Nepal: protesters support Supreme Court president for interim government

​Today's headlines: the Solomon Islands have begun to adopt Chinese surveillance systems; Malaysia slows down on data centre construction; New centres suspected of online fraud in East Timor; Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to visit Russia next month.

NEPAL

Protesters in Nepal have backed the candidacy of Supreme Court President Sushila Karki to lead the technical government following the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oil. The decision was made following an online vote on the Discord chat app. Karki, 73, who in 2016 became the first woman to hold the position of Supreme Court president, is known for her zero-tolerance approach to corruption.

CHINA – SOLOMON ISLANDS

The Solomon Islands has adopted China's first surveillance pilot project known as “Fengqiao”, which was first launched in the 1960s to uncover “class enemies” and now consists of collecting fingerprints and personal data to combat crime and social unrest. In recent months, Chinese police teams have visited the Solomon Islands to familiarise children with surveillance drones through games.

MALAYSIA

Malaysia, which had attracted investment from tech giants, has decided to slow down the construction of data centres due to limitations in the electricity grid and available water resources, compounded by pressure from Washington to prevent Chinese companies from accessing artificial intelligence chips. In July, Malaysia announced that it will require permits for all exports, transshipments and transits of high-performance chips manufactured in the United States.

EAST TIMOR

A suspected operation linked to online scam centres has also been discovered in East Timor, in the Special Administrative Region of Oecusse, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Local police raided a suspicious centre and arrested more than 30 foreigners from Indonesia, Malaysia and China, but it is unclear whether they were victims of trafficking. This type of illegal activity, explains the UN agency, is shifting to Southeast Asia in response to crackdowns in some countries.

PAKISTAN

The recent floods in Pakistan have caused more than billion in damage to the agricultural sector, which employs 40% of local workers, exacerbating the existing food crisis and prompting the government to declare a state of emergency. Flooding along the Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers in eastern Pakistan has affected more than 2 million people and displaced at least 700,000. Food production in the affected areas could be reduced by 20%.

SYRIA – RUSSIA

Syria's “transitional” president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, will lead the Damascus delegation to the Russian-Arab summit opening on 15 October in Moscow, after holding talks with the Russian delegation in Syria, as announced by the Syrian embassy in Moscow on Ria Novosti, together with the Arab states of the Middle East and East Africa, members of the Arab League.

UZBEKISTAN

In Uzbekistan, the director of the Pension Fund at the Ministry of Economy, Murodbek Atadžanov, to proceed with a gradual increase in the retirement age, from 60 to 63 for men and from 55 to 58 for women, noting that “in many countries the minimum age is 65, we are the only ones left” since 1993, when the last pension law was introduced.

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