Xinhua world news summary at 0030 GMT, March 29

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that White House doctor Ronny Jackson will replace embattled David Shulkin to be the next Veteran Affairs secretary.

A rear admiral of the U.S. Navy, Jackson has served as the White House physician since the George W. Bush administration, and has monitored Trump's health since he took office. (US-Ronny Jackson-Veteran Affairs Secretary)

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UNITED NATIONS -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for strong collective action to deal with the serious challenges to UN peacekeeping.

UN peacekeeping faces serious challenges, particularly in four of its largest deployments: Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan, Guterres told the Security Council in a high-level debate on peacekeeping. (UN-Peacekeeping-Challenges)

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MOSCOW -- The Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday condemned the expulsion of Russian diplomats by Ukraine over an ex-spy poisoning case, saying that Moscow will certainly respond with harsh retaliation.

It said in a statement that the Ukrainian government took a "thoughtless" stance in the incident. (Russia-Ukraine-Sanctions)

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ADEN, Yemen -- At least 11 Yemeni soldiers were killed after al-Qaida gunmen ambushed a military convoy in the southeastern province of Hadramout on Wednesday evening, a security official told Xinhua.

The deadly attack was carried out by a group of al-Qaida gunmen in Hajar Valley of Hadramout province and targeted a military convoy composed of three vehicles, the security source said on condition of anonymity. (Yemen-Gun Attack) Enditem