Singapore to execute a woman, the first in nearly 20 years

Today's headlines: as expected, the Cambodian premier Hun Sen will leave the leadership of the government to his son; In Bangladesh, Western ambassadors criticize the repressive pre-election climate; US officials will meet with Taliban representatives; The Red Cross will use Japanese mine detection technology; In China, the number of gamers is increasing; Only 16 out of 54 African heads of state at the summit with Putin.

SINGAPORE

Tomorrow, Singapore is set to carry out the first execution of a woman since 2004: Saridewi Djamani, 45, was found guilty of heroin trafficking in 2018. It would be the second death sentence carried out for this type of activity in three days and the 15th since March 2022. Authorities say strict drug laws help keep Singapore as one of the safest places in the world, but there is no evidence that the death penalty works as a deterrent to drug trafficking.

CAMBODIA

As expected, Prime Minister Hun Sen said he would step down next month and hand over power to his son Hun Manet after nearly four decades of authoritarian rule. His Cambodian People's Party won a landslide victory in the last election, but the main opposition parties were not allowed to run. Speaking on a special broadcast on state television yesterday Hun Sen said "I would like to ask people for understanding as I announce that I will not continue as prime minister".

BANGLADESH

Bangladesh's foreign ministry yesterday summoned 13 Western ambassadors after they issued a joint statement against an attack on an independent candidate during a recently held by-election. Ashraful Alom, well known on local social media, was beaten up by supporters of the Awami League, the ruling party. Mohammad Ali Arafat, the MP-elect of the Awami League who won the seat said the very fact that the US and the EU care about Bangladesh's internal affairs is very disturbing.

USA – AFGHANISTAN

US officials will meet with Taliban representatives and "technocrats" from key Afghan ministries during a visit to Doha this week, the State Department said yesterday, adding they would discuss economic issues, security and women's rights. Before flying to Qatar, the American delegation will stop in Astana, Kazakhstan, to discuss the Islamic Emirate also with representatives of Central Asian countries that border Afghanistan.

JAPAN

The International Committee of the Red Cross is trying to use a type of artificial intelligence developed in Japan to speed up the detection of mines in war-torn areas - such as Ethiopia or Ukraine, experts have stressed - to make displaced people can go home sooner. "While a deminer can identify mines on an area of about 50 square meters a day, the drone in four flights will be able to do the same job on 100,000 square meters," said Erik Tollefsen, head of the unit of decontamination.

CHINA

The number of Chinese video game players has grown to a record 668 million, a government association of the video game industry said on Thursday. In the first half of this year, domestic market sales reached 144.263 billion yuan, equal to 20.23 billion US dollars. Last year, the industry was accused of promoting addiction to screens by a large government crackdown, which stopped approving new games for eight months.

RUSSIA – AFRICA

Two thirds of the leaders of African countries have refused to participate in the Russia-Africa summit, as a boycott against Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine. Out of 54 countries, only 16 have accepted the invitation and their leaders will travel to St. Petersburg on July 27-28, where the Russian president will be present, another 10 will send a government delegation.

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