Iranians vote for a new president under the shadow of conflict and economic woes
Under the specter of conflict with Israel, a struggling economy and social discontent, Iranians headed to the polls on Friday for snap presidential elections that could be the most important for the country in decades.
The sudden death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a recent helicopter crash, alongside Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other officials, has left a leadership void. Raisi, a hardline regime loyalist, was widely regarded as a leading candidate to replace Iran’s Supreme Leader, 85-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds ultimate authority over all state matters.
It is also the first presidential election since the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country’s notorious morality police in 2022, an event that sparked the largest protests since the regime’s founding in 1979. The vote takes place amid deteriorating relations with the West, an advancing Iranian nuclear program, and an increasing risk of direct war with Israel. Just two months ago, Iran and Israel exchanged fire for the first time as the Gaza conflict widened, and Israel is now preparing for a potential second front with Hezbollah, Iran’s primary regional proxy, in Lebanon.
Israel destroys 11 homes in West Bank village amid spiralling violence
Fifty left homeless in remote hamlet of mainly shepherds, as beatings and demolitions in occupied territory increase
Israeli soldiers have destroyed 11 homes and other structures in an isolated community in the occupied West Bank, leaving 50 people homeless, amid a reported uptick in house demolitions and spiralling violence in the Palestinian territory.
Contractors with bulldozers accompanied by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops arrived in Umm al-Kheir, a village mostly home to shepherds, on Wednesday morning and demolished six houses, tent residences, an electricity generator, solar cells and water tanks, according to residents and Israeli activists who documented the proceedings. Agricultural land and fences were also damaged and trees uprooted.
Pakistan: Parliament passes tax-heavy budget to appease IMF
Pakistan's parliament has approved a government budget entailing significant tax hikes. Islamabad is looking to secure yet another billion-dollar IMF loan in order to avoid defaulting on its debts.
Pakistan is looking to increase total tax revenues by around 40% during the 2024/25 fiscal year, according to government budget plans which were passed by parliament on Friday.
In a country dominated by informal employment and where only 5.2 million of its over 240 million inhabitants are subjected to income tax, increased tax revenues are now intended to raise around $46 billion out of a total budget of around $68 billion.
The tax-heavy budget, which also foresees a scrapping of petrol/gasoline subsidies, comes ahead of further talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a loan of between $6-8 billion to help Pakistan av
Urbicide: ‘Even if Israel stops bombing Gaza tomorrow, it will be impossible to live there'
Eight months of war have destroyed more than 55% of the structures in Gaza, according to the latest report from the UN Satellite Centre. The enclave's main towns have been devastated by Israeli bombardment, rendering them almost uninhabitable. The destruction has been called an example of “urbicide” – the deliberate, utter destruction of an urban area.
"All the houses have been turned into ruins. We're lost, we don't know exactly where our homes are in the midst of this massive destruction," said Mohammad al-Najjar, 33, in an interview with AFP on June 1 in the Jabaliya camp in the north of the Gaza Strip.
Eight months of war and intense bombardment by the Israeli military has turned most of Gaza into a heap of ruins, as confirmed by photos and satellite images.
"A total of 137,297 structures, or around 55% of structures in Gaza, are affected," noted the United Nations Satellite Centre (Unosat) in a report published on May 31.
Okinawa angry over lack of info about suspected assault of minor
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
June 27, 2024 at 17:06 JST
Okinawa prefectural government officials expressed outrage over being left in the dark about allegations that a U.S. serviceman had sexually assaulted a minor.
The suspected attack against the girl occurred on the night of Dec. 24, 2023. The suspect, Brennon R.E. Washington, 25, was indicted by the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office on March 27.
However, the prefectural government said it had no knowledge of the case until a local broadcaster reported it on June 25.
China honours woman who died saving Japanese family
By Kelly Ng, BBC News
A Chinese woman who tried to shield a Japanese mother and her child from a knife attack has died.
Hu Youping was working as a school bus attendant in Suzhou city when a man attacked a Japanese woman and her child at a bus stop outside a Japanese school.
Tributes for her have poured out online and the local government has said she will be given the title of "Righteous and Courageous Role Model".
The Japanese embassy in China also lowered its flag to half-mast to honour Ms Hu. In a statement on Weibo, the embassy said it was "saddened" to hear of her death.
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