South Korea: Detained former defence minister attempts suicide

Today's news: University of Tokyo website becomes inaccessible to Chinese students due to censorship; Bad forecast for Myanmar's economy, now almost in its fourth year of war; Former intelligence chief indicted in Pakistan for supporting Imran Khan; In Tajikistan 48 cases of human trafficking in 2024.

SOUTH KOREA

Police raided and searched the office of Yoon Suk-yeol (who was not present) to conduct further investigations into the proclamation of martial law on 3 December, while former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun, Yoon's close confidant now in detention, attempted suicide, local officials reported. Yoon has been banned from leaving the country, but has not been detained or interrogated. For the first time, North Korea commented on the imposition of martial law, calling it an attempt to recreate a ‘fascist dictatorship’.

JAPAN - CHINA

Apparently, a hacker inserted the words ‘six four Tiananmen’ into the source code of the University of Tokyo website to ensure that the page would be censored in China. Japanese authorities are investigating the incident, but it is assumed that the purpose was to prevent new Chinese students from enrolling in Japan. The characters, now removed, were present on the English language login page and in the admissions information section.

MYANMAR

According to Central Bank forecasts, the economy of Myanmar, where a civil war has been fought for almost four years, will contract further in 2025, mainly due to the emigration of many young people, who have left the country following the imposition of compulsory conscription by the army. GDP will thus be 11% lower than in 2019, while inflation is expected to remain around 26%.

PHILIPPINES

Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte was not questioned today about assassination threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. because she did not show up, but sent a letter denying the allegations.

PAKISTAN

The Pakistani army has accused Lieutenant General Faiz Hamid of ‘being involved in political activities’, believing him to be a collaborator of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in destabilising the nation. Hamid, in 2019 appointed head of Pakistan's notorious intelligence service, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) by Imran Khan himself, was arrested in August last year and is being investigated under the Pakistan Army Act. This is the first time that a former intelligence chief will be tried by a court martial.

SYRIA

As Syrian refugees attempt to return to their country, the US has urged the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group (the Committee for the Liberation of the Levant) to form an inclusive interim government (which according to interim head of government Mohammed al-Nashir will remain in office until March 2025, at least) and has not clarified whether it will remove the organisation from the list of terrorist groups. Israel claimed to have struck most of Syria's strategic weapons arsenals in the last 48 hours.

TAJIKISTAN

Tajikistan's Administration for Combating Organised Crime reported that there were 48 cases of human trafficking in the first nine months of 2024, an increase compared to previous years, 27 of which involved exploitation for labour, and 21 for sexual activities, mostly related to migration movements and scam offers for them.

RUSSIA

A large group of Russian artists and musicians has set up a foundation in the name of Pavel Kušnir, the young Russian pianist who died in July 2024 in the Siberian lager in Birobidžan after being arrested for spreading anti-war videos via You Tube. The aim of the fund is to support young Ukrainian musicians, and Russians who have ‘escaped the dictatorial regimes’ of Russia and Belarus, by organising concerts including the first in Israel on 25 December.