The world at a glance

Jerusalem

Tensions rise: Israel has ramped up tensions with Iran by launching a series of attacks on it and its allies. On Saturday, Israel bombed an Iranian base in Syria, to stop what it claimed was a plan to attack Israel with “killer” (bomb-carrying) drones. The next day, an Israeli drone reportedly attacked a Hezbollah stronghold near Beirut, a violation of sovereignty which Lebanon’s President Aoun said amounted to a “declaration of war”. A Syrian-backed Palestinian group said one of its positions in Lebanon had also been attacked. In a statement, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces a tough re-election battle next month, did not confirm the latter attacks, but said Iran was “working on several fronts to carry out deadly attacks against Israel”, and Israel would defend itself by “all means necessary”.

Harare

Comedian kidnapped: One of Zimbabwe’s most popular comedians has gone into hiding after being attacked by gunmen in Harare. Samantha Kureya, an outspoken critic of the government, opened her door to six men claiming to be policemen, who then forced her into a van. Over the next three hours, she was stripped naked, beaten and forced to drink sewage before being dumped in the suburbs. “They started saying, ‘You mock the government and we have been monitoring you,’” said Kureya, who was arrested earlier this year for performing a skit about the police. Human rights activists say that there have been ten similar incidents in the past fortnight, and claim that the security forces are behind the attacks.

Beijing

Novelist charged: A Chinese-Australian writer and academic has been formally charged with espionage after more than seven months in detention. Yang Hengjun, who worked for China’s Foreign Ministry before becoming an Australian citizen in 2002, was arrested in January when his plane touched down in Guangzhou. He is known on social media as “the democracy peddler” for advocating reform in China. The details of his offence have not been revealed, but the charge can carry the death penalty.

Uluru, Australia

Far-right U-turn: The leader of Australia’s far-right One Nation party has dropped her fight to keep Uluru open to climbers, after getting stuck on the rock. Pauline Hanson travelled to Uluru – aka Ayers Rock – hoping to persuade its Indigenous owners to suspend an impending ban on climbers, which they demanded because the rock is sacred to them, and also because so many people have died climbing it. But after getting stuck near the top, and having to slide down on her bottom, she said she now “sees the sense” in banning climbers.

Hong Kong

Live round used: Unrest in Hong Kong intensified last weekend, as police used water cannons to disperse angry crowds for the first time and even, in one instance, fired a live round. The weekend began peacefully, with thousands of people linking hands to form a human chain around the city that was said to be 30 miles long. But later, in the Tsuen Wan district, a protest turned violent when a group of masked protesters began pelting riot police with petrol bombs and bricks. In the running battles that followed, police at first responded with tear gas, but were later seen firing water cannons. Six officers drew their pistols after allegedly being surrounded by a mob, and one fired a warning shot into the air. A police spokeswoman later said the officer had been left “without any other choices”.

Dokdo, South Korea

War games: South Korea risked escalating its row with Japan this week by staging war games on the disputed Dokdo islets. Relations have been strained since last year, when a Korean court ordered Nippon Steel to pay compensation to four Koreans used as forced labour in WWII. In apparent retaliation, Tokyo restricted the export to South Korea of chemicals used in the manufacture of memory chips, citing security concerns. Seoul then pulled out of an intelligencesharing

agreement.

Jakarta

Capital move: Indonesia is to relocate its capital from Jakarta to Borneo, President Joko Widodo confirmed this week. Home to ten million people, Jakarta sits on swampy land and is subsiding into the sea – with some predicting that a third of the city will be submerged by 2050. It is hoped that building a new administrative centre in Borneo will ease some of the pressure on Jakarta, while also distributing power more evenly across the country. But environmentalists have warned that the move could pose a threat to Borneo’s extensive rainforests and wildlife.