Other news today: Israeli attack on Homs; Kuala Lumpur is preparing to negotiate with Beijing over the dispute in the South China Sea, Japan creates the Agency for Children and the Family; in Myanmar, a meeting between representatives of some ethnic militias and the coup junta.
THAILAND
Thailand witnessed last night a long event to call for farmers to stop burning fields in an effort to reduce air pollution levels. The drones with lights flew over the sky of Chiang Rai, a town in the Muang district, forming phrases such as: “We cannot breathe”, “We suffer from eye irritation”, “Please stop the burning”. In recent weeks, the level of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Chiang Rai has risen to 194 micrograms per cubic meter of air – the upper limit for human safety is 50 mcg.
MALAYSIA
Kuala Lumpur is ready to start negotiations with Beijing over the dispute over the South China Sea, according to statements by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim broadcast by the State News Agency. The matter was discussed last week with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Malaysia has energy exploration projects in the area claimed by Beijing. In recent years, Chinese ships have repeatedly passed near fields operated by Malaysia’s state oil company Petronas.
MYANMAR
At the end of March, “peace” talks were held between representatives of the armed ethnic militias and the Burmese coup junta. According to experts, it was a mere face-saving maneuver, since currently, none of the militias invited to the conference are at war with the military. Discussions centered on the elections proposed by the Burmese military regime and the 2008 amendment to the Constitution.
JAPAN
Tokyo created the Child and Family Agency with the aim of improving low birth rates and “make Japan a more child-friendly country.” The Agency will focus on postpartum needs, day care centers and the distribution of child-rearing subsidies. Children, young people and parents will also be invited to the Council meetings, whose opinions will also be collected through social networks.
ISRAEL – SYRIA
Israel yesterday launched airstrikes against outposts in the Syrian province of Homs, wounding at least five soldiers, the Syrian Defense Ministry announced. This is the third such attack in recent days. According to some sources, in the affected areas there is a strong presence of militias linked to Hezbollah and Iran, whose influence in Syria has grown since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011.
RUSSIA
On the official Russian portal gosuslugi (from “State Services”) removed the “Clear History” function. The corresponding command does not even appear anymore, by decision of the Ministry of Digitization, and the only way to delete your own searches will be through an explicit request addressed to the site’s technological services center. The goal is to better control all users.
KAZAKHSTAN
The police in the northern Kasakh region began to carry out checks and searches after some videos of the so-called “People’s Council” were released on the Internet. In the filming, shot in some cities where the Russian language is spoken – Petropavlovsk and other neighboring towns – an appeal is made “to the workers” instigating the rebellion against the “regime of the Astana corporations”.
