Kilicdaroglu challenges Erdogan for the presidency

Other news of the day: for the UN, the treatment reserved by the Taliban for Afghan women amounts to “crimes against humanity”; the Filipino Catholic Educators Association condemns the practice of “hazing” after a suspicious death at a university. Tehran confirms its hard line against transgressions of the Islamic “dress code”; in 2022, newborns in Japan fell below 800,000 for the first time.

TURKEY

The leader of the CHP, the main Turkish opposition party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, 74, will challenge Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the presidential election on May 14. After a weekend of tensions, the “Table of Six” reached a consensus around the “Turkish Gandhi”. The coalition accepted the IYI Party’s proposal to appoint the mayors of Istanbul and Ankara as vice presidents in case of victory.

AFGHANISTAN

The treatment reserved by taliban to women and girls in Afghanistan amounts to “crimes against humanity,” says a UN report released yesterday in Geneva. The document accuses the Koranic students in power since August 2021 of carrying out “gender persecution.” An “intentional policy” of repudiation of rights and “cancellation” of women from public life.

PHILIPPINES

The Association of Filipino Catholic Educators (CEAP) condemns “hazing” and “bullying” in institutions, stressing that “these acts do not find space” and “do not represent the values ​​of the Gospel”. The note follows the death of John Matthew Salilig, 24, a student at Adamson University in Manila, the victim of probable acts of humiliation that led to his death.

IRAN

Tehran confirms hard line on Muslim “dress code”, including mandatory veil (hijab) which has become a symbol of protest after the death of Mahsa Amini. The president of the Judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, affirmed that the violations would be punished according to sharia, Islamic law. The security forces are allowed “all means” to repress those who disturb public order.

JAPAN

In 2022, the number of new births in Japan it fell below 800,000 for the first time, a substantial drop from the 1.5 million in the early 1980s. The figure includes children born to non-Japanese parents living in the Land of the Rising Sun. and those born to Japanese parents living abroad. A drop of 44 thousand births, equivalent to 5.3% compared to the previous year.

RUSSIA

The Russian censorship agency Roskomnadzor has blocked the “Mediazona Belarus” site, which will no longer be accessible in Russia, as will the “Central Asia” section. According to calculations by Setevye Svobody (“Freedom on the Net”), in 2022 there were 637,000 cases of blocking of Internet pages in Russia, an absolute record in the last 15 years, due to censorship due to war.

KAZAKHSTAN – UZBEKISTAN

The presidents of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Tokaev and Mirziyoyev, met “in the east” in the Kazakh city of Šymkent, for an informal conversation in which they discussed the recent visit of US Secretary Blinken and the position to be taken with Russia. The two leaders also discussed cooperation projects at the industrial, energy, agricultural and infrastructural levels.