Beijing, the Olympic pact between Putin and Xi Jinping

Today's headlines: the US restores exemptions for civilian nuclear cooperation with Tehran; in Afghanistan 318 media outlets have been closed since the Taliban's return to power. In Pakistan, sports glory banned for criticising Imran Khan. In Uzbekistan it is compulsory for students to learn to play a traditional instrument.

RUSSIA-CHINA

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping released a statement after meeting at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Beijing stating  the friendship between the two countries knows no boundaries. Affirming that they defend democracy as a universal value with guarantees of the rights of every person, they reject "cold war" schemes and both recognise each other's rights to security and territorial integrity, including Russia's rights against NATO enlargement, and China's rights over Taiwan.

UNITED STATES-IRAN

The Biden administration reinstated the exemption from sanctions for companies engaged in non-war-related nuclear cooperation projects with Iran. These suspensions had been lifted by the Trump administration in 2019. In a letter to Congress, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken explains that the measure aims to create the conditions for a return to the nuclear non-proliferation agreement with Iran.

SOUTH KOREA

A new spike in Covid-19 infections in South Korea, with more than 36,000 new cases recorded yesterday. The curve is expected to rise further due to travel for the Lunar New Year. Despite the high number of infections, the rate of hospital admissions remains low.

AFGHANISTAN

Since the Taliban came to power last summer, at least 318 media outlets have been closed in Afghanistan. This is according to a report by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Of the 5069 journalists working before August 2021, only 2334 would still be working today.

PAKISTAN

Just as the world is looking ahead to the Beijing Winter Olympics in Pakistan, the athlete who led the hockey team to gold in the 1984 Games has been struck off for ten years by his federation for criticising Premier Imran Khan, also a former cricket legend. Rashid-ul-Hasan had complained on social media about broken promises to promote the sport.

UZBEKISTAN

Starting from the next school year, learning to play at least one of Uzbekistan's traditional musical instruments will become a compulsory part of every school certificate, by decree of President Šavkat Mirziyoyev.