Iran
As mentioned in Proximities at the time, an Iranian military factory was last week attacked by three bomb-equipped drones, one of which got through Iranian defences and hit the facility. Iran today blamed Israel for the operation and said it reserved the right "to respond resolutely to any threats or wrongful actions." Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, said in a letter to the UN Secretary General that Israel was responsible for what he called “a terrorist attack.” Iran and Israel have been engaged in a shadow war for years with both carrying out attacks on each other’s assets. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied that it was responsible for the drones.
More from BBC here.
Nigeria
More than 11,000 Nigerians from the country’s oil-producing Niger Delta region are suing British oil giant Shell for compensation at London’s High Court. The claims say that constant oil spills from Shell facilities have destroyed farms and contaminated drinking water. In 2020 and 2021, the country’s National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency recorded 822 spills, totalling 28,003 barrels of oil. The average life expectancy in the Niger Delta is now just 41, 10 years lower than Nigeria’s national average. The case, and others like it, could prove a test for whether multinationals can be held responsible for the actions of their overseas subsidiaries.
More from Al Jazeera here.
El Salvador
El Salvador has opened a mammoth jail that can hold 40,000 people as the government presses forward with an unprecedented crackdown on criminal gangs. The prison, known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, doubles the country’s prison capacity, which is sorely needed, as the crackdown has caused the prison population to soar, pushing already overcrowded jails to breaking point. President Nayib Bukele introduced a state of emergency in March last year and since then a staggering 62,000 people have been arrested. Rights groups have criticised Bukele’s campaign against the gangs for being heavy-handed but it has proven massively popular.
More from Reuters here.