Thailand, Prayut's former party ready to back Pheu Thai government

Today's headines: Chinese real estate giant Evergrande files for bankruptcy shield in US court; Eight new towns established in Muslim-majority areas of Mindanao; In Manipur, landslides also block aid to the displaced population; Record number of divorces in Saudi Arabia: 350,000 in one year.

THAILAND

The party of outgoing prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha (who retired from politics) has announced it will join the Pheu Thai-led coalition and "finalize the details" before a new vote in parliament for the prime minister, scheduled for August 22. The 36 seats of the United Thai Nation - together with the 40 of Palang Pracharath, the other military-backed party - could prove to be decisive in allowing the candidate of Pheu Thai, the billionaire Srettha Thavisin, to garner the trust denied for two aimed at Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader of the Move Forward party which won the elections in Thailand.As the only condition for the alliance with the former historical enemies of Pheu Thai (the party of the Shinavatra family) the forces close to the military would have asked that it not be touched section 112 of the Penal Code, the one on the highly contested crime of lese-majeste, used in recent years to repress dissent.

CHINA

Chinese giant Evergrande has filed for bankruptcy protection in a New York court following the worsening real estate crisis in China. The request will allow the company, in the turmoil since 2021 due to its heavy debt, to protect its assets in the United States as it works on a multibillion-dollar settlement with creditors. The move comes as troubles in China's housing market heighten concerns about the world's second-largest economy.

PHILIPPINES

On the Philippine island of Mindanao, the Parliament of Bangsamoro has approved the creation of eight new cities, which will arise from a set of over 60 villages within the province of Cotabato. The establishment of the new cities has been hailed by local politicians as a "historic milestone" for the Muslim-majority region long bloodied by the war between pro-independence militias and the Philippine army.

INDIA

Landslides in India have blocked hundreds of trucks carrying fuel and basic necessities in the state of Manipur, which has been ravaged by violence for months. Rocks and mud engulfed part of a highway near Imphal, the capital of Manipur, stranding 400 trucks. Heavy rains in recent days have wreaked havoc in large swathes of northern India, killing at least 84 people.

SAUDI ARABIA

More than 350,000 marriages ended in divorce last year, according to the Saudi Women's Report 2022, released by the Wahhabi kingdom's General Statistics Authority. This is a huge surge in separations: the total number of divorces registered in 2020 was 57,595. In the same year the total number of marriages in Saudi Arabia had reached 150,117.

RUSSIA

One month after the premiere of the Hollywood film "Barbie", produced by Warner Bros Discovery and released from Russia in 2022, pirated copies of the film, which is achieving enormous success, are spreading in Russian cinemas. The owners of the screening rooms are no longer afraid to multiply them given the lack of reaction from the authorities.

ESTONIA-LATVIA-LITHUANIA

The annual report of the International Institute for Research on Peace Problems in Stockholm (Sipri) highlighted the great arms race of the Baltic countries following the increasingly recurring Russian threats, especially after the Wagner company was stationed in Belarus. Lithuania reached €1.8 billion in funding, Estonia €1 billion and Latvia €970 million.

• AsiaToday