Southern Indian state achieves single-digit infant mortality with no urban–rural divideIn what is being described as an outstanding achievement for an Indian state, the Left-ruled southern state of Kerala recorded an infant mortality rate (IMR) of just 5 (per 1,000 live births), as per the latest report published by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (ORGI). The IMR 5 is five times lower than the national IMR of 25 and better than most developed countries, such as the US, which recorded an IMR of 5.6 last year. IMR is used as a health indicator for the number of deaths of children below one year of age per 1,000 live births. Lower IMR indicates better access to healthcare and is a significant indicator for development in any country.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/09/15/left-ruled-indian-state-of-kerala-achieves-lower-infant-mortality-rate-than-us-and-developed-countries/Australian and Papua New Guinea’s militaries to be integrated under new security pactThe deal will allow the nations’ citizens to serve in either militaries, with Australia offering citizenship as an incentive for Papua New Guineans to enlist in its armed forces. There is growing Western hostility to Chinese influence in the region. Three Pacific island nations have changed their allegiances from Taiwan to Beijing since 2019 and China is also providing police training in Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/australian-and-papua-new-guineas-militaries-be-integrated-under-new-security-pactStudents killed at Myanmar boarding school as junta escalates air warChildren were killed and injured at the boarding school in Kyauktaw Township in Myanmar's restive Rakhine state, the U.N. children's agency UNICEF said in a statement. It did not say how many were killed in the incident, but the Arakan Army, a militia battling the military in the western state, said at least 19, aged between 15 and 21, had died. Reuters could not independently verify the reports, as internet and mobile services in parts of Rakhine have been cut off by the Myanmar junta and attempts to reach Kyauktaw residents were unsuccessful.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/students-killed-myanmar-boarding-school-junta-escalates-air-war-2025-09-15/Turkiye court adjourns case challenging CHP opposition party’s congressA court in Ankara has postponed the hearing of a controversial case that could oust the leader of Turkiye’s main opposition party, amid protests against the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. On Monday, the hearing about alleged internal irregularities during the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) 2023 congress was adjourned until October 24.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/15/turkiye-court-adjourns-case-challenging-chp-opposition-partys-congresshttps://archive.ph/5IH8WFrom Telegram to trenches: The Russian page luring Jordanians into warSaleem had worked at a restaurant until a prolapsed disc left him unable to continue. With his finances in free fall, he turned to Telegram - tipped off by a friend who’d heard of “easy” jobs in Russia. The battalion he joined includes fighters from across the Arab world: Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria and others. According to information gathered by Middle East Eye, many are recruited through Telegram groups advertising non-combat roles in the Russian army, with promises of land, high pay and fast-track citizenship. But once in Russia, the bait-and-switch begins.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/telegram-trenches-russian-page-luring-jordanians-warBritish soldier stands trial over 1972 Bloody Sunday killingsThe trial of the sole British soldier charged with murder over the 1972 "Bloody Sunday" killings of 13 unarmed Catholic civil rights marchers in Northern Ireland began on Monday, over half a century on from one of the defining moments of The Troubles. The soldier, who cannot be identified and is known as Soldier F, is accused of murdering two men and attempting to murder five others when members of a British army regiment opened fire in the mainly Irish nationalist city of Londonderry.
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/british-soldier-stands-trial-over-1972-bloody-sunday-killings-2025-09-15/Far right makes biggest gains in German local electionsIn the first test of voter sentiment since Mr Merz’s government took power, his conservative party took 33.3 per cent of the vote in Sunday’s elections for councils and mayors in North Rhine-Westphalia, while the Social Democrats — for whom the state was long a reliable heartland — took 22.1 per cent, final results showed today. Both parties did slightly worse than the last municipal elections in 2020. But the AfD took 14.5 per cent — a gain of 9.4 per cent. The anti-immigration party is strongest in the former German Democratic Republic, but Sunday’s showing underlined its arrival as a force in the west as well. In February’s national election, AfD took 20.8 per cent of the vote to finish second and become the largest opposition party. In North Rhine-Westphalia, it took 16.8 per cent.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/far-right-makes-biggest-gains-german-local-electionsTrump says military carried out strike on alleged Venezuelan drug cartel vessel “This morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a SECOND Kinetic Strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels POSE A THREAT to U.S. National Security, Foreign Policy, and vital U.S. Interests,” Trump said.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/15/trump-strike-venezuela-drug-cartel-vesselIllegal gold mining is fueling a ‘mercury boom’ in Mexico, poisoning people and the environmentSoaring international gold prices are driving up the price of mercury, a toxic metal key in illegal gold mining, to all-time highs. While the demand triggers a mining rush in central Mexico, sustaining thousands of miners and their families, it also exposes them and the fragile environment to mercury poisoning. At the same time, this Mexican mercury is fueling illegal gold mining in the Amazon, contaminating large areas and harming both people and the environment.
https://apnews.com/article/mexico-mercury-mines-illegal-gold-mining-ea7cf266304d06576eebfbd1901982feHow Petro got Colombia’s intelligence agency to adopt an anti-imperialist agendaInstead of working for foreign intelligence agencies, the DNI shifted its focus to domestic issues like corruption, peace, and the physical protection of the president. Among other things, the DNI took over tasks previously overseen by foreign intelligence agencies. “The curation of personnel entering the Dipol (Police Intelligence Directorate) was done by American agencies like the CIA or the FBI. This is now done by the DNI,” a source with direct information told La Silla Vacia. The employment of former M-19 guerrillas stems from Petro’s mistrust of sectors within the security forces and intelligence community, which have long maintained ties to organized crime and paramilitary groups.
https://colombiareports.com/how-petro-got-colombias-intelligence-agency-to-adopt-an-anti-imperialist-agenda/