GAZA - ISRAEL
The cease-fire between Hamas and Israel will come into effect on Sunday 19 January if it gets approval from the Israeli government this morning. Making the announcement yesterday were the heads of government of Qatar and the United States, Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani and President Joe Biden. According to Al Jazeera, the Israeli army has continued shelling the Gaza Strip in recent hours, killing at least 40 people.
INDIA
India's space agency, Isro, has successfully docked two satellites in orbit, a key operation for more ambitious space missions, such as the construction of an Indian station. The mission, called SpaDeX, had been launched on 30 December and the docking had been rescheduled several times. Only Russia, China and the United States had so far managed to carry out the operation without a hitch.
BANGLADESH
The Bangladesh Constitutional Reform Commission has proposed to remove the terms ‘secularism’, ‘socialism’ and ‘nationalism’ and replace them with ‘equality’, ‘human dignity’, ‘social justice’ and ‘pluralism’ to reflect the aspirations of the people after the protests that led to the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government last year. The proposals will be discussed with political parties next month. In the meantime, Khaleda Zia, Sheikh Hasina's historical rival and leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has been acquitted by the Supreme Court in another corruption case (after the one in November in which she had always been declared innocent) dating back to 2008 and will most likely stand in the next elections.
SOUTH KOREA
President Yoon Suk-yeol, under arrest since yesterday, has no intention of taking part in the second day of questioning, her lawyer announced this morning. By tomorrow, the authorities investigating the case (which is different from the indictment being handled by the Constitutional Court) will have to decide whether to release Yoon or issue a formal indictment for up to 20 days. The governor of the Central Bank has stated that it is necessary to restore stability to the political process to avoid further economic losses.
THAILAND
Every day 1,000 tonnes of rubbish are collected in Phuket due to the massive presence of tourists, and the dump where it is deposited has expanded to the point of annoying local residents. According to government data, of the 35.5 million foreign arrivals recorded in 2024, about 13 million were to the island. By the end of 2025, the island could produce up to 1,400 tonnes of waste per day, making even its only landfill impractical.
INDONESIA
The Indonesian authorities have begun evacuating 3,000 residents near the Mount Ibu volcano on the eastern island of Halmahera, after an eruption this week raised a dense cloud of grey ash into the sky that reached a height of four kilometres. Evacuations began late yesterday evening, a spokesman for the national disaster mitigation agency said.
