ASIA TODAY Iran, the fire in Evin prison broke out after a clash between guards and inmates

Other news of the day: In Hong Kong, Jimmy Lai may be defended by a British lawyer. Early elections in Malaysia will be held on November 19. Inflation could remain high in India due to untimely rains and poor harvests. Between 2021 and 2022, the Afghan GDP will experience a 30-35% contraction. Ukraine: Each church will decide whether to celebrate Christmas on December 25 or January 7.

IRAN

The fire of October 15 last in the infamous evin prison, in which at least eight people died, would have occurred after a confrontation between riot police and inmates. Officers intervened after chants rose from one wing of the prison extolling the fall of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

HONG KONG-CHINA

The city’s superior court granted the request of Jimmy Lay to hire a British lawyer for his defence. The Catholic media mogul will be tried on December 1 on charges of threatening national security and sedition . Judge Jeremy Poon stressed that the case will be of “great public importance.”

MALAYSIA

The early elections will be held on November 19. The majority party (UMNO) is in the lead despite her reputation being tarnished by allegations of corruption. Apathy and monsoon rains predict a low turnout. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 97, is running again as a candidate.

INDIA

Untimely rains and poor harvests threaten to keep high inflation in India, which peaked at 7.4% in September. Cereals, vegetables, milk, legumes and cooking oil account for a quarter of the price index, and prices are rising all the time.

AFGHANISTAN

According to the World Bank, between 2021 and 2022 Afghan GDP it will experience a contraction of 30-35%, to then grow between 2 and 2.4% in the following two years. The Taliban government claims that the poor economic performance is due to international sanctions.

RUSSIA

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow presided over the liturgy in honor of the “holy Muscovites”, remembering above all Metropolitan Petr (Volynianin) who, in the 14th century, moved the main seat of the Russian Church to Moscow, although he had the title of kyiv . With this decision, he sought to “gather the people in a phase of disintegration and weakening of their spiritual life.”

UKRAINE

The synod of the autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church PZU, chaired by Metropolitan Epifanyj of kyiv, decided to leave it to each individual church to decide whether to celebrate Christmas on December 25 or January 7. This is a long-debated issue in Ukraine, and the decision will be made “according to pastoral circumstances and counting on the will of the parishioners.”