ASIA TODAY India under scrutiny for carcinogenic ingredients in spices

Today’s news: Vietnam has lost billions of dollars in foreign aid due to the ongoing anti-corruption campaign. Japan approves joint custody of children for divorced couples. South Africa appealed to the International Criminal Court demanding an end to the military operation in Rafah. The problem of natural disasters in Tajikistan.

INDIA

The UK imposed additional checks on all spice products imported from India. In recent weeks, Hong Kong and Singapore had reported that They had found carcinogenic substances in powdered spices sold by two Indian companies. In an order dated April 8, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had raised the maximum permissible limit of pesticide residues in spices and herbs.

VIETNAM

Vietnam has lost at least $2.5 billion in foreign aid in the last three years and could lose another billion due to red tape and the ongoing anti-corruption campaign, which has created administrative paralysis as officials, fearful of breaking the rules, make decisions more slowly. This is stated in a document from the United Nations, the World Bank and some Western donors. Potential losses amount to about 1% of the Gross Domestic Product.

JAPAN

The Japanese Parliament approved this morning a bill that introduces shared custody for divorced couples with children, a practice already widespread in many countries. Until now, only one parent, usually the mother, was allowed custody. The legislation will come into force in two years and will have retroactive effect.

SOUTH KOREA

Seoul High Court rejected a request of doctors on strike to suspend the government’s plan to increase the number of medical positions. This gave the government the green light to make all the necessary changes for next year, but the striking doctors are still on strike, despite increasingly less public support.

SOUTH AFRICA – ISRAEL

South Africa has asked the International Criminal Court to order Israel to stop its military offensive in Rafah, south of Gaza, started 10 days ago. Israel will present its response to the court today. South Africa has also requested access to Gaza for aid workers, journalists and researchers. The court is already considering a case brought in January by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide.

TAJIKISTAN

The Civil Defense service of Tajikistan has published statistics on the population living in areas at risk of natural disasters such as avalanches, landslides and floods, affecting 72,000 families and more than 400,000 people who need to be relocated to safer territories, abandoning their homes, often illegally occupied.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

The Russian Ministry of Culture has expressed its no objection to the transfer of the “Chersonese in Tauride” memorial museum in Simferopolis to the Russian Orthodox Church, as requested by the Metropolitan of Crimea, Tikhon (Ševkunov), which has already opened in a male monastery next to the UNESCO heritage museum in recent months.