Myanmar's shadow government: defections among the military, regime on the verge of collapse
Today's news: 41 Indian miners trapped in a Himalayan tunnel freed; Pope Francis cancels trip to COP28 in Dubai, but online participation is being explored; From Egypt hope for a further extension of the truce in Gaza; Vietnam raises tax rates for foreign multinationals.
MYANMAR
Myanmar's military regime is said to be on the verge of collapse and another wave of attacks will arrive "in the coming weeks". This was declared from Tokyo to Nikkei Asia by the Foreign Minister of the country's shadow government, Zin Mar Aung, according to whom the number of desertions in the Yangon army is also increasing, which in recent weeks under the weight of the 1027 offensive has lost its control of numerous areas in the east of the country.
INDIA
Rescuers in India have freed 41 workers who were trapped for 17 days in a collapsed Himalayan tunnel. Miners dug the last section by hand to reach workers in Uttarakhand's 4.5km tunnel. The men, who were carried out in wheelchairs through a 90cm wide cavity, were taken to hospital for checks. No one appears to be injured.
VATICAN-UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
On the advice of doctors, Pope Francis canceled the trip to Dubai, scheduled from 1 to 3 December on the occasion of Cop28. The decision – explained the director of the Vatican press office Matteo Bruni – was taken "even though the general clinical picture regarding the state of influenza and inflammation of the respiratory tract had improved". Francis will however take part in the COP28 discussions with modalities that are being defined. However, the pope will regularly hold the general audience today.
ISRAEL-PALESTINE
Talks continue in Qatar on a possible extension of the temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas beyond tomorrow evening's deadline: signs of optimism are filtering through from Egypt. Israel says it has received a list of hostages held in Gaza who could be released today, on the sixth day of the current truce. Yesterday another 12 hostages were released by Hamas and Israel freed another 30 Palestinian prisoners.
VIETNAM
Vietnam's parliament decided on Wednesday to raise the effective tax rate for multinational corporations to 15% starting Jan. 1, and postponed measures to offset the tax increase. The measures are part of a comprehensive tax reform. The measure will affect 122 foreign companies: the Hanoi government has estimated the additional revenue for the state at 14,600 billion dong (601 million dollars) per year.
RUSSIA-CHINA
China has definitively given up on investing in the new "Siberia Force-2" gas pipeline project proposed by the Kremlin, to compensate for Gazprom's losses on the European market. It also asks for new discounts on the sale of gas from Russia, dictating its own conditions from a clear position of advantage over Moscow.
KAZAKHSTAN
Construction of a new 152 km railway line has begun in the Turkestan region of southern Kazakhstan on the Sardyagash - Tashkent route to increase export transportation to Uzbekistan and other countries, inaugurated by Astana Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov for direct assignment of President Kasym-Zomart Tokaev.
.png)
15/07/2023
