PAKISTAN
A suicide bombing using a car bomb struck a mosque within a police compound in Kohat, in north-western Pakistan, yesterday, killing at least 31 people and injuring over 100. The victims included 15 police officers and a four-year-old boy. The explosion occurred during Friday prayers, when a car laden with explosives ploughed through the mosque’s entrance. A firefight subsequently broke out with some of the attackers, at least six of whom were killed. Police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have identified a faction of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Pakistani Taliban, as the likely perpetrators.
IRAN-PALESTINE-UNITED STATES
The United States has approved visas for the Iranian delegation, led by President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, to attend next week’s high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. According to the State Department, the Iranian delegation will be subject to travel restrictions and a ban on purchasing luxury goods and other products. The delegation will also be smaller than last year’s. The decision comes a day after Washington announced a travel ban on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. As was the case last year, Abbas will address the Assembly via video link only.
TAIWAN
Taiwan has recently brought together experts and emergency management officials from various countries ahead of the launch of the World Alliance for Disaster Management (WADM), a new international alliance aimed at improving disaster prevention and response. The organisation intends to promote training, information sharing, joint exercises and collaboration throughout all stages of emergencies. Taiwan’s Foreign and Home Affairs Ministers have emphasised the importance of international cooperation, recalling the experience of the 1999 Jiji earthquake. The island has often offered its own rescue teams for relief operations but has, on several occasions, been blocked by a veto imposed by China, as happened, for example, in 2025 following the earthquake in Myanmar.
INDIA
The board of directors of Tata Sons has reappointed N. Chandrasekaran as chairman for a further five years and backed the holding company’s stock market listing, despite opposition from Tata Trusts, which owns 66 per cent of the company. The trust considers the appointment decision to be illegitimate and continues to oppose the listing. The matter could be addressed at the annual general meeting, the date of which has not yet been set. Meanwhile, the group’s shares have experienced sharp fluctuations. The Reserve Bank of India had classified Tata Sons as a systemically important financial institution, thereby creating an obligation to list. The disagreement could therefore lead to a protracted legal and corporate dispute.
JAPAN
A shrine dedicated to soft toys has been inaugurated in Kyoto Prefecture, designed to offer people a place to express gratitude towards their toys and find comfort. The Nuigurumi Jinja, created by Komichi Horiguchi, the president of a company that repairs soft toys, features miniature structures, including a torii gate for toys and a thatched-roof pavilion. The idea came about after a seriously ill customer expressed concern about the fate of her soft toys after her death. The shrine has no official religious status: proceeds from amulets and services will go towards the conservation of the surrounding forest.
RUSSIA-INDIA
Russia plans to open further centres for Russian language and literature in Indian regions to promote the Russian language, literature and culture. This was announced by Elena Jampolskaja, chair of the Presidential Council for the Implementation of State Policy in Support of the Russian Language and the Languages of the Peoples of the Russian Federation, thanks to the Russkij Mir Foundation and Russian universities which are offering distance-learning Russian language courses to Indian students, alongside professional development programmes.
CENTRAL ASIA
In August, the average mobile internet download speed in Tajikistan was 38.45 Mbps, the lowest among Central Asian countries. Tajikistan ranked 90th out of 102 countries in the global mobile internet speed rankings, according to the Speedtest Global Index, compiled by the analytics firm Ookla. The highest speed was recorded in Kazakhstan, at 89.11 Mbps, placing it 52nd globally. Uzbekistan ranked 72nd with a speed of 65.27 Mbps, whilst Kyrgyzstan ranked 79th, with 51.77 Mbps.
