World
Israeli reservists readied for Gaza push. New leader likely for Samoa. Unrest in Indonesia. By Jonathan Pearlman.
Xi calls for new global order as ‘axis of upheaval’ gathers
Great power rivalry
China: Xi Jinping hosted Russia’s Vladimir Putin, India’s Narendra Modi and about 20 other – mostly anti-Western – world leaders as he presided over a massive military parade in Beijing this week and outlined plans for a new global order.
Addressing a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which includes 10 Eurasian countries and 16 partner countries from the Middle East and Asia, Xi signalled that the grouping could form part of a China-led push for new financial and security arrangements to rival the order dominated by the United States since World War II.
“Global governance has reached a new crossroads,” Xi said. “The house rules of a few countries should not be imposed on others.”
Echoing Xi’s call, Putin appealed for countries to counter the US-led order, including alliances such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
“We were always together then, and we remain together now,” Putin told Xi.
The trip by Modi, India’s prime minister, was his first to China in seven years and marked a rapprochement between India and China following deadly border clashes in recent years in the Himalayas. The visit was widely seen as a snub to Donald Trump, who has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India to penalise it for purchasing Russian oil. Trump also reportedly took credit for brokering a truce between India and Pakistan following their recent skirmish – a claim Modi denies.
Modi told Xi cooperation between the two countries was crucial to support their shared population of 2.8 billion people. “This will also pave the way for the welfare of the entire humanity,” he said.
Modi also met with Putin in Beijing, where they had a nearly hour-long meeting in the Russian presidential limousine while driving to formal talks. The pair walked hand in hand before warmly greeting Xi. The trio, as The New York Times observed, are the leaders of the three largest powers not aligned with the West.
Following the SCO summit, Xi hosted China’s largest-ever “Victory Day” parade on Wednesday to mark 80 years since the defeat of Japan in World War II. Attendees included the leaders of Iran, Myanmar and Zimbabwe, as well as North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, who arrived on a specially armoured train. The gathering was described by some analysts as the “axis of upheaval”.
“The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is unstoppable,” Xi said in a speech.
During the parade, which featured displays of tanks, drones and hypersonic missiles, Trump said on social media he hoped the celebrations would honour the American troops who “died in China’s quest for Victory and Glory”.
“Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America,” he said.
War zone
Gaza: Israel began calling up tens of thousands of reservists this week ahead of a proposed push into Gaza City that could force the city’s estimated one million residents to flee to overcrowded camps already lacking food and shelter.
Though the push into the city is not expected until October after call-ups and evacuations are complete, initial advances by Israeli troops into outer suburbs have resulted in large-scale destruction and forced residents to flee to crowded camps elsewhere in Gaza. Local officials said Israeli attacks killed 24 people in Gaza on Wednesday, mostly in Gaza City.
Amjad Shawa, who lives in the city with his family, told Associated Press they fled and returned earlier in the war but feared that a further evacuation would leave them with nowhere to go to.
“Last time, I had my car,” he said. “There was fuel. Everyone had his income, his money … (Now) there is no Rafah. Almost no Khan Younis.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the campaign was necessary to oust Hamas from its last major stronghold and achieve “total victory”.
US President Donald Trump has reportedly pushed Netanyahu to proceed with the campaign amid concerns that Hamas will not agree to release all its hostages but believes the offensive could be completed within two weeks.
“Israel will have to end this war,” he told Daily Caller, a right-wing news outlet.
On Monday, the International Association of Genocide Scholars – a leading group of genocide academics – said it had passed a resolution that declared Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.
The head of the association, Melanie O’Brien, of the University of Western Australia, told ABC News that Israel was responsible for “a pattern of intent to destroy the group in whole or in part”.
Israel’s foreign affairs ministry said the resolution was an “embarrassment” that was based on information provided by Hamas.
Twenty-eight per cent of the group’s 500 scholars voted on the resolution, and 86 per cent of those voted in favour.
The neighbourhood
Samoa: La’auli Leuatea Schmidt, from Samoa’s FAST party, is on track to become the country’s next prime minister after a snap election following months of political turmoil.
The election last week was called by the outgoing prime minister, Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa, who survived two no-confidence motions earlier this year but was unable to secure a majority to back the budget in May.
Fiamē, the country’s first female leader, faced fierce party infighting after demoting La’auli, who was charged with criminal offences including corruption and harassment. La’auli, the chairman of the FAST party, then expelled her from the party.
Initial results from the voting last Friday indicated the FAST party was set to win 30 of 51 seats. Fiamē’s Samoa Uniting Party was expected to win only three seats.
Samoa, which has about 220,000 residents, faces economic challenges exacerbated by recent power outages, and has been struggling to combat a deadly outbreak of dengue fever.
Welcoming the election results at a church service last Sunday, La’auli, whose criminal charges have not yet been heard in court, said FAST won “because we are blessed by God”.
“Our country may have been divided by politics, but our foundation remains firm: Samoa is founded on God,” he said.
Spotlight: Unrest in Indonesia
On August 25, protests erupted in Jakarta – mainly involving students and delivery drivers – after local media reported that MPs were receiving a 50 million rupiah ($4650) monthly housing allowance, which is about 25 times the minimum wage.
The protests were initially confined to the capital but escalated on August 28 after paramilitary police drove an armoured vehicle into the crowd, killing Affan Kurniawan, a 21-year-old motorcycle rideshare driver. In the days that followed, protesters set government and police buildings alight and looted the homes of several MPs.
By Tuesday, 10 people had died and 20 were reportedly missing as the unrest spread across the country, marking the most violent demonstrations in Indonesia in decades. In Jakarta, police checkpoints were set up and the military began conducting patrols and deploying snipers. Authorities in the capital said 700 people were injured and 1240 detained.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, a former general, accused the protesters of treason and terrorism and said security forces would take “action as firm as possible”. He did, however, promise an investigation into the death of Affan and said MPs had agreed to reduce their allowances and suspend overseas work trips.
The protests followed growing public anger over Prabowo’s moves to impose austerity measures that have resulted in cuts to education and health, even as he presses on with big-spending projects such as a scheme to provide free meals to children and pregnant women.
Analysts said the protests reflected widening public anger and resentment at the country’s inequality and cost-of-living pressures and the greed of the ruling elite.
Herianto, a former student leader, told BBC News: “This feels significant. Social movements often emerge in response to accumulated grievances, and moments like this can become turning points.”
This article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper on September 6, 2025 as "Xi calls for new global order as ‘axis of upheaval’ gathers".
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