Barghouti's release in ceasefire negotiations in Gaza
Today's headlines: US strikes 85 targets in Syria and Iraq in response to an attack against a US base in Jordan. North Korea conducts new missile test. More than 90,000 polling stations have been set up for the February 8 vote in Pakistan. One out of every 140 Japanese teachers is on leave for mental illness. Kazakhstan wants to build a fibre optic communication line with Russia and Iran.
ISRAEL – PALESTINE
As negotiations mediated by the United States and Qatar continue for a ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for the release of the hostages, a Hamas official yesterday said that one of the group’s demands is the release of Marwan Barghouti, a former Fatah leader who was arrested in 2002 and is serving five life sentences in Israel for his role in terror attacks during the Second Intifada. Barghouti remains a very popular figure and is seen as a unifying figure among Palestinian groups.
MIDDLE EAST
The United States struck 85 targets in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the attack that killed three of its soldiers at a base in northern Jordan last month. According to US officials, the attack was carried out against Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Quds Force and allied militia groups. Seven locations, four in Syria and three in Iraq, were hit.
NORTH KOREA
North Korea announced that it conducted today what it calls a “cruise missile super-large warhead power test;” this comes after it test-fired a new type of anti-aircraft missile yesterday. Amid renewed tensions with Seoul, this is Pyongyang’s fourth cruise missile launch since the start of the year and the first anti-aircraft missile test since September 2021.
PAKISTAN
Five days before a crucial vote takes place next Thursday, 8 February, the Election Commission of Pakistan announced that 90,675 polling stations have been set up to enable more than 120 million voters in the country’s four provinces to cast their ballots. Of these, 41,403 are combined, while 25,320 are for men and 23,952 for women.
JAPAN
The number of teachers on leave due to mental illness in Japan's public schools rose to a record high of 6,539 in the last fiscal year, up by 642 over the previous year, a government survey shows. Stress from the COVID-19 pandemic is cited as a possible factor. This number represents 0.71 per cent or 1 in every 140 teachers in Japanese schools.
RUSSIA
Russian authorities are banning singers and musicians from performing even when they have not taken any stand against the Ukraine war, but rather show "low levels of loyalty to the state" or engage in behaviour "not in accordance with traditional values," which is what happened recently to 60-year-old Russian-Israeli singer Lolita Milyavskaya whose tour was cancelled.
KAZAKHSTAN – RUSSIA – IRAN
At a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Almaty, the Kazakh Minister for Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry, Bağdat Musin, has unveiled a proposal to create a common fibre optic communication line between Russia, Kazakhstan, and Iran, with access to the Indian Ocean. The minister also wants to boost cooperation in the area of GovTech.
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