Indonesia: Nahdlatul Ulama calls for ch's airman's resignation over pro-Israel guest
Today's news: The death toll from floods in Vietnam has risen to 55. Myanmar’s military junta reportedly arrested a thousand foreigners in its latest raids on scam centres. Indian counterterrorism units searched the offices of the Kashmir Times. Amnesty International has called on Pakistan to explain the enforced disappearances of six Pashtun activists.
INDONESIA
Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s (and the world’s) largest Islamic organisation, gave its chairman, Yahya Cholil Staquf, three days to resign. Staquf is accused of inviting Peter Berkowitz, a pro-Israel US scholar to an internal training event held in August. Staquf apologised, describing the invitation an oversight.
VIETNAM
In Vietnam the death toll from torrential rains and landslides has risen to 55 with 13 missing, the country’s disaster agency reported. Dak Lak and Khanh Hoa are the most affected provinces. In total, more than 235,000 houses were flooded and approximately 80,000 hectares of crops were damaged, for an estimated cost 8.98 trillion dong (US$ 341 million).
MYANMAR
Myanmar's military junta announced the arrest of more than a thousand foreign nationals when it raided the Shwe Kokko compound, one of the country’s most notorious scam centres on the border with Thailand, run by the Karen Border Guard Force, a militia close to the military. According to information released by the military, the foreigners arrested come from 22 countries, with 216 from Indonesia, 184 from China, and 85 from Ethiopia.
INDIA
Indian counterterrorism forces raided the office of the Kashmir Times, accusing it of being part of a "criminal conspiracy with secessionist and other anti-national entities”. The newspaper, which became an online-only publication after another of its offices was closed in 2022, rejected the accusations as "baseless”, noting that the raided office had not been operational for four years. Kashmir is a region disputed between India and Pakistan. Since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked the Indian-administered territory's special autonomy in 2019, arrests and harassment of local journalists have increased.
PAKISTAN
Amnesty International has called on Pakistan to explain the enforced disappearances of six members of the Pashtun Protection Movement (PTM) in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province bordering Afghanistan. In a statement released yesterday, the organisation reported that the six activists were seized ten days ago and their fate remains unknown. Forced disappearances are a practice widely used by the Pakistani government against independence movements opposing its rule.
RUSSIA
Moscow’s Duma approved the 2026 budget, and plans for 2027-2028, with some 700 amendments made to the seven trillion roubles (US$ 88.5 billion) layout. This includes increasing allocations for the Defenders of the Fatherland, a fund managed by Putin's cousin, Anna Tsivilyova, by more than 50 billion roubles. Military spending for 2026 is set to reach to 13 trillion roubles, compared to social spending of 10 trillion roubles, with a deficit projected for three years.
CHINA – KYRGYZSTAN
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bishkek this week. The two leaders discussed prospects for developing joint projects. Kyrgyz-Chinese relations are currently at a “historic level”. They also sought to address the issue of relations between Kyrgyz and Chinese workers who recently clashed at a road construction site in the Central Asian country, a matter that must be settled “in compliance with local laws”.
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04/02/2009
21/05/2024 18:07
16/08/2021 10:33
