Kazakhstan protests escalate, Australia cancels tennis star's visa, Beijing criticizes 7-Eleven
Yahoo Finance Live's Akiko Fujita looks at several of the leading international headlines, including Kazakhstan soldiers ordered to fire upon protestors, Czech tennis star Renata Voráčová detained over her vaccine status at the Australian Open, and 7-Eleven received backlash from Beijing after the company listed Taiwan on its website.
Video Transcript
AKIKO FUJITA: In our worldview today, escalating violence in Kazakhstan after the president ordered security forces there to kill protesters without warning. In a defiant speech, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev accused, quote, "terrorist bandits" of orchestrating protests that have led to widespread unrest this week. He also thanked Russian forces for intervening as part of a Russian-led security or military alliance. Demonstrations began this week after the price of liquefied gas widely used in cars and heating in the country doubled in the new year, sparking outrage. State media has reported more than 40 people, including police and protesters, have been killed so far. More than 3,000 people have been arrested.
Over in Australia, officials have detained another tennis player for reportedly violating its COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Czech doubles athletes Renata Borakova was asked to leave Australia Friday after competing in Melbourne earlier this week. She's currently being held at the same hotel as tennis star Novak Djokovic. Djokovic was granted a vaccine exemption to compete in the Australian Open, but border officials canceled his visa Wednesday, saying he failed to provide appropriate evidence to be allowed into the country. He is expected in court Monday after his lawyers filed an injunction. The Czech foreign ministry says it has filed a protest through its embassy and asked for an explanation on Borakova's detention, but the athlete has opted to drop out of the Australian Open and leave the country.
And over in China, Beijing has fined 7-Eleven for calling Taiwan a country. The Japanese firm tells the Nikkei Beijing's local government ordered it to pay up nearly $8,000 in December after its website listed Taiwan as separate from China. Officials also accused 7-Eleven of getting the borders of Xinjiang and Tibet wrong and criticized the company for using the Japanese name for disputed islands in the East China Sea. The Chinese government considers Taiwan a province of China, not an independent country. 7-Eleven of course just the latest foreign country to find itself in the crosshairs of China. And Seven & i Holdings, which owns 7-Eleven, tells the Nikkei it will do its best to prevent a recurrence in the future.
