ASIA TODAY Seoul, fire in a slum a symbol of inequality

Other news of the day: Chinese students are forced to sign a Party loyalty contract to attend foreign universities. Education Minister Chris Hipkins will replace Jacinda Ardern as head of the New Zealand government. Lebanon’s voting rights at the UN are suspended because of its debts. In Tajikistan, new repressive measures against the press, television and the Internet.

SOUTH KOREA

In Seoul, a fire swept through part of the Guryong settlement, located just across the highway from the exclusive Gangnam district. The flames forced the evacuation of about 500 people. Guryong is one of the last slums in the capital and has become a symbol of inequality in Asia’s fourth largest economy.

CHINA

Tens of thousands of Chinese students, before going abroad with government-subsidized scholarships, must Sing a document in which they pledge allegiance to the ruling Communist Party, as well as present guarantors who could be forced to repay the funds if the agreement is breached. The matter came to light thanks to the Swedish newspaper dagens nyheter, which reported that 30 doctoral students arriving in the country had signed contracts of this type. Later, Radio Free Asia found evidence that this practice had been carried out in silence for more than a decade, with different versions of the contract and its regulations available on the Internet.

NEW ZEALAND

He will be the current Minister of Education and Police, Chris Hipkins, 44, who replaces the resigning Jacinda Ardern at the head of the New Zealand Government. Hipkins’ choice is expected to be ratified by Labor’s parliamentary group on Sunday. Therefore, it would nullify the possibility of the current Minister of Justice, Kiri Allan, becoming the first Maori Prime Minister in the history of New Zealand, if she were elected. The Hipkins government must launch a campaign for the general elections, which before the resignation of Jacinda Ardern were set for October 14, 2023.

BANGLADESH

In Bangladesh, at least 1,000 acres of land were left uncultivable due to pollution in the Dokhola area in Gazipur. The fault lies with the flooding of a canal into which some industrial plants in the area would dump wastewater without any control.

LEBANON

Lebanon’s voting rights suspended in the UN General Assembly for not paying annual dues. The Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, said that the Beirut government must pay debts of about 1.8 million dollars to regain its status. The Lebanese Foreign Ministry declared on Friday that the debt will be paid “immediately, in order to preserve Lebanon’s rights within the United Nations.”

RUSSIA

The Timirjazevo district court in Moscow is trying Dmitry Ivanov. The 23-year-old math student and author of the Telegram channel “Protest University” was arrested in June for public actions against the war. According to his lawyer, he suffered violence in prison and during transfers. At the trial, the Archbishop of the Orthodox Apostolic Church, Grigory Mikhnov-Vajtenko, intervened in his defense.

TAJIKISTAN

In Tajikistan, an amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure entered into force, according to which it will be possible to issue arrest warrants for publications in the press, radio and television, and now also on the Internet, that cause social unrest or create security risks. This led to the arrest of more than 130 people in Karakalpakstan, the area of ​​the protests.