Seoul proposes dialogue with Pyongyang on families separated by 1950-53 war

Today's headlines: Lockdown extended in China's megacity Chengdu; India and Japan strengthen military cooperation; Vietnam: five-year jail term for dissident blogger; Iran has uranium to build nuclear bomb in weeks; Catholic activist arrested in Russia.

KOREA

The South Korean Ministry of Unification today proposed to North Korea discussions on the problem of families separated after the 1950-53 war . There are nearly 44,000 South Koreans who have relatives in the North, two-thirds of whom are 70 or older. The last round of negotiations on the issue took place in 2018.

CHINA

The megacity of Chengdu (Sichuan) extends the lockdown for Covid-19 in 16 out of 23 city districts. Millions of inhabitants are quarantined in several of the country's peers due to Xi Jinping's zero-Covid policy. Official infection numbers, however, remain low nationwide: 1,439 cases yesterday, with no deaths.

INDIA-JAPAN

Delhi and Tokyo will strengthen military cooperation, with the Indians demanding more Japanese industrial investment in their defence. The two sides also plan more joint military exercises.  The announcement came today at the end of a meeting in the Indian capital between the respective foreign and defence ministers.

VIETNAM

Sentenced to five years in prison a dissident blogger accused of "abusing democratic freedoms to violate the interests of the State". The sentence for Le Anh Hung came on 30 August, but his family was not informed until a week later. The trial allegedly took place without a defence lawyer.

IRAN

Tehran has enough uranium to build a nuclear bomb in 3-4 weeks, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, pointing out that the Iranians are increasing their stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is needed to make an atomic bomb.

RUSSIA

Catholic activist Dmitry Dunko was arrested and imprisoned for eight days. He had denounced the interference of politicians from United Russia - Putin's party - in the activities of Moscow's Catholic parishes. From his cell he managed to send a message of hope, before his mobile phone was confiscated: "The rosary and the Gospel are with me, see you soon".

GEORGIA

Members of the opposition 'National Movement' party protested against the celebration of a Divine Liturgy in Church Slavonic, the liturgical language of the Russian Orthodox Church, in the Svetiskhoveli Cathedral in the ancient capital of Mtskhet. The parish priest, Archimandrite Ilja (Kavsadze) justified himself by saying that he was celebrating for Russian, Belarusian and Bulgarian faithful.

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