PHILIPPINES
According to data from the national statistics office, the Philippines have brought the poverty rate below 10 per cent for the first time, falling to 9.7 per cent in 2025, compared with 15.5 per cent in 2023. Over the past two years, some 6.5 million people are said to have risen above the official poverty line, which now affects around 11 million Filipinos. This result is regarded as a major success for economic opportunities and social protection policies. However, escaping poverty does not necessarily mean living in comfortable circumstances. The official threshold is, in fact, very low: for a family of five, it amounts to around 14,634 pesos a month (just over 200 euros), leaving little room for savings, emergencies or a good quality of life.
SOUTH KOREA
South Korea has announced that it will establish the “Future Fund”, a sovereign wealth fund to support long-term economic growth, using the increased tax revenue generated by the boom in the Korean semiconductor industry. The government regards these resources as ‘extraordinary revenue’ and intends to invest them rather than allocate them to temporary expenditure or simply to debt reduction. The fund will finance youth initiatives, employment, housing, education and regional development, as well as strategic research sectors. The official size has not yet been determined: according to experts, it could reach 100,000 billion won, approximately 62 billion euros. Samsung Electronics is reportedly set to return a similar sum to shareholders in the form of profits, following a similar plan announced by its rival SK hynix, underpinned by record profits generated by strong demand for semiconductors.
ISRAEL-PALESTINE
The European Union is reportedly preparing a package of sanctions against Israel should it proceed with the announced expansion of settlements in the strategic E1 area of the West Bank, east of Jerusalem. According to diplomatic sources, the measures could affect trade, academic cooperation and certain security and diplomatic relations. The project envisages 1,234 new homes and would link Jerusalem to Ma’ale Adumim, making it more difficult to ensure territorial continuity between key Palestinian centres and the creation of a Palestinian state. France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany have already condemned the project, issuing warnings to the companies involved.
PAKISTAN
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was returned to prison this morning after being examined by a team of doctors at a hospital in Islamabad. The specialists, including a cardiologist and an ophthalmologist, declared him “clinically fit”. The transfer had been ordered by the Supreme Court following concerns about his health, particularly regarding his eyesight.
Khan, who has been in prison since 2023 on corruption charges which he describes as politically motivated, was also able to meet his sister during the medical examinations. The Supreme Court’s decision had been seen by some analysts as an initial victory for Khan’s defence team and a possible prelude to the resumption of dialogue between the government and the PTI, Khan’s party. In an interview with Reuters, one of his closest aides, Zulfikar Bukhari, stated that the former Pakistani prime minister would not clash with the army or with Army Chief Asim Munir should he be released.
SINGAPORE
A 38-year-old man, Basnayake Keith Spencer, was sentenced in Singapore to four years and three months’ imprisonment and nine lashes for stabbing a priest during Mass in November 2024. Spencer had injured Father Christopher Lee in the mouth in front of hundreds of people. The priest had to undergo surgery and subsequent treatment, including speech therapy. The attacker, who was found in possession of several weapons, had taken five nitrazepam tablets and other substances, a factor which was considered an aggravating circumstance. The judge described the attack as deliberate, unprovoked and particularly serious, also emphasising the risk of panic and further injuries.
GEORGIA
Katholikos Shio III, Patriarch of the Orthodox Church in Georgia, presided over the solemn religious service marking the Transfiguration of the Lord – celebrated on 19 August according to the Julian calendar – at the Samtavro Convent. In the Orthodox liturgical calendar, the Transfiguration is one of the twelve major feasts, and the decision to celebrate it at the monastery reflects the new patriarch’s desire to uphold monastic life as a model for all the faithful, in the face of the many conflicts currently raging across the world.
UZBEKISTAN
The President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has signed a law on the status, duties and powers of the Presidential Administration, headed by the President’s eldest daughter, Saida Mirziyoyeva, who will also hold the post of Vice-Chair of the country’s Security Council. She has been entrusted with overseeing the implementation of presidential decrees and the coordination of government, security, supervisory and police agencies, as well as domestic and foreign policy and the implementation of state policies by regional authorities.
