First direct commercial flight launched between Russia and North Korea
The inaugural flight, operated by Russian carrier Nordwind, departed Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Sunday with more than 400 passengers aboard. Russia's Transport Ministry confirmed plans for one monthly flight to accommodate demand.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who visited North Korea 's new Wonsan-Kalma beach resort earlier this month to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, promised to encourage Russian tourists to visit the complex.
The resort, which can accommodate nearly 20,000 people, is at the center of Kim's push to boost tourism to improve his country's troubled economy.
North Korea has been slowly easing the curbs imposed during the pandemic and reopening its borders in phases. But the country hasn't said if it would fully resume international tourism.
Regular flights between Russia's eastern port city of Vladivostok and Pyongyang reopened in 2023 following a break caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Russia and North Korea have sharply expanded military and other ties in recent years, with Pyongyang supplying weapons and troops to back Russia's military action in Ukraine.
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The Guardian
30 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Still throwing shrimp on the barbie: Tourism Australia's advertising is stuck in a 1980s time warp
Tourism Australia has just launched its latest global A$130m campaign, 'Come and Say G'day'. It's a sequel to the 2022 ad featuring brand ambassador Ruby the Roo. The ad is a feast of sweeping drone shots, saturated colours, iconic landmarks and feel-good energy. Friendly animals, iconic landscapes and a familiar message: come and say g'day. Tourism Australia is rolling out five tailored ads for key markets. Each features celebrity endorsements: Robert Irwin in the United States; Nigella Lawson in the United Kingdom; and with stars from China (Yosh Yu), Japan (Abareru-kun) and India (Sara Tendulkar) fronting the others. It's a smart shift that acknowledges what tourism marketers have long known: you can't please everyone with one ad. But despite its polish, the campaign recycles old-school imagery – quirky, sunny, laid-back Australia – offering a nostalgic view that feels stuck in 1984, not tuned to 2025. Australian tourism ads have long leaned on a small set of cultural cliches. Perhaps the most famous is the one which also created the mould: Paul Hogan's famous 1984 'shrimp on the barbie' campaign. It was the first widely aired campaign to crystallise the now-familiar image of Australia for international audiences: laid-back, larrikin, sun-soaked. It deliberately played into stereotypes Americans found appealing – friendly locals, casual charm and a wild but welcoming landscape and wildlife. Many have said this wasn't just a tourism ad but a nation-branding exercise that framed Australians as approachable, humorous and uncomplicated. Subsequent campaigns have continued to echo this formula, sometimes ironically, as in the 2018 Dundee reboot, and sometimes earnestly, like the controversial 2006 line 'So where the bloody hell are you?' (which was banned in the UK). A 2008 Baz Luhrmann-directed campaign brought cinematic flair to the same stereotypes and imagery, tying it to his film Australia. With a $40m budget and a rollout across 22 countries, it leaned on emotional storytelling and sweeping outback visuals. Despite its ambition, the campaign drew mixed reviews. Tourism operators said it felt out of touch, more fantasy than invitation, with some questioning whether its landscapes even looked uniquely Australian. Australia has changed a lot in 40 years, but tourism ads have returned again and again to familiar themes: white sandy beaches, red desert landscapes, barbecues and blokey humour. These images helped build Australia's global brand in the late 20th century, especially in English-speaking markets. But times have changed, and tourists are savvier. They want to see the real culture of a place. And here we are again: outback peril, thieving emus and the shrimp/prawn clash feels like a 1984 throwback. For a country in the 21st century that prides itself on diversity, the 2025 campaign feels strangely one-dimensional. There are flashes of multiculturalism from the international stars, but the campaign centres on broad white stereotypes of 'Aussie-ness': the blokey pub with the wisecracking bartender, sunburned adventurers speeding on a 4WD in the outback, and laid-back lunches debating the pronunciation of imported dishes. There's no meaningful presence of contemporary Indigenous voices or storytelling – just the echo of a didgeridoo, a fleeting image of Uluru as a background slide and a brief cameo from Kamilaroi actor and playwright Thomas Weatherall. There's nothing about Australia's vibrant multicultural neighbourhoods, food scenes or festivals beyond the usual mainstream. The campaign positions Australia as an adventure playground, but doesn't say anything about who lives here. This is particularly disappointing given Tourism Australia's own research shows travellers are increasingly interested in meaningful, authentic experiences. People want to connect with locals, understand cultural stories and travel more sustainably. National tourism campaigns face enormous scrutiny. This often means bold ideas become watered down. Creativity is sacrificed and so is the chance to tell a richer, more honest story about who we are. Tourism ads don't need to lose their charm. Ruby the Roo is endearing and memorable. But the way we tell stories about Australia needs to evolve. Internationally, there are successful campaigns that move beyond cliches. New Zealand's long-running 100% Pure New Zealand campaign includes strong environmental messaging and Māori cultural narratives. Canada's Indigenous Tourism campaign puts First Nations voices front and centre. Australia could take a leaf out of their books. Celebrity cameos are appealing, but if we want the world to see our real and wonderfully multicultural Australia, we need to let our local guides, community operators and cultural custodians tell their stories. For 40 years, we've rolled out variations of the same campaign, relying on familiar cliches while ignoring repeated calls for deeper, more inclusive storytelling. Tourism campaigns don't just sell destinations. They tell stories about national identity. They shape how we see ourselves, and how the world sees us. Right now, we're telling a story that's safe, surface-level and stuck in a 1980s time warp. Anita Manfreda is a senior lecturer in tourism at Torrens University Australia and Simon Pawson is a professor of tourism, Torrens University Australia This article was originally published in the Conversation
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
Xi Jinping can't afford for Russia to make peace in Ukraine
Of particular importance is China's role as an enabler of Russia's drone warfare campaign, a combat tactic that has been the hallmark of the war in Ukraine. Russia is believed to import millions of dollars worth of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from China each year, in addition to producing UAVs jointly with Chinese firms inside Russia. Intelligence assessments suggest that Russia established a secret UAV factory in China through IEMZ Kupol, a subsidiary of Russian state-owned arms company Almaz-Antey, where engineers developed and flight-tested a new model of a long-range combat drone called Garpiya-3 (G3). Helping to fuel the Russian wartime economy, China (along with India) has been a top importer of Russian oil, having accounted for 47 per cent of Russia's crude oil exports in June 2025. Much of Russia's oil exports are transported by a shadow fleet of unmarked tankers in order to bypass the sanctions regime. Last week, Beijing rebuffed US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's threat of a 100 per cent tariff if it continues this practice. Further aligning itself with Moscow against the US, China has set out to increase gas imports from Russia, while cutting liquefied natural gas purchases from the US. Why is China so invested in assisting Russia's fight against Ukraine? Beijing's rationale can be illustrated by the following Chinese allegory. 'As two tigers are fighting ferociously in the valley, a sage monkey is sitting on top of the mountain, looking down and waiting to see how it will end.' Beijing sees itself as the wise monkey, waiting patiently as Moscow and Washington erode their respective combat arsenals. Indeed, although China and Russia publicly portray themselves as allies, having declared a 'no limits partnership' in 2022, they are in fact strategic opponents, linked in an opportunistic relationship aimed at achieving the common goal of limiting US and Western geopolitical dominance. China and Russia have had multiple border clashes during their turbulent history and to this day maintain a territorial dispute in Russia's Far East. Demographically declining, Russia views decades-long migration of Chinese citizens into its Far East region as a grave threat. Putin warned as far back as 2000 that if Russia did not undertake the 'real effort' to develop its Far East in the short term, then 'a few decades from now its Russian population will mostly be speaking Japanese, Chinese, and Korean'. China is incentivised to prolong the conflict in Ukraine by its desire to reduce the US weapons stockpile, which has already been depleted to dangerous levels as a result of US assistance to Ukraine and to Israel. China sees the erosion of American combat readiness as crucial in preventing the US from intervening in China's future invasion of Taiwan, which some US military commanders assess as probable around 2027. For Beijing, fulfilling its 'One China' grand plan by 2049 by securing control over Taiwan is likely to take priority over maintaining a transactional relationship and avoiding a trade war with Washington. Thus far, Russia has largely brushed off President Trump's various manoeuvres. Beijing, meanwhile, has been conducting joint Chinese-Russian naval exercises in the Sea of Japan. The signal from Moscow and Beijing to Washington is clear – peace in Ukraine is counter to both of their agendas.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Trump could meet Putin over Ukraine as soon as next week, official says
WASHINGTON/MOSCOW, Aug 6 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump could meet Vladimir Putin as soon as next week, a White House official said on Wednesday, as the U.S. maintained plans to impose secondary sanctions on Friday in an effort to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. Such a face-to-face meeting would be the first between a sitting U.S. and Russian president since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021, some eight months before Russia launched the biggest attack on a European nation since World War Two by invading Ukraine. Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy have not met since December 2019 and make no secret of their contempt for each other. The New York Times reported that Trump told European leaders during a call on Wednesday that he intends to meet with Putin and then follow up with a trilateral involving the Russian leader and Zelenskiy. "The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the President is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelenskiy," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, responding to the report. A Trump-Putin meeting could take place as soon as next week, the White House official said. A German government spokesperson said Trump provided information about the status of the talks with Russia during a call with the German chancellor and other European heads of government. The details emerged following a meeting on Wednesday between Putin and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff that Trump said had achieved "great progress." It comes two days before a deadline set by Trump for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or face new sanctions. Trump has been increasingly frustrated with Putin over the lack of progress towards peace and has threatened to impose heavy tariffs on countries that buy Russian exports, including oil. The White House official said that while the meeting had gone well and Moscow was eager to continue engaging with the United States, secondary sanctions that Trump has threatened against countries doing business with Russia were still expected to be implemented on Friday. No details were provided. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox Business' "Kudlow" later on Wednesday that more had to be done to reach an agreement between the parties. "Today was a good day, but we got a lot of work ahead," he said. "There's still many impediments to overcome, and we hope to do that over the next few days and hours." A Kremlin aide earlier said Witkoff held "useful and constructive" talks with Putin on Wednesday. The two met for around three hours on a last-minute mission to seek a breakthrough in the 3-1/2-year war that began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said the two sides had exchanged "signals" on the Ukraine issue and discussed the possibility of developing strategic cooperation between Moscow and Washington, but declined to give more details until Witkoff had reported back to Trump. Zelenskiy said he believed pressure had worked on Russia and Moscow was now more amenable to a ceasefire. "It seems that Russia is now more inclined to a ceasefire. The pressure on them works. But the main thing is that they do not deceive us in the details – neither us nor the U.S.," Zelenskiy said in his nightly address. Writing separately on the X social media platform, Zelenskiy said he had discussed Witkoff's visit to Russia with Trump, adding that he had reiterated Ukraine's support for a just peace and its continued determination to defend itself. "Ukraine will definitely defend its independence. We all need a lasting and reliable peace. Russia must end the war that it itself started," Zelenskiy said, adding that European leaders had joined the call with Trump. Trump on Truth Social said he had updated some of Washington's European allies following Witkoff's meeting. Trump took a key step toward punitive measures on Wednesday when he imposed an additional 25% tariff on imports from India, citing New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil. No similar order was signed for China, which also imports Russian oil. The new measure raises tariffs on some Indian goods to as high as 50% — among the steepest faced by any U.S. trading partner. The Kremlin says threats to penalise countries that trade with Russia are illegal. Ushakov, who was present at the meeting, told Russian news outlet Zvezda that "signals" on Ukraine were exchanged by both sides. Bloomberg and independent Russian news outlet The Bell reported that the Kremlin might propose a moratorium on airstrikes by Russia and Ukraine - an idea mentioned last week by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during a meeting with Putin. Such a move, if agreed, would fall well short of the full and immediate ceasefire that Ukraine and the U.S. have been seeking for months. But it would offer some relief to both sides. Since the two sides resumed direct peace talks in May, Russia has carried out its heaviest air attacks of the war, killing at least 72 people in the capital Kyiv alone. Trump last week called the Russian attacks "disgusting." Ukraine continues to strike Russian refineries and oil depots, which it has hit many times. Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Zelenskiy, said on Wednesday that a full ceasefire and a leaders' summit were required. "The war must stop and for now this is on Russia," he posted on Telegram. Putin is unlikely to bow to Trump's sanctions ultimatum because he believes he is winning the war and his military goals take precedence over his desire to improve relations with the U.S., three sources close to the Kremlin have told Reuters. The Russian sources told Reuters that Putin was sceptical that yet more U.S. sanctions would have much of an impact after successive waves of economic penalties during 3-1/2 years of war.
