After 10 years Malala returns to Pakistan for flood victims

Today's headlines: Lebanon and Israel reach agreement on maritime borders; Aung San Suu Kyi is sentenced to 3 more years in prison; petrol shortage in Ho Chi Minh City, a missile launch fails in Japan; Turkmenistan blocks access to millions of IP addresses.

PAKISTAN

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai landed in Pakistan yesterday to visit flood victims 10 years after the Pakistani Taliban attempted to assassinate her for her campaign for girls' education. The purpose of the visit is 'to keep international attention focused on the impact of the floods in Pakistan and to strengthen the delivery of humanitarian aid'.

LEBANON - ISRAEL

Yesterday, Lebanon and Israel reached what has been described as a 'historic' agreement to end a long-standing maritime border dispute between the two countries, which are technically still at war. No date has yet been set for the signing but both sides said they had seen their demands met. The region is rich in gas deposits.

JAPAN

A rocket launch conducted by the Japanese space agency failed this morning: the Epsilon rocket - which was supposed to carry some satellites into orbit - was ordered to self-destruct 7 minutes after take-off. It is the first failure since 2003.

CHINA - RUSSIA

The transport of goods from China to Russia is taking longer these days than during the acute phases of the Covid-19 pandemic, exceeding 90 days on average, as demand on the Russian side grows, and restrictions on the Chinese side increase, both for sea and rail routes.

VIETNAM

Petrol stations in Ho Chi Minh City either run out of petrol or are rationing what petrol they have left: motorcyclists and drivers have faced long queues to buy fuel, which costs more than 90 US cents a litre. Some local residents have accused the Ministries of Finance and Transport of miscalculating prices, forcing petrol stations to run at a loss.

MYANMAR

Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced by the Burmese military regime to another three years in prison. So far, the country's former leader has been sentenced to 26 years imprisonment, but five charges remain to be examined. The trial is being held in the capital Naypyitaw behind closed doors. Meanwhile, Toyota has set up an assembly plant near Yangon.

AFGHANISTAN

The Charge d'Affaires of the Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the United Nations, Naseer Ahmad Faiq, said Afghanistan is a candidate to join the UN Human Rights Council (Ohchr) along with 14 other countries. The Taliban are still seeking international recognition but it is unlikely that the Emirate will find a place in the Council.

TURKMENISTAN

The Turkmenistan authorities have implemented draconian measures to control the internet, blocking access to more than 1.2 billion IP addresses, about a third of all those in the world.

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