Exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui sentenced to 30 years for fraud

Today’s headlines: Iranian and US negotiators are expected in Doha to shore up the fragile truce following the weekend’s attacks; Eight men have been arrested in a donation scandal linked to a temple in Ayodhya backed by Modi’s BJP; Over 6.3 million children in Myanmar will not attend school in the 2026–27 academic year; Seoul launches  a series of mega-projects in the fields of semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

CHINA

Guo Wengui, a self-exiled Chinese billionaire business magnate who left the country in 2015 – once considered one of China’s richest men and who has reinvented himself in the United States as one of the critical voices against the Communist Party – was sentenced yesterday to 30 years in prison. The sentence, handed down by a court in Manhattan, New York, in a courtroom packed with supporters, stems from charges that he orchestrated a massive financial fraud, costing hundreds of millions of dollars to over a thousand people worldwide. Before the verdict, Guo protested against his treatment in prison. The judge also ordered the confiscation of 9 million as compensation. Regarded as a king at the heart of a property empire, his wealth was estimated at 120 billion yuan (approximately billion). He has been living in the United States since 2015, perhaps to escape the corruption charges that have mounted against him in his home country in recent years.

IRAN - IRAQ - USA

The negotiators from Iran and the United States are expected in Doha, Qatar, this week for possible (and further) talks aimed at shoring up the fragile truce, which was threatened last weekend by intense attacks between the parties. Tehran states that, at present, no face-to-face meetings are scheduled, only technical meetings without direct negotiations between the parties, whilst US President Donald Trump is reported to have sent his son-in-law Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff for ‘high-level meetings’. Meanwhile, the Iraqi government has granted pro-Iranian armed groups until 30 September to disarm.

INDIA

A court has arrested eight men in connection with a case of (alleged) embezzlement of donations and offerings at a new temple dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Ram. This was reported by the ANI news agency, which states that the affair is a source of embarrassment for the BJP, the party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which championed and supported its construction. The grand temple, consecrated by Modi in the northern city of Ayodhya in 2024, is funded primarily by donations. Those arrested, some of whom worked at the temple, are accused of pocketing the money, whilst the police are reported to have already recovered around 7.98 million rupees (,000).

MYANMAR

Over 6.3 million children will not be attending school in the 2026–27 academic year, which began on 1 June. This is according to data from the Institute for Strategy and Policy–Myanmar (ISP-Myanmar), which states that this figure represents almost half of the total school-age population of around 13 million.

The number of pupils enrolled in basic education stands at just 6.7 million for this academic year, compared with the pre-coup figure of 9.7 million in 2019–2020. Among the reasons for dropping out are poverty, armed conflict and administrative barriers to enrolment for students displaced by the war.

SOUTH KOREA

Seoul has launched a series of mega-projects in the fields of chips and artificial intelligence, with President Lee Jae Myung personally committed to cementing the country’s leadership in the sector through investments worth over 576 billion dollars over several years. The announcement marks Lee’s boldest push yet to align South Korea’s ambitions in the artificial intelligence and chip sectors, combined with his commitment to reducing regional disparities and revitalising economies beyond the capital’s metropolitan area. The head of state was accompanied by the leaders of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the world’s two largest memory chip manufacturers.

MALAYSIA

The government in Kuala Lumpur has extended its agreement with deep-sea exploration company Ocean Infinity by one year to conduct an underwater search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. The Ministry of Transport announced this yesterday, keeping alive hopes of finding the aircraft at the centre of one of the most mysterious incidents in aviation history. The Boeing 777 was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members when it disappeared en route from the Malaysian capital to Beijing in 2014. Numerous search operations carried out in the southern Indian Ocean have proved fruitless.

RUSSIA – ORTHODOX CHURCH

Vasily Losev, head of the legal department of the Orthodox Metropolis of Moscow and one of the leaders of the All-Russian Council, has proposed that students at medical and law faculties take a course on ‘Christian Foundations of Traditional Moral and Spiritual Values’. The aim is to foster a “conscious attitude” towards abortion, as true Christians “know that life begins at conception”, whereas those with a secularist mindset do not recognise this, and there is a need for “doctors and lawyers with a Christian outlook”.

GEORGIA

A new political party, called “Georgia First”, has been officially founded in Georgia. The founding congress was held on 28 June in Tbilisi. Viktor Kipiani, who previously represented Bidzina Ivanishvili in international courts, has become its president. The party’s co-founders and advisers are Nikoloz Alavidze and Georgij Tumasyan; according to Kipiani, “Georgia First” aims to transform the country into the true leader of the Caucasus region, and the new party will position itself on the centre-right of the political spectrum.