The leader of the Kremlin welcomed the dictator of Pyongyang to discuss low-level weapons and technology. Xi Jinping kept himself far from the two "thugs" while the Russian president used "underworld" jargon in the meeting. Patriarch Kirill renewed his "material and spiritual" support for the holy war.
Today's headlines: Emirates, maxi seizure of 13 tonnes of Captagon worth over a billion dollars; A 10-year-old boy in Hong Kong arrested for armed robbery, luxury watches worth nearly 650,000 euros in the loot; Tharman Shanmugaratnam sworn in as Singapore's ninth president; Border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan reopened, but tension remains between the parties; Lavrov: 'Russia and China withdraw from UN sanctions on Pyongyang over nuclear programme'.
Founded in 1996 by a US US Christian activist and his wife, the NGO sends food, medicine and necessities to poor North Koreans. Via an “underground route”, it gets escapees out to safety in neighbouring countries. Its Christian ethic attracts volunteers, including non-believers.
The long-anticipated summit is held in Vostochny, while North Korea tests more rockets. Moscow needs ammunition for its war in Ukraine, while Pyongyang wants satellite technology. But the real urgency is food for a hungry country. For Kim, it is vital that Moscow resume its wheat exports after he closed the borders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today's headlines: at least 10 dead in clashes between rival factions in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon; Runoff between Solih and Muizzu scheduled for Sept. 30 to decide next president of the Maldives; Sexist behavior toward women in the workplace persists in South Korea; Kuala Lumpur wants to halt rare earth exports; Delhi ready to reintroduce firecracker ban for Diwali to try to curb air pollution in the capital.
Chinese Vice-Premier Liu Guozhong will visit North Korea for celebrations scheduled for tomorrow. The Kim regime's third military parade of the year is planned. North Korean leader wants to strengthen alliance with Beijing and Moscow. A meeting with the Russian president to discuss food and weapons is coming up. It would be the dictator's first foreign visit since the start of the pandemic.
