Philippines: Marcos vs. international court investigation into war on drugs

Today's news: In Pakistan, suspected bombing led to the closure of schools and universities in Islamabad; A 7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China. Large-scale attacks by the United States and Britain against the Houthis in Yemen; Relatives of hostages break into parliament in Jerusalem, 21 Israeli soldiers killed in a single day in Gaza. In Russia over 400 attacks on military bases and logistical facilities to sabotage the war in Ukraine.

PHILIPPINES

The Philippine government will not cooperate in any way with the investigations of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which begins to investigate the "war on drugs", which between 2016 and 2018 led to the arrest of over 121 thousand people and a number of victims uncertain, but above 4 thousand. “I consider it a threat to our sovereignty. The Philippine government will not lift a finger to help the investigation,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Tuesday. Last July, the ICC rejected an appeal from Manila and allowed the investigation into former President Rodrigo's "campaign" to resume Duterte and other suspected rights violations.

PAKISTAN

Schools and universities in Islamabad remained closed on January 22. The fear was that a terrorist attack was about to occur, given the wave of internal violence surrounding the February 8 elections. The deputy commissioner Islamabad, however, clarified that the document proclaiming the closure of schools, universities and resorts was not official, nor issued by the authorities. The police actually conducted a search operation in the outskirts of Islamabad, which would have sparked general alert. Chief Inspector Akbar Nasir said that "everything is under control and the alert was not intended to impose any closure, but to keep the focus on public safety high."

YEMEN

US and British forces have carried out a new series of attacks in Yemen, targeting an underground Iranian missile storage site for the Houthis. Their attacks have disrupted global shipping to and from the Red Sea and heightened international concern that the fallout from the war between Israel and Hamas could destabilize the Middle East.

ISRAEL - PALESTINE

A group of relatives of Israelis held hostage in Gaza stormed a parliamentary committee session in Jerusalem on Monday, demanding lawmakers do more to try to free their loved ones. The action by around 20 people signaled growing dissent towards Netanyahu's government in the fourth month of the war against Hamas. In Gaza, meanwhile, twenty-one Israeli soldiers were killed during the intense fighting. Army spokesman Daniel Hagari reported it today, marking the highest Israeli death toll in one day since the fighting began in the enclave.

RUSSIA

The representative of the Russian Interior Ministry Stanislav Kolesnik announced that since the beginning of the "special operation" (as Moscow officially calls the war in Ukraine) there have been 220 attacks against military districts and 184 attempts to sabotage railway lines in throughout Russia, resolved without serious damage in 85% of cases. Among the over two hundred arrested for these actions there are also around sixty minors.

CHINA - KYRGYZSTAN

A 7.1 magnitude earthquake shook the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in far western China, injuring several people and destroying some homes, Chinese state media reported. There would have been no deaths. The earthquake occurred at 2:09 am local time, about 22 kilometers (14 miles) deep in Wushi County, Aksu Prefecture, in the mountainous border area between China and Kyrgyzstan, the China Earthquake Networks Center said.

JAPAN

Many bullet train services between Tokyo and stations in central and eastern Japan were suspended today due to a power outage. The line's operator, East Japan Railway Co, says services will not resume soon. The outage, which began around 10 am (local time), affected sections of the Tohoku, Joetsu and Hokuriku shinkansen lines.

TAJIKISTAN - QATAR

The President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rakhmon, met in Doha with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Oli Soni, discussing the need to facilitate the transport of goods between the two countries, and communication infrastructure in general, following up to the collaboration agreements already signed last year, during Bin Hamad's visit to Dušanbe.

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