Other news of the day: the number of victims of the earthquake in Syria and Turkey exceeds 8,700. 30 million tourists are expected in Thailand this year. Australia bans coal mining near the Great Barrier Reef. Dispute in Russia over the name of the former Stalingrad. The grave of the father of Azerbaijani literature was destroyed in Iran.
CHINA-UNITED STATES
Despite geopolitical tensions, trade between China and the US. it peaked at $690.6 billion in 2022. US exports rose $2.4 billion to $153.8 billion. However, the trade deficit with China also increased, which exported goods to the US for 536.8 billion (+31.8 billion).
TURKEY-SYRIA
The temporary number of earthquake victims on the Turkish-Syrian border it exceeds 8,700, of whom 6,200 died in Turkey. As rescue operations continue, offers of help are pouring in from many countries, including Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. There are also Chinese and Taiwanese relief teams.
THAILAND
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said that this year more than 30 million tourists, surpassing the previous estimate of 20 million. After the removal of the restrictions on the entry of foreigners that were imposed during the pandemic, the government has adopted a series of measures to facilitate the recovery of the tourism sector.
AUSTRALIA
The Australian government has decided to ban coal mining operations near the Great Barrier Reef. The measure affects a plant that was to be built 10 km from the well-known natural enclave.
SRI LANKA
Main Colombo creditors (Paris Group) are willing to provide financial guarantees for the International Monetary Fund to release aid to the island worth 2.9 billion dollars.
RUSSIA
Protoierej Leonid Kalinin, a member of the patriarchal commission for culture, commented on the debate on the return of the city of Volgograd to the name of Stalingrad. In his opinion, “the right thing to do would be to return to the even older name of Tsaritsyn”, the “city of the tsars”, which would provoke fewer discussions and would recover the name with which it was founded.
IRAN-AZERBAIJAN
In the Iranian city of Khurasan, the historic tomb of the 13th century Azerbaijani poet Izzeddin Gasanoglu, the first author in the Azerbaijani language, was destroyed. A folklore scholar, Ali Šamil, announced it through social media, and publicly called on “our intellectuals and official circles” not to let the incident go silent.
