Today’s news: Hong Kong wants to share organ donation database with China, raising concerns among activists. The Pasdaran and Basji militias promote “veil culture” during Ramadan. The Vietnamese economy slows down in the first quarter of 2023. Delhi calls on Baghdad to restore a historic Sikh temple. Moscow and Beijing join forces to control and censor the Internet.
INDONESIA – ISRAEL
FIFA, football’s governing body, decided that Indonesia will not host the U-20 World Cup to be held in May. The resolution would be due to the controversy arising from the participation of Israel, but the entity did not specify the details of the decision. A new nation will be named shortly to host the tournament in which 24 teams will participate. The country’s presence at the draw scheduled for March 31 in Bali had sparked protests.
HONG KONG – CHINA
Hong Kong’s decision to share with Beijing the data bank on donation of organs for transplants worries activists and experts in the health sector. Supporters of the initiative cite the case of a young woman who saved her life thanks to a heart from a Chinese citizen. Critics point to concerns about possible illegal organ harvesting, especially from people on death row or victims of human trafficking.
PHILIPPINES
At least 10 people died and more than 230 were injured when a fire broke out on board a ferry in the southern Philippines. The incident happened last night, off the coast of Basilan. The fire started in the air conditioning of the cabins and spread to a large part of the boat. The capacity of the ship allows to transport around 430 people. In the past, overcrowding has been among the causes of such incidents.
IRAN
The Pasdaran and Basij militias garrison the Qom area during Ramadan to promote the hijab “culture”. Meanwhile, the ultra-conservative deputies want to reinforce the law of the veil, which has become a symbol of the repression after the death of Mahsa Amini. The project foresees fines of 6,000 euros, confiscation of the passport and driving license; and requires the use of cameras to monitor use in public, and the confiscation of the cell phone in case of non-compliance.
VIETNAM
The Vietnamese economy suffered a deceleration in the first quarter of 2023, with a growth of 3.3%. The costs of exports and the drop in demand impacted the results. Compared to the 5.9% set for this year, the slowdown in the January-March period is almost as serious as that registered at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Trade, including imports and exports, fell 13%.
INDIA – IRAQ
India asked Iraq to restore a historic sikh temple (gurdwara), built in memory of Guru Nanak, who visited Baghdad during his travels throughout the Islamic world. The matter was raised during the visit of the Iraqi national security chief to Delhi last week. During the 2003 US invasion, the building was looted and destroyed.
RUSSIA – CHINA
One of the points raised by Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping at their meeting in Moscow referred to mutual aid to “strengthen controls over the Internet.” According to the official Russian magazine oktagona team of Chinese specialists, experts in cyber threats, is already operating in the capital, and together with the Russians, they are preparing to block YouTube.
GEORGIA
In the 2022 Amnesty International report, several criticisms are made of Tbilisi due to the escalating crisis in the country. The general situation of instability is causing an increase in persecution for political reasons, the lack of control of the institutions and the partiality of the justice and investigation bodies, as well as an increase in gender violence.
