Myawaddy: Burmese resistance forces withdraw from Thai border

Today's news: Appeal hearing for Cardinal Zen and other pro-democracy activists in the appeal against convictions set for January; A North Korean delegation is in Iran; The Taliban's Afghanistan continues to export coal to Pakistan; In Russia, floods also devastated old uranium mines.

MYANMAR – THAILAND

The ethnic militias who had conquered the city of Myawaddy, on the border with Thailand, retreated following the counter-offensive by the army. The news was given by a spokesperson for the Karen National Union, the local ethnic organisation, who spoke of a "temporary withdrawal". Images circulated on social media of some soldiers hoisting the Myanmar flag at a military base that the resistance had taken control of.

HONG KONG

Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen and four other pro-democracy activists will appeal against convictions they received in November 2022 for failing to register their fund as a company, as required by the city's Companies Ordinance. The judiciary's website states that their appeal will be heard on January 8, 2025 and is expected to last approximately three days.

NORTH KOREA – IRAN

A North Korean delegation led by the minister of international trade is visiting Iran, state media reported on Tuesday. This is a rare public announcement: Pyongyang and Tehran have long been suspected of cooperating in the development of nuclear programs, exchanging components and technical expertise. Yesterday, North Korea carried out its first nuclear counterattack exercises.

INDIA

The prison guards at Tihar prison, in the capital New Delhi, after having denied it for several days, administered a first dose of insulin to the city's chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, arrested on charges of being involved in a money laundering case. money. Party members fear for his health, while the financial crime agency has accused Kejriwal of eating mangoes and sweets to raise his sugar levels, so he could use diabetes as a reason to get bail.

AFGHANISTAN – PAKISTAN

The Taliban Industry Minister has started talks with a Pakistani company, Abbas Afridi, to discuss the export of Afghan coal to Pakistan. However, the company was involved in a money laundering and fraud case worth 50 billion Pakistani rupees in the past. Since the Taliban returned to power, Pakistan has become the main importer of Afghan coal. According to the Taliban Finance Ministry, Afghanistan earned more than 0 million from coal exports to Pakistan in the first 10 months of 2022.

RUSSIA

In the Russian Kurgan region, the floods have also devastated the old uranium mines of the Dobrovolnoe site managed by the Rosatom agency, and the uranium waste is pouring into the Tobol river which has overflowed its banks, as Agenstvo writes based on information from the local " Foundation for social control over environmental conditions and common well-being”.

ARMENIA - AZERBAIJAN

The deputy prime minister of Armenia, Mger Grigoryan, received the US ambassador in Yerevan, Kristina Kvien, to discuss the issue of border demarcation with Azerbaijan, for which some features were agreed upon in the last meeting on 19 April of the border through a series of inhabited centers, which must be ratified by June 1st.

• Asia
• Today