Panama will not renew China's Belt and Road Initiative agreement

Today's news: 23 buildings blown up by the Israeli army in Jenin; Tax cuts for the middle class in the new budget presented by the Indian government; Popular Taiwanese actress known throughout the East dies at 48 from flu; Coconut shortage: appeal by Malaysian authorities to limit offerings for the Hindu holiday to one nut.

PANAMA-CHINA-UNITED STATES

Panama's President Raul Mulino said his country will not renew the 2017 memorandum of understanding to join the Belt and Road, and suggested that the agreement with China could end early. The announcement came yesterday after talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during which US concerns over China's presence in the Panama Canal were addressed. Mulino reiterated that his country's sovereignty over the vital Mrittima Canal is not in question.

ISRAEL-PALESTINE

Israel blew up 23 buildings in a refugee camp in Jenin, West Bank. An Israeli army spokesman stated that the action took place ‘to prevent terrorist infrastructure from being established there’. He also stated that ‘50 Palestinian fighters’ had been killed in the West Bank since operations in the area began in mid-January. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the destruction of buildings in Jenin, calling it a ‘brutal scene’. President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) called for an urgent session of the UN Security Council to stop these operations.

INDIA

The government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented an annual budget to Parliament on Saturday that focuses on cutting taxes for the middle class to stimulate slowing economic growth. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said his government will initiate reforms in areas such as finance, energy, urban development and mining, raising the starting point for income tax to ,800 from ,074.

MALAYSIA

The price of coconuts, which has risen sharply in Malaysia due to a shortage caused by unfavourable weather conditions, prompted state authorities to urge participants in the Hindu festival of Thaipusam to crack fewer coconuts during this holiday, which falls on 11 February. The chairman of the Batu Caves temple committee, R Nadarajah, said he would personally advise devotees to break only one coconut.

TAIWAN

Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu, who became famous throughout East Asia for 2001 TV series ‘Meteor Garden’, has died of influenza at the age of 48. Known by the nickname ‘Big S’, Hsu died during a family holiday in Japan, her sister Dee Hsu said in a news item that quickly became the most shared on the Chinese microblogging service Weibo.

ARMENIA-AZERBAIGIAN

Armenia's Foreign Minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, confirmed Yerevan's opposition to the ‘neutral Zangezur corridor’ demanded by Azerbaijan, stating, however, that ‘we are in the 21st century, where procedures are simplified and logistical facilities are expanded, so we are not against unblocking access to roads for the common interests of our countries’.

RUSSIA-CHINA-ORTHODOX

A round table discussion was held in Moscow on the issues of the translation of the Holy Scriptures into Chinese, with the participation of specialists and biblical scholars, Orthodox priests serving in Taiwan and Russian students studying for their doctorates in Beijing, under the direction of the member of the Synodal Department for External Relations, Hieromon Kirill (Peregudin) and Deacon Anatolij Goldman, serving in the Moscow Rectory for the Chinese faithful.