INDIA
Two leaders of the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) were released from prison a week after being arrested for breaking into a banned protest site in Delhi. Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were released from Tihar Prison a few hours after a magistrate had ordered their release. They had been detained by the police and imprisoned after breaching the barricades and climbing over the locked gate at Jantar Mantar. This historic site had recently been removed from the list of designated protest venues. The two men, who have denied any wrongdoing, are calling for the resignation of the Chairman of the Indian Election Commission, who stands accused of manipulation.
VATICAN
“Today, the final histological reports and molecular biology tests on the tissue removed during the Holy Father’s surgery were released.” This was announced by Dr Luigi Carbone and Prof. Stefano Margaritora, namely the personal physician of Leo XIV and the surgeon who operated on him eight days ago at the Gemelli Hospital. “The results confirmed that it was a pulmonary adenocarcinoma and that the disease was localised. A subsequent oncological assessment confirmed that no further treatment is required”.
PHILIPPINES – TAIWAN
The Philippines are considering closer cooperation with Taiwan to protect undersea cables and counter activities in the ‘grey zone’, despite Manila’s ‘One China’ policy, which recognises Beijing rather than Taipei. The Philippines and Taiwan have repeatedly denounced China’s activities aimed at exerting pressure on the two countries without resorting to direct confrontation. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has territorial claims that overlap with those of both Taiwan and the Philippines.
SAUDI ARABIA – YEMEN
One person was killed and eight were injured in an attack on Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. It is the latest in a series of attacks on Saudi airports, as the conflict between Houthi forces and the internationally recognised Yemeni government – backed by Saudi Arabia – intensifies. Last week, the kingdom reported that a missile attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which took place on 11 October, had killed one person and injured 11 others. On 10 October, the civil aviation authority reported that another attack on the same airport had killed 12 people and injured over 300.
TURKEY – QATAR – PAKISTAN – INDONESIA
Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia have signed an agreement to enhance defence cooperation and strengthen defence capabilities, according to the Turkish Ministry of Defence. In a statement, it said that the countries had signed the Badr Memorandum of Understanding in Doha, demonstrating their commitment to further deepening cooperation and developing partnerships. “The agreement is of considerable economic importance,” it stated, adding that the agreement aims to promote cooperation in military production, enhance military capabilities and foster collaboration in technical and military training, research and development.
NORTH KOREA – SOUTH KOREA
North Korea will put the loudspeakers aimed at South Korea along the entire border on high alert within a few days and has activated new, unspecified countermeasures, said Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader. The statement was accompanied by a warning to Seoul regarding “a terrible and distressing situation” should South Korea continue what Pyongyang describes as interference in the North’s internal affairs.
RUSSIA
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has proposed a series of government reshuffles to Vladimir Putin: the most significant change concerns Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, for whom a new position within the government – that of Deputy Prime Minister – will be created. Political scientist Ivan Preobrazhensky notes that the financial bloc will be strengthened in the new government, and Siluanov could gain greater authority than the Prime Minister. At the same time, one of Mishustin’s key figures is set to leave his post: Dmitry Grigorenko, Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of the Cabinet, will be leaving the government.
