Kiev asks Ankara to close the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles

Today's headlines: Japan tightens sanctions against Moscow, Erdogan hopes to mediate in Ukrainian crisis; Indonesia rocked by earthquake; 16-year-old Indian boy beats world chess champion; death sentence in Pakistan for Zahir Jaffer; Kyrgyzstan bans poor families from killing animals at funerals.

TURKEY - UKRAINE

Kiev has asked Ankara to close the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to Russian ships. Turkey, a NATO member, was immediately put on the spot by Putin's move. Yesterday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling it a "severe blow to peace and regional stability". According to analysts, Erdogan wants to play the role of mediator in the crisis.

RUSSIA

Metropolitan Onufryj (Berezovsky) of the Russian jurisdiction of Kiev, appealed to President Putin to stop the attack: "Defending the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine, we appeal to the President of Russia to immediately stop this fratricidal war. The Russian and Ukrainian peoples both came out of the baptismal font of the Dnieper, and the war between them is a repetition of the sin of Cain, who killed his brother out of envy. This war has no justification, neither before men nor before God".

JAPAN

Tokyo will tighten sanctions against Moscow, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said today. The sanctions will target financial institutions and exports of military equipment, such as semiconductors. Although poor in resources, Japan will do everything to avoid economic fallout, he added. Oil prices are expected to rise in the coming days.

HONG KONG

In Hong Kong, anyone who tests positive for covid-19 is isolated in special facilities where family members are not allowed to enter. The same rule applies to infants and children. As of next month, the authorities plan to swab all 7.4 million Hong Kong residents, causing panic among families who fear they may have to be separated from their young children. In recent days, an 11-month-old girl was isolated without her parents.

INDONESIA

Two dead and at least 20 injured: this is the initial toll after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake shook the Indonesian island of Sumatra this morning. The worst affected regions were Pasaman and West Pasaman. No tsunami warning has been issued, but the quake was also felt in Singapore and Malaysia.

INDIA

A 16-year-old Indian boy beat Norwegian chess champion Magnus Carlsen in an online match. Praggnanandhaa, or Pragg as his friends call him, belongs to a generation of young people who are abandoning cricket in favour of the game. India now has 73 chess masters, including two women, compared to 20 in 2007.

PAKISTAN

An Islamabad court sentenced Zahir Jaffer to death for the murder of 27-year-old Noor Muqaddam, the daughter of a former diplomat. Jaffer had held prisoner, raped and then killed Noor, who was part of the same circle of high-ranking friends, on 20 July last year after the girl refused to marry him.

KYRGYZSTAN

Kyrgyzstan's President Sadyr Zaparov has strictly forbidden the killing of animals during funerals for the memorial banquet. "It is not uncommon for poor families, in order to compete with richer ones, to kill their only cow and then be left with nothing".

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