Unseasonal storm strands 200 hikers at the foot of Everest, 40 dead in Nepal

Today's headlines: in Egypt, meetings with Israeli and Hamas delegations on the logistical details of the agreement could take longer than expected (and in the meantime, people are still dying in Gaza). Defence agreement signed between Australia and Papua New Guinea to counter China. Nine dead in new hospital fire in India. The Council of Europe calls for a platform for dialogue between Russian democratic forces in exile.

CHINA-TIBET-NEPAL

Over 200 climbers are stranded by a snowstorm on the Tibetan slopes of Mount Everest. Chinese state media report that the authorities have managed to contact all of them, while about 350 other hikers have been rescued by emergency services. Unusually heavy snowfall for this time of year trapped the hikers in the Tibetan valley leading to the eastern side of Mount Everest over the weekend, during the national holidays in China. Meanwhile, south of Tibet, in Nepal, 40 people were killed by severe flooding and landslides caused by the same storm.

GAZA-ISRAEL-PALESTINE

Negotiators from Israel and Hamas are meeting in Egypt to discuss the technical and operational details of implementing President Donald Trump's proposed peace plan for Gaza, including the logistics of handing over Israeli hostages. Sources from the Emirati website The National explained that Egyptian bulldozers are expected to receive authorisation from the Israeli army to enter Gaza, where they will be taken to “specific sites” to assist in the search and exhumation of the remains of deceased hostages. The operation appears complex. “It is likely that the delivery of the hostages, both living and dead, will take place over a week rather than three days, as envisaged in Trump's plan,” one of the sources said. Meanwhile, however, Israeli bombing continues: Palestinian sources report another 24 deaths in the last few hours.

AUSTRALIA-PAPUA NEW GUINEA-CHINA

Australia has signed a new defence agreement with Papua New Guinea, the first in over 70 years, as part of Canberra's measures to prevent China from expanding its military presence in the Pacific. Under the Pukpuk defence treaty, the two countries commit to providing mutual assistance in the event of an attack. The treaty provides for up to 10,000 Papua New Guinean citizens to serve in the Australian Defence Force under a joint cooperation arrangement.

INDIA

At least nine people died last night in a huge fire that broke out in a hospital in India. The affected facility is the Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur. While the local government of Rajasthan has ordered an investigation into the devastating incident, the families of the deceased patients have reported flaws in the safety systems and a lack of adequate equipment to extinguish the flames that caused the casualties.

INDONESIA

The death toll from the collapse of the Al Khoziny Islamic school a few days ago in the Indonesian city of Sidoarjo, in the province of East Java, has risen to at least 50. Using excavators, rescuers removed 80% of the rubble late yesterday evening, finding the remains of the victims, mainly teenagers. Rescue operations are expected to be completed today, with 13 people still missing.

RUSSIA

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has approved a resolution to create a platform for dialogue with “Russian democratic forces in exile”, a project inspired by Vladimir Kara-Murza and other Russian opponents abroad, who consider it a “historic event” that brings Russians together with Belarusian opponents in European institutions, despite differences with Navalny's group and others, including Ukrainians and Estonians.

ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN

A group of representatives from the US Customs and Border Protection agency has arrived in Armenia and will remain there until 11 October to work with their Armenian colleagues in assessing the possibilities and identifying areas that need improvement in order to make the “Trump Corridor” between Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan, and the routes connected to it, calculating the investments needed to ensure border security, as per the agreements signed in the Washington memorandum between Yerevan and Baku on 8 August.

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