UN condemns violence in Rakhine

Today’s news: Russia and China appear cold at the UN over Biden’s plan for a ceasefire in Gaza. 11 tons of garbage removed from Everest in the army’s latest cleanup operation. China’s gaokao exam begins today, in which more than 13 million students participate. Criticism of tax reform in Russia.

MYANMAR

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “strongly condemns recent attacks by the Myanmar military that have reportedly killed dozens of civilians, including in Rakhine State,” has declared in a note his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric. According to local sourcesfighting along the border with Bangladesh has intensified in recent days: the Arakan Army, which controls the northern municipality of Maungdaw, is also trying to seize the southern territories.

GAZA – ISRAEL

Russia and China, which have veto power in the UN Security Council, expressed a series of doubts on the peace agreement outlined by US President Joe Biden for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The Council’s only Arab member, Algeria, also signaled that it was not willing to support the text. Hamas continue studying the proposalas announced by the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

NEPAL

The Nepalese army claims to have removed 11 tons of garbage, four bodies and a skeleton from Everest and two other Himalayan mountains, Nuptse and Lhotse. It is estimated that on Everest alone there are more than 50 tons of garbage and more than 200 bodies due to the massive presence of climbers in recent years. The military conducts an annual cleanup campaign.

CHINA

According to the Chinese authorities, 13.42 million candidates will take the gaokao today, the exam that determines access to university. This is a record figure thanks to several years of economic growth that have allowed Chinese families to raise their standard of living, but the labor market today presents fewer opportunities for recent graduates. The exam subjects are Chinese, English, mathematics, science and humanities.

BANGLADESH

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina cuts GDP growth estimates, saying it now expects the economy to grow 6.7%, down from the previous target of 7.5%. But observers question the lowering of the forecast, citing high inflation and stagnant private sector investment growth. Prime Minister Hasina also presented a budget of 7.97 trillion taka ($67.5 billion) for the next fiscal year, which starts in July.

RUSSIA

The governor of the Čeljabinsk region in the Urals, Aleksej Teksler, is one of the few to publicly criticize the tax reform in Russia, which in his opinion “returns the economy to the times of the Second World War”, defending the industries local metallurgical companies that “need incentives to invest, not be suffocated by taxes.”

TAJIKISTAN

Microcredit organization Finka Tajikistan was awarded for its contribution to expanding economic opportunities for women, taking second place in the ranking “For successful projects in supporting women’s entrepreneurship” in an international competition , after having opened 26 branches of the company in Tajikistan in two years.