China removes six officials from Manchester consulate

Today's headlines: Vietnam wants to reduce its dependence on Russian arms; Myanmar's coup junta rejected talks with an ethnic militia group; Indonesia and Singapore sign an extradition agreement; India uses the rupee instead of dollars in trade with Russia.

CHINA - UK

China has removed six diplomats after a man was kicked and punched while protesting outside the Chinese consulate in Manchester, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced. The removal of the officials, which included the Chinese consul general, came after a police request to question them about the incident. The Chinese embassy responded that Britain had failed to protect its staff.

HONG KONG

The Hong Kong High Court quashed one of the convictions against Chow Hang-tung, a local activist who had organised a vigil to commemorate the Tiananmen Square events last year. Incarcerated in January, she will however have to remain in custody pending two more trials under the national security law imposed on the city by Beijing in 2020.

VIETNAM - USA

Several US defence companies discussed the possible supply of military equipment - including drones and helicopters - with Vietnamese government officials, opening up the possibility for Vietnam to reduce its dependence on Russian arms. The talks took place last week on the sidelines of the country's first arms fair. However, commentators say there are still many obstacles before the sale materialises.

MYANMAR

The Burmese junta refused to hold talks with seven ethnic organisations that had signed a national ceasefire agreement in previous years. The militias had proposed a meeting with Lieutenant General Yar Pyae, chairman of the regime's National Solidarity and Peace Negotiation Committee, who replied that a meeting was not possible at the moment.

INDONESIA - SINGAPORE

The Indonesian parliament approved a bilateral extradition agreement with Singapore. Jakarta hopes to bring to justice those accused of hiding billions of dollars worth of public money in the city-state. The absence of an extradition treaty has for years troubled Indonesia, which has been unable to prosecute some fugitives accused of embezzlement during the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

AFGHANISTAN

The majority of the displaced population in Afghanistan is made up of women, according to UN Women: 'The inability to exercise property rights or seek legal assistance means that women in informal settlements live in fear of eviction every day,' the agency noted on Twitter, adding that women are forced to sell their possessions to buy food 'or, in the most extreme cases, families have to sell their daughters into marriage'.

UKRAINE 

Unicef received a donation of 3.5 million from Novaja Gazeta editor-in-chief and 2021 Nobel Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov, the sum for which his Nobel medal was auctioned at Heritage Auctions in June. Muratov had promised to give proceeds from the auction to charity mainly for refugees from Ukraine, .

RUSSIA - INDIA 

Trade between Russia and India has shifted from the dollar to the Indian rupee, a rather unstable currency that has lost 10% against the dollar and 25% against the rouble in the last two years, and furthermore, trade sees an imbalance of Russian energy exports to India, which can hardly be repaid in rupees.

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