March 13, Monday, 2023 (1:30 p.m.) Newsline

1. Nobel Prize-winning Japanese novelist Oe Kenzaburo died of old age on March 3. He was 88. Oe won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1994, becoming the second Japanese author to receive the honor after Kawabata Yasunari.
2. China’s President Xi Jinping has reiterated his determination to push for the reunification of Taiwan in a speech to the National People’s Congress. Xi said he will advance the process of the reunification of the motherland, stressing that China will firmly oppose pro-independence and secessionist activities and the interference of external forces. 3. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed confidence that his forces will successfully defend the strategic city of Bakhmut from Russia. The city is a Ukrainian stronghold in the country’s eastern region of Donetsk.