Himalayan flood deaths passed 930, the U.S. and Iran traded fire again, and Congo’s Ebola outbreak topped 6,000 cases. Ten stories as of Monday, August 31.
1. Nepal–Tibet border. Nepal’s disaster agency said Monday that at least 939 people have been killed and 3,925 remain missing, six days after Wednesday’s glacial collapse and flash floods. The BBC put 592 of the missing as foreign nationals; Chinese authorities still report 16 dead and 546 missing in Tibet’s Gyirong County. Rescue teams, with Indian and Chinese tunnel specialists, used a controlled blast before dawn at the Trishuli 3A hydropower site. The army later said 639 hydropower workers were still unaccounted for, down from an earlier 933. Reuters said more than 10,000 people have been rescued. The Trishuli was rising again on monsoon rain.
2. Larak Island / Strait of Hormuz. U.S. forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, Central Command said, after Revolutionary Guard crews were seen preparing to fire rockets with sea mines into the strait—the first known U.S. attack since late July. Iran’s governor said two people were killed. Iranian media said Tehran then struck two U.S. bases in Jordan. President Trump posted an AI-generated clip claiming Kharg Island was “blown to smithereens”; a U.S. official said Kharg was not targeted, and National Iranian Oil’s Hamid Bovard called the post “laughable.” President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking with India’s Narendra Modi on the SCO sidelines in Bishkek, said continuing the war is in no one’s interest. Oil rose more than 3.5 percent. Reuters.
3. Ituri / eastern Congo. Congo’s authorities said Monday that the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak has topped 6,000 confirmed cases and 2,911 deaths, with more than 1,360 recovered. AP called it the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record, spreading under insecurity, displacement, and a health workers’ strike. WHO says it remains out of control and is on track to surpass the 2014–16 West Africa epidemic. There is no approved vaccine or treatment for Bundibugyo; Congo began vaccinating front-line workers last week with Ervebo, made for a different strain. On Saturday, young people with machetes attacked a response team at a funeral near Mambasa.
4. Koror / Palau. The 55th Pacific Islands Forum opened Monday with at least five heads of government absent: Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Kiribati, Reuters said. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale left after a no-confidence motion at home; Kiribati’s Taneti Maamau is joining some sessions virtually. Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. is hosting through Friday under the theme Building Economies: Life, Action, Unity. China questioned Taiwan’s presence; Taipei’s foreign minister Lin Chia-lung is in Koror. Dialogue partners including the United States and China are back after last year’s exclusion. RNZ said the secretariat insists missing leaders will not derail the week. The leaders’ sitting was due Monday night; the retreat is Thursday.
5. Asheville. G20 finance ministers and central bank governors sit Monday and Tuesday at the Omni Grove Park Inn, per the U.S. Treasury schedule. Secretary Scott Bessent is hosting the money track toward the December leaders’ summit in Miami. On Sunday he told Reuters that G20 members should re-examine trade with China to shrink imbalances, saying the world “cannot have a China with a $1.2 trillion trade surplus.” Treasury has also flagged sovereign debt practices and Iran sanctions. Bessent told reporters Monday he felt Iran was taking the energy measures seriously.
6. Reykjavik. After Saturday’s No on reopening EU accession talks, Foreign Minister Thorgerður Gunnarsdóttir told Reuters on Monday that Iceland still has to find other ways to increase its security, including bilateral deals and deeper EEA ties. “We didn’t vote away the geopolitical situation,” she said. Public broadcaster RÚV put No at 52.8 percent and Yes at 47.2, with 82.5 percent turnout. Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir said the No ends the debate while her government is in office.
7. Caracas / Washington. President Trump on Sunday called the Venezuela oil pact a gift that would replenish U.S. strategic reserves, now at a four-decade low, El País reported Monday. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez said Saturday the 25-year arrangement covers 17 fields, about 65 billion barrels, and $19 a barrel to Caracas. Al Jazeera, citing Reuters, said officials are preparing to sign exploration and production papers this week, including with Chevron. No full contract text has been published. El País said the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital is described as the managing entity.
8. Bishkek. Xi Jinping met Vladimir Putin on Monday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, a day before the Council of Heads of State sitting. Xinhua quoted Xi saying the foundation of China–Russia relations would become stronger under their “strategic guidance.” Putin called the partnership a model of interstate relations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine came up only in passing. Iran’s Pezeshkian was also in Bishkek talking to India’s Modi.
9. Niamey. Niger’s capital was calm Sunday after a 24-hour mutiny. AP said Russia’s Africa Corps intervened with ground and aerial support after mutineers held Base 101 at Diori Hamani airport. Ambassador Viktor Voropayev said the mutineers were “neutralized particularly thanks to” Africa Corps. Reuters sources said kamikaze drones were used. Junta leader Abdourahamane Tiani had still not appeared. Algeria sent jets; AES allies Mali and Burkina Faso condemned the “betrayal.”
10. The Hague / Kashmir. The Permanent Court of Arbitration said Monday the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty remains fully in force and India must limit work on the Ratle hydroelectric plant. India had suspended the treaty after last year’s Kashmir attack; Pakistan says the western rivers water about 80 percent of its farms. Reuters reported the Hague ruling. India rejected the order, saying the court has no jurisdiction. A World Bank–appointed neutral expert is due to judge the plant by July 2027.
Coming up. Monday 31 August–Tuesday 1 September — G20 finance ministers, Asheville. Tuesday 1 September — SCO heads of state, Bishkek (leaders already gathering). Sunday 30 August–Friday 4 September — Pacific Islands Forum, Palau (leaders’ retreat Thursday). Wednesday 9–Thursday 10 September — ECB rate decision, Berlin. The standing calendar is at The Watch.
Sources: BBC (Nepal), Reuters (Nepal), Reuters (Hormuz), AP (Congo), Reuters (Palau), RNZ (Palau), U.S. Treasury, Reuters (G20), Reuters (Iceland), El País (Venezuela), Al Jazeera (Venezuela), Xinhua (SCO), AP (Niger), Reuters (Niger), Reuters (Indus).
