Chinese, Russian defence officials hail military ties

Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov visited Beijing to promote military ties, with both nations describing their relations as stronger than ever, according to Punch.

Separately, Indonesia's National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency has launched a formal investigation into the alleged trafficking of Indonesian citizens recruited to fight in the war in Ukraine. Brig. Gen. Nurul Azizah stated that police received five reports since late September involving 58 alleged victims. Investigations suggest Indonesians were lured via social media advertisements promising high salaries to serve as foreign mercenaries, after which they were sent to Russia on tourist visas for training before deployment.

The Jakarta Post reports that 13 suspects have been arrested, including two Russian nationals and one Ukrainian national, while one suspect remains at large.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch, The Jakarta Post — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.