India joins boycott of Beijing Olympics opening ceremony

Today's headlines: Two attacks rock Balochistan, Pakistan; Aung San Suu Kyi is indicted on a new charge; in Lebanon, 48 flee Tripoli to join Isis in Iraq; experts say Jakarta is unlikely to sign the Abraham Accords.

INDIA - CHINA

India's chargé d'affaires in Beijing will not participate in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics because China has chosen a former People's Liberation Army soldier as a torchbearer. The soldier had participated in the June 2020 clashes between China and India in the Galwan Valley. Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said the Chinese choice to honour the commander was "regrettable".

CHINA

Hundreds of activists marched in front of the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee, which is accused of being complicit in Beijing's "atrocities" in Tibet and against the Uighurs in Xinjiang. A protester in Hong Kong, who opposed the Games for the same reasons, was arrested. In the meantime, the United States, which did not send its officials to Beijing, made it known that Chinese companies helping Russia to evade sanctions imposed for the situation in Ukraine would suffer consequences.

PAKISTAN

At least seven Pakistani soldiers were killed in two separate attacks on military bases in the Panjgur and Nushki districts of Balochistan. The Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attacks. Yesterday, the opposition expressed concern about the growing number of terrorist attacks in the country, accusing the government of failing to implement the National Action Plan, the anti-terrorism programme launched in 2015.

MYANMAR

Yesterday, Burma's military junta announced a new indictment against the country's former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is now also accused of corruption. The Nobel laureate is already on trial for a dozen charges and has already been sentenced to six years in prison. Suu Kyi's lawyers could not be contacted and were prevented from commenting on the judicial process.

THAILAND

Thai security forces yesterday claimed to have killed three armed insurgents in the southern district of Chana, Songkhla Province. "The insurgents opened fire on local authorities, who had to return fire to defend themselves," said Kiatisak Neewong, spokesman for the army's regional command. In the south of Thailand, a conflict for independence has flared up again in recent months, which has claimed at least 7,000 lives since 2004.

INDONESIA - ISRAEL

Since December, there has been speculation that Indonesia might sign the Abraham Agreement and join the group of Arab countries that have normalised relations with Israel. According to experts, Jakarta is unlikely to abandon its support for the Palestinian cause at the moment, which would risk generating protests. However, even in the absence of diplomatic recognition, the two countries have had good trade relations for years.

LEBANON

Many young people from Tripoli are joining the Islamic State in Iraq to escape from the poverty that afflicts the city and the rest of the Cedar Country. Al Jazeera reports that before the financial crisis, the poverty rate in Tripoli was already 60 per cent. According to data from the Ministry of the Interior, at least 48 men have disappeared and it is feared they have joined the jihadists.

RUSSIA

A large protest rally led by politicians and mullahs was held in the centre of Groznyj, the capital of Chechnya, to curse the entire family of Judge Saida Jangulbaeva, who had denounced the torture and persecution of dissidents by the government of President Kadyrov. Kadyrov said that the demonstrators, all of whom were male, wanted to "defend the sacred precepts of Islam".