US strikes in Iran; Tehran responds by targeting bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan

Today’s headlines: Taliban says Pakistan has resumed air strikes against Afghanistan; In Manipur, 14 Kuki hostages have been freed; Indonesia convicts four soldiers for an acid attack, but activists slam trial; Kyrgyzstan cracks down on peaceful demonstrations.

USA – IRAN

The United States has carried out a series of strikes against Iran in response to the downing of an Apache helicopter by a drone in the Gulf. Tehran has consequently targeted US forces in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, further escalating the conflict. In Tyre, Lebanon, Israeli strikes have killed nine people and also damaged the city’s archaeological site.

PAKISTAN – AFGHANISTAN

The Taliban authorities in Afghanistan, who yesterday cracked down on a public protest in the city of Herat, reported that at least 13 people were killed in an air raid carried out by Pakistan overnight. “Last night, the Pakistani army once again violated Afghan airspace and bombed civilian homes in the provinces of Kunar, Khost and Paktika,” said Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

INDIA

Fourteen people of Kuki ethnicity, who had been held hostage in Manipur since 13 May, were released yesterday by the United Naga Council, said Neiphiu Rio, Chief Minister of the Indian state of Nagaland. The ethnic conflict in north-eastern India, which initially broke out between the Kuki and Meitei communities, has worsened in recent months, spreading to the Naga ethnic group as well, with a particular rise in kidnappings by armed groups.

MYANMAR

The human rights organisation Justice For Myanmar has reported that some Singaporean companies continue to provide support to the Burmese regime. Four years ago, the group identified 33 companies supplying weapons, ‘dual-use’ components and technology to the military junta. Of these, 13 remain active. Meanwhile, the army’s advance in Kachin State continues: the inhabitants of Shwegu have been displaced and the access roads to the town have been closed.

INDONESIA

A military court has convicted four soldiers who carried out an acid attack on a 27-year-old activist, who was left blind in one eye, after he had criticised the Indonesian government’s growing militarisation. The four were all members of the Armed Forces Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS). Some voices have criticised the fact that the trial was held in a military court rather than a civilian one, pointing out that those truly responsible are likely to be the instigators of the attack at the highest levels of the military, despite the court having ruled that the soldiers acted on their own initiative.

RUSSIA

The Crimean authorities intend to organise a mass health retreat this summer for children eligible for benefits, as well as for members of the militarist movements ‘Eagles of Russia’ and ‘First Movement’. Officials have been ordered to purchase vouchers to enable children to spend their holidays in sanatoriums and summer camps on the peninsula where Ukrainians are carrying out attacks on Russian military installations, and where many beaches are still heavily polluted by oil spills.

KYRGYZSTAN

A bill has been tabled in the Žogorku Keneš, the Kyrgyz parliament, which would repeal the relatively permissive rules on demonstrations contained in current legislation. The proposal aims to restrict public events to venues designated in advance by local authorities, similar to Kazakhstan’s law on peaceful assemblies, which has been criticised by human rights activists for failing to meet international standards and for allowing the authorities to suppress unwanted protests.