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Africa
02/10/2025 Generation Z, the first generation to have grown up in the internet age, is stirring up rebellion across borders in several countries of the Global South, from Morocco to Madagascar, at the forefront of anti-government protests. These youth-led movements use digital tools to communicate anger at corruption and underfunded social services. (Source: France 24)
Asia
China
Sept. 27, 2025 As President Trump has shown interest in striking an economic accord with China in the coming year, Chinese leader Xi is planning to press his American counterpart to formally state that the U.S. opposes Taiwan’s independence. In talks with their American counterparts, Chinese policy advisers outside the government have already stressed the need for the U.S. to officially announce its opposition to Taiwan’s independence. The people close to the White House said the administration is focused on deterring China from taking military actions against Taiwan and encouraging Taipei to increase its spending on capabilities such as drones and munitions to bolster its self-defense. We have long stated that we oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side. China presents the single greatest threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, a State Department spokesperson said. Under Trump’s first presidency, the U.S. increased engagement with Taiwan and boosted arms sales. The U.S.’s one-China policy, which provides for executive-branch interactions with both sides of the Taiwan Strait, remains the same as the first Trump administration, a senior administration official said. A recent deal brokered by Trump and Xi for the sale of the social-media app TikTok to U.S. investors has paved the way for a series of high-level talks. The two leaders plan to meet at the coming Asia-Pacific summit in South Korea, with potential follow-up visits to Beijing by Trump in early 2026 and to the U.S. by Xi that December. This engagement remains tentative, as Trump’s trip to China hinges on Beijing’s cooperation on trade and efforts to curb the flow of substances that make fentanyl. Trump, unlike Biden, has largely avoided explicitly stating whether the U.S. would intervene militarily if China were to invade Taiwan, saying commenting publicly would weaken his negotiating position. In an August interview with Fox News, Trump said Xi had promised him that China wouldn’t invade Taiwan while he is the president. Trump noted that Xi added, “But I am very patient, and China is very patient.” (Source: The Wall Street Journal - U.S.)
Oct 2, 2025 President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Monday that they had reached an agreement to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of remaining hostages. Implementation could calm the region, protecting shipping routes and China’s economic interests, but the deal also introduces a diplomatic dynamic that may push Beijing to the sidelines. China welcomed the announcement by the White House of the new Gaza peace plan backed by many Arab and Muslim majority states. Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo said Beijing supports all efforts conducive to easing the tensions between Palestine and Israel and calls on relevant parties to implement relevant UN resolutions, realize a full ceasefire in Gaza and release all those held captive at once, and alleviate the humanitarian crisis as soon as possible. He added that China advocates upholding the principle of Palestinians governing Palestine and pursuing the two-state solution. China’s regional interests in the Middle East are coming under increasing strain. The war has exacerbated instability and disrupted trade routes for Beijing. In 2024, in trade routes in the Red Sea, container vessel traffic dropped by approximately 75% compared with 2023, and these reduced levels have persisted into 2025. Egypt’s Suez Canal, a key route for China’s westbound trade handles around 10% to 15% of global trade and around 30% of container traffic. It is accounting for roughly 60% of China’s exports to Europe in 2023. The price to ship a standard 40-foot container from China to northern Europe jumped from $1,500 to $4,000 between 2023 and 2024. While Chinese ships themselves have remained somewhat insulated - some benefiting from China’s close relationship with Iran, a backer of the Houthis, and with the Houthis reportedly assuring Beijing they would avoid attacking Chinese vessels - many have been forced to divert around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope, adding roughly 11,000 nautical miles and 10 days of travel onto each journey and increasing fuel costs by around $1 million for each voyage. Given China's economic interests, a ceasefire and hostage-release deal that leads to a general cool-down in the region would likely be welcomed by the country. Yet the latest ceasefire plan also raises important concerns for China’s diplomatic ambitions. In July 2024, China hosted a major summit in Beijing, convening 14 Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah. According to the Beijing Declaration published after the meeting, the factions agreed to work toward a comprehensive Palestinian national unity that includes all Palestinian factions under the PLO [Palestine Liberation Organization] framework, and to commit to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital … with the help of Egypt, Algeria, China and Russia. While Hamas did not formally endorse the PLO, a major rival, it agreed to participate in the outlined unity framework. The declaration also envisioned a temporary national unity government. By contrast, the Trump ceasefire plan envisions Gaza being temporarily administered by a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee of local and international specialists, with oversight from a Board of Peace chaired by Trump and other foreign leaders until the Palestinian Authority completes reforms. The plan does not seem to give China any formal supervisory or leadership role. If the US plan is implemented, China's efforts to assert itself as a key mediator - and counterbalance the United States in the region - may be for naught. The deal shows the enduring nature of US ties not just with Israel but also with the deal's regional backers, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, among others. Washington continues to maintain deep structural influence across Arab capitals, undercutting China's attempt to assert itself as a more reliable regional partner. (Source: Al-Monitor - based in Washington, D.C., U. S.)
Gaza
October 2, 2025 The Israeli military extended its operations in Gaza City, the capital of the Gaza Governorate, between September 28 and October 2, pushing further into the city and cutting it off from central Gaza. The IDF’s operation against Hamas in Gaza City has been moving forward systematically over the last month, with most of the Gaza City’s one million residents evacuated. The operations continued as the US unveiled a plan to end the war. The IDF has moved forces west along the Netzarim Corridor and taken over an area that stretches down to the sea, essentially cutting off Gaza City from central Gaza, dividing Gaza into north and south. Now, the IDF’s 99th Division has extended its control along the entire Netzarim axis. The Israeli military says it continues to locate terrorists as its forces move forward. It also continues to strike high-rise buildings in Gaza City that it says are being used by Hamas, in addition to carrying out numerous other airstrikes in Gaza. Between September 27 and 28, a total of 140 targets were struck in Gaza, the IDF stated. Two days later, the IDF reported that it had hit 160 targets. Three divisions are active in Gaza City, including the 162nd, 36th, and 98th. The 99th Division is operating to the south of the city in the Netzarim Corridor. The 188th Armored Brigade and the 828th Brigade struck and eliminated “dozens of terrorists” and dismantled tunnel shafts. A strike eliminated a Hamas commander of the Bureij Battalion in the Central Camps area on September 28. The deputy commander of Hamas’s Zeitoun battalion was eliminated, on September 29. Terrorist groups in Gaza continue to try to launch rockets at Israel. On September 29, two projectiles were launched at Nahal Oz near the border of Gaza. Shortly after Yom Kippur started on October 1, five projectiles were launched toward the southern Israeli city of Ashdod. The rocket fire has declined to around one incident per week. (Source: FDD’s Long War Journal – U.S.)
by Frantzman, author of The October 7 War: Israel's Battle for Security in Gaza (2024).
October 01, 2025 | 06:39 PM Gaza's 'civil defence agency' said today that Israeli forces had killed at least 46 people, including 36 in Gaza City, which Israel's defence minister has told residents to flee. (Source: Gulf Times - Qatar)
(30 September 2025) Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan - the full text of the proposal 1. Gaza will be a deradicalised terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbours. 2. Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough. 3. If both sides agree to this proposal, the war will immediately end. Israeli forces will withdraw to the agreed upon line to prepare for a hostage release. During this time, all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment, will be suspended, and battle lines will remain frozen until conditions are met for the complete staged withdrawal. 4. Within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned. 5. Once all hostages are released, Israel will release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1,700 Gazans who were detained after 7 October 2023, including all women and children detained in that context. For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans. 6. Once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries. 7. Upon acceptance of this agreement, full aid will be immediately sent into the Gaza Strip. At a minimum, aid quantities will be consistent with what was included in the 19 January 2025 agreement regarding humanitarian aid, including rehabilitation of infrastructure (water, electricity, sewage), rehabilitation of hospitals and bakeries, and entry of necessary equipment to remove rubble and open roads. 8. Entry of distribution and aid in the Gaza Strip will proceed without interference from the two parties through the United Nations and its agencies, and the Red Crescent, in addition to other international institutions not associated in any manner with either party. Opening the Rafah crossing in both directions will be subject to the same mechanism implemented under 19 January 2025 agreement. 9. Gaza will be governed under the temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities for the people in Gaza. This committee will be made up of qualified Palestinians and international experts, with oversight and supervision by a new international transitional body, the "Board of Peace," which will be headed and chaired by President Trump, with other members and heads of state to be announced, including Former Prime Minister Tony Blair. This body will set the framework and handle the funding for the redevelopment of Gaza until such time as the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform programme, as outlined in various proposals, including President Trump's peace plan in 2020 and the Saudi-French proposal, and can securely and effectively take back control of Gaza. This body will call on best international standards to create modern and efficient governance that serves the people of Gaza and is conducive to attracting investment. 10. A Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energise Gaza will be created by convening a panel of experts who have helped birth some of the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East. Many thoughtful investment proposals and exciting development ideas have been crafted by well-meaning international groups, and will be considered to synthesize the security and governance frameworks to attract and facilitate these investments that will create jobs, opportunity, and hope for future Gaza. 11. A special economic zone will be established with preferred tariff and access rates to be negotiated with participating countries. 12. No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return. We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza. 13. Hamas and other factions agree to not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form. All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt. There will be a process of demilitarisation of Gaza under the supervision of independent monitors, which will include placing weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of decommissioning, and supported by an internationally funded buy back and reintegration programme all verified by the independent monitors. New Gaza will be fully committed to building a prosperous economy and to peaceful coexistence with their neighbours. 14. A guarantee will be provided by regional partners to ensure that Hamas, and the factions, comply with their obligations and that New Gaza poses no threat to its neighbours or its people. 15. The United States will work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary International Stabilisation Force (ISF) to immediately deploy in Gaza. The ISF will train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces in Gaza, and will consult with Jordan and Egypt who have extensive experience in this field. This force will be the long-term internal security solution. The ISF will work with Israel and Egypt to help secure border areas, along with newly trained Palestinian police forces. It is critical to prevent munitions from entering Gaza and to facilitate the rapid and secure flow of goods to rebuild and revitalize Gaza. A deconfliction mechanism will be agreed upon by the parties. 16. Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza. As the ISF establishes control and stability, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will withdraw based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization that will be agreed upon between the IDF, ISF, the guarantors, and the Unites States, with the objective of a secure Gaza that no longer poses a threat to Israel, Egypt, or its citizens. Practically, the IDF will progressively hand over the Gaza territory it occupies to the ISF according to an agreement they will make with the transitional authority until they are withdrawn completely from Gaza, save for a security perimeter presence that will remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat. 17. In the event Hamas delays or rejects this proposal, the above, including the scaled-up aid operation, will proceed in the terror-free areas handed over from the IDF to the ISF. 18. An interfaith dialogue process will be established based on the values of tolerance and peaceful co-existence to try and change mindsets and narratives of Palestinians and Israelis by emphasizing the benefits that can be derived from peace. 19. While Gaza re-development advances and when the PA reform programme is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognise as the aspiration of the Palestinian people. 20. The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous co-existence. (Text provided by the White House. Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza has been accepted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while Hamas is yet to issue an official response.) /Source: BBC – United Kingdom/
30.09.2025 US President Trump’s proposal to end Israel’s war on Gaza mirrors elements of a leaked draft by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Blair’s plan outlines the creation of the Gaza International Transitional Authority, an interim administration to be led by the former UK prime minister. The board would include a chair, at least one Palestinian representative, senior UN officials, and ‘leading international figures with executive and financial expertise’. Under the plan, the Palestinian Executive Authority – a body distinct from the Palestinian Authority – would manage daily life but remain subordinate to GITA’s board and executive secretariat. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
30 September 2025 14:08 BST The colonial reality is that Israel and the US have come up with a cunning plan to outsource Israel’s continued dominance or occupation of the Gaza Strip under a governor, Blair (a man much reviled in the Middle East), and a king, Trump, who would run Gaza. They would rule indefinitely or until the Palestinian Authority, which governs the bits of the West Bank where Israel doesn’t want to be bothered with directly occupying, can show that it can be trusted to also run Gaza the way that the US and Israel want. (Source: The Independent - United Kingdom)
by Kiley
September 29, 2025 Trump unveils Gaza plan alongside Netanyahu (Source: The National - United Arab Emirates)
India
26 Sep 2025 For the past six years, thousands of people in Ladakh, led by local civic bodies, have launched peaceful marches and gone on hunger strikes to demand greater constitutional safeguards and statehood from India. They also want the power to elect a local government. The Himalayan territory’s main city, Leh, the regional capital was hit by unrest on Wednesday by violent Gen Z-led protests. Youth torched the regional office of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Police vehicles were also set alight. Police responded with live fire. They also imposed a curfew in several districts and shut down mobile internet in Leh as tensions continued. In Leh at least four protesters were killed and dozens were injured. Ladakh, home to both Buddhist and Muslim communities, has faced political uncertainty since 2019, when Modi’s government stripped the region of autonomy by separating it from Jammu and Kashmir and placing it under federal control. Protesters are demanding statehood, constitutional protections for Indigenous communities, and reserved jobs for locals. (Source: Al Jazeera - Qatar)
Indonesia
29 September 2025 In 1964, under President Sukarno, British-owned commercial interests had been placed under Indonesian management and control. Sixty years ago, Harold Wilson’s Labour government together with the US government under Lyndon Johnson secretly conspired with the Indonesian military as it conducted one of the postwar world’s worst bloodbaths after 30 September 2065. Anti-Sukarno generals, led by General Suharto, move against a powerful and popular political faction with mass support, the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). It did so brutally: in a few months the PKI was destroyed. Suharto emerged as leader. The British files show that by February 1966 the British ambassador was estimating 400,000 dead – but even this was described by the Swedish ambassador as a gross under-estimate. By April, the US embassy stated that 'we frankly do not know whether the real figure is closer to 100,000 or 1,000,000 but believe it wiser to err on the side of the lower estimates, especially when questioned by the press'. Most studies put the number of dead in the mid-1960s slaughters at between 500,000-800,000. The struggle between the army and the PKI was “a struggle basically for the commanding heights of the Indonesian economy”, British officials noted. At stake was using the resources of Indonesia for the primary benefit of its people or for businesses, including Western companies. BP, British Gas and Britoil were some of the companies that took advantage. Southeast Asia was “a major producer of some essential commodities” such as rubber, copra and chromium ore". A combination of Western advice, aid and investment subsequently helped begin to transform the Indonesian economy into one that, although retaining some nationalist orientation, provided substantial opportunities and profits for Western investors, as Indonesia rejoined the IMF and the World Bank. The consequence was that landlessness increased as land ownership became more concentrated; the peasants were afraid to organise, and the prospects of fundamental economic changes preferential to the poor were successfully eradicated. Western businesses moved in. Britain was keen to establish good relations with Suharto, which were to remain for 30 years. (Source: Declassified UK)
(From an edited extract from Curtis’ book, Web of Deceit: Britain’s Real Role in the World
Iran
Monday 29 September 2025 More than 1,000 people were executed between January and September this year, according to the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IRN). An estimated 64 hangings were carried out last week alone. Iran executed Choubi-asl today, with the judiciary's Mizan news outlet claiming he was one of the most important spies for Israel in Iran. (Source: The Independent - United Kingdom)
Sep 26, 2025 17:24 IST The 15-member UN Security Council today rejected a draft resolution to permanently lift sanctions on Tehran. Amid global sanctions pressure, Iran and Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom have signed a $25 billion nuclear deal in Moscow to build four new power plants. The deal covers the construction of Generation III plants on a 500-hectare site in the Sirik region of southeastern Hormozgan province. The plants are expected to generate 5,000 megawatts of electricity. The head of Iran’s atomic energy organisation, Eslami, who is also Iran’s vice president, went to Moscow. Eslami said bilateral cooperation agreements would be signed during his visit, including a plan to construct eight additional nuclear power plants. (Source: India Today)
Israel
Sep 29, 2025 Israel’s intelligence unit, Unit 8200, had stored and analysed millions of recorded phone conversations made by Palestinians in Microsoft's Azure data centres in the Netherlands. Up to 8,000 terabytes of data were analysed - interception that targeted not only soldiers but the entire population of Gaza. Microsoft launched an investigation in August to determine whether its service had been misused. On September 25, Microsoft stated that it had ceased and disabled several services connected to the Ministry of Defence, highlighting restrictions on the use of its technology for mass surveillance of civilians. The decision was made official by Smith, the company’s president and vice chair. (Source: Tamil Guardian - based in London, United Kingdom)
September 29, 2025 5:00 AM ET More than 500 Israeli soldiers have survived serious injuries fighting in Gaza, according to the military. Many of them endured catastrophic wounds that would have killed or maimed them in Israel's past wars, Israeli combat medics and surgeons say. Medical advances has saved their lives, like drones delivering blood units on the battlefield, and lessons surgeons have learned treating many soldiers on the operating table. (Source: NPR - U.S.)
Palestine
(26 September 2025) A world that recognises Palestine, but not its rights. In recent months, a cascade of recognitions has lifted the number of UN member states recognising Palestine to about 156, reflecting a global consensus on Palestinian statehood within the two-state frame. Is it already too late for two states? Statehood talk is theatre politics. The map has been so fragmented. (Source: TRT World - Turkey)
Saudi Arabia
30.09.2025 The Cabinet affirms the Kingdom’s readiness to cooperate with the US to achieve a comprehensive agreement to end the war in the Gaza Strip, implement a full Israeli withdrawal from the Strip, and deliver sufficient humanitarian aid without restrictions, it said in a statement. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
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