‘Students poisoning major crime’
The Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution has called on officials to seriously pursue the issue of poisoning of students after cases were reported in a number of cities. Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the poisonings are a major and unforgivable crime. The leader says the perpetrators must be handed the maximum punishment, if the incidents are proven to be poisonings. Cases of such attacks have been reported in dozens of schools for girls over the past months. The incidents have reportedly left an unspecified number of students hospitalized. President Ebrahim Raeisi has already ordered the ministers of intelligence and the interior to follow up on the case.
Rohingya refugee camp fire
A massive fire rips through a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh, robbing around 12,000 people of their shelter. The flames swept through the Kutu-palong camp and gutted some 2,000 huts before it was brought under control. 90 facilities including hospitals and schools were burnt down as a result. Bangladeshi authorities are yet to release the number of casualties. They say an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire. An estimated one million Rohingya Muslims live in the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh. They escaped to Bangladesh in 2017 after the genocide by the military in their homeland Myanmar.
Netanyahu 'reforms plan'
Anger continues to flare-up in Israel over judicial reforms proposed by the new far-right cabinet of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Now dozens of air force reservists say they will not turn up for a training day in protest. In a letter circulated in local media, 37 pilots and navigators from an F-15 squadron said they would skip drills scheduled for Wednesday. This comes amid weeks-long demonstrations against Netanyahu’s policies. Some protest leaders - among them former military chiefs - say Tel Aviv’s policies could lead to mass-disobedience within the ranks. The regime seeks changes that include curbs on the Supreme Court, which it accuses of over-reach. Critics say Netanyahu wants excessive power over the judiciary. He is already on trial on graft charges.