesday on the occasion of the Lunar New Year (Tet) Festival.

(VOVWORLD) -German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Wednesday visited the Vietnamese-German University in the southern province of Binh Duong as part of his two-day state visit to Vietnam.

(VOVWORLD) -During a phone conversation on Wednesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand Winston Peters expressed satisfaction with the effective and extensive development of the strategic partnership between the two countries.