VIETNAM
The Communist Party added police officer Luong Tam Quang to the Politburo, two months after he was appointed minister of public security. Vietnam does not have a supreme leader, but is led by “four pillars”: the party chief, president, prime minister, and parliament speaker. Three of the four positions are now held by former senior police officers.
USA - MYANMAR
The United States pledged continued support for Myanmar's democratic opposition after China earlier this week met with representatives of the military junta. In an online meeting, U.S. officials “reiterated that the United States will continue to expand direct support and assistance to pro-democracy actors,” including to “develop concrete steps toward a full transition to a civilian government that respects the will of the people of Myanmar.”
INDIA
The Election Commission of India has announced that elections will be held on September 18 in the disputed region of Kashmir, five years after the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked its autonomy. Voting, for which nine million people are registered, for the 90-member local assembly will be held in three phases until Oct. 1, the commission announced.
NEPAL
The Himalayan village of Thame, located at 3,800 meters above sea level, was submerged by icy waters. No deaths or injuries were reported, but about 10 buildings, including a school and a clinic, were destroyed. Experts say climate change is causing Himalayan glaciers to melt, creating glacial lakes prone to overflow.
SOUTH KOREA.
Earlier this month, a group of 100 Filipino women arrived in South Korea to work as domestic workers, paid at the minimum rate of 9,860 won (6.60 euros) per hour. A monthly wage that is almost half the average income in South Korea, but the highest in all of Asia. The Philippine Department of Migrant Workers has stipulated that the minimum wage for female workers abroad must be at least $400, the amount more or less paid by Singapore and Malaysia to Filipino women, while Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan offer somewhat higher salaries.
RUSSIA - UKRAINE
In an effort to rally resistance troops to the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region, 500 conscripts who had refused to fight and were stationed in the Kamenka military district were forced to go from St. Petersburg, loading them onto trucks and then onto planes, and several other conscripts who had refused to fight are being picked up from other regions.
GEORGIA
As Georgia's Ministry of Infrastructure reported, the country's longest automotive tunnel, the 1,800-meter Rikoti Tunnel, has finally been opened, replacing the older one to connect the eastern and western parts of the country in a particularly difficult 36-kilometer pass that has been in the works for years, with Chinese funding.
