Today's news: Several traditional practices prohibited in China on the occasion of the festival dedicated to ancestors. Fire on a ferry in Thailand. Pakistani judges receive threatening letters with white powder. One of the leaders of the Hayat Tahrir al Sham group murdered in Syria.
SOUTH KOREA
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, using a more flexible approach for the first time, met with Park Dan, representative of trainee doctors who have been on strike since February, but the latter wrote on his Facebook page after the meeting that “there is no future for healthcare in Korea.” It is not clear what he was referring to. Trainee doctors oppose the reform proposal to increase the number of medical places.
CHINA
The Chinese authorities have banned a series of traditions on the occasion of the Qingming Festival, in which ancestors are worshiped by burning incense and various types of paper. The bans are intended to “promote funerary and burial reforms” and maintain “civilized” customs and practices, authorities announced, but several people expressed their disagreement on social media. In 2021, Nantong City had recorded 210 festival-related incidents, including 121 fires.
THAILAND
Last night a declaration was made fire on a night ferry in front of the famous tourist island of Koh Tao, in the Gulf of Thailand. All 90 passengers and eight crew members were rescued. The fire spread from the engine room and an investigation was launched to discover the cause.
PAKISTAN
In recent days, several Pakistani judges, some of whom had alleged interference by the secret services in judicial processes, received letters containing a potentially toxic white powder. Some of the letters made reference to a bacteria that can cause anthrax, a very serious infection. According to police, a group called Tehreek-e-Namoos Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack, but several investigations are ongoing.
SYRIA
Abu Maria al Qahtani, founder of Hayat Tahrir al Sham, who was part of Al Qaeda before breaking ties, died yesterday in a suicide attack. The jihadist leader, whose real name is Maysr al Yabouri, was in rebel-held northwest Syria. HTS spokespersons blamed the Islamic State, considered a rival group, which, however, did not claim responsibility for the attack.
GAZA – ISRAEL
Israel has approved the reopening of the Erez border crossing, in the north of Gaza, and the temporary use of the port of Ashdod, in the face of pressure from the United States after the murder of seven aid workers. During a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Joe Biden called for “specific and concrete” measures to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israel also approved an increase in aid coming from Jordan through the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
USA – INDIA – RUSSIA
Senior American officials are in India these days, according to Rbk-Ukraine, to agree on cooperation in the fight against money laundering, the financing of terrorism and compliance with the ceiling in the oil market, closely linked to Russia, which deals to circumvent sanctions precisely in the Indian market, where international standards must be maintained.
GEORGIA
Controversy breaks out in Georgia over the desire of the majority Georgian Dream party to re-introduce the same bill on “foreign representatives” that sparked the March 2023 protests, as announced by the head of the parliamentary group Mamuki Mdinaradze, with only a few formal changes, which according to the director of the Europe and Georgia Institute, Georgij Melašvili, “would close the doors of Europe in Georgia's face.”
