ISRAEL - LEBANON
The Israeli army said it had launched an attack in southern Lebanon after Hezbollah carried out a drone attack against Israeli soldiers. Three people were killed and 23 were injured. The Israeli army also struck targets across southern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese state news agency, the National News Agency. Hezbollah did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Since 2 March, Israeli attacks have claimed the lives of over 4,300 people in Lebanon.
NEPAL – TIBET
Rescue workers in Nepal are stepping up efforts to locate dozens of workers believed to be trapped in tunnels, nine days after the devastating flash floods that struck the area on the border with Tibet. Hopes have risen after two people were pulled out alive on Friday. The body of a third person was also found in one of the tunnels used to supply hydroelectric power stations. There are currently 1,311 confirmed deaths and 5,330 people missing in Nepal and Tibet. The floods have severely damaged 12 hydroelectric power stations in the Trishuli river basin and put more than 10 per cent of Nepal’s total energy-generation capacity out of action.
PHILIPPINES
Vice-President Sara Duterte has been released on bail after a court of first instance ordered her arrest on three counts of serious threats relating to statements she made about President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the First Lady and a former Speaker of the House of Representatives. The arrest warrant marks an escalation in Duterte’s legal troubles. These include the Senate impeachment trial which, should she be found guilty, could cost her her office and jeopardise her bid for the presidency in 2028.
INDIA
Maharashtra has granted taxi and tuk-tuk drivers an extra year to learn the local language, Marathi, after a new regulation making proficiency in the language compulsory had sparked protests. On 20 August, transport officials had begun testing drivers’ ability to hold basic conversations. Those who failed the test were given one month to learn the language; failure to do so would result in the suspension or revocation of their licence. The government stated that the requirement was aimed at improving communication between drivers and passengers. Many of the drivers are migrants who have come to Maharashtra from other parts of India in search of work, including the Hindi-speaking states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
MALAYSIA
Malaysia has declared a state of emergency in the Serian district, in the state of Sarawak, after thick haze caused by forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia pushed air pollution to dangerous levels. Sarawak, on Borneo, has been heavily affected by the fires raging on the Indonesian side of the island, with the haze forcing schools to close in some areas. The authorities classify Air Pollution Index (API) readings above 300 as dangerous. Yesterday in Serian, it reached 519.
RUSSIA
Reports of forced recruitment for the war are on the rise across Russian regions. Over the past six weeks, residents of at least 17 regions have reported to human rights activists that they have been forcibly arrested and coerced into signing contracts with the Ministry of Defence. Meanwhile, the Russian authorities continue to maintain that there will be no new mobilisation; on 1 September, Vladimir Putin described reports of a possible mobilisation following the State Duma elections as ‘nonsense’ and ‘an information attack on Russia’.
KAZAKHSTAN
The President of Kazakhstan, Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev, has approved the new government, which had resigned on 28 August, and which now comprises 25 posts, including that of Prime Minister. Most of these posts have been reassigned, and the Ministers of Defence and the Interior, Dauren Kosanov and Eržan Sadenov, have been reappointed, whilst Mukhtar Tileuberdi has been appointed as the new foreign minister, stepping down from his post as Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Austria to succeed Ermek Košerbaev, who had held the post since September 2025.
