Kathmandu: protests against US funding

Today's headlines: Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Taiwan; disapproval of government is growing in Japan; Burma's military junta won't allow Asean to meet with the opposition; fertility treatments will be covered by medical insurance in Beijing; a plane has crashed in Iran.

NEPAL

Hundreds of people protested in Nepal yesterday in front of parliament in Kathmandu against a 0 million grant from the United States. Police used rubber bullets and tear gas, injuring several people. The political forces have until 28th February to ratify the agreement with the USA, which has been criticised above all by parties traditionally close to China.

MYANMAR

Yesterday, the Burmese military junta opposed the decision of the ASEAN special envoy, Cambodia's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, to meet members of the Government of National Unity, formed by former MPs of the National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi's party. The junta calls the former MPs 'terrorists'. It is therefore likely that Sokhonn will only meet Burmese generals during his March visit.

TAIWAN

Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that he will travel to Taiwan next week and meet with President Tsai Ing-wen. Despite the lack of formal diplomatic relations, the Trump administration had given great support to the island, irritating the Chinese authorities. Taipei's Foreign Ministry says the visit shows the US' "solid" bipartisan support for Taiwan's independence from China.

JAPAN

A recent poll reveals most Japanese people think the administration of the third dose of the covid-19 vaccine is too slow. So far only 12% of the population has received the booster dose. Japan has also reopened its borders to foreigners (not tourists); 45% of the population think it is too early.

CHINA

In an attempt to support the birth rate, Beijing authorities have included a series of fertility treatments in a medical insurance programme. The measure, which will become effective on 26 March, could help couples in lower income brackets to have children. Despite current laws allowing up to three children, China's new births hit an all-time low in 2021.

PAKISTAN

The Pakistani authorities introduced a new law that is supposed to limit the spread of fake news, but according to activists it aims to suppress voices of dissent against institutions and in particular the military. According to the ordinance, prison sentences for defamation of people or institutions are increased from three to five years and access to bail is restricted for alleged offenders.

RUSSIA

Putin's collaborator and ideologue, Vladislav Surkov, a supporter of Russia's military expansion, published an extensive essay on the "Nebulous Future of the Obscene World" in which he defends Russian rights to the territories lost in the 1918 Brest-Litovsk peace (Baltic States, Belarus and Ukraine), concluding that "we are for a just and not obscene peace".

IRAN

A plane crashed in the northwestern city of Tabriz, Iran, killing three people, the two pilots and a bystander. The aircraft crashed near a school. News is being updated.

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