Today's headlines: Malaysia's prime minister calls for monitoring pro-Palestine solidarity activities in schools. The Maldives’ new president is trying to keep his election promises. A Pakistani court turns down Imran Khan’s bail request. The Iranian teenager arrested in early October for not wearing a headscarf has died. An Afghan journalist held in Russia faces the death sentence if she is sent home. Halloween alcohol ban goes into effect in a Tokyo district.

GAZA – ISRAEL

As Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip intensifies, Hamas has reported the entry of troops and tanks into the northern part of the territory, but it is unclear whether this is the ground operation long announced by the Israeli government. In the meantime, Internet and telephone communications have been completely cut, so it is no longer possible to get news from local residents and journalists. Since clashes began on 7 October, about 7,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Hamas' health ministry. A resolution proposed by Jordan at the UN General Assembly for a ceasefire received 120 votes in favour. Several European states, India, Japan and South Korea are among the countries that abstained.

 

MALAYSIA

Malaysia's Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, has called for a close monitoring of activities related to Palestine Solidarity Week after videos surfaced showing teachers and students disguised as Palestinian militants with toy guns. "Firstly, we encourage the organisation of such programmes, but we won’t force all schools to participate. Secondly, we need to ensure that it doesn’t become a problem," the prime minister said.

 

MALDIVES – INDIA

The Maldives' new president, Mohamed Muizzu, said that talks with New Delhi to remove Indian military personnel from the country had been "very successful". India is the only foreign power with a military presence in the Maldives to counter Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean, but Muizzu is closer to Beijing, and pledged during his recent election campaign to eject the 70 Indian soldiers.

 

PAKISTAN

The Islamabad High Court rejected former Prime Minister Imran Khan's application for bail and his request that the charges of leaking state secrets against him be dismissed. The indictment is linked to a confidential cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan's ambassador to the United States last year, which Khan is accused of making public. After a no-confidence vote in parliament in April last year, the former cricket star was forced to resign and has been at the centre of political unrest ever since.

 

IRAN

State media have reported that 16-year-old Armita Geravand died in detention. Arrested for not wearing a headscarf required, she had already been declared brain-dead. Her case is similar to that of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman whose death at the hands of the morality police sparked protests against the Iranian regime last year.

 

RUSSIA – AFGHANISTAN

Afghan feminist journalist, Kobroy Hassani, is on trial in St Petersburg. After arriving in Belarus from Afghanistan with 13 other people, she was accused of illegally crossing into Russia. After the Taliban came back to power, she fled to Ukraine, tried to move to Europe after the Russian invasion, but ended up in the hands of traffickers and is now in a Russian prison, where she risks repatriation and the death sentence.

 

JAPAN

An alcohol ban came into effect yesterday in Tokyo's Shibuya district, a popular nightlife area, in a bid to avoid dangerous gatherings for Halloween after last year's tragedy in South Korea's Itaewon district. In the past few years, tens of thousands of people throng in Shibuya on this occasion, which tends to slow down emergency services.

 

INDONESIA

The first flight using palm oil-blended jet fuel took place in Indonesia as part of a policy to reduce the country’s carbon footprint and reduce fuel imports. Operated by national carrier Garuda, the plane carried more than 100 passengers from the capital Jakarta to the city of Surakarta about 550 kilometres away, while the use of biofuels was tested by the state-owned company Pertamina.

 

KAZAKHSTAN

Dozens of women staged a protest at Atyrau city hall. “Tired of poverty and low standards of living,” they called on the authorities to solve an acute housing problem, highlighted by a recent fire in the town of Ayagoz that left four children dead.

• asia
• gaza
• israel
• palestine
• malaysia
• maldives
• india
• pakistan
• iran
• russia
• afghanistan
• japan
• indonesia
• kazakistan