Seoul: North Korean troops in Russia to join the war

Today's news: Israel hits Jabalia, Gaza's largest camp, 33 killed; China launched an investigation to investigate "fear of having children"; In Myanmar the Arakan Army controls 10 out of 17 municipalities in Rakhine; In Malayasia a bill on the authority of muftis worries about freedom of choice.

NORTH KOREA - RUSSIA

North Korea has started sending troops to fight with Russia in Ukraine, according to South Korea's spy agency. The accusation comes a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believed 10,000 North Korean soldiers might join the war. According to the agency, 1,500 troops have already arrived in Russia - and anonymous sources told South Korean media that the final figure could be closer to 12,000 soldiers.

ISRAEL - GAZA

At least 33 people were killed and 85 wounded in Israeli attacks that hit several homes yesterday in Jabalia, the largest of Gaza's eight historic refugee camps, according to medics, where residents said tanks blew up streets and houses. The Hamas-run Gaza government press office said the death toll from the attacks could rise because some people were reportedly trapped under rubble.

CHINA

China launches survey to address widespread ‘fear of having children’. China's National Health Commission (NHC) is conducting a survey of 30,000 people to understand the factors influencing their attitudes towards motherhood as authorities struggle to increase the declining birth rate. The survey will include people from 150 counties in China and 1,500 different communities.

MYANMAR

Heavy fighting is ongoing in the western Myanmar state of Rakhine between junta troops and ethnic rebels. The Arakan Army, or AA, which fights for self-determination of the mostly Buddhist Rakhine people, has captured territory throughout Rakhine State and controls 10 of the 17 municipalities. It would be the first rebel group to take control of a state if it succeeds in conquering all the territory controlled by the military, as it has promised to do.

MALAYSIA

A bill granting the mufti of the Federal Territories the power to enshrine religious edicts in law has raised concerns among Malaysian Muslims, who fear it will violate their freedom of choice. The Federal Territories Mufti Bill 2024 aims to formalise the position of the FT's mufti (Muslim jurist), which covers the capital Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan.

RUSSIA

Marina Egorova, a university professor and wife of politician Leonid Gozman, who is abroad to escape a conviction related to fake news about the war, was arrested in Moscow. She is charged with ‘smuggling of cultural values’ for attempting to leave Russia with family silverware, in a ‘criminal group’ together with her driver.

ARMENIA - AZERBAIJAN

The third regional consultation meeting of the ‘3+3’ platform began in Istanbul with the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia, and Turkey (Georgia's was absent) together with Armenia's Ararat Mirzoyan, dedicated in particular to the peace talks between Baku and Yerevan, with bilateral meetings of all members with the Armenian minister.

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