IRAN – UNITED STATES
The latest military escalation between the United States and Iran, now in its seventh night of attacks, is also affecting water infrastructure. According to sources in Tehran, a US strike hit the desalination plant in the coastal village of Bunji, in Iran's Jask County, completely cutting off the supply of drinking water to 20 villages, home to approximately 10,000 people. For their part, Kuwaiti authorities report a fire at a power plant and desalination facility amid Iranian attacks against US targets in several Gulf countries. According to the Ministry of Electricity, this is the second attack in two days against the country's energy and water infrastructure.
HONG KONG – UNITED STATES
Just as Donald Trump was accusing China of influence peddling in the 2020 election, the United States yesterday took a significant step toward reviving economic relations with Hong Kong. By allowing the expiration of an executive order issued in 2020 to expire, Washington partially restored Hong Kong's special legal status. The provision was adopted during Trump's first presidency in response to China’s controversial National Security Law, which allowed Beijing to crack down on pro-democracy movements in the former British colony. China welcomed the decision as a positive sign for bilateral relations. However, the restrictions set forth in the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 and the Hong Kong Autonomy Act of 2020 remain in effect. According to the Treasury Department, sanctions will continue to apply to 38 of the 49 individuals previously named in the executive order.
PHILIPPINES – CHINA
A video on the website of the Chinese state-run newspaper China Daily has sparked outrage in the Philippines. It depicts Filipinos as monkeys manipulated by the United States and Japan, in an image with a clearly racist overtone. Representative Leila de Lima called it a show of China's arrogance, reflecting the “mindset of an entitled bully”, as well as Beijing's frustration with the Philippines’ refusal to budge on its claims in the South China Sea.
INDIA
Due to poor health conditions, 59-year-old Sonam Wangchuk was forcibly hospitalised by Delhi police on the 20th day of his hunger strike. Through this protest, which began on 28 June, the Indian activist is demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in India's medical entrance exam system. In recent weeks, several hundred students have joined the protest at the Jantar Mantar site in New Delhi. Other protests have been promoted by the online movement Cockroach Janta Party.
INDONESIA
Indonesia is preparing a broad reform to its copyright rules that would also protect works created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). If adopted, the new legislation would be the first law of its kind in Southeast Asia to explicitly include AI in copyright law, while many governments are still considering how to regulate the use of human work to train algorithms. It is not yet known when the bill will come into force. According to the Ministry of Justice, the reform is necessary because generative AI is transforming the copyright system and, without regulation, could penalise human creativity.
RUSSIA
In the first six months of the year, the volume of elevators installed in Russia dropped by 28 per cent to 11,300 units over the same period last year. As funding for public works dries up, regions buy less equipment for extraordinary maintenance programmes. With industrial production capacity underutilised, elevator output fell by 23.2 per cent. Growing competition from foreign manufacturers has also contributed to the decline.
BELARUS
Persecution against Catholic priests continues in Belarus. In Derechin, a village in Zelva District (Grodno Region), a local pastor, Father Yurij Gritsko, was arrested after he was summoned to the village council, where police officers were waiting for him. The clergyman was arrested and taken to the police station, while his car remained parked near the council building. The following day, he was sentenced to 15 days in prison, on the charges that are still unknown.
