Other news of the day: in Myanmar the junta burns 450 houses in 5 days. Albert Augustine’s widow and daughter returned to India from Sudan. In Thailand, parties compete in the electoral campaign by promising cash payments to the population. Since the beginning of the year, Türkiye has expelled 9,000 Afghans.
UNITED STATES – SOUTH KOREA
In a historic agreement, Washington pledged to deploy nuclear submarines against Pyongyang and share information about its nuclear program if, in return, Seoul does not develop its own nuclear arsenal. The agreement has been the result of talks between US President Joe Biden and his North Korean counterpart Yoon Suk-yeol, who was received at the White House. The leaders discussed various topics and shared concerns about the nuclear threat from North Korea.
INDIA
The wife and daughter of Albert Augustine, the Indian Catholic killed in Khartoum when fighting began in Sudan, have already arrived in the Indian city of Cochin. Saibella and Marietta were protected by the Sudanese company Augustine worked for, which organized his evacuation to Kannur.
MYANMAR
Clashes continue in the Sagaing region, around the village of Pa Zi Gyi, where a few weeks ago civilians who had taken refuge in a monastery were massacred. In 5 days the Burmese junta set fire to 450 housesin three different towns. The region is a stronghold of resistance against the military regime.
THAILAND
The Palang Pracharath Party, the ruling party in Thailand, trailing behind in pre-election polls, announced yesterday that if it remains in power after the May 14 elections, will transfer 30,000 baht (almost 800 euros) to the bank accounts of 8 million farmers across the country. The proposal rivals that of the opposition Pheu Thai, who promised to give 10,000 baht to all Thais over the age of 16.
Türkiye – AFGHANISTAN
Human Rights Watch denounced that Türkiye has expelled 9,000 Afghans since the beginning of the year. Since January 1, Ankara has expelled a total of 29,000 refugees, including 1,581 Pakistanis. It is estimated that another 18,000 people are detained at the border, including about 5,000 Afghan citizens.
ISRAEL – PALESTINE
The Palestinian daily Al-Quds has launched a digital version in hebrew. The translations of the articles, originally published in Arabic, are still not very accurate because machine translators are used. The owners of the newspaper – which sells 30,000 copies in Palestine – explained that they launched the initiative because “it is time for the Israelis to understand what we say.”
RUSSIA
Repeated fires are raging in the Urals and central and eastern Siberia, with entire villages engulfed in flames. In the Sverdlovsk region, 134 houses and other buildings burned, 660 people were left homeless and one person died. In the village of Sosva, 9 thousand square kilometers and 110 houses were completely destroyed.
KAZAKHSTAN
A provision on “information sovereignty” was incorporated into Kazakhstan’s new law on the media, the purpose of which, according to the authorities, is to defend Kazakhs above all from Russian propaganda. However, the activist Sergej Dubanov believes that it is impossible, because “more than half of the population is under the influence of the pens of the Kremlin.”