East Asia

South Korean announced the restoration of channels, confirmed by the North. A first call took place at 10 this morning. The two leaders had begun exchanging personal letters since April. Communications had been interrupted by the North Koreans in protest of propaganda leaflets from the South

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met with top Chinese diplomats. The talks were described as "frank and open". The Chinese want an end to US interference in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Taiwan and the South China Sea, and to attacks regarding the origin of the Covid virus.

Professional nurse, Javad Foroughi triumphed in the 10-meter air pistol with a record score. A nurse in a hospital in the capital in contact with the sick, he was part of al Quds forces in Syria and calls himself a "soldier" of his country. Newspapers and state TV euologise his victory; activists and NGOs speak of a "catastrophe" for the sport and the international community.

Sukhoi Su-30SME multirole fighter jets and military training aircraft​ delivered . After China, Russia is the main supplier of weapons to Naypyidaw. Like the Chinese, the Russians support Min Aung Hlaing's coup junta. Burma's military leadership relies on the Kremlin to balance Beijing's influence.

On the first day of World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, Francis said that if young people and elderly don’t meet and talk, “life does not go on.” He lamented the fact that “every day in the world around seven thousand children under the age of five die due to malnutrition”. The pontiff expressed hope that the Olympics can be “a sign of hope and universal brotherhood”. He also called for a prayer for flood victims in China.

A Hong Kong government’s vetting committee makes 15 new appointments to the powerful Election Committee, which will choose 40 members of the 90-member Legislative Council. Meanwhile, China imposes fresh sanctions against US citizens in response to US sanctions against people involved in repression in Hong Kong.

Writer Motoko Iwasaki looks at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, explaining the less understandable cultural elements. Japan staged a sober show, alternating elements of tradition and modernity, showing above all the will to put difficulties behind.

Xi’s visit marks the 70th anniversary of the arrival of Chinese troops sent to occupy Tibet. The president wants to promote local stability, development and environmental protection. Tibetan government in exile slams Beijing for destroying Tibet’s identity, calls for renewed dialogue with the Dalai Lama. Deaths caused by floods in central China spark protests.

The archbishop of Tokyo will support FABC president Card Charles Maung Bo (Myanmar). One of the tasks that await him is the preparation for the continental phase of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, convened by Pope Francis on the theme of synodality in the Church.

​She won the right to participate in the Olympics, in table-tennis, by winning the qualifiers for West Asia in Jordan. Sport as a means to overcome the traumas of war. Today she is ranked 155th in the international rankings in her discipline. Priest in Damascus: "A way to draw attention to Syria and the suffering of its people".

The visit includes the conclusion of the International Eucharistic Congress, a divine liturgy in memory of the Greek-Catholic martyrs, a meeting with a representative of the Roma community, as well as a tête-à-tête with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

One of them, Lam Man-chung, was arrested yesterday. Journalists' Association: it's 'white terror'. RTHK journalists are banned from writing about 'the president or government of Taiwan'. Five trade unionists arrested for publishing children's stories explaining 2019 anti-government protests.