Three days after the devastating structural collapse, Indonesian authorities have used powerful machinery to relocate large sections of a crumbling school, with 59 teenage students still missing.
Officials made the decision to move forward after talking with the families of the missing students’ families and discovering no longer any life beneath the rubble.
Coordinating Minister Pratikno remarked that “we will always be very careful when using the heavy machines,” adding that operations would continue with extreme caution despite the grim state of the situation.
In Sidoarjo, eastern Java, hundreds of people were buried in the collapsed prayer hall at the century-old al-Khoziny Islamic Boarding School on Monday, leading to a tragedy. Officials claim that the foundation of the two-story building had broken during concrete pouring, and that two unauthorised additional floors had been constructed above the two-story building.
More than 100 people have been confirmed dead, plus more than 20 have been taken to hospitals with serious injuries, including fractures and head trauma, at the moment. The victims ranged in age from seven to twelve, with the majority of them male students. In a different area of the building, female students were able to escape.
Nearly 220 workers continued their efforts at the site with ambulances on standby as the crucial 72-hour window, which significantly reduces survival chances, passed. However, the increasingly grim situation was revealed by the arrival of numerous body bags.
Suharyanto, the head of Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency, stated that while there is still a lot of uncertainty regarding the precise number of missing people, “We are no longer considering the possibility of survivors remaining, but we will continue with caution.” We sincerely hope that these 59 people aren’t hiding beneath the rubble.
Since Monday, hundreds of family members have been observing a daily vigil in the classroom, sleeping in government-provided mattresses in hallways while receiving updates.
Muhammad Abdurrohman Nafis, 15, Muhammad’s ninth-grade son, is missing, according to Hafiah. She recalled how eagerly his favorite satay rice had been eaten during her visit just one day before the collapse, “I can’t give up, I have to believe that my son is still alive, he is hyperactive boy… he is very strong.” Nafis planned to study mechanical engineering in high school as his junior high graduation approached.
As tensions between Russia and Europe continue to grow, Moscow has tried to present its ground war in Ukraine as unstoppable.
The Kremlin claimed last week to be in control of two-thirds of the buildings in Kupiansk, a city in Ukraine’s northern Kharkiv region.
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“Russian troops have blocked a large group of the enemy from the northern and western sides, taking it in a half-ring,” said the Ministry of Defence in Moscow.
Russia has been trying to capture Kupiansk for most of this year, believing it will unlock a northern gateway for its forces to descend to the eastern region of Donetsk, whose complete capture Moscow has prioritised.
“Taking control over Kupiansk will allow the Russian troops to advance towards the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration,” said the Defence Ministry, referring to Ukraine’s best-fortified towns in Donetsk.
People walk next to a damaged building and vehicles in a residential neighbourhood hit during a Russian drone and missile attack on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, September 28, 2025 [Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters]
Russian officials have been saying they are on the cusp of seizing Kupiansk since March. Ukrainian military observer Konstantyn Mashovets estimated Russia needed another one to two more divisions to do so.
On September 25, Russia’s Defence Ministry also claimed to have seized 4,714 square kilometres (1,820 square miles) of Ukrainian territory this year. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank, independently assessed the real figure to be closer to 3,434sq km (1,325sq miles).
Russia “continues to artificially inflate its claims of advance in Ukraine to support the Kremlin’s false narrative that a Russian victory in Ukraine is inevitable”, said the ISW.
Moscow’s forces, between September 25 and 29, claimed to have captured Kalinovskoye and Stepovoye in Dnipropetrovsk, and Derilovo, Mayskoye, Sandrigolovo and Kirovsk in Donetsk.
Trump’s pivot to Ukraine
On the diplomatic front, United States President Donald Trump’s remarks in New York were seen as a reversal of policy to which he has held fast during the first eight months of office.
During his first address to European allies on February 12, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told them that “returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective”.
Later that month, Trump gave Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a bruising reception at the White House. Trump has also blamed Russia’s war on Ukraine.
But on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 22, he praised Ukraine’s stout defence as “pretty amazing”.
He later suggested Ukraine could win a military victory.
“With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
As recently as August 15, when he met with President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, Trump appeared to gamble on his personal diplomacy with the Russian leader to end the war.
Trump’s apparent change of heart came as Ukraine struck Russian refineries, causing fuel shortages – a weakness in Russia’s economy to which Trump alluded.
On September 24, Ukrainian drones struck the Salavat refinery and petrochemical complex in the Bashkortostan region, 1,200km (745 miles) southeast of Moscow, for the second time in less than a week. The drones reportedly hit a distillation unit that accounts for 60 percent of the plant’s 10-million-tonne annual processing capacity.
Two days later, they struck the Afipsky refinery in the Russian border region of Krasnodar Krai. Russia said falling debris from a drone had started a fire that was put out, without specifying the damage done.
On Monday, Ukraine hit the Tuapse oil offloading terminal on the Black Sea with surface drones, causing several explosions and a massive fire.
On October 1, Ukraine struck one of Russia’s largest refineries at Yaroslavl, 250km (155 miles) northeast of Moscow.
Sergei Aksyonov, the governor of Russian-occupied Crimea, confirmed last week that Russians were seeing fuel shortages.
In his Truth Social post, Trump had written, “It’s almost impossible for them to get Gasoline”.
A weapons ‘mega-deal’
Trump may also have been swayed by a weapons deal, reported to be worth $90bn – another reversal of an initial policy to cut the flow of US weapons to Kyiv’s forces.
Zelenskyy says he is working towards a “mega-deal” that involves “an agreement on modern drones for the United States”.
Zelenskyy first publicly raised the idea of buying weapons the US used to give it on April 9, after it became clear that the Trump administration was not willing to continue supporting Ukraine’s war effort as the Biden administration had done. He then reportedly communicated Kyiv’s readiness to spend $30-$50bn for Patriots.
But the latest Ukrainian proposal also involves purchasing US Tomahawk missiles, with a 1,600km (995-mile) range, reported Axios.
Trump’s special Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, suggested on Sunday to Fox News that Trump was leaning towards providing them, after the Wall Street Journal reported Trump was also considering lifting restrictions on long-range strikes within Russia.
“Use the ability to hit deep. There are no such things as sanctuaries,” he told Fox News.
Ukraine’s longest-range weapon is currently the Flamingo cruise missile, with just over 1,000km (620-mile) range, but it has not yet entered active service at scale.
Russia reacted angrily to the reports.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would be analysing whether US targeting assistance was involved. Andrei Kartapolov, head of the Russian parliament’s defence committee, said Russia would personally target US officials who helped Ukraine in such a mission.
In one key respect, Trump’s stance towards Ukraine has not changed: He will not contribute financially to Ukraine’s defence, forcing Europe to foot the bill, and seeks to extract $500bn of rare metals from Ukraine as compensation for military aid under his predecessor.
Europe ‘no longer at peace’ with Russia
On Friday, NATO command said two Hungarian Gripen fighters took off from their base in Lithuania’s Siaulai to intercept a Su-30, Su-35 and MiG-31 “flying close to Latvian airspace”.
On Saturday, Denmark said drones had been spotted over several military facilities, including the Skrydstrup airbase and an army base in Holstebro. On the same day, Lithuania reported that drones disrupted traffic over the Vilnius airport, and Finland said it spotted drones over Valajaskoski power plant.
These were the latest suspected Russian incursions of NATO airspace since September 10, when two dozen Russian drones had to be shot down in Polish airspace.
Estonia said three Russian MiGs violated its airspace on September 19, and a Russian Ilyushin 20-M reconnaissance aircraft allegedly entered German airspace on September 21.
Poland said it will shoot down Russian aircraft violating its airspace in future.
Reporters asked Trump at the UNGA if he believed NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace.
“Yes, I do,” Trump replied.
Asked if the US would help NATO allies in such an event, he said: “Depends on the circumstance, but you know, we’re very strong toward NATO.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte last week said, “I totally agree here with President Trump: if so necessary.”
“Let me put it in a sentence that may be a little shocking at first glance,” said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at a Dusseldorf news conference on Sunday, when asked whether Europe was at war with Russia. “We are not at war, but we are no longer at peace either.”
Russia has dismissed Europe’s concerns as baseless.
Here is how things stand on Wednesday, October 1, 2025:
Fighting
Russia’s military seized 447 square kilometres (172.6 square miles) of territory from Ukraine in September. Analysis by the United States-based Institute for the Study of War shows that it’s slowing down from a recent peak in July when it seized 634sq km (244.8 square miles).
Russian shelling near the town of Slavutych cut external power to the decommissioned Chornobyl power plant on Wednesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to orchestrate a nuclear incident, as external power is also needed for a new containment unit.
The shelling also led to more than 3,000 people losing power in the nearby Chernihiv region.
Politics and Diplomacy
Zelenskyy will meet 50 heads of state, government and European Union leaders in Copenhagen on Thursday.
Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov met his North Korean counterpart, No Kwang Chol, on Wednesday, according to Russian state media.
French navy personnel boarded an oil tanker linked to Russia’s shadow fleet and arrested two senior crew members. The vessel was previously linked to drone flights over Denmark.
The US will supply Ukraine with intelligence to hit long-range targets inside Russia, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal citing US officials. Washington has asked NATO allies to do the same.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Europe is facing the greatest security challenge since the end of World War II, and it must step up its response to Russian hybrid warfare during a meeting with EU leaders.
A Polish court said a Ukrainian national arrested in connection with the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosion must stay in custody until a decision can be made about his transfer to Germany, where he is wanted for suspected sabotage.
Economy
European leaders on Wednesday discussed whether to use frozen Russian assets to fund a new 140 billion euros ($164bn) loan to Kyiv. Most of the assets are frozen in Belgium.
Russian regulators have again blocked the sale of Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International, the largest lender still operating in Russia without sanctions, the Reuters news agency reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.
The Group of Seven says it will put pressure on countries that continue to buy Russian oil or help Moscow to circumvent restrictions.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said US President Donald Trump had not told him to stop buying Russian oil, as demanded by the latter from NATO members.
The Bermudan island nation has been shattered by the powerful hurricane Imelda’s core, which has caused flash flooding, severe weather, and destructive winds.
The National Weather Service in Miami, Florida reported that the Category 2 hurricane made landfall of 100 mph (161 km/h) late on Wednesday night. The storm passed directly over the island, moving eastward as it passed 32 kilometers (32 miles) southwest of Bermuda.
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The National Hurricane Center stated in a post on X that “damaging waves and flash flooding are anticipated into the morning.” Later, it stated that as the hurricane’s core advanced northeast of the island, things would start to get better. “The Island Expected to Improve Over the kommenden Several Hours.”
Hurricane #Imelda Advisory 22A: Conditions On The Island Are Expecting to Improve Over the Next Few Hours, With Imelda’s Core Now East-Northeast of Bermuda. https://t.co/tW4KeGe9uJ
Imelda quickly developed after Sunday afternoon when it formed as a tropical storm over the Bahamas. After tracking through the Bahamas and berating Florida’s east coast, it intensified into a hurricane on Monday night, bringing heavy rain and triggering tropical storm warnings for the central and northwestern Bahamas.
In advance of the hurricane’s arrival, Bermuda deployed 100 soldiers to guard roads, clear roads, and provide assistance at emergency shelters.
As a result of officials’ warnings to residents, local authorities closed public schools, government buildings, and the international airport on Wednesday. According to Bermuda’s government, 654 people were left without power and 53 people used emergency shelters.
According to Bermuda’s national security minister, Michael Weeks, “This is a dangerous storm system that could cause destructive winds, heavy rain, and significant coastal impacts.”
The hurricane center also warned of the dangerous storm surge that could cause coastal flooding if Imelda deposited 50 to 100mm (2 to 4 inches) of rain across Bermuda. Before Imelda made its closest move, hundreds of customers lost power.
Imelda struck the northern Caribbean earlier this week, causing floods.
Guantanamo province’s more than 18, 000 residents were evacuated in eastern Cuba, while flooding and landslides prevented access to 17 Santiago de Cuban communities, which house more than 24, 000 residents. One person is still missing in Haiti as a result of the severe flooding that has claimed two lives in Cuba.
More than 14, 000 children were sent abroad as a result of a notorious foreign adoption scheme established after the Korean War of 1950-1953, which the country’s president has since apologized for.
Seven months after a Truth and Reconciliation Commission found that the program violated the human rights of adoptees, President Lee Jae-myung announced in a Facebook post on Thursday that he would offer “heartfelt apology and words of comfort” to South Koreans adopted abroad and their adoptive and birth families.
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The government was held accountable for facilitating adoptions through shady practices, including falsifying records and changing identities, according to the commission, which examined complaints from 367 adoptees in Europe, the United States, and Australia.
When he considered the “anxiety, pain, and confusion” South Korean adoptees would have experienced when they were sent abroad as children, Lee called on officials to develop systems to safeguard the rights of adoptees and support their efforts to locate their birth parents.
More than 140, 000 children were sent abroad between 1955 and 1999 as a result of the mass international adoptions that were started after the Korean War to remove mixed-race children from societies that stressed ethnic homogeneity.
More than 100 children, typically unmarried women who face ostracism in a conservative society, are still being adopted abroad for adoption each year in the 2020s, a trend that has persisted in recent years.
The Hague Adoption Convention, a global agreement intended to safeguard international adoptions, was ratified by South Korea in July after years of delay. On Wednesday, the treaty became effective in South Korea.
Kim Dae-jung, the former president, expressed regret during a 1998 apology to adoptees from other countries, saying: “From the bottom of my heart, I am truly sorry. We have a serious offense against you, in my opinion.
Republicans and Democrats have blocked rival stopgap spending bills for a second straight day, which has hindered progress made by US lawmakers in putting an end to the partial shutdown of the government.
The US Senate on Wednesday rejected the duelling proposals by margins, which were ineffective and mirrored similar efforts the day before.
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In a 55-45 vote, the Republican proposal to extend government funding ended on November 21.
The bill was supported on Tuesday by two Democrats, one of whom is an independent, Angus King of Maine, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada.
The Democrats’ bill, which sets up new healthcare spending at $1.5 trillion, received 53 votes for and 47 against, with all Republicans once more opposed.
Donald Trump’s victory came as US President Donald Trump kept his promise to start cutting costs to Democrats as a result of the shutdown, which has halted some government services and forced essential employees to report to work without pay on the back of the promise of being paid later.
The administration will freeze $ 26 billion in infrastructure funding earmarked for Democratic-run states, according to Russell T. Vought, the budget director of the White House.
Vought alleged that conservatives have harshly criticized diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, which have been subject to the conservatives’ harsh criticism of $ 18 billion for transportation projects in New York City.
Vought reported that 16 states, including California, Washington, and Hawaii, had also received $ 8 billion in “Green New Scam funding.”
Trump’s administration officials also gave the president a hint that he would follow through on his earlier threat to use the shutdown to start a mass layoff.
US Vice President JD Vance stated at a White House press briefing that “we will have to lay off people.”
“We’re going to have to save money in some places to prevent other places from providing essential services.”
The economy is already being harmed by the shutdown, according to Stephanie Leiser, a lecturer in public policy at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.
We need to keep in mind that the uncertainty is already putting us at risk in terms of delayed investment/spending, higher borrowing costs, depletion of reserves, and administrative burdens, Leiser said.
Instead of making plans for the future, everyone spends all of their time making up scenarios and worrying about the upcoming weeks and months.
Republicans and Democrats appeared to be reluctant to compromise as the shutdown passed its second day.
Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Senate Minority, claimed that Trump “threatening pain on the country as blackmail” and that he had lied to Americans about how he handled them.
He claimed that the public’s demands were reflected in Democrats’ efforts to repeal and replace the Medicaid cuts contained in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Nothing more, please. Nothing less. They want us to convene to discuss a real solution that removes this enormous burden from their shoulders, Schumer  said.
Democrats were to blame, according to Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
In a post on X, Thune wrote, “They have lost all reason when it comes to their hatred for President Trump.”
