Specialised rescue teams from China, India and Nepal built temporary bridges to reach remote areas and dug through the ruins of hydropower projects in the Himalayas, using excavators to rescue close to 300 workers trapped inside tunnels

International News via Reuters:

The death toll in Nepal’s flood crossed 1,000 on Tuesday, as rescuers used heavy machinery, helicopters and excavators to reach the thousands still missing, nearly a week after the catastrophic Himalayan disaster left a trail of destruction across towns and valleys.

Specialised rescue teams from China, India and Nepal built temporary bridges to reach remote areas and dug through the ruins of hydropower projects in the Himalayas, using excavators to rescue close to 300 workers trapped inside tunnels.

The collapse of a glacier on August 26 sent a deluge of ice, rock and mud sweeping through the impoverished nation’s border region with China.

At least 639 people remain stuck in several devastated hydropower stations that have become the focus of rescue efforts, the country’s disaster management authority said on Tuesday.

The total confirmed death toll rose to 1,003, with about 4,000 people still missing, including 590 foreign nationals from 39 countries. 

“Thousands of citizens have lost their homes, families, loved ones and property,” Prime Minister Balendra Shah said in a late-night social media post on Monday.

Over 11,000 people have been rescued across the affected region, and power and communication lines were restored in some areas, he said, promising support for those who were displaced.

More than 9,200 personnel were deployed in the affected areas, coordinating the search and rescue of the injured, assisting in the management of bodies, opening blocked roads and conducting emergency treatment, the army said.

“We did not have the time to grab anything before fleeing,” said a survivor from the hard-hit Rasuwa district, who said she had walked to Nuwakot with scores of other villagers who survived. “What we were wearing is the only pair of clothes we have. And even they are wet from rain.”

Rescue teams had managed to restore road networks to Nuwakot, one of the worst-affected districts, facilitating rescue operations and distribution of relief material, Shah said. 

FOREIGN HELP FLOWS IN

In China, rescue teams worked through the night to reopen access to the Nepali border, on a steep mountain gorge with unstable cliffs on one side and fast-flowing river channels on the other.

Beijing will send DNA testing experts to disaster-hit areas as well as a second batch of relief supplies, its foreign ministry said, adding that equipment would include drones and water purification.

South Korea, nine of whose nationals were working at a hydropower project and are missing, also said it will send a 44-member emergency relief team to support search-and-rescue operations in the Rasuwa region.

Nepal last week turned down foreign involvement in general search and rescue but said it needed specialised services and advanced technological support in areas such as life-detecting machines, large refrigerators and pre-fabricated bridges.

Aid worth more than $42 million had poured into the country after the disaster, Shah said, and the government expected the contributions to increase.

RESCUE EFFORTS FOCUS ON HYDROPOWER STATIONS

Shah said 279 workers had been rescued from hydropower projects, with joint teams from Nepal, India and China working on search-and-rescue operations.

Rescue teams drained water from tunnel heads and used rock breakers to make entry paths into the tunnels, Nepal’s army said, as troops tried to reach those still believed to be trapped inside.

“Our first rescue observation at Trishuli Hydro Power plant shows that it is not humanly possible to go into the tunnel,” Asish Gurung, a mountain guide helping in the tunnel rescue, told Reuters from Haku village in Rasuwa district.

“We need machines like bulldozers and excavators. There are two of them here now. One is not functioning and the other is being repaired. There may be about 500 people trapped inside,” he said.

There has been a boom in hydropower projects in Nepal since the turn of the century as the mountainous country sought to take advantage of its Himalayan water resources to address chronic domestic power shortages and exploit prospects for selling electricity to southern neighbour India.

Prime Minister Shah said the disaster signalled the growing risks the Himalayan region faces from a warming planet.

“The time has come for us to strongly raise before the international community the disasters we are experiencing as a consequence of climate change,” Shah said in his post.

Last week’s flood was “caused by glacier instability under the long-term effects of global warming”, China’s state broadcaster said on Monday.

Reporting by Gopal Sharma, Sahana Bajracharya, Liz Lee, Ethan Wang; Writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Saad Sayeed and YP Rajesh

With the October 4 first-round vote quickly approaching, Brazil’s top elections court, the TSE, is expected on Tuesday to set new limits on the use of AI-generated or altered content used in electoral contexts

International News via Reuters:

Brazilian authorities are grappling with how to keep AI from undermining the country’s hotly contested election, as AI-generated content floods voters’ social media feeds and loose-lipped chatbots challenge regulators’ abilities to rein in misinformation. 

With the October 4 first-round vote quickly approaching, Brazil’s top elections court, the TSE, is expected on Tuesday to set new limits on the use of AI-generated or altered content used in electoral contexts. 

Tuesday’s case involves the right’s leading presidential candidate, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, whose party convention provoked quick legal challenges in July when it showcased an AI avatar of his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest and prohibited from addressing the public.

The avatar case raised questions about AI’s use in campaigns and underscored challenges still facing the TSE in its efforts to keep the new technology from undermining the integrity of the electoral process.

AI has already dominated much of the digital campaign. Politicians aligned with the candidates leading the polls, Bolsonaro and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, shared hundreds of social media posts formally labeled as AI-generated over a 15-day period, according to Instituto Democracia em Xeque (Democracy in Check Institute). 

Mandatory labels on AI-generated content are part of the TSE’s expanded restrictions on AI rolled out for this year’s election, alongside bans on deepfakes and candidate recommendation systems, and a blackout on the publication or paid promotion of new AI-generated material immediately before and after voting.

Tuesday’s ruling is expected to offer a clearer definition of what constitutes a deepfake.

Much of the content that has flooded users’ feeds could be considered harmless, like a right-wing gubernatorial candidate using AI to promote her ballot number into different landscapes across Amazonas state, or a Lula ally appearing to dance alongside the incumbent president.

While Lula’s campaign largely shuns AI-generated content, Bolsonaro’s camp has embraced it. Bolsonaro has shared, for example, at least one AI-produced campaign song, as well as a video of him and his running mate as dancing dolls. When Bolsonaro shared an AI animation of himself as a chiseled hunk in a swim brief, a slew of memes quickly followed.

DEEPFAKE RISKS

However, what is most concerning for the TSE is potential deepfakes that convincingly depict events that never happened, said João Victor Archegas, legal coordinator at the Institute of Technology and Society (ITS) of Rio de Janeiro. 

“It is not the tool itself that is the problem. It is its potential use in certain contexts that may lead to dangerous outcomes for our democracy,” he said. 

The TSE already received 19 cases involving the use of AI in the first 11 days of this year’s campaign, according to court data. In early August, TSE Justice André Mendonça ordered the removal of a video portraying Bolsonaro alongside Daniel Vorcaro, the former banker at the center of a massive fraud scandal, in situations that never occurred.

With AI already part of the daily lives of 75% of Brazilians, according to a survey by the Fundação Itaú Observatory, the technology is influencing voters in a variety of ways, like fake testimonials about candidates and fabricated polls.

Another area of concern involves chatbots swaying voters. A survey of voters by Projeto Brief in May found that nearly 63% were willing to consult AI tools about candidates.

The TSE’s rules for 2026 include a ban on generative AI systems, such as ChatGPT, from recommending or ranking candidates, even when users explicitly request it. A study by ITS Rio, however, found that seven of the most widely used chatbots in Brazil ranked or ordered candidates in 90% of their responses.

Reporting by Bruna Cabral in Rio de Janeiro and Ricardo Brito in Brasilia; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle and Aurora Ellis

Inflation in the 21 nations sharing the euro accelerated to 3.3% in August from 2.9% in July, driven almost entirely by higher energy costs as crude oil and natural gas prices both rose, and refiners bumped up their margins

International News via Reuters:

Euro zone inflation rose back above 3% in August on higher energy costs, cementing an already solid case for another European Central Bank interest rate hike this month as the Iran war keeps putting upward pressure on prices.

Inflation in the 21 nations sharing the euro accelerated to 3.3% in August from 2.9% in July, driven almost entirely by higher energy costs as crude oil and natural gas prices both rose, and refiners bumped up their margins, data from Eurostat showed on Tuesday.

Underlying price pressures remained modest, however, offering some reassurance to policymakers that the energy price surge is not yet setting off the kind of second-round effects that could perpetuate rapid inflation and force the ECB into more aggressive action.

Indeed, core inflation — figures which exclude volatile food and fuel prices — eased to 2.4% last month from 2.5% as growth in services prices, the single biggest component of the consumer price basket, slowed to 3.0% from 3.3%.

Tuesday’s figures are broadly consistent with the ECB’s own expectations and suggest that a widely telegraphed hike in the deposit rate to 2.50% on September 10, the bank’s second move this year after a hike in June, will be a relatively easy decision, almost a non-event for markets.

Financial investors have already priced in the move, suggesting that their focus will be on the rate path further down the line, a more complicated issue as views diverge on just how deep the euro zone’s inflation problems run.

WILL MORE RATE HIKES BE NEEDED?

Policymakers appear to have no appetite for now to signal any further rate hikes and economists also see a high chance the ECB will stop in September, holding rates at what many consider the top end of the ‘neutral’ range — an interest rate level that neither restricts nor stimulates growth.

This is partly because the labour market is relatively soft and price pressures have not set off any visible rise in wage growth, reinforcing views that only gentle policy tightening may be enough.

Economic growth at just around 1% is also fairly weak and was at risk of slowing further, if the conflict continued.

But financial markets see two more rate hikes in the next year on the premise that higher energy prices will eventually start seeping into broader price setting, especially since the war in Iran is showing no signs of winding down, keeping inflation high.

Natural gas prices are also rising while the broader economy has also proven resilient to the economic stress of wars, tariffs, and higher rates, so the ECB may need to do more to stem price pressures, some argue.

In addition, global peers, including the Federal Reserve, may also be forced into rate hikes, boosting market bets for a global rate-hike cycle.

Still, even if the ECB is forced into further hikes, there appears to be little urgency in follow-up moves, so policymakers may skip the October meeting and focus on the next round of economic projections in December.

Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Andrew Heavens

Graf will rule from the bench after up to four hours of closing arguments

International News via Reuters:

Nearly a year after Charlie Kirk was shot dead at a Utah university, a judge on Tuesday is expected to rule whether the Utah man accused of killing the conservative activist will stand trial and whether he should face the death penalty.

At a 10 a.m. (1600 GMT) hearing in Provo, Utah, Judge Tony Graf will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to try Tyler Robinson, 23, and allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty for the murder of one of the U.S. right’s most prominent figures.

Graf will rule from the bench after up to four hours of closing arguments. Should he find probable cause for a trial, an arraignment could follow, a Utah courts spokesperson said in an email. Robinson has yet to enter a plea.

Prosecutors have accused the former electrical apprentice of firing the single shot that killed Kirk, 31, as he debated with students at Utah Valley University in Orem on September 10, 2025.

Tuesday’s proceedings follow a week-long preliminary hearing in July that was attended by Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk. She was expected to be at Tuesday’s session.

During the preliminary hearing, prosecutors presented what they called “overwhelming” evidence, including test results that allegedly show Robinson’s DNA on the murder weapon. Robinson’s lawyers questioned the prosecution’s DNA testing and said police failed to investigate evidence someone else might have carried out the killing.

Robinson is charged with aggravated murder for also endangering the lives of others at the event, a count that carries the death penalty in Utah. His attorneys have argued the shooting is not a capital offense as the shooter hit the “intended target” and did not put anyone else’s life at risk.

Prosecutors also allege Robinson, who was in a relationship with roommate Lance Twiggs, targeted Kirk for his political views against gay marriage and transgender rights. That argument could bolster the prosecution as it pursues the death penalty.

Defense lawyers have said there is no evidence Robinson disagreed with Kirk’s political views. Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA, helped build support for President Donald Trump among young voters and aided Republican voter-turnout efforts.

At a memorial following Kirk’s shooting, Erika Kirk, who became CEO and board chair of Turning Point USA after her husband’s death, said she forgave the alleged shooter. She has not commented on the death penalty charge.

Reporting by Andrew Hay in New Mexico; editing by Donna Bryson and Cynthia Osterman

Reopening access to the China-Nepal border crossing has been a battle with the elements, with rescuers working in a narrow mountain gorge squeezed between crumbling cliffs and a raging river

International News via Reuters:

Chinese rescue teams worked through the night and frequent rain to restore the last stretch of the sole road leading to the Gyirong border crossing into Nepal, torn apart by a catastrophic mudslide last week.

Reopening access to the China-Nepal border crossing has been a battle with the elements, with rescuers working in a narrow mountain gorge squeezed between crumbling cliffs and a raging river.

With river currents flowing at 6 to 7 metres per second — up to six times normal river speeds — efforts to rebuild the road over the past few days have been repeatedly swallowed up by the rapids, state broadcaster CCTV said on Tuesday.

Excavators left with no solid ground to stand on teeter at the road’s shattered edge — clinging to a bend where the highway simply vanishes into the water, CCTV footage showed.

But by noon on Tuesday, the team had advanced to 800 metres away from the worst-hit area on the Tibet side of the border.

Chinese state-owned rescue operator China Anneng deployed 158 personnel and 33 heavy equipment, working around the clock under a “crews rotate, machines keep running” system, CCTV said.

Power crews are also racing to restore electricity access to the disaster zone.

National Highway G216, the vital artery running along the Gyirong Tsangpo river to the border, was gutted when a backflow of debris gushed in from the direction of the border crossing complex.

Road repairs began Wednesday, after a glacier collapse sent mudslides and floods tearing through river systems in both Nepal and China.

DANGER IS NOT OVER

While earlier lakes formed on the Tibetan side from debris flushed down from the glacier collapse have been draining naturally, landslide risk and a volatile body of water upstream in Nepal could still dam the rivers — and any sudden burst could send a fresh torrent into the rescue zone.

The crater left by last Wednesday’s glacier collapse — estimated to hold water equal to 260 Olympic swimming pools — is shrinking, CCTV reported Monday.

But authorities fear a fresh glacier collapse into the crater could trigger another disaster, while forecasters warn of heavier rain through Wednesday, threatening to swell rivers and lakes even further.

“These types of dams are structurally very loose and can easily fail because of prolonged saturation and erosion from water,” a Chinese water resources ministry official told the state broacaster.

By Tuesday afternoon, more than 60 rescuers had trekked into the disaster zone, combing the wreckage twice for survivors, CCTV said.

The scars of the mudslide’s force are etched into the surrounding slopes, reaching 60 metres (196.85 feet) high, roughly the height of a 20-storey building.

China’s official count has remained unchanged from Sunday’s, with 16 people killed and 546 still missing.

Reporting by Liz Lee and Ethan Wang; Editing by Saad Sayeed

Wingtech was stripped of control of Nexperia last year by the Dutch authorities

International News via Reuters:

A Chinese court has frozen up to 2.14 billion yuan ($300 million) of assets held by Dutch chipmaker Nexperia and its equipment arm, in a case brought by the firm’s Chinese owner, electronics group Wingtech Technology.

Wingtech was stripped of control of Nexperia last year by the Dutch authorities. The dispute has strained relations between China and the Netherlands and threatened global supplies of chips used in cars and consumer electronics. 

The Chinese court action gives Wingtech fresh leverage in its effort to regain control of Nexperia, though it does not change the company’s management or resolve the broader ownership fight.

Measures imposed by the court “do not affect the day-to-day operations, management, or business continuity of Nexperia,” Nexperia said in a reaction, noting that the case has not yet been heard on its merits.

The dispute began a year ago when the Dutch government intervened at Netherlands-headquartered Nexperia, citing concerns that technology, funds and production assets could be transferred abroad. A Dutch business court later suspended Nexperia’s chief executive and put voting rights tied to Wingtech’s shareholding under independent management.

China responded with export controls on Nexperia’s China operations, disrupting shipments. After talks between Beijing and The Hague, China agreed to allow supplies to resume and the Netherlands suspended its order.

But Wingtech has not recovered the voting control it lost, leaving the underlying corporate dispute unresolved. 

Wingtech sued Nexperia and three executives in May. It alleged the defendants carried out what Wingtech called discriminatory Dutch restrictions, and sought 8 billion yuan in damages.

The Dongguan Intermediate People’s Court ordered the freeze, Wingtech said in a filing. The case has not yet gone to trial.

The order covers Nexperia’s stakes in four China-based businesses, including its semiconductor operations in the Chinese cities of Wuxi and Shanghai as well as its equipment arm’s wholly owned Wuxi unit. The measures took effect between August 20 and August 25, and they run until August 2029.

Reporting by Eduardo Baptista; Additional reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Peter Graff and Cynthia Osterman