Other news of the day: Chinese Defense Minister travels to India for the first time since the 2020 clashes. In April, the Burmese coup junta carried out 47 airstrikes in Chin State. In Japan, thousands of chickens were culled due to bird flu. Trade agreements between the United Arab Emirates and Cambodia. Russia reduces oil extractions.
PAKISTAN
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif got the vote of confidence of the National Assembly (Parliament) with 180 votes out of 342, while the opposition, led by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, insists on calling early elections along with the provincial elections in May. According to some forecastselections will be held in October as scheduled, with the Imran Khan-led Tehreek-i-Insaf party favored.
CHINESE – INDIA
Chinese defense minister Li Shangfu arrived in Delhi to attend the meeting of defense ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, of which India is the rotating president. It is the first such visit since 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed in clashes on the Himalayan border in 2020. A bilateral meeting between Li Shangfu and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh is also scheduled.
MYANMAR
In April, the Burmese coup junta carried out 47 shelling in Chin State in which 19 civilians were killed and numerous buildings, including places of worship, were destroyed. The Chin National Front ethnic militia has claimed new territorial conquests in recent weeks and experts believe the army has intensified the air campaign due to difficulties in the ground offensive.
JAPAN
Some 150,000 hens burned to death in a fire that broke out at a poultry farm in Japan’s main egg-producing region as the country is suffering from severe egg shortage due to bird flu. What may have caused the fire is being investigated. Since the first case of bird flu was detected in October 2022, Japan has culled more than 17 million chickens, about 9% of the country’s stocks.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – CAMBODIA
The United Arab Emirates and Cambodia approved the terms of a bilateral trade agreement which will remove many tariffs on agricultural and garment products, opening a new market for the Emirati manufacturing and industrial sectors. Since 2021 Dubai is working to double the size of its economy and reach $762 billion by 2030.
RUSSIA
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak reported that Russia will reduce oil and gas extractions this year to 515 million tons, 20 million less than last year, since exports to Europe will be reduced by 2.5 times, and in Asian markets will be distributed 140 million tons.
KYRGYZSTAN
The Bishkek court accepted the request of the Kyrgyz Ministry of Culture, and ordered the closure of Azattyk Media, the Kyrgyz branch of Radio Svoboda, in the lawsuit that began in late January when the agency was accused of refusing to remove from the web videos related to the conflict of September 2022 on the border between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
