Today's news: missiles from Iraq against a US base in Syria. Seven Japanese soldiers after a collision between two helicopters during an exercise. In the Maldives, the party of pro-Chinese president Muizzu wins the parliamentary elections. In Vietnam, the assistant to the president of the National Assembly is detained. Azerbaijan eliminates traces of Armenian presence in Nagorno-Karabakh.
CHINA
At least 60,000 people have been evacuated from the populous Guangdong province due to the flooding of several rivers. According to authorities, the waters could reach a level never seen in the last century. Rescue teams have intervened by removing some elderly people from their homes and deploying helicopters to free residents trapped in the landslides. More than 10 people are missing, but no deaths have been reported so far.
JAPAN
Continue the search for seven members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces after two helicopters collide during a military exercise Saturday night. The Ministry of Defense is analyzing the flight recorders, but at the moment there is no data that indicates an anomaly in either aircraft. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed his regret in Parliament and promised a “full-scale” investigation.
INDIA
Indian election authorities have ordered local officials to repeat voting at various polling stations in Manipur due to a series of attacks on polling stations that occurred despite the deployment of dozens of paramilitary soldiers. Some videos spread on the Internet show attackers destroying voting machines. Unrest has been going on in the northeastern state for almost a year.
MALDIVES
The party of Maldivian President Mohammed Muizzu won a overwhelming victory in the parliamentary elections, with 66 seats out of a total of 93 deputies. According to local media, the National People's Congress obtained the “supermajority” needed to amend the Constitution. Muizzu, a China supporter, wants to reduce India's traditional influence in the archipelago.
VIETNAM
Police arrested Pham Thai Ha, assistant to the speaker of the National Assembly (parliament) of Vietnam, accused of abuse of power. The arrest of Ha, who is also vice president of the National Assembly Office, is part of a larger anti-corruption operation carried out across the country in recent months.
MIDDLE EAST
Shots were fired last night at least five missiles from Iraq against a US military base in Syria. Iraqi security forces attributed the attack to “outlawed elements.” Meanwhile, Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip continues after 24 people died yesterday in Rafah. In Khan Younis, 210 bodies were found in a mass grave after the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
ARMENIA – AZERBAIJAN
The Azerbaijani authorities ordered the destruction and destruction of the Armenian church of Saint John the Baptist (Kanač Žam), dating from 1818, in the town of Šuša, in Nagorno Karabakh, reconquered in October 2020 in the “40-day war” with Armenia . As Karabakh Records writes, “the Azeris are eliminating all traces of the Armenian presence in the territory.”
RUSSIA
Several regions of Russia cancel military parades scheduled for Victory Day, May 9, in some cases due to the serious situation after recent floods, the lack of funds for the war in Ukraine or the “high risk of terrorist attacks “, as they warn in Kursk, Bryansk, Belgorod, Ryazan and Pskov.
