INDONESIA
Commission blasts military
The National Human Rights Commission yesterday strongly criticized the military as it investigated the killing of 12 civilians during an operation against rebels in Papua province. The military said it had no information about the deaths, but the state-run rights commission said that 12 people, including women and children, had been shot dead and dozens sustained serious injuries during an operation against separatists in central Papua on Tuesday last week. It was not immediately clear whether the civilians were the killed by military or rebel fire, or both. “All forms of attacks against civilians, whether in situations of war or otherwise, carried out by state or non-state actors, constitute violations of human rights and International Humanitarian Law,” commission head Anis Hidayah said in a statement.
ISRAEL
Soldier strikes Jesus statue
The Israeli army yesterday said on X it had determined that an image circulating on social media showing one of its soldiers in south Lebanon hitting a statue of Jesus Christ is authentic. The image appears to show an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head on a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off a cross. The sculpture is in the Christian village of Debl near the border with Israel, the local municipality said, but officials could not say whether it had been damaged. The army said that it viewed the incident with “great severity,” adding that the “soldier’s conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops.” The incident is being investigated by the Northern Command and is currently being “addressed through the chain of command,” it said. “Appropriate measures will be taken against those involved,” it said, but did not go into further detail. It said it is working with the community to “restore the statue to its place.” Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Saar condemned what he called a “shameful and disgraceful” act. “I am confident that necessary severe measures will be taken against whoever committed this ugly act,” he wrote on X. “We apologize for this incident and to every Christian whose feelings were hurt.”
UNITED KINGDOM
Two arrested over arson
British police have arrested two teenagers in connection with a weekend arson attack on a synagogue in northwest London as Jewish leaders express concern about a wave of recent incidents targeting their community. Deputy Commissioner Matt Jukes of London’s Metropolitan Police Service yesterday said officers arrested two young men, aged 19 and 17, overnight in relation to the attack on the Kenton United Synagogue in the borough of Harrow. The department has made 15 arrests related to six attacks on Jewish targets and a Persian-language media company that occurred over the past few weeks, he said in an interview with the BBC. One “serious line of inquiry” is that Iran is hiring local criminals to carry out these attacks amid tensions in the Middle East, including the Iran war, Jukes said. “We’ve seen a pattern with other actors of thugs for hire, people taking cash that looks like quick and easy money,” he said. “This is part of the modern hybrid war fought by proxies,” he added.
MALAYSIA
Fire destroys 1,000 homes
A fire that tore through a coastal settlement on Borneo Island destroyed about 1,000 homes and displaced more than 9,000 people, authorities said. The fire started early on Sunday in the Sandakan district and spread rapidly through rows of wooden houses constructed on stilts above the sea, the fire and rescue department said. Officials said strong winds and the close proximity of the structures helped fuel the fire, while narrow access routes and low tide conditions made it harder for emergency crews to reach affected areas and contain the flames. No deaths have been reported, but thousands of residents have been moved to temporary shelter.
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