Today's news: No chance of finding 55 passengers missing from the landslide that swept away their buses in Nepal; Alliance of minority groups agree four-day truce with the Burmese army in Shan State; Islamabad reaches agreement with the IMF on a seven billion dollar loan; Kuwait announces the discovery of a huge new oil field.
On the day the Church calls for reconciliation on the anniversary of the start of the war, Archbishop Chung Soon-taick urged people to pray "not to change the other, but to imitate God's boundless mercy and patience, choosing the path of peace". Tonight there are still 350 balloons loaded with rubbish from the North, while tomorrow the joint military exercises of South Korea, the United States and Japan begin.
Like Crimea, Korea is key to destabilising Asia as well as Europe, amid permanent tensions and growing winds of war elsewhere. This seems to be the real purpose of Putin's visits, which from China and Uzbekistan to Korea and Vietnam are part of a plan for a new "world order" while trying to instil fear in both East and West.
A South Korean newspaper broke the story. For a year, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been trying to organise a summit with North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un, while North Korea has issued statements to the contrary in recent months. The issue of Japanese nationals kidnapped by Pyongyang remains an important issue.
Today's news: UN Security Council votes on Gaza ceasefire resolution; Taipei arrested a Chinese citizen for ‘illegal entry’ by sea; Indonesia's population has the highest ingestion of microplastics among 109 countries in the world; Manhunt by Indian soldiers in Kashmir after an attack on a pilgrim bus; Tokyo wants to strengthen economic cooperation with Central Asian countries.
Speaking at a press briefing on the sidelines of the St Petersburg Forum, the Russian president said he "appreciates" South Korea’s position. Although Seoul joined Washington in imposing sanctions against Russia, it has not sent weapons to Ukraine. Putin also reiterated his intention to strengthen ties with Pyongyang. Conversely, he took a tough stance against Japan, saying that conditions are not in place to resume sovereignty talks over the Kuril Islands.
