PAKISTAN
Pakistan has sentenced 108 members of former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party to prison for their involvement in violent protests against the army in 2023. The protests broke out across the country in May 2023 after Khan was arrested by security forces on corruption charges. The authorities had already handed down dozens of sentences since 2023, but the new ones - including 10 years for opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan - are a major blow to Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which described the decision as “such a sad and shameful act.”
MYANMAR
The Burmese military junta has formally transferred power to an interim government ahead of elections, which the military says will be “democratic” and are scheduled for December or January. General Min Aung Hlaing retains control of the country as interim president. A special commission has also been set up to oversee the elections. The move does not bring about any significant change in the country. The state of emergency has been lifted, but can be imposed in specific municipalities, as is the case with martial law.
INDONESIA
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has pardoned two political rivals - a former trade minister and a prominent opposition party figure - just weeks after they were sentenced to prison. They are Hasto Kristiyanto, secretary general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), the largest party in parliament, and Thomas Trikasih Lembong, a former trade minister. Prabowo is said to have acted ahead of Indonesia's independence celebrations in August.
CHINA
Extreme rains and flooding in northern China have killed at least 60 people, including 31 in a nursing home. In Beijing, which is grappling with its deadliest flooding in years, 44 people have died in the last week. Another 31 are missing in the capital and the nearby province of Hebei, according to authorities. Torrential rains began a week ago and peaked on Monday in the Beijing area and surrounding provinces.
GAZA - ISRAEL - LEBANON
The Israeli army launched a massive series of air strikes on Lebanon, in yet another violation of the ceasefire agreed last November with Hezbollah. At least seven air raids hit towns in the Bekaa Valley and the mountainous region of Baalbek, in the east and northeast of the country, far from the border with Israel. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke of a “violent offensive” against Hezbollah's “largest missile production site.” Meanwhile, the UN has released a video showing bullets falling near Palestinians waiting for aid in the Gaza Strip. The UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs reports that the shots were fired by members of the Israeli army.
UNITED STATES - ASIA
The United States will begin imposing tariffs of up to 41% on its trading partners, the White House has announced. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order increasing ‘reciprocal’ tariffs above the base rate of 10% on many exports from other countries. Several Asian partners have seen their rates change: to 40% for Laos and Myanmar, 25% for India, and 20% for Taiwan, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. Malaysia, Cambodia, and Thailand, as well as Pakistan, have been included with a 19% tariff. Syria has been hit with the highest rate of 41%.
RUSSIA
According to a survey by the Insap center, linked to the Russian Academy of Sciences, the majority of Russians want to have more than one child, but most are only ready to fulfill this dream around the age of 30 and not before, with the birth calendar shifting forward as parents get older, in contrast to state propaganda.
