Iran, woman arrested for 'hostile media' photos of poisoned schoolgirls

Today's headlines: Sagaing, over 20,000 fleeing Burmese army offensive; Hong Kong's national anthem, protest song overtakes Chinese anthem on Google; In Iraq over 200 arrests for gambling and alcohol consumption; a court rejects Rahul Gandhi's appeal; Thailand postpones introduction of entry tax for foreign tourists; in Bali, locals' impatience with Russian tourists grows.

IRAN
The Iranian authorities in Qazvin, in the centre of the country, have arrested a woman for taking photos and video footage of the poisoning of schoolgirls and then sending them to foreign 'hostile media'. The mysterious cases have been occurring for several months and have opened a new front of protest and discontent. The official figures are around 1,200, but the real numbers could be much higher.

MYANMAR
More than 20,000 people have abandoned their villages in the town of Khin-U, Sagaing region (the heart of the resistance against the junta), while the army is intensifying its offensive against the People's Defence Forces. The extensive military operation comes a week after the air raid on the town of Kanbalu during the inauguration of a public building, at least 200 people were killed. 

HONG KONG - CHINA
Efforts by the Hong Kong authorities to ensure that the Chinese national anthem ranks high on Google are in vain. Typing in 'HK national anthem' as the first link in Singapore, Canada and Australia shows a Wikipedia page referring to the protest song (2019) 'Glory to Hong Kong'. The same page is second to New York, London and Taiwan. 

IRAQ
Iraqi police arrested nearly 200 people - including 159 locals and 32 foreigners - after raids on illegal casinos where gambling (cards and roulette) was conducted and alcoholic beverages were sold during Ramadan. Large sums of money were confiscated. Recently, the authorities started to enforce the controversial 2016 alcohol regulation. 

THAILAND
Bangkok postpones the introduction of a tourist entry tax in the country from June to September due to 'problems' with the implementation of the levy. Against the levying of the 300 baht (about 11 euro) levy were the airlines, which refuse to differentiate between foreign, Thai and expatriate tourists. Originally, the money was to be added to flight prices.

INDIA
A court rejected an appeal by opposition leader Rahul Gandhi's lawyers to suspend his conviction for defamation and consequent expulsion from Parliament. The 52-year-old was sentenced to two years for remarks he made about Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 that were considered insulting. The government is accused of exploiting the defamation law to silence critics.

INDONESIA - RUSSIA
In Indonesia, there is growing impatience with the large number of Russian tourists, who have invaded the island of Bali in particular. Since September, almost 100,000 have entered the Asian country, 20,000 in January alone, without observing the rules of behaviour or respecting the prohibitions, including protective masks, the use of motor scooters, and bare chests in the streets.

UZBEKISTAN - CHINA
China is building a large agro-logistics centre in Uzbekistan, with an investment of around USD 50 million by the Citic Group company. The facility will serve the entire Central Asian region with warehouses for 50 tonnes of goods spread over 32 hectares, offices and hotels, a customs checkpoint, and a huge container car park.

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