Iran to let aid and agricultural goods through Hormuz
Today's news: Nepal’s former prime minister is arrested over his role in the deadly 2025 crackdown. Protests are staged in India following the passage of a bill defining transgender people. Indonesia bans children under 16 from accessing digital platforms. Hong Kong sees its lowest number of job offers in six years.
IRAN – UNITED NATIONS
Tehran has agreed to "facilitate and expedite" humanitarian aid through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said Friday. Iran has accepted the UN's request to allow the transit of humanitarian aid and agricultural goods through this vital waterway, which typically handles a fifth of the world's oil shipments and nearly a third of the global trade in fertilisers, essential for agriculture. The aid plan would represent the first breakthrough in this maritime transport hub after a month of war.
NEPAL
As part of routine police procedures, former Nepali Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli was taken to hospital after he was arrested for his role in last year's deadly crackdown on protests. The 74-year-old was taken into custody this morning at his home. More than 70 people were killed, many of them protesters shot by police, during anti-corruption protests in 2025. Former Home Affairs Minister Ramesh Lekhak was also arrested.
INDIA
The Indian Parliament passed a controversial bill that would change the legal recognition of trans people and their right to self-identification, amid protests from opposition parties and the LGBTQ+ community. The bill focuses on the definition of a trans person. The government believes a more restrictive definition will help ensure that social benefits – such as reserved job opportunities and healthcare – reach those in need. The new legislation effectively eliminates the right to self-identification and instead limits recognition to people defined by biological traits.
INDONESIA
Indonesia has begun implementing a new government regulation banning children under 16 from accessing digital platforms that could expose them to pornographic content, cyberbullying, online scams, and addiction, including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and X. This initiative follows measures adopted last year by Australia, which imposed the world's first social media ban for minors. Indonesia is the first country in Southeast Asia to do the same.
HONG KONG
Sixty-nine per cent of Hong Kong’s job sectors, 23 out of 33, saw their lowest number of job openings in six years, a trend experts attribute to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and economic stagnation. Data from the Joint Institution Job Information System also showed that the number of vacancies fell to a five-year low, down 51.5 per cent compared to 2021.
RUSSIA
Russia submitted its report to the UN on compliance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) on the eve of the agreement's review conference. The report states that Russia fully supports the goals of the NPT, but adds about 20 points explaining why it is currently not ready to reduce its nuclear weapons arsenal, primarily due to “NATO's continued expansion”.
GEORGIA
Hundreds of people attended the funeral service in Tbilisi's Sioni Cathedral on the ninth day after the death of Patriarch Ilya II, celebrated by the Patriarchal locum tenens (lieutenant), Metropolitan Shio, and attended by the country's authorities. At the end of the ceremony, one of those present turned to the celebrant and shouted, “Have mercy! The time has come for those in power to answer for their actions!” This person was an activist who lost an eye in the crackdown on protests and was arrested live on television.
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22/08/2008
12/03/2021 14:51
