Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani has arrived in Baghdad for an official visit to discuss regional political matters and bilateral relations. He was invited by the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed al-Sudani. During the visit, MOUs related to energy and investment were signed between the two countries. Meanwhile, wealthy Chinese migrants who invested in Australia’s “Golden Visa” programme, meant to lead to permanent residency, are left in limbo as the government put it on hold. For example, Paul Wang invested $680,000 in a food processing business in Australia, hoping for permanent residency with his family of three, but is still waiting for a decision years later as processing times have blown out.
In Ukraine, Russia plans to stage elections in occupied parts of the country in three months’ time, a move seen by many as a signal from Moscow that it remains in control of occupied areas despite the Ukrainian counteroffensive. The Ukrainian assault is still in its early stages, and the decisive battles are yet to come. Furthermore, the Greece sea disaster, in which hundreds of migrants may have drowned, raises questions about how they were unable to be saved as their vessel was shadowed by the Greek coastguard. Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) delegation was travelling back to Ukrainian-held territory when gunfire briefly halted their convoy; although the delegation was not in immediate danger.
In Canadian news, at least 15 people were killed after a semi-trailer truck hit a small bus carrying mainly elderly people in Manitoba. It is one of Canada’s most lethal road accidents in recent history. Separately, Biparjoy, a cyclone, made landfall in Gujarat coast near the Pakistan border on 30 September, as strong winds and heavy rain lashed coastal areas of the two countries. In political news, Finland’s right-wing parties have formed a majority government, led by the National Coalition (NCP), which won the April parliamentary election, through a coalition with the Eurosceptic, anti-immigration Finns party and two smaller groups. Finally, Italy has approved a justice reform aimed at strengthening the rights of defendants, a long-awaited measure advocated by Silvio Berlusconi, former Prime Minister of Italy who passed away recently after years of legal battles with prosecutors.
