Today's headlines: China began polling 1.4 million people to find ways to encourage births. After the repatriation deadline expired, Pakistan began arresting Afghans illegally in the country. North Korea is set to close one quarter of its embassies around the world. A Vietnamese man is sentenced to three and a half years for live-streaming videos critical of the government on social media. The 2034 World Cup goes to Saudi Arabia. Gandhi accuses the Modi government of spying on opponents' phones. In Russia, more incidents of intolerance towards the Jewish community are reported.

ISRAEL – PALESTINE

Thanks to Qatar’s mediation, the Rafah crossing reopened, allowing 500 foreign nationals and wounded Palestinians to leave Gaza for Egypt. For its part, Israel continues its offensive in the territory, despite high civilian casualties, like yesterday in the Jabalia refugee camp. Meanwhile, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei calls on the Muslim world to boycott Israel and mobilise until the war in Gaza stops.

CHNA

China has launched a survey involving 1.4 million people, to assess demographic changes and back the government's campaign to boost the birthrate and counter population decline, the first in 60 years. The study will focus on urban and rural areas, based on a sample of 500,000 households and last two weeks. The data will help formulate subsequent social policies.

AFGHANISTAN – PAKISTAN

Pakistani authorities have begun to arrest Afghans present in the country after the deadline for Afghan nationals to leave expired yesterday, 31 October. The measure impacts especially Afghans who, in some cases, have lived in Pakistan for decades. At least one million have been affected by the measure, and thousands have already left, leading to another potential humanitarian crisis.

NORTH KOREA

North Korea is set to close a dozen embassies, including those in Spain, Hong Kong and several African countries, in a move that could cut its diplomatic missions around the world by 25 per cent. Tougher international sanctions appear to be one of the reasons for this decision as they restrict the regime’s ability to earn foreign currency. The closure also represents a "shake-up" to the country's foreign policy, with implications for diplomatic engagement and humanitarian work.

VIETNAM

Le Thach Giang, 66, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for live-streaming videos on social media critical of the Vietnamese government. A resident of the southern coastal province of Ninh Thuan, Le was found guilty of violating Article 331 of Vietnam’s penal code for "abusing democratic freedoms". In the videos, he talked about the Communist Party and Ho Chi Minh City.

SAUDI ARABIA

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has announced that the 2034 World Cup will be staged in Saudi Arabia, confirming reports that the Arab country was the lone candidate. Yesterday, 31 October, was the deadline for expressing interest. With China and Australia bowing out, Saudi Arabia was the only country left to compete for the right to host the world championship.

INDIA

Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused Narendra Modi's government of trying to hack into the mobile phones of senior opposition political leaders. The latter reportedly received warning messages, and some shared screenshots of the notifications on social media, blaming "state-sponsored attackers". India’s Information Technology minister expressed concern, saying that the matter would be investigated.

RUSSIA

In Nalchik, a city in the Russian Caucasian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, unknown persons set fire to a Jewish culture centre still under construction. The fire was quickly put out and no one was injured. Previously, “Death to Yahud", the Arabic word for Jews, was painted on the building.

AZERBAIJAN – ARMENIA

Azerbaijan’s zerkalo.az news agency has reacted to charges made against Baku for destroying Armenian churches and historical places in occupied territories, saying that dozens of so-called Armenian churches are in fact ancient buildings from the time of Caucasian Albania. The agency also listed several sites that they claim were destroyed by the Armenians themselves.

TAJIKISTAN

Statistics from Tajikistan's Interior Ministry show that human trafficking in the country has doubled in the first nine months of the year: 42 cases compared to 21 in 2022. Since modern slavery is international in scope, it requires concerted action by all countries concerned.

• israel
• palestine
• china
• afghanistan
• pakistan
• north korea
• vietnam
• saudi arabia
• india
• russia
• azerbaijian
• armenia
• tajikistan