Kuala Lumpur bans Israeli-flagged ships from docking

Today's news: Japan's new Industry Minister wants to revive microchip production; Tehran executes child bride Samira Sabzian; India - the world's former second largest sugar importer - risks having to import this raw material from 2025 due to climate change;. Fighting continues in Gaza UN postpones (again) Security Council vote on truce; Joint patrol operations on the border between China and Laos.

MALAYSIA - ISRAEL
Kuala Lumpur has banned the docking of ships flying the Israeli flag with immediate effect; boats bound for Israel will be prevented from loading goods in ports. This was announced by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, in response to the violation of "fundamental humanitarian principles" and "international law" in Gaza. Israeli shipping company Zim has also been banned.

JAPAN
New Industry Minister Ken Saito plans to step up efforts to revitalize Japan's microchip manufacturing base, including grants to Taiwanese manufacturer TSMC and foundry Rapidus. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida appointed him to lead the powerful ministry in a broader framework of internal purges within the executive to contain the damage linked to a financial scandal.

IRAN
Iran hanged Samira Sabzian at dawn, a "child bride" in prison for 10 years for killing the husband she was forced to marry when she was only 14 years old. This is denounced by activists from Iran Human Rights (IHR), who speak of "the victim of the murderous machine of an incompetent and corrupt regime, of gender apartheid, early marriages and domestic violence.

INDIA
India, the world's second largest sugar producer and exporting country for the last six years, has blocked foreign marketing since the start of the agricultural year in October and could be forced to import in 2025. Farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs are focusing on other crops , while drought, fueled by El Nino, causes crop failures in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

INDONESIA
The government financial intelligence agency has identified suspicious transactions worth trillions of rupees (one trillion is equal to approximately 59 million euros), linked to the upcoming presidential and legislative elections. Thousands of individuals of "various political affiliations" were involved. Over 204 million Indonesians will vote in February for "the largest one-day election" in the world.

GAZA - UN
Fighting continues in Gaza, while the UN postpones (for the second time) the vote - scheduled for today - in the Security Council on the truce, in an attempt to find an agreement on the resolution that avoids the United States' veto. In the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October, 1,200 people died and 240 hostages. Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, almost 20 thousand Palestinians have been killed, the vast majority of them civilians, with over 52 thousand injured.

LAOS - CHINA
Border guards from Laos and China conducted joint border patrol operations in the northern province of Phongsaly this month. The border crossing, which runs between Yot Ou district in Laos and Mengkang port in China, is a common route used for human trafficking and illicit trade. The goal is to prevent illicit activities.

RUSSIA
A new book by the Patriarch of Moscow Kirill dedicated to the Mother of God has been released, entitled The Queen of Heaven and Her Protection over Russia. In the volume he shows Mary's assistance in the most difficult periods of Russian history and states that "today it is It is necessary to mobilize the spiritual energies of the people, asking the Lord and the Mother of God for the strength to stop the enemy".

TURKMENISTAN
The Arkadag football club, named after the new Turkmen city in honor of the “father of the homeland” and the incumbent president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, won the Turkmenistan championship in its debut season. The team overwhelmed all their opponents, renewing the Soviet practice of "regime teams" for which defeat is not allowed.

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