four people arrested for supporting activists who fled abroad

Other news today: Three Myanmar militias have vowed to protect Chinese investments. Russian cyberattack on Japan’s largest port. In India, the reopening of schools in Manipur failed: students and teachers did not show up due to lack of security. Remittances from Asian workers have reached an all-time high. The Tel Aviv police chief has resigned.

Hong Kong police arrested four men accused of supporting people residing abroad who ‘endanger national security’. Two days earlier, the city had offered a reward for eight pro-democracy activists living in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia, countries that do not have an extradition agreement with China.

JAPAN

The port of Nagoya – the largest in Japan – should resume its activities on Thursday after a russian cyber attack against Toyota shipments. Logistics operations were suspended on Tuesday, causing delays in the dispatch of auto parts. The Lockbit 3.0 hacker group demanded a ransom which, according to the company, was not paid.

INDIA

Despite the ordinance announcing yesterday the reopening of schools in the eastern state of Manipur, all but four institutions remained closed due to the climate of insecurity, after two months of ethnic clashes. The students, teachers and support staff did not show up, an anonymous public official explained.

MYANMAR

Following pressure from Beijing, three ethnic militias claimed that will protect Chinese investments in their regions. These are: the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and the Arakan Army, three organizations known as the “brotherhood of the three armies” operating in Shan and Rakhine, through which they pass a Chinese gas and oil pipeline.

ASIA

Cross-border smuggling of workers has grown again across Asia: in 2022 the number of new migrants was 4.6 million, close to pre-pandemic levels, while remittances reached an all-time high, which means significant help for the economies of origin. Bangladesh has become the main source of workers.

ISRAEL

Tel Aviv Police Chief Ami Eshed submitted his resignation and accused members of the far-right government to order excessive use of force against demonstrators protesting the reform of the judicial system. Shortly after Eshed’s announcement, hundreds of protesters chanting “democracy” marched through the city and blocked the main highway.

KYRGYZSTAN

The Bishkek Ministry of Economy has proposed expanding the list of countries whose citizens can obtain the status of “digital nomad” to include Kyrgyzstan and extending the deadline for the implementation of the project to June 2024, which would allow “attracting foreign specialists highly qualified in the field of information and communication technologies as well as in the most creative industries”.

UKRAINE

In the Lavra of the Kiev Caves, a commission from the Ministry of Culture appeared to seal the enclosure and define the list of people admitted and those who must leave, but a mass of Orthodox faithful from the pro-Moscow Upz Church blocked the doors and income, preventing him from initiating proceedings. So far the authorities have not reacted to the protest.