Philippines: Marcos appoints new defence chief

Today's headlines: India evicts 500 Muslim families in Assam; Myanmar's junta forces citizens to attend election propaganda meetings; Russia and Iran want to reset customs duties; intense frost covers Central Asia.

PHILIPPINES

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. yesterday appointed Carlito Galvez as Chief of Defence, prompting the officer-in-charge of the Department of National Defence, Jose Faustino, to resign. Last week Marcos appointed Andres Centino as army chief, replacing Bartolome Bacarro. The president's moves seem to indicate a distancing from the Duterte administration, which had included retired military personnel and increased the salaries of soldiers and policemen in its government.

THAILAND

Thai soldiers killed six suspected drug traffickers in a jungle in the north of the country. The shooting occurred near the 'Golden Triangle' - on the border between Thailand, Myanmar and Laos - a known smuggling area. The army said soldiers searched 19 backpacks belonging to the slain men and found 300 kg of ketamine and three pistols.

MYANMAR

Pro-regime militias are forcing residents of Sagaing and Mandalay regions to attend campaign meetings of the Union Solidarity and Development Party, the party linked to the military coup junta. Despite the ongoing civil conflict, the army has announced that general elections will be held in August.

INDIA

In the district of Lakhimpur, in the Indian state of Assam, the eviction of about 500 families has begun in order to clear 450 hectares of land, which the government believes is illegally occupied. The residents, mostly Bengali Muslim families, said they had lived in the area for decades and had submitted legal ownership documents, which were rejected by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government.

AFGHANISTAN - PAKISTAN

Over the past 30 years, many Afghans have found refuge in Pakistan. But they often mistake one bad situation for another because of the economic difficulties that prevent the refugees from being properly housed: according to some estimates it would cost Pakistan 2.2 billion dollars to take care of the 700,000 Afghan refugees in the country, who, blamed for the rising cost of rent, are increasingly being pushed back.

JAPAN - USA

The US wants to move US Marine units to the Japanese islands of Okinawa by 2026, arming them with missiles and lighter equipment to deter Chinese armed forces. According to the Yomiuri newspaper, the US has already informed Japan of the reorganisation, which will announce it in the coming days after a bilateral meeting in Washington. Meanwhile, Tokyo announced its new plan to increase military spending for the first time since World War II.

RUSSIA - IRAN

Iran and Russia intend to 'zero' customs duties on 90 per cent of goods, according to Rahmatulla Harmali, Director of Customs at the Trade Development Organisation of Iran, who says 'there will be strong growth in trade with Russia, increasing the volume of our exports by up to 4 billion in the next 4 years'.

CENTRAL ASIA

Anomalous atmospheric flows of particularly intense frost have started in Central Asia, as reported by the 'Meteožurnal' in Tashkent, with temperatures dropping to below 40 degrees Celsius in all countries of the region. In Kazakhstan, schools have already switched to online mode, in Azerbaijan, children are deserting classes.

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