Jerusalem, Lutheran bishop: violence by Jewish extremists 'increasing and unpunished'

Today's news: Tibetan Buddhist monk arrested by Chinese police for publishing books of the exiled community; Yemen's foreign minister is the new premier of  internationally recognised government; Singapore wants to keep 'dangerous' prisoners in jail even at the end of their sentences; Tokaev dismisses the entire Kazakh government, appointing a new interim premier.

ISRAEL - PALESTINE
Attacks against Christians in East Jerusalem by Jewish extremists are "increasing" and Israeli authorities are not acting to punish. This was reported by the bishop emeritus of the Evangelical Lutheran Church Munib Younan, who also recalls the latest episode over the weekend: two settlers spat on the Benedictine monk Nikodemus Schnabel, an act also condemned by the Latin Patriarchate.

BANGLADESH - MYANMAR
At least 95 Myanmar border guards, some injured, have fled to Bangladesh in recent days as fighting between the army and rebel militias intensified. The clashes are so intense that they are distinctly felt across the border, in the Cox's Bazar area where almost a million Rohingya refugees live and have caused two civilian victims in the last few hours in Bangladesh.

TIBET - CHINA
A Tibetan Buddhist monk was arrested by Chinese police last June, but the news has only now emerged, on charges of having republished books from the Tibetan community in exile and contacting people outside the region. The fate of the arrested person, 54-year-old Lobsang Thabkhey, formerly a librarian of the Kirti monastery, Ngaba county, is currently unknown.

YEMEN
Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak is the new prime minister of the internationally recognized government. A surprise appointment made official by a decree of the Presidential Council. He succeeds Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, who will assume the role of advisor to the president. Bin Mubarak was kidnapped in 2015 by the Houthis while he was chief of presidential staff to Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

SOUTH KOREA
The Seoul Metropolitan Government wants to transform an abandoned train maintenance depot in Yongsan District into a world-class commercial district of skyscrapers. At least 500 thousand square meters will be affected, which will make the area "the largest shopping center in the world", with large green spaces.

SINGAPORE
Singapore has passed a law to keep "dangerous offenders" in prison indefinitely, even at the end of their sentences. The rule applies to people over 21 convicted of crimes such as manslaughter, rape and pedophilia. Home Minister K. Shanmugam said that “an offender who continues to pose a real danger to others must not be released.”

RUSSIA
The well-known Russian human rights activist Olga Suvorova was locked up in a mental hospital for a month in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. The psychiatrists' diagnosis speaks of "a fixation on helping the people around her, active since school age and continued in the social activities of the region". This attitude “represents a clear behavioral deviance”.

KAZAKHSTAN
The president of Kazakhstan, Kasym-Žomart Tokaev, with his decree dismissed the entire government with its 26 ministers, which had been installed in September 2023. The head of state then appointed deputy prime minister Roman Skljar as prime minister on an interim basis in place of Alikhan Šmailov, who has been at the top since January 2022 after the serious unrest and street riots.

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