Seoul, transport workers' strike called off: unions and government sign agreement

Today's headlines: the card identifying fans at the World Cup does not include Taiwan, only China; Colombo approves the four-day working week in the public sector to combat economic crisis; Saudi appeals court upholds death sentence on defendant who was a minor at the time of the crime; Phnom Penh sentences Cambodian Christian lawyer with US passport to six years for treason; Naval'nyj transferred to unknown location. 

SOUTH KOREA

South Korean truck drivers ended their strike after an agreement between the Ministry of Transport and industry representatives was signed yesterday. The parties reached an agreement on the minimum wage, ending eight days of unrest that paralysed the industry and disrupted the supply chain with losses of EUR 1.2 billion in lost production and missed deliveries. 

SAUDI ARABIA

The Saudi Court of Appeal upheld the death sentence against Abdullah al-Huwaiti, who was convicted of crimes committed when he was still a minor. He had been arrested in 2017 when he was only 14 years old and received the sentence when he was 17, found guilty of murder and armed robbery. Activists speak of a verdict that goes against all UN appeals. 

TAIWAN - CHINA

An identity card that also serves as a visa for the World Cup in Qatar could identify Taiwanese fans as being from China. The inhabitants of the island, claimed as part of the territory by Beijing, complain that they cannot register as Taiwanese. When registering, the drop-down menu does not include Taipei or even the term 'Chinese Taipei' used in sports competitions. 

SRI LANKA

Colombo has approved the four-day public working week to allow employees to cope with chronic fuel shortages and benefit from some time to grow food. Many of the country's 22 million inhabitants have to queue for hours at petrol stations and have suffered long power cuts for months. There is also a lack of food and medicine. 

CAMBODIA

A court in Phnom Penh sentenced a prominent Christian lawyer with dual Cambodian and US nationality to six years in prison for treason. The sentence came as part of a mass trial against activists and voices critical of the ruling party. Theary Seng was on the stand along with 130 other defendants, many of them members of the dissolved opposition party CNRP.

RUSSIA

Aleksej Naval'nyj was finally transferred from the camp in Vladimir province, where he has been held for over a year, but it is not known what his new destination is, as his lawyer Kira Jarmish revealed. The lawyer was supposed to meet with her client, but at the entrance to the lager she was told that he is no longer there, and his whereabouts will only be known when he has reached his new destination.

UZBEKISTAN

Uzbek Civil Defence rescuers succeeded in a feat that has failed in other countries under similar conditions, rescuing a 6-year-old boy who had fallen into an artesian well at a depth of 25 metres, in the village of Langar in the Chirakchinsk province, Kashkadar region. The child was trapped in the pit for two days and nights, but is in good health.

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