INDIA
Kashmir attack kills nine
The government is investigating an attack in which suspected militants fired at a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims in Kashmir, killing nine and injuring 33, officials said yesterday. The attack on Sunday caused the vehicle to fall into a deep gorge in Jammu Province’s Reasi District. The bus was carrying pilgrims to the base camp of the Hindu temple Mata Vaishno Devi. A team from the National Investigation Agency has reached the site of the attack, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. Security forces were also trying to track down those suspected to be responsible. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha announced compensation of US$11,975 each for families of those killed, as well as nearly US$600 to those who were injured. Federal Minister Amit Shah said he was in touch with Sinha and the local administration was providing speedy medical attention. A police officer said some of the victims had gunshot wounds and blamed the attack on Muslim militants who are fighting Indian rule in Kashmir.
AUSTRALIA
US consulate vandalized
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday urged activists on both sides of the Israel-Palestinian debate to “turn the heat down” after the US consulate in Sydney was vandalized earlier in the day. CCTV footage showed a person wearing a dark hoodie using a small sledgehammer to smash nine holes in the reinforced glass windows of the building in North Sydney after 3am, a police statement said. Two inverted red triangles, seen by many as a symbol of Palestinian resistance, were also painted on the front of the building. Calling for “respectful political debate and discourse,” Albanese told reporters: “People are traumatized by what is going on in the Middle East, particularly those with relatives in either Israel or in the Palestinian Occupied Territories.” However, “measures such as painting the US consulate do nothing to advance the cause of those who have committed what is, of course, a crime to damage property,” he said. The consulate was closed yesterday because of a public holiday in New South Wales state, but would reopen today, a consulate statement said. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said an overwhelming majority of Australians did not approve of such vandalism.
JAPAN
Deportation rules tightened
Japanese laws making it easier for the country to deport failed asylum seekers took effect yesterday, with campaigners warning that the new system would put lives at risk. The world’s fourth-largest economy has long been criticized for the low number of asylum applications it accepts. Last year, refugee status was granted to a record 303 people, mostly from Afghanistan. Now the government can deport asylum seekers rejected three times, under immigration law changes enacted last year. Previously, those seeking refugee status had been able to stay in the country while they appealed decisions, regardless of the number of attempts made. The revised law is “meant to swiftly deport those without permission to stay, and help reduce long-term detentions,” Minister of Justice Ryuji Koizumi said last month. Critics have raised concerns over the transparency of the screening process, saying the new rules could heighten the risk of applicants facing persecution after repatriation. “We’re strongly concerned that the enforcement of this law will allow refugees who have fled to Japan to be deported, and endanger their lives and safety,” the Japan Association for Refugees said on X.
The Philippines yesterday said its coast guard would acquire 40 fast patrol craft from France, with plans to deploy some of them in disputed areas of the South China Sea. The deal is the “largest so far single purchase” in Manila’s ongoing effort to modernize its coast guard, with deliveries set to start in four years, Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan told a news conference. He declined to provide specifications for the vessels, which Manila said would cost 25.8 billion pesos (US$440 million), to be funded by development aid from the French government. He said some of the vessels would
CARGO PLANE VECTOR: Officials said they believe that attacks involving incendiary devices on planes was the work of Russia’s military intelligence agency the GRU Western security officials suspect Russian intelligence was behind a plot to put incendiary devices in packages on cargo planes headed to North America, including one that caught fire at a courier hub in Germany and another that ignited in a warehouse in England. Poland last month said that it had arrested four people suspected to be linked to a foreign intelligence operation that carried out sabotage and was searching for two others. Lithuania’s prosecutor general Nida Grunskiene on Tuesday said that there were an unspecified number of people detained in several countries, offering no elaboration. The events come as Western officials say
Hundreds of thousands of Guyana citizens living at home and abroad would receive a payout of about US$478 each after the country announced it was distributing its “mind-boggling” oil wealth. The grant of 100,000 Guyanese dollars would be available to any citizen of the South American country aged 18 and older with a valid passport or identification card. Guyanese citizens who normally live abroad would be eligible, but must be in Guyana to collect the payment. The payout was originally planned as a 200,000 Guyanese dollar grant for each household in the country, but was reframed after concerns that some citizens, including
A plane bringing Israeli soccer supporters home from Amsterdam landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport on Friday after a night of violence that Israeli and Dutch officials condemned as “anti-Semitic.” Dutch police said 62 arrests were made in connection with the violence, which erupted after a UEFA Europa League soccer tie between Amsterdam club Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Israeli flag carrier El Al said it was sending six planes to the Netherlands to bring the fans home, after the first flight carrying evacuees landed on Friday afternoon, the Israeli Airports Authority said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered
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