Cyclone Mocha hits Myanmar and Bangladesh: six dead, over 800,000 displaced

Today's headlines: elections in Turkey, the challenge between Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu on the ballot; In Thailand clear assertion of opposition movements; Record CO2 emissions from China in the first quarter of 2023; Manila placed buoys in the EEZ around the Spratlys; First polio case of the year in Afghanistan;. In Russia there is psychosis over possible drone attacks.

BANGLADESH - MYANMAR

A powerful cyclone, estimated to be close to Nargis, which caused 140,000 deaths in 2008, hit the coasts of Myanmar and Bangladesh. Mocha brought rain and winds of 250 kmh, flooding part of the Bay of Bengal and hitting Sittwe hard. At least six were killed, hundreds injured, tens of thousands isolated, over 800,000 evacuated, but the toll is set to rise. 

TURKEY

Turkey hangs in the balance: in the parliamentary and presidential elections Recep Tayyip Erdogan is ahead, but below the 50% of the votes needed to be elected in the first round. Pending final results, it should be a runoff on 28 May. With counting at 98.55%, the situation sees the outgoing leader ahead with 49.34% of the votes, Kilicdaroglu 45% and the third challenger Sinan Ogan with 5.23%. 

THAILAND

Tough defeat for the military in Thailand, in power for almost a decade, in yesterday's parliamentary elections. Two different opposition parties triumphed, which will have to mediate to form a government. In the lead was Move Forward, the expression of the 2020 anti-monarchy protests, behind it Paetongtarn Shinawatra's Pheu Thai. Big loser is the outgoing premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha. 

CHINA

China, the world's most 'polluting' nation, emitted record levels of carbon dioxide in the first quarter of 2023, with figures set to hit an all-time high. Studies by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea) report CO2 up 4%, or three billion tonnes. Driving the spike is the post-Covid economic rebound, stimulus measures in manufacturing and construction, and low hydroelectric production due to the prolonged drought.

PHILIPPINES

Manila placed navigation buoys within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea to assert its sovereignty disputed by Beijing. The Philippine Coast Guard (PNG) placed five of them, with national flags, between 10 and 12 May, including Whitsun Reef where hundreds of Chinese ships had moored in 2021.

AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan recorded its first polio case of 2023 at the weekend, after a four-year-old boy was diagnosed with the disease. Unicef's Kamal Shah reports that the infection occurred in the eastern province of Nangarhar. There were two cases last year. Pakistan is the only country in the world where polio is endemic and vaccination campaigns are under attack. 

RUSSIA

After repeated drone attacks, on the Kremlin and numerous other targets, 'drone psychosis' has now set in in Russia. The drones are searched everywhere with meticulous 'ground' searches, on means of transport, subways, airports and stations, and also on private cars, by order of the Ministry of the Interior. So far, about ten have been found.

UZBEKISTAN
Fewer Russians have moved to Uzbekistan in the past year than to any other Central Asian country, the Rbk agency reports. This is considered a considerable advantage by the relokanty (Russians abroad) themselves, as it positively affects the real estate market, the banking sector and the Uzbek economy in general.

• Asia Today