Israel bans Grand Mufti of Jerusalem from entering al-Aqsa for six months

Today's headlines: Myanmar's post-coup president Myint Swe has died; Damascus signs investment agreements with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates worth billion;  Indonesia is first country in Southeast Asia to deploy a ballistic missile defense system; Modi on first visit to China in seven years, amid trade war with Trump; Hundreds of Cambodian migrant workers leave Thailand after border tensions (and clashes).

ISRAEL - PALESTINE

Israeli authorities have banned Jerusalem's top Muslim cleric from entering the Al-Aqsa mosque compound for six months over the content of a recent sermon, according to his lawyer Khaldoun Najem, while police have not confirmed the ban. According to the complaint, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, will not be allowed to enter the holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem - the third most important in Islam after Mecca and Medina - until January 2026. Meanwhile, a war cabinet meeting is scheduled for today which, despite internal clashes between the IDF and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is expected to give the green light to the occupation of Gaza.

MYANMAR

74-year-old Myint Swe, president of Myanmar following the 2021 coup against the civilian government, died today in hospital one year after taking leave for ‘ill health’. He became the nominal leader after the arrest of Win Myint, who has been imprisoned for over four years alongside de facto leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. Myint Swe had been vice president under Myanmar's quasi-civilian system before becoming the “figurehead” president. The junta had relied on him to sign its decrees and provide a veneer of legitimacy to its government. He was placed on sick leave in July last year and his duties were taken over by junta chief and armed forces commander Min Aung Hlaing.

SYRIA - QATAR - UAE

Syria signed 12 investment agreements worth billion yesterday in a ceremony attended by interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa. The agreements cover infrastructure, transport, and real estate projects. The aim is to revive an economy ravaged by war. The agreements include a billion plan for a new airport in Damascus signed with Qatar's UCC holding company and a billion agreement for a metro in the capital with the United Arab Emirates' national investment company. In July, it signed .4 billion in investments with Saudi Arabia.

INDONESIA - TURKEY

Indonesia has become the first country in Southeast Asia to deploy a tactical ballistic missile system, which will improve its short-range military capabilities. The Turkish-made Khan missile was spotted by military enthusiasts at an army facility in East Kalimantan and was widely reported by defense blogs and local media.

INDIA - CHINA

Narendra Modi will visit China for the first time in over seven years, a further sign of diplomatic thawing with Beijing as tensions with the United States increase. The Indian prime minister will attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation starting on August 31.

The trip comes at a time of heightened tensions between Delhi and Washington over the tariff war launched by US President Donald Trump, which sees India among the countries most affected, partly due to its purchases of Russian oil, with tariffs increased to 50%.

THAILAND - CAMBODIA

Hundreds of thousands of Cambodian migrant workers have returned from Thailand following violent clashes on the border between the two neighbors. Bangkok and Phnom Penh agreed to a ceasefire starting July 29 after five days of clashes that killed at least 43 people on both sides. Yesterday, a large number of workers and their families crossed the Ban Laem-Daung border between the eastern province of Chanthaburi and Battambang.

RUSSIA

The southern part of Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula has shifted nearly two meters to the southeast as a result of the July 30 earthquake, according to the regional branch of the Academy of Sciences' geophysical service. At the same time, the more central-eastern area experienced a “more modest” movement of just over 50 centimeters.

KYRGYZSTAN

According to data presented in the report by the National Statistics Institute, 7,281,000 people currently live in Kyrgyzstan, an increase of 645,000 people compared to 2021. 77.8% of the country's inhabitants are Kyrgyz nationals, with a large Uzbek minority (272,000) and other smaller minorities of Russians, Dungans, Turkmen, Tajiks, and other ethnic groups.

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