ASIA TODAY A Manila Court of Appeals rejected the appeal of Nobel Prize winner María Ressa

In other news of the day: On the 20th anniversary of the Bali attacks, Indonesian officials say Jemaah Islamiyah has evolved; in Sri Lanka two Australians were arrested on charges of paying bribes; child labor increases in Afghanistan; China is not willing to abandon its “zero Covid” policy; Ukrainians denounce the looting of their museums by the Russians.

PHILIPPINES

The Philippine Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal of the journalist Maria Ressa and the investigator Reynaldo Santos for an accusation of defamation on the Internet, which will now go to the Supreme Court. Ressa, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, said “the campaign of harassment and intimidation against Rappler and against me it continues and the Philippine legal system is not doing enough to stop it.”

INDONESIA

Twenty years after the Bali attacks, members of Jemaah Islamiyah – the terrorist organization that perpetrated the massacre – “have quietly infiltrated public institutions, recruiting members, raising funds and secretly spreading their ideology.” The statements They come from the director of the National Agency for the Fight against Terrorism (BNPT), Ahmad Nurwakhid, who stressed that the group has not disappeared but has adapted to the new times.

AUSTRALIA-SRI LANKA

Two Australian men arrested for paying bribes to Sri Lankan officials between 2009 and 2016. Both had secured $14 million worth of infrastructure construction contracts for Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation. The World Bank had already discovered “improper payments” by the company in 2017.

AFGHANISTAN

A Taliban official confirmed that child labor has increased in Kunduz and Takhar provinces, as well as the number of children living on the streets. The declarations refer to the last year, despite the fact that there are no precise statistics on their number. The minors interviewed affirmed that they are responsible for the economic maintenance of their families.

CHINA

Shanghai, a city of 25 million inhabitants, registered yesterday 28 new cases of Covid-19. The Chinese authorities intensified tests on the population and extended the days of quarantine in several locations. Throughout the country, more than 2,000 new infections were registered, the highest number since August 20.

RUSSIA – HONG KONG

US authorities they fear that Hong Kong will become a haven for Russian companies affected by sanctions after the invasion of Ukraine. State-owned companies have also contacted some city law firms seeking a “kinder jurisdiction” than New York or London.

UKRAINE

The Minister of Culture of Ukraine, Oleksandr Tkachenko, denounced the looting of more than 40 Ukrainian museums by Russian soldiers. The official described the event as a “war crime” and explained that the damage is estimated at hundreds of millions of euros. Among the stolen objects is a diadem of Attila the Hun from the 5th century that was in the Melitopol museum, and 200 2,400-year-old Scythian gold objects.

TAJIKISTAN

OSCE Media Representative Teresa Ribeiro expressed concern about restrictions on freedom of expression in Tajikistan. At the end of her visit to the country, during her meeting with the Deputy Minister of Culture, Davlat Safarzoda, Ribeiro called on the Dushanbe authorities to release the detained and jailed journalists.