Modi, Xi push anti-terror stand at SCO as Nepal flood toll crosses 1,000

Newdelhi,UPDATED: Sep 1, 2026 20:16 IST

Major developments on Tuesday centred on the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a firm stand against terrorism and Chinese President Xi Jinping pressed member states to make security a priority. India also outlined key outcomes from the summit, including steps to strengthen cooperation on security and address threats such as terrorism and extremism.

Elsewhere, Nepal's flood toll crossed 1,000 as rescue teams recovered more bodies and nearly 4,000 people remained missing. Other developments included a UN warning on rising sea levels in Kolkata and Mumbai, fresh data on US investments in Indian securities, Keir Starmer's plan to step down as a London MP, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's statement that an Indian citizen was among those killed in the latest Russian attacks on Ukraine.

At the SCO summit in Bishkek, Modi urged the grouping to confront countries using terrorism as an instrument of state policy and reject "double standards" in the collective fight against terror financing and recruitment. India later highlighted 13 outcomes from the summit, including a centre for security threats and measures to deepen cooperation against transnational threats.

Xi told SCO member states that security should be a key priority and called for action against terrorism, separatism and extremism, as well as transnational organised crime, drug trafficking and telecom fraud. In Islamabad, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said water was the "lifeblood" of the region and that it must never be weaponised.

In Nepal, the death toll from the flash floods rose to 1,050 on Tuesday, officials said, as security forces recovered more bodies from eight districts. Nearly 4,000 people were still missing.

Nepal's only billionaire and philanthropist Binod Chaudhary praised India and Prime Minister Modi for a swift disaster response, saying the scale of the disaster was "far bigger" than anyone had contemplated. He also described the rebuilding task as "gigantic".

The human toll of the disaster was visible in families waiting for news of missing hydropower workers. Twenty-year-old Anush Gurung was searching for his 60-year-old father, Laxman, who has been missing since the August 26 flash floods struck the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project in Nepal's Rasuwa district. Families said, "Our only hope is inside the tunnel."

In New York, a United Nations report said millions of people in Kolkata and Mumbai were at "immediate risk" of losing their homes because of rising sea levels and permanent inundation.

In Washington, US Treasury Department data showed that the value of US investments in Indian securities had risen from USD 130 billion in 2015 to USD 390 billion in 2025. In London, Keir Starmer said he would step down as a member of Parliament from London to focus on "international affairs", triggering a by-election.

Zelenskyy said an Indian citizen was among 12 people killed in the latest Russian attacks on Ukraine. He said drones and ballistic missiles struck several cities, damaging residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.

The day's developments ranged from security and diplomacy at the SCO summit to the mounting disaster in Nepal and wider global concerns over climate risk, investment flows and the war in Ukraine.

With PTI Inputs

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