Sixty countries to sign UN cybercrime treaty in Hanoi
Today's news: Thailand’s prime minister attends ASEAN summit to sign a truce with Cambodia before returning home following the death of the country’s Queen Mother. In Japan, the release of a film about bears attacking and eating people has been postponed. Lahore is the most polluted city in the world, followed by New Delhi and Beijing. Turkish court rejects request to annul the 2023 CHP congress, confirming Özgür Özel’s leadership.
VIETNAM – UNITED NATIONS
This weekend around 60 countries will sign in Hanoi a United Nations-drafted cybercrime treaty aimed at punishing crimes that cost the global economy trillions of dollars a year. The convention, which came into force after it was ratified by 40 countries, is expected to streamline international cooperation against cybercrime, but has been criticised by activists and tech companies for possible human rights violations.
ASEAN – UNITED STATES – INDIA
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul travelled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where the ASEAN summit begins tomorrow, to sign a ceasefire agreement with Cambodia under the aegis of US President Donald Trump. The prime minister will skip the Southeast Asian summit to return home because of the death of Queen Mother Sirikit. He requested that the royal funeral be held on Sunday to enable him to attend the ceremony. Meanwhile, President Trump is expected in the Malaysian capital tomorrow morning, his first stop on a three-country Asian trip (Malaysia, Japan, South Korea). The US leader could meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attendance has not been confirmed, despite "progress" in trade agreements between India and ASEAN.
JAPAN
Japanese filmmakers have decided to postpone the release of a horror movie featuring a bear “attacking and eating” humans. Titled Brown Bear!, the movie was set to be released next month, but a spate of fatal bear attacks against humans convinced producers to delay the release. Bears killed at least 10 people so far this year.
PAKISTAN
Shrouded in smog and fine dust, Lahore, the capital of Punjab, is the world’s most polluted city according to a special ranking published this morning by the IQAir monitoring platform. PM2.5 levels reached 281 µg/m, 56.2 times higher than the World Health Organisation (WHO) annual guidelines. The Indian capital of New Delhi comes in second, while Beijing is third.
CHINA
China will increase "significantly" the percentage of government investment in people’s livelihoods and the share of household consumption in terms of GDP within the next five years. This comes after the release of the economic and policy outline for 2026-30. In the latter, priority is given to production and reliance on technology over consumption. The country's tech-focused STAR50 index rose 3 per cent yesterday in response to the announcement.
TURKEY
A Turkish court has dismissed the lawsuit against the Republican People's Party (CHP), the main opposition party. In its submission to the court, the government sought to annul the 2023 CHP party congress and the election of its leader, Özgür Özel. This decision appears to weaken President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s clampdown on its main political rival, which has seen scores of mayors and high-ranking party figures taken to court and convicted. The court ruled that the allegations of irregularities against the CHP had no legal relevance.
RUSSIA – INDIA
After lengthy back-and-forth, India’s major oil companies have decided to almost completely suspend Russian oil imports due to the sanctions recently imposed by Donald Trump on Rosneft and Lukoil. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, deliveries from Russia had increased tenfold, sold in India at discounted prices what could no longer be exported to Europe, the country's main market after China.
GEORGIA
A new peaceful pro-European protest took place on Rustaveli Prospect in central Tbilisi, in support of journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, who recently received the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Expression. Police dispersed the demonstrators with water cannons and tear gas, detaining an unknown number near the parliament building under new rules restricting unauthorised public gatherings.
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29/01/2019 18:38
