ASIA TODAY Hong Kong rejected a US report criticizing the crackdown on freedoms

Other news of the day: Three Shiites are sentenced in Bahrain for discussing Islam on YouTube. In Pakistan, 12 people died in a stampede during a charitable donation. In India, a Hindu procession set fire to a mosque. Human Rights Watch called on Bangladesh not to proceed with the repatriation of the Rohingya to Burma. The pro-Russian government of Burkina Faso supports the Wagner mercenaries.

HONG KONG

Today the Hong Kong government has “strongly rejected” a US report criticizing the crackdown on freedom in the city. The Hong Kong Policy Act Report of 2023, published by the US State Department, states that the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities “continued to use the ‘National Security Law’ as a broad and vague basis to undermine the rule of law, rights and liberties”. Due to this law, more than 230 people have been detained since 2020.

BAHRAIN

Three members of the Al-Tajdeed Society, an organization that promotes free debate on religious issues, They were sentenced to a year in jail for posting a series of videos on YouTube questioning the views expressed by some Islamic clerics. Jalal al-Qassab, Redha Rajab and Mohammed Rajab belong to the country’s Shiite majority – while the ruling family is Sunni – but they were also accused of blasphemy by Shiite clerics.

PAKISTAN

At least 12 people, including five women and three children, were killed in a stampede during a charity distribution in Karachi yesterday.. “The money was distributed to people living in poverty. A large crowd had gathered today, causing a stampede. Efforts to control the crowd made matters worse. Some people drowned in the nearby stream, others were trampled.” said one of the officials. Inflation in Pakistan – which has yet to meet its foreign debt obligations to get a loan from the International Monetary Fund – hit 45% this week.

INDIA

Yesterday, in the city of Biharsharif, a procession of Hindus celebrating the festival of Ram Navami set fire to a mosque. They also set fire to a hotel, some Muslim shops and several cars parked on the street. Riots were also reported in Sasaram and internet services were suspended for two days in both cities in the Indian state of Bihar. The imam of the mosque claimed to have been hit by a stone thrown by the “Hindutva crowd”.

BURMA – BANGLADESH

Human Rights Watch called on Bangladesh to suspend repatriation program for Rohingya refugees housed in Cox’s Bazar camp. According to the human rights group, the refugees were forced to meet with representatives of the Burmese coup junta to discuss a pilot project that would return some 1,000 refugees to Myanmar. But the situation in the country is not safe due to the civil conflict, as the junta continues massacring the civilian population.

RUSSIA – BURKINA FASO

Wagner’s Russian mercenaries are massing in another African country, Burkina Faso, trying to drive the French out of its territory. By order of the pro-Russian government, they have already managed to shut down a French newspaper and force the departure of some military units, including those protecting the Paris embassy from terrorists.

UZBEKISTAN

Russian music and entertainment stars who support the war no longer have access to the Western public, but have found space in Uzbekistan: a large festival “Žara” (Heat) was organized in Tashkent, at which the “Z Battalion” performed ” or “Putin’s Band”, consisting of singers banned even in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.