KOREA – UNITED STATES
This morning, North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea off the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula, just days before the start of the largest joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, which Pyongyang usually complains about. Condemning the provocation, defence sources in Seoul and Tokyo report that the missile flew approximately 700 km. South Korea's Office of National Security held an emergency meeting, concerned over North Korea’s continued launches.
LEBANON
The Lebanese National Assembly voted yesterday to abolish the death penalty, becoming the first Arab country to do so. A majority in the 128-seat parliament backs the reform, while the Hezbollah-affiliated bloc voted against it. The bill will now be reviewed by the cabinet, which has already expressed its support, and then go to President Joseph Aoun for signing. No executions have been carried out since January 2004, but courts have continued to impose it, with at least 78 people still on death row at present. Under the new legislation, the death penalty will be replaced by life imprisonment with hard labour.
SYRIA
A Syrian court has sentenced former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia after convicting him of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the civil war. This is the first conviction for Syria’s former president, who fled Damascus for Moscow, Russia, with his family after his regime collapsed in December 2024, ending more than 50 years of Assad rule. Assad's cousin and former head of political security in Deraa province, Atef Najib, was also sentenced to death.
PAKISTAN
Voting is underway in the third and final phase of the elections for the Legislative Assembly in Pakistan-controlled Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), but only four of the 11 originally scheduled constituencies went to the polls due to unrest in the region. More than 800 polling stations in the Bagh and Haveli districts, Poonch division, opened their doors to approximately 460,000 registered eligible voters. AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, a member of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), is running for re-election in Haveli.
AFGHANISTAN
According to UNESCO, the Taliban have excluded some 2.4 million Afghan girls from secondary education since regaining power in 2021. This week, the Taliban are set to celebrate the fifth anniversary of their return to power, while some countries are expanding ties with the Taliban regime despite human rights concerns. Afghanistan is the only country where girls and women are formally banned from secondary and higher education, a fate that increases poverty and causes irreversible damage. UNESCO estimates that the ban could drive 600,000 Afghan women out of the labour market by 2066, leading to US$ 9.6 billion in cumulative income losses.
TAIWAN – CHINA
A Taiwanese court yesterday sentenced a Chinese woman to seven years in prison after she was found guilty of taking instructions from Communist Party of China (CPC) officials to campaign for candidates in Taiwanese elections. Beijing considers the island an integral part of the country and has threatened to seize it by force, while Taipei accuses Beijing of using espionage and infiltration to weaken its defences. Xu Chunying, who came to Taiwan in 1998 and was active in the island's migrant community, was found guilty of crimes under the country’s Anti-Infiltration Act.
THAILAND
Thai authorities are no longer issuing new gun permits following last week's shooting in which a 14-year-old boy killed eight people before taking his own life. Gun owners are already banned from carrying weapons in public. The Southeast Asian country has one of the highest gun ownership rates in the region, with approximately 10.3 million firearms, as well as high levels of gun crime. In response to the recent shooting, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul promised to pass new, more restrictive legislation with severe penalties; meanwhile, issuing new permits has been halted.
RUSSIA
Over the past few years, young Russians have become increasingly pessimistic about the economy. At present, nearly 40 per cent believe their work will not be adequately remunerated, this according to the Institute for Socio-Political Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Weaker security and greater social inequality could fuel pent-up frustrations, destabilising the Russian Federation.
