Today's headlines: Israel's 2026 budget includes record spending on arms and defence (while it continues to bomb Lebanon); The weather emergency continues in Sri Lanka, with more rain forecast; Taipei temporarily blocks access to a Chinese app for online fraud; In India, airports are in chaos and over 1,200 flights have been cancelled due to the grounding of the national airline IndiGo; Kazakhstan passes a law punishing women who wear the niqab.

INDONESIA

The authorities in Bali, a popular holiday destination in Indonesia, want to ban Airbnb in an attempt to curb uncontrolled tourism from around the world, which is reaching record numbers but risks suffocating the island. In recent years, private home rentals have exploded, eroding the revenues of hotels and traditional accommodation providers. In addition, the proliferation of unregistered villas and guesthouses hinders the government's ability to collect revenue to fund public services.

ISRAEL - LEBANON

Israel continues its arms race: the 2026 defence budget has just been set at 112 billion shekels (£27.5 billion), a significant increase on the original estimate of 90 billion shekels. Minister Israel Katz and his Finance colleague Bezalel Smotrich have agreed on the spending framework, while the executive has begun discussions on next year's budget, which must be approved by March to avoid new elections. Meanwhile, yesterday, the Israeli army bombed southern Lebanon again, hitting two towns, despite ongoing talks between the leaders of the two countries.

SRI LANKA

The emergency caused by bad weather in Sri Lanka shows no sign of abating, with new heavy rains falling over much of the country in recent days, hampering rescue operations for the population already devastated by the recent floods caused by Cyclone Ditwah. Hundreds of victims have been reported so far, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. More than 130 mm of rain fell in the south of the island yesterday, with heavier downpours expected today in the southern and south-western areas.

TAIWAN - CHINA

Taipei will temporarily block access to the popular Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu after detecting hundreds of cases of online shopping fraud. The Instagram-like platform, known as RedNote in English, was launched in Shanghai in 2013 and has hundreds of millions of monthly users. More than three million users in Taiwan will be unable to use it after authorities found 1,706 cases of fraud since 2024, with losses exceeding £7.9 million. The decision has sparked protests from the pro-Beijing opposition.

INDIA

Several airports across the country were in chaos yesterday after the largest national airline, IndiGo, cancelled at least 1,232 flights, grounding thousands of passengers. The company behind the disruption cited “unforeseen obstacles” including technical problems, adverse weather conditions and new rules for workers. In reality, the problems have persisted since the beginning of the week, with angry passengers venting their anger and discontent on social media over cancellations and delays.

KAZAKHSTAN

The Mazhilis, the lower house of parliament, has approved in its second reading a bill ‘On the prevention of crimes’ that introduces fines for women wearing a niqab or other clothing that covers the face, preventing identification in public spaces. The ban was first introduced in the summer, but the new amendments formalise its application through administrative measures. Garments such as hijabs, sheilas and khimars, which do not cover the face, are permitted.

TURKEY

Five Turkish companies are among the top 100 global arms manufacturers, according to the latest report published by Sipri in Stockholm, which records record revenues of 9 billion in 2024, up 5.9% on the previous year. Turkish companies recorded a total turnover of .1 billion, up 11% on 2023. Four of the companies are state-controlled, while one, drone manufacturer Baykar, is a private company.

RUSSIA

According to the Russian statistics institute Rosstat, after stagnation in September, there was a 3% growth in Russia's industrial production, which made it possible to address the budget deficit. However, the increase is due to the production of weapons and ammunition, while the civil sector, according to the Centre for Macroeconomic Analysis, is sinking deeper and deeper into recession, as all economic forecast parameters also confirm.

ARMENIA

The Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Karekin II, has reduced another priest, Fr. Tade Takhmazyan, vicar of the province of Talin, to the lay state, making the internal split within the Armenian clergy increasingly dramatic. He is said to have ‘discredited ecclesiastical structures and carried out anti-ecclesiastical actions’ by concelebrating liturgies with other suspended priests in the presence of Prime Minister Nikol Pašinyan.

 

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