Oman: Isis claims mosque attack, nine dead and nearly 30 injured

Today's news: Police in Laos rescue 17 girls (as young as 10) from sex slavery for Chinese tourists;  UN report denounces "institutionalized" forced labor in North Korea; Six Vietnamese men poisoned in a Bangkok hotel room; Recruitment among ultra-Orthodox begins next week, clashes in Tel Aviv; Hindu group offers prayer for Trump's "health" after attack. 

OMAN
Nine people were killed, including three attackers, and nearly thirty were injured, in the attack on the Shiite mosque of Ali bin Abi Talib in Oman on the evening of 15 July. A rare episode of bloodshed in the Sultanate, which resulted in the death of at least four Pakistanis, an Indian and a policeman. The Islamic State (IS, formerly Isis) claimed the action in a message on Telegram.
 

LAOS
Police discovered and rescued 17 underage girls - including three as young as 10 years old - after searching three houses in the tourist city of Luang Prabang, leading to the arrest of four people. The young girls, on average between 14 and 17 years old, came from rural areas and were recruited by deception with job offers in hotels and restaurants in the city, then made sex slaves for Chinese tourists.
 

NORTH KOREA
The UN denounces a deeply institutionalised system of forced labour in North Korea, which in some cases could amount to slavery. The report analyses the Pyongyang regime's ‘control and exploitation’ of an ‘extensive and multi-layered system of forced labour’ that emerged from 183 interviews conducted between 2015 and 2023 with victims and witnesses who fled the country today abroad.
 

THAILAND
Six people died in a luxury hotel room in Bangkok. According to police, they may have been poisoned after "ingesting cyanide concealed in tea" in a murder-suicide case over debt issues. The victims, two of whom had dual Vietnamese-American nationalities while the remaining four were Vietnamese, were guests of the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel.
 

ISRAEL
Starting next week, the Israeli army (IDF) will begin the recruitment process among the ultra-Orthodox, who were hitherto exempt from military service but can now be enlisted following the Supreme Court ruling in June. Following the announcement, heavy clashes occurred yesterday in Tel Aviv between ultra-Orthodox protesters and police forces.
 

INDIA
A Hindu group that celebrates Donald Trump ‘s birthday every year in Delhi prayed for his safety after he was attacked, saying he is the only leader who can rid the world of “radical Islam”. Dozens of people attended the Hindu Sena (Hindu Army) ceremony, with the goddess of power and protection (Baglamukhi) next to the image of the US presidential candidate.
 

RUSSIA
President Vladimir Putin signed the final amendments to the Tax Code of Russia, abolishing the 13% flat tax and introducing progressive taxes for individuals as of 1 January 2025. Increases are expected for those earning more than 200,000 roubles a month (more than 2,000 euro) or 2.4 million roubles a year, with an increase of up to 20-25% on company profits.
 

ARMENIA - CHINA
Direct air connections between Armenia and China will soon be opened, as announced after the meeting between Prime Minister Nikol Pašinyan and Beijing's ambassador to Yerevan, Fan Yun, at the end of his mission to Armenia. The aim is to ‘give a great boost to the development of tourism and economic and trade relations between the two countries’.

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