Other news of the day: China and Belarus sign cooperation agreements. A new sale of US missiles to Taiwan has been approved. They elected the new Vietnamese president. The Royal Navy in London seized Iranian weapons in the Gulf of Oman. Journalistic investigation into Putin’s wealth.
INDIA
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP advances in the state elections. The results achieved so far put the Hindu nationalist party on track for victory in Nagaland and Tripura. In Meghalaya, Conrad Sangma’s National People’s Party is close to winning the majority.
CHINA-BELARUS
On a visit to Beijing, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko – an ally of Russia – signed yesterday with Xi Jinping a package of 16 cooperation agreements Bilateral industrial and technological Analysts say the Chinese could use Minsk to circumvent Western sanctions on Moscow.
TAIWAN-UNITED STATES
The US Department of State has given the green light to the possible sale of new missiles to Taipei worth 619 million dollars. They will be used to bolster the island’s air defenses against a potential Chinese threat.
VIETNAM
As expected, the Vietnamese Parliament has appointed Vo Van Thuong as new head of state. It is a mainly ceremonial function. Thuong replaces Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who resigned in January after the Communist Party’s anti-corruption campaign attacked his subordinates.
UNITED KINGDOM-IRAN
The Royal Navy has seized in the Gulf of Oman a smuggled arms shipment from the Iranian coast. The small craft was mainly carrying anti-tank missiles and components of a ballistic rocket.
RUSSIA
Proekt journalists published a new series of investigations on the “Iron Masks”, referring in this case to Putin’s “secret wallet”. Since 2003, the Russian leader has owned the Cypriot financial company Ermira Consultants Ltd, a protagonist of unscrupulous activities in the markets. In the Russian town of Valdaj he also built a “golden castle” for his family together with his wife Alina.
TURKMENISTAN
Ashgabat has signed 26 collaboration documents with the UN Development, Population and UNICEF sections in the fields of economy, health, education, media and others. These are programs for the current year and projects for the 2023-2025 biennium, including a $2.5 million data-sharing computer system.
