CHINA
The Chinese military conducted joint air and naval exercises around the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, the People's Liberation Army's Southern Theatre Command said in a statement this morning. The Chinese military described the drill as a necessary response to the actions of "certain countries" that it said were undermining regional peace and stability. It did not directly name any countries, but the Philippines also claims the Scarborough Shoal.
SOUTH KOREA
South Korea’s National Assembly yesterday approved a bill that would strip public prosecutors of all direct investigative powers. In its place, two dedicated agencies will be created, one for investigations and the other for indictments. Prosecutors will be able to request judicial police officers to conduct supplementary investigations. In protest against the bill's passage, acting Prosecutor General Koo Ja-hyeon offered his resignation shortly after the vote.
INDONESIA – KOREA
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said that South Korean President Lee Jae Myung asked him in April if he would be willing to visit North Korea to initiate a peace dialogue, adding that his response was affirmative. Indonesia has traditionally had a non-aligned foreign policy. This is not the first time Prabowo expressed his willingness to act as a mediator.
SINGAPORE
According to the latest statistics released by the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS), three quarters of suicides recorded in 2024 among people over 60 were committed by men, and across all other age groups, men accounted for nearly two thirds of the 441 deaths by suicide recorded that year. Provisional data for 2025 show a similar pattern. According to experts, the psychological vulnerability of men in old age is often linked to a combination of factors: retirement, declining health, a shrinking social circle, and a reluctance to seek help.
CAMBODIA – THAILAND
More than 20,000 Cambodian civilians have not been able to return to their homes along the border with Thailand following last year's fighting, which initially displaced 650,000 people, said Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia, who also urged Cambodian authorities to crack down more forcefully on online scams in the country.
RUSSIA
The St Petersburg military court sentenced 25-year-old Daniil Belousov, a disabled man and the son of Boris Belousov, also a disabled political prisoner, to seven years in a general penal colony. He was charged with four counts of incitement to terrorism for messages posted in the "No to War" public chat. Specifically, he had shared photos of a demonstration in support of Ukraine held by Ukrainian refugees in front of the parliament building in Chisinau, Moldova.
CENTRAL ASIA – AZERBAIJAN
Askat Alagozov, press secretary of the Kyrgyz president, announced that the road connecting Tamchy International Airport to the city of Cholpon-Ata in Kyrgyzstan would be periodically closed to traffic from 30 July to 1 August. The reason was the state visit by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, followed by informal consultations between the heads of state of the five Central Asian countries and Azerbaijan.
