Other news of the day: Sri Lanka gets bailout from the International Monetary Fund. Turkey blocks the passage of sanctioned goods bound for Russia. The Japanese Prime Minister visits kyiv. Indonesia passes a controversial presidential decree. The Russian Orthodox Church enters into a theological dialogue with China. Low participation in the elections in Kazakhstan.
HONG KONG-CHINA
Police in the former British colony arrested the Democratic leader today Albert Ho. Free on bail for health reasons, Ho is on trial for subversion under the National Security Law imposed by Beijing. In this new arrest, the charges against him are having pressured witnesses related to his trial.
SRI LANKA
After lengthy negotiations, Colombo obtained a financial aid of 3,000 million dollars of the International Monetary Fund. The country is going through the worst economic crisis since its independence, weighed down by huge debts and with inflation above 50%.
TURKEY
Ankara has blocked transit to Russia of the embargoed merchandise that arrives in its territory from third countries. Turkey’s decision came more than a year after the United States, the EU and other Western countries imposed economic and financial restrictions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
JAPAN-UKRAINE
Today Fumio Kishida will visit kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The Japanese prime minister is the only G7 leader yet to visit Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022.
INDONESIA
The Jakarta Parliament today approved a controversial decree of President Joko Widodo on investment and work. Environmental groups and unions criticized the move, accusing it of being too business-friendly and offering less protection for workers and the environment.
RUSSIA
The rector of the Orthodox University of Saint John the Theologian, Aleksandr Šipkov, declared that “it has become indispensable to develop a theological dialogue with China.” He hopes that the contribution of Russian and Chinese intellectuals will lay a solid foundation for comprehensive humanitarian cooperation between the two countries.
KAZAKHSTAN
Parliamentary and local elections in Kazakhstan have concluded. While the results are awaited, the voter figures were released. For the Chamber of Deputies, participation was 54%. In Almaty, the city where protests broke out last year, 25.8% voted. The highest influx was registered in the province of Kyzylord, with 66.4%. The majority would be firmly in the hands of the presidential Amanat party.
