Pyongyang ratifies mutual defence agreement with Moscow

Today's News: China's tourism figures show an upturn in visitors from abroad; Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto flies to the US after being in China and congratulates Trump; More clashes in Manipur between Kuki and security forces; Targeted attacks in Syria by the US against ‘targets aligned with Iran’.

NORTH KOREA - RUSSIA

North Korea ratified a mutual defence pact with Russia today, state media reported, strengthening security cooperation after Pyongyang, on the basis of another agreement, sent thousands of soldiers to support Moscow in the war in Ukraine. The agreement formalises months of military cooperation and could lead to the deployment of additional North Korean troops. Countries supporting Ukraine fear that Russia in return will grant technological support to the North Korean nuclear programme.

CHINA

Tourism in China has only seen improvements this year thanks to the removal of the visa requirement: according to experts, flight cancellations combined with geopolitical tensions had held back the sector's recovery from the pandemic. Official government figures, on the other hand, now indicate around 95 million inbound arrivals in the first nine months of 2024, or around 93.4 per cent of the numbers recorded in the same period in 2019. Domestic tourism continues to be more economically significant, so opening up to the outside world is expected to improve the country's image.

INDONESIA - UNITED STATES

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto congratulated Donald Trump by phone on his election victory, shortly before meeting with the incumbent President Joe Biden in Washington. Prabowo flew to the US after having been in China. In Washington he also met with several representatives of US companies, whom he asked to invest in Indonesia.

INDIA

Ten suspected Kuki militants were killed in an armed clash with security forces in Jiribam district yesterday. According to the police, the militants had attacked a post of the Central Reserve Police Force. For the Hmar Students' Association, however, the 10 people killed were “village volunteers”, an expression used to describe armed civilians who have been protecting homes since the ethnic conflict broke out in Manipur.

SYRIA

The US military conducted a series of strikes in Syria in response to the damage done to US forces by ‘Iran-aligned targets’ in the country, the US Central Command said. ‘These attacks will reduce the ability of Iranian-backed groups to plan and launch future attacks,’ continued CENTCOM, which manages about 900 US troops in eastern Syria.

TURKMENISTAN

27-year-old Turkmen woman Makhym (fictitious name), who grew up in an orphanage in the city of Mari, told Radio Azattyk about the terrible conditions in these facilities, which the Turkmenistan authorities claim are ‘safe and happy places’, while children often go hungry and suffer psychological, physical and even sexual violence.

UZBEKISTAN

The European Economy Days were held in Tashkent, where the Secretary General of the EU Commission for International Cooperation, Estonian Henrik Kololej, reiterated that ‘the trans-Caspian corridor will give Central Asia the opportunity to integrate with the world economy’, stimulating the expansion of infrastructure and the digitalisation of services.

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