5 years after the exodus, almost a million refugees remain in Cox’s Bazar

Today’s news: Taiwan wants to increase its military spending by 14.9%. A billionaire friend of Modi announces the acquisition of the NDTV television network, raising concerns about freedom of information in India. Qatar promises investments to Pakistan, in the midst of a currency crisis. In Chechnya, activist Salman Tepsurkaev, an opponent of the Kadyrov government, is assassinated.

BANGLADESH-MYANMAR

Exactly five years after the exodus after the harsh military offensive in the Rakhine state, There are still 963,733 Rohingya living in camps in Cox’s Bazar (Bangladesh). According to data released by Dhaka, another 250,000 people are estimated to be living outside the camps, while 30,000 have been relocated to Basan Char Island. Negotiations to ensure a safe return to Myanmar are ongoing.

TAIWAN-CHINA

After the escalation of tensions with Beijing, the Taiwanese government proposed to parliament a record defense budget by 2023. The projected spending of NT$523.4 billion represents an increase of 14.9% over this year’s total item. The figure includes NT$108.3 for new advanced combat aircraft and programs to improve air and sea combat capabilities.

JAPAN

Japanese police chief Itaru Nakamura announced his intention to resign to take responsibility for the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He said so at a press conference in which he presented the results of the investigation into the gaps in the protection of Abe, the former prime minister assassinated on July 8 while giving a speech on the street during the election campaign.

INDIA

The billionaire Gautam Adani, close to nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, announced his intention to acquire 29.18% of the shares of NDTV, one of the main private television networks in India. The deal, which is seen by current owners as a takeover attempt, raises freedom of information concerns in New Delhi. According to NDTV, the announcement was made without prior approval from the stock exchange regulator, a mandatory requirement under Indian takeover bid rules.

QATAR-PAKISTAN

Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will invest $3 billion in various sectors of Pakistan. The announcement was made during the visit to Doha of the Prime Minister of Islamabad, Shehbaz Sharif. Pakistan is currently facing a dire economic climate and a balance of payments crisis: foreign exchange reserves have fallen to $7.8 billion, barely enough for a month of imports. The value of the rupee plummets to historical lows and inflation reaches 24%.

SYRIA-RUSSIA

Syria agreed to send ambassadors to the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk in Donbass and to accept diplomats from these regions in Damascus. In exchange, Russia promised Bashar al-Assad that he will be more demanding in his relations with Israel, according to talks between Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Syrian counterpart Feisal Mikdad in Moscow.

RUSSIA

In Chechnya, Salman Tepsurkaev, a humanitarian activist and moderator of the opposition Telegram channel “1Adat”, was assassinated. This was announced by the lawyer of the Committee against Torture in Russia, Olga Sadovkaja. Tepsurkaev had been kidnapped in late 2020 and forced to record a video in which he publicly regretted his protest actions.