Thai PM Prayuth survives fourth no-confidence motion

Today's headlines: Chinese spoonbill fish and Yangtze sturgeon extinct; Strike at South Korean Daewo shipyard ends; IAEA: Iran's nuclear program accelerating; Prominent West Bengal minister arrested for money laundering; Putin promises more money to families; Armenia buys arms from India.

THAILAND

Premier Prayuth Chan-ocha emerged unscathed today from a new parliamentary vote to challenge him-the fourth such motion filed against him since he took office. The opposition accuses the former coup general of mismanagement of the economy and corruption. General elections are scheduled within 11 months.

CHINA

The Chinese spoonbill fish and the Yangtze sturgeon are extinct, Iucn, an international animal species conservation organization declared yesterday. The two giant fish were widespread in China's great river basin. Maritime traffic, intensive fishing and pollution have marked their disappearance.

SOUTH KOREA

Workers at Daewo's large shipyard on Geoje Island ended a strike that had lasted since June 2. Unions and the company reached an agreement on several points of contention. Most importantly, employees won a 4.5 percent wage increase from the 30 percent they had demanded.

IRAN

Tehran is accelerating on its nuclear program reports Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Grossi stresses that the body he heads currently has a very limited picture of Iranian atomic activity. The situation makes the renewal of the 2015 international agreement increasingly complicated.

INDIA

Authorities today arrested Partha Chatterjee, a West Bengal cabinet minister and leader of the Trinamool Congress party. The charge against him is that he laundered money as part of a scandal over school personnel recruitment in the state led by the popular Mamata Banerjee.

RUSSIA

Russian President Putin has instructed the government to prepare a package of measures aimed at increasing the birth rate in Russia and supporting large families by Sept. 15 . The package will include aid in the areas of health, education, housing guarantees and increased wages.

ARMENIA

Yerevan plans to buy military drones and other weapons from India. An Armenian delegation is headed to Delhi to negotiate the purchase. There is no word on the quantities required or prices. Armenia has been at war with Azerbaijan for years over control of Nagorno-Karabakh.

• AsiaToday