Today’s news: For the World Bank, the war freezes Myanmar’s economic growth. In Kuwait massacre of immigrants in the fire of a building. Drought alarm in several provinces of China. Nobel Prize winner Yunus investigated for embezzlement along with 13 other people. In Tajikistan, the use of the hijab is officially prohibited.
IRAN
An Armenian Christian was sentenced to 10 years in prison. In his verdict, the judges, finding no clear evidence, relied on a provision of the penal code that punishes the mere “supposition” of a crime. Hakop Gochumyan, who had been in a cell since last summer, was tried for “proselytizing activities” defined as “deviant” that “contradict the sacred law of Islam”, due to his membership and leadership of “a network of evangelical Christianity.”
MYANMAR
Myanmar records the level of poverty highest in the last six years, with growth slowed by the war and standing at a paltry 1% in the fiscal year (below the forecasts of 2%), according to the latest World Bank report. Escalating violence, labor shortages and currency depreciation make business difficult.
KUWAIT
Massacre of migrants. At least 49 people died in Kuwait after a fire broke out in a building housing foreign workers. Among them are several Indians and some people of another nationality not yet specified. The deputy prime minister accused the building’s owners of security breaches behind the incident. Dozens of people were injured and admitted to hospitals.
CHINA
Weeks of low rainfall in parts of China, accompanied by scorching heat, have caused a severe drought from the northwest to the east. Authorities are trying to minimize the impact on agriculture and water and energy supplies, and record temperatures are expected. The affected provinces are Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong.
BANGLADESH
The Nobel Prize Muhammad Yunus (who denies all charges) and 13 other people are accused of embezzling about two million dollars, stolen – according to the indictment – from the workers’ welfare fund of his telecommunications company Grameen Telecom, which owns a 34.2 stake % on Grameenphone. The defendants also face charges of money laundering.
TAJIKISTAN
After years of repression, in which women have been forced to choose between a professional career and adherence to the precepts of the Muslim faith, the authorities of Tajikistan have officially banned the use of the hijab, the islamic veil. Parliament approved amendments to the law on “Traditions and Celebrations” that prohibit the import, sale and advertising of “garments foreign to local culture.”
RUSSIA
The Moscow Duma has approved a law providing for fines and imprisonment of up to four years for participation in all “undesirable” organizations. Not only are foreign NGOs in the spotlight, but rules have been added that allow any foreign organization to be declared as such, to “fill a legislative gap,” according to the president of the Duma, Vjačeslav Volodin.
ARMENIA – AZERBAIJAN
The session of the Strategic Dialogue between Armenia and the United States was held in Yerevan, which was also attended by the Undersecretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, James O’Brien. At the end of the meeting, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan spoke of a “historic opportunity” to conclude peace with Azerbaijan and establish security in the region for a long time.
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