Houthi drone attack hits downtown Tel Aviv, one dead

Today's news: at least 32 killed in student protest in Bangladesh, state TV set on fire; Police investigate cyanide used in the murder-suicide of six Vietnamese men in a Bangkok hotel; Consensus reached between Tokyo and Pacific Island leaders on releasing Fukushima waters into the ocean; Monsoons in Nepal caused 125 deaths in little over a month.

ISRAEL - PALESTINE
A probable drone attack, claimed by Iranian-backed Houthi militias in Yemen, struck central Tel Aviv in the early hours of today, killing one man and slightly wounding four others. The explosion, which did not trigger air raid alerts, came hours after the Israeli army killed a senior commander of Lebanese Hezbollah militias.

BANGLADESH
Students on the streets set fire to the country's state television station yesterday, a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina appeared on the network trying to quell clashes and violence in which at least 32 people died. For days, hundreds of young people have been demonstrating to change the controversial quota system. The government has ordered the closure of schools and universities.

THAILAND
Police are investigating the origin of the cyanide used in the murder-suicide of six people of Vietnamese origin in a hotel in Ratchaprasong, Bangkok, earlier this week. Sherine Chong, one of the victims, allegedly poisoned the others then killed herself over money problems. The police are trying to contact the younger sister of one of the victims, who left for Vietnam on 10 July.

JAPAN - PACIFIC
Tokyo and some Pacific island leaders reached a consensus on the controversial release into the ocean of treated nuclear waste water from the Fukushima plant, scene of the March 2011 atomic accident. The agreement came at the 10th Pacific Island Leaders Meeting (Palm10) hosted by the Japanese in the capital yesterday, attended by the majority of Pacific Islands Forum representatives.

NEPAL
Monsoon-induced disasters, such as floods and landslides, have killed 125 people in different parts of Nepal in the past 38 days, another 143 were injured some seriously. A total of 222 houses, 80 sheds, 43 bridges, a school and two government offices were damaged during the same period, displacing 3,721 families and killing 585 cattle.

KOREA
Former North Korean diplomat Tae Yong-ho was appointed to head South Korea's Presidential Advisory Committee on Unification. He thus becomes the highest-ranking defector among the thousands of exiles who fled the North's regime and resettled in the South, with a vice-ministerial post. Pyongyang branded him ‘human scum’ and accused him of embezzlement.

RUSSIA - AFRICA - PAKISTAN
In the first half of 2024, Russian companies have enormously increased their recruitment of workers from Africa, which accounts for 70% of those from abroad, analysts at the recruting sitehh.ru have found. In particular, they come from Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Algeria and Cameroon, as well as Albania and Pakistan, against the collapse of those from European countries and the US.

AZERBAIJAN - CHINA
Citizens of China will be able to visit Azerbaijan three times a year without a visa, according to the Baku State Migration Service, for 30 days each visit, by registering within 30 days of entry. On the other hand, if they intend to stay longer than one month, they will have to apply for a residence permit, according to the agreements reached by the two countries on 3 July.