Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi sentenced to four more years in prison

Today's headlines: foreign funding for Mother Teresa's nuns released, a fire in Cox's Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh leaves thousands homeless, pro-Iranian Shiite groups continue to contest election results, nearly 8,000 people arrested in Kazakhstan, star of Squid Game becomes the first South Korean actor to win a Golden Globe.

MYANMAR

Former Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to an additional four years in prison after being found guilty of smuggling walkie-talkies and violating anti-Covid regulations. Today's sentence comes on top of December's sentence to four years in prison, later reduced to two by General Min Aung Hlaing, head of the military junta.

BANGLADESH

A fire in Cox's Bazar refugee camp has left more than 5,000 homeless. "About 1,200 houses were burned down," a local police spokesman said. The camp is home to at least 850 thousand Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar in 2017. Yesterday's is already the third fire in 2022.

PAKISTAN

Pakistani authorities managed to rescue tourists stranded after heavy snowfall over the weekend in Murree, a resort northeast of the capital Islamabad. Thousands of people were trapped in their vehicles and at least 21 died. Some roads still remain blocked by snow.

INDIA

The Indian government has lifted a ban on the Missionaries of Charity receiving funds from abroad. The Ani news agency reports that the license was renewed following the submission of "necessary documents." Mother Teresa's sisters' bank accounts had been frozen on Christmas Day.

CHINA

Local authorities In the coastal city of Tianjin have tightened entry and exit controls and decided to test all 14 million residents after the Chinese government reported 21 new cases of Covid-19 yesterday. Beijing's zero-covid policy could be thrown into crisis by the Chinese New Year on Feb. 1 and the arrival of foreign athletes for the Winter Olympics. Chinese citizens have been told not to approach vehicles used for the Games to avoid breaking "the bubble."

SOUTH KOREA

Actor O Yeong-su, 77, who played the first contestant in the gruesome game in Squid Game, has won the Golden Globe for best supporting actor in a TV series. He is the first ever South Korean performer to win the award.

KAZAKHSTAN

According to Kazakhstan's Interior Ministry, nearly 8,000 people have been arrested by security forces following unrest that has erupted in recent days. Karim Masimov, former head of the National Security Committee, was arrested on treason charges just days after being fired by President Qassym-Jomart Tokaev. So far 164 people have been killed in the clashes.

IRAQ

The first session of the Iraqi parliament was marked by chaos: Shiite groups close to Iran that oppose the bloc (also Shiite) led by Moqtada al-Sadr continue to contest the results of the general elections held in October. During the interruption of work Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, the most senior member of parliament, was taken to hospital and now seems to be doing well.