Southeast Asia: Pandemic torpedoes gains in the fight against poverty

Today's headlines: Aleksej Naval'nyj sentenced to 15 years for flouting the Russian armed forces; Sri Lanka in talks with the International Monetary Fund on economic crisis; North Korea missile test fails; The US says IS-K is regrouping  in Afghanistan.

SOUTH-EAST ASIA

The Covid-19 pandemic has reversed the successes achieved in the fight against poverty: before the health crisis, the number of people in South-East Asia living in extreme poverty - on less than USD 1.90 a day - was 14.9 million in 2019. According to a report published today by the Asian Development Bank, the figure last year rose to 24.3 million. In 2017 it was 21.2 million.

MYANMAR

The UN human rights agency has urged the international community to take immediate action against violence in Myanmar: according to a report covering the period from the coup - 1 February 2021 - to the present, at least 1,600 people have been killed by the army and more than 12,500 have been detained. On the other hand, 14 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, while aid delivery has been largely blocked by the military.

SRI LANKA

Talks between the Colombo government and the International Monetary Fund are due to begin next month, while protests over the economic crisis are growing in the island nation. Sri Lanka's foreign currency reserves have fallen by 70% in the past two years and the country is struggling to pay for food and fuel imports.

NORTH KOREA

South Korea says that Pyongyang has unsuccessfully launched a ballistic missile from an airport not far from the capital. Witnesses said they saw orange-red smoke in the sky above Pyongyang, which experts say is highly toxic to humans. North Korea has carried out nine missile tests this year.

SAUDI ARABIA-CHINA

The Wall Street Journal reports that Saudi Arabia and China are in "active talks" to arrive at valuing some Saudi oil sales to Beijing in yuan instead of US dollars. The talks have been going on for six years, but are said to have "accelerated" recently due to the Biden administration's discontent over the Yemeni civil war, talks on the Iran nuclear deal and the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

AFGHANISTAN

According to the US Central Command (Centcom), the Afghan branch of the Islamic State (IS-K) is regrouping and will be able to conduct attacks outside the country within 12-18 months. This was stated by General Frank Kent McKenzie, head of Centcom, before the American Senate. The Taliban, on the other hand, say they have neutralised the militiamen of the Islamic State and have the situation under control.

RUSSIA

The General Prosecutor's Office of Russia proposed to transfer Aleksej Naval'nyj to a harsh regime prison, from where he will no longer be able to send messages, sentencing him to 15 years for contempt of the Armed Forces of Russia following his calls for peace demonstrations in recent days.

UKRAINE

Ukrainian President Zelenskyj announced a radical reform of the tax system, which applies in times of war. All controls on companies have been abolished, and instead of the current tariffs, a single 2% tax will be applied, with the clarification that "if you can pay, if not, it's okay". Zelensky also approved a regulation punishing collaboration with Russia with up to 15 years in prison.