Israelis take to streets against justice reform. First vote in Knesset

Today's headlines: appeal by family members and activists in Bangkok against the deportation of Cambodian opponent Thol Samnang; The suicide of a young artist raises the issue of depression in Hong Kong and China; Erdogan's green light for Swedish entry into NATO; At least 29 dead from monsoon rains in northern India; Ancient temples in Japan at risk of dilapidation and vandalism; Moscow propaganda raises accusation of US-backed bio-laboratories in Ukraine.

ISRAEL
Injuries, arrests, water cannons and police in riot gear to stem the demonstrations promoted this morning by opponents - reservists, magistrates, civil society - to the controversial justice reform, who have called for a 'Day of Blockade'. Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway cut off. Yesterday, the Knesset approved on first reading a rule limiting some powers of the Supreme Court, starting the parliamentary process. 

CAMBODIA - THAILAND
The mother of Cambodian activist Thol Samnang, of the Candlelight Party, is appealing to the Thai authorities to avert the deportation of her son, who is at risk of persecution and arrest. Hun Sen has long launched a tough campaign against political opponents in Phnom Penh. In recent days plainclothes men had stopped him in the streets of Bangkok on his way to the UNHCR office.

TURKEY - SWEDEN
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has given the green light for Sweden to join NATO, the Atlantic alliance. Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said this after meeting the leaders of Ankara and Stockholm at the summit in Lithuania, overcoming criticism of Scandinavian aid to the Kurds. In return Sweden will support efforts to reinvigorate the Turkish EU accession process.

HONG KONG - CHINA
The death of Hong Kong singer and Disney's 'Mulan' voice actress Coco Lee, who died by suicide on 5 July, has revived the issue of depression in the city and throughout mainland China, where one in four young people suffer from mental disorders or problems. Faced with a shortage of specialists, the condition is not only a personal issue, but involves a collective trauma.

INDIA
Days of monsoon rains in the north have killed at least 29 people, destroyed bridges, blocked roads and rendered several areas inaccessible. Flash floods and landslides dragged cars and demolished buildings in Himachal Pradesh, the worst affected area. The Indian Meteorological Department has forecast further rain in much of the north in the coming days.

JAPAN
Japan's centuries-old temples, visited by millions of people every year, seem to be succumbing to decay and vandalism by tourists. Police in Nara prefecture questioned a Canadian teenager who had defaced a pillar of the Toshodaiji temple, a Unesco heritage site. Shrines, castles and temples periodically undergo renovation or repair work.

RUSSIA - UKRAINE
Since the beginning of the war, Moscow propaganda has been talking about Ukrainian bio-laboratories, organised by the USA. General Igor Kirillov has raised accusations of viruses spread by migratory birds, but there is also talk of fighting mosquitoes. President Vasilij Nebenzja's representative claims that there are crop-killing locusts in the occupied Lugansk region and in Russia.

UZBEKISTAN
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan easily won the early elections for supreme office, garnering 87% of the vote out of almost 80% of eligible voters. Under the new constitution, his terms of office were reset, and now he too can rightfully be counted among the caste of 'eternal presidents' in the region.

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