four and a half years in prison for dissident Xie Wenfei

Other news today: Seoul “rejuvenates” the South Korean population for a year. Israeli reservist military doctors threaten to boycott the service in protest against justice reform. The Pakistani army expelled three senior officers who did not prevent attacks by supporters of former Prime Minister Khan. The impact of the Myanmar coup military junta against drug trafficking is “nil”. Tokyo has decided to relax the rules on the use of electric skateboards from July. Baku blocks one of the passages of the Lachin corridor.

CHINA

The Chenzhou People’s Court in Hunan sentenced four and a half years in jail for Xie Wenfei, activist and critical voice of the Chinese government and one of the staunchest defenders of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. Sources close to the family speak of “mistreatment” during the years of solitary confinement. He was arrested on April 29, 2020 and since then nothing has been heard from him.

SOUTH KOREA

Starting tomorrow, South Koreans will be one year “younger”. The country has decided to change the calculation of age from birth (until now Seoul assigned newborns one year of life), aligning with international standards. The decision responds to the need to avoid confusion and respect the criteria used throughout the world, because until now time in the womb was also taken into account.

ISRAEL – PALESTINE

About 300 Israeli reservist military doctors threaten to boycott the service if the government goes ahead with the approval process of the controversial justice reform. “We will not be – they say in a letter – at the service of a dictatorship”. Meanwhile, the far-right nationalist and religious coalition approved construction of 5,700 new homes for settlers in the West Bank.

PAKISTAN

pakistani army expelled three senior officers, including an army general, for failing to stop attacks on military property by supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had taken to the streets to protest his arrest. Military courts are trying 102 people due to violent riots last month. Activists are concerned that some defendants are civilians.

MYANMAR

Myanmar’s military coup junta claims it has burned close to $500 million in illegal drugs. However, the fight against drug trafficking has receded and the generals themselves admit that they are unable to stop the increase in the production and trade of heroin, cannabis, methamphetamine and opium. The impact of the restrictions is practically “null”.

JAPAN

Tokyo has decided to relax the rules on electric scooters starting in July, and it will no longer be necessary for users to possess a driver’s license. Vehicles will be equated with bicycles if they meet certain requirements. However, there are problems related to safety: from 4 in 2020, fatal accidents rose to 41 in 2022 and continue to increase.

RUSSIA – KAZAKHSTAN – UZBEKISTAN

While the Prigozhin march was taking place, the Russian president held telephone conversations with counterparts from several countries of the former Soviet Union, such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, according to the Tashkent press office, to “report on the situation and discuss bilateral relations and regional”. Tokaev described the events as “Russia’s internal affair” and Mirzoev offered Putin help.

AZERBAIJAN – ARMENIA

Baku has placed a bituminous barrier on its side of the Kakari bridge, one of the passes of the Lachin corridor, near the military checkpoint, which prevents transit through the affected section. The aim is to protect the construction sites of fixed structures to defend their positions, which are passively assisted by Russian peacekeepers.