INDONESIA
Thousands of Indonesians marched towards Parliament in Jakarta to demand harsher penalties for corrupt officials. The protests took place exactly one year after anti-government demonstrations turned into riots, leaving at least 10 people dead and 7,000 arrested. Students also demonstrated in the cities of Yogyakarta and Makassar. Protesters are calling on Parliament to pass a bill – first tabled as far back as 2008 – that would allow the state to seize assets linked to corruption. Parliament has now promised to pass it by 15 December. Transport authorities in Jakarta have suspended or diverted some train and bus services following the protests, which, according to local media, were accompanied by unrest.
INDIA
The bodies of four Naga civilians killed in an ambush in Manipur have been recovered. The four were killed and another person was injured when armed assailants attacked a vehicle in a remote area between the villages of Makui Ashang and Thanamba Naga at around 8.30 am on 27 August, according to authorities. The bodies were recovered this morning, the day after the attack, authorities added. A serious ethnic and social crisis, which began in May 2023, is raging in Manipur.
MALAYSIA - MYANMAR
Malaysia has completed the first phase of a voluntary repatriation programme that will enable at least 1,500 eligible Burmese refugees to return home on 29 September, the government has stated. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had announced in July that the military-backed Burmese government had agreed to readmit 5,000 members of the persecuted Rohingya minority, against a backdrop of growing tensions with Malaysian communities, where Rohingya children are barred from attending state schools.
CHINA – THAILAND
GalaxySpace, a Beijing-based company, has launched the first ‘turnkey’ satellite exported by China to South-East Asia, highlighting the country’s efforts to strengthen its influence in the space sector abroad, against a backdrop of competition with SpaceX. GalaxySpace said it had launched the Lingzhi-09 Thailand CubeSat. The CubeSat will collect remote-sensing data for applications relating to land use, agriculture and ecology, as well as supporting the practical training of Thai university students.
JORDAN – SYRIA
According to the UNHCR, between 8 December 2024 and 24 August 2026, approximately 220,000 registered Syrian refugees returned voluntarily from Jordan to Syria. Spokesperson Yousef Taha stated that since the start of 2026, nearly 45,000 have returned to Syria; the rate of returns has increased with the end of the school year and the improvement in the weather. Jordan currently hosts around 375,000 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with the UNHCR; around 92 per cent are Syrians. However, these figures underestimate the actual number present.
ARMENIA – CHINA
Plans are in place to establish a “Chinese Chamber of Commerce” in Armenia, announced Sergej Avanesov, president of the Fund for the Development of Armenian-Chinese Relations, explaining that “whilst the Armenian Chamber of Commerce in Qingbaijiang paves the way for Armenian producers to enter the Chinese market, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Yerevan is set to become a platform for Chinese companies, products, investments and technologies seeking to enter the Armenian market”, he stated in an interview with Armenpress.
RUSSIA
The Russian government has approved support measures for entrepreneurs affected by Ukrainian drone attacks on the facilities of marketplace groups. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has signed the relevant resolution, under which affected businesses will benefit from a 12-month deferral on payments of VAT, corporation tax, payments relating to simplified and automated tax systems, insurance premiums and advance payments due between August 2026 and July 2027. Once this period has elapsed, the debt may be repaid in instalments.
