VATICAN
Pope Leo XIV is to be admitted today in the late morning to the Policlinico Gemelli in Rome for surgery to remove a localised lump in his lung, which he himself announced last Sunday whilst addressing the faithful at the end of the Angelus prayer. The Pope is expected to remain in hospital for a week. Due to his hospitalisation, the Prefecture of the Papal Household has cancelled all audiences until Tuesday 20 October. However, the trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, scheduled for 6 to 17 November, remains confirmed for the time being.
INDIA
Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, two leaders of the CJP – the ‘cockroaches’ movement – were detained by police in Delhi this morning whilst attempting to gain access to Jantar Mantar, after the area had been excluded from the authorised protest sites. The Delhi police have also registered four complaints in connection with the march organised by the INDIA opposition bloc towards the Supreme Court. The demonstration forms part of the controversy over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll, which is contested by the opposition, who are calling for the resignation of the head of the Electoral Commission, Gyanesh Kumar. Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi is expected to host MPs from the INDIA bloc and student activists at his residence today to agree on new joint actions for the protest movement.
HONG KONG
Hong Kong police have launched NSmarties, an artificial intelligence-based platform to teach students about national security. Officially launched on 6 October 2026 at a primary school, the project involved around 700 pupils. Developed jointly by the police and the company Hong Kong Qianfan Technology, it allows users to create personalised stories about the Chinese approach to national security and offers audio content featuring Police Commissioner Joe Chow and Security Chief Chris Tang. The initiative forms part of the drive to strengthen patriotic education and national security launched following the law imposed by Beijing in 2020, which has been contested by human rights organisations.
PHILIPPINES
In the impeachment trial against Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte, the prosecution has withdrawn three of the four charges to speed up the proceedings. The Court has granted the request, submitted today by Prosecutor Gerville “Jinky” Luistro. Only the charge relating to wealth of unexplained origin remains, whilst those concerning the misuse of confidential funds, corruption and threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. have been dropped. According to the prosecution, the evidence regarding unexplained wealth is sufficient to support Duterte’s removal from office for violating the Constitution and betraying the public trust.
TURKEY
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has withdrawn its militias from four hideouts in the Metina region, in Iraqi Kurdistan, near the Turkish border. According to Ankara, the withdrawal is part of the disarmament process aimed at reducing threats to Turkey’s security. Last week, the PKK announced the evacuation of four military tunnels, claiming to have adhered to the strategy to end the armed struggle. The process follows leader Abdullah Öcalan’s call for the group to disband. The conflict, which has lasted for around forty years, has claimed at least 40,000 lives.
SOUTH KOREA
The South Korean film The Assassin(s), centred on the 1974 assassination attempt on President Park Chung-hee, has sparked fierce controversy. Despite calls from some South Korean MPs to exclude it from the programme, the Singapore International Film Festival has confirmed that it will be the opening film, defending the filmmakers’ creative freedom. Released on 23 September in South Korea, the film has been accused by conservatives of distorting history and spreading political propaganda. Liberals, on the other hand, defend artistic freedom. At the heart of the controversy lies the death of First Lady Yuk Young-soo, who is still remembered today by many Koreans with affection and respect.
RUSSIA
The restoration of Yandex’s data centres – the Russian equivalent of Google – which were damaged by Ukrainian drone attacks, could take several months. IT market operators estimate that the delivery of replacement equipment could take up to six months, according to Kommersant. Between 8 and 11 October, drones attacked three of the company’s data centres in the Vladimir, Ryazan and Kaluga regions of central Russia. Two of them were completely shut down, whilst the third was partially disabled.
KAZAKHSTAN
Kazakhstan has consolidated its position amongst the world’s 50 largest economies: the period 2019–2026 marked a time of profound transformation in Kazakhstan’s public administration and social structure, as reported by Kazinform, thanks to the adoption of a new Constitution in 2026, and political reforms have found a solid economic foundation. Following a record-breaking year in 2025, Kazakhstan’s GDP reached 159,600 billion tenge, recording real growth of 6.5 per cent, which enabled the country to improve its position in the World Bank’s global rankings, rising from 55th to 48th place.
