Putin thanks Myanmar for gift of 6 elephant calves

Russian president Vladimir Putin hosted the Myanmar junta chief and extended his gratitude to the military leader who faced a potential arrest warrant at the international criminal court for alleged crimes against Rohingya Muslims.

It was military General Min Aung Hlaing’s fourth visit to Russia since he directed a coup in 2021 and ousted the administration of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, throwing the country into a civil war.

However, it was the first time the general personally met the Russian president and held bilateral talks, where the two leaders heaped praises on each other.

Myanmar’s military-run government had sent six elephants to Russia in January to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The gift coincided with Russia’s completing delivery of six fighter jets to Myanmar, as part of so-called “elephant diplomacy” between two governments viewed dimly in Western capitals.

In the televised meeting at the Kremlin, General Hlaing referred to Mr Putin as a “king” and offered support for his war in Ukraine which has entered its fourth year.

“I believe that victory must be yours under your strong and decisive leadership,” he told Mr Putin.

Mr Putin hailed the steadily developing ties and “substantive and constructive” talks with General Hlaing, adding that Moscow and Naypidaw were “bound by truly strong bonds of friendship, traditions of support, and mutual assistance,” according to a statement from his office.

“And of course, I cannot but thank you for your very warm gift: You brought us six elephants last year, and they have already been given to the Moscow Zoo,” Mr Putin said.

The warming of ties between head of the Myanmar’s beleaguered military and Mr Putin reflected closeness in strategic and diplomatic relations between the two countries that are viewed as pariahs by Western nations and faced a slew of sanctions.

Western nations have imposed economic and political sanctions on Myanmar in response to the takeover and the violent repression of the opposition, which has led to the deaths of thousands of civilians and given rise to an armed conflict widely seen as a civil war.

Russia, along with China, is a major supporter and arms supplier to Myanmar. Russian-made fighter jets are used in attacks on territory under control of ethnic minority groups, many of them allies with pro-democracy resistance forces.

Mr Putin noted that the bilateral trade has soared to 40 per cent between the two countries and signed an agreement on the construction of a small-scale nuclear plant in Myanmar.

Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear power corporation, said the plant would have a capacity of 100mw with the possibility of trebling that capacity.

Mr Putin also announced that a military unit from Myanmar would take part in the military parade in Moscow on 9 May marking the 80th anniversary of the World War Two victory over Nazi Germany. He said General Hlaing would also attend.

General Hlaing, 68, rarely travels abroad and avoids the media limelight as he struggles with an ongoing civil war in the country, a tattered economy in the country of 55 million which the United Nations says is in urgent need of aid.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan requested an arrest warrant for General Hlaing, alleging crimes against humanity related to the persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority. This request is currently under review by ICC judges, who will determine whether to issue the warrant.

In February this year, an Argentine court, invoking the principle of universal jurisdiction, issued an arrest warrant against General Hlaing. Myanmar’s military spokesperson dismissed the ruling as “baseless” and accused Argentina’s judiciary of political interference

Nay Phone Latt, a spokesperson for Myanmar’s main opposition National Unity Government, said the military leader is in desperate need of international recognition and willing to trade the country’s resources in exchange.

“So, to maintain his power, he will go to countries that will recognise him and provide him with some kind of assistance,” Nay Phone Latt told the Associated Press.

North Korean tourist village shuts down after just three weeks

North Korea has abruptly stopped international trips to a northeastern border city near China, less than three weeks after it opened it up for tourists since the pandemic.

Multiple Western travel agencies that organise tours to Rason, a city that lies near North Korea’s border with China, had posted updates last month detailing tours they had organised for foreign tourists after they received permission from their North Korean partners.

However on Wednesday, they announced on their social media that tours to Rason were currently suspended.

“Oh no! Just received news from our Korean partners that Rason is closed to everyone. We will keep you posted,” Spain-based travel agency KTG Travels posted on their Facebook.

Rayco Vega, tours coordinator for KTG, confirmed the suspension to news agency AFP and added: “We do not know the reason nor how long this will last.”

Beijing-based agency Young Pioneer Tours posted a similar announcement: “We have been advised by our partners in the DPRK that tours to Rason are currently paused. We are in the process of clarifying how this will impact your upcoming trips. We recommend that those planning tours in April and May refrain from booking flights until we have more information.”

Travel agency Koryo Tours, which organised a five-day tour of Rason for foreign tourists just last month, announced: “There has been news that the Rason border may be temporarily closing for tourism. We are currently working to confirm and understand the situation with our partners and will announce any further updates as soon as possible.”

The tourists that visited Rason via Koryo Tours were the first international travellers to enter the reclusive country in five years, besides Russian tourists.

“Since January of 2020, the country has been closed to all international tourists, and we are glad to have finally found an opening in the Rason area, in the far north of North Korea,” Koryo Tours general manager Simon Cockerell said at the time.

Last week, German travel influencer Luca Pferdmenges, 23, who was on the tour, was interviewed by Business Insider about his trip to Rason. The influencer detailed his trip, adding: “But what surprised me most was that they didn’t hide the country’s visible poverty.”

“People in the rural areas were clearly very poor, and we weren’t allowed to photograph them. Many of them were using oxen and carriages. Our guides also very strictly told us not to photograph the farmers’ houses in the countryside because they are very run-down and shabby,” he said.

“Surprisingly, they didn’t close the curtains so we couldn’t see it. The guides also didn’t deny that there is poverty; they just don’t like people taking photos of it and presenting it as the sole truth.”

North Korea closed down its borders in early 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

Rason, established in 1991 as a special economic zone to attract foreign investment, was never as popular a destination as the capital Pyongyang, which remains closed to all but Russian tourists.

International flights to and from North Korea resumed only in 2023, with a small group of Russian tourists flying in for a private tour in February. The group consisted of people from the tourism industry and “travellers from literally all parts of Russia from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok”, the Russian embassy in Pyongyang said at the time.

Before the pandemic, Chinese visitors accounted for about 90 per cent of all foreign arrivals, with 350,000 entering in 2019 alone, reported The Straits Times.

South Koreans remain barred from entry and the US has prohibited its citizens from travelling to North Korea since 2017 following the detention and subsequent death of American student Otto Warmbier.

China targets 5% growth and increases defence budget

China has set a growth target of 5 per cent for 2025 despite mounting American tariffs and announced a 7.2 per cent increase in its defence budget as Beijing continues to build a larger military to assert territorial claims in Asia.

Chinese premier Li Qiang announced the optimistic target on Wednesday and delivered the government’s annual work report to the national parliament or the National People’s Congress.

The government has set 2025’s fiscal deficit target to around 4 per cent of the GDP, a jump from 3 per cent last year and the highest level in more than three decades.

Beijing has set the surveyed urban unemployment rate at around 5.5 per cent for this year, while the CPI is set at around 2 per cent, according to Chinese state media Global Times.

The Chinese government report has outlined plans to issue 1.3 trillion yuan (£142bn) of ultra-long special treasury bonds, up 300bn yuan (£32bn) from last year.

China will also issue 4.4 trillion yuan (£479bn) of local government special-purpose bonds in 2025, which makes it an increase of 500bn yuan over last year.

Chinese president Xi Jinping, who oversees the armed forces, has attempted to force through major reforms and removed senior military leaders including two former defence ministers and the head of the missile corps.

“In proposing these targets, we have considered evolving dynamics both at home and abroad and other relevant factors, including both what is needed and what is possible,” the report said.

The government, in its report, added that a “target of around 5 per cent is well aligned with our mid- and long-term development goals and underscores our resolve to meet difficulties head-on and strive hard to deliver”.

Premier Li outlined his draft for boosting China’s economy shortly before US president Donald Trump delivered his address to Congress, where he made his tariff policy the centre point of his talk.

A day earlier, the trade war between two nations intensified as China imposed up to 15 per cent tariffs on US agricultural goods in retaliation against Mr Trump’s additional 10 per cent levies on Chinese goods.

The work report outlined a slew of policy measures including adopting a more proactive fiscal policy and applying an appropriately accommodative monetary policy.

Chinese officials who drafted the government report told reporters that the 5 per cent growth target would require “very arduous work” to achieve due to growing external uncertainties.

Premier Li said the target “underscores our resolve to meet difficulties head-on and strive hard to deliver”.

“In setting the growth rate at around 5 per cent, we have taken into account the need to stabilise employment, prevent risks, and improve the people’s wellbeing.”

Beijing revised down its annual consumer price inflation target to around 2 per cent, the lowest in more than 20 years, in what is seen as an apparent acknowledgement of a sluggish domestic demand.

“It’s an ambitious growth target, and it means the authorities will still need to support growth,” Raymond Yeung, chief economist for Greater China at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, told Bloomberg. “This number reflects authorities are determined to support growth against the backdrop of external uncertainties and trade tensions with the US.”

China’s military boost is the same percentage as last year and far below the double-digit percentage increases of previous years and reflecting an overall slowdown in the economy. China’s military spending remains the second largest behind the US and it already has the world’s largest navy.

The Pentagon and many experts say China’s total spending on defence may be 40 per cent higher or more because of items included under other budgets.

Tensions with the US, Taiwan, Japan and neighbours who have overlapping claims to the crucial South China Sea are seen as driving spending on increasingly high-tech military technologies. Those include stealth fighters, the country’s three – soon to be four – aircraft carriers, and a broad expansion of its nuclear arsenal.

China generally ascribes the budget increases to exercises and maintenance and improving the lives of its two million service people.

The People’s Liberation Army – the military branch of the ruling Communist Party – has built bases on artificial islands in the South China Sea but its main objective is asserting Chinese control over the self-governing island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory.

Premier Li told the nearly 3,000 party loyalists that China still preferred a peaceful solution to the Taiwan issue, but “resolutely opposes” those pushing for Taiwan’s formal independence and their foreign supporters.

“We will firmly advance the cause of China’s reunification and work with our fellow Chinese in Taiwan to realise the glorious cause of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” Li said.

China warns it is prepared for ‘any type of war’ with US

China has warned the US it is ready to fight “any type” of war as it retaliates against Donald Trump’s mounting trade tariffs – while raising spending on its military.

The trade war between the two superpowers escalated on Tuesday as Mr Trump hiked his levies on Chinese goods to a total of 20 per cent, and China retaliated by imposing 15 per cent tariffs on American agricultural goods.

The Chinese embassy in Washington, in a post on X, said: “If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end.”

The spokesperson was reiterating an earlier statement by the Chinese foreign ministry, issued shortly after Mr Trump’s levies took effect.

The foreign ministry claimed China will fight the US “to the bitter end” if America “persists in waging a tariff war, a trade war, or any other kind of war”.

It comes as China said it will boost its defence spending by 7.2 per cent this year. The increase, announced in a government report due to be released in parliament, matches last year’s figure.

It remains well above China’s economic growth target for this year of roughly 5 per cent. Since Xi Jinping became president more than a decade ago, the defence budget has ballooned to 1.78 trillion yuan (£191.5bn) this year from 720bn yuan in 2013.

Mr Xi aims to complete a full military modernisation by 2035, with China’s military developing new missiles, ships, submarines and surveillance technologies.

Mr Trump has justified fresh tariffs on Chinese goods by blaming Beijing for the fentanyl opioid crisis in the US. He claimed that a “large percentage” of these deadly substances were made in China.

China has accused the White House of “blackmail” over its tariff hike, claiming it actually has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug policies.

Beijing’s foreign ministry lashed out, saying: “Intimidation does not scare us. Bullying does not work on us. Pressuring, coercion or threats are not the right way of dealing with China.

“Anyone using maximum pressure on China is picking the wrong guy and miscalculating.”

In his address to the joint session of the US Congress, Mr Trump claimed other countries have used tariffs against the US for decades. “Now it’s our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada … and countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. It’s very unfair,” the president said.

“China’s average tariff on our products is twice what we charge them,” he claimed.

Beijing’s commerce ministry on Tuesday claimed Washington’s “unilateral tax measures seriously violate WTO [World Trade Organisation] rules and undermine the foundation of China-US economic and trade cooperation”. China last month filed a complaint against the US with the WTO for violating trade rules.

Trade relations between the US and China suffered during Mr Trump’s first presidency after he announced tariffs on Beijing over a massive trade surplus in 2018. The resulting two-year trade war hit the world economy, with the global supply chain suffering due to tit-for-tat tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods.

Trade and diplomatic relations edged back to normality during Joe Biden’s administration but have soured once more with Mr Trump’s tariff announcements.

The US State Department has said that America is working “to deter China’s aggression, combat China’s unfair trade policies, counter China’s malicious cyber activity [and] end China’s global trafficking of fentanyl precursors”.

Japan may declare ‘severe disaster’ as wildfire burns for eighth day

Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba was considering declaring the country’s biggest wildfire in decades a “severe disaster” as the blaze continued to rage for the eighth day, reducing nearly 3,000 hectares of land to ashes.

Firefighting operations have been underway in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, since last week where nearly 4,111 people, nearly 13 per cent of the city’s population have evacuated as of 7am local time Wednesday.

At least 84 homes burned down or were damaged and one person died in the fire.

More than 2,000 troops and and firefighters have been deployed from across the country.

However, a 15-day-long dry spell ended for the first time in the city as a substantial amount of rain brought hopes that the blaze would be extinguished soon.

The Morioka Regional Meteorological Observatory recorded rain and snow at 4am on Wednesday morning and some areas recorded 0.5mm of rain for the first time in 16 days.

Mr Ishiba on Wednesday said they will consider designating the wildfires as severe disasters so that it is eligible for state aid, according to Nippon.com.

“We’ll make sure we respond quickly and appropriately, so that disaster victims can feel at ease and financial burdens on local governments are small,” Mr Ishiba said at a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet.

He said a decision could be made as soon as the progress is made in addressing the fire.

According to authorities, nearly 2900 hectares – about 9 per cent of the total area of the city – has been gutted, increasing to 300 hectares more in the last 24 hours.

The prefectural government said 19 helicopters, including eight large Self-Defense Forces helicopters and disaster prevention helicopters from Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, were scheduled to undertake firefighting depending on weather conditions.

Meanwhile, firefighters on the ground continued to battle the fire.

Unusually dry winter and strong winds have contributed to forest fires spreading faster in the region. It is the country’s largest wildfire since at least 1992, when a blaze burned nearly 1,000 hectares (2500 acres) on the northern island of Hokkaido.

A dry weather advisory has been in place from 15 consecutive days in the southern coastal areas. It was lifted on Tuesday night before the rain lashed, bringing respite to people.

“I’ve been hoping for rain. I hope the fire will be brought under control,” said a 78-year-old man who was staying at the Sanriku community centre in the city told The Japan News.

The record forest fires came as Japan endured its driest February in over two decades.

Thai couple who set world record for longest kiss have now separated

A Thai couple who had set the Guinness World Record for the longest kiss in 2013 have now separated.

Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat kissed continuously for 58 hours and 35 minutes, breaking their own 2011 record in 2013. Their first record in 2011 was a 46-hour and 24-minute kiss.

However, 56-year-old Mr Ekkachai has now confirmed that they have separated.

Mr Ekkachai told BBC News World Service podcast Witness History that he was “trying to cherish the good memories” and that he is “very proud” of their Guinness World Record.

The record-breaking kiss took place at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! event at Pattaya in Thailand, starting on 12 February 2013 and ending on Valentine’s Day.

He added: “I am very proud. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We spent a long time together, and I’m trying to cherish the good memories of what we achieved together.”

The couple didn’t share many details about their separation. Despite parting ways, Ekkachai said that they have respect for each other.

During the podcast, which was aired on 17 February, Mr Ekkachai recalled the Guinness competition’s gruelling rules, including staying locked in a kiss even during bathroom breaks and transferring water mouth-to-mouth.

“I was stunned by all the rules, but we decided the show must go on, we must commit. That’s the decision we had made,” he said.

In 2011, when they won, he said: “My family and friends congratulated me. They were happy for me. In response, I told them, only crazy people would accomplish something like that. A normal person wouldn’t try it.”

In 2013, they were hesitant to compete. Ms Laksana, who was aged 33 at the time, had just recovered from an illness, and Mr Ekkachai had planned a trip for her instead. However, the lure of a 50,000 Thai Baht prize and a diamond ring convinced them to try again.

They had attempted to get their title back in 2012 also but at the time, they lost to another couple as Ekkschai had fallen ill.

“After we lost in 2012 we discussed whether to go back, but we decided we wanted to win back our record. It was our Roman Empire. We wanted to take back what belonged to us,” he said during the podcast.

He said: “We tried to stand straight like statues. Instead of pinching (to stay awake) we were tapping each other on the head with one hand and on the other hand, we were hugging each other to keep each other awake.”

They had to beat the record of 50 hours and 25 minutes. And the prize money was two diamond rings and 100,000 Thai baht (around $3,000).

When finally they won, Mr Ekkachai recalled that he was so tired that “I didn’t want to stand up anymore. I wanted to drink water. I just wanted to rest and drink.”

In 2013, after 15 years, Guinness World Records deactivated the longest kiss category, saying it had become too dangerous and some of the rules conflicted with their current updated policies. Guinness World Record said in a statement on their website at the time: “Although we no longer monitor the longest kiss record, we have replaced it with something else: the longest kissing marathon.

“The crucial difference, as with all our ‘longest marathon’ records, is that challengers are permitted rest breaks. After every continuous hour of kissing, challengers earn five minutes of rest, which can be accumulated if not used.

“Challengers are allowed to sleep, eat, and separate their lips during these rest breaks, mitigating the risk of passing out, suffering psychosis, or requiring resuscitation.”

Several kissing contest participants have suffered health issues over the years. In 1999, record holders Karmit Tzubera and Dror Orpaz nearly fainted after kissing for 30 hours and had to be hospitalised.

In 2004, Andrea Sarti required oxygen after enduring muscle cramps during a 31-hour kiss. In 2011, a contestant passed out just 30 minutes into the challenge.

Mr Ekkachai and 45-year-old Laksana are still the final holders of this record before it was deactivated.

12 dead in double suicide bombing that severely damaged mosque

A city is in mourning after a devastating twin suicide bombing claimed the lives of 12 people.

The attack, which targeted a military base in northwestern Pakistan’s Bannu on Tuesday evening, occurred as residents were breaking their Ramadan fast and attending prayers at a nearby mosque.

Two suicide bombers initiated the assault by breaching the base’s perimeter wall, followed by a group of attackers who stormed the compound, engaging soldiers in a fierce firefight.

The powerful explosions caused widespread destruction, tearing down walls, ripping off roofs, and severely damaging the mosque.

Thirty people were also wounded in the attack, some critically.

Casualty figures released so far do not include any military personnel, leaving the number of soldiers killed or injured unknown.

On Wednesday, the city observed a day of mourning as the community grappled with the aftermath.

A mechanical digger worked to clear the rubble of destroyed homes, and debris-covered prayer mats lay scattered on the mosque floor.

Joint funeral prayers for the victims were scheduled to be held at a local sports complex, Bannu community elder Alam Khan said.

Gunshots could still be heard early on Wednesday morning as security forces combed through the area, looking to clear it of any militants involved in the attack.

“All education institutions are closed,” Mr Khan said.

“Most shops are also shut. Rescue workers have completed their operation by recovering the bodies of three deceased worshippers who were trapped under the collapsed roof of the mosque.”

The two suicide bombers blew themselves up near the wall of the sprawling military area, a security official said on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to reporters.

“After a breach in the wall, five to six more attackers attempted to enter the cantonment but were eliminated,” the security official said.

Bannu is located in the northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that borders Afghanistan and several armed groups are active there.

A group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban, Jaish Al-Fursan, has claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement, the group said the source of the blasts were explosive-laden vehicles.

Australia navigating ‘very different America’, foreign minister says

US president Donald Trump’s second presidency is proving even more disruptive than his first, Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong said.

Ms Wong, however, said she remained hopeful that Australia could secure an exemption from upcoming US tariffs on steel and aluminium.

Speaking at a business summit, she acknowledged the scale of change under Mr Trump’s administration but emphasised the strength of the US-Australia alliance despite some policy differences.

Ms Wong said since Mr Trump took over the White House, Australia has had to deal with a “very different American administration”.

“President Trump and his administration envisage a very different America in the world,” she said at the Australian Financial Review Business Summit in Sydney.

“We saw that in the first Trump administration, but I think it’s clear that the scale of change in this administration, the second term of the Trump administration is even more so.”

Ms Wong said Australia was still pushing for an exemption from the upcoming 25 per cent US tariffs on steel and aluminium.

“I wouldn’t concede that (we will not get a tariff exemption) … we are still, putting our case very clearly and our case, I think is a strong case,” she said.

“There will be areas where our position and the US position might differ. That’s always been the case. We have to navigate that sensibly. We have to remember the value of the alliance,” she added.

Last month it was reported that Donald Trump had agreed to consider exempting Australia from new US steel and aluminium tariffs after a phone call with prime minister Anthony Albanese.

Despite initially ruling out exemptions, Mr Trump acknowledged Australia’s trade surplus with the US and its importance as a security ally. “We have a surplus with Australia. One of the few. And the reason is they buy a lot of airplanes. They’re rather far away and they need lots of airplanes,” Mr Trump said at the time.

“I told him that that’s something that we’ll give great consideration to,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office, adding that Mr Albanese was a “very fine man”.

Mr Albanese called the discussion “constructive and warm”.

“We agreed on wording to say publicly which is that the US president agreed that an exemption was under consideration,” Mr Albanese told reporters.

Australia’s steel and aluminium exports support US defence interests, including shipbuilding under the Aukus pact. While no exemption has been granted yet, discussions between both governments continue.

Mr Albanese said he was confident in securing a deal with Mr Trump. “Given what we’ve already accomplished, it’s been a fantastic start to the relationship.”

Dr Valdimir Tyazhelnikov, an expert in international trade from the University of Sydney’s School of Economics, says of the impact of any tariffs on Australian industry: “The greatest risk for Australia is a potential global trade war, which could disrupt supply chains and weaken manufacturing activity across East and Southeast Asia. Given that Japan, Korea, and China are key export destinations for Australia, such disruptions could have significant negative economic consequences”.

Additional reporting by agencies.