Delhi blocks two Indian medicines sold as drugs in West Africa

Today's news: Netanyahu blocks release of Palestinian prisoners, ceasefire at risk in decisive week; Zelensky: willing to give up presidency in exchange for Ukraine in NATO; Japan and the Philippines strengthen collaboration in the defence sector; Two 2-year-old Cambodian children killed by a mine 25 years ago, the USA promises to release funds for mine clearance.

INDIA-AFRICA

The Indian authorities have banned two highly addictive opioid drugs in response to a BBC investigation that found they were fuelling a health crisis in parts of West Africa. The recipient of the measure was a pharmaceutical company, Aveo, which had allegedly illegally exported a harmful mixture of tapentadol and carisoprodol to countries such as Ghana, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast. The combination of the two drugs is not authorised anywhere in the world because it can cause breathing difficulties and convulsions, and an overdose can kill. Despite the risks, these opioids are popular street drugs in many West African countries because they are cheap and widely available.

ISRAEL-PALESTINE

In the week that marks the end of the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, there is a stalemate between Israel and Hamas after Netanyahu blocked the release of 620 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday. According to the agreement, these prisoners should have been released in exchange for the six hostages. The Israeli Prime Minister justified the decision as retaliation for the propaganda ceremonies organised by Hamas during the release of the hostages. Israel, moreover, never began negotiations for the second phase of the agreement, which were supposed to begin two weeks ago and should have concerned the release of the last hostages and the end of the war.

UKRAINE

On the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, declared that he was willing to ‘give up’ his presidency in exchange for peace. ‘If you need me to leave this chair, I am ready to do so. And I can also exchange it for Ukraine's accession to NATO’, he said in response to a question during a press conference.

JAPAN-PHILIPPINES

Japan and the Philippines will further increase cooperation in the defence sector in the face of “increasingly severe” security threats in the Indo-Pacific region. This was stated by the Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani when he met his Filipino counterpart Gilberto Teodoro in Manila. Security ties between the two US allies have strengthened over the past two years, as Japan and the Philippines share the same concerns about China's increasingly tough actions in the region.

CHINA

A former Chinese aerospace defence executive has been expelled from the Chinese Communist Party, as part of a vast purge against corruption in the Chinese military-industrial complex. The former president of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Tan Ruisong, is alleged to have ‘lived off the military’ and taken a huge amount of bribes, according to a statement from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. The move comes after 14 military delegates were expelled from China's national legislature in the last two years.

CAMBODIA

Two Cambodian children - a boy and a girl, cousins, both two years old - have died after a grenade buried since the war exploded near their home. The explosion occurred on Saturday in a village in the northwestern province of Siem Reap. Cambodia was forced to partially suspend demining operations for several weeks when Washington suddenly cut off funding following the freezing of all international aid by US President Donald Trump. On Friday, however, Cambodian officials said deminers would resume work after the US granted an exemption.

RUSSIA-INDIA

An investigation by Investigate Europe documents how the main mediator for circumventing sanctions against Russia in the aircraft spare parts sector is India, which, with various companies, supplies the Russians with materials produced by Western companies, over 40% of which are American and a third European, verifying over 700 shipments for a total of more than 50 million dollars.

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