Putin not going to Istanbul for Ukraine talks

Today's news: Dozens dead after two days of Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip. Indonesia plans to send “unruly adults” for military training. The Philippines and Germany sign a defence cooperation agreement. Military operation in the Indian state of Manipur against suspected militants from Myanmar. APEC warns of the risks tariffs pose to economic growth.

RUSSIA – UKRAINE – TURKEY

A Russian delegation will go to Istanbul, Turkey, but President Vladimir Putin will not be part of it, the Moscow government confirmed this morning. Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine will therefore take place between the Ukrainian, Russian, and US delegations, while President Volodymyr Zelensky is holding separate discussions with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara. Separately, while Donald Trump continues his four-day visit to the Gulf, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in the Turkish city of Antalya for NATO talks.

GAZA – ISRAEL

At least 54 people were killed overnight in the city of Khan Younis, which has been repeatedly hit by Israeli airstrikes for the second consecutive day. Among the victims was a journalist working for the Qatari television network Al Araby TV, Hasan Samour, who was killed along with his entire family. On Wednesday, air raids had already killed another 70 people, including dozens of children.

INDONESIA

The administration of West Java has unveiled a controversial plan to send “unruly adults” to military barracks for training, expanding a programme originally aimed at tackling delinquency among students. The local governor, Dedi Mulyadi, announced that the initiative will begin in June and will target those who “disturb public order”.

PHILIPPINES – GERMANY

Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius signed a “defence cooperation agreement” yesterday in Berlin, agreeing to expand collaboration to include cybersecurity, armaments, defence logistics, and United Nations peacekeeping. It is the latest in a series of deals signed by Manila in an anti-China stance aimed at countering Beijing’s influence in the South China Sea.

INDIA – MYANMAR

As the death toll from a school bombing by the Burmese military junta rises to 25, the Indian army has reported killing 10 suspected Kuki militants in a firefight in Chandel district, in the eastern state of Manipur, which borders Myanmar. According to some reports, Indian armed groups that had taken refuge in Myanmar are now returning to India. The military operation is still ongoing.

APEC

Trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group stated today, during a meeting on Jeju Island, South Korea, that exports in the region will barely grow this year due to the introduction of US tariffs. According to forecasts, regional exports will rise by just 0.4% this year, compared to 5.7% last year, while overall economic growth, initially projected at 3.3%, is now expected to reach only 2.6%.

KAZAKHSTAN

The company Altynalmas, owned by one of Kazakhstan’s richest men, Vladimir Dzumanbaev, has been granted a licence to extract gold from a new mine in the Karaganda region, covering an area of 7 square kilometres. This is a small part of the vast Baktajsk mining zone, where recent geological surveys have yielded promising results.