China: Evergrande founder pleads guilty to fraud

Today’s headlines: North Korea has conducted further missile tests; In Pakistan, diplomatic talks between the US and Iran are continuing despite the country’s instability; In Thailand, the Songkran celebrations have been marred by hundreds of road accidents; Philippine President Marcos jumps up and down to prove he is in good health.

CHINA

Hui Ka-yan, founder and former chairman of China Evergrande Group, the world’s most indebted property developer, has pleaded guilty to embezzlement of corporate assets and corporate bribery, according to a court in Shenzhen. The trial took place on Monday and Tuesday, but the sentence will be handed down in the coming days. The Chinese authorities had arrested Hui in September 2023 and subsequently penalised him for inflating sales figures.

NORTH KOREA

In recent days, Pyongyang has conducted another test of cruise and anti-ship missiles, the state news agency KCNA reported today, whilst two further destroyers are reportedly under construction. Dictator Kim Jong Un attended the test alongside senior defence officials and naval commanders. According to experts, North Korea is accelerating its weapons development, taking advantage of the fact that the world’s attention is focused on other issues, such as the conflict in the Middle East.

RUSSIA

A court in St Petersburg has handed down sentences ranging from 12 to 6 years in a labour camp to members of the pacifist movement Vesna (“Spring”), whose leading figures, Anna Arkhipova of Novosibirsk, Jana Ksenžepolskogo from Tver, Pavel Sinelnikov from Barnaul, and Vasilija Neustroeva, Evgenija Zateeva and Valentina Khorošenina from St Petersburg, are accused of forming an extremist association, causing public disorder, rehabilitating Nazism and other offences. In court, Anna Arkhipova spoke out, declaring, “Your Honour, Vesna has decided to forgive you”.

PAKISTAN

Whilst US and Iranian delegations may soon resume talks, as indicated by several diplomatic sources, yesterday in the Pakistani district of Hangu, part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on the border with Afghanistan, armed men opened fire on police officers assigned to protect workers carrying out polio vaccination campaigns. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion falls on the Pakistani Taliban.

THAILAND

Celebrations for the Buddhist New Year, known as Songkran in Thailand, have begun. Last Friday alone saw over a million people on the move, despite rising fuel prices in the country. Furthermore, during the first three days of the holiday, more than 500 road accidents were reported, resulting in at least 95 deaths – an issue local authorities have attempted to tackle by restricting the sale of alcohol.

PHILIPPINES

Over 17,000 military personnel will take part in the largest joint exercises ever conducted by the Philippines and the United States, with Australia, Japan, Canada, France and New Zealand also participating. The Balikatan 2026 exercises (which means ‘shoulder to shoulder’ in Tagalog) will take place from 20 April to 8 May, the US Marine Corps announced yesterday. Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. responded to his critics who claim he is ill by doing jumping jacks on the spot at a press conference: “I challenge anyone who says I am ill to come and train with me. We’ll see who is stronger. Come to the gym with me. We’ll see who can lift more weight,” he told journalists.

KAZAKHSTAN

Four new airports are to be built in Kazakhstan by 2028, along with further infrastructure for the implementation of 11 major airport projects, as Prime Minister Olžas Bektenov announced during a presentation on developments in the transport sector. Already this year, the network of international routes will be expanded to 135 destinations across 30 different countries, compared to a total of 115 routes in 2024, to Uzbekistan, Armenia, the Netherlands, the USA, Turkey and others.