China arrests over a thousand Tibetans for protests against a dam

Today's news: Imran Khan appeals to the International Monetary Fund demanding independent verification of the vote before negotiations; Taiwan's TSMC opened its first microchip factory in Japan; Egyptian economy collapses as tourism, gas and Suez Canal hit by war in Gaza; In Russia more victims of the repression of crimes of opinion under Putin than in the thirty years from Kruschev to Andropov.

CHINA-TIBET

In China's southwestern Sichuan province, police yesterday arrested more than 1,000 Tibetans, including monks from at least two local monasteries, who were protesting against the construction of a dam that is expected to destroy six monasteries and force the relocation of two villages.

JAPAN-TAIWAN

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world's largest microchip maker, has opened its first factory in Japan, with further investment planned to build a second plant. The factory, built in the city of Kikuyo in the southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto, is expected to begin producing semiconductors, including 12-nanometer chips used in cars and industrial equipment, in the last quarter of the year. The Taiwanese company, which is also building plants in Arizona in the United States and Dresden in Germany, is diversifying its production sites in the wake of risks arising from tensions between Taiwan and China.

PAKISTAN

From prison, the president and founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Imran Khan, announced that he will write to the International Monetary Fund inviting it to request an independent verification of the February 8 general elections before continuing talks with Islamabad. Despite the ban on presenting one's symbol and accusations of fraud, the candidates of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf won a relative majority of seats in parliament. But the other political forces have agreed on a new government led by Shebhaz Sharif which would exclude Imran Khan's deputies. The financial institution's loans, essential to avoiding the country's default, expire in March.

EGYPT-GAZA

Already in the throes of a deep crisis, the Egyptian economy seems destined to suffer a serious blow due to the war between Israel and Hamas and growing tensions in the Red Sea. Tourism, gas exports and Suez Canal revenues are suffering and analysts say the Rafah crisis could make things even worse.

NEPAL

The spiritual journey of a wronged woman unfolds among the peaks and villages of the Himalayas in "Shambhala", the first Nepali film in competition at the Berlin Film Festival. “I feel very happy to be here at the Berlinale,” said director Min Bahadur Bham, who said he was proud to represent not only his film, but also Nepal, his village and her community.

RUSSIA

According to calculations by the Proekt agency, the number of people convicted for political reasons during the period of Vladimir Putin's presidency has already exceeded that of the thirty-year period 1954-1984, from Khrushchev to Brezhnev and Andropov. In total, around 116 thousand people suffered repression for crimes of opinion. Meanwhile, the Russian opposition politician Ilja Jasin, who is serving an 8 and a half year sentence in a concentration camp, has issued an appeal to world leaders to work for the release of another dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, sentenced to 25 years and transferred to the Omsk concentration camp in Siberia, "before it is too late", as he too has already suffered poisoning attempts.

KAZAKHSTAN

In Kazakhstan, the spread of the measles infection does not stop, which began at the end of 2023 and involves more and more people, not only children, but also adults, in a proportion that has not been recorded for over thirty years, with quarantine phases which force entire neighborhoods and hospitals to be isolated and new, specially dedicated stations to be opened.

• AsiaToday