Sudan
More than 150 people were killed in drone strikes on a market in South Sudan, officials told Reuters, accusing neighboring Sudan of carrying out the attack in the latest sign that Sudan’s civil war is spilling over its borders. The Sudanese military has yet to comment. The strikes took place in the disputed and oil-rich Abyei region, which has been jointly administered since South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011. Officials in Sudan’s military-led government told Reuters that the Rapid Support Forces group, which has been fighting a war with the Sudanese Armed Forces for more than three years, now has a presence in Abyei. Yohana Akol Ngor, the caretaker minister of information in the region, denied that when it was put to him by the news agency.
More from Reuters here.
North Korea
North Korea will resume broadcasting anti-South Korea messages across the border via loudspeakers, according to Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Pyongyang is reviving the tactic at a tense time after Seoul accused the North last month of planting mines in the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone between the two, causing an explosion that injured three South Korean soldiers, an allegation Pyongyang denied. “Our tactical hunting teams are taking new positions, and within October, the loudspeakers for psychological warfare against the ROK will be in operation along the whole border,” Kim said. South Korea has also deployed loudspeakers along the border in the past, blasting everything from K-pop music to weather reports.
More from The National here.
Malaysia
Malaysia has banned civil servants from using the Google-owned navigation app Waze over its ties to Israel. Waze was founded in Israel, and though it was acquired by Google in 2013, remains headquartered in Tel Aviv and is subject to Israeli law. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim ordered the ban "to protect government information and users' personal data from the threat of misuse by the Israeli regime," his office said in a statement. Members of the public were also encouraged to seek alternatives such as local app TuJu. Malaysia is staunchly pro-Palestine and maintains no diplomatic relations or economic ties to Israel.
More from The South China Morning Post here.