US may increase sanctions on China; Russian spacecraft forced to make emergency landing

Russia and Türkiye confirm establishment of demilitarized zone in Idlib, Syria

Russia and Türkiye announced the establishment of a demilitarized zone in Idlib. Photo: AFP

Despite conflicting reports, both Russia and Türkiye confirmed on October 10 that a demilitarized zone in Syria’s Idlib province is being established, with the withdrawal of more than 1,000 militants and heavy military weapons, in line with the roadmap agreed between the two countries in Sochi, Russia last month. According to the agreement, Türkiye and Russia agreed to establish a demilitarized zone in Idlib province stretching from areas between Aleppo, the northeastern countryside of Latakia province and Idlib.

With this move, the Syrian government has many advantages to conduct anti-terrorism campaigns in other "small" areas as well as have time to prepare for a big battle that "may still happen", to complete the ultimate goal of completely liberating the country.

Mr. Trump left open the possibility of increasing trade sanctions against China.

Canned food products imported from the US are displayed for sale at a supermarket in Beijing, China on July 6. Source: AFP/TTXVN

US President Donald Trump warned on October 11 that there are more measures he could take to further punish China economically, showing no sign of backing down from the escalating trade war with Beijing.

In an interview with Fox News, Mr. Trump emphasized: "The measures are very effective. Their economy is basically in decline and I have many more measures to do if I want to do it. I don't want to do it, but China has to come to the negotiating table." However, Mr. Trump noted that the Chinese want to negotiate but he does not believe they are ready and he has told them so.

US and Iraqi forces arrest many IS financiers

IS rebel forces. Source: weeklystandard

On October 11, the US-led international coalition against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) said a joint team of the coalition and Iraqi special forces arrested 10 suspects belonging to a financial network providing for IS in the capital Baghdad and the city of Erbil in northern Iraq.

The team conducted the raid from October 7-9, arresting suspects belonging to the Rawi financial network, which acts as a "financial provider group" for the rebels.

Russian rocket fails in mid-air, astronaut makes emergency landing

Astronauts Nick Hague and Aleksey Ovchinin before the flight at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on October 11. (Source: AFP/TTXVN)

According toRT, the Soyuz MS-10 rocket, launched at 11:40 on October 11 (Moscow time) carrying two astronauts Alexey Ovchinin (Russian) and Nick Hague (American) to the International Space Station (ISS), suddenly encountered an accident. The Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) announced that both astronauts landed safely after receiving an emergency ejection order and landed in Kazakhstan. The Russian rescue team was waiting at the area where the Soyuz MS-10 passenger compartment was scheduled to land.

Russian authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the incident. The investigation team will be tasked with assessing whether the launch incident was caused by a violation of safety regulations in the rocket's design.

Israel destroys Hamas attack tunnel in Gaza Strip

Israeli soldiers stand guard outside the entrance to the tunnel connecting Palestine with Israel in the Kissufim area on the Israeli side on January 18. Source: AFP/TTXVN

The Israeli military said on October 11 it had destroyed a tunnel built by the Islamist Hamas movement extending into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, which was designed to serve as a staging ground for attacks. However, there were no signs of casualties in the destruction of the tunnel, which was about 1km long and originated in the Khan Yunis area in southern Gaza.

Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said this was the 15th tunnel of this type discovered and destroyed by Israel in the past year. The tunnel extended about 200 meters into Israeli territory and the Israeli military had been monitoring the activity for months.

Peruvian opposition leader arrested on money laundering charges

On October 10, the leader of the far-right opposition party Fuerza Popular in Peru, Keiko Fujimori, was arrested on charges of money laundering and receiving illegal funding for her 2011 presidential campaign.

In the charges, the prosecutors said that the politician had “established a criminal organization” within the Fuerza Popular Party with the aim of manipulating political power and interfering in legislative and judicial matters. According to Judge Richard Concepcion, who issued the arrest warrant for Ms. Fujimori, the Fuerza Popular Party falsely declared 114 individuals as contributors to Ms. Fujimori’s campaign support fund worth a total of $650,000. In addition to Ms. Fujimori, 19 other people were also detained for 10 days on money laundering charges, including several former ministers in Peru.

Indonesia extends search for earthquake victims

Indonesian authorities on October 11 decided to extend the search for the missing people by one more day, instead of stopping the search on October 11 as previously announced, at the request of the families of the missing people.

According to official figures from the Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency as of the afternoon of October 11, the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Central Sulawesi has claimed the lives of 2,073 people, injured 10,679 people, including 2,549 seriously injured, and 680 victims are still missing. A total of more than 78,000 people have been displaced in 112 locations, while 8,731 people have been relocated outside the Central Sulawesi region.

Egypt sentences 17 to death over church bombings

Egyptian police. Source: AFP/TTXVN

On October 11, an Egyptian military court sentenced 17 people to death for a series of bombings at three churches that killed 82 Christians. The Islamic State (IS) had previously claimed responsibility for the attacks.

In addition to the above subjects, the court also sentenced 19 other subjects to life imprisonment, while 15 others were sentenced to eight years in prison for their involvement in attacks in Cairo, Alexandria and Tanta in 2016 and 2017, MENA news agency reported.

Poor African country cancels Chinese airport project because it is too costly

Former Sierra Leone President Koroma and Chinese President Xi Jinping

Sierra Leone has announced the cancellation of a $400 million airport project being built by China, citing the cost of construction. Sierra Leone's Ministry of Transport said that after serious consideration and assessment, the Government had determined that the initiative to build Mamamah International Airport was uneconomical. Therefore, all contracts under the project were cancelled as of October 10.

The airport was built under a loan agreement signed by former Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma with China. However, shortly after, in the elections held in March, Mr. Koroma's party lost. His successor, President Julius Maada Bio, has pledged to halt construction, saying that Chinese infrastructure projects are not economically viable for the country.