Other news of the day: Sagaing, more than 20,000 people are fleeing the Burmese army offensive. Hong Kong National Anthem: Protest Song Beats Chinese Anthem on Google. In Iraq, more than 200 people were arrested for gambling and alcohol use. The Justice rejected Rahul Gandhi’s appeal request. The implementation of the entry tax for foreign tourists has been postponed in Thailand. Intolerance against Russian tourists grows in Bali.
IRAN
Iranian authorities in Qazvin, in the center of the country, arrested a woman for taking photos and recording videos of the student poisonings, and then send them to foreign “hostile media.” The mysterious cases have been going on for several months and have opened a new front of protest and discontent. Official numbers are around 1,200, but the real number could be much higher.
MYANMAR
More than 20,000 people have abandoned villages in the town of Khin-U, in the Sagaing region (heart of the resistance against the Junta), while the army intensifies its offensive against the popular defense forces. The vast military operation began a week after the airstrike on the city of Kanbalu during the inauguration of a public building, which killed at least 200 people.
HONG KONG – CHINA
The efforts of the Hong Kong authorities to guarantee the Chinese national anthem the best ranking in Google are not achieving their objective. If you write “Hong Kong national anthem”, as the first link in Singapore, Canada and Australia, a Wikipedia page appears that refers to the protest song (from 2019) “Glory to Hong Kong”. The same page appears second in New York, London and Taiwan.
IRAQ
Iraqi police arrested almost 200 people -including 159 locals and 32 foreigners- in the raids that were carried out in illegal casinos where games of chance (cards and roulette) were practiced and alcoholic beverages were sold during Ramadan. Large sums of money were also confiscated. Authorities have recently begun to enforce the controversial 2016 law on alcoholic beverages.
THAILAND
Bangkok postponed until September the introduction of a admission rate to the country for tourism, which was to begin to be applied in June, due to “problems” related to its implementation. The airlines have taken sides against charging the tax of 300 baht (about 11 euros), and refuse to distinguish between foreign, Thai and expatriate tourists. Originally, the amount was to be incorporated into the price of the ticket.
INDIA
A court rejected the appeal of the opposition leader’s lawyers rahul gandhi to suspend the conviction for defamation and the consequent expulsion from Parliament. The 52-year-old politician was sentenced to two years because in 2019 he made statements about Prime Minister Narendra Modi that are considered insulting. The government is accused of using defamation law to stifle critical voices.
INDONESIA – RUSSIA
Intolerance is growing in Indonesia against the numerous Russian tourists, who have invaded especially the island of Bali. Almost 100,000 have entered the country since September, 20,000 of them in January alone. The rejection is due to their reluctance to observe the rules of conduct and respect the prohibitions: they do not wear masks, use scooters and are bare-chested on the street.
UZBEKISTAN – CHINA
China is building a large agrologistics center in Uzbekistan, with an investment of about 50 million dollars by the Citic Group company. The structure will be at the service of the entire Central Asian region, with warehouses for 50 tons of merchandise spread over 32 hectares, offices and hotels, a customs checkpoint and a huge parking lot for containers.