Other news of the day: more than 15,000 dead from the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Grand military parade in Pyongyang. Australian coal returns to China. Taiwanese high-tech giant Foxconn invests in India. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church changes the liturgical calendar. Georgia: ex-president Saakashvili denied house arrest.
MYANMAR-RUSSIA
The coup junta has opened a “nuclear information centerr” together with the Russian company Rosatom. Several analysts consider this to be another step by the Burmese army to develop nuclear weapons.
TURKEY-SYRIA
There are already more than 15,000 deaths confirmed by the earthquake that rocked the region on the Turkey-Syria border. Pressured by the opposition and public opinion, Turkish President Erdogan admitted shortcomings in the first responses to the emergency, but stressed that the situation is now “under control.”
NORTH KOREA
The Kim-Jong-un regime yesterday carried out a great Military Parade to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the birth of the national armed forces. Among a series of weapons systems, what appears to be a new nuclear-capable intercontinental missile stands out.
CHINA-AUSTRALIA
Following a ban that lasted more than two years, at least two ships carrying australian coal arrived at the Chinese port of Taishan. The supply is part of the thaw efforts between Beijing and Canberra, conditioned by strong geopolitical tensions.
INDIA
Taiwanese electronics giant foxconn is preparing to invest in the state of Karnataka, in southern India. The world’s top iPhone assembler has long wanted to diversify its production line, much of it concentrated in China. It currently already operates in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
UKRAINE
Starting September 1, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church will adopt the new liturgical calendar for feasts and fixed dates, after a Synod meeting in Kiev, restoring Christmas to December 25. Easter will keep the date according to the “old-style” calculations of the Orthodox Church.
GEORGIA
The Tbilisi court denied ex-president Saakashvili house arrest and the choice of place for treatment, because it does not believe in the seriousness of his condition. He himself commented on the decision, calling it a “death sentence, handed down after a farcical series of sessions and without having come to see me even once.”
