SOUTH KOREA
Due to the doctors' strike, which has entered its fourth day, the South Korean government has extended telemedicine services to all hospitals in the country, which will remain active until the collective action is over. Thousands of doctors and residents at major general hospitals have walked off the job in protest against the government's plan to admit 2,000 more students to medical schools next year. In the meantime, the operation of the operating theaters has been reduced by 50%.
CHINA
Its a baby boom across China for the Year of the Dragon, a surge that could ease population declines and cheer up politicians, financial daily Yicai said. The Chinese zodiac sign of the dragon is believed to be particularly auspicious, and data from hospitals during the Lunar New Year, which began on February 10, showed increases in the number of newborns of 20% to 72% compared to 2023.
INDIA
Some Indian states have banned the sale of cotton candy (also called buddi-ka-baal, "old woman's hair") because it is considered carcinogenic. Last week, Tamil Nadu was the first to implement the ban, after laboratory tests confirmed the presence of a carcinogenic substance, rhodamine-B, which gives it the pink color and whose use as a food coloring is already banned in Europe .
INDONESIA
After the February 14 elections, a series of videos talking about the "good life" during Suharto's 32-year dictatorship began to go viral on TikTok. These nostalgic videos have become increasingly popular following the victory of Prabowo SUbianto, the dictator's former son-in-law. According to Transparency International, Suharto is "one of the most corrupt leaders in modern history" and has stolen between 15 and 35 billion dollars from state coffers.
TURKEY – SOMALIA
Turkey will provide maritime security support to Somalia to help the African country defend its territorial waters, a Turkish Defense Ministry official said yesterday. The two countries signed an economic and defense cooperation agreement earlier this month during the visit of the Somali defense minister to Ankara. In recent years, Turkey has become a close ally of the Somali government. Ankara has built schools, hospitals and infrastructure and provided scholarships for Somalis to study in Turkey.
ARMENIA
Changes continue at Armenia's military and intelligence leaders, to free itself from the "Russian school", with the appointment of Rafael Vardanyan at the top of the Army Services, after having conducted very delicate investigations in collaboration with NATO and several others appointments, which are linked to new alliances such as the one with India, proposed in a meeting in Monaco.
RUSSIA
The Central Bank of Russia has suspended the license of Qiwi-Bank for involvement in illegal financial exchanges between account holders and shadow and criminal business circles, the first such intervention since August 2022, the longest pause in the fight against dirty money after 1991, allowing all types of out-of-control trafficking during the war.
