USA – RUSSIA
The US president Donald Trump called the Russian president Vladimir Putin, and they spoke for over an hour about the possibility of ‘obtaining a ceasefire in the not too distant future’. However, the details are unclear: previously, the Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth, had stated that Ukraine would have to give up joining NATO and the reconquest of the territories occupied by Russia. According to the Wall Street Journal, China has put forward the proposal to organise a summit between Trump and Putin.
ISRAEL-GAZA-PALESTINE
As trucks with tents enter the Gaza Strip at night, hopes are rising that the ceasefire in Gaza, which has been hanging in the balance in recent hours, will hold. Thanks to the mediators, Israel has unblocked one of the points of the agreement that had stalled, while Hamas has said it is willing to release another three Israeli hostages on Saturday, as planned in this first phase.
INDIA – USA
After talks with President Trump, which will probably focus on duties and tariffs, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also talk to Elon Musk about the use of Starlink in India, according to Reuters sources. Starlink has been planning to enter the Indian market for some time, but has clashed with billionaire Mukesh Ambani's company.
INDONESIA - TURKEY
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday signed a series of agreements to strengthen trade and defence ties, including a joint venture for the construction of drones. The Turkish leader stopped in Indonesia after visiting Malaysia and is on his way to Pakistan. The talks covered a number of topics, Prabowo's office said, including a possible free trade agreement.
MYANMAR
More than 250 people of 20 different nationalities have been freed from online scam centres in Karen State, Myanmar, and taken to Thailand, thanks to the collaboration of the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, one of the ethnic militias that controls the territory, allied with the Burmese army. In recent weeks, Bangkok and Beijing had intensified their efforts to put an end to the illegal activities that proliferate along the border with Myanmar.
SYRIA
The new Syrian authorities have held talks with several Syrian tycoons who were previously supporters and allies of the dictator Bashar al-Assad. The government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa has set up a committee to analyse the interests of some large companies that have been sanctioned by the West and whose accounts have recently been frozen by the Central Bank.
KAZAKHSTAN
According to a report by the National Statistics Office of Kazakhstan, the local population has reached 20.3 million people, with an increase in the last year of 252 thousand people, almost completely due to natural growth, with 368 thousand births and 133 thousand deaths, 123 thousand marriages and 40 thousand divorces, 30 thousand immigrants and 13 thousand emigrants, and a strong internal migration from the countryside to the main cities of Astana, Almaty and Shymkent.
