Asia looks at Ukraine crisis with concern

Today's headlines: Tonga is reconnected with the rest of the world; the EU launches a new package of sanctions against Burma's military junta; Sri Lanka is ready to hold talks with the International Monetary Fund to ease its economic crisis; Taiwan calls for an investigation into its own Olympian who wore a Chinese uniform.

ASIA

After Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised the two provinces of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent, India prepared to evacuate its citizens, while Japan immediately said it was ready to support a package of sanctions against Moscow. During the emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, China was very mild and called on the parties to avoid an escalation of violence.

RUSSIA

The Russian Prime Minister allocated 5 billion roubles (60 million euro) for assistance to displaced persons from the Donbass. According to President Putin's indications, each displaced person will receive a subsidy of 10,000 roubles (110 euro). The regional administration in Rostov should present the list of displaced persons to be assisted as soon as possible. In the Donbass, mass raids are underway on houses left empty by displaced persons.

TONGA

This morning, the island of Tonga reconnected with the rest of the world. One month after the volcanic eruption that devastated the archipelago and interrupted communications with the rest of the world, the submarine fibre-optic cable connecting it to international networks was repaired. The next step will be to repair the cables connecting the main island of Tongatapu with the more peripheral ones.

SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka is willing to hold talks with the International Monetary Fund and other lending institutions to tackle one of the worst economic crises in years. Foreign exchange reserves have fallen to 2.36 billion dollars, leading to a reduction in imports. The island only has fuel reserves for a few days at the moment.

MYANMAR

The European Union yesterday adopted a fourth round of sanctions against the Burmese junta in Myanmar, where the political situation continues to deteriorate: the Council added 22 individuals and 4 entities to the sanctions list. The entities are state-owned enterprises and include the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (Moge).

TAIWAN

The Olympics were over, but the Taiwanese government called for an investigation into one of its athletes, skater Huang Yu-ting, who had posted a photo of herself wearing a Chinese uniform on social media. Although the skater later removed the post and justified herself by saying that the suit had been given to her by a Chinese friend, Premier Su Tseng-chang called her behaviour "inappropriate".

HONG KONG

City authorities said they had detected traces of Sars-Cov-2 in packages of beef from Brazil and pork from Poland. The new wave of infections is proving increasingly difficult to control, with more than 7,000 new cases recorded yesterday.

JORDAN

Leaked reports about funds held by Jordan's King Abdallah in the Swiss bank Credit Suisse contain 'inaccurate, old and misleading' information, the royal palace says. Two days ago, several media outlets published details of accounts held by the royal family in Switzerland from the 1940s to 2010. The royal family has stated that no public money is involved. King Abdallah's holdings abroad had also been documented by Pandora Papers.

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