RUSSIA – POLAND
Polish airspace was violated by Russian drones during a Russian attack on western Ukraine, the Polish army reported. The air force fired on what the government called “hostile targets”, activating its own air defences and those of NATO. The military operation ended shortly afterwards, while several European leaders expressed concern about the incident.
ISRAEL – QATAR
Following Israel's attack on Doha, the capital of Qatar, in an attempt to eliminate Hamas political leaders, US President Donald Trump said he was ‘very unhappy’. Qatar's Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, said the air strikes threatened to derail the peace talks that Qatar is mediating between Hamas and Israel. Meanwhile, Israel has also ordered the demolition of houses in the towns where the Palestinian men who carried out an attack in Jerusalem in recent days came from, a practice considered a form of collective punishment prohibited by international law.
NEPAL
This morning, Nepalese army soldiers returned to guard the Parliament, which was set on fire yesterday by demonstrators who took to the streets to protest against the government. Despite the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, an indefinite curfew remains in force in the capital, Kathmandu. Other government buildings, from the Supreme Court to ministers' homes, including Oli's private residence, were also set on fire.
CHINA
The consumer price index (CPI) fell 0.4% year-on-year in August, China's National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday, marking the sharpest decline since March and indicating that the effects of earlier signs of recovery have worn off. A 4.3% year-on-year decline in food prices contributed to the overall stagnation and fuelled concerns about deflation. Furthermore, without political support, prices remain low, a sign of weak demand.
CHINA – CAMBODIA
Today saw the opening of Techno International Airport, built by China about 20 kilometres south of the capital Phnom Penh at a cost of $2 billion. The hope is that it will give new impetus to the tourism sector in Cambodia. The airport will be able to handle up to 13 million passengers a year and aims to reach 50 million by 2050, but its construction has displaced around 2,000 families.
INDIA – MYANMAR
The Indian Ministry of Mines has asked state-owned and private companies to evaluate the possibility of collecting and transporting samples from mines in north-eastern Myanmar that are under the control of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), one of the ethnic militias fighting against the Burmese regime and with which China already has contacts for the export of rare earths. In August, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had also discussed the rare earth trade with the general in charge of the military junta, Min Aung Hlaing, but did not provide further details.
KYRGYZSTAN
Financial operators Visa and MBank have announced that they have also launched a section of the global She's Next initiative in Kyrgyzstan to support female entrepreneurship, considering that women in business in the Central Asian country account for 40% of the total, with training courses, links with international companies and opportunities to win competitions and obtain loans to develop their own initiatives.
