Has Ukraine’s Long-awaited Counteroffensive Begun? Here’s What We Know

Tuesday marks 1,000 days since Jimmy Lai—the prodemocracy advocate, publisher of Hong Kong’s now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, and business tycoon—was detained on charges of violating the Chinese government’s draconian national-security law as part of a wider crackdown on dissent in the city. In the interim weeks, months, and years, Lai’s family and lawyers have campaigned for the 75-year-old’s release, calls for which have been echoed by the U.

With each passing day, Ukraine continues to struggle under Russia’s illegal war of aggression and attrition. As the death toll rises and destruction mounts, a gridlocked U. S. Congress and passive parliaments among our allies make excuses for inaction. The United States and its G7 allies have already frozen over $300 billion in Central Russian Bank assets pursuant to lawful sanctions regimes.

The European Union’s new, tougher approach to China is being shaped by French concerns that Beijing’s trade practices have started to pose a critical threat to core industries. The government in Paris has taken a key role in driving the policy shift, according to people familiar with its thinking, calculating that inaction now would put the bloc’s economy on a path to long-term damage. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Officials speaking on condition of anonymity recalled the solar industry debacle a decade ago, when cheap imports from China gutted European production.

A Thai court on Tuesday sentenced a pro-democracy activist, who spearheaded an unprecedented movement calling for monarchy reform, to four years in prison on charges of breaking the country’s royal insult law. Human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa was found guilty of violating article 112 of Thailand’s penal code known as lese-majeste that carries a punishment of up to 15 years in prison for each instance of defaming, insulting or threatening the king, queen, heir apparent or regent.

TikTok’s ambition to expand in online shopping is facing a major blow from new rules in Indonesia that are set to curb its operations in its biggest e-commerce market. Indonesia is prohibiting social media companies from facilitating direct e-commerce payments on their platforms, Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan said Monday. The move, directed at ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok, means companies will only be able to advertise products but not conduct direct transactions. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The rule is part of newly tightened trade regulations that could be introduced as soon as Tuesday by the Ministry of Trade.

BANGKOK — Top Thai officials welcomed hundreds of Chinese tourists at Bangkok’s international airport on Monday, the first day of a new visa-free entry program that officials say will boost the country’s tourism industry that was badly damaged by the coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin handed out gifts and posed for pictures as his tourism minister and other VIPs greeted about 300 travelers from Shanghai.