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UAE and Kurdistan Region leaders meet in Abu Dhabi to discuss cooperation and stability. During the talks, Sheikh Mohamed and Barzani revisited the long-standing ties between the UAE and Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region. They explored various opportunities to deepen cooperation across multiple sectors, according to official reports. The leaders also touched upon regional developments and issues of shared interest. The discussions occurred against a backdrop of ongoing regional tensions, with the Middle East governments prioritizing security and stability. Both parties emphasized the significance of promoting security, stability, and enduring peace throughout the Middle East.

According to the Egyptian Presidency, discussions during the visit will focus on deepening bilateral ties across multiple sectors. The agenda further includes the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership that Egypt and China formed in 2014. Both nations plan to hold consultations on regional and international issues of mutual interest. Since the partnership’s inception, El-Sisi and Xi have maintained consistent high-level engagement. Egypt has also broadened its participation in China-related economic initiatives, involving projects in infrastructure, manufacturing, and transport sectors during that period.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Bishkek during the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit. The August 31 encounter addressed areas including political relations, trade, defence, energy, space, mobility, and people-to-people contacts. The discussion also touched on regional disputes and collaboration through major multilateral platforms. This in-person meeting was their first since 2026 and continues a sequence of high-level exchanges between India and Russia.

Child protection efforts face mounting pressure from conflict, climate and digital abuse. The report highlights that nearly 19% of children worldwide now reside in conflict zones, a sharp rise from roughly 10% during the 1990s. By the conclusion of 2024, conflict and violence had resulted in 48.8 million children being displaced globally, nearly tripling the approximate 17 million displaced children recorded in 2010. This total includes refugee and asylum-seeking children along with millions internally displaced by conflict and violence within their own countries. Climate-related hazards are creating additional risks for children globally. Nearly half of all children, or 1.1 billion, are exposed to at least three overlapping climate threats. Almost every child faces at least one such danger, according to UNICEF’s 2026 climate risk assessment. More than 4 million children are threatened by as many as six simultaneous hazards, which include drought, extreme heat, heatwaves, floods, fires, tropical storms, and sand and dust storms.

India and Uzbekistan elevated bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership on Sunday, expanding cooperation across major economic and security sectors. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced the upgrade after talks at the Kuksaroy Residence in Tashkent. The leaders reviewed trade, investment, transport, digital technology, energy, critical minerals, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and education. Modi visited Uzbekistan from August 29 to 30 at Mirziyoyev’s invitation.

Floodwaters have claimed at least 919 lives across Nepal and Tibet, with 4,793 individuals still unaccounted for following the disaster on August 26. Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority announced on Monday that the death toll in Nepal has risen to 903, with 4,247 missing. Meanwhile, officials in Tibet reported 16 fatalities and 546 people missing in Gyirong County. The figures have surged since the weekend, as rescue teams expanded their search efforts in flood-affected zones and updated the data on missing persons.

According to data from the China Earthquake Networks Center, a moderate earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale impacted Longchang City in southwest China’s Sichuan Province on Friday afternoon. The quake took place at 1:13 p.m. Beijing time at a depth of 13 kilometers. Seismologists observed the epicenter at 29.23 degrees north latitude and 105.22 degrees east longitude within Neijiang prefecture. The magnitude 5.1 tremor prompted local emergency agencies to initiate preliminary evaluations of the potential impact across the county territory.

Wildfires sweeping through northeastern Algeria have resulted in at least 12 fatalities and left 54 people injured, officials announced Wednesday evening. The fatalities include five in Jijel, four in Bejaia, and three in Tizi Ouzou, according to Interior Minister Said Sayoud. Among the wounded, six individuals remained in critical condition, battling burns as they received intensive medical care. The blazes ignited across multiple provinces amid a fierce heatwave impacting Algeria and other regions of North Africa.

Official statistics issued by Pakistan’s federal government reveal that 21,951 Pakistani citizens were expelled from Gulf nations from March 1 through July 13, 2026. The figures, presented to the National Assembly, attribute these deportations to a range of violations including overstaying visas, illegal entry, drug-related offenses, forged documents, and participation in organized begging rings. The nearly 22,000 Pakistanis deported in this four-month span for visa breaches and begging underscores a rising trend of stricter immigration enforcement across the Middle East.

On Tuesday, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake rocked off the coast of Indonesia’s North Sumatra province, causing tremors felt across parts of Sumatra. The quake struck at 1:02:23 p.m. western Indonesian time, or 06:02:23 UTC. According to official data, the epicenter was located in the sea, 147 kilometers southeast of South Nias Regency. It had a depth of 29 kilometers, originating beneath waters to the west of Sumatra. Reports of shaking from other parts of Sumatra also emerged following the magnitude 6.1 event. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency, or BNPB, confirmed that the quake posed no tsunami threat. In South Nias, residents reported mild shaking lasting about three to five seconds. Disaster agencies began assessing the affected zones immediately after the tremor, and the initial national bulletin did not record any confirmed casualties or damages.