Today's healines: planrevealedfor invasion of Malaysia from the south of the Philippines . Canada joins diplomatic boycott the Beijing Winter Games. South Korean population expected to collapse. Israel and USA prepare anti-Iranian military exercises. Indian Armed Forces chief dies. Kyrgyz opposition launches parallel parliament.
PHILIPPINES
The Philippine Supreme Court has declared parts of the national anti-terrorism law unconstitutional. Enacted last year by President Rodrigo Duterte, the measure has alarmed humanitarian activists, who say it could be used to suppress freedom of expression and target those who oppose the government.
PHILIPPINES-MALAYSIA
At least 19 mayors of the Philippine Sulu archipelago have reportedly hatched a plan to invade Sabah, in Malaysian Borneo. According to a source questioned by the South China Morning Post, the attack is planned for February with the use of an armed militia of 600 men: "the Royal Sulu Army." There was a similar incursion in 2013.
CHINA-CANADA
Ottawa will also not send official delegations to the Beijing Winter Olympics next February. The Canadian government yesterday joined the diplomatic boycott by the United States, Australia and Britain, decided to protest human rights abuses in China. New Zealand said it will not send its own representatives to the Covid emergency.
SOUTH KOREA
By 2070, South Korea's population will drop by 14 million: the country will fall from 51 to 37 million, the Seoul Bureau of Statistics revealed today. The decline will accelerate after 2035; in 2020, the number of marriages fell in one year by 6%, while couples having children one year after the wedding is 2% less.
ISRAEL-US
The Israeli Defense Minister and his U.S. counterpart are meeting today to prepare for joint exercises that will simulate an attack on Iran. According to Reuters, the two military forces will hold training maneuvers on the destruction of Iranian nuclear sites, operations to be launched if the ongoing negotiations between Tehran and the international community fail.
INDIA
Tributes are flooding in from around the world for the passing of General Bipin Rawat. The Chief of Staff of the Indian Joint Forces was killed yesterday in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu. Along with him died his wife and 11 other people. Condolences also came from Pakistan, Delhi's arch-enemy.
KYRGYZSTAN
The parties that failed to pass the 5% barrier in the recent parliamentary elections want to form an alternative "people's parliament"; they will be joined by the two opposition formations admitted to Žogorku Keneš. According to the new Constitution, the prerogatives of the legislative assembly are greatly reduced, and the role of the minority is almost irrelevant.