标签： Asia

New Zealand is grappling with a severe weather crisis as powerful winds reaching speeds of up to 155 km/h (96 mph) wreak havoc across the nation. The tempest has left approximately 90,000 homes without electricity and forced the cancellation of over 100 flights, according to local media reports. The meteorological service has confirmed that the entire South Island and southern regions of the North Island are bearing the brunt of the gales. Authorities have escalated the situation by issuing rare red wind warnings—the highest alert level—in central areas, including Canterbury and Wellington. Additionally, heavy rainfall warnings have been issued for the South Island. Residents have been strongly advised to remain indoors, avoid unnecessary travel, and prepare for potential power and communication disruptions. While power restoration efforts are underway, the South Island remains the most affected. Reports from local media highlight the destruction caused by the winds, with roofs torn off houses, trees uprooted, and electricity poles toppled. Tragically, a man in Wellington lost his life after being struck by a falling tree branch at a popular walking trail. In another incident, a woman was blown into oncoming traffic by a sudden gust of wind, though she survived the ordeal. The capital has seen widespread disruptions, with flights canceled, roads closed, and libraries shut down. In Canterbury, officials have declared a state of emergency to bolster disaster response efforts. The severe weather coincides with a ‘mega strike’ involving tens of thousands of teachers, doctors, and public workers demanding better pay and working conditions. However, the extreme conditions have forced some strike activities to be moved indoors or canceled. Meanwhile, Australia is also experiencing similar weather patterns, with strong winds and a heatwave sweeping through the outback, prompting authorities to implement fire bans to prevent bushfires.

In a significant development within Saudi Arabia’s religious leadership, Sheikh Dr. Saleh bin Fawzan bin Abdullah Al-Fawzan has been appointed as the new Grand Mufti of the Kingdom. The announcement was made by the Saudi Press Agency on Thursday, October 23, 2025, following a royal decree issued by the Saudi monarchy. Sheikh Al-Fawzan will also assume the roles of Chairman of the Council of Senior Scholars and General President of the General Presidency for Scholarly Research and Fatwa, holding the rank of Minister. This appointment marks a pivotal moment in the Kingdom’s religious governance, as the Grand Mufti plays a crucial role in issuing religious edicts (fatwas) and guiding Islamic jurisprudence in the country. The decision underscores the Saudi government’s commitment to maintaining a robust and authoritative religious framework. Sheikh Al-Fawzan, a renowned Islamic scholar, brings extensive expertise and influence to the position, which is expected to shape the Kingdom’s religious discourse in the years to come.

A groundbreaking United Nations report has unveiled that over 60 nations are implicated in what it describes as a ‘collective crime’ enabling Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Authored by Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the report was released on Monday and marks her second such analysis this year. Albanese asserts that the genocide is sustained by the complicity of influential third-party states, which have facilitated Israel’s systemic violations of international law through diplomatic, military, economic, and humanitarian support. The report highlights that without the backing of predominantly European countries, Israel would struggle to maintain its comprehensive assault on Gaza. Albanese categorizes the support into four main areas: diplomatic, military, economic, and humanitarian. She criticizes the diplomatic immunity granted to Israel and the failure to hold it accountable for international law violations, particularly in Western nations. The report also points out that Western media and political discourse have perpetuated Israeli narratives, failing to distinguish between Hamas and Palestinian civilians, and drawing on colonial tropes of Israel’s right to defend itself as a ‘civilized’ nation against ‘savages’. Albanese notes that the US has used its UN Security Council veto power seven times to control ceasefire negotiations and provide diplomatic cover for the genocide. She also highlights that the US was aided by abstentions and delays, as well as watered-down draft resolutions from countries like the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands. These actions have created an ‘illusion of progress’ while stymieing concrete measures. The report further criticizes Arab and Muslim states for their failure to take decisive action, with some regional players facilitating land routes to Israel, bypassing the Red Sea. Egypt, for instance, maintained relations with Israel, including energy cooperation and closing the Rafah crossing. Albanese also underscores the failures of international courts, noting that most Western countries did not support South Africa or Nicaragua before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and continue to deny that Israel has committed genocide. Additionally, she points out that most Western countries have undermined the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other government members. The US has imposed sanctions on the ICC, and the UK has threatened to pull its funding. Despite UN resolutions calling for arms embargoes on Israel since 1976, the report notes that many countries have supplied it with military support and arms transfers throughout its genocide, with the US, Germany, and Italy being among the largest suppliers. The US currently guarantees $3.3 billion per year in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and, until 2028, an additional $500 million per year for missile defense. Albanese also highlights the UK’s role in military cooperation with Israel, reporting on over 600 surveillance flights over Israel and intelligence-sharing with its government, suggesting ‘cooperation in the destruction of Gaza’. She notes that 26 states sent at least 10 consignments of ‘arms and ammunition’, with the most frequent being China (including Taiwan), India, Italy, Austria, Spain, Czechia, Romania, and France. Additionally, 19 countries, 17 of which have ratified the Arms Trade Treaty, were complicit in supplying components and parts for the ‘F-35 stealth strike fighter programme’ that was key to the military assault in Gaza. These include Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, South Korea, Romania, Singapore, Switzerland, the UK, and the US. Some of these countries continue to supply parts. While the Arms Trade Treaty does not recognize a distinction between ‘defensive’ or ‘non-lethal’ arms sales, some countries used these terms to justify arms trade to Israel. Some countries, such as Italy, the Netherlands, Ireland, France, and Morocco, permitted the transfer of weapons through their ports and airports. Albanese notes that Spain and Slovenia had canceled contracts and imposed embargoes. Other states continued to buy weapons and military technology produced by Israel, which the report says has been tested on Palestinians under occupation. Exports to the EU more than doubled during Israel’s war on Gaza and accounted for 54 percent of Israeli military exports in 2024. Under the Abraham Accords, exports to Asia and the Pacific, and Arab countries, made up 23 and 12 percent of exports, respectively. The report also states that thousands of US, Russian, French, Ukrainian, and British citizens who have served in the Israeli military have enjoyed immunity and have failed to be investigated or prosecuted for war crimes in Gaza. Albanese concludes that the maintenance of normal trade relations with Israel by various states ‘legitimizes and sustains the Israeli apartheid regime’. While Israel’s international trade in goods and services decreased from 61 percent of its GDP in 2022 to 54 percent in 2024, Albanese noted the European Union (Israel’s largest trading partner) continued to provide almost a third of total trade to Israel for the last two years. Some European countries increased their trade with Israel during the genocide against the Palestinians, such as Germany, Poland, Greece, Italy, Denmark, France, and Serbia. Arab countries, such as the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco, also increased their trade. Only Turkey suspended trade with Israel in May 2024, although Albanese reported some trade continued indirectly. Albanese also pointed out that before the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel, most Palestinians were dependent on aid, with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) providing the bedrock of that aid. She highlighted that when Israel alleged UNRWA staff were involved in the Hamas-led attacks without citing evidence, 18 states immediately suspended funding without investigating Israel’s claims. Despite inconclusive investigations, most donors took months to resume contributions to UNRWA. The US, its largest donor, passed a law prohibiting US funding to UNRWA. When the Israeli Knesset outlawed UNRWA, only a few states took action by seeking an ICJ Advisory Opinion. The report accuses countries like Canada, the UK, Belgium, Denmark, and Jordan of being distracted from the key issue by parachuting aid in, a move she says was both dangerous and ineffective. Albanese, who has been one of the most vocal and forceful critics of Israel’s conduct in Gaza throughout its two-year genocide, said that complicit states perpetuate ‘colonial and racial-capitalist practices that should have long been consigned to history’. ‘Even as the genocidal violence became visible, States, mostly Western ones, have provided, and continue to provide, Israel with military, diplomatic, economic and ideological support, even as it weaponized famine and humanitarian aid,’ she said. ‘The horrors of the past two years are not an aberration, but the culmination of a long history of complicity.’