Today's headlines: a 17-year-old teenager wounds three people just before university entrance exams in Tokyo; trade between India and China continues to grow. In Israel, Bedouins clash with police over a reforestation plan that would take land away from their communities. Ukraine sends new satellite into orbit with Elon Musk.
PAKISTAN
The government in Islamabad has decided to offer Pakistani citizenship to foreign investors, tweeted Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry. According to sources quoted by the Pakistani daily Dawn, the move is aimed at attracting rich foreigners, especially wealthy Afghans currently investing in countries like Iran and Malaysia.
INDIA-CHINA
Despite the political-military confrontation over the Himalayan region, trade between India and China topped US$ 125 billion in 2021. Imports of Chinese products into India are now close to the US$ 100 billion mark, fuelled by demand for machinery.
JAPAN
Two students and an elderly man were injured in front of one of the gates of the University of Tokyo in a knife attack carried out by a 17-year-old on the day entrance exams were scheduled. The young man, who was arrested, said he acted out of frustration because of his own poor academic performance: "I wanted to cause an incident and die,” he explained.
ISRAEL
Clashes between Bedouins and police have continued for several days in southern Israel. The bone of contention is a reforestation plan ordered by the government in some areas that the Bedouins claim for their own communities. The Bedouins have lived for centuries on the edge of the Negev desert in small settlements never recognised by the State of Israel.
UKRAINE
Elon Musk's SpaceX company launched a carrier rocket with the Ukrainian satellite Sich-2-30, an event considered historic in Ukraine, since its space agency last satellite was sent into orbit in 2011 in cooperation with Russia. The small square device has major features and advanced technology.
TURKMENISTAN
In Farap, a district in Turkmenistan’s Lebap region, about 200 people protested in front of the local government building over higher prices for subsidised foods, seven to eight times in some cases; for example, a litre of seed oil that cost 3 manat jumped to 24 manat (US$ 85 cents to US$ 6.85)