Philippines: Nobel Peace Prize winner Ressa cleared of tax evasion charges

Todays headlines: Pakistani premier proposes peace talks to India; Pacific island nations against Fukushima contaminated water release; In China millions travel for Lunar New Year; In Oman the first space launch base in the Middle East; Russian citizens accuse Putin of creating a Nazi state.

PHILIPPINES

A court has acquitted Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa of charges of tax evasion. The acquittal (on four charges) also concerns her newspaper Rappler. Three other criminal cases are open against the journalist, including one for libel for which she faces almost seven years in prison.

PAKISTAN-INDIA

Shehbaz Sharif proposed to the Indian government to start discussions to solve problems such as the sovereignty of Kashmir. The Pakistani premier said he had asked the United Arab Emirates to mediate between the two sides.

OCEANIA-JAPAN

South Pacific island nations have asked Tokyo to postpone the release into the sea of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, damaged by the 2011 tsunami. Japanese authorities said the operation could start between spring and summer.

CHINA

Millions of Chinese are on the move to reach their homes on the eve of the Lunar New Year, which falls on 21 January. After three years of anti-Covid restrictions, the government hopes the reopenings will boost consumption and an upturn in the economy. Experts fear that the mass displacements could cause the pandemic to spread to the countryside.

OMAN

The sultanate will start construction of the first space launch base in the Middle East this year. The Etlaq Space Launch Complex will be built in the port city of Duqm. Work will be completed in three years, but the first launch could take place as early as early 2024.

RUSSIA

A group of Russian citizens from the Ishimbajsk province in Bashkortostan sent an open letter to Putin. The letter states: 'You have created a totalitarian regime, similar to Nazi Germany... You only defend the rights of the security forces, who are always ready to kill ordinary people, but in the end what will you be able to do without the people?

TAJIKISTAN-KYRGYZSTAN

Despite the increasingly severe winter weather, a window of thaw opened between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, with a telephone conversation between the two presidents Rakhmon and Žaparov. The occasion was the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations. They discussed the 'prospects for cooperation' between the two states, starting with border marking.

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