Today's headlines: Tensions persist between Washington and Tokyo over failed US Steel buyout. Pakistan opens a new border crossing with Iran. Tehran received a thousand of the latest generation drones. In India, the Kumbh Mela opens today. In Manila, a rally is held in favour of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte.

NORTH KOREA – UKRAINE

According to information collected by South Korea's secret services, at least 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and another 2,700 wounded in the war between Russia and Ukraine. South Korean intelligence sources believe that "massive casualties" among North Korean soldiers are due to a "lack of understanding of modern warfare," including the "useless" act of firing at long-range drones.

JAPAN – UNITED STATES

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed his concern to US President Joe Biden over Nippon Steel's failure to buy US Steel for US$ 14.9 billion during a three-way call with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who also spoke about the danger of Chinese actions. The United States has 54,000 troops stationed in Japan. Both steel companies said that US authorities extended the deadline to clinch a deal to 18 June.

PAKISTAN – IRAN

Pakistani authorities announced the opening of a new crossing point between Pakistan and Iran in Panjgur, Balochistan, to facilitate trade between the two countries, discourage smuggling of goods, and provide jobs for people living on both sides of the border. Representatives of the Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industry said they had responded to the demands of Balochistan entrepreneurs. In December, Iran and Pakistan had also inaugurated the Gabd-Rimdan border crossing.

IRAN

The Iranian military received a thousand new drones today, deploying them at different sites, the Tasnim news agency reported. At the start of this month, the Revolutionary Guards began military exercises as tensions with Israel and the United States increased, including simulated defence drills against missile and drone attacks at the main nuclear installations in Natanz.

INDIA

Large crowds of Hindu pilgrims began bathing in sacred waters for the start of the Kumbh Mela religious festival, the largest gathering of people in the world, inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Some 400 million people are expected this year.

THAILAND

The Thai government has approved a bill to legalise gambling and casinos, a move that Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra says will promote tourism, employment and investment. Unlike other Southeast Asian countries, casinos and most forms of gambling are illegal in Thailand, but football betting, underground gambling and lotteries are common.

PHILIPPINES

More than a million people rallied in the capital Manila to protest attempts by the Philippine Congress to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte in what is seen as a power struggle between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the Duterte family. The event was organised by the Iglesia ni Cristo. Midterm elections will be held in May.

RUSSIA – MOLDOVA

Over the past week, the energy situation in Moldova’s breakaway Transnistria region is getting worse after the end of Russian gas transit through Ukraine. In the capital Tiraspol, rolling power cuts have been extended to four hours a day, while the government is reporting that gas reserves could last only 20 days, with the risk of a total shutdown of the system that would take months to restart.

GEORGIA – CHINA

Georgia's Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, met Chinese Ambassador Zhou Qian for the second time since the country’s disputed December elections to offer his condolences for the recent earthquake in China, but above all to strengthen the "strategic partnership" between Tbilisi and Beijing and develop trade relations.

• north korea
• ukraine
• japan
• united states
• pakistan
• iran
• india
• thailand
• philippines
• russia
• moldova
• georgia
• china