Situation Reports

Malaysia's so-called anti-hopping law, a constitutional amendment that will prevent lawmakers from abruptly switching parties, is set to come into force on Oct. 5, The Star reported Oct. 4.

China displayed a GJ-11 Sharp Sword stealth combat drone during its National Day exhibition in Beijing on Oct. 2, with a placard reading "Assault-11 UAV," The Debrief reported Oct. 3.

Ukrainian forces are advancing at a rapid pace in the south, liberating multiple villages in the southern Kherson region from Russian occupation, including the strategic town of Davydiv Brid, The Washington Post reported Oct. 4.

South Africa's United National Transport Union (UNTU) announced that workers for Transnet SOC Ltd., South Africa's state-owned ports and freight railroad company, will begin a strike on Oct. 6, while the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) is planning to begin a strike on Oct. 10, Bloomberg reported Oct. 4.

The European Union's Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni and Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton called for joint borrowing by EU member states to finance a response to the bloc's energy crisis in an op-ed published in The Irish Times, Corriere della Sera, Les Echos and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Oct. 3.

North Korea launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile that flew 4,600 kilometers (2,850 miles) at an altitude of 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), with speeds topping out at roughly Mach 17 over Japan's northern Hokkaido region, Yonhap News Agency reported Oct. 4.

The Solomon Islands' Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele told reporters that his country only signed the U.S. Pacific Partner Strategy, which aims to increase cooperation between the United States and Pacific Island nations, once Washington removed indirect references to China, Benar News reported Oct. 4.

The Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin may finalize his plan to annex four Ukrainian regions later on Oct. 4, Reuters reported the same day.

The head of Russia's Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, criticized the Kremlin's war strategy in Ukraine, as well as a general and the chief of the general staff of Russia's army, The New York Times reported Oct. 3.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov indicated that Russia still has not finalized the borders of two of the four regions of Ukraine that Russia is annexing, Bloomberg reported Oct. 3.