Israel-Hamas war: heavy air raids in Gaza, another 50 dead. First Raisi-Bin Salman contact

Today's news: Vietnamese court sentences Christian activist to eight years; In November, China's statistics bureau will conduct a survey to plan new population policies; Uttar Pradesh authorises the resumption of production at Marion Biotech, blamed for cough syrups that killed 65 children in Uzbekistan; Next week the Constitutional Court in Indonesia rules on lowering the age to run for president. In Russia, the Soviet practice of psychiatric asylums for dissidents returns.

ISRAEL - PALESTINE
An agreement has been reached for an emergency government which brings together Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the centrist Benny Gantz, head of National Unity, while opposition leader Yair Lapid remains excluded. During the night the air force launched very severe air attack on Gaza (without water and electricity): among the objectives were the tunnels used by the militiamen, resulting in at least 50 deaths. A meeting of the UN Security Council is scheduled for today, in addition to yesterday's phone call between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the first contact between the leaders of the two countries since the resumption of relations in March. The updated toll is 1300 dead and 2700 wounded on the Israeli front; in the Strip there are 1200 victims, over 5600 injured and 340 thousand displaced.

VIETNAM
A court in the province of Gia Lai sentenced the 43-year-old Christian activist Rlan Thih to eight years in prison and another three years of probation for having "undermined the politics of unity" based on the art. 116 of the Criminal Code. Since 2008 he would have operated under the orders of Fulro, an association that fights for minorities, with the aim of founding an autonomous state in the central highlands.

CHINA
The Chinese National Bureau of Statistics will conduct a nationwide survey in November to identify and plan new demographic policies at the national level, with the aim of boosting the birth rate. Concerned about the first decline in 60 years, Beijing has recently taken some measures including financial incentives and strengthening childcare facilities.

INDIA - UZBEKISTAN
The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has allowed the majority of production to resume at a factory owned by Marion Biotech, whose cough syrups were linked to the deaths of 65 children last year in Uzbekistan. Marion is one of three Indian companies whose cough syrups the WHO has linked to deaths in Central Asia, Cameroon and Gambia.

INDONESIA
Next week the Constitutional Court will rule on the motion to lower the minimum age of the country's presidential and vice-presidential candidates in the 2024 elections. An attempt, according to some, to pave the way for the leadership of the current president's eldest son Joko Widodo, the mayor of Surakarta Gibran Rakabuming Raka. The minimum age is 40 years; the revision wants to lower it to 35 and Gibran has 36.

JAPAN
In recent years, Tokyo has massively increased defense spending against the Chinese and North Korean threats. However, a report highlights the "extremely high" risk of the armed forces being weakened due to lack of personnel. Since 1990 the Self-Defense Forces have decreased by more than 7%, to under 230 thousand units. In 2022, fewer than 4,000 people signed up.

RUSSIA
The Soviet memory practice of psychiatric asylums for dissidents is increasingly spreading in Russia. The latest case is the "compulsory treatment" for 68-year-old Sergei Kirsanov, accused of extremist activity for his participation in the "Left Opposition" movement, for which seven other people are already "under treatment", including the founder of Daria Poljudova group.

ARMENIA
The representative of the ruling Civil Agreement party Tigran Avinyan was elected mayor of Yerevan by the Council of Elders, with 32 votes in favor and 5 against despite the opposition's boycott due to the lack of a quorum. The victory is considered a signal against the protests following the loss of Nagorno Karabakh, with calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pašinyan.

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