Beirut PM Mikati polemicizes arrest of Central Bank Boss

Today's headlines: Police raids on homes of Covid-19 suspects sparks anger in China; Vatican diplomatic appointments in Taiwan and Hong Kong; Islamist leader Shihab released from prison in Indonesia; India tries to save the national currency; New restrictive measures against homosexuals in Russia.

LEBANON

Controversy broke out in Beirut after judicial authorities raided the Central Bank to arrest the head of the institution Riad Salameh, accused of corruption. PM Mikati said Salameh's replacement must be appointed before proceeding with the investigation.

CHINA

Protests are mounting in the country after reports that police raided dozens of homes in Guangzhou (Guangdong) looking for people suspected of contracting Covid-19. The agents conducted the operations without a warrant in a district where a lockdown is in force. On the web, users question whether China 'is governed according to the law'.

VATICAN-ASIA

There have been new appointments in Vatican diplomacy in the Far East. Monsignor Stefano Mazzotti will take office as chargé d'affaires (ad interim) in Taiwan. Msgr José Luis Diaz Mariblanca Sanchez will instead arrive at the "study mission" in Hong Kong.

INDONESIA

The authorities released on parole Rizieq Shihab, controversial leader of the Defenders of Islam Front, an Islamist organisation banned in the country. In June 2021, a court had sentenced Shihab to four years in prison for violating health measures on Covid-19 and spreading false news about the pandemic.

INDIA

Delhi is ready to spend USD 100 billion in reserve currency to halt the collapse of the national currency. Since the beginning of the year, the rupee has lost 7 per cent of its value, crossing the psychological threshold of 80 to a dollar yesterday.

RUSSIA

The Russian Parliament has declared war on homosexuals, believing them to be the main culprit in the country's falling birth rate. Duma deputies have proposed an even stricter law against any form of propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations, equating it to incitement to racial, national or religious conflict. Russia's top tennis player Daria Kasatkina, ranked 12th in the world, decided to come out after the news broke.

ARMENIA

Armenia's Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan said in an interview that Yerevan is withdrawing its divisions from Karabakh. They had been stationed there since the 44-day war of 2020 against Azerbaijan. The Armenians trust in the control of the situation by peacekeepers deployed by Russia. The withdrawal will be completed by September.