Japan appoints former officer as Shinto priest at Yasukuni Shrine

Today's news: In the Philippines, hundreds of people locked up in online scam centres freed; In Pakistan, PM Sharif builds bridges with Imran Khan's party; South-East Asia boycotts Israeli dates, despite the Ramadan period; Novaja Evropa publishes a 'guide of countries to avoid' for anti-war Russians who migrated abroad; At least 50,000 migrants from Central Asia arrived in the US via Mexico in 2023.

JAPAN

Japan's Yasukuni Shrine has appointed Umio Otsuka, former commander of the Maritime Self Defense Force (SDF) and former ambassador to Djibouti, as its new head priest. It is the first time since 1978 that a former military officer has assumed the position and the matter is likely to generate controversy among Asian countries in the region, which see the shrine as a symbol of Japanese aggression.

CHINA

China has criticized proposed legislation that could ban TikTok in the United States. In recent days the Chamber voted by an overwhelming majority to approve the law, with 352 deputies in favor and 65 against. Beijing promised to take "necessary measures" to protect its interests. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin also said the bill "is contrary to the principles of fair competition and justice." TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, a company based in Beijing and registered in the Cayman Islands.

PHILIPPINES

Hundreds of people who were imprisoned in an online scam center were freed yesterday thanks to a military operation. Police arrested eight suspects, some of whom are accused of human trafficking. At the scene, 432 Chinese citizens, 371 Filipinos, 57 Vietnamese, eight Malaysians, three Taiwanese, two Indonesians and two Rwandans were found. The 100,000-square-meter complex in Bamban, north of Manila, posed as an Internet gaming company.

PAKISTAN

Newly elected Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with Ali Amin Gandapur, leader of former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which claims the elections were rigged. Less than two weeks ago, Gandapur, prime minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, refused to participate in Sharif's swearing-in ceremony, but in recent days the two men have made statements in favor of the country's development.

ISRAEL – SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Dates from Israel are the latest products to be boycotted by consumers in Muslim nations in Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia, despite being a typical food of the holy month of Ramadan. In recent days the authorities have arrested some people accused of changing the labels of origin of the dates, passing them off as local products.

RUSSIA

Russia is increasingly brazenly persecuting its anti-war citizens who have emigrated abroad, and Novaya Evropa has published a "guide of countries to avoid" where Russians act under the protection of friendly or "neutral" regimes such as in Thailand , in Central Asia, in the Caucasus and the Balkans, and also in Turkey and Argentina, and partly in Europe.

USA - CENTRAL ASIA

Montana State Senator Steve Daynis stated in a press conference that in 2023 over 50 thousand people from Central Asia have illegally crossed the US border from Mexico, and according to the Trac Entry Registration Analysis Center there are currently around 40 thousand awaiting the court's decision, 17 thousand from Uzbekistan, 7 thousand from Kyrgyzstan, 3 thousand from Tajikistan, 2.7 thousand from Kazakhstan and 2 thousand from Turkmenistan.

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