Monday, Sep 21, 2026

• Assam's chief minister laid the foundation stone for a 3,200 MW, Rs 48,000-crore Adani thermal power project on land cleared by evicting roughly 1,400 Muslim families (about 10,000 Bengali-origin Muslims); a resident said about half the titled landowners have not yet received compensation, while Adani's environmental clearance filing had told the ministry the site had no habitations. (Scroll)
• The Employees' State Insurance scheme, meant to cover roughly 4 crore insured workers, has been folded into the new Social Security Code but remains hobbled by delayed registration, weak healthcare infrastructure and weak penalties on employers, an investigation finds. (The Wire)
• The National Legal Services Authority has withdrawn its Legal Aid Defence Counsel system, launched in 2022 as India's first dedicated public-defender infrastructure across 662 districts with Rs 998.43 crore in approved funding; the scheme had covered only about 1.6% of the roughly 2.96 crore criminal cases nationally before being pulled back. (The Wire)
• The Delhi High Court dismissed the central government's appeal against the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative withdrawing Rs 20 lakh from its reserve fund after its Foreign Contribution Regulation Act registration was cancelled, holding that an FCRA cancellation only bars receipt of fresh foreign funds. (The Wire)
• Chief Justice Surya Kant called it "very, very shocking" that Manipur's government had not adequately answered a Supreme Court-appointed committee on 25 unnatural deaths among displaced people in relief camps, out of 640 total relief-camp deaths across eight districts, of which post-mortems were done in only 20 cases. (The Wire)
• Modifying a conviction from attempted murder to voluntarily causing hurt, a Delhi High Court judge remarked that Indian society has "failed to value and respect physical labour," saying manual workers are "least paid, least cared and least bothered." (LiveLaw)
• An Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) commentary questions whether the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, the LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) connection scheme for poor households, is delivering a genuinely just transition to clean cooking. (EPW)
• A separate EPW piece examines how far Kisan Credit Cards are actually reaching farmers for agricultural credit. (EPW)
• Nineteen of 23 Bengali-speaking migrant workers from Murshidabad, detained in Chhattisgarh on September 4 on suspicion of being undocumented Bangladeshis, were released after their citizenship was verified through voter rolls; four remain in custody. (Scroll)
• A Delhi musician's killing has revived attention on government inaction: Chongtham Vikram Singh, a 55-year-old Manipuri guitarist, died of internal bleeding after being beaten outside his home on September 6, and the Bezbaruah Committee's 2014 recommendation to criminalise racial discrimination in the Indian Penal Code remains unimplemented over a decade on. (Newslaundry)

• The Congress candidate for the Nandigram assembly bypoll, Milan Pradhan, was sent to judicial custody till October 3 by a Haldia court over an alleged 2007 murder case, after his arrest on September 18 on a complaint from a rival Trinamool Congress faction. (LiveLaw)
• Rahul Gandhi called Pradhan's arrest a "murder of democracy" and "political revenge," while Mamata Banerjee said the timing, right after she pledged support for him, followed the "usual BJP formula" of digging out an old case. (Scroll)
• Delhi's draft electoral roll revision (Special Intensive Revision) has thrown up notices to validate details for 33 lakh of 97.5 lakh voters, including Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Arvind Kejriwal, former vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar and his wife, and former Supreme Court judge Madan B Lokur; verification is due by October 29 and final rolls by November 4. (Scroll)
• The Election Commission said it may expand West Bengal's Special Intensive Revision appellate tribunals from 19 to 42, one per parliamentary constituency, after only about 1.2 lakh of 38.2 lakh appeals had been decided; a Calcutta High Court observation noted that at the current pace clearing the backlog would take 21 years. (Scroll)
• The Telangana High Court disqualified Congress-turned MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) Danam Nagender under the anti-defection law for having filed a Lok Sabha nomination for Congress in 2024 while still officially a Bharat Rashtra Samithi legislator; eight more defectors from the same 2023 batch face similar pending petitions. (The Wire)
• Protests broke out in Manipur's Kangpokpi district after security forces detained six Kuki men from Kholen village without explanation; demonstrators burned tyres and blocked National Highway-2 until the men were released. (Scroll)
• Rajya Sabha's monsoon-session business was formally closed, with Parliament recorded as adjourned sine die. (PRS Legislative Research)
• An EPW editorial says India's retail inflation hit a 20-month high of 4.82% in August while wholesale inflation surged to 9.92%, blaming an Iran-linked oil shock and weather-hit crop damage, and calls for supply-side management, possible rate action and income support for vulnerable households. (EPW)
• Upcoming: the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation's advance release calendar lists the next Consumer Price Index print due October 12, the Index of Industrial Production due September 28, and the Annual Survey of Industries 2024-25 results due September 29. (MoSPI advance release calendar)

• The Voice of the People Party (VPP) is ramping up preparation for the Shillong Lok Sabha bypoll while also building organisational strength for the 2028 Assembly elections. VPP president Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit met party workers from all 36 Khasi-Jaintia Hills constituencies at the party office in Nongkrem on Saturday and said supporters remain confident of winning; the bypoll follows the February 2026 death of VPP MP Dr Ricky Andrew J Syngkon. (The Shillong Times)
• VPP chief Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit said the Meghalaya government only reversed its Structured Pay Framework (SPF) notification for the Education Department after public protests, though the VPP had already raised the issue in the Assembly. He credited teachers' body APSTA for the SPF rollback and the Garo Students' Union (GTF) for the earlier scrapping of the Lumpongdeng Island project. (The Shillong Times)
• Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, speaking at the Conference of State Finance Ministers in New Delhi on September 18-19, said Meghalaya needs to strengthen public finances and explore new financing mechanisms for agriculture, energy transition and technology, linking this to "Mission 10" and the state's long-term "Meghalaya 2032" vision. (The Shillong Times)
• Over 2,000 Garo residents gathered at Mallangkona in West Khasi Hills to protest a government policy requiring a Khasi-language qualifying test for District Selection Committee recruitment in Khasi-Jaintia Hills. Meghalaya Amenities Development Organisation (MADO) general secretary Manuel Ch Marak called the policy discriminatory and demanded Garo also be recognised as a test-language option, along with appointment of Garo headmen and teachers in Garo-inhabited areas. (The Shillong Times)
• Maitshaphrang Movement convenor Michael Syiem said he is personally open to discussing a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for Meghalaya if it addresses equitable distribution of ancestral and self-acquired property, compulsory marriage registration and post-divorce maintenance, since these are civil rather than religious or cultural matters. This follows Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma's September 16 statement that any UCC would need to account for the state's tribal and matrilineal customs. (The Shillong Times)
• Residents of Maikhuli village in Ri-Bhoi district, on the Meghalaya-Assam border, confronted a group from the Assam side on Saturday morning after the group allegedly erected bamboo barricades and damaged a village boundary wall and school wall. District administration officials and police intervened; the Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People later visited the village and called for stronger border security. (The Shillong Times)
• Shillong police have intensified nighttime vehicle checkpoints after Additional Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Lovish Garg was seriously injured on Friday when a scooter allegedly struck him as he tried to stop it at a checkpoint near Samkhamti Petrol Pump; an attempted-murder case has been filed. The stepped-up checks follow a string of petrol-bomb attacks on government offices and police stations. (The Shillong Times)
• The Civil Society Women's Organisation (CSWO) issued a statement backing police over the checkpoint crackdown while appealing for public restraint, with president Agnes Kharshiing calling for cooperation between residents and police and asking anyone with surveillance footage of the petrol-bomb attacks to come forward. (The Shillong Times)
• A Shillong Times feature notes Meghalaya's agriculture is still monsoon-dependent despite heavy annual rainfall, citing only 9.87% of the state's area under cultivation and 24,460 hectares brought under assured irrigation through 173 flow and lift projects; the draft State Agriculture Policy 2026 is open for public comment through September 30. (The Shillong Times)

Targeted searches for the standing list of Meghalaya institutions, programmes and NGOs (Foundation for Responsive Governance, Indus Action, Centre for Policy Research, IDinsight, Inclusion Economics, Rocket Learning, Government Innovation Lab, State Capability Enhancement Project, Sampath Kumar, Human Development Leadership Program, Meghalaya Early Childhood Development Mission/Mission 1000 Days, MPOWER, Chief Minister's Safe Motherhood Scheme, Child Care Support Initiative, Nokma Empowerment Research Project, Chief Minister's Headman Fellowship, Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram, Meghalaya Health Insurance Scheme, GREEN Meghalaya) turned up nothing published in the last 24-72 hours.

Bangladesh

• Police found the body of Mariam Khatun, 19, hanging in a flat at NAM Bhaban in Dhaka's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area; she was identified as the second wife of Satkhira-4 Member of Parliament Gazi Nazrul Islam, who was present when the body was found, and a case has since been filed against him and two others. (The Daily Star)
• Seven people died after gas cylinders exploded in a lorry parked outside the Pretty Group garment factory in Ashulia, Savar, on Sunday evening, with the blast and resulting fire destroying about 20 vehicles and injuring at least 18 people. (The Daily Star)
• The government raised fuel prices by Tk 20 a litre effective from midnight, taking diesel to Tk 135, octane to Tk 165, petrol to Tk 160 and kerosene to Tk 155, the Energy and Mineral Resources Division announced. (The Daily Star)
• Ishayat Shahriar Apratim, a 13-year-old Class Seven student at Border Guard Public School in Cumilla, was found dead in the Lalmai hills about 22 hours after he went missing with his mother's iPhone; Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said all suspects were arrested within 12 hours of the discovery. (Prothom Alo)
• Prime Minister Tarique Rahman leaves for New York on September 21 with a 35-member delegation to address the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 24, covering Bangladesh's democratic progress, governance and the Rohingya crisis. (Prothom Alo)
• Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, who chairs the Special Committee on Constitutional Amendment, said the panel aims to conclude stakeholder discussions by December and has begun drafting its report after consultations with 17 political parties. (Prothom Alo)
• Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal-1 issued arrest warrants against five people, including writer-professor Muhammed Zafar Iqbal and former Dhaka University vice-chancellor ASM Maksud Kamal, over the killing of five people during the July mass uprising; they must appear on October 22. (Prothom Alo)
• The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization projected 1.81 crore Bangladeshis will face acute food insecurity between September and December, an 18% rise from the prior four months, citing high inflation and fuel costs linked to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. (The Daily Star)

Pakistan

• The Inter-Services Public Relations said six security personnel, including two officers, were killed and eight militants died in a fire exchange in Hangu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, part of the ongoing Azm-i-Istehkam counterterrorism campaign. (Dawn)
• Aleema Khan, sister of former prime minister Imran Khan, was detained in Lahore under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance and taken to Kot Lakhpat jail, with the deputy commissioner's order citing her role in mobilising workers for a September 27 protest by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. (Dawn)
• Jamaat-i-Islami launched a protest march toward Islamabad by train and road convoys against the petroleum levy, after talks with a government delegation broke down; party chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman warned the movement could turn into one to oust the government. (Dawn)
• Gilgit-Baltistan police said they repelled an attack by about nine militants on a checkpost between Diamer and Ghizer districts, with no police casualties reported. (Dawn)
• Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said ongoing protests and sit-ins are costing the economy roughly Rs 120 billion a day, calling the disruption "self-inflicted pain" given existing pressures from Middle East tensions. (Dawn)
• The government opened bidding for its first 400-megawatt wheeling auction under a new competitive electricity trading scheme, with Power Minister Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari saying the state is "practically moving out of electricity procurement." (Dawn)

Sri Lanka

• President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the government expects to provide a subsidy to cushion a possible fuel price increase set for October 1. (Daily Mirror)
• At a rally in Akuressa, President Dissanayake said all Sri Lankans are equal before the law and pledged justice-system reforms, tax cuts in the coming budget, and a monthly Rs 5,000 stipend for orphaned children up to age 21 starting in January. (News First)
• Former president Ranil Wickremesinghe said he cannot take over the country now since he is not currently in Parliament. (Daily Mirror)
• Shiranthi Rajapaksa, wife of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, has not returned from medical treatment in Singapore as expected, ahead of a September 24 summons from the Financial Crimes Investigation Division over the finances of the Siriliya Saviya organisation she led. (News First)
• Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa released a full 41-minute video of his September 3 meeting with UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka Marc-André Franche, after Franche questioned whether the opposition was focusing on important issues. (News First)
• Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment Arun Hemachandra will lead a delegation to Qatar from September 20-23 for the Sri Lanka-Qatar Joint Committee meeting on labour and foreign employment cooperation. (Daily Mirror)
• Heavy rain triggered a landslide that blocked the Hatton-Bagawantalawa-Maskeliya-Balangoda road at Wanraja Estate in Dikoya, as authorities issued flood warnings for areas along the rising Mahaweli River. (Daily Mirror)

Nepal

• Nepal's steel exports fell 62.43% in the last fiscal year, from Rs 16.35 billion to Rs 6.14 billion, costing over Rs 10 billion in lost earnings, after India imposed safeguard duties; bilateral talks in New Delhi on September 17 failed to resolve the dispute. (The Kathmandu Post)
• A government task force led by prime ministerial adviser Asim Shah proposed changes to nearly 80% of the constitution's articles but has not released the report publicly, prompting opposition parties including Nepali Congress and the UML to warn the exercise risks becoming a rewrite rather than an amendment. (The Kathmandu Post)
• Police detained Trimool Nepal Party chair and political analyst Bharat Dahal from a tea shop in Sundarharaicha Municipality, Morang, and took him to Kathmandu without disclosing the charges; his associates called it a crackdown on his political views. (The Kathmandu Post)
• CK Raut was re-elected unopposed as chair of the Janamat Party ahead of its second general convention in Birgunj on September 25-26. (The Kathmandu Post)

Bhutan

• Infrastructure and Transport Minister Lyonpo Chandra Bdr Gurung told a Meet-the-Press session that Thimphu's Structure Plan has moved into implementation, with fiscal year 2026-27 funding including Nu 264.50 million for the Changlam Public Transport corridor and Nu 253 million for Norzin Lam upgrades. Published September 19, at the outer edge of the recency window. (The Bhutanese)

Asia Pacific

• US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng led high-level talks at JPMorgan Chase's Manhattan headquarters to prepare for a Trump-Xi summit expected later in the week, with the two countries' trade truce set to expire November 10. (Al Jazeera)
• Huawei's criminal trial opened September 9 in a Brooklyn federal court on racketeering, fraud and trade-secret theft charges tied to five US technology companies; the trial is expected to run three months, days before President Xi Jinping's planned September 23-25 visit to Washington. (Al Jazeera)
• Hong Kong held a state funeral for Tung Chee-hwa, the territory's first post-colonial leader, who died September 8 at age 89; current and former chief executives John Lee, Carrie Lam and Donald Tsang attended. (Al Jazeera)
• Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said new artificial intelligence (AI) standards will be introduced by year-end and that platforms including Facebook, TikTok and Instagram will face "duty of care" requirements under draft laws headed to parliament, after meeting Apple CEO Tim Cook in Cupertino. (Al Jazeera)
• Divers began operations to right the capsized ferry Virgo Transport 8 in the Java Sea, five days after it capsized with 243 people aboard; nine bodies have been confirmed and 126 people remain missing. (Al Jazeera)
• The Bank of Japan raised its benchmark rate 0.25 points to 1.25%, the highest in 31 years, citing energy prices and wage growth pushing inflation above its 2% target. (Al Jazeera)
• Japan now counts 107,677 people aged 100 or older, the 56th straight annual increase, while its fertility rate fell to a record-low 1.14 in 2025. (Al Jazeera)
• A Chinese coast guard vessel rammed the Philippine government ship BRP Datu Magat Salamat off Palawan on September 18, causing severe damage but no injuries, the latest in a series of South China Sea confrontations. (Al Jazeera)

Africa

• Seven Ethiopian armed groups, including the Amhara Fano National Movement, the Tigray People's Liberation Front and the Oromo Liberation Army, announced a new alliance, the "Ethiopian Peoples' Forces Alliance for Survival," aiming to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. (Al Jazeera)
• Dozens marched in Tunis demanding release of four Global Sumud Flotilla activists held since March on financial-irregularity allegations; one detainee, Wael Naouar, has been on hunger strike for about 35 days. (Al Jazeera)
• The Democratic Republic of the Congo began rolling out the Ervebo Ebola vaccine to 50,000 frontline health workers in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, with 20,000 enrolled in a year-long clinical trial, as the Bundibugyo-strain outbreak has killed 3,639 of 7,541 recorded cases. (Al Jazeera)
• More than 2,700 Yemenis have arrived in Djibouti's northern town of Obock after dangerous sea crossings fleeing the conflict in Yemen. (Al Jazeera)
• South African police are investigating the deaths of nine women whose bodies were found in the Ekurhuleni municipality near Johannesburg since July, with a 400,000 rand ($25,000) reward offered and one suspect already in court. (Al Jazeera)
• The Trump administration lifted US sanctions on Eritrea that had been imposed in November 2021 over Ethiopia's Tigray war, with the State Department saying the move aims "to advance US regional interests" in the Red Sea. (Al Jazeera)
• Nigerian security forces fired on and tear-gassed protesters in Minna, Niger State, after 37 miners died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps; a 24-hour curfew was imposed and the local commandant was suspended pending investigation. (Al Jazeera)
• South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has removed the head of the country's election commission with no reason given, the latest in a string of delays to elections already deferred since 2022 and 2024. Three days old, at the outer edge of the recency window. (The New Humanitarian)

Latin America

• Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet withdrew from the race to become United Nations Secretary-General, saying "the time was not right," after receiving just one supportive vote in the latest Security Council straw poll. (Al Jazeera)
• Thousands joined a "March of Anger" in Buenos Aires, organised largely by left-wing groups, protesting austerity measures under President Milei's government. (Al Jazeera)
• Eighteen suspects, including Colombian soldiers and a former Haitian official, were extradited to the United States over the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, US Attorney Jason A Reding Quinones said. (Al Jazeera)
• A wildfire above the Colombian tourist town of Villa de Leyva has burned 40 hectares of forest, prompting deployment of aircraft, a military helicopter and firefighters from Bogota, Tunja and Boyaca. (Al Jazeera)
• Cuba suffered at least its sixth nationwide blackout of 2026 after a high-voltage transmission line failure on September 18, with nearly half of Havana's customers regaining power by the next day. (Al Jazeera)
• Bolivia's Congress approved a $1.9bn International Monetary Fund loan on September 19 as President Rodrigo Paz's government plans to eliminate fuel subsidies by January, a move unions warn will raise living costs after summer protests. (Al Jazeera)

Middle East

• France said it will summon Iran's ambassador after Tehran ordered the closure of a French-language centre affiliated with the French embassy, accusing it of "illegal acts" including recruiting elite figures to leave the country; the French foreign ministry called the closure "unjustifiable and unacceptable." (Al Jazeera)
• Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man near the Ganim settlement east of Jenin after alleging he tried to carry out a vehicular attack, while a separate shooting near the Halamish settlement killed a 30-year-old Israeli settler, prompting Israeli forces to seal off Ramallah and el-Bireh. (Al Jazeera)
• About 570 Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by mid-morning Sunday, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited tunnels beneath the Western Wall with thousands of settlers ahead of Yom Kippur and October elections. (Al Jazeera)
• Israeli President Isaac Herzog pardoned former soldier Elor Azaria, convicted of killing a wounded Palestinian man in 2016, as roughly 100,000 Jewish Israelis gathered at the Western Wall for Yom Kippur. (Al Jazeera)
• More than 104,000 people have fled their homes on Yemen's west coast in just over two weeks amid an escalation that began when Houthi forces seized the Bab al-Mandeb strait. Three days old, at the outer edge of the recency window. (The New Humanitarian)

Europe

• Russia held its first wartime parliamentary election since 2022, including voting in four annexed Ukrainian regions and Crimea, with the ruling United Russia party set to dominate the 450-seat State Duma; turnout stood at 56.66% at poll closure. (Al Jazeera)
• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni proposed banning burqas and niqabs in schools and requiring Italian lessons for parents of struggling immigrant students, at a youth festival of her Brothers of Italy party. (Al Jazeera)
• The Left party (Die Linke) topped Berlin's state election with 24.5%, while the far-right Alternative for Germany led with 37% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a result Chancellor Friedrich Merz called "a disaster" as his approval rating sits around 14%. (Al Jazeera)
• Dutch riot police made 24 arrests after a far-right rally against immigration policy turned violent at The Hague's Malieveld park, with Justice Minister David van Weel condemning "Hitler salutes, antisemitic slogans, violence against the police." (Al Jazeera)
• Sweden's Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson was tasked with forming a government after the left-wing opposition bloc won a narrow 176-of-349-seat majority; she has until September 28 to negotiate a coalition with the Greens, Centre Party and Left Party. (Al Jazeera)

North America

• Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to deepen cooperation on energy, defence and space, meeting in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon as Canada pursues European Union "associate member" status amid its trade dispute with the United States. (Al Jazeera)
• A poll found 81% of Canadians support closer integration with the European Union without full membership, after the EU proposed a new associate-member status for Canada. (Al Jazeera)
• A 50% US tariff on Canadian dairy in effect since August 22 has left farmers such as British Columbia's Casey Pruim unable to quickly redirect milk supply, with Canada's retaliatory tariffs targeting $20bn in US goods. (Al Jazeera)
• President Trump said a planned triumphal arch in Washington, DC, will also serve as a military complex able to "house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones, plus Snipers," a plan already challenged in a lawsuit by three Vietnam War veterans. (Al Jazeera)
• Trump said he will create an "AI Force" and appoint a new "AI czar," pledging not to "hinder or stifle" the AI industry, days before his planned summit with Xi Jinping. (Al Jazeera)
• The 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Trump administration must give migrants a "meaningful" chance to raise safety concerns before deporting them to third countries, upholding a February ruling; the policy has already sent more than 25,000 migrants to about 29 third countries. (Al Jazeera)
• Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she had a "very good" phone call with Trump about bilateral trade talks, expressing hope for reduced tariffs on Mexican steel, aluminum and auto exports. (Al Jazeera)

• The Gates Foundation committed $1 billion over two years to expand equitable access to artificial intelligence in health and development, tied to its 2026 Goalkeepers Report "Make This Matter: AI, Equity, and the Choice We Can't Delay" (published September 14). The report says more than 90% of the data used to train early large language models came from English-language sources, and the foundation is splitting the new funding 40% to education, 40% to healthcare, 10% to agriculture and 10% to digital infrastructure. (Gates Foundation)
• The World Bank published a Country Private Sector Diagnostic for Djibouti (September 14) identifying up to $600 million in private investment potential and roughly 12,000 jobs over five years across solar power, data centres and tourism, citing commercial electricity tariffs of 25 US cents per kilowatt-hour against an African average of 14 cents as a barrier to renewable investment. (World Bank)
• The Agency Fund argued (September 16) that "coaching" in multi-year graduation-style anti-poverty programmes remains a poorly understood "black box" despite strong long-term results, and proposed the field start measuring which of four possible functions, aspirational, behavioural, relational, administrative, actually drives outcomes. (The Agency Fund)

Nothing else from the fixed list of organisations and bilateral aid agencies published within the seven-day window; see the Sources section for what was checked at each.

• Meghalaya has recorded a 59% monsoon rainfall deficit as of September 15, the worst in India this season, with West Jaintia Hills district down 79% and East Khasi Hills down 53%; the state's basin development authority says roughly 80% of villages depend on springs for drinking water and irrigation, which the shortfall now threatens. (Down To Earth)
• A new report from consultancy Systemiq and the Integrated Mountain Initiative, with technical input from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development and the G B Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, finds Himalayan glaciers are losing mass 65% faster than a decade ago and warns up to 80% of present glacier volume could be gone by the end of the century; it flags black carbon from brick kilns and South Asian industry as responsible for roughly a third of the melt. (Down To Earth)
• Climate Home News reports that COP31 co-hosts Türkiye and Australia face credibility questions over continued fossil fuel expansion: Türkiye still gets 56% of its electricity from fossil fuels and is expanding gas production in the Black Sea, while Australia gets over 60% of its electricity from fossil fuels, coal supplies 45%, and it has approved an extension of the Saraji coal mine in Queensland. (Climate Home News)

All three items above are dated September 18-19, at the outer edge of the three-day recency window; nothing dated September 20 or 21 was found after checking Down To Earth, Carbon Brief, Climate Home News, Mongabay India and general wire searches.