ASIA TODAY In Hong Kong the march for women’s rights has also been canceled

Other news of the day: the Burmese junta has collapsed schools and 300,000 teachers are missing. Another six Palestinian casualties in an Israeli raid on Jenin are firing rockets from the Strip today. Millions of Indians celebrate Holi, the festival of colors. Thai youth sentenced to two years in prison for lèse majesté; the damage caused by the earthquake exceeds 100 billion euros in Turkey alone.

HONG KONG

Hong Kong Women Workers Association canceled a march scheduled for today in commemoration of International Women’s Day, after threats of arrest by the police. Security officials summoned Chan Po-ying, leader of the League of Social Democrats, and three other activists, warning them that they would go to jail if they participated in the demonstration.

MYANMAR

The school in Myanmar it is on the verge of collapse due to the effects of Covid-19 and the 2021 military coup that triggered a civil war. The number of high school students taking the final exam has been reduced by 80%. About 300,000 teachers have left public schools, which are currently understaffed, and the board has expelled 11,000 university professors and 125,000 teachers.

BANGLADESH

At least 18 people died and more than 100 were injured in the blow up an office building yesterday and businesses in the capital, Dhaka. The explosion, the causes of which are still unknown, affected the lower levels of the structure, located in the Siddik Bazar shopping district. Several floors were destroyed and walls and rubble fell on the surrounding streets.

ISRAEL – PALESTINE

Israeli security forces stormed a refugee camp in Jenin, West Bank, yesterday and six Palestinians were killed, including a Hamas member suspected of killing two brothers from a Jewish settlement near Huwara. This morning a missile was fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, activating the alarm system.

INDIA

millions of indians celebrate Holi -the festival of colors, based on a Hindu legend- in his country and around the world. The date marks the beginning of spring and the victory of good over evil. People celebrate by smearing friends and family with bright colours, offering prayers and lighting a bonfire to symbolically destroy evil. For many it is the symbol of a new beginning.

TURKEY – SYRIA

The damage caused by the devastating earthquake on February 6 exceed 100 billion euros in Turkey alone, a substantial increase from the 34.2 billion previously estimated by the World Bank. Meanwhile, the death toll in the country and in neighboring Syria, also hard hit, has surpassed 52,000; many victims were struck by the mainshock while they were sleeping

THAILAND

A Thai court sentenced Narathorn Chotmankongsin, 26, to two years in prison for selling satirical calendars with a yellow rubber duck that, according to the magistrates, would have defamed the royal family. Thailand applies one of the harshest and most restrictive laws for the crime of lèse majesté. The object became a symbol of the pro-democracy protests in 2020.

RUSSIA

Russian Vice Foreign Minister Yevgeny Ivanov reported that Moscow is preparing agreements to reciprocally simplify the entry visa regime with 6 countries: India, Angola, Vietnam, Indonesia, Syria and the Philippines. The complete cancellation of visas with many other countries is also being studied, about 70 according to Minister Lavrov.

KAZAKHSTAN

A recent survey carried out in several cities under the auspices of UNICEF shows that around 6% of Kazakhstan’s students suffer from obesity and many more are simply overweight. The identified causes are mainly related to the poor quality of food, which most of the time is reduced to very cheap “sandwiches and sodas”.