Armenia returns four villages to Azerbaijan

Today's news: China reorganises the army's cyber-warfare unit; Voter turnout in India over 60%; New missile tests from North Korea; Russia will take in 1,500 refugees from the Gaza Strip.

ARMENIA – AZERBAIJAN

Armenia has agreed to return four villages to Azerbaijan. The spokesperson of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Aykhan Hajizada, announced it yesterday with a tweet, calling it a "long-awaited historic event". The villages in question are uninhabited but are considered strategically important because they are close to Armenia's main highway and the pipeline through which Russia sends gas.

SOLOMON ISLANDS

After Wednesday's vote, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare retained his parliamentary seat, preliminary results say, but it is still too early to tell whether his party will succeed in forming the next government. The counting of votes, in fact, will last a few more days. At stake are the close diplomatic ties that the archipelago has established with China in recent years.

INDIA

According to preliminary data, voter turnout in the first phase of voting in India was over 60%, with even peaks of 80% in some states. However, violent episodes were recorded in West Bengal and Manipur, while in Nagaland the turnout was very low, after some local groups that have long been calling for autonomy had asked to sabotage the votes.

CHINA

China yesterday announced the biggest reorganization of its military since 2015. President Xi Jinping created a new unit called the Information Support Force that will have a key role in "coordinating the creation and use of information systems." The changes aim to better adapt the Chinese military to the "computerized" conditions of modern warfare, researcher Cao Weidong said.

NORTH KOREA

Pyongyang has carried out new missile tests: yesterday a warhead designed for the "Hwasal-1 Ra-3" cruise missile was launched and a new anti-aircraft missile was also tested, landing in the Yellow Sea. “Both tests were part of the normal activities of the administration and defense science institutes for the rapid development of technologies, and had nothing to do with the surrounding situation,” state news agency KCNA said.

RUSSIA – GAZA

Nearly 1,500 Palestinian refugees from the Gaza Strip will be hosted in Russia, as announced by Prime Minister Mikhail Mišustin, including 100 in Tatarstan and 250 in Chechnya and Baškortostan, which has already welcomed over 200 in recent months, and the others will be divided between the regions of the North Caucasus, Central Russia and the Volga. In Chechnya there are plans to use them in the production of weapons for the war in Ukraine.

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