Today:'s headlines: China's daily Covid-19 case count continues to rise, reaching more than 20 thousand; 6 in 10 Indonesians want Beijing containment policy; Journalists condemned in Vietnam for exposing corruption cases; Kuwaiti government resigns; Kazakhstan declares that it will not help Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions.
INDIA
Delhi has condemned the indiscriminate killing of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha at the UN yesterday, also calling for an independent investigation into the incident. Invading Russian forces occupied the small town on the outskirts of Kiev until a few days ago. Since the outbreak of the conflict, this is the first time that the Indian government has taken a position; so far it has never criticized Moscow's intervention.
CHINA
Chinese health authorities today registered more than 20,000 cases of Covid-19, the highest number since the pandemic broke out two years ago. The most difficult situation is still in Shanghai, where millions of lockdown residents must begin a second close cycle of diagnostic tests.
INDONESIA
6 in 10 Indonesians want their government to join other countries in the region in limiting China's influence. The figure emerges from a survey by the Australia-based Lowy Institute. However, 80% of respondents said that in cases of conflict between Beijing and the U.S., Indonesia must remain neutral.
VIETNAM
A Ho Chi Minh City court yesterday sentenced a journalist to three and a half years in prison. Nguyen Hoai Nam à was blamed for criticizing how the authorities handled a public corruption case he revealed in 2018.
KUWAIT
The Kuwaiti government resigned yesterday, shortly before a no-confidence vote in parliament against Premier Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid. Executive and legislative branches in the wealthy Gulf monarchy have long been at odds over the launch of tax reform.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
Russia's state-run news agency Ria Novosti published an article by "philosopher and methodologist" Timofej Sergejtsev with a new "de-Nazification" plan for Ukraine that includes control of almost all of its territory except for "the pro-nationalist western provinces, which will never join Russia, and are best left to the Catholics."
KAZAKHSTAN
The first deputy head of Kazakh President Tokaev's administration, Timur Suleimanov, told the press that Kazakhstan will not help Russia circumvent Western sanctions. In line with the UN, Nur-Sultan "respects the territorial integrity of Ukraine" and does not recognize the Russian annexation of Crimea or the independence of Donbass.