January 2025

MONTH IN BRIEF – JANUARY 2025

MONTH IN BRIEF

Dhaka seeks return of Hasina

The Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Smt. Sheikh Hasina receives warm welcome by the Union Minister of State for Railways and Textiles, Smt. Darshana Jardosh on her arrival for the G20 Summit at Palam Airforce Airport, in New Delhi on September 08, 2023.

Bangladesh has told neighbouring India that it wants its former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to New Delhi in August, back in the country to face‘judicial process’, the acting head of the country’s Foreign Ministry said.Ties between the South Asian neighbours, which have strong trade and cultural links, have become fraught since Ms Hasina was ousted following violent protests against her rule and she took refuge across the border.Dhaka’s request to New Delhi on Dec. 23 came two weeks after India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Bangladesh and the two countries said they hoped to clear the air and pursue constructive relations.

Pyongyang prepares

Kim Jong-un

South Korea’s military has reported detecting signs that North Korea is preparing to send more troops and weaponsto Russia to support its war against Ukraine. Pyongyang has already provided 240mm multiple rocket launchers and 170mm self-propelled howitzers, and was seen preparing to produce more suicide drones to be shipped to Russia after leader Kim Jong-un guided a test in November, according to Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).‘Suicide drones are one of the tasks that Kim Jong-un has focused on,’ a JCS official said, adding that the North had expressed its intention to give them to Russia.

Oz caution on carbon cuts

Australia’s Climate Change Authority

Australia’s new targets for carbon emission cuts by 2035 are expected to be delayed by several months as a result of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, likely pushing them out beyond the next election, which is due to be held by May 2025.Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said Australia’s Climate Change Authority had told him it needed more time to consider advice on what the 2035 targets should be, adding that Trump’s election win had created uncertainty over the global approach to climate change.

Fatal quake in Vanuatu

Earthquake in Vanuatu leaves at least 1 dead, mass casualty triage set up at hospital

A 7.4 magnitude earthquake has struck Port Vila, capital of the Pacific nation of Vanuatu, killing 14 people as several more remain trapped in a collapsed building.Two survivors were pulled from beneath the rubble of one building, and more people are believed to be still stuck inside.As aftershocks continued to make animpact, footage posted on social media showed vehicles crushed under the debris, boulders strewn across a highway and landslides near Port Vila’s international shipping terminal.

 

Second time unlucky for Japanese start-up

A Japanese start-up

A Japanese start-up has endured a second failure in its bid to launch a rocket into space. On Dec 18, the rocket built by start-up company Space One took off successfully but later plummeted to earth.The firm was making its second attempt to become Japan’s first private enterprise to send a satellite into orbit, after its initialattempt in March 2024ended in failure followinga midair explosion.This time, its solid-fuel Kairos rocket had been carrying five satellites, including one from the Taiwan Space Agency and others designed by Japanese students and corporate ventures.

Delhi’s steep pollution rise

elhi’s steep pollution rise

India has twice within 24 hours enforced tighter restrictions aimed at helping people deal with pollution in New Delhi and its environs,following adeterioration in air quality.The latest recommendations for Dec. 17 were issued after the air quality index (AQI) reading rose above 400 on a scale of zero to 500, turning ‘severe’ and prompting an emergency meeting of the government body tasked with managing pollution. The Commission for Air Quality Management attributed the rise in pollution to ‘highly unfavourable meteorological conditions and absolute calm wind’.

Elephant tragedy

national park in northern Thailand has been killed by a wild elephant

A visitor to a national park in northern Thailand has been killed by a wild elephant, leading to a closure of several trails. The victim is said to be a 49-year-old woman from Chachoengsao province in south-central Thailand, who was camping in Phu Kradueng National Park, some 310 miles from Bangkok. She was attacked along a trail that leads to a waterfall known for its stunning views of falling red maple leaves between late November and early December. Staff from the park said the attack happened in an area where wild elephants hunt for food, with several signs warning visitors to keep away.

Creature comforts

A man living in rural Japan has found a bear

A man living in rural Japan has found a bear snuggled up in his sitting room, as the government prepares to relax laws on shooting the animals.Reports said a 60-year-old man in the Fukushima region found a bear around 90cm long lying under his kotatsu – a low table with a heating element underneath and a surrounding blanket that is common in Japanese houses. He fled to a neighbour’s and phoned the police before returning over an hour later to find the bear still there and his food scattered around.