Malaysia: Licences for Chinese WeChat and TikTok, but not (yet) for US apps

Today's news: Data from South Korean Jeju Air plane crash black boxes extracted; Number of Japanese teachers taking leave for mental stress increases; Iran executes 72 Afghan citizens in 2024; Assam chief minister accuses Indian factory owners of aiding illegal immigration. 

MALAYSIA

The Malaysian Communications Regulatory Authority reported that it has granted Chinese apps WeChat and TikTok licences to operate in the country, a permit required for platforms with more than 8 million users under a law that came into force yesterday and is supposed to combat cybercrime. For applications owned by Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), the licensing procedure has not yet been initiated.

SOUTH KOREA

The extraction of data from one of the black boxes of the Jeju Air plane that crashed in South Korea on Sunday has been completed, while the second will be sent for analysis in the US. South Korean authorities also sent experts to Muan County, where the plane crashed, to investigate the cause of the accident. Meanwhile, the government crisis continues. Accused President Yoon Suk-yeol, against whom an arrest warrant has been issued, said he would ‘fight to the end’.

JAPAN

The number of Japanese teachers taking mental stress leave in public schools rose to 7,119 in the fiscal year 2023 (ending March 2024), a record for the third year in a row, according to the results of a recent government survey that highlighted the increasing workloads teachers are under. If teachers who took more than one month of sick leave are also taken into account, the number rises to 13,045, or 1.42% of the total.

IRAN - AFGHANISTAN

In 2024, the rate of executions of Afghan nationals in Iran increased sharply: data collected by the Iranian Human Rights Organisation indicate that 72 Afghans were executed in the past year, an increase of almost 300% compared to 2023. Most of the executions took place for drug trafficking charges, but according to experts, the problem also relates to the weakness of the Taliban government, which is incapable of protecting its citizens.

INDIA

Himanta Biswa, chief minister of the eastern state of Assam, said that in recent months there has been a massive increase in irregular migration from Bangladesh, encouraged by the political crisis. Sarma claims that workers employed in the Bangladeshi textile industry are trying to cross the border and that several Indian factory owners ‘are encouraging this practice by giving a certain amount of money to illegally import cheap labour’.

MOLDOVA

Moldova has decided to take a very bold step against Russia by nationalising all Gazprom assets in the country. Prime Minister Dorin Rećan stated that ‘the country owes no debt to Russia’, after the announcement of the cessation of gas supplies as of 1 January, and instructed Justice Minister Veronica Moraru to prepare the international lawsuit.

RUSSIA

As of yesterday, the minimum wage has been indexed to 16.6%, from 19,000 to 22,000 roubles, affecting 4 million workers with an extra thousand roubles per month (around 10 euro) for care for the disabled and elderly, with increases in pensions and ‘mother's capital’ beyond the third child, which can be automatically allocated to housing costs.

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