SAUDI ARABIA – BANGLADESH
A major fire broke out yesterday at a sofa manufacturing plant in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, killing at least 16 Bangladeshi migrant workers. Government officials in Dhaka reported today that the fire broke out in the Musa Sanaiya industrial area. The Bangladeshi foreign ministry is monitoring the situation, while officials at the Bangladeshi embassy in Riyadh are working with Saudi authorities to complete repatriation formalities. Saudi Arabia remains the main destination for Bangladeshi migrant workers. Numbering approximately 3.5 million, they sent home more than US$ 2.7 billion in remittances in 2025.
THAILAND
A gunman was arrested this morning after opening fire on a local government official on the outskirts of the capital, just days after a school shooting by a teenager in the same province, which reignited the gun debate. Today, provincial police commander Major General Dejrapee Kongdee said the suspect, a former lawmaker, shot a senior provincial official and his driver before he was arrested. On Friday, nine people were killed and more than 20 wounded after a 14-year-old boy shot his grandparents and then carried out a mass shooting at Debsirin Nonthaburi School, before turning the gun on himself, in what is Thailand's worst mass shooting in nearly four years.
PAKISTAN
Pakistani security forces killed 15 militants and seized numerous weapons in a targeted operation in the country’s southwestern province of Balochistan. Recently, the authorities have stepped up their decades-long campaign against extremist groups and fighters, who have long been active in the border and mountainous areas of the northwest and southwest. Militants occasionally launch attacks against both security personnel and civilians.
INDONESIA
Indonesian authorities have seized 1.3 tonnes of ketamine worth tens of millions of dollars from the MV King Sun, a ship sailing east of Thailand towards the Indonesian coast with a "suspicious" cargo that was under surveillance for months. National Narcotics Agency Chief Suyudi Ario Seto said the estimated 1.3-tonne shipment was worth approximately 2.07 trillion Indonesian rupiah. This is one of the largest drug seizures in the country. Ketamine works as a fast-acting anaesthetic, but is also used as an illicit drug. Its distribution is strictly controlled and monitored.
TAIWAN – CHINA
The Taiwanese government plans a 16 per cent annual increase in defence spending by 2027, exceeding 1 trillion Taiwan dollars (around US$ 31 billion) for the first time, in addition to further actions to strengthen its military. This decision is linked to growing tensions with China, which considers Taiwan an integral part of its territory and has increased military and political pressure on it to secure its claims.
CAMBODIA
Approximately a thousand participants took part in the Mekong River Dolphin Race yesterday in the northeastern province of Stung Treng. Tourism Minister Huot Hak called the competition a unified effort to increase tourism, protect nature, and conserve Cambodia's rare freshwater dolphins. The event also aims to attract both domestic and international travellers to Stung Treng, a growing ecotourism hub, as well as support local livelihoods, and protect the dolphins. The Mekong Irrawaddy dolphin has been classified as “critically endangered” and has been on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species since 2004. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries estimates that only 117 dolphins remain, living along a 120-kilometre stretch of the river that passes through Kratie and Stung Treng provinces.
RUSSIA
Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided on a rotation of military leadership, placing all logistical support services under a single general, Valery Solodchuk, to lead the Central Group of Forces operating in Ukraine. According to the Sunday Times, Solodchuk is among those responsible for the murders and torture of civilians in Bucha in 2022. Meanwhile, Denis Lyaminun, a 47-year-old professional tank driver, will command drone troops, completing the training of the new branch of the armed forces, which will primarily focus on student recruitment.
KYRGYZSTAN – ARMENIA
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Cholpon-Ata, on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAES) intergovernmental meeting. The two leaders discussed the development of bilateral relations between the two countries and the expansion of trade, economic, and investment cooperation. They also exchanged views on regional and international issues of common interest, attaching great importance to the further development of relations “based on traditional friendship and shared values”.
