the former defense minister, expelled from the party for “corruption”

Today’s news: polls open in Iran for the presidential elections. In New Delhi, the roof of the new airport terminal hurriedly inaugurated by Modi during the election campaign collapsed in heavy rain, killing one person. In South Korea, six-day work week for executives. In Laos, a new mega dam to sell energy to Vietnam.

CHINA

Beijing has expelled former Defense Minister Li Shangfu from the Communist Party of China and his predecessor Wei Fenghe for corruption accusations, in a new chapter of President Xi Jinping’s extensive purge in the military leadership. Li was dismissed in October last year without explanation, having disappeared from circulation a few months after taking office. The announcement by state broadcaster CCTV is the first official confirmation by Chinese authorities that corruption allegations were behind his dramatic disappearance.

IRAN

Starting at 8 this morning they celebrate presidential elections in Iran The polls are scheduled to close at 6 p.m. local time to select a successor to the late Ibrahim Raisi. 61.4 million voters are eligible to vote. Polls are due to close at 6 p.m. local time, but the authorities have the right to extend voting until midnight. The polls give the reformist Pezeshkian the lead over the divided conservative front, but if no candidate wins at least 50 percent plus one of all votes cast, a second round will take place.

INDIA

A marquee collapsed under heavy rain and winds at the main airport in the Indian capital, New Delhi, killing one person and injuring at least eight, in addition to canceling flights from a domestic terminal. The incident occurred at 5 in the morning, a time of great influx of domestic flights transporting people throughout the country. Terminal 1 had recently been expanded and had been inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 11. Opposition leaders had criticized Modi for insisting on inaugurating the terminal during his election campaign when it was still “incomplete”.

SOUTH KOREA

The six day work week It reappears in South Korea almost two decades after the introduction of the free weekend. A growing number of companies have ordered their managers to come to the office on Saturdays to discuss strategies to overcome the recession. The measure will be introduced from July by HD Hyundai Oilbank, the group’s oil sector. Samsung and SK had already asked their executives to work six days a week at the beginning of the year.

LAOS-VIETNAM

The Laotian government has signed an agreement with a joint venture to dam of 184 million dollars in the north of the country, which will send most of the electricity generated to neighboring Vietnam. The hydroelectric project on the Nam Neun River will be completed in 2027 and will generate 124 megawatts of power. This is yet another dam planned for this impoverished, landlocked country, which has already built dozens of them with the goal of selling 20,000 megawatts of electricity to neighboring countries in 2030 and becoming the “battery of Southeast Asia.”

RUSSIA

The Russian Ministry of Finance has proposed multiplying the divorce tax by eight to 5,000 rubles (50 euros), along with other taxes on registration services such as name changes, measures that are added to the tax reform already approved in first reading on June 20th. Almost 700,000 divorces were registered in Russia in 2023, according to data from the Rosstat registry institute.

TAJIKISTAN

As Asia-Plus reports, 80 Tajik citizens who had just landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport on a flight from Dushanbe were denied entry into Russian territory. Half of them were returned to Tajikistan the next morning, while another 40 are at the airport waiting to be repatriated, without being told the reasons for the refusal, with lengthy interrogations, searches and phone checks. mobiles.