Seoul infected us by throwing leaflets

Other news of the day: China ends military exercises around Taiwan. Vietnam launches a campaign against “fake news”. A group of militants attacks an Indian military outpost in Kashmir. The number of Russians and Ukrainians fleeing to Israel is growing. They rejected the request for the release of Russian dissident Ilja Yasin.

NORTH KOREA

According to Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Seoul spread Covid-19 in North Korea, and did so by airdropping propaganda leaflets. Kim Yo-jong said on Wednesday that Pyongyang is preparing its response, adding that Kim Jong-un has recently recovered from a “strong fever.”

CHINA

The Chinese authorities announced yesterday that they had concluded military exercises around Taiwan. The war games had begun on August 4, in response to a visit to Taipei by Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives. Beijing stressed that it will continue patrolling operations in the area. For their part, the Taiwanese maintain that they will react flexibly, depending on the level of threat.

VIETNAM

Hanoi launched a campaign to stop the spread of fake news on the web. The Vietnamese authorities assure that the number of news considered false has gone from 5,000 daily in 2018 to 100,000 today. In reality, on many occasions, content removal is aimed at suppressing dissent.

INDIA

A group of Muslim militants this morning attacked an Indian Army outpost in the disputed region of Cashmere, killing three soldiers. The military responded by eliminating two militiamen. India and Pakistan have waged several wars for control of the area, where pro-independence formations also operate.

ISRAEL

Since the invasion of Ukraine, promoted by Putin, Israel registers an increase in the arrival of Russian and Ukrainian migrants. The total exceeds 31,000 people: 12,175 from Ukraine and 18,891 from Russia, according to the Israel Statistics Office.

RUSSIA

A Moscow court rejected the appeal of the pre-trial detention measure and called for the release of Ilja Yashin, an opposition politician detained for “fejk”, false news against the Russian army. During the hearing, Jašin remained in an attitude of protest throughout, showing a handwritten sheet of paper with the phrase “No to war”.

GEORGIA

The commemoration of the victims of the Russian-Georgian war of 2008 -228 civilians, 169 soldiers and 19 policemen- was a new pretext to revive the confrontation between the majority forces and the opposition. Despite President Salome Zurabišvili’s calls for reconciliation, the two sides blame each other for failing to prevent the conflict.