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In South Asia, India says the Red Fort explosion as a terrorist attack linked to Kashmir-based suspects. In the Middle East, new data exposes Israel’s weaponisation of water in occupied Palestine, while its declaration of the Egypt border as a closed military zone threatens to strain the landmark peace treaty.

Today’s lead story: Nuclear brinkmanship returns as Russia tests new weapons.

Read more below ⤵️

Top 5 Stories

1️⃣ 🇵🇰 Pakistan grants army chief sweeping powers in constitutional overhaul: Pakistan’s parliament has approved a constitutional amendment granting Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir expanded control over all branches of the armed forces and lifelong legal immunity, while curbing the authority of the supreme court. Analysts have described the amendment as the death knell for Pakistan’s fragile democracy, cementing Munir’s dominance over both government and state institutions.

2️⃣ 🇷🇺 🇨🇳 🇲🇲 Russia and China bolster Myanmar military with new aircraft amid ongoing civil war: Myanmar’s junta has commissioned Russian Mi-38T helicopters and Chinese Y-8 transport aircraft into its air force, underscoring Moscow and Beijing’s continued military support despite global sanctions. The new hardware strengthens the Tatmadaw’s aerial capabilities as it intensifies operations against resistance forces ahead of December’s widely dismissed elections. 

3️⃣ 🇨🇳 🇵🇭 China exploits political rift in Manila as South China Sea tensions escalate: Beijing has intensified its “grey zone” pressure in the South China Sea as a deepening feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte fractures Manila’s foreign policy. Marcos has doubled down on defence ties with Washington, while Duterte’s pro-China stance and growing popularity present Beijing with a strategic opening to weaken U.S.–Philippine alignment.

4️⃣ 🇮🇱 🇪🇬 Israel declares Egypt border a closed military zone, straining treaty: Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has declared the Egypt–Israel frontier a “closed military zone,” authorising troops to open fire on unauthorised entrants amid what Israel calls a surge in drone-smuggled weapons from Sinai. Cairo has condemned the move as a “flagrant breach” of the 1979 peace treaty, warning it risks sparking military friction along a demilitarised border already unsettled by Israel’s ongoing control of the Philadelphi Corridor. 

5️⃣ 🇮🇳 India confirms Red Fort explosion as terrorist attack amid Kashmir-linked arrests: India has confirmed that the blast outside Delhi’s Red Fort, which killed 12 people and injured more than 30, was a terrorist attack carried out by “anti-national forces.” Authorities have detained suspects in Kashmir allegedly tied to the Pakistan-based group Jaish-e-Mohammad, as investigators link the bombing to a wider cross-border terror network. 

Major Story

🇷🇺 🇨🇳 🇺🇸 NUCLEAR BRINKMANSHIP RETURNS AS RUSSIA TESTS NEW WEAPONS

Russia’s claim to have tested two nuclear-capable systems — the Burevestnik cruise missile and the Poseidon underwater drone — has intensified fears of a renewed nuclear arms race. The timing is critical: the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), the last remaining nuclear accord between Moscow and Washington, expires in February 2026. Without an extension, no limits will constrain the world’s two largest arsenals, raising the spectre of unconstrained nuclear competition.

Analysts in western capitals doubt the operational viability of either weapon, noting that both draw on decades-old Soviet designs and face persistent technical failures. Yet Moscow’s announcement functions as strategic theatre, designed to project technological dominance and signal defiance amid deteriorating U.S.–Russia relations. In response, President Trump’s call to restart U.S. nuclear testing — later softened to “non-critical” experiments — has further blurred red lines and prompted Russia to consider doing the same. Such rhetoric threatens to unravel the three-decade moratorium on nuclear testing and destabilise already fragile arms control norms.

The fragility of New START

Although Russia suspended participation in New START in 2023, both sides have largely respected its numerical limits on deployed warheads and delivery systems. Yet the treaty cannot be renewed under existing terms, and a new negotiation appears unlikely amid global mistrust. Moscow has floated a one-year voluntary extension to preserve these constraints, while Washington remains divided over whether to accept. Introducing China into these talks — a proposal previously pushed by Trump — would almost certainly stall progress, given Beijing’s far smaller arsenal and lack of incentive to cap its forces.

The collapse of New START would erode confidence in the wider non-proliferation regime and signal the definitive end of post–Cold War nuclear restraint. For many states, it would confirm long-held suspicions that nuclear powers are abandoning their disarmament obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Other News

1️⃣ 🇮🇱 🇵🇸 🇺🇳 Israel weaponising water in occupied Palestine, data reveals: Israeli forces and settlers have launched more than 250 attacks on Palestinian water infrastructure since 2020, including bombings, poisonings, and demolitions, according to new data from the Pacific Institute. The assaults—most concentrated in Gaza and the West Bank—have destroyed or damaged 90% of water and sanitation facilities, fuelling what UN experts describe as a public health catastrophe and a “genocidal strategy” of displacement.

2️⃣ 🇪🇹 🇪🇷 Tigray’s political collapse deepens as rival factions and regional powers edge toward renewed war: With northern Ethiopia and Eritrea sliding toward renewed conflict, Tigray’s fractured politics remain paralysed by infighting and external manipulation. Clashes in southern Tigray between the Tigray Defence Force and the Ethiopia-backed “Tigray Peace Force” have fuelled rival accusations between Mekelle and Addis Ababa, with reports of possible drone strikes and incursions into Afar unravelling the fragile Pretoria agreement.

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