Rockets over northern Israel, truce also at risk in Lebanon

Today's news: trilateral summit in Tokyo between the foreign ministers of South Korea, Japan and China; Pakistan authorise Elon Musk's Starlink to operate in the country; NGOs report that there are also eleven pregnant women among the hundreds of former slaves from the online scam centres in Myanmar trapped in the camps on the Thai border; Progress against child labour in India.

LEBANON-ISRAEL

With the massive resumption of Israeli operations in Gaza, the front between Israel and Lebanon is flaring up again. This morning five rockets were fired from southern Lebanon towards northern Israel, presumably by Hezbollah militias. The rockets were intercepted but Israeli Defence Minister Katz is threatening harsh reprisals on Beirut. Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam urged the army to take the necessary measures to make it clear that ‘only the state has the power to decide on war and peace’. Last night, an Israeli raid hit an air base in Palmyra, Syria, injuring two Syrian soldiers.

SOUTH KOREA-JAPAN-CHINA

South Korea, Japan and China have reaffirmed that guaranteeing peace on the Korean peninsula is in the common interest of the three countries and a shared responsibility. This was stated by the South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul after the three-way talks with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya in Tokyo. During the press conference Wang Yi emphasised to journalists the importance of ‘multilateralism and free trade towards an inclusive development of economic globalisation’, with a clear allusion to Trump's aggressive tariff policy.

PAKISTAN

Starlink - Elon Musk's company for satellite internet connections - has obtained permission from the Pakistani government to start operating in the country. The Minister for Information Technology, Shaza Fatima, stated that Starlink has been granted temporary registration on the recommendation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and with the consent of the security agencies. ‘The arrival of Starlink in Pakistan,’ she added, ‘will mark the formal launch of satellite Internet services.’

THAILAND-MYANMAR

Eleven pregnant women are among the hundreds of people stranded in Thailand after being lured there by online scams in Myanmar. The Civil Society Network for Human Trafficking Victims Assistance reported the situation to Reuters, saying that the women are receiving little medical assistance and have insufficient food in the camp where they are being held. They add that another woman had a miscarriage two days ago. For weeks Thailand has been coordinating efforts to repatriate 7,372 people of about 20 different nationalities (including China): the Thai Foreign Ministry has stated that more than 2,400 people are still at the border.

INDIA

A new study conducted by the Just Rights for Children Alliance, a coalition of child rights NGOs, has stated that child labour in the Indian incense stick production industry has decreased significantly. The study, conducted in Bihar, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, only uncovered cases in 8% of the businesses. ‘The incense stick industry has made significant progress in eliminating child labour, thanks to greater awareness, political interventions and stricter regulations. However, we must remain vigilant, as there are still pockets of child labour, especially in the domestic sector,’ the report states.

RUSSIA-SYRIA

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a letter to the interim head of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharah, to express his support for the stabilisation of the country ‘in the interest of guaranteeing its sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity’, reiterating Russia's ‘continued willingness to develop all-round cooperation’.

KYRGYZSTAN

The director of the Kyrgyzstan Institute of Water Issues, Rysbek Satylkanov, appeared on a television programme to explain that the glaciers in the highlands of the country have been melting faster since the 1990s, so that the volume of watercourses is much higher than in the 1960s and 1970s, and they require appropriate regulation and utilisation measures.

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