ASIA TODAY North Korea declares itself nuclear state with right to preemptive strike

Other news of the day: China and India withdraw their troops in a disputed part of the Himalayan border. Delhi reduces rice exports. Medicine prices have doubled in Myanmar. Senior Islamic State leader arrested in Turkey. Russian anti-war priest gains followers on YouTube. An ancient Buddhist temple in Kyrgyzstan has been opened to the public.

NORTH KOREA

With a law, the Kim Jong-un regime declared itself “nuclear weapon state“, claiming its use in a “preventive” way for national defense. The decision is “irreversible” and excludes any possibility of dialogue on denuclearization, Kim declared Despite the harsh international sanctions, Pyongyang carried out six atomic tests between 2006 and 2017 .

CHINA-INDIA

Two years after a bloody border clash, Delhi and Beijing begin to withdraw their respective troops from the Gogra-Hotsprings area, on the western border of the Himalayas. The two sides stated that the withdrawal is being carried out in a coordinated manner. However, thousands of Chinese and Indian soldiers remain on both sides of the disputed border.

INDIA

Delhi banned the export of broken rice and imposed a 20% tariff on foreign sales of various categories of cereal, of which it is the world’s leading exporter. The move was taken to calm domestic prices following monsoon damage to crops, but will have inflationary effects in the rest of the world.

MYANMAR

Since last year’s military coup, drug prices in the former Burma they have doubled in some cases, even for common illnesses such as the flu. Hospitals and clinics are running out of drugs.

TURKEY

Turkish police have arrested a high-level leader of the self-styled Islamic State (formerly ISIS). According to President Erdogan, Bashar Hattab Ghazal Al Sumaidai (alias Abu Zeyd) was captured during an operation in which Ankara’s secret services also participated.

RUSSIA

One of the signatories of the open letter of 200 Russian Orthodox priests against the war in Ukraine that was published in March, the protoierej Andrei Kordockin, wins followers with his “What’s New” podcast. He explains that power is using the Church for its own interests and that Christianity always condemns war. It can be seen on the YouTube channel “Novaya Gazeta. Evropa”.

KYRGYZSTAN

They unearthed the Buddhist temple of Krasnaja Rechka. The ruins were discovered in 2010 on one of the most important sections of the ancient Silk Road. The temple dates back to a period between the 7th and 10th centuries and has now been left open to visitors.