Other news of the day: the death of Mikhail Gorbachev; Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announces that his party will sever ties with the Unification Church; Taiwan fires warning shots at three drones; in Afghanistan, the number of street vendors grows, Israel sentences a humanitarian operator accused of sending money to Hamas to 12 years in prison.
MYANMAR
The Burmese coup junta has been invited to an arms fair to be held in Bangkok (Thailand). The event, titled Tri-Service Asian Defense & Security Exhibition, Conference and Networking, is a “unique platform for the procurement of defense material in Asia,” the website states. Countries that have imposed an arms embargo on Myanmar were also invited.
TAIWAN
Taiwan fired warning shots at three drones unidentified people flying near its shores. It is unclear who was piloting the drones, but all three were seen heading towards mainland China, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said. There was no immediate response from China.
JAPAN
Accusations continue against the Japanese government for its ties to the Unification Church. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida declared today that the Liberal Democratic Party will break all ties and will make public the results of an investigation into the relations of party members with this religious denomination. The majority of the population opposes the idea of holding a state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
AFGHANISTAN
The number of street vendors increased in Afghanistan due to the economic crisis and the poverty of the families. “We ask the Islamic Emirate to help us so that we can stop working on the streets,” a woman told Tolo News. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs maintains that the Taliban government is trying to provide these women with job opportunities in accordance with Sharia law.
RUSSIA
At the age of 91, the former Soviet leader passed away Mikhail Gorbachev, “a unique statesman”, as the Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, wrote on Twitter. “The world has lost an impressive global leader, a committed multilateralist and a tireless advocate for peace.” Gorbachev created the conditions to end the Cold War in Russia, through the reforms of the glasnost and the perestroika.
TURKMENISTAN
Ashgabat authorities prohibit the street collection of plastic bottles. The reality is that these bottles are sold for small sums of money, which represents a subsidy for the masses of unemployed. They are usually found in parks and at bus stops, and for every kilo of plastic, 2 manats are offered. The city council declared that this practice “is a disgrace to the State of Turkmenistan”.
ISRAEL – PALESTINE
The Israeli court in Beersheba sentenced an operator of a major Christian humanitarian agency to 12 years in prison based in the United States. Mohammad al-Halabi, World Vision’s chief operating officer, was accused of sending money to the Palestinian movement Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and will serve a six-year sentence, in addition to the six he has already spent in prison.
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