Beijing: former state media journalist sentenced to 7 years for ‘espionage’

Today's news: the fragile truce between Lebanon and Israel (which attacks Hezbollah positions) holds; Singapore and Thailand sign agreements to strengthen cooperation; Delhi negotiates a minerals pact with Mongolia and goes in search of lithium in the Himalayas; Teheran sells 92% of its oil exports to China, with a minimum discount of 30%.

CHINA

A former state media journalist was sentenced today to seven years in prison for ‘espionage’. Dong Yuyu, 62 and detained since 2022, was active in academic and journalistic circles in the US and Japan and met with foreign representatives on a regular basis. At the time of the detention he was in Beijing having lunch with a Japanese diplomat. He was a senior staff member of the Guangming Daily, one of the five main newspapers linked to the Communist Party.

ISRAEL - LEBANON

On its second day, the fragile truce between Israel and Lebanon seems to be holding, despite the exchange of accusations between the parties that the ceasefire reached with difficulty after a year of fighting between the Jewish State and Hezbollah has been violated. Yesterday, the Israeli air force claimed to have hit facilities in the south used by the pro-Iranian Shiite movement to store medium-range rockets, while the army reportedly targeted ‘suspicious’ vehicles in a forbidden zone.

SINGAPORE - THAILAND

Singapore and Thailand expand cooperation in new areas including food and energy security, green economy and digital connectivity, defence, trade and investment. This was announced by the two premiers Lawrence Wong and Paetongtarn Shinawatra after a meeting yesterday in Bangkok aimed at strengthening cooperation ahead of 60 years of diplomatic relations in 2025.

INDIA - MONGOLIA

India is negotiating a preliminary pact with Mongolia on mineral shipments, particularly coal and copper as a government source explained. At the same time, Delhi is exploring the Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir in search of lithium, while across the border the target is critical raw materials subject to several auctions as part of the development of green energy alternatives.

IRAN - CHINA

Tehran sells 92% of its oil exports to China, at a minimum discount of 30%. This is stated by Hojatollah Mirzaei, head of the Research Centre of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, according to whom the situation is equivalent to a ‘19th century colonial trap’ into which Iran has fallen and there is no way out. Beijing dictates both the type of goods and the prices of the black gold received.

RUSSIA

In the past year, 220 bookshops have been closed in Russia, 2.5 times more than the previous year, the president of the Association for Book Distribution of Russia, Svetlana Zorina, told Vedomosti. Among the reasons was the ‘dumping of market players, which destroyed traditional mechanisms’, as well as the many publishing restrictions.

UZBEKISTAN

The security services of Uzbekistan reported a joint operation with the police that led to the arrest of 17 people in Tashkent, including minors. Those arrested had intended to ‘form an illegal association with the aim of joining the Islamic State’, i.e. Isis terrorists, attracted to the jihadist struggle via the internet.

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