Pyongyang fires 200 artillery shells toward a South Korean island

Today's news: Defense Minister Gallant unveils first Israeli plan for post-war Gaza; Myanmar regime announces amnesty for 9,652 prisoners,except political prisoners with long sentences; In Wuhan, the Chinese Communist Party adds two children to the sculpture extolling the one-child policy.

NORTH KOREA-SOUTH KOREA

North Korea fired more than 200 artillery shells off its western coast, toward the southern island of Yeonpyeong. South Korea condemned the move, calling it a "provocative act" and immediately issued an evacuation notice for civilians on the island. The new incident is part of the extremely tense climate between Pyongyang and Seoul which led to the suspension of the military agreement which was aimed at improving relations.

ISRAEL-GAZA

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has presented a four-point plan for managing the Gaza Strip after the end of the ongoing war with Hamas. The plan provides for the Israeli army to maintain full military control but not the civil administration which would be entrusted to local Palestinian authorities under the control of an international coalition led by the United States, Egypt and moderate Arab countries. There are no plans to resettle Israeli settlers in Gaza. Gallant's is the first detailed project by a high-ranking Israeli official for the Strip after the war, but it does not represent an official political position: as soon as he made it known he was strongly criticized by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a member of the far-right nationalist .

CAMBODIA

Cambodia's Ministry of Labor has expressed alarm over reports that a labor recruitment agency is offering Cambodians job opportunities in Israel despite the ongoing Gaza war. The ministry has categorically denied that any labor recruitment agreement exists with Israel.

MYANMAR

Myanmar's military regime has announced the release of 9,652 prisoners, including 114 foreigners, as part of an amnesty to mark the country's independence day. None of the political prisoners serving long-term sentences appear to be among those released from prison. To be released they will only be sentenced to sentences of between two and three years and therefore now close to the scheduled date of release.

CHINA

A sculpture along the river in the Chinese city of Wuhan depicting a mother, a father and an only child entitled "A Better Future" in 2017, has been "updated" according to the new political directives of the Chinese Communist Party in the face of the increasingly demographic crisis evident: the sculptor was asked to create two more children. The renewed monument has sparked many comments on the Chinese social network Weibo, including those from those who have not forgotten how until a few years ago the same authorities imposed forced abortions on those who transgressed the one-child imperative.

RUSSIA

The President of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, admitted the possibility of executing relatives of wanted criminals. “If we don't find them - he declared - we stop looking for them and go and get their relatives, as has always been done by us: our fathers promised revenge against their brother or father, even if one rejects their relatives, until take out one, the score remains pending”.

CENTRAL ASIA

The heads of state of the Central Asian countries did not hold extended press conferences at the end or beginning of the year. The latest was the 2019 meeting with journalists of Kazakh President Kasym-Žomart Tokaev, who promised they would become traditional, but then never did, while Sadyr Žaparov of Kyrgyzstan says they are “a waste of time” .

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