Beijing sentences writer Yang Hengjun to death (with suspended sentence)

Today's news: at least 10 police officers killed in an attack (unclaimed) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province; Israel ready to welcome 65,000 more workers from India, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan; A huge dam being planned threatens to cause Luang Prabang to lose its Unesco designation; Appeals to the Taliban government for the release of two Afghan activists.

CHINA
A Beijing court sentenced Australian writer Yang Hengjun to death this morning with a suspended sentence. The sentence, which comes five years after the arrest and three years after the start of the closed-door trial on espionage charges, has raised dismay among family members and supporters. Yang, a pro-democracy blogger, is a Chinese-born Australian citizen who was working in New York before being detained at Guangzhou airport in 2019.

PAKISTAN
At least 10 police officers were killed and six others injured in a pre-dawn attack by militia groups on a police station in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province in northwestern Pakistan, amid escalating violence ahead. of the vote. At the moment there are no official claims. The assassination of a politician in Balochistan has also been recorded in these hours.

ISRAEL - ASIA
The Israeli government said yesterday that it is ready to open its doors to 65,000 workers from India, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan to revive the construction sector which has been at a standstill since October 7, with the Hamas attack which led to the blocking of construction permits. I work for the Palestinians. At least 72 thousand of them were working on construction sites before the attack. There are currently 20 thousand foreigners present.

INDIA - MALDIVES
Indian authorities will begin withdrawing their troops from the archipelago starting next month. According to the Foreign Ministry of the Maldives, the first part of the soldiers will leave the area by March 10, while the remainder will leave by March. The agreement was reached at a high-level meeting in New Delhi.

LAOS
Luang Prapang could lose its UNESCO world heritage status due to a huge dam being planned upstream from the city, which worries local residents. The Laotian government plays it down, excluding reasons for concern. In reality there would be a threat looming over one of the country's main tourist attractions, famous for its Buddhist temples.

AFGHANISTAN
Amnesty International calls on the Taliban government to release two activists who work for the NGO Fekre Behtar, specialized in the education sector. “The arrest and arbitrary detention of Ahmad Fahim Azimi and Seddiqullah Afghan - he states in a note - are against international law”. According to the accusation, they tried to encourage the escape of some girls from the country and incited protests.

UKRAINE - RUSSIA - CHINA
The Beijing government has warned Ukraine that Kiev's inclusion of more than ten Chinese companies in the list of 48 "international war sponsors" helping Russia, released last month, could reflect very negatively on relations between the two states. This was reported by various agencies that relay information from high-ranking Ukrainian officials.

AZERBAIJAN - ARMENIA
The president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliev, reiterated that peace with Armenia already exists in fact, and will be legally and definitively possible only after changes are made to the Armenian constitution. The text must highlight "the failure to recognize the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country, and the separation of Karabakh".

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