Asia

Hong Kong media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to one year in prison. The sentence was handed down on Friday. The reason is the media entrepreneur's role in the mass protests in the Chinese special administrative region, in which an estimated 1.7 million people took part in the summer of 2019. It is the first time Lai has been sentenced to prison.

China's economy has largely overcome the Covid-19 crisis and started the new year with record growth. According to the Beijing statistics office, the second-largest economy grew by 18.3 percent in the first three months compared to the first quarter of last year. This is the biggest jump since quarterly evaluations began a good 30 years ago.

The unusually strong growth can be explained by the fact that the Chinese economy slumped sharply last spring due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At that time, the world's most populous country came to an almost complete standstill for several weeks.

India's Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved use of Russia's Sputnik V Coronavirus vaccine. India is said to produce 750 million doses of the Russian vaccine.

"India, the world’s 2nd most populous nation, became the 60th country to register #SputnikV after positive results of local Phase 3 clinical study. Sputnik V is now authorized in 60 countries with a population of over 3 [billion] people," the Sputnik V official Twitter account wrote.

India reported 142,879 new daily cases on Sunday. This new trend makes the outbreak in the country the fastest growing outbreak worldwide. The country is experiencing a vaccine shortage, even though it's the world's largest manufacturer of Coronavirus vaccines.

Delhi, India’s capital territory, imposed a night curfew amid a rise in Coronavirus cases. The 10 p.m to 5 a.m. curfew is effective immediately. Medical and media personell as well as delivery staff are still allowed to travel at night.

Myanmar's acting military leadership has ordered the shutdown of wireless broadband internet services indefinitely to prevent access to information. According to local internet provider Ooredoo, the Ministry of Transport and Communication has ordered "all wireless broadband data services be temporarily suspended until further notice."

ByteDance in January cut its Indian workforce after New Delhi decided to retain a ban on its popular video app TikTok, first prohibited last year following a border clash between India and China. The authorities also directed Citibank and HSBC to prevent ByteDance India from withdrawing funds from any other bank accounts linked to its tax identification number, the first source said.

The move was widely linked to India's broader pushback against Chinese businesses after clashes at a disputed Himalayan border site left 20 Indian soldiers dead.

China continues to expand its influence over Hong Kong. An electoral law reform gives Beijing control over candidate selection in the Special Administrative Region's parliamentary elections, allowing it to exclude candidates who are not considered loyal.

President Xi Jinping ordered the publication of the electoral law change on Tuesday, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported. The changes to the Special Administrative Region's electoral system were approved by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Tam Yiu-chung, Hong Kong's sole delegate, told the AFP news agency.

China's People's Congress had launched the amendment to the Special Administrative Region's electoral law in mid-March. It is intended to ensure that Hong Kong can only be run by "patriots". In this way, Beijing wants to gain control over the selection of candidates. Among other things, the Chinese leadership is to be given veto rights to be able to exclude certain candidates.

North Korea breaks off diplomatic relations with Malaysia in protest of the extradition of a North Korean to the United States. North Korea's Foreign Ministry accuses the Malaysian government of committing a "shameful act and an unforgivable, serious crime." The North Korean involved was innocent, the statement released Friday by state media said.

Malaysia's highest court had ruled last week that a North Korean businessman living in the country could be extradited to the U.S., accusing him of banned exports of luxury items to North Korea and money laundering. North Korea is subject to tough international sanctions because of its nuclear weapons program.

The Russian sovereign wealth fund (RDIF) has concluded another agreement for the production of the Corona vaccine Sputnik V in India. The agreement with the company Stelis from the Indian pharmaceutical group Strides provides for the production of at least 200 million doses of the vaccine from the third quarter of 2021, as the sovereign wealth fund announced on Friday. In November, RDIF had already signed an agreement with Indian group Hetero for 100 million doses annually.

In contrast to dozens of other countries, the Russian vaccine has not yet been approved in India, where clinical trials are still underway. At the same time, Moscow is counting on broadening the production of the vaccine due to the high international demand in the pandemic.

China's government is restricting the use of Tesla Inc.'s vehicles by military staff and employees of key state-owned companies, citing concerns that the data collected by the cars could be a source of national security leaks, according to people familiar with the effort.

Fears over how data is handled by tech manufacturers also underscore how the rising popularity of highly digitalized cars-loaded with cameras and sensors and with built-in connectivity that allows carmakers to amass data-is stoking concerns over privacy and even national security. They were told by their agencies that among the government's concerns is that Tesla vehicles can be constantly in record mode, using cameras and other sensors to log various details, including short videos.

India reportedly is set to propose a law that would ban cryptocurrencies and penalise both trading and mining due to a lack of regulation. The bill would also criminalise possession, issuance, and transferring crypto-assets in the country but offer a six-month period to liquidate assets.

More than 400 flights out of Beijing's two main airports were cancelled amid high winds and low visibility. The National Meteorological Center said Monday's storm had developed in the Gobi Desert in the Inner Mongolia Region.

With its mix of desert and grassy steppe, Inner Mongolia is particularly prone to extreme weather resulting from resource exploitation.

The National Meteorological Center forecasted the sand and dust would affect 12 provinces and regions from Xinjiang in the far northwest to Heilongjiang in the northeast and Tianjin's eastern coastal port city.

According to the decision of the People's Congress, which was published by the state news agency Xinhua, the committee to elect the Hong Kong chief executive should be enlarged from 1,200 to 1,500 members. "This is the latest move by Beijing to erode space for democratic debate in Hong Kong, contrary to promises made by China," British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, according to a statement. Following the enactment of the controversial security law last year, the election reform is another blow to Hong Kong's liberal system.

At least 39 protestors were killed by security forces on Sunday. This was the deadliest day in the seven-week-long nationwide pro-democracy demonstrations against the military coup. So far, 126 were killed. Martial law has been imposed Yangon’s Hlaingthaya suburb.

Myanmar Military has occupied hospitals and universities as unions call for a nationwide strike on Monday to protest against the military coup. After the military junta seized power on February 1, the country has seen mass protests that left many injured and 54 people dead.

In the world's most populous democracy, political rights and civil liberties have been limited since Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, writes the US government-funded organization in this year's democracy report. There has been a spate of fanatical attacks on Muslims - including lynchings. They account for 14 percent of the Hindu country's total population of 1.3 billion. In addition, there is increasing pressure on human rights organizations and intimidation of academics and journalists. According to the report, the developments in India reflect a worldwide trend towards authoritarianism.

At least 18 people have been killed and more than 30 others injured in Myanmar during nationwide pro-democracy demonstrations against the military coup, the United Nations said in a statement on Sunday. According to the UN, security forces fired live ammunition at crowds in the two largest cities of Yangon and Mandalay, as well as in Dawei, Bag, Myeik and Pokokkuo. At least 85 medical workers and students and seven journalists were also arrested during the demonstrations.

Russian state-owned domestic news agency RIA reports that a group of Armenian protesters stormed into a government building in Yerevan on Monday demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

"We are completing our action. Our goal was to show that we can enter any ministry," said one of the participants according to RIA.

As the first European country, the Dutch parliament has passed a non-binding motion declaring the treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority by China genocide.

The Dutch motion said that actions by the Chinese government such as "measures intended to prevent births" and "having punishment camps" fell under United Nations Resolution 260, generally known as the genocide convention.

Tetsushi Sakamoto was appointed "Minister for Loneliness" by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga earlier in February after Japan saw the first rise in suicides in 11 years in 2020. 20,919 people committed suicide in Japan in 2020, 750 more than in 2019. A department will further investigate the impact of the "many kinds of loneliness".

The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang announced on Tuesday that Hong Kong will introduce new requirements for district councilors to take an oath swearing to uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the government. Behaviours that would be deemed incompliant include committing acts that endanger national security, as well as any refusal to recognise China's sovereignty over Hong Kong.

According to a joint statement released after EU foreign ministers met in Brussels on Monday, the bloc is poised to impose sanctions against the military leaders in Myanmar.

The Council called again on the military authorities to "immediately and unconditionally release President U Win Myint, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all those who have been detained or arrested in connection with the coup."

In a press release, the Council stated, "the EU stands ready to adopt restrictive measures targeting those directly responsible for the military coup and their economic interests."

In India, "Fridays for Future" activist Disha Ravi has been arrested for supporting farmers' protests. She is accused of spreading calls for protests that are part of a "conspiracy".

The arrest of Indian climate activist Disha Ravi has triggered a wave of outraged reactions. Well-known politicians and celebrities from different parts of society spoke of an attack on democracy and demanded the immediate release of the 22-year-old. Even the head of the government of the Indian capital, Arvind Kejriwal, wrote on Twitter that supporting the farmers was not a crime after all.

After months of tension, China and India have agreed to withdraw troops from their border dispute in the Himalayas. After several talks, an agreement had been reached, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh told parliament. He said an agreement had been reached to withdraw troops from the disputed border on the northern and southern shores of Lake Pangong Tso.

China had already said Wednesday that both sides had begun withdrawing their border troops there. Clashes had last occurred near the lake in May.

Diplomatic tensions between China and the United Kingdom continue to rise. After the expulsion of three Chinese diplomats and the revocation of the broadcasting license for the news station CGTN, China is now reacting in turn by banning the international service of the British BBC, the station BBC World News.

The station was banned for "illegal content" because it violated reporting guidelines in the country, the China Broadcasting Regulatory Commission announced. BBC World News will no longer be allowed to broadcast in mainland China, according to the statement. It said it "does not accept the new annual broadcasting application."

The new military leadership in Myanmar has ordered a temporary block on the online network Facebook, through which its opponents called for civil disobedience after Monday's coup. Local telecommunications providers were ordered Wednesday by the Ministry of Transport to block access to Facebook until the end of the week. The platform was contributing to the destabilization of the country, it said in justification

Following continued criticism of the election results in Myanmar, the military is seeking to overthrow the government. Myanmar's de facto head of government Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other high-ranking members of the ruling party were arrested by the army early this morning, a spokesman for the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) said.

The military confirmed the arrests and declared a state of emergency. Control had been taken over for a year, military television said. Power had been handed over to Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The army justified the action with alleged election fraud.

In protest against new agricultural laws, farmers in India have begun a hunger strike. The action, scheduled for one day, coincided on Saturday with the death anniversary of independence fighter Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948). The hunger strike is meant to underscore the peaceful element of the protests, farmer leaders said.

The Bombay High Court ruled that groping without "skin to skin" contact does not qualify as sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. The court stated that touching a minor's breast without removing the child's clothes is not considered sexual assault.