opening of the first polling stations in the long vote, results on June 4

Today's news: Israeli incursion into Iran, over Tehran's “intact” nuclear facilities. China, Japan and South Korea vote in favor of recognizing Palestine at the UN in a resolution blocked by the United States veto. Terrorist attack in Karachi, five Japanese unharmed. The ground in half of Chinese cities is sinking due to water extraction. Russia begins the withdrawal of its troops from Nagorno-Karabakh, now in the hands of Baku.

INDIA

In India It opened this morning the first phase of voting for the elections to the Lok Sabha, the Parliament. Today 102 constituencies in 21 Indian states are voting to elect their deputies. The general elections are held in seven different phases across the country and will end on June 1. The counting of votes and the proclamation of results will take place on June 4. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leader of the Hindu nationalist party BJP, is seeking his third reconfirmation at the head of the country at the polls.

ISRAEL-IRAN

According to American sources, Israel carried out this morning an attack inside Iran. Apparently, the action – not confirmed so far by Israel – was directed against a target unrelated to the nuclear program near Isfahan. Another incursion would have taken place in southern Syria. For his part, an Iranian official stated that air defenses intercepted three drones and that no missile attacks were reported. Several state-aligned news agencies have reported that sites related to Iran's nuclear program are “completely intact.”

UN-ISRAEL-PALESTINE

The United States vetoed a resolution last night UN Security Council which would have allowed the admission of Palestine as a full member of the international organization, effectively recognizing its statehood. The resolution received 12 votes in favor, while the United Kingdom and Switzerland abstained. To be approved, it needed at least nine votes and no veto from the five permanent members: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China. Russia, China, France, Japan, South Korea, Ecuador, Algeria, Malta, Slovenia, Sierra Leone, Mozambique and Guyana voted in favor.

PAKISTAN

Five Japanese citizens They were unharmed this morning after their vehicle was targeted in a suicide attack in the Landhi area of ​​Karachi. Two terrorists involved in the attack died, while the private guard accompanying the foreigners was injured. The Japanese were heading to the Export Processing Zone in an armored van when they were hit by a suicide bomber on a motorcycle.

CHINA

Almost half of major Chinese cities are experiencing land subsidence due to water extraction and the increasing burden of its rapid expansion. This is revealed by a study carried out by a team of researchers from several Chinese universities that examined 82 cities, including all those with a population of more than 2 million inhabitants. Analyzing the period between 2015 and 2022, the team determined that 45% of urban areas are sinking more than 3 mm per year. About 16% of urban areas – an area inhabited by a total of 67 million people – are sinking at a rate of more than 10 mm a year, what scientists describe as a rapid decline.

RUSSIA-ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that Russia has begun the withdrawal of troops from the territory of Nagorno Karabakh, where they have been stationed since November 2020 to pacify the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and were to remain until 2025, while “the military operation in Baku has solved the problem.”

UZBEKISTAN-KAZAKHSTAN-KYRGYZSTAN

Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have reached an agreement to build the new Kambaratinsk hydroelectric power plant in Kyrgyz territory, on the Naryn River, with a 34% participation from Biškek and 33% from Tashkent and Astana, although it will remain Kyrgyz property. Costs and schedule will be announced later.