UN: Myanmar gets billion worth of weapons. Moscow and Beijing the first suppliers

Today's headlines: Raisi and Putin oversee the signing of an agreement for a made-in-Tehran rail line; Record Nepalese climber reaches Everest summit for 27th time. April record number of tourists in Japan in post-Covid era. Cautious optimism of UN special envoy on Yemen peace talks. Azerbaijani environmentalist raises alarm over drying Caspian Sea.

MYANMAR
Since the February 2021 coup, the military junta in Myanmar has imported about billion worth of weapons, largely from Russia (6 million) and China (7). Other supplies in smaller numbers have come from India, Singapore, and Thailand. UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews recalls how they have been used in raids and attacks on civilians, schools, hospitals, and homes. 

IRAN - RUSSIA
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met video link to approve the signing of an agreement aimed at building a made-in-Tehran railway line, part of an embryonic North-South international transport corridor. The Rasht-Astata line will connect India, Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan and other nations by rail and sea. 

NEPAL
Nepali climber Kami Rita Sherpa reached the summit of Everest for the 27th, a record for the most ascents to the world's highest peak. The country is home to eight of the 10 highest mountains on the planet and welcomes hundreds of enthusiasts each spring when temperatures are mild and the wind is calm. It also counts one fatality, the fifth seasonal: a 46-year-old Moldovan climber. 

JAPAN - CHINA 
Japan reached record numbers for tourists in the post-pandemic Covid-19 phase, with nearly two million admissions last April. Also aiding the growth is the easing of travel restrictions in China. However, the figure still remains 33 percent lower than arrivals in April 2019, a record year for visitors from the dragon country with 9.5 million admissions. 

INDIA
Amazon Web Services (Aws), the cloud division of the e-commerce giant, will invest about billion in India by 2030, doubling its initial budget to meet growing demand. The goal is to build a cloud infrastructure in the country, creating more than 100,000 new jobs. To date there are two centers in Mumbai (2016) and Hyderabad (2022).

YEMEN
The U.N. special envoy for Yemen expressed cautious optimism about the parties' return to U.N.-mediated negotiations to end eight years of bloody war. For Hans Grundberg, the releases of prisoners last month "will build further trust between the parties" and an environment "conducive to dialogue." The different sides "have shown willingness to engage." 

RUSSIA - KAZAKHSTAN
The main uranium mining site in Kazakhstan has come under the control of Russia's Rosatom, along with the Stepnogorsky chemical industrial complex. A deal--experts explain. that was not disclosed until the publication of the financial statements of Kazatomprom, the Kazakh nuclear energy company, the world's largest producer of natural uranium.

AZERBAIGIAN
The head of the Azerbaijan Animal Defense Association, Azer Garaev, has issued a cry of alarm over the condition of the Caspian Sea, which is increasingly drying up due to invasive technologies putting all wildlife in the area at risk. Residents of several small towns in the area such as Neftčaly, Salyana and others are also being forced to move to the big cities.

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