Three Chinese and Burmese workers die after being trapped in a tunnel for days

Today’s news: WHO announces temporary ‘humanitarian pauses’ for polio vaccinations in Gaza. Philippines to spend $33 billion on defence upgrades. Seoul’s Constitutional Court declares country’s climate targets unconstitutional as too soft. Schools closed in Karachi as Arabian Sea depression could turn into cyclonic storm.

THAILAND

Three foreign workers trapped in a collapsed railway tunnel have died despite rescue efforts lasting more than five days, Thai authorities said.

The men, two from China and one from Myanmar, were still alive on Thursday and died of asphyxiation, according to initial investigations. The tragedy occurred in the district of Pak Chong, about 200 km northeast of the capital, Bangkok.

Gaza – Israel

The The World Health Organization (WHO) said it had received a “preliminary commitment” to allow temporary “humanitarian pauses” in Gaza for the distribution of polio vaccines.as the spread of disease and illness increases in the besieged Strip. Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the Palestinian territory, said yesterday that the three pauses will take place from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will last three days each in different areas of Gaza, starting on Sunday.

PHILIPPINES

The Philippines wants to modernize its armed forces with medium-range missiles and advanced fighter jetstwo senior security officials said yesterday, spending at least $33 billion to modernize its defenses in the face of rising regional tensions. Armed Forces chief Romeo Brawner told reporters that the Philippines wants to acquire more state-of-the-art weapons.

SOUTH KOREA

Yesterday, South Korea’s Constitutional Court has ruled that most of the country’s climate goals are unconstitutional, handing a historic victory to young environmental activists, who wept with joy on the steps of the court. They argued that South Korea’s legally binding climate commitments were insufficient and not being met, violating their constitutionally guaranteed human rights. Unconstitutional is the absence of a government target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 2031 to 2050.

PAKISTAN

Heavy rains and stormy winds forced authorities in Karachi, Pakistan’s most populous city, to close schools today due to a deep depression in the Arabian Sea that could develop into a cyclonic storm, according to the Met Office. According to the Met Office, parts of Karachi received 147 mm of rain overnight and the city’s mayor, Murtaza Wahab, in a post on X, asked residents to avoid “unnecessary travel.”

GEORGIA

Georgian President Salome Zurabišvili has officially launched the electoral campaign for the parliamentary elections on 26 October, describing them as “the equivalent of a referendum to choose between Europe and Russia” in a candid tone, stating that “compromising with Moscow would, in fact, be selling one’s soul”.

RUSSIA

Former editor-in-chief of Novaja Gazeta, Nobel laureate Dmitry Muratov, has appealed to the Red Cross on behalf of 63-year-old Russian political prisoner Aleksej Gorinov, who is serving a seven-year sentence in a camp for false news about the Russian armed forces, to provide him with proper care after being tortured in solitary confinement.