Oman, Israel-Palestine, China.
Today's three stories you should know.
Oman
An oil tanker owned by an Israeli billionaire has been attacked by an armed drone just off the coast of Oman, according to a report from the Associated Press news agency. No group has yet claimed responsibility but an anonymous Israeli official told AP that the attack was carried out by Iran using a Shahed-136 exploding drone, which is the same drone Iran has supplied to Russia for use in Ukraine. The Eastern Pacific Shipping company, which operates the vessel, said it was hit “by a projectile” and that nobody was injured and no potentially polluting cargo was spilled. Israel and Iran are engaged in a shadow war and incidents between the two are not uncommon.
More from AP here.
Israel-Palestine
We are living in a dystopia. Israel has installed robotic guns in two spots overlooking a Palestinian refugee camp and a city in the occupied West Bank. The guns use artificial intelligence to identify targets and can fire tear gas, stun grenades and sponge-tipped bullets at protesters. Israel says they are a safer method of dealing with Palestinian demonstrators while activists say it’s another method by which Israel can attack Palestinians while keeping its soldiers at arm’s length. Palestinian activist Issa Amro told the media that people resent what amounts to a weapons test on civilians.
More from ABC here.
China
People in China appear to be getting increasingly fed up of the country’s strict “zero-Covid” policy under which mass lockdowns can be called over just a few cases. The main campus of Peking University in Beijing has been shut down, with students and staff told they can’t leave unless absolutely necessary, over the discovery of a single case. According to reports, some people were attempting to defy the order. Protests also broke out in the southern city of Guangzhou, which has seen a relatively major outbreak recently. Footage shared online showed protesters remonstrating with officials wearing hazmat suits. President Xi Jinping has consistently argued that the severe approach to the pandemic has saved hundreds of thousands of lives.
More from Al Jazeera here.