MALAYSIA
A 36-year-old man police suspect to be an Israeli spy was detained this week in Kuala Lumpur. The man had six guns and 200 bullets, had entered the country with a French passport, but then presented Israeli papers to the authorities. The suspect said he had come to Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country that supports the Palestinian cause, looking for another Israeli involved in a family dispute.
INDONESIA – CHINA
Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto will be in China from tomorrow until Tuesday. During his stay, he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, China’s Foreign Ministry announced yesterday. This is the first visit by Prabowo, the incoming president of Southeast Asia's largest economy. With the visit, “we hope to deepen all-round strategic cooperation and create a joint development model,” a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry said.
THAILAND
The Bangkok Criminal Court yesterday dropped terrorism charges against 67 people who led anti-government protests in 2008, occupying and shutting down the capital's two airports for more than a week. According to the court, the protest by the "yellow shirts", who opposed the government led by allies of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, were peaceful and did not pose a threat to national security.
HONG KONG
The Radio Free Asia (RFA) news agency said yesterday that it had closed its offices in Hong Kong after the passage of the restrictive new national security law, implementing Article 23 of the autonomous region’s Basic Law. Citing “concerns about the safety of RFA staff and reporters,” RFA president and chief executive Bay Fang said that the agency no longer had full-time staff in the city.
INDIA
The Indian National Congress (INC), India's main opposition party, announced that the tax department is demanding an additional INR 18.2 billion (US$ 218 million) in taxes, in what it considers an attempt to cripple the party just weeks before the country’s national parliamentary elections, this according to the party's spokesmen. INC treasurer Ajay Maken said the party has appealed to the courts, but the case may not be settled until voting is over.
UKRAINE – INDIA
Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, issued a warning to India not to cross the “red line" of financing Russia's war machine, with which it cooperates in several domains, noting that the friendship between Moscow and Delhi “is largely based on the Soviet legacy,” but times have changed. Ukraine is also interested in relations with India.
RUSSIA
Following the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall music venue in Moscow, Russia is not allowing people from Central Asia to enter the country, detaining them at airports and turning them away with an indefinite ban without explicit reasons. Hundreds of people have already posted complaints on social media.
