Seoul approves plan on Fukushima, Beijing bans Japanese fish products

Today's headlines: Vietnam moves more complaints over claims on South China Sea, while the Philippines denounces the presence of Chinese ships in disputed waters; Burmese army attacks also affect aid workers; Rahul Gandhi's appeal in India dismissed; Russian jets in Syria force US and French aircraft to manoeuvre to avoid them; Diplomatic meetings between Turkey and Azerbaijan.

SOUTH KOREA - JAPAN - CHINA

The South Korean government, after conducting its own independent analysis, accepted the UN assessment that Japan's plan to release contaminated water from Fukushima is consistent with global safety standards, but the Korean opposition staged an overnight  sit-in in the National Assembly in protest. Long-time rivals Seoul and Tokyo are drawing closer politically, while Beijing today imposed a ban on food imports from ten Japanese prefectures due to the spillage of radioactive water.

SOUTH CHINA SEA

After banning the film 'Barbie' because of the presence of a map in which the South China Sea appears to be all under Chinese jurisdiction, the Vietnamese authorities complained about the same problem to the concert organisers of the well-known South Korean all-female band Blackpink, because there is a similar map on their website. Meanwhile, the Philippine military has raised 'alarming concerns' about the presence of at least 47 Chinese ships in the natural resource-rich areas of the disputed sea.

MYANMAR

According to the UN Human Rights Council, up to 40 aid workers have been killed in Myanmar since the coup on 1 February 2021. The military of the coup junta is responsible for 'direct attacks' against local aid workers to prevent the distribution of aid. More than 17.6 million people, one third of the population, are in need of some form of humanitarian assistance.

INDIA

The Gujarat High Court dismissed the appeal of Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who was sentenced to two years in prison for defamation for a sentence he uttered in 2019 against current Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His arrest has been suspended for the time being but in the meantime he has been disqualified as an MP, so he will not be able to participate in next year's national elections.

SYRIA - USA

Russian fighter jets again flew dangerously close to several US MQ-9 Reaper drones operating over Syria, the second such incident in less than 24 hours, the US Air Force reported. In addition, the French military said that two of its fighter planes patrolling the Iraq-Syria border area were forced to make special manoeuvres to avoid the Russian planes.

TURKEY - AZERBAIJAN

Azerbaijani President Aliev received a visit from Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, for "an exchange of views on regional issues", in particular on the thorny issue of the normalisation of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, assuming further mediation by Turkey to guarantee peace and security in the South Caucasus.

RUSSIA

The journalist of Novaja Gazeta, Elena Milašina, who was attacked by unknown men together with the lawyer Aleksandr Nemov on her way to attend a court hearing of a woman unjustly accused, is now hospitalised in Moscow after initial care in Beslan hospital. Before she left, she declared that she would 'return to work in Chechnya', despite the violence and shame inflicted by shaving her hair and painting her face, in order 'not to be seen in public'.

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