A Taliban delegation visits Indonesia

Today's headlines: Pyongyang launches two ballistic missiles; Seoul blocks impeachment over Halloween massacre of Itaewon; Vietnam wants to increase the production of rare earths; New arrest warrant for Imran Khan in Pakistan while MPs complain that they have not yet received a firearms licence; Dozens of Rohingya refugees arrested in India.

AFGHANISTAN – INDONESIA

A Taliban delegation has visited Indonesia in recent weeks "to improve relations" between Afghanistan and the world's most populous Muslim nation, Nikkei Asia has found. The visit, analysts say, is an attempt by the Taliban to gain greater international recognition and encourage foreign investment to support Afghanistan's economy, which is among the poorest in the world.

KOREA

North Korea launched two ballistic missiles off its east coast after the arrival of a US nuclear-powered submarine in South Korea. Meanwhile in Seoul, the Constitutional Court ruled against a parliamentary vote to impeach the interior minister, Lee Sang-min, for the government's response to last year's Halloween events when more than 150 people died in the Itaewon district in the crush.

VIETNAM

Vietnam aims to increase its production of rare earths to 2.02 million tons annually by 2030. According to the United States Geological Survey, the Southeast Asian country has the world's second-largest reserves of rare earths, after China, at around 22 million tons. Vietnam's rare earth production jumped from 400 tons in 2021 to 4,300 tons last year.

PAKISTAN

Three weeks before the end of the government, parliamentarians in Pakistan's National Assembly complained that they still had not obtained a license to own weapons. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif not only backed the deputies' request but said that every citizen would need weapons due to the deteriorating security situation in the country. Meanwhile, Pakistan's Electoral Commission has requested a new arrest of Prime Minister Imran Khan in one of the dozen cases in which he is indicted.

MYANMAR – INDIA

In India, police arrested 74 Rohingya refugees, including 10 minors, for living "illegally" in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. According to the UNHCR, in just over a month the number of internally displaced people in Myanmar due to the civil conflict has grown by almost 50 thousand people, especially in the Tanintharyi region. "Children and young people are targets of arrest and forced recruitment," the UN stressed.

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