UNITED STATES – CHINA
US President Donald Trump said that he will impose an additional 100 per cent tariff on imports from China starting next month. In a post published yesterday, the US leader slammed China’s decision this week to tighten rules on rare earth exports, accusing China of "becoming very hostile” and trying to hold the world “captive”. Following Trump's comments, financial markets dropped with the S&P 500 Index down 2.7 per cent, its worst performance since April.
INDONESIA – ISRAEL
Indonesia has denied a visa to the Israeli gymnastics team, preventing them from participating in the world championships to be held in Jakarta from 19 to 25 October. Indonesia has no formal diplomatic ties with Israel. The decision is in line with Jakarta’s policy of having no relations with Israel until it recognises “the independence and full sovereignty of the state of Palestine,” explained Senior Legal Affairs Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra.
CAMBODIA – SOUTH KOREA
Yesterday, South Korea summoned the Cambodian ambassador to protest the death in August of a South Korean college student tortured to death in connection with an online scam. In the Southeast Asian country, online scams continue under the protection of local authorities. South Korea also issued a travel advisory warning regarding Cambodia’s Phnom Penh.
MYANMAR
After a one-day visit to Myanmar, Malaysia's Foreign Ministry reported that the country’s military junta requested the presence of ASEAN observers for the elections it plans to hold in late December. Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan expressed hope that the elections would be held with the participation of "all political parties and stakeholders" and called on the military to cease attacks against civilians. The generals have not responded to the minister’s statement.
RUSSIA – KAZAKHSTAN
Kazakhstan's First Deputy Prime Minister, Roman Sklyar, stated at the St Petersburg International Gas Forum that a joint Russian-Kazakh working group is cooperating on a project to build a new gas pipeline. An agreement was recently signed to this effect, which includes sending Kazakh gas to Gazprom’s Orenburg gas processing plant in Russia.
GEORGIA
Police in Tbilisi arrested Nana Sander. The activist who has lived in Stuttgart, Germany, for years, returned to Georgia to take part in protests against local elections. She was charged with "plotting and organising riots," said Parliamentary Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, who described her as a "sponsor of extremism" for raising funds to buy gas masks for protesters.
