Balendra Shah sworn in as Prime Minister of Nepal

Today’s headlines: Pakistan: military operations against Afghanistan have resumed; New agreement between the Philippines and France for joint military exercises; Chinese Ministry of Education: new plan to promote students’ physical and mental health; The Pentagon is considering sending up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East.

NEPAL

Rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, born in 1990, has been sworn in as Prime Minister of Nepal, tasked with restoring political stability and creating jobs in a country long plagued by unstable governments and poor growth prospects. Shah became prime minister after his party, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), won 182 seats in the 5 March elections, the first vote since the Generation Z anti-corruption protests in which 76 people were killed last September. A former mayor of Kathmandu, Shah is the youngest prime minister Nepal has had in decades.

PAKISTAN - AFGHANISTAN

The Pakistani army has resumed military operations against Afghanistan following a temporary pause, the Foreign Ministry has stated, dashing hopes of a permanent ceasefire. Last month saw the most violent clashes in recent years between the two neighbours. A truce had been announced to mark Eid al-Fitr; Pakistan has said that operations will continue until objectives are met and as long as the Taliban support terrorist infrastructure.

PHILIPPINES - FRANCE

The Philippines and France have signed an agreement that will allow them to conduct joint military exercises on each other’s territories, as Manila strengthens defence ties against the backdrop of growing tensions with Beijing in the South China Sea. Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and French Minister for the Armed Forces and Veterans Catherine Vautrin signed the agreement yesterday, 26 March 2026, during a meeting in the French capital.

CHINA

The Chinese Ministry of Education has announced a plan to promote students’ physical and mental health, with measures such as banning schools from assigning excessive homework and reducing pupils’ break times; it is forbidden to hold exams too frequently and to increase the ‘academic workload’, the ministry stated on WeChat. According to experts, a heavy homework load is common in schools across China, leading to sleep deprivation, anxiety and depression.

UNITED STATES - IRAN

The Pentagon is considering sending up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East for further military options, according to the Wall Street Journal. The deployment would be in addition to the approximately 5,000 marines who are about to be transferred to the Middle East. These forces join the 50,000 US troops already present in the region. The influx of marines and soldiers is fuelling speculation that Trump is preparing to launch limited ground attacks to secure the shores of the Strait of Hormuz, or to capture the island of Kharg, a key hub of the Iranian oil industry.

RUSSIA

In Russia, the vytrezvitely – Soviet-era rehabilitation centres for alcoholics – have reopened, but as some of the patients, such as 36-year-old Egor Sabynič, a father of four, recount in an interview with Sever. Realii, after being stopped in the street and having his phone and documents confiscated, was forced to sign a contract to go and fight in Ukraine, despite not having even done his military service, and so it was for many others.

TURKMENISTAN

The Ministry of Communications of Turkmenistan, one of the countries with the worst internet network in the world, has announced an international tender for the supply, installation and commissioning of communications equipment to modernise the multi-service internet data transmission network, as reported by Turkmenportal, with an open international tender for the purchase of fifth-generation (5G) and fourth-generation (4G) base stations.

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