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October
Russia, Iran Strengthen Ties in 'Trusting' Atmosphere -Russian Foreign Ministry
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - Russia and Iran are firming up bilateral relations in a 'trusting' atmosphere, Russia's foreign ministry said early on Tuesday after its chief, Sergei Lavrov, was received by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during a visit to Tehran.
"In a traditionally trusting atmosphere, current aspects of the bilateral agenda were substantively discussed with an emphasis on further building up the entire complex of multifaceted Russian-Iranian partnership," the foreign ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
Lavrov, who went to Tehran shortly after an Asia trip to China and North Korea, discussed energy and logistics projects with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.
As has been the Russian norm, few details of the talks, which took place amid the rising tensions in the Middle East, have been disclosed.
Lavrov also participated in regional talks hosted by Iran, aiming to bring peace to the South Caucasus region after Azerbaijani forces last month recaptured the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh and forced thousands of ethnic Armenians to flee.
Since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has sought to firm up ties with countries traditionally considered Western aligned, accusing "the collective West" of trying to break up Russia.
Ukraine has urged Tehran to stop supplying deadly drones to Russia, which Kyiv says have played a major role in Moscow's attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
Iran initially denied supplying the Shahed kamikaze drones to Russia but later said it had provided a small number before Moscow launched the war.
The United States has said that it has been concerned by the "burgeoning defence partnership" between Iran and Russia, which poses risks not only to Ukraine but also to Iran's neighbours. (Reuters)
October
Obama Warns Some of Israel's Actions in Gaza May Backfire
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - Some of Israel's actions in its war against Hamas, like cutting off food and water for Gaza, could "harden Palestinian attitudes for generations" and weaken international support for Israel, former U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday.
In rare comments on an active foreign policy crisis, Obama said any Israeli military strategy that ignores the human costs of the war "could ultimately backfire."
"The Israeli government's decision to cut off food, water and electricity to a captive civilian population (in Gaza) threatens not only to worsen a growing humanitarian crisis; it could further harden Palestinian attitudes for generations, erode global support for Israel, play into the hands of Israel's enemies, and undermine long-term efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region," Obama said.
Israel has heavily bombarded Gaza with air strikes since Hamas' Oct. 7 assault on Israel left over 1,400 people dead. Israel's air strikes have killed more than 5,000 Palestinians, Gaza officials say.
Obama condemned Hamas' attack and reiterated his support for Israel's right to defend itself, while cautioning about risks to civilians in such wars.
It was not clear whether Obama had coordinated his statement with U.S. President Joe Biden, who served as his vice president for eight years.
During his presidency, Obama often backed Israel's right to self-defense at the start of conflicts with Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, but quickly called for Israeli restraint once Palestinian casualties mounted from airstrikes.
Gaza, a 45 km-long (25-mile) strip of land that is home to 2.3 million people, has been ruled politically since 2007 by Hamas, an Iran-backed Islamist group, but faces a blockade from Israel.
The Obama administration sought, but ultimately failed to broker, a peace deal in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Since taking office in early 2021, Biden has not tried to resume long-stalled talks, saying that leaders on both sides were too intransigent and the climate was not right.
Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a testy relationship when Obama was in office, including when Obama's administration was negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran.
Biden, as Obama's vice president, often acted as a mediator between the two men.
In his statement on Monday, Obama acknowledged that the U.S. had itself "fallen short of our higher values when engaged in war," especially after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. (Reuters)
October
Radionuclides detected in Fukushima nuclear wastewater
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOI, Jakarta - Pre-discharge test results released by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) show the third batch of nuclear-contaminated water from Fukushima to be discharged in the third round of Japan's nuclear wastewater disposal process to the sea contains carbon-14, cobalt 60, strontium-90, and several other types of radionuclides. TEPCO said that preparations for the third round in the process of discharging wastewater into the sea will begin after the second round is completed, and that relevant maintenance and confirmation operations have been carried out. This is despite growing concerns and resistance among local fishermen and from other countries.
After passing through the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) must enter measurement and confirmation facilities and await the results of pre-discharge testing before being discharged into the sea. The measurement and confirmation facility is divided into three groups of 10 tanks with each group used on a rotational basis as receiving tanks, measurement and confirmation tanks, and discharge tanks. Currently, the 10 tanks in Group B have been emptied in the first round of wastewater discharge that started on August 24.
Meanwhile, 10 tanks in Group C were confirmed to have met the discharge standards on September 21, and their discharge began on October 5. Sampling of nuclear wastewater stored in Group A tanks for the third round of disposal was completed on July 10. According to TEPCO's report on Thursday (Oct 19), the analysis results showed that the wastewater contained trace amounts of carbon-14, cobalt 60, strontium-90, iodine-129, and cesium-137, with strontium-90 not detected in the second round of discharge on Oct 5.
TEPCO claims that its ALPS facility, a multinuclide removal system, can remove 62 radioactive substances except tritium. However, it was found that about 70 percent of the water in the waste storage tanks contained non-tritium radionuclides at concentrations exceeding regulatory standards for discharge into the natural environment. (VOI)
October
Half of Gaza's homes damaged by Israeli airstrikes
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOI, Jakarta - About 50 percent of Palestinian residential units have been partially or completely damaged by the ongoing Israeli offensive in the coastal enclave, a Palestinian official said on Sunday (Oct 22). "The Israeli occupation deliberately damaged residential buildings, public facilities, and service facilities," Salama Maarouf, head of the Hamas-run state media office in Gaza, said in a press statement. "As a result of the intensified Israeli airstrikes, more than 165,000 housing units were partially damaged and nearly 20,000 housing units were completely destroyed or uninhabitable," Maarouf said.
As a result, around 70 percent of local residents were displaced from their homes and moved to 220 shelter centers or other places throughout the Gaza Strip. The Israeli airstrikes were triggered by Hamas' large-scale attacks on Israeli military targets and cities on October 7, which have so far killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip rose to 4,651, the Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry said on Sunday. (VOI)
October
Australia PM to Visit China, with Progress on Wine, Wind Tower Disputes
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday he will travel to China from Nov. 4 to 7 to meet with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in a bid to stabilise relations with the country's biggest trading partner.
The announcement of the trip to Beijing and Shanghai, the first by an Australian leader to China since 2016, came after a breakthrough on Saturday in resolving a dispute with China over its wine tariffs that have battered the industry.
China's Commerce Ministry said on Sunday the two sides had reached a consensus to settle the WTO wine dispute as well as a dispute over Australian duties on Chinese wind towers.
Patching up relations with China, which had deteriorated over several years due to disputes over telecoms firm Huawei, espionage and COVID, has been a top priority for Albanese since he took office in 2022.
"It is important that we stabilise our relationship with China," Albanese said.
On the visit, the leaders will discuss cooperation in areas such as economic links, climate change and "links between our people", he said in a statmement.
"I look forward to further engaging with President Xi and Premier Li in Australia's national interest," he said.
Speaking in Canberra, Albanese said Australia late on Saturday had reached a deal with China to move forward to solve its World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute over wine, potentially clearing the way for the resumption of imports worth $800 million a year before the duties were imposed in 2021.
"We have agreed on the issue of wine for there to be a review of China's position on wine tariffs to be conducted over the next months," Albanese told reporters.
"We will suspend our action before the WTO, but we're very confident that this will result in once again Australian wine, a great product, being able to go to China free of the tariffs."
Albanese did not mention duties on wind towers in his comments. However, on Oct. 16, Australia's Anti-Dumping Commission recommended lifting anti-dumping measures on Chinese wind towers. No final decision has been made yet.
"China and Australia are important trading partners of each other, and we are willing to work with the Australian side to continue to meet each other halfway through dialogue and consultation," China's Commerce ministry said in a statement.
The ministry added that China and Australia held "friendly consultations" on WTO disputes of mutual concern over various items, and was willing to "jointly promote the stable and healthy development of bilateral economic and trade relations."
The announcements are the latest in a diplomatic thaw that has already seen China lift restrictions on imports of Australian coal, timber and barley, which Beijing had targeted after Canberra called for an inquiry into the origins of COVID-19.
The duties of up to 218% on most Australian wines were imposed in March 2021, causing trade to collapse in what had been the most valuable export market for the country's winemakers. (Reuters)
October
Former Pakistan Premier Nawaz Sharif Vows to Work Toward Economic Recovery
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - Pakistan's three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif kick-started his party's campaign for next year's election on Saturday after arriving home from four years of self-imposed exile in London, promising to tackle record inflation.
"I want to serve this nation," said the 73-year-old veteran politician in his address to thousands of his supporters at his eastern hometown of Lahore.
"My only desire is to see this nation prosper," he said after he compared today's essential goods prices with his last tenure before he was ousted in 2017.
He promised to work toward economic recovery, without laying any plans, saying: "We will control inflation."
Earlier, he landed in a chartered plane at Islamabad airport where he signed and filed appeals against the convictions he was jailed for before he left the country in 2019.
Sharif had not set foot in Pakistan since leaving for London in 2019 to receive medical treatment while serving a 14-year prison sentence for corruption. His convictions remain in force, but a court on Thursday barred authorities from arresting him until Tuesday, when he is to appear in court.
While he cannot run for or hold public office because of his convictions, his legal team says he plans to appeal and his party says he aims to become prime minister for a fourth time.
Sharif's biggest challenge will be to wrest back his support base from his main rival, Khan, who despite being in jail remains popular following his ouster from the premiership in 2022.
Khan, too, is disqualified from the election because of his August graft conviction, which he has appealed.
ECONOMIC GROWTH
Nuclear-armed Pakistan, a nation of 241 million people, is experiencing the impact of an economic crisis that has worsened during the 16-month rule of Nawaz Sharif's younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif, who led a coalition government after Khan's removal.
The elder Sharif has a record of pursuing economic growth and development. When he was removed as premier in 2017, Pakistan's growth rate was 5.8% and inflation was around 4%. In September, inflation was more than 31% year-on-year and growth is projected to be less than 2% this financial year.
"Things have worsened to the extent that people have to chose either to pay their electricity bills or feed their kids," the elder Sharif told the Lahore rally. "It has become impossible for people to pay bills. People are committing suicide."
Rising living costs have imposed severe pressures on many Pakistanis after the younger Sharif's coalition government had to agree to harsh fiscal adjustments to resume funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which had suspended payments after Khan scuttled a deal in his last days in office.
"Inflation has killed me and my family financially. I closed my shop because of losses," said Raheel Sarwar, 40, at the rally.
Nawaz Sharif has said he was ousted from government at the behest of the powerful military after he fell out with top generals, who play an outsized role in Pakistani politics.
He says the military then backed Khan in the 2018 general election. Khan and the military deny this.
The military and Khan fell out in 2022, and over the last few months they have been involved in a bruising showdown, which has afforded Sharif some political space.
The military denies that it interferes in politics.
"An evergreen rule about Pakistani politics is that your chances of taking power are always greater when you're in the good books of the army," said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center.
"Over his long political career, Sharif's relationship with the military brass has blown hot and cold. It's now in a relatively cordial phase, and he stands to benefit politically." (Reuters)
October
China's Xi Offers to Help Sri Lanka; Buy More of its Exports
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - China is willing to offer assistance to Sri Lanka without political conditions and buy more of its exports, President Xi Jinping told his Sri Lankan counterpart on Friday in Beijing, state media said.
The assurances came a week after the crisis-hit island nation said it had reached agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China on $4.2 billion of debt, a fraction of the roughly $7 billion it owes Chinese lenders, both bilateral and commercial.
"The two sides should make every effort to promote Colombo port city and Hambantota," Xi told Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, a summary of their meeting showed, referring to major projects China has backed in its 'Belt and Road' effort.
Wickremesinghe was in the Chinese capital for the Belt and Road Forum that ended on Wednesday as well as talks on restructuring debt.
"China is willing to continue to provide assistance to Sri Lanka without attaching political conditions, to help it cope with the difficulties it faces," Xi added.
Last May Sri Lanka defaulted on its foreign debt as dollar reserves fell to a point where it was unable to pay for essential imports such as fuel and medicine.
"China is willing to expand the import of Sri Lanka's ... products and will encourage Chinese enterprises to invest," Xi said. (Reuters)
October
South Korea's Yoon Departs for Saudi Arabia and Qatar
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol left for Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Saturday to discuss business cooperation as well as to discuss security conditions amid the crisis in the Middle East, his office said.
Yoon, in what would be the first state visit by a South Korean leader, will hold talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday, and will travel to Qatar on Oct. 24-25 for a summit and to attend a business forum.
The state visit takes place roughly a year after the Saudi crown prince visited South Korea and discussed cooperation in the areas of energy, defence and infrastructure construction, signing investment pacts worth $30 billion with Korean firms.
Business leaders accompanying President Yoon include Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair E.S. Chung and the heads of Hanwha, GS, and HD Hyundai conglomerates, according to Yoon's office. (Reuters)
October
Malaysia PM Proposes Free Trade Pact Between ASEAN, Gulf Council
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - Malaysia is proposing the creation of a free trade agreement between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) its premier said on Friday at a summit of the two blocs.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said such an agreement would be the first of its kind between ASEAN and Gulf states.
"This agreement is crucial in advancing progressive, inclusive and sustainable growth especially as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and face geopolitical uncertainties," he said in a speech at the ASEAN-GCC Summit in Saudi Arabia on Friday.
ASEAN, a 10-member bloc of more than 600 million people, has for years been seeking to integrate its economies, worth a combined $2.3 trillion, through trade, investment and harmonised standards and customs procedures.
However, efforts to establish free trade deals have been protracted, with some members with exports-reliant economies going it alone in seeking better access to their key markets.
ASEAN is part of the Regional Cooperation Economic Partnership (RCEP) along with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. (Reuters)
October
North Korea's Kim Vows to 'Faithfully' Fulfil Agreements Made with Russia's Putin
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed his resolve to fulfil agreements made at his summit last month with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he met visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, state media KCNA reported on Friday.
Kim took a rare trip to Russia last month during which he invited Putin to Pyongyang and discussed military cooperation, including over North Korea's satellite programme, and the war in Ukraine.
Kim and Lavrov discussed ways to ramp up cooperation to actively respond to regional and global issues based on "solid political and strategic trust relations," and Lavrov conveyed Putin's greetings to Kim, KCNA said.
Kim pledged to "work out a stable, forward-looking, far-reaching plan for the DPRK-Russia relations in the new era by faithfully implementing the agreements ... and push forward with the cause of building a powerful state," KCNA said.
He was referring to North Korea by the initials of its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and Lavrov signed a plan for exchanges in 2024-25 as they held separate talks to follow up on the summit and explore greater cooperation on the economy, culture and advanced science and technology, KCNA said.
The two diplomats also discussed how to place bilateral ties "on a higher stage," it said.
"Both sides had an in-depth exchange of views on intensifying joint action on several regional and international issues including the situation on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asian region and reached a consensus of views on them," KCNA said in another dispatch.
Lavrov has departed Pyongyang after the meetings, it said.
Lavrov, at a reception after arriving in Pyongyang on Wednesday, thanked Pyongyang's "unwavering and principled support" for Russia in the Ukraine war, and vowed "complete support and solidarity" for the North, according to Moscow's foreign ministry.
'FIRST TARGET OF DESTRUCTION'
Russia and North Korea have been seeking to forge closer ties in the face of what they see as a hostile and aggressive U.S.-led Western camp.
Seoul and Washington have expressed concerns about growing exchanges between Moscow and Pyongyang, and the U.S. has stepped up military drills with Japan in response to North Korea's evolving military threats, involving an aircraft carrier and other strategic assets.
In a separate commentary, KCNA criticised the U.S. deployment of the strategic assets, including a B-52 bomber and F-22 Raptor stealth fighter, and the joint exercises.
Those assets would be "the first targets of destruction" if signs of any attack on North Korea were detected, it said, adding the country has already enacted "the policy of nuclear force which allowed the necessary procedures of action."
"This is the intentional nuclear war provocative moves of the U.S.," the commentary said.
"Now that the U.S. and gangsters of the 'Republic of Korea' have committed a provocation of nuclear war against the DPRK, the DPRK will take corresponding option," it said, referring to South Korea. (Reuters)