8 years after arbitration with Beijing, Manila confirms position on South China Sea

Today's news: Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister and leader of an opposition party, remains in jail in India Delhi. Pyongyang sends military delegation to Russia, first meeting after Putin-Kim summit. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi: NATO accusations of aid to Moscow in Ukraine war 'unfounded'. Syriac Archbishop recalls Iraqi Christians' resilience after ten years of ISIS persecution.

PHILIPPINES

ThePhilippines will "maintain our position" in its dispute with Beijing over the South China Sea, a senior security official said today, eight years after the international ruling against Chinese claims in the territorial dispute. Tensions over the strategic waterway, a key passage for maritime trade, have risen over the past 18 months following a series of clashes, the most serious occurring on 17 June.

INDIA

Although the Indian Supreme Court yesterday granted him bail in a fraud case, opposition party leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will remain in jail due to his arrest in another case. Kejriwal was arrested in March by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), India's financial crime fighting agency, for alleged corruption in the city's alcohol sales policy.

NORTH KOREA

North Korea sent a military delegation to Russia. According to South Korea this would be a violation of UN sanctions if cooperation with Moscow leads to an increase in Pyongyang's military power. This is the first military meeting between the two countries since they signed the 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty' during last month's summit between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.

CHINA

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called NATO accusations that Beijing is helping Russia in its war against Ukraine "unfounded". The words came just hours after the leaders of NATO member states met in Washington DC and issued a statement on the war, accusing China of being a "decisive supporter" of Russia.

IRAQ

A decade after ISIS militants drove them from their homeland, Iraq's Christian community has shown unwavering resilience, as described by Syriac Catholic Archbishop Nizar Semaan of Adiabene, during an online conference organised by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). "ISIS tried to eradicate us, but failed," he said.

ARMENIA

The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pašinyan, had a telephone conversation with the newly elected President of Iran, Masud Pezeshkyan, the Yerevan government press office reported. It was a message of congratulations on the election victory and "confirmation of all agreements between the two countries", pledging to meet in person as soon as possible.

RUSSIA

The holiday season in Russia provides pupils and students with periods of practice in 'patriotic and military training centres', where children are taught how to throw grenades and engage in close combat, the so-called Avangard centres devised by former defence minister Sergei Šojgu; more than 100 of them have now been opened across the country.