NEPAL – TIBET
The flash flood that devastated the districts of Rasuwa and Nuwakot has caused the deaths of at least 165 people and left hundreds missing, according to a spokesperson for the Nepalese police. In Nepal, there are over 800 people reported missing. Chinese authorities in Tibet report at least 558 people missing, with three confirmed deaths; it is unclear whether there is any overlap between the two figures. The sudden surge of water and mud caused by a glacier collapse has devastated border facilities. According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), at least 105 Indian citizens and 37 non-resident Indians (NRIs) are among the 384 tourists and travellers provisionally reported as missing, along with 54 from the United States and 33 from the United Kingdom.
PHILIPPINES
On paper, Filipino households have benefited from a considerable 16.5 per cent increase in income between 2023 and 2026. This is highlighted by the latest Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES). However, this does not mean that households suddenly have such a larger sum to spend. In fact, whilst household income may have risen, average annual household expenditure has risen even more sharply than income – by 24.7 per cent – rising from 258,050 pesos in 2023 to 321,850 in 2025.
INDIA
The High Court of Uttar Pradesh, in northern India, has rejected an appeal seeking to allow a Muslim schoolgirl to wear the traditional hijab at school, stating that it “does not constitute an essential part of the Islamic faith”. The Allahabad High Court dismissed the petition filed by the mother, who argued that her daughter had attended the same private school in the city of Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) up to Year 10 and that she used to wear the hijab. She also submitted photographs of her daughter.
SYRIA
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been disbanded, the leader of the armed group has stated: this is an important step in the integration plan agreed earlier this year with the government in Damascus. The government and the group – which helped defeat the Islamic State with US support and controlled parts of northern and eastern Syria – agreed in January on a gradual integration of Kurdish fighters into the state, a plan that Washington described as a “historic milestone”.
ISRAEL – PALESTINE
An Israeli court has acquitted Yona Schreiber, a Jewish settler from the Peduel settlement in the occupied West Bank, in connection with a violent attack on a French Catholic nun near Jerusalem’s Old City earlier this year. The Jerusalem Magistrates’ Court acquitted Schreiber on the grounds of “mental illness”. Following the verdict, Schreiber’s lawyer, Idan Gamliel, described the attack as an “unfortunate incident”. Schreiber assaulted the 48-year-old nun in April outside the Cenacle on Mount Zion.
JAPAN
Japan is accelerating the development of an anti-drone system. The conflict in Ukraine highlights the importance of an agile procurement system, which experts say could help Tokyo counter Beijing’s growing capabilities. Tokyo is trialling a rapid method: selecting a domestically produced interceptor drone less than three months after the tender process began. The decision marks the first time the ministry has used its rapid procurement approach to purchase drones.
RUSSIA – GEORGIA
Over the past seven days, more than 113,000 people from Russia have crossed the Verkhnyj Lars border crossing in North Ossetia to head for Georgia, with a record 20,000 passengers crossing the border in a single day. Many commentators attribute this increase to fears amongst Russians of a new mobilisation following the parliamentary elections in September – despite denials by the authorities – with people moving either to Georgia itself or transiting through it on their way to other safe countries.
ARMENIA
The former President of Armenia and leader of the ‘Armenian Alliance’, Robert Kocharyan, was arrested and taken to the Anti-Corruption Committee following a search of his home and investigations at the flat of his son, Levon Kocharyan, a member of the National Assembly. The Committee stated that “searches and other procedural actions” are underway as part of the investigation into corruption offences. Following his arrest, the 72-year-old Kočaryan’s health deteriorated, and he was immediately hospitalised.
