Afghan Women protest for three days for the right to an education

The other news of the day: Pakistan's prime minister visits China, Taiwan admits to breaking three ancient Chinese artefacts, Vietnam petrol stations are running out of fuel, Azerbaijan protests against the presence of Russian troops.

AFGHANISTAN

A group of women held a small rally in central Kabul to protest against the ban on girls and young women from going to school and the lack of job opportunities for women. Many showed their degrees, complaining that they could not work despite their training. The protest, the third of its kind in three days, was broken up by the Taliban.

PAKISTAN

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is in China on a two-day visit, during which he will try to convince Chinese President Xi Jinping to extend a loan to help Pakistan cope with its current economic woes. Beijing, which has repeatedly come to the rescue of its ally, fears negative implications in the medium term. Since taking office in April, Sharif has prioritised the revival of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the infrastructure project linking Xinjiang to Gwadar Port.

VIETNAM

The fuel crisis in Ho Chi Minh City has not been resolved. In recent weeks, the government has asked two local refineries to increase production, but it will take time before they can meet domestic demand. Meanwhile, petrol stations have closed due to lack of fuel because of oil price caps imposed by the government (which do not adapt quickly to international market trends).

INDONESIA

Indonesia's good and drug agency announced yesterday that it had revoked the licence to make throat syrups from two local companies. The death toll from the presence of toxic elements in syrups has risen to 150. The agency has also opened an investigation.

NORTH KOREA

North Korea has threatened to respond with “powerful measures” if the United States and South Korea do not stop joint exercises. The US-South Korean air drills began yesterday until Friday. According to US intelligence, Pyongyang is preparing for its first nuclear weapons test since 2017.

TAIWAN

Taiwan's National Palace Museum has admitted to breaking three Ming and Qing Dynasty artefacts worth US million. The items – a bowl, a teacup and a plate – were uninsured and were broken in three separate incidents in the past 18 months, but the news only came to light last week. The museum, on the outskirts of Taipei, houses the world's largest collection of Chinese artefacts, much of which was brought by Chiang Kai-shek after his nationalist forces fled to Taiwan at the end of China’s civil war.

RUSSIA

Minsk-based Orthodox priest Vladislav Bogomolnikov was arrested for the fifth time and sentenced to 15 days in prison. He has already spent 59 days in prison for his support of Lukashenko's opponents and his refusal to cooperate with the special services, and for organising prayer meetings for peace and in the memory of the victims of war and repression.

AZERBAIJAN

Inspired by Gubad Ibadoglu, leader of the Azerbaijan Democracy and Prosperity Party (ADR), protests are taking place in Azerbaijan against the continuation of the mandate authorising the presence of Russia's peacekeeping forces in Nagorno Karabakh for another 15-20 years. Protesters are calling on Azeri President Ilham Aliyev to refuse to sign any agreement in Sochi with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

• afghanistan
• pakistan
• vietnam
• north korea
• taiwan
• belarus
• azerbaijan
• armenia
• russia