Saturday, Sep 5, 2026

• A measles and malaria outbreak killed children in tribal villages of Balaghat district, Madhya Pradesh, between May and July, with health department records showing at least 25 deaths and local officials citing 29. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav visited the villages on August 29 and announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh per deceased child, and national health agencies including the National Institute for Tribal Health Research and the National Institute of Virology, Pune, were brought in after a ninth death on July 22 triggered a response. Scroll
• A group of 108 former Indian bureaucrats, including former police chief Julio Ribeiro, ex-Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa, wrote that the Union government must justify collecting personal data through 12 new Census 2027 questions, including parents' and spouses' names, bank account numbers and identity document details, saying "much of this information appears to have little relevance for generating population statistics or informing public policy." They warned that questions on religion and parents' birthplaces could feed into a National Population Register. Scroll
• The Office of the Registrar General and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment clashed at a June 1 meeting over whether to use the Central Other Backward Classes (OBC) list for Census 2027 caste enumeration. The Registrar General's draft minutes suggested the ministry claimed no comprehensive caste list existed, which the ministry called a "trap," noting it maintains Scheduled Castes and OBC lists of 1,258 and 2,483 entries respectively, while the government plans to use open-ended responses rather than pre-set categories. The Wire
• The Supreme Court on September 3 declined to hear a public interest litigation challenging Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan government orders that require prior permission for photography, videography, interviews and livestreaming inside government schools. The restrictions followed a campaign by the Cockroach Janta Party to document poor school conditions, and the petitioner had argued the curbs violated constitutional rights to equality and free expression. Scroll
• India's new labour codes do not mention climate change even as women informal workers face three times the heat-illness risk of men, according to IndiaSpend's ISignal. The outlet cites a survey of 3,300 women in which 97% reported wage losses exceeding Rs 1,500 during the April-June summer peak, and a Kerala study finding only 15% of domestic workers earned above minimum wage despite 72% working eight-plus hour days. IndiaSpend/ISignal
• India's workforce is feminising into low-paid sectors, according to The Wire: women workers more than doubled from just over 100 million in 2018 to over 200 million in 2024, with roughly eight in ten dairy and livestock workers and nine in ten bidi-manufacturing workers now women, even as bidi wages run below a fifth of the average manufacturing wage and women's median monthly service-sector earnings (Rs 10,500) trail men's (Rs 18,000). The Wire
• The roughly 80-year-old cement plant in Jhinkpani, West Singhbhum district, Jharkhand, India's first indigenously built cement plant and acquired by the Adani Group in 2022, shut on August 16. Article 14 reports only 74 permanent staff received severance while about 1,500 contractual workers lost jobs without formal safety nets, an estimated 50,000 people across 20-25 villages were affected, and the closure also shut the attached ACC Hospital, cutting local medical access. Article 14
• The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) said it rescued more than 3,800 children from child labour and helped file over 575 First Information Reports (FIRs) during a special campaign run from June 12 to August 31, working with state governments, district administrations, labour departments and police on rescue, rehabilitation and mainstreaming into education. PIB, Ministry of Women and Child Development
• The Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare said its "Special Campaign 3" (July 7-August 31) resolved 2,306 of 3,193 long-pending pension grievances taken up across 40 ministries and departments, a 72% resolution rate. Individual cases included family pension arrears of up to Rs 37.40 lakh and disability pensions of Rs 30 lakh, some pending since 1996-2013. PIB, Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare
• Union Minister of State Ramdas Athawale inaugurated distribution of "Namaste" (National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem) identification cards and Ayushman Bharat health cards to over 300 waste workers in the Najafgarh zone of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, part of a Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment scheme covering sewer, septic tank and waste-collection workers for occupational safety, formal identification, healthcare access and social security. PIB, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

• Delhi Police detained Hindutva activist Swatantra Bhardwaj after Cockroach Janata Party and Congress activists, joined by civil society figures, protested outside Parliament Street police station demanding his arrest. Bhardwaj had bragged in a video that he "cracked" the skull of Sanjay Azad during a Jantar Mantar demonstration, requiring seven stitches, and said his political connections meant "I didn't even go to jail." Police had initially described the injuries as "simple in nature." The Wire
• Two women journalists from 4PM News Network, Shaheen Khan and Nafisa Khan, said Delhi Police assaulted and mentally harassed them at Saket police station after they tried to question Chief Minister Rekha Gupta at a hospital event. Khan said the treatment worsened once officers learned her surname was "Khan." Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar's office had not commented at the time of publication, and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bharadwaj and Congress's Pawan Khera condemned the incident. Scroll
• Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy dismissed Forest and Endowments Minister Konda Surekha from his cabinet after her daughter Sushmita Patel publicly criticised him for backing a rival candidate in Parkal. The governor approved the removal on September 3. Reddy also rescinded Congress leader G. Chinna Reddy's appointment as vice-chairman of the State Planning Board, leaving three cabinet vacancies and setting up a possible reshuffle. The Wire
• West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the state would get at least 1,000 schools run by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's education wing Vidya Bharati within a year, speaking at an event marking Vidya Bharati's 74th anniversary in Kolkata. He said government aid would stop for schools that don't sing the national song properly, criticised the Trinamool Congress's record on education, and objected to separate recognition processes for Muslim-run schools. Scroll
• A C-Voter "Mood of the Nation" survey of 116,644 respondents found 47% of Indians now believe "democracy is under threat," reversing earlier trends. Among younger respondents, 80% of Gen-Z reported feeling weighed down by an uncertain future, 53% rated the government's handling of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) exam crisis as "poor or very poor," and sympathy for the Jantar Mantar youth protests ran at 67%. The Wire
• Ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh elections, Congress's Uttar Pradesh in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam said Congress will ally with the Samajwadi Party but "with respect," calling for equal seat-sharing and dignity on both sides rather than a lopsided arrangement (published September 2). The Quint
• Srinagar Lok Sabha MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi said he stands by his decision to resign from the National Conference and his parliamentary seat, effective November 3, over disagreements with party chairperson Farooq Abdullah on prioritising restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood, which Mehdi says would effectively accept the 2019 abrogation of Article 370. He said he has been called a "Delhi agent" for dissenting (published September 2). The Quint
• Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad warned the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that his community could withdraw support unless it delivers long-promised Scheduled Caste status for Nishad and 16 other riverine Other Backward Classes communities in Uttar Pradesh, a demand still unmet since Union Home Minister Amit Shah pledged in December 2021 to fulfil the Nishad Party's "agendas." The Allahabad High Court and Supreme Court have both held only Parliament can alter Scheduled Caste lists. The Wire
• A Delhi court at Rouse Avenue granted bail to AAP leader and former Delhi Water Minister Satyendar Jain in a Delhi Jal Board corruption case involving alleged manipulation of tender conditions for sewage treatment upgrades to favour a private contractor (published September 3). LiveLaw
• The Supreme Court held that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) can supersede the board of a multi-state co-operative bank beyond the six-month limit set by Article 243ZL(1), ruling the Banking Regulation Act gives the RBI broader authority and that state government consultation is required only for state-registered, not multi-state, co-operative banks. The ruling upheld a Bombay High Court decision concerning Abhyudaya Co-operative Bank, under RBI administration since November 2023. LiveLaw
• India's current account deficit widened to $4.2 billion (0.5% of gross domestic product, or GDP) in the April-June quarter from $3.4 billion (0.4% of GDP) a year earlier, according to RBI data, as the merchandise trade deficit rose to $86.1 billion from $68.9 billion. Separately, the HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 52.8 in August from 53.5 in July, a five-year low in growth momentum, with firms citing softer demand and the first employment decline in two and a half years (published September 3). The Wire
• Economics commentator Vivek Kaul questioned India's reported 7.8% GDP growth for April-June 2026, which beat RBI and corporate-economist projections. He pointed to a Rs 80.7 lakh crore (about 10.5%) discrepancy in private consumption after the GDP base year changed from 2011-12 to 2022-23 in February, household debt at 45.5% of GDP as of September 2025 (up from 32-33% in the mid-2010s), 8.7 crore youth classified as not in education, employment or training, and 43% of the workforce still in agriculture. Newslaundry
• Upcoming: the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is due to release Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for August on September 12, ahead of the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on October 5-7. Also on the calendar this month: the Periodic Labour Force Survey monthly bulletin (September 15) and the Index of Industrial Production for August (September 28).

• The Meghalaya High Court has admitted a petition from the Jaintia Students' Union challenging Shree Cement's operations, and the state government has filed an affidavit assuring the court that "all activities of Shree Cement would be kept on hold" pending further proceedings. The next hearing is set for September 7, and the union is separately due to respond to the Meghalaya Human Rights Commission by September 28. The Shillong Times
• The Khasi Students' Union has given the state government three days to act on five demands, including facilitation centres at Umling and Ratacherra and implementation of the Migrant Workmen Act, and has threatened to resume public agitation if the deadline passes. It cited frustration that no arrests have been made two months after the July 30-31 attack on protesters at the Shree Cement public hearing at Lum Syrman. Meghalaya Monitor
• Police arrested Khasi Students' Union general secretary Mihngi Samuel Kharbani in connection with the August 19 violence and cases tied to the CBI office in Mawdiangdiang, making him the fifth union leader in judicial custody. East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem said a second man questioned in the same case, union executive member Celestine Lyngdoh, was released after police found no evidence he was present. The Shillong Times
• Advocate General Amit Kumar held a press conference rejecting accusations of abusing his authority over remarks he made about the Bar associations, said he felt "condemned without being heard," and disclosed that between January and August he handled roughly 1,000 cases with 11 lawyers who did not bill the government. The Shillong Times
• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA AL Hek urged the state government and the two Bar associations, which have suspended judicial activities statewide since Tuesday demanding Advocate General Amit Kumar's removal, to resolve the deadlock through dialogue, saying he has spoken with the Law Department and that talks with both Bar bodies are underway. The Shillong Times
• Talks are underway between United Democratic Party (UDP) legislators, reportedly around nine of its 12 MLAs, and the BJP. The UDP is said to be seeking commitments including amendment of the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act, inclusion of Khasi in the Constitution's Eighth Schedule, and a larger Meghalaya share under the PRASAD scheme; a formal induction could happen within September if talks succeed, though UDP leadership denies formal commitment. The Shillong Times
• Campaigning for the National People's Party's Shillong Lok Sabha bypoll candidate D.R.L. Nonglait in Mawryngkneng, party national vice-president and Deputy Chief Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar said the party's cooperation with the BJP is about development and not "a change of colour," stating "we will remain in this uniform," and defended the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government's borrowing as rule-bound. The Shillong Times
• At the same Mawryngkneng campaign event, Dhar told voters that electing Nonglait would be "a gain for our State" given the inefficiency of divided governance, citing the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government's budget growth from Rs 9,000 crore in 2018 to Rs 30,000 crore, plus over 3,000 km of road upgrades and 1,700 km of new roads. Hub News
• Independent Mawdongkyllait Development Committee candidate Dr OS Jyrwa, campaigning for Nonglait, accused the Voice of the People Party-led Executive Committee of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council of undermining village governance through a proposed Land Bill and Land Ceiling Act that deletes mandatory consultation with Rangbah Shnong (village heads), and said toll gates have increased despite the party's pre-election pledge to remove them. Hub News
• Congress state president Vincent H. Pala denied reports that former National People's Party state president Wanwei Roy Kharlukhi, who resigned from the party on August 24, might join Congress, saying "there is no truth in such a report" and that he has not met Kharlukhi. The Shillong Times
• Northeast MPs objected to having no regional representative on the 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee set up to examine the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, noting that Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma of Meghalaya was among at least three Northeast chief ministers who had opposed the amended legislation. The Shillong Times
• The Department of Arts and Culture is running "Tracing the Roots," an interdisciplinary research project championed by Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma that combines indigenous knowledge with linguistics, archaeology, ethnography and genetics to trace the origins of the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo tribes, with research anchored at the Williamson Sangma State Museum in Shillong. The Shillong Times
• The state government has disbursed Rs 91.01 crore in Post-Matric Scholarship funds to 87,691 Scheduled Tribe students for academic year 2025-26 ahead of schedule, using the SNA-SPARSH direct-payment system, though 9,121 verified applicants could not be paid yet due to Aadhaar-bank linkage issues (published September 2). Meghalaya Monitor
• Upcoming: Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan will visit Shillong on September 7-8 and unveil development programmes at the U Soso Tham Auditorium on September 7; the East Khasi Hills district administration has declared a no-drone zone for the visit. The Shillong Times

No news turned up this run on the Government Innovation Lab, the State Capability Enhancement Project, or Sampath Kumar. Targeted searches for the Foundation for Responsive Governance, Indus Action, the Centre for Policy Research, IDinsight, Inclusion Economics and Rocket Learning's work in Meghalaya also came up empty.

Bangladesh

• The Anti-Corruption Commission plans to file a Mutual Legal Assistance Request with the United Arab Emirates government as it scrutinises 73 Bangladeshis over Dubai assets allegedly bought with laundered money, including former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, former Premier Bank chairman HBM Iqbal, and former Padma Bank chairman Chowdhury Nafis Sarafat. Deputy Director Aktarul Islam said the unit has sought records from the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, Election Commission, National Board of Revenue, and Department of Immigration and Passports. The Daily Star
• Intern doctors at Bogura Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital continued their work abstention into a third day on September 4 after talks mediated by Bogura's deputy commissioner and superintendent of police broke down. The unrest began September 1 after patient relatives assaulted interns, injuring seventeen, over alleged negligence in a death. The Daily Star
• Three people were killed and one injured when a Dhaka-bound Unique Paribahan bus rear-ended a stalled covered van on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway in Chhagalnaiya upazila, Feni, around 7:30am. Police sub-inspector Abu Noman of Fazilpur Highway Police Station confirmed the deaths. The Daily Star
• Home Affairs Minister Salahuddin Ahmed told a Janmashtami rally in Dhaka's Palashi area that the perception of Hindus as a political vote bank "has shattered," crediting the community for backing "against the forces of evil" in the 13th parliamentary election. Prothom Alo
• Hours after Jubo Dal activist Muhammad Karim was hacked and shot dead in Raozan, Chattogram on Thursday night, an associate of fugitive gang leader Sazzad Ali (alias Boro Sazzad) named Md Raihan posted a video of himself firing a pistol. Chattogram police additional superintendent Md Russell said investigators are verifying whether the footage is old or new. Prothom Alo
• Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting secretary general and political adviser to the prime minister, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, told the opposition to stop threatening street protests over the gas and electricity crisis and instead present alternative plans in parliament, blaming the shortage on the US-Iran war and the previous government's planning. Prothom Alo
• The National Citizen Party announced a stepped-up protest calendar as part of an 11-party alliance, including long marches to Chattogram (September 5), Rangpur (September 19), Khulna (October 10) and Sylhet (October 24), plus a Dhaka mass rally on November 14, alongside parliamentary and street activity marking six months of the BNP government. Prothom Alo
• Bangladesh's liquefied natural gas subsidy bill is projected to jump to Tk 40,000 crore this fiscal year from an actual Tk 14,500 crore last year, driven by Middle East conflict disruptions. Energy analyst Shafiqul Alam of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis and former World Bank lead economist Zahid Hussain were quoted on the cost pressures. The Daily Star

Pakistan

• Security forces killed 48 terrorists in 72 hours of operations across Balochistan's Mastung, Quetta, Kalat and Sibi districts, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, describing the targets as "Indian proxies, Fitna-al-Hindustan and Fitna-al-Khawarij." President Asif Ali Zardari said more than 1,188 terrorists have been killed in Balochistan this year, and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi commended the operations. Dawn
• The government transferred Major General Faisal Naseer from his post as head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)'s internal wing to become National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta), a role most previously held by police officers. Dawn
• The government cut petrol prices by Rs3.13 per litre to Rs345.87 while raising high-speed diesel by Rs3.74 to Rs378.05, effective September 5-7, under the daily pricing mechanism Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik introduced in July. Dawn
• Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Iftikhar Gillani swore in an eight-member cabinet of ministers without portfolio, with Acting President Chaudhry Tariq Farooq administering the oath. Senior parliamentarian Noreen Arif was not included. Dawn

Sri Lanka

• Namal Rajapaksa, National Organizer of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, was arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and remanded until September 18 over an alleged bribery incident linked to the purchase of wide-body aircraft for SriLankan Airlines. News First
• Mohamed Hisham Jamaldeen, son of former Western Province Governor and former Colombo Mayor A.J.M. Muzammil, was arrested at Bandaranaike International Airport on September 2 over alleged fraud. Daily Mirror
• Former Minister Johnston Fernando and Design Point (Pvt) Ltd owner Hemantha Lalith de Silva were granted bail by Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama over alleged corruption in the purchase of chairs for the Polgolla Mahinda Rajapaksa Auditorium. News First
• The Colombo Stock Exchange extended gains into a third straight session on September 4, with the All Share Price Index rising more than 1 percent to move above 21,600 on broad-based buying. Daily Mirror
• An International Monetary Fund team led by mission chief Evan Papageorgiou will visit Sri Lanka from September 10 to 23 for the combined seventh review of the Extended Fund Facility programme and the 2026 Article IV Consultation. News First
• A pregnant 26-year-old woman died after being attacked with a sharp weapon in the Palakudawa area of Kalpitiya; police arrested a 36-year-old suspect. News First
• A report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to the UN Human Rights Council's 63rd session warned that Sri Lanka's efforts on truth, justice and reconciliation, including accountability for the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks and long-standing enforced disappearances, "could lose momentum" amid competing pressures such as Cyclone Ditwah and economic strain. News First
• Sri Lanka's Supreme Court, in a three-judge bench of Justices Shiran Gooneratne, Mahinda Samayawardena and Sampath Wijeratne, concluded hearings on petitions against the Anti-Corruption (Amendment) Bill and said it would send its determination to the President and Speaker. Additional Solicitor General Nerin Pulle argued the bill would not weaken judicial power. News First

Nepal

• Two hydropower workers, Sanjay Sah and Kabir Maharjan, were rescued alive from the Upper Trishuli 3A tunnel nine days after the August 26 Bhotekoshi flood trapped them. Sah, a mechanical foreman, said "there could still be four or five people inside," while Maharjan suffered a fractured leg. The Kathmandu Post
• Nepal's flood death toll reached 1,287 as of 12:30pm on September 4, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority under the Ministry of Home Affairs, with roughly 5,083 people still missing, including 583 foreign nationals, across eight districts. The Kathmandu Post
• Nvidia donated $10 million to Nepal's Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund for flood recovery, an effort driven by more than 50 Nepali employees at the company. Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle thanked "Jensen Huang, founder, chief executive and chairman of Nvidia." The Kathmandu Post
• Home Minister Sudan Gurung defended coordinating the flood response remotely after facing social media criticism, saying on Facebook that "for years, we have suffered the consequences of leading only from our desks without understanding the reality on the ground," after flying to the Trishuli 3A rescue site on Friday. The Kathmandu Post
• Five of fifteen drinking water samples tested in flood-hit Bidur Municipality, Nuwakot district, came back positive for E. coli, senior lab technician Krishna Prasad Rijal said, prompting officials to consider cholera and measles-rubella vaccination campaigns for the roughly 2,700 people sheltering in 25 holding centres. The Kathmandu Post
• The Department of Roads began cutting a new temporary track around the Krishnabhir landslide on the Prithvi Highway, closed since September 1, to restore the Kathmandu-to-west corridor. Malekhu-Muglin road section chief Sajana Adhikari said about 50 metres of the new route have been completed. The Kathmandu Post

Bhutan

• The 570-megawatt Wangchhu Hydroelectric Project's diversion tunnel construction advanced to its primary phase with an inaugural explosive charge, marking the start of underground excavation (published September 2, at the outer edge of the recency window). Kuensel
• More than 400 delegates from over 60 countries gathered in Paro for a Global Food Summit, even as Bhutan's own farming sector struggles with a shrinking agricultural workforce, underfunded programmes, and idle farmland (published September 2, at the outer edge of the recency window). Kuensel
• A Kuensel editorial addressed the need to strengthen early warning systems following the Nepal-Tibet border flood, which it said had "claimed more than a thousand lives, with thousands still unaccounted for" (published September 2, at the outer edge of the recency window). Kuensel

Asia Pacific

• A Quezon City court in the Philippines issued a warrant for the arrest of Vice President Sara Duterte on three counts of "grave threat," accusing her of threatening to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez assassinated. Bail was set at $1,900 per charge, and the case runs alongside her separate Senate impeachment trial. Al Jazeera
• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation held its summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan from September 1-3, drawing Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Putin called the organisation "one of the independent and influential centres of the emerging multipolar world." Al Jazeera

Africa

• Tunisian police brought in Mohamed Yousfi, editor-in-chief of investigative outlet Al-Qatiba and a prominent critic of President Kais Saied's government, for questioning without disclosing the reason. This came days after a Tunisian court upheld the conviction of 40 opposition figures, lawyers and human rights defenders, including a 12-year sentence for opposition leader Najib Chebbi, on charges of conspiring to overthrow Saied. Al Jazeera
• The UN General Assembly voted 164-1, with six abstentions, on September 4 to adopt the "Correct the Map" resolution, replacing the Mercator projection with the Equal Earth projection in official use to correct the map's exaggeration of Africa's apparent size. The United States cast the sole vote against it, calling it an "ideological agenda." Al Jazeera
• Ghana's state gold regulator, the Ghana Gold Board, began enforcing a directive requiring small-scale gold aggregators to refine gold locally before export, under the Ghana Gold Board Act 2025. The country produced roughly 185 tonnes of gold in 2025 generating about $20 billion in export earnings, nearly double 2024's total. Al Jazeera
• A UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan reported that foreign recruitment networks, including up to 2,000 former Colombian military contractors operating drones and advanced weapons alongside the Rapid Support Forces, are sustaining the civil war between the Rapid Support Forces and Sudan's Armed Forces. The report cites tens of thousands killed and more than 12 million displaced since the conflict began in April 2023. Al Jazeera
• World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "every transmission chain needs to be identified and broken" to stop the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the death toll passed 3,000 as of September 2. He cited a funding gap exceeding $1 billion and noted the outbreak's Bundibugyo strain has no approved treatment or vaccine, though trials are underway (published September 2, at the outer edge of the recency window, kept for its scale). Al Jazeera
• Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema was inaugurated for a second term on September 2 after a disputed August 13 election he officially won with about 60% of the vote. Opposition challenger Brian Mundubile and running mate Makebi Zulu remain in custody on treason charges after a security raid on a property linked to Mundubile left one person dead and 11 arrested, while European Union observers flagged an "uneven playing field" (published September 2, kept for its scale). Al Jazeera
• Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission dismissed more than 40 staff over three years for corruption and financial misconduct, with five now facing prosecution. Chairman Ola Olukoyede said "you can't be fighting corruption when your hands are soiled with corrupt practices," and the agency reported recovering 1.23 trillion naira ($923 million) with a 75% conviction rate since October 2023 (published September 2, kept for its scale). Al Jazeera

Latin America

• Costa Rican President Laura Fernandez said US military operations on Costa Rican territory "could bring national security benefits" against transnational crime, provided Congress approves, as US President Donald Trump expands military engagement across the region through a coalition the article calls the "Shield of the Americas." Al Jazeera
• Brazil's Supreme Federal Court is roiled by a corruption dispute in which Justice Andre Mendonca released documents alleging links between Justice Alexandre de Moraes and disgraced banker Daniel Vorcaro, while de Moraes accused Mendonca of abusing his authority. Chief Justice Edson Fachin gave the attorney general five days to weigh the allegations, complicating the run-up to Brazil's October 4 presidential election. Al Jazeera
• Argentine President Javier Milei said in a September 3 televised address that he will seek urgent legislation to impose tougher penalties, including possible bans, on companies operating in the Falkland Islands' Sea Lion oil project without Buenos Aires' approval. Al Jazeera's correspondent linked the move to Milei's approval rating falling to 34% amid austerity measures, while UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting dismissed the threat as domestic politics. Al Jazeera
• Haiti's Foreign Minister Raina Forbin urged the UN Security Council to renew the mandate of the internationally backed Gang Suppression Force, which expires September 30, citing 1,408 people killed and 656 injured between April and June and more than a million people displaced since 2021, ahead of elections scheduled for December 13. Al Jazeera

Middle East

• The US State Department publicly rejected calls by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to depopulate Gaza, with a spokesperson citing President Trump's peace plan provision that "no one will be forced to leave Gaza." Katz had said Palestinians should leave "by sea, by air and by any means." Al Jazeera
• The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said Israel's "Operation Iron Wall" in three West Bank refugee camps (Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarem) in January-February 2025 killed 102 Palestinians, including 21 children, and left 33,362 people still displaced as of July. High Commissioner Volker Turk said its conduct "suggests its aim was to expel as many Palestinians as possible" and could amount to a crime against humanity. Al Jazeera
• Houthi forces launched what residents describe as the fiercest offensive since 2022 against government-held areas of Yemen's Taiz governorate on the morning of September 4, targeting the road linking Taiz city to the Red Sea coast and driving hundreds of families to flee the al-Rahabah displacement camp. Al Jazeera
• UAE developer Arada signed a $7 billion agreement with Syria's new Sovereign Fund to build a 4-million-square-metre residential and commercial development called "New Damascus," which state media says is intended partly to house people displaced or left homeless by Syria's conflict. The New Humanitarian
• The World Food Programme told staff at a September 3 all-hands meeting it is standing by its five-year renewal of a data-analytics contract with Palantir despite an internal audit flagging "key privacy concerns" and staff objections over Palantir's work for the Israeli military and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Management said beneficiary data "does not connect to any Palantir technology" and that the programme has "no intentions to let it go," while a May 2026 cyberattack had already exposed data on most of Gaza's remaining population. The New Humanitarian

Europe

• The European Union's enlargement chief, Marta Kos, cancelled a planned visit to Serbia after the government received the body of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic, who died August 27, with military honours. Kos called the "glorification surrounding his death" incompatible with "the values on which the EU path is built," while Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic dismissed her objection and the government is planning a state and military funeral. Al Jazeera
• Romania's anti-organised-crime agency DIICOT indicted Andrew Tate on charges of trafficking minors, sexual abuse of a minor and money laundering, with brother Tristan Tate indicted as an accomplice. Prosecutors allege the brothers kept about $1.25 million, 80% of one victim's webcam earnings, after she was allegedly seduced in Britain in 2012 at age 15. Al Jazeera
• Two senior Reform UK figures, head of policy James Orr and Nigel Farage aide Dan Jukes, resigned on September 4 after a Channel 4 News undercover investigation alleged the party arranged for an overseas company to fund its polling activity, with Jukes recorded suggesting ways to "evade electoral law." Farage denied wrongdoing, and the Metropolitan Police said it is aware of the allegations. Al Jazeera
• Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was polling above 40% ahead of Sunday's state election in Saxony-Anhalt, against the Christian Democratic Union's roughly 20%, putting it on track to become the first far-right party to lead a German state government since World War II. Lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund was described by Der Spiegel, per the article, as "Germany's most dangerous man." Al Jazeera
• Germany, Austria, Greece, Denmark and the Netherlands are working toward setting up migrant "return hubs" in non-EU countries for people without legal residency. Danish minister Morten Bodskov said the group expects "a common understanding with a partner country outside of the EU" around New Year, while the Council of Europe has flagged "considerable human rights risks" in the plan. Al Jazeera

North America

• Missouri's Supreme Court unanimously blocked a 2025 congressional redistricting map backed by President Trump, restoring the state's prior district lines and ruling that a referendum petition signed by nearly 300,000 residents was "legal, sufficient, and timely." Trump called the ruling "horrible, ridiculous, and unConstitutional," and Attorney General Catherine Hanaway pledged an immediate appeal to the US Supreme Court. Al Jazeera
• The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a safety investigation into Tesla's self-driving Cybercab the same day, September 4, that Tesla launched the driverless taxi service in Austin, Texas. Al Jazeera
• A thunderstorm that struck Toronto on September 2 left at least 45,000 Toronto Hydro customers without power as of 8pm, flooded roads including the Don Valley Parkway, damaged Michael Garron Hospital's emergency department, and delayed or cancelled dozens of flights at Pearson airport. Mayor Olivia Chow activated the city's emergency operations centre. Al Jazeera
• A prank website briefly topped Google search results for the Republican Party's upcoming 2026 midterm convention, scheduled September 9-10 in Dallas, and redirected visitors to the Justice Department's Epstein files. The Republican Party called it "FAKE NEWS!" while Democratic Representative Ted Lieu shared the story, confirming the redirect worked as described. Al Jazeera

• GiveWell published a piece on how its Cross-Cutting research subteam is strengthening data collection and analysis as the organisation scales, framed as a conversation between CEO Elie Hassenfeld and Program Director Alex Cohen on improving decision-making through better data (published September 3). GiveWell
• GiveWell reported it raised $616 million in 2025, a 49% increase over 2024, and directed $427 million to programs it estimates will save an additional 86,000 lives (published August 31). GiveWell
• Coefficient Giving, formerly Open Philanthropy, named Amanda Glassman, previously of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Center for Global Development, as managing director overseeing its Global Aid Policy and Global Growth funds. The announcement says the organisation has already committed close to $18 million to help governments manage donor funding contractions and plans a new global health systems policy stream focused on speeding regulatory approval of cost-effective technologies (published September 2). Coefficient Giving
• GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) reopened its Damascus country office, its first Syria presence since leaving in 2012, to focus on reconstruction, state institution building and economic development. GIZ says its remote support during the war enabled over 210,000 operations at health facilities and gave roughly two million people access to clean water (published September 2). GIZ

No new items in the past week from the Centre for Global Development, GiveDirectly, BRAC, Teaching at the Right Level, the International Growth Centre, the Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Agency Fund, the World Bank's research arm, or the bilateral aid agencies checked (see Sources below).

• The World Meteorological Organization said El Niño has "strengthened rapidly" and is "firmly established," with sea surface temperatures in the Niño 3.4 region reaching 2.2-2.6°C above average between late July and mid-August and subsurface temperatures more than 8°C above normal. Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said it could become "the strongest El Niño in the past four decades," with near-100% probability of persisting through February 2027 and drier conditions forecast for the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australia. Down To Earth
• Mongabay India reports a 14% national rainfall deficit since the monsoon began, with paddy cultivation down 1.3 million hectares against last year as El Niño is expected to strengthen through August-September. The outlet cites research showing India's drought declarations often follow "political calculations" rather than scientific criteria, with over a third of declarations in 2016-2020 going to areas with normal or above-normal rainfall while a third of genuinely drought-hit blocks received no relief. Mongabay India
• The India Meteorological Department issued red and orange alerts for eastern Madhya Pradesh, where over 204.5 mm of rainfall was possible in isolated spots, and eastern Uttar Pradesh districts including Prayagraj, Varanasi and Mirzapur, driven by a low-pressure area over northeast Madhya Pradesh combined with an active monsoon trough. West Bengal and Sikkim were placed on yellow alert for landslide and flooding risk in hill areas, with Kolkata having already recorded 80 mm of rain in the prior 24 hours. Down To Earth
• A comment piece on the August 26 Nepal glacier collapse in Langtang National Park, a debris avalanche with energy equivalent to a magnitude-5.2 earthquake that killed 1,114 people, left roughly 4,500 missing and destroyed 41 bridges and 42 km of road, argues India must reprice disaster risk. It cites a finding that direct damage to power and transport infrastructure in low- and middle-income countries costs $18 billion a year while the resulting disruption costs at least $390 billion annually, and notes India withdrew upgraded earthquake building standards (IS 1893) in March after agencies cited 10-15% cost increases in high-risk zones. Down To Earth
• The UN Convention to Combat Desertification's 17th Conference of the Parties, which concluded in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on August 28, failed to operationalize Indigenous Peoples' representative caucuses created at the 16th conference and deferred them to the next one, after the terms of reference went unadopted. The United States also blocked agenda items on gender considerations, civil society participation, and synergies among the climate, biodiversity and desertification conventions, with the European Union, Spain, Paraguay, India and South Africa warning the deferrals undermine interconnected environmental action. Down To Earth
• Palestine's climate plan says roughly 2 million Gazans face heightened vulnerability to heatwaves, drought and disease after Israeli bombardment destroyed water and sanitation infrastructure, health facilities and energy networks. The Palestinian Authority says it needs $8.6 billion to meet its 2035 emissions-reduction target and adapt to climate impacts, while the United Nations, European Union and World Bank have jointly estimated Gaza needs $71.4 billion of investment over the next two years just to recover and rebuild. Climate Home News
• Analysis by Lauri Myllyvirta of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, published on Carbon Brief, found China's carbon dioxide emissions fell 1% in the second quarter of 2026, the first time a fall was driven by declining oil use rather than coal. Transport-sector oil consumption dropped 16% amid Strait of Hormuz supply disruptions, while electric vehicles displaced about 19 million tonnes of oil in the quarter, a 50% year-on-year increase, even as coal-fired power generation rose 2.4% due to renewable curtailment and grid constraints. Carbon Brief
• United Kingdom solar farms and rooftops generated 8.8 terawatt-hours of electricity over June, July and August 2026, a 23% increase on summer 2025, according to Carbon Brief analysis, with July setting an all-time monthly record of 3.3 terawatt-hours meeting 15% of monthly electricity demand. The outlet attributes the surge to the UK's hottest summer on record, with UK households owning rooftop solar avoiding an estimated £86.7 million in electricity costs across 26 heatwave days. Carbon Brief
• Experts told Climate Home News that closing Africa's roughly $180 billion annual agrifood financing gap, including a $67-108 billion shortfall in energy infrastructure, could halve post-harvest losses (currently up to 30% of food produced annually) and raise farmer incomes by as much as 40% by enabling a shift to renewable-powered cold chains and food processing. The World Bank and African Development Bank's Mission 300 initiative has connected more than 50 million people to electricity across 40 African countries so far. Climate Home News