ASIA TODAY Human rights, Bachelet will not publish the report on the Uyghurs before the end of her term

Today’s news: The former UK ambassador to Myanmar, married to a Burmese activist, has been arrested. Prayut remains Thailand’s defense minister, despite being suspended from leading the government. In Afghanistan, 180 people died in the floods this month. Armenia ceded to Azerbaijan three other population centers of Nagorno-Karabakh.

CHINA

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, stated that the long-awaited report on human rights violations in China’s western Xinjiang region may not be published until the end of his term, on August 31. The news caused consternation among groups defending the Uyghurs. Bachelet visited Xinjiang in May and was heavily pressed about the report. Responding to reporters, she said that the submissions submitted by the Chinese government had not yet been properly scrutinized.

MYANMAR – UNITED KINGDOM

Myanmar military authorities detained former UK ambassador in the country, Vicky Bowman, and her husband Htein Lin, a Burmese artist and former political prisoner. The woman – who was an ambassador from 2002 to 2006 and heads the Myanmar Center for Responsible Business, based in Yangon – was accused of violating visa regulations and her husband was charged with helping her. Both could be sentenced to five years in prison.

THAILAND

former general Prayuth Chan-ocha he stated that he will remain defense minister, despite the fact that the Bangkok Constitutional Court suspended him from the post of prime minister. “I will continue to fulfill my duty and responsibility as Defense Minister for the people and Thailand, every day,” Prayuth wrote on his Twitter account. While the court considers the appeal on the expiration of his term, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan is serving as interim prime minister.

AFGHANISTAN

The Taliban government’s Ministry of Disaster Management claimed that more than 180 people died in Afghanistan because of the floods last month. The floods have inflicted serious damage on communities in a country that is already economically on its knees. According to ministry figures, more than 3,000 homes were razed and thousands of hectares of land were damaged.

INDIA

Two weeks after the event, the Indian government finally made an official statement to condemn the attack on Salman Rushdie, a writer originally from Bombay but living abroad for many years. On August 12, the author was the victim of an attack in the United States due to the fatwa issued against him as a result of his work “The Satanic Verses.” “India has always been against violence and extremism. We wish him a speedy recovery,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

RUSSIA

Putin signed a decree to increase the composition of the army, which will increase from 137,000 soldiers to 1.15 million before January 1, 2023. Currently, between 150 and 180 thousand soldiers are deployed in Ukraine, fighting against 250 thousand Ukrainians. Meanwhile, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has ordered subsidies and aid to needy families to be suspended if their eligible male members refuse to take part in military operations in Ukraine.

ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN

Armenia ceded to the control of Azerbaijan three other population centers located in Nagorno-Karabakh, in the so-called “Lačinsk corridor”: the city of Lačin itself (in Armenian, Bedzor) and the towns of Zabukh and Sus, which the Azerbaijani army is going to occupy within a week. The inhabitants of these towns have already been evacuated, most of them burning their homes.