Xi and Biden to meet at APEC in San Francisco
Today's headlines: There is great concern over Gaza's hospitals encircled by Israeli forces. Indonesian ulema issue fatwa calling for a boycott of the Jewish state. In Myanmar, fighting has disrupted trade with China. India could send 100,000 workers to Taiwan. Russia is cutting funding for the disabled.
CHINA – UNITED STATES
US President Joe Biden will meet for the first time in a year his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, next Wednesday in San Francisco, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. According to US officials, the two world leaders will talk about several issues, but it is hard to imagine, experts say, that this will lead to real cooperation between the two countries.
MYANMAR
The fighting of the last two weeks in Shan State has blocked the roads connecting Myanmar with China. This has choked the transport system, and is preventing the ruling military junta from sending reinforcements while biting hard into its revenues. As a result, prices in local markets have skyrocketed, and some 50,000 people have been displaced.
GAZA – ISRAEL
Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) has reported an increase in Israeli strikes near the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City (which, according to the Israel Defence Forces, stands on top of Hamas tunnels), expressing great concern about staff and patients who cannot be evacuated. Dr Mohammad Abu Mughaiseb, MsF's deputy medical coordinator, said the medical team had been forced to abandon some patients at the children's hospital because of the fighting.
INDONESIA
The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the country's highest Islamic clerical body, issued a fatwa yesterday calling for a boycott of companies that support Israel as a show of solidarity with the Palestinians. “MUI calls on every Muslim to avoid as much as possible transactions and use of Israel products and those that are affiliated with Israel, as well as those who support colonialism and Zionism,” Mr Asrorun Niam Sholeh, a member of the council, told reporters.
INDIA – TAIWAN
Taiwan could hire up to 100,000 Indians to work in factories, animal farms and hospitals, officials said on condition of anonymity, because no agreement – which could infuriate China, as it considers the island part of its territory – has been finalised. Taiwan's population is rapidly aging, while India has a large pool of young workers.
RUSSIA
Various Russian associations of parents of disabled people have appealed to President Vladimir Putin after the Ministry of Labour reduced compensation and subsidies for rehabilitation, throwing many families of young people disabled by the war into panic.
NAGORNO-KARABAKH
In the region’s capital, Khankendi, as it is known in Azerbaijan, the monument dedicated to Armenian Soviet hero Stepan Shaumian was removed from the central square. As Lenin's comrade during the revolution, he was appointed special commissar for the new regime in the Caucasus, during which he killed Azerbaijanis. The city was renamed Stepanaker in his honour.
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14/10/2023 13:54
24/12/2023 13:54
