Israeli attacks in Yemen and Lebanon, another 20 dead in Gaza

Today's news: Violent protests in Pucheng, northwest China, over the accidental death of a student; Summit between Ishiba and Prabowo revives cooperation between Tokyo and Jakarta on security; Smog causes transport chaos in Delhi; Myanmar junta airstrike kills over 40 people in Rakhine.

ISRAEL - GAZA - LEBANON - YEMEN

The Israeli army said it attacked several sites in Yemen controlled by Houthi fighters, including a power plant near the capital Sanaa and the ports of al-Hudayda and Ras Isa. In addition, several people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon, despite the ‘ceasefire’ agreement. Yesterday in Gaza at least 21 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks. At least 46,006 Palestinians have been killed and 109,378 injured since 7 October 2023.

CHINA

The death of a teenager sparked violent protests in a northwestern Chinese city of Pucheng in Shaanxi province. Authorities said the teenager died on 2 January in an accident in his school dormitory. After his death, accusations of a cover-up spread on social media. Protests broke out soon afterwards and lasted several days before apparently being quelled.

JAPAN-INDONESIA

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said his country had agreed to provide high-speed patrol boats to Indonesia at a summit in Bogor with President Prabowo Subianto. The two countries are increasing security cooperation, also confirming bilateral cooperation on energy security, human resources development and disaster prevention.

INDIA

Smog is causing travel chaos in the Indian capital Delhi. In the early hours of yesterday, visibility in several areas was zero, causing disruption to flights, trains and road transport. More than 150 flights were delayed and dozens of trains were delayed. This is a recurring problem in northern India every winter, where low temperatures between December and January trap pollutants close to the ground.

MYANMAR

Dozens of people were killed in an air strike by Myanmar's military junta in Rakhine state this week, as the civil war in the Southeast Asian country approaches its fourth year. The junta struck the village of Kyauk Ni Maw in Yanbye commune on Wednesday afternoon, destroying about 500 homes and killing more than 40 people, according to the Government of National Unity (GUN) and a UN agency.

GEORGIA

The former president of Georgia, Salome Zurabišvili, declared that she will ‘continue to serve as president’ from her new office, after handing over the Orbeliani palace to her ‘illegitimate’ successor Mikhail Kavelašvili, and that the only way out for the country is to hold new and honest elections, which she intends to discuss with Donald Trump, at whose inauguration she will be present.

RUSSIA

As is tradition in Russia, the peak of alcohol sales occurs during the New Year's holidays, and these days also see a percentage increase in the number of deaths, 14% more than at any other time of the year, figures that have continued to rise since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, after the Federal Control Service reported that 108.5 million decalitres had already been drunk in the first 11 months of 2024, an absolute record.

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