Motorists in Palangkaraya ride through thick haze caused by wildfires in Kalimantan, Indonesia. Civil society groups in Borneo have filed a class-action lawsuit that demands the government address the annual wildfires. El Niño-fuelled wildfires in Kalimantan and Sumatra have caused hazardous haze across the region including in neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore.
Protests and political tensions
In Madrid, Spain, students joined teachers in a protest during an indefinite strike over working conditions, classroom sizes and pay in the Madrid region. In Chaman, Pakistan, security officials stood guard as supporters of the Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami party took part in a protest. Opposition leaders announced nationwide peaceful demonstrations against emergency rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a stronghold of the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
In New Delhi, India, security personnel detained a student activist during a protest demanding the resignation of the country’s chief election commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar. Anger over the removal of 130 million names from the electoral roll has sparked a crisis for Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government.
Health and elections
In Rome, Italy, TV camera crews waited in front of the Gemelli University hospital, where Pope Leo is recovering from surgery after a lung cancer diagnosis. In London, UK, Andy Burnham left 10 Downing Street to attend prime minister’s question in the House of Commons. During PMQs, Burnham ruled out Labour doing any deals with Greens as he condemned the latter’s ‘Zionism is racism’ policy as ‘antisemitic’.
In Shoham, Israel, workers packed ballots and polling station equipment at the Central Elections Committee’s logistics centre before legislative polls on 27 October. Uncertainty hangs over an election that could mark a turning point for a country profoundly changed after the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023 and nearly three years of war in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
Economic and environmental impacts
In Shenyang, China, a woman pushed an electric bike loaded with cabbages at a market in north-east Liaoning province. China’s producer price index has climbed at its fastest pace in more than four years, rising 5% in September as higher fuel prices pushed up business costs.
In London, UK, a boat with a message that reads ‘Enough of this crap, save our seas!’ passed the Tower of London on the River Thames. The actor Danny Dyer and the Labour MP Kevin McKenna will deliver a petition to 10 Downing Street later on Wednesday, calling on the government to ‘return the water industry to public ownership’.
Disasters and remembrance
In Gorkha, Nepal, damaged houses lay partially submerged in sludge along the banks of the Budhi Gandaki River after a flash flood caused by a landslide. Four bridges and dozens of houses were swept away, as well as a construction camp for a hydropower project.
In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a woman stood beside caskets holding the remains of fallen soldiers at Lê Thị Riêng Cultural Park. Vietnam held funeral rites for more than 700 of its war dead on Wednesday, unearthed in a push to identify those missing from decades of conflict with France and the US.
Conflict and protests
In Mikhmas, West Bank, a Palestinian man inspected a damaged car after an alleged attack by Israeli settlers. According to the Wafa news agency, Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque, an olive tree and a vehicle in the village in the early hours of the morning.
In Kyiv, Ukraine, flames engulfed a residential building after a Russian airstrike. Russia continues to launch ballistic missiles and Shahed drones in large-scale attacks on Kyiv’s residential areas and infrastructure. Five districts of the city experienced blackouts and water supply issues after the overnight barrage.
In Wasilla, US, Donald Trump arrived for a campaign rally at the Curtis D Menard Memorial Sports Center. Trump is campaigning in Alaska for local Republican candidates three weeks before the midterm elections. In Caracas, Venezuela, a woman with the Venezuelan flag draped around her shoulders confronted a police officer near the presidential palace during a protest by active and former health and education workers, as well as relatives of political prisoners. The protesters are demanding salary increases and the release of political prisoners.
