Myanmar: over 3,000 political prisoners freed ahead of elections

Today's headlines: South Korea has recorded its highest birth rate in 18 years. Pakistan has criticised a ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya attended by Indian Prime Minister Modi. A gas field in Iraqi Kurdistan has been hit. In the Chinese city of Kunming, a train hit a group of railway workers. Russia's industrial development is lower than before the pandemic.

MYANMAR

The Burmese military junta has quashed the convictions of more than 3,000 political prisoners, who were released yesterday from Insein prison on the outskirts of Yangon. These are people who had been imprisoned for opposing the army's coup in 2021, which sparked a civil war. The generals said the convictions were withdrawn “to ensure that all those eligible do not lose their right to vote in the upcoming democratic multi-party general elections”. The elections, scheduled for December and January, are considered a sham by several international organisations.

SOUTH KOREA

South Korea has recorded another positive birth rate: between January and September this year, 190,140 babies were born, 12,488 more than in the same period in 2024 and the largest annual increase in the last 18 years. Analysis of the data shows that there has been a shift in the age of mothers: the fertility rate of women aged 25 to 29 has decreased by 0.1%, while it has increased by 2.4% for women aged 30 to 34 and by 5.3% for those aged 35 to 39.

CHINA

In addition to the dramatic fire that broke out yesterday in a residential complex in Hong Kong, a tragedy also occurred in the city of Kunming in south-western China: a train hit a group of railway workers who were testing anti-seismic equipment. At the moment, there are 11 dead and two injured, while the local police have opened an investigation into the causes of the accident.

INDIA – PAKISTAN

In recent days, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took part in a ceremony during which he hoisted a saffron-coloured flag, symbol of Hinduism, on the Ram temple in Ayodhya, built on the remains of the Babri mosque destroyed in 1992 and already inaugurated by the Prime Minister himself in January 2024. Pakistan commented on the incident, describing the ceremony as part of “deliberate attempts to erode Muslim cultural and religious heritage under the influence of the majority Hindutva ideology”. The Indian Foreign Ministry rejected the claims “with the contempt they deserve”. Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal added: “Instead of preaching hypocritically, Pakistan would do better to look within and focus on its own appalling human rights record”.

IRAQ

A drone attack on the Khor Mor gas field, between the cities of Kirkuk and Suleimaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan, forced the plant (operated by Dana Gas, a United Arab Emirates company) to suspend operations by cutting off the power supply. According to the Joint Operations Command, Iraq's central military command, the objective appeared to be to undermine “the security and economic stability” of the region. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

RUSSIA

In November, the industrial development index of Russian companies fell below the level of the Covid-19 lockdown period, according to the Institute for Forecasting the Popular Economy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which reports that market demand is below normal for 66% of respondents, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Moscow is warning of a possible ‘systemic crisis’, calling for the use of digital roubles.

ARMENIA

As explained by the adviser to the Russian president, Yuri Ushakov, Armenian representatives will not be present at the summit of the Eurasian military alliance CSTO in Bishkek, as their membership remains “frozen”, but Yerevan has indicated that it is ready to consider approving the entire block of documents that will be approved, which concerns not only military cooperation but also the fight against drug trafficking.