Calcutta: Protests grow over murdered doctor, police disperse protesters

Today's news:  Israel launches massive overnight offensive in the Jenin area of the West Bank; New tensions between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea, Sabina Shoal disputed; Japan issues an emergency warning in anticipation of the powerful typhoon Shanshan; Kim Jong Un oversees the testing of a rocket launcher that can strike Seoul.

INDIA

Police in the city of Kolkata dispersed thousands of protesters who continue to demand justice in the case of the rape and murder of a female trainee doctor. The discovery on 9 August of the 31-year-old's body sparked national outrage over the issue of violence against women. While investigations are still continuing, protesters are also demanding the resignation of the head of the local government, Mamata Banerjee.

ISRAEL - PALESTINE

Israel launched a wide-ranging military offensive in the West Bank: Israeli raids hit Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas, with accusations of the military opening fire resulting in 11 deaths. In Tubas, Israeli troops arrived with military helicopters and conducted the assault, particularly in the Far'a refugee camp. According to some witnesses, it is the largest incursion in recent years.

PHILIPPINES - CHINA

The tension in the South China Sea dispute between China and the Philippines has risen again. The situation escalated last week when ships from Beijing and Manila clashed near the Sabina Shoal, both accusing the other side of deliberately ramming them. The shoal is claimed by China as Xianbin Jiao and by the Philippines as Escoda Shoal.

JAPAN

Japan issued an emergency warning as powerful typhoon Shanshan approached the southwestern region with heavy rain and winds. Airlines and train operators also cancelled some services in the coming days as the typhoon, classified as ‘very strong’, brought winds of 50 metres per second with gusts up to 70 metres per second (252 km per hour).

NORTH KOREA

More war tests in North Korea: leader Kim Jong Un supervised the testing of a 240mm multiple rocket launcher with a new guidance system, a weapon capable of striking the South Korean capital. Separately, a South Korean security agency estimates that the North has shipped more than 13,000 containers of weapons to Russia since mid-2022, which could mean 6 million North Korean artillery shells for Russian forces in Ukraine, a South Korean politician said.

RUSSIA

A 97-member group of the Medical Association of Russia has sent a request to the Federal Investigative Committee to open a criminal investigation into the perpetrators of the
death of the dissident politician Aleksej Naval'nyj, which ‘evidently occurred as a result of the failures of the prison authorities’ collaborators to perform their duties of care'.

KAZAKHSTAN

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs published new accreditation rules for foreign media correspondents, which are due to come into force on 3 September,
contested by journalists at home and abroad for the arbitrariness that would allow the ministry to suspend their licence for disagreement with published material, ‘old Soviet practices’.

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