Myanmar: companies from 13 countries help military junta makers make weapons

Today's headlines: President Tsai Ing-wen's deputy to head the ruling party in Taiwan; Former MP killed in Kabul; Iraqi PM ready to maintain US troop presence; Nepal plane crash: four missing; Jehovah's Witness convicted of extremism in Russia.

MYANMAR

Supplies of materials from companies in 13 countries are being used by the ruling coup junta to produce weapons to be used against the armed opposition. This was revealed in a report by a UN study group. Companies from the USA, France, India and Japan are also involved.

TAIWAN

Vice President Lai Ching-te is the new leader of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), in power since 2016. The appointment puts him in the front row to run for the country's presidency: current Head of State Tsai Ing-wen's term expires in 2024. In November, the Dpp suffered a stinging defeat in local elections.

AFGHANISTAN

Former MP Mursal Nabizada has been assassinated. The attack, by an armed group, took place in her home in Kabul; her brother was also wounded and a bodyguard killed. The victim was a member of the lower house of parliament until the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021.

IRAQ

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani does not oppose the continued presence of US troops in the country, a statement that will infuriate the pro-Iran Shia militias. There are currently 2,500 US troops on Iraqi soil, half of those deployed between 2014 and 2018 in the campaign against Isis.

NEPAL

The search continues for the four people missing in the plane crash near Pokhara airport. A Yeti Airlines aircraft crashed into a gorge shortly before it began its landing phase. There are currently 68 victims, 52 Nepalese and 15 foreigners.

RUSSIA

The court in Kyzyl, in the Republic of Tuva, sentenced a follower of the Jehovah's Witnesses, Anatolij Senin, to six years in prison on charges of extremism, the first conviction in the Mongolian-Siberian region. He had been arrested for "transmitting video recordings of religious content, incitement to prayer and religious songs and Bible study".

GEORGIA

Rustavi 2 TV broadcast an audio recording with the voice of the mother of former President Saakašvili (now in prison) criticising opposition politicians. The woman explains that her son came to Georgia 'because of Russia', stirring up a hornet's nest of controversy and mutual accusations of treason and plotting with the Kremlin.

• Asia
• Today