Ministry of Foreign Affairs

• BRUSSELS, March 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Hainan Airlines plans to resume direct flight from Brussels to Shanghai (Pudong) starting on June 18th.
• After Brussels-Beijing and Brussels-Shenzhen, this is Hainan Airlines' third route to China from Belgium, now double Daily flights from Belgium to China by Hainan Airlines.
• Hainan Airlines reportedly intends to operate four international flights per week between Brussels and Shanghai (Pudong) on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
• The inbound flights are scheduled to depart from Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 02:10 local time and arrive at Brussels International Airport at 08:10 local time, with an estimated flight duration of 12 hours.

• Dr. Tahir Mamman, and Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, and aid partners.
• The initiative provides formal and non-formal education as a form of reparation for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and their children.
• Norway welcomes the strengthened cooperation with Education Cannot Wait to reach the most vulnerable with education in North-East Nigeria.
• The investments are delivered in partnership with the Ministry of Education, UN agencies, and international and local civil society partners.

• The Chinese-Australian academic and writer, Yang Hengjun, has been detained in China for five years on suspicion of spying for Australia.
• A secret trial was held in 2021 with no family, friends or Australian consular officials permitted in the courtroom.
• Today, his fate has finally been made clear: Yang received a suspended death sentence which can be commuted to life in prison after two years of good behaviour.

Yang’s background

• Yang was born in China and previously worked in the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of State Security.
• He later moved to Australia, where he became a citizen in 2002, and then to the US where had been a visiting scholar at Columbia University from 2017.
• Yang had been detained in China previously in 2011, but was quickly released ahead of a visit to China by then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

How frequently is the death penalty used in China?

• China has a notorious record of imposing the death penalty for a number of different offences.
• While there has been a downward trend in the number of countries that retain the death penalty and actually carry out executions, reliable data on China is impossible to attain.
• As such, Amnesty no longer includes any Chinese figures in its annual Global Death Penalty reports.

Does Yang have any rights left under international law?

• Yang can still appeal his sentence through the Chinese legal system, which effectively provides him with certain levels of protection until his appeals have been exhausted.
• Diplomatically, though, this would be a basis for Australia to continue to advocate for his release on humanitarian grounds.

Is there anything Australia can do for Yang now?

• This is significant as convictions for a capital offence in China are typically followed quickly by an execution.
• Yang’s Australian citizenship will have no doubt have been taken into account in this instance.
• Any formal efforts by Australia to provide Yang with diplomatic protection under international law are constrained while his legal case is still playing out.

Has China treated Yang with procedural fairness?

• Australia had very few options to ensure Yang was being afforded these rights in China.
• China has respected some of the minimum entitlements under this agreement, which has enabled consular staff to meet with Yang and monitor his wellbeing, though China restricted access during the peak periods of the COVID-19 lockdown.
• And as Amnesty International notes, China has not put forth any evidence to support its assertion that Yang was, indeed, a spy.

Donald Rothwell receives funding from Australian Research Council

• The innovative eVisa platform was launched by VFS Global following a competitive tender awarded by the Brazil Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• VFS Global successfully launched the eVisa platform within a three-week timeframe, meeting the specific requirements outlined by Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Applicants needing to apply for business or tourist visa to Brazil can apply for the eVisa via the VFS Global website.
• VFS Global currently provides eVisa service for Azerbaijan, UAE (for Emirates passengers), Equatorial Guinea, Thailand, and South Africa (for Nigerian nationals).