Ishiba sets 27th for Japan's snap elections

Today's news: Landslides and floods leave at least 170 dead, schools closed in Nepal;  Riyadh, record number of executions: over 198 in 2024, highest figure since 1990; Taiwan on alert for ‘multiple waves’ of missile launches and tests in China's hinterland; Two attacks in Balochistan, Pakistan leave seven dead and 20 kidnapped; Vietnamese prisoners of conscience on hunger strike.

JAPAN
Today the Prime Minister-designate and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Shigeru Ishiba, set 27 October as the date for the dissolution of the Lower House and early elections. A test for the ruling party, undermined by scandals over the management of public funds. Tomorrow the Japanese Diet is expected to ratify Ishiba's appointment as head of the executive pending the vote.

NEPAL
The government closed schools for three days after landslides and floods caused by two days of heavy rain in the Himalayan state killed at least 170 people, plus 56 missing. In the Kathmandu valley alone there are 37 victims. The closure of schools, which has put students and parents at a disadvantage, is linked to related damage in need of urgent repair.

SAUDI ARABIA

The Saudi authorities executed more than 198 people in 2024, the highest number recorded in the country since 1990. This was revealed by Amnesty International according to which, despite promises to limit its use, Riyadh has increased executions, systematically violating international standards of fair trial and guarantees for defendants.

TAIWAN - CHINA

Taiwan's Defence Ministry said yesterday it was on high alert after detecting ‘multiple waves’ of missile launches in China's hinterland and days after the successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Operations are conducted by the Missile Force in Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang, all at least 2,000 km from Taipei.

PAKISTAN
Suspected insurgents killed at least seven workers and kidnapped 20 others at gunpoint in two attacks overnight in the southwestern province of Balochistan. The violence, not yet claimed, occurred yesterday in the Panjgur and Musakhail districts, in an area rich in natural resources. At the end of last month, insurgents from Musakhail killed 23 Punjab passengers.

VIETNAM
Three high-profile prisoners of conscience (Trinh Ba Tu, Bui Van Thuan and Dang Dinh Bach) from a prison in Nghe An province launched a new hunger strike to protest against harsh conditions and demand the release of all political prisoners in the country. The three were allegedly forced to accept a pardon for an offence they claim they did not commit.

RUSSIA - SOUTH KOREA
On the 140th anniversary of the first friendship and trade agreement between Russia and Korea, a conference on ‘The History of Russian-Korean Relations and the New Current Challenges’ was held at Hanguk University in Seoul. Speakers included researchers from both countries, Russian diplomats in South Korea and the Orthodox Archbishop of Korea, Feofan (Kim), on the history of the Russian Orthodox mission in these lands.

KYRGYZSTAN
The 23-year-old journalist from Kyrgyzstan, Ajke Bejšekeeva, who has been under arrest awaiting trial in Biškek for nine months, was awarded the international Cena Gratias Tibi prize by the Czech Republic's humanitarian association ‘Person in Need’. She was honoured for her ‘heroism in the defence of human rights’. From prison she made it known that she ‘will not cease investigating’.