Rahul Gandhi, sentenced to two years in jail for ‘slandering’ Modi

Other news of the day: China confronts the United States over the passage of a warship through the South China Sea. A Honduran envoy travels to Beijing to establish diplomatic relations. The Kurdish opposition will not present its own candidates in the Turkish presidential elections. Two dissidents have been detained in Cambodia. Russian police raid against members of the Memorial humanitarian association.

INDIA

A Gujarat court first sentenced the leader of the Congress party, rahul gandhi, to two years in prison for “slandering” Narendra Modi. In the 2019 election campaign, the prime minister’s main opponent had said that all thieves in the country share the same surname: ‘Modi’. Gandhi is out on bail and can appeal the sentence.

CHINA-UNITED STATES

Washington denied that his destroyer USS Milius has been removed by Chinese Navy ships in the vicinity of the Paracelsus Islands, the subject of disputes in the South China Sea. In a statement, Beijing referred to a US intrusion into Chinese territorial waters, but the US countered that the warship is conducting legitimate routine missions in the area.

HONDURAS-TAIWAN

Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina heads to China to establish diplomatic relations with the Chinese government. The measure marks the abandonment of formal relations with Taipei, which date back several decades.

TURKEY

In a blow to Erdogan, the pro-Kurdish party HDP He said yesterday that neither he nor his allies will field candidates in the upcoming presidential election, paving the way for a united opposition front.

CAMBODIA

Cambodian authorities two dissident activists arrested for insulting King Norodom Sihamoni in Facebook posts. Both are linked to opposition leader Kem Sokha, recently sentenced to 27 years in prison.

RUSSIA

The Moscow police carried out a series of raids on the apartments of the members of the Memorial association, closed ex officio months ago. In the crosshairs are the president of the organization, Oleg Orlov, his deputy Nikita Petrov and the administrator of the center Jan Račinskij, as well as a dozen other members of the group.

KAZAKHSTAN

The US Ministry of Finance returned $32.7 million to Kazakhstan’s main uranium-producing company. A year ago, as part of the sanctions against Russia, the US had frozen the Kazatomprom accounts following a payment made to a supplier through the Russian bank Sberbank