Lagos: prison and fines for 15 Asians convicted of “cyberterrorism and online fraud”

Today's news: Israel blocks Arab ministers' visit to Ramallah; Hanoi steps up campaign against counterfeiting, seizing luxury watches and high fashion items; The Emirates are the first in the Gulf to introduce a law against climate change; Beijing ready to resume fish imports from Japan; Delhi and Islamabad intend to reduce troops massed on the border after recent clashes.

ASIA - NIGERIA

A court in Lagos yesterday sentenced at least 15 Asian citizens - including 11 Filipinos, two Chinese, one Malaysian and one Indonesian - to over a year in prison and a fine of approximately 0 for “cyberterrorism and internet fraud”. According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, this is one of the most important trials for “online fraud” in the country's history. Among the charges is recruiting young Nigerians for “identity theft”.

MIDDLE EAST

Israel has blocked a visit by Arab foreign ministers to Ramallah scheduled for tomorrow. In a note sent to Palestinian Authority Vice-President Hussein al-Sheikh, the Israeli leadership notified him of the entry ban. Among the meetings that have been cancelled is one between Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. News has also emerged of a recent message sent from Riyadh to Tehran, urging Iranian leaders to take US President Donald Trump's nuclear deal offer seriously in order to avert the risk of war with Israel.

VIETNAM

Luxury watches and high fashion garments are among the items confiscated in the latest anti-counterfeiting campaign launched by Hanoi to appease the anger of Western manufacturers and governments.

Thousands of products, including Rolex watches, Prada, Longines, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Dior and Hermes bags, were seized in a raid in the commercial district of Ho Chi Minh City, with the government promoting an all-out crackdown after accusations of being a “hub of illegality” levelled by Washington.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The United Arab Emirates has introduced an law to protect the environment - the first among the oil-rich Gulf nations - requiring companies to monitor polluting gas emissions to combat climate change. The decision has been welcomed by activist groups including Greenpeace, which calls it a “bold leap towards regional climate leadership”. The country will host the UN COP28 climate talks in 2023 and aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

CHINA - JAPAN

Beijing is ready to resume imports of Japanese seafood products, marking the end of a ban that has lasted almost two years. Officials from Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Chinese customs officials reached the agreement during a meeting in the capital in recent days. The two countries have made ‘substantial progress’ since the ban was imposed in response to the release of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, the site of the 2011 nuclear accident.

INDIA - PAKISTAN

Islamabad and Delhi are reportedly planning to reduce the number of troops massed up along the border, returning to levels prior to the latest military clash between the two sides, which threatened to escalate into open war between the two nuclear-armed nations. This was announced by a senior Pakistani army officer, who did not rule out new crises in the future after the latest one, which saw fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery deployed in the worst fighting in decades.

RUSSIA

An international forum on “Prospects for a New Global Security Architecture” was held in Moscow, organised by the Russian Security Council and attended by senior defence representatives from 104 countries in the “global South and East”. The aim is to change the current world order, which is “advantageous only to the West”. US diplomats were also present for the first time in a long time.

KAZAKHSTAN

Oxford Economics has published its new Global Cities Index for 2025, in which the top cities in Central Asia are Almaty and Astana in Kazakhstan (251st and 276th on the list), ahead of Moscow in 317th place. Tashkent is third at 471, with Bishkek at 498, Shymkent at 534 and Ashgabat at 623, while New York remains at the top, followed by London and Paris, then Sydney and Tokyo.