Kara-Murza and 11 other dissidents freed in Cologne after prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington
Today's headlines: Macau calls on Taiwan's diplomats to respect the 'One China Principle'. Japan could take legal action against posts insulting athletes at the Olympics. In Laos, more than 8,000 people were infected with dengue in 2024. Floods in South Asia are caused by “atmospheric rivers”.
RUSSIA
Russia has carried out a prisoner exchange with the United States and Germany. Russian dissidents and foreign detainees – Ilya Yashin, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Alsa Kurmasheva, Andrei Pivovarov, Oleg Orlov, Aleksandra (Sasha) Skochilenko, Lilia Chanysheva, Ksenia Fadeyeva, Evan Gershkovich, Riko Krieger, Kevin Lik, Demuri (Dieter) Voronin, Vadim Ostanin, Patrick Schoebel, Paul Whelan, and Herman Moyzhes – were exchanged for convicted murderer and FSB agent Vadim Krasikov killer as well as other Russian spies and agents. The 12 Russians arrived last night at Cologne airport. In addition to reporter Evan Gershkovich, three other US citizens were also freed.
TAIWAN
Taiwan said it had difficulty sending staff to its representative office in Macau because the government of the special administrative region is demanding Taiwanese officials sign a commitment to the "one China principle" to get a visa. Liang Wen-chieh, deputy head of the Mainland China Affairs Council, urged Macau to remove the obstacle and address the issue amicably, but added that Taiwan will “prepare for the worst" without giving further details.
JAPAN
The Japanese delegation to the Paris Olympics has said that it is considering legal action against defamatory content posted online against athletes. The Japanese Olympic Committee issued a statement yesterday saying that criticism and insults hurt athletes' feelings and often make them anxious and fearful and urged users to show some manners.
LAOS
More than 8,400 people were infected with dengue in the first seven months of this year, according to Laotian health authorities. Although this is still a high figure, it represents a significant drop from the 15,851 infections reported for the same period last year. However, the real number could be much higher since many people do not go to health facilities.
INDIA
Torrential rains usually affected South Asia at this time of the year. But due to climate change, a new problem has developed, what scientists call "flying” or “atmospheric rivers", ribbons of water vapour that are born in warm oceans and then falls violently in the form of rain or snow, causing floods or avalanches. Seven of India's 10 most severe floods in the monsoon seasons between 1985 and 2020 were associated with atmospheric rivers, a team from the Indian Institute of Technology found, but the phenomenon has worsened across Asia.
TURKEY
Turkey has blocked access to Instagram, without giving any reason or indicating how long it plans on keeping the ban. However, Turkish communication official Fahrettin Altun recently criticised the platform for blocking condolence posts on the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
TAJIKISTAN
Samad Zafar, head of Tajikistan's drug control agency, said that drug trafficking from Afghanistan are now largely done via drones, with deals reached mostly via social messaging, thus refuting claims by the United Nations and the Taliban that Afghan production had dropped, since shipments from Afghanistan keep on rising.
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12/06/2021 14:56
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