Beirut: Israeli raid near Parliament, at least six dead

Today's news: Singapore's former transport minister sentenced to 12 months in prison; Chinese authorities ordered the transfer of 200 students from a Buddhist monastery in Tibet to state schools; Delhi blocks the screening of a Pakistani film, the first in over a decade; Dozens of tigers, lions and panthers die in two zoos in Vietnam from H5N1 bird flu.

LEBANON - ISRAEL
The Israeli Air Force claims to have carried out a ‘precise’ air strike in the early morning hours in Beirut, the first operation ‘in the heart of the Lebanese capital’. Local sources report a massive explosion (the target would have been a building near the Parliament), which killed at least six people and wounded seven others. More than 240 rockets were fired from southern Lebanon into northern Israel; yesterday, eight soldiers died in ground clashes in the south with Hezbollah militias.

SINGAPORE
A Singapore court today sentenced the former Minister of Transport and Communications to 12 months in jail for obstructing justice and pocketing over 0,000 in gifts. It is the first imprisonment of a former executive in the history of the city-state. For 13 years Subramaniam Iswaran was part of the government; he pleaded guilty to four counts.

TIBET - CHINA
Chinese authorities ordered the transfer of at least 200 students from a monastery in Tibet to state schools. Activists and critics say the measure is part of Beijing's efforts to control Tibetan Buddhist education and assimilate young people, in a typical ‘colonial’ style. This is the last part of a total of 600 students once enrolled at Taktsang Lhamo Kirti.

INDIA - PAKISTAN
Delhi has blocked the screening of a Pakistani film, the first to be shown in cinemas in the country in over a decade. The film is a remake of a 1979 Punjabi film, The Legend of Maula Jatt, the highest-grossing film ever in the Asian country. The reasons for the blockade are not known at the moment. In Maharashtra, parties of right-wing populists had protested against the release of the film.

VIETNAM
At least 47 tigers, three lions and a panther died in zoos in southern Vietnam due to theH5N1 bird flu virus. The deaths occurred in August and September in the private My Quynh Safari park (Long An province) and the Vuon Xoai Zoo in Dong Nai. No zoo staff members in close contact with the animals reportedly experienced respiratory symptoms.

RUSSIA
Jews in St Petersburg were denied permission to hold their annual Holocaust victims' memorial ceremony, scheduled for 6 October. The authorities justified themselves by citing coronavirus restrictions now suspended for almost all events, so much so that in 2022 and 2023 the ceremony had been held, whereas now it will be held ‘privately’.

KAZAKHSTAN
Kazakhstan is holding tight negotiations to increase its gas exports to China, in order to maintain its market positions and withstand competition from Russia and Turkmenistan. This was revealed by Orda.kz based on statements by Sanžar Žarkešov, the president of HK Qazaq Gaz, that ‘Chinese demand for gas is increasing every day’.

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