Tokyo, the world's largest nuclear power plant restarted
Today's headlines: Filipino journalist convicted of “terrorism”, NGO: accusations are instrumental; Bangladesh, election campaign begins ahead of 12 February elections; In Manila, ASEAN restarts talks on Myanmar; Group of Arab and Islamic nations join Trump's Board of Peace; Vatican also invited, Parolin: “We are considering”.
JAPAN
Japan has resumed operations at the world's largest nuclear power plant, where a reactor has been restarted for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, which forced the country to shut down all its reactors. The decision to restart reactor number 6 at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, northwest of Tokyo, was taken despite residents' concerns. The restart was delayed by one day due to an alarm malfunction.
PHILIPPINES
A Filipino journalist has been found guilty of financing terrorism and sentenced to at least 12 years in prison. Press freedom groups call it an ‘outrage of justice’. Frenchie Mae Cumpio, 26, was arrested in February 2020. A raid in the middle of the night allegedly found weapons and a communist flag in her bed. Human rights groups say the charges are fabricated and that Cumpio was labelled a subversive because of her journalism. The labelling of journalists and activists as subversives has intensified under President Rodrigo Duterte.
BANGLADESH
The election campaign has begun for Bangladesh's first national elections since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted in 2024. Parties held election rallies in Dhaka and other locations ahead of the 12 February elections, considered the most important in the country's history. The interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has pledged to ensure free and fair elections, but questions have been raised with the exclusion of the Awami League.
ASEAN - MYANMAR
The Philippines, the current chair of ASEAN, hosted a meeting of Myanmar's “major political groups” to advance the regional bloc's long-stalled peace plan. Philippine Foreign Minister Ma. Theresa Lazaro, ASEAN special envoy for the crisis in Myanmar, said that discussions during the “stakeholders” meeting' in Tagaytay focused on détente, facilitating the delivery of aid and promoting political dialogue.
UNITED STATES - VATICAN
A group of Arab and Islamic nations has announced that it will join the controversial Board of Peace proposed by Trump to stabilise and rebuild the Gaza Strip. In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates said they welcomed the invitation to participate. Meanwhile, the Vatican has also received the invitation, with Pope Leo XIV reportedly considering what to do. ‘We too have received this invitation,’ confirmed Cardinal Pietro Parolin. ‘We are considering what to do; we are examining it.’
GEORGIA
During the celebrations for the Baptism of the Lord, the invitation from the Orthodox Archbishop of Bodbijsk, Jakov (Iakobišvili) to the authorities and the Georgian Dream party, inviting them to reconcile with the opposition and call for negotiations to end the political rift that is affecting the whole of Georgian society, also addressing the opposition and inviting them to ‘stop just running in the streets’.
RUSSIA
As Kommersant comments, Russia's federal budget closed with a “5+” rating, not in the sense of sufficiency or optimal approval, but because expenditure exceeded revenue by 5.6 trillion roubles (over 50 billion euro) with a deficit of 2.6% of GDP, and the traditional December “budget canopy” has been reduced to almost non-existent coverage, without using the Welfare Fund reserves that have been used for three years.
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