Tech billionaire Elon Musk announced Saturday that "the America Party is formed” to give back freedom, following an online poll he launched earlier in the week that showed strong support for a new political force. "Independence Day is the perfect time to ask” if the country “want independence from the two-party system," Musk wrote in Friday's post announcing the poll.

More than 65 percent of the 1.2 million respondents backed the idea. Musk said the America Party will laser-focus on two or three Senate seats and eight to 10 House districts, a strategy he believes could tip control in a narrowly divided Congress.

mitv

Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday to attend the 17th BRICS Summit upon invitation. Brazil, the rotating chair of BRICS, will hold the summit from July 6 to 7. Li will also pay an official visit to Egypt from July 9 to 10 at the invitation of Prime Minister Mostafa Kamal Madbouly.

mitv

More than 1,200 guests from 86 countries and regions have gathered in Beijing to exchange views on maintaining global peace and addressing conflicts at the ongoing 13th World Peace Forum. Themed “advancing global peace and prosperity: shared responsibility, benefit and achievement,” the forum, which runs from July 2 to 4, brings together leading strategists, senior policymakers and former political leaders.

Topics such as China-U.S. relations, economic trade, and the Global South became focal points of discussion at the gathering. Guests urged the international community to uphold solidarity and coordination, work together to improve global governance, and jointly respond to challenges.

mitv

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Berlin on Friday, pledging to work with China to uphold openness and mutual benefit, promote fair trade, and jointly address global crises and challenges.

Merz said that such efforts serve the interests of both countries, citing the positive development of Germany-China relations and sustained progress in cooperation across various fields including politics, and economy and trade.

Merz also reaffirmed the new German government’s adherence to the one-China policy. Wang, said that Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Merz had recently held an important phone conversation, which has provided strategic guidance and political assurance for the development of bilateral relations.

mitv

US President Donald Trump has signed into law his sweeping domestic policy bill that includes tax breaks and spending cuts. Trump signed the bill at the White House on Friday, following its passage in the Senate on Tuesday and at the House of Representatives on Thursday, both by a narrow margin.

He delivered a speech at the White House on Friday before the signing. The legislation extends personal tax cuts from his first term, and exempts taxes on tips and overtime pay for restaurant workers for a certain period. It also includes additional funding for border security.

The enacted law features measures to reduce expenditures, such as abolishing and scaling down businesses to tackle climate change, and tightening the health insurance system for low-income people. The US Congressional Budget Office estimates it will add about 3.4 trillion dollars to the US debt over the next decade.                  

mitv     

Malaysia supports France's initiative to relaunch the "two-state" Israeli-Palestinian solution, says Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on his arrival at the Elysée Palace in Paris, while Emmanuel Macron says he wants to "move forward as quickly as possible".

At the press conference held before their bilateral meeting, Anwar praised Macron for his passion to try and resolve the conflict in Gaza. Anwar said Malaysia also condemns the Israeli aggression on Iran and will continue to support France’s efforts to bring peace in the Middle East.

mitv

Russia and Ukraine on Friday conducted another round of prisoner exchange, the Russian Defense Ministry said. In accordance with the Russian-Ukrainian agreements reached on June 2 in Istanbul, another group of Russian servicemen has been returned from the territory controlled by Ukraine, the ministry said in a statement.

It added that a group of Ukrainian Armed Forces prisoners of conflict was handed over in exchange. The number of released prisoners from both sides was not provided.

Russian servicemen are in Belarus and will be taken to Russia for treatment and rehabilitation in the military's medical institutions. During their latest round of talks in Türkiye's Istanbul, Russia and Ukraine agreed on an "all-for-all" exchange involving seriously ill and wounded prisoners, as well as soldiers under the age of 25.

mitv

The Myanmar Electronic Voting Machine (MEVM) will be used for the first time in Myanmar during this year’s general election, according to a press conference held on 4 July and jointly organized by the Union Election Commission and the Myanmar Press Council.
More than 50,000 MEVMs will be produced and distributed for use.
“The MEVM makes voting easy and simple. It does not require internet or electricity, and it is lightweight and portable, allowing it to be used anywhere. The machine uses a UPS battery, commonly used in computers, which can be easily purchased on the market. Provisions have also been made to accommodate voters with disabilities. The machine has been tested hundreds of thousands of times for flaws, and none have been found so far,” U Nyi Nyi Lwin, Deputy Director-General of the Union Election Commission, told GNLM.
In addition, he explained, “At the voting booth, the voter must select their preferred option when the green light above the voting machine button turns on, and then press the button to cast their vote. The voter can also review the ballot paper on the monitor to confirm whether it reflects their choice. The MEVM will generate the voter list shortly after the polling stations close, eliminating the need to wait for hours. This MEVM can be easily used not only in the general election, but also in referendums and other elections for Union-level organizations.”
By using the MEVM, issues such as rejected votes and problems associated with paper ballots, like wax markings or the insertion of duplicate ballots, will reportedly be eliminated.
The press conference was held on the morning of 4 July at the ShweUDaung Hall, News and Periodicals Enterprise office, in Botahtaung Township, Yangon Region. — ASH/TH

GNLM

1. Due to their terrorist acts, the group has been declared a terrorist group under the Counter-Terrorism Law. According to recent information emerging on social media, even their leaders have not formally recognized them, and the unlawfully formed CRPH and NUG, established for their interests, attempted to conceal their electoral misconduct and efforts to unlawfully seize State power, intending to continue to grasp the authority of the State illegitimately. As such, they shaped themselves as the elected government. CRPH and NUG have propagated the narrative that Tatmadaw, which assumed responsibility for all functions of the State under the Constitution to hold a free and fair election, was dragging democracy backwards. Whether due to believing in the propaganda that was spread or based on the assumption that their own beliefs and convictions were correct, the armed groups, including PDFs, chose the path of armed struggle.

2. The shared aspiration of the government, people, Tatmadaw, ethnic armed organizations, and officially established political parties is to build a Union based on democracy and a federal system. Likewise, the stated goal of the armed groups, including those operating under the name of PDF, who have chosen the path of armed struggle based on their beliefs and convictions, is also to establish a Union founded on democracy and a federal system.

3. The State Administration Council has adopted the Five-Point Roadmap and has been making considerable progress in striving to hold a multiparty democratic general election. The government, the Tatmadaw, and political parties that share the same aspirations and intend to participate in the election pathway now number 54 parties. The gateway to advancing toward a Union based on democracy and a federal system is through a free and fair multiparty democratic general election. In such circumstances, if the path of armed struggle continues, it will not benefit the State but will instead cause democracy to regress. The goal of establishing a Union based on democracy and a federal system does not need to be lost or derailed due to the interference and disruption caused by the CRPH and NUG’s propaganda. Instead, they must continue to advance along the path aligned with their beliefs and aspirations. Once the election is held and Hluttaws and governments are formed, CRPH and NUG’s actions, which are fearful of losing their standing as an elected government, contradict their aspirations. Therefore, they must change course and move forward on the correct path. Because of the armed struggle, many young people have lost their lives, causing a loss of human resources crucial for building the envisioned Union.

4. Although efforts to resolve issues through armed struggle have lasted for over 70 years, they have yielded no results and have delayed the country’s development. Learning from this lesson, armed groups, including those operating under the name PDF, have to recognize that because their regions lack stability and peace and because their participation in armed struggle has caused harm and suffering to the socioeconomic life of their family members and communities. They have to fully cooperate and participate in the election process, in doing so – along with reconsidering their approach of harming loss to the socioeconomic life and supporting comprehensive development in areas such as education and healthcare under peaceful and stable conditions — will enable them to reach their desired goals.

5. They have to negotiate with the Hluttaw and the government that will emerge from the upcoming multiparty democratic general election to build a Union based on democracy and a federal system, as well as to amend the Constitution to align with a democratic and federal Union.

6. Therefore, if the armed groups, including those operating under the name PDF, aspire to see the emergence of a Union based on democracy and a federal system, and if they choose to legally establish themselves within the framework of the law and cooperate hand in hand with the government and Tatmadaw to serve the interests of the State and the regions, the government and Tatmadaw will welcome and accept this. Those who have such intentions are invited to contact and coordinate with the nearest military camps and regional authorities.

Information Team

State Administration Council

Indian Prime Minister Modi exchanged memorandums of understanding with Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissesar during his official visit to the Caribbean nation, where over a third of the population traces its roots to India. Modi began the two-day trip on July 3.

mitv