Philippines · Election & peace process · 2026-09-15
Coalition talks likely after Bangsamoro's first parliamentary election
Partial unofficial results from the autonomous Philippine region's first parliamentary election show no camp close to controlling the 80-seat chamber. The two leading blocs had about 35.2% and 32.4% of the party vote, making coalition talks central to choosing the first elected chief minister.
Singapore groups its 2026 National Day Rally plans into four themes
Singapore's government updated its National Day Rally hub on September 12, organising announcements around family support, technology with safeguards, a measured open population policy and long-term planning for the outer islands.
Hong Kong's dog-friendly dining list nears 1,000 venues
Hong Kong relaxed a decades-old restaurant rule in July, allowing customers to bring dogs into an initial group of more than 900 licensed premises. The current FEHD list is near 1,000, but only specifically permitted venues are covered.
Indonesia searches for 129 people missing after passenger-ship disaster
Authorities say 108 of 243 people aboard Virgo Transport 8 have been rescued, six have died and 129 remain missing. Severe weather is complicating the search, while the cause is still under investigation.
Indian police probe bomb-hoax email network and plan to question Google over 500,000 accounts
Gujarat police say they arrested two people while investigating hoax bomb-threat emails to government offices and recovered credentials for 513,847 email accounts. Police plan to ask Google how safeguards were bypassed; Google has not publicly responded.
Xi pushes ‘Greater BRICS’ cooperation on trade, finance and AI
China proposed closer BRICS cooperation in trade, finance, artificial intelligence and special economic zones. Much of the plan remains a set of initiatives rather than implemented common policy.