Diplomacy coverage

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Monday that China does not recognize the so-called 'Arunachal Pradesh' illegally set up by India, responding to India's Aug. 7 issuance of 'standard names' for 27 locations there. He said the region, which China calls Zangnan, is Chinese territory and that India's naming move is 'illegal, null and void.'

Rail service between Finland and Sweden resumed on Monday for the first time in nearly 40 years, Yle reports. A train crossed the border river Tornionjoki into Sweden, reconnecting Finland to the broader European rail network.

The UN Special Envoy for Yemen calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and halt actions that could trigger further military retaliation, urging them to return to good-faith negotiations under UN auspices.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said domestic critics of the memorandum signed with the US in June are echoing Israel's narrative, while also dismissing recent speculation about his possible resignation.

Ukrainian and Polish specialists completed joint exhumation works in the former villages of Ostrivky and Volia Ostrovetska in Volyn Oblast, recovering the remains of 54 people (48 in Volia Ostrovetska and 6 in Ostrivky), including men, women, and children, according to the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory. Samples were collected for DNA analysis.

Turkish Erdogan says the Mecca agreement, founded on collective deterrence, will bolster security, defense cooperation, joint defense industry projects, and the fight against terrorism.

China's foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Friday that Beijing commends the new government of the Solomon Islands for reiterating its firm commitment to the one-China principle, adding this will solidify the bilateral political foundation. The remarks follow a Wednesday address to the National Parliament by Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale, who said the relationship with China is vital to the country's development and reaffirmed the government's commitment to the one-China principle.

China's foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Friday urged Japanese authorities to 'stop playing with fire' on the nuclear weapons issue and to fulfill obligations under international law not to accept, produce, possess or proliferate nuclear weapons. The remarks were made in response to a Japan Association for Public Opinion Research survey showing 76% of Japanese support the country's three non-nuclear principles and 77% oppose nuclear sharing with the United States.