NEPAL
Nepal is set to launch a large-scale operation to drain four glacial lakes located high in the mountains, in an attempt to reduce the risk of flooding, following the recent disaster that claimed the lives of over 1,400 people.
Meanwhile, rescue workers are still searching for over 5,000 people missing in the region bordering China after a glacier collapse in August triggered landslides and a flash flood that devastated the valleys. Work and studies relating to the central and eastern lakes of Thulagi, Lower Barun, Lumding Tsho and Hongu II will begin in the financial year ending in mid-July 2027.
INDONESIA
President Prabowo Subianto has appointed a new advisory council comprising business magnates, politicians and influential former Islamic leaders, the latest in a series of personnel changes as he grapples with a decline in his approval ratings. The 24 new members include local billionaires Dato Sri Tahir, founder of the Mayapada Group, and Chairul Tanjung, founder of CT Corp, whose businesses span the finance, media, retail and hospitality sectors. They also include two former leaders of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Islamic organisation, and four politicians. The changes follow two government reshuffles in the space of three weeks, which led to the appointment of new ministers of finance and foreign affairs.
ISRAEL
In Israel, the Supreme Court has unanimously overturned the Central Elections Committee’s decision to bar the Arab-majority parties ‘United List’ and ‘Ra’am’ from taking part in the 27 October elections. Furthermore, the Court ruled by 7 votes to 2 against the Commission’s decision to bar MP Ofer Cassif from standing as a candidate. Under Israeli electoral law, parties and individual candidates may be excluded from standing for parliament if they are found to have incited racism, denied the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, or expressed support for armed conflict against Israel.
INDIA – SAUDI ARABIA
Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, who was injured during an attack carried out by his co-pilot on board a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, acted to protect the passengers on the aircraft. He reported this yesterday to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a video call. “I was trying to save my own life, but I knew I couldn’t let all those people die,” Machchhar said from his hospital bed. The passengers made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. Modi said that his actions had helped save hundreds of lives and avert “a major tragedy”.
CHINA
For the first time since 2016, China has returned to the top 100 out of 145 economies in an annual global report assessing gender equality. In 2025, China had closed 69.9 per cent of its gender gap, rising to 96th place and recording an increase of 1.3 percentage points, according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2026 published by the World Economic Forum (WEF), an international non-profit organisation based in Switzerland. Economies are assessed across four dimensions: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.
RUSSIA
The first sitting of the ninth State Duma lasted around four hours, during which all organisational and personnel matters were dealt with, as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s opening address. Unlike in 2021, the Head of State travelled in person to Okhotnyj Rjad to remind the deputies once again of the recently concluded election campaign and the tasks now awaiting them. Everything was organised so that each faction had its most esteemed MP taking a seat on the Presidium at the start of the first session.
GEORGIA
Work is continuing on the construction of the East-West motorway in Georgia, announced Regional Development Minister Revaz Sokhadze, emphasising that the construction of this motorway represents a strategic choice for Georgia, and that the project is one of the government’s top priorities, as it “reduces journey times and logistics costs, improves transport links between Georgia’s regions and creates new opportunities for local residents and businesses”; to date, approximately 325 km of the motorway have been built.
