Malaysia bans smoking for anyone born after 2005

Today's headlines: Taiwanese microchip production booms;  Kim Jong-un celebrates his faher with mass amnesty; Kashmiri families demand release of children held for sedition; Ancient Roman cemetery found in Gaza; Belarusians dennounce presence of Russian soldiers; Kazakh diaspora returns home.

MALAYSIA

The Malaysian government is about to pass a law banning people born after 2005 from smoking and possessing tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes. The measure aims to protect the health of future generations: 22% of cancer deaths in the country are smoking-related.

TAIWAN

Production in Taiwan's microchip industry - the world's largest - reached USD 146.8 billion in 2021. Year-on-year growth of 26.7% for the precious electronic components, used in all high-tech systems, from smartphones to computers, from electric cars to fighter planes. 

NORTH KOREA

North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un has freed thousands of prisoners to celebrate the birthday of his late father, the country's former leader Kim Jong-il. Reports from North Koreans who have fled abroad suggest that conditions in the nation's prisons are incredibly brutal.

INDIA

More than three months after their detention, the families of three Kashmiri students arrested for sedition continue to demand their release. Local authorities had jailed Arsheed Yousuf, Inayat Altaf and Showkat Ahmad Ganai in October for celebrating Pakistan's victory over India in a cricket World Cup match on WhatsApp.

PALESTINE

During construction work on Gaza's northern coast, workers discovered the remains of a 2,000-year-old Roman cemetery. To date, 20 richly decorated tombs have come to light. The Strip is home to numerous sites of archaeological interest, having been a place of passage for many civilisations.

BELARUS-RUSSIA-UKRAINE

Inhabitants of the areas of Belarus affected by the exercises of about 9,000 Russian soldiers (the official figure is not known) complain about the blockage of the railways to let the military convoys through. The protests also concern the huge piles of rubbish left on the roads and the behaviour of the Russian soldiers, who are accused of "constantly drinking vodka and smuggling diesel".

KAZAKHSTAN

In the first month of 2022, 1,820 people returned to Kazakhstan with the status of "kandas", ethnic Kazakh returnees or relatives of Kazakhs. In all, just over one million people of Kazakh origin have returned home since 1991, the majority from Uzbekistan, China, Turkmenistan and Mongolia.

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