Israel kills Hezbollah military leader one week before the Pope's arrival in Beirut

Today's headlines: diplomatic tensions continue between China and Japan; Floods in Malaysia have affected at least 11,000 people; New attack against police in Peshawar; Two Christian pastors arrested in Rajasthan under anti-conversion law.

ISRAEL - LEBANON

Yesterday, Israel killed Ali Tabtabai, Hezbollah's highest-ranking military officer, striking Beirut despite a ceasefire that has been in place for a year. The news was reported by the Israeli army and confirmed by the Shiite group, which added that it will decide in the coming days whether and how to respond. Five people were killed and 28 others wounded in the attack, which took place a week before Pope Leo XIV's arrival in Lebanon. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged the international community to intervene to stop the Israeli attacks.

CHINA - JAPAN

The diplomatic dispute between Beijing and Tokyo has not yet subsided: yesterday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Li said that Japan had “crossed a red line” with its comments on Taiwan. Newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had said that Chinese action on Taiwan could provoke a Japanese military response. Wang, the highest-ranking Chinese official to comment on the issue so far, added that China must “respond resolutely” and that all countries must “prevent the resurgence of Japanese militarism”.

MALAYSIA

While the death toll in Vietnam has risen to 90 due to flooding, in Malaysia monsoon rains have affected at least 11,000 people in seven different states across the country. According to a report by the National Emergency Management Agency, 60 temporary shelters have been opened to accommodate the displaced. No deaths have been reported so far.

INDIA

In recent days, Rajasthan police have recorded the first case under the state's new anti-conversion law, arresting two Christian pastors in Kota accused of allegedly encouraging people to convert during a three-day religious gathering at the Beersheba church. The complaints came from the extremist Hindu organisations Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal. Rajasthan enacted the anti-conversion law in October after the state Assembly passed the bill in September.

PAKISTAN

This morning, three suicide bombers attacked the federal police headquarters in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province: one of the three blew himself up at the entrance to the complex, while the other two were killed by law enforcement officers. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but it is likely that the Pakistani Taliban are responsible. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack in Peshawar and praised the security forces for their ‘prompt’ response.

TAJIKISTAN

According to a report by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Tajikistan is urbanising at an extreme rate, which could lead to 90% of the population living in cities by 2030, with severe depopulation of the countryside. Currently, 33% live in large cities and 51% in smaller towns, while only 15.5% of the population remains in agricultural areas, with unpredictable consequences for the country's economy.

RUSSIA

The Russian agency Rosmolodež, together with the Moscow School of Economics, has developed a system for monitoring the attitudes of Russian youth between the ages of 18 and 35 “in all areas of life”, on the basis of which regional authorities will have to take “urgent measures”, especially with regard to the most crucial issues such as LGBT and child-free ideologies, and “any form of influence from the collective West”.

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