The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran came under renewed strain on Monday, 8 June after the two sides exchanged fire for the first time since the April truce, raising fears of a wider regional conflict.

Hours after the attacks, Iran's military joint command announced it was suspending offensive operations but warned that any further "aggression and hostile acts" by Israel or its allies would trigger a much harsher response.

The exchange marked the most serious challenge yet to the ceasefire brokered two months ago after a war launched by the United States and Israel on 28 February with strikes on Iran. The conflict disrupted global energy markets, pushed up fuel prices and contributed to rising costs of essential goods worldwide.

Diplomatic efforts are now underway to prevent a return to full-scale hostilities.

According to two regional officials, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Qatar have urged the administration of US President Donald Trump to pressure Israel to curb its military actions against Iran and Beirut, while also encouraging Tehran to halt attacks on Israel. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the talks publicly.

Trump acknowledged that discussions were continuing but provided no details.

The ceasefire has remained tenuous despite the absence of large-scale fighting. Iran has maintained its grip over the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant portion of the world's oil and natural gas supplies pass. Israel, meanwhile, has continued military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon and expanded its activities there.

The situation deteriorated further on Monday when Yemen's Houthi rebels, another Iranian ally, claimed responsibility for an attack on Israel and warned that Israel-linked vessels would once again be targeted in the Red Sea.

The latest escalation began after Tehran vowed retaliation for Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs on Sunday. Iran launched waves of missile attacks against Israel on Monday, prompting Israeli strikes on targets in central and western Iran.

Iranian state media reported explosions in Tehran, Isfahan, Karaj and Tabriz. Authorities temporarily closed the airspace around Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport following the strikes.

The semi-official Fars and Mehr news agencies reported that Israeli attacks hit a petrochemical facility in Mahshahr. The Israeli military later confirmed striking the site, saying it targeted facilities involved in the production of materials for ballistic missiles as well as mobile missile launchers.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted two military bases in Israel.

Explosions were heard across central Israel as air-defence systems intercepted incoming missiles. Air-raid sirens also sounded in neighbouring Jordan.

Tehran accused Washington of enabling the Israeli attacks. "No one believes that the Israeli regime would take any action without coordination with the United States," Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran.

The White House did not immediately comment on whether the Israeli strikes were coordinated with Washington.

The latest violence has also exposed growing tensions between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two leaders launched the military campaign against Iran in close coordination and Israeli officials frequently highlighted what they described as unprecedented cooperation between the two governments. However, differences have become increasingly visible in recent weeks.

Netanyahu's decision to strike Beirut on Sunday and subsequent operations inside Iran appeared to run counter to Trump's efforts to preserve the ceasefire. The US president has publicly expressed frustration with Israel's actions and recently told the Financial Times that "I call all the shots".

Political pressures at home may be contributing to the divergence. Netanyahu faces elections later this year and is under pressure to respond forcefully to continuing Hezbollah attacks. Trump, meanwhile, is seeking to stabilise global markets ahead of November's congressional elections.

The Houthis' renewed threat to target shipping has added another layer of uncertainty. During the Israel-Hamas war, the group carried out more than 100 attacks on commercial vessels in and around the Red Sea, sinking ships, killing mariners and disrupting one of the world's most important trade routes. Before the conflict, roughly USD 1 trillion worth of goods passed through the corridor annually.

On both sides of the conflict, civilians prepared for the possibility of further escalation. In Tehran, some residents expressed support for Iran's response and said they expected the conflict to continue.

In Israel, schools remained closed nationwide, though many businesses stayed open. Streets in Tel Aviv were quieter than usual as residents repeatedly sought shelter during missile alerts throughout the day.

With AP/PTI inputs

The United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, has strongly condemned the detention of Afghan women and girls by Taliban morality police in Herat, calling the arrests "illegal and unacceptable" and demanding their immediate release.

Bennett's remarks came after local sources reported that at least 21 women and girls were detained in Herat for allegedly violating the Taliban's dress code regulations.

"I am deeply alarmed that for a third consecutive day, scores of women in Herat continue to be arbitrarily arrested and detained for violating the Taliban's dress code. It is illegal and unacceptable. The arrests must stop, and the women must be released immediately," Bennett said in a post on X.

According to local reports, the arrests took place in several parts of Herat, including the Southern Road area, Almas Market and the Qasr locality. Among those detained was reportedly a nurse employed at Herat Regional Hospital.

The detentions follow a recent directive issued by the Taliban's Directorate for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Herat, instructing male family members to ensure that women comply with the group's interpretation of Islamic dress requirements.

Under the directive, women appearing in public without a prayer veil, with uncovered faces, wearing tight-fitting clothes or makeup could face detention and be transferred to a women's detention facility.

The incident is the latest sign of intensified enforcement of the Taliban's morality laws, which rights groups say have dramatically curtailed women's freedoms since the group's return to power in August 2021.

Human rights organisations have repeatedly warned that the regulations have expanded state control over women's clothing, movement and participation in public life, while further restricting their access to education, employment and healthcare.

Since taking control of Afghanistan, the Taliban has barred girls from attending secondary schools beyond the sixth grade, prohibited women from studying at universities and imposed sweeping restrictions on women's employment in both the public and private sectors.

The latest arrests in Herat are expected to draw renewed international scrutiny of the Taliban's treatment of women, which the United Nations and rights groups have described as one of the most severe rollbacks of women's rights in the world.

With IANS inputs

At least 11 more people have died from measles and measles-like symptoms in Bangladesh, pushing the total number of confirmed and suspected deaths linked to the outbreak to 409, according to local media reports citing official data.

The country’s Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said the latest fatalities were recorded in the 24 hours leading up to Sunday. Of the 11 deaths, four were from laboratory-confirmed measles cases, taking the total confirmed deaths since March 15 to 65. Another seven deaths linked to suspected infections pushed the suspected death toll to 344, Bangladeshi daily Dhaka Tribune reported.

The outbreak continues to spread rapidly across the country. In the past 24 hours alone, authorities recorded 1,503 suspected measles cases, taking the overall tally since 15 March to 49,159. Among them, 205 new cases were confirmed through testing, raising the number of confirmed infections to 6,819.

Officials said hospitals across Bangladesh have admitted 34,909 patients with measles symptoms since mid-March, putting severe pressure on the country’s public health infrastructure.

As the death toll crossed 400, criticism intensified over the handling of the health crisis by the previous interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.

An editorial published in The Daily Star described the outbreak as an “avoidable disaster” and accused the Yunus-led administration of dismantling a functioning vaccine procurement system without having the capacity to replace it.

“The country’s measles vaccination coverage rose steadily for two decades, becoming an international model for low-income countries. That record has now been squandered with shocking negligence by the past interim government,” the editorial stated.

According to the report, Bangladesh’s Health, Population and Nutrition Sector Programme — operational since 1998 — was scrapped in March 2025 without a proper transition plan.

The editorial further alleged that vaccine procurement stalled, medicine supplies to over 14,000 community clinics dwindled, and emergency buffer stocks were exhausted during the tenure of the interim administration, worsening the outbreak.

Calling for accountability, the report said: “The lack of accountability warrants a probe committee — one with the authority to establish individual responsibility. The deaths of children are tragic. Those who dismantled this programme must answer for each of these deaths.”

With IANS inputs

The United States has announced the phased closure of its consulate general in Peshawar, citing security considerations and operational efficiency, in a move that signals a notable shift in its diplomatic footprint in north-western Pakistan.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the US Department of State said responsibility for diplomatic engagement with Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province would be transferred to the US Embassy in Islamabad.

“The US Department of State is announcing the phased closure of the US Consulate General in Peshawar,” the department said. “Responsibility for diplomatic engagement with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will transfer to the US Embassy in Islamabad.”

Washington described the decision as part of its commitment to safeguarding diplomatic personnel while ensuring effective use of resources. However, the State Department did not provide a timetable for the closure or confirm whether staff reductions had already begun.

The closure marks a significant development in a region that has long been affected by militancy, cross-border tensions and counterterrorism operations linked to neighbouring Afghanistan.

Despite the move, the US stressed that its wider engagement with Pakistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would remain unchanged.

“While our physical presence in Peshawar is changing, the Administration’s policy priorities in Pakistan remain steadfast,” the statement said.

US officials added that Washington would continue working with local authorities and communities in the province to strengthen economic cooperation, support regional security and advance bilateral interests.

The State Department also reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining diplomatic relations with Pakistan through its remaining missions in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore.

“The Department, through the US Mission to Pakistan, remains dedicated to advancing the US-Pakistan relationship through our remaining diplomatic posts in Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore,” it added.

With IANS inputs

Koji Suzuki, the Japanese novelist whose chilling psychological horror stories reshaped the genre and inspired globally successful film adaptations including Ring (1991), died at a Tokyo hospital on Friday, 8 May. He was 68.

Widely regarded as one of the defining voices of modern Japanese horror fiction, Suzuki built an international following through stories that blended supernatural terror with emotional unease, social anxieties and psychological suspense. His breakthrough novel Ring (1991) became a cultural phenomenon in Japan before spawning one of the most influential horror franchises in the world.

Born in Japan on 13 May 1957, Suzuki began his literary career at a time when horror fiction occupied only a limited space in mainstream Japanese publishing. He made his debut as a novelist in 1990 with Rakuen (Paradise, 1990), which won a superior prize at the Japan Fantasy Novel Award and immediately marked him out as a promising new voice.

But it was Ring that transformed Suzuki into a household name. The novel centred on a cursed videotape that killed viewers days after watching it — a premise that tapped into growing fears surrounding technology, media and isolation in late 20th-century society. The story’s eerie atmosphere and restrained storytelling distinguished it from more graphic horror traditions and helped establish a new template for Japanese psychological horror.

Ring was adapted into the hugely successful Japanese film Ringu (1998), directed by Hideo Nakata. The film’s haunting imagery, particularly the ghostly figure of Sadako emerging from a television screen, became iconic worldwide. Its success triggered a wave of Japanese horror films that found international audiences and later inspired Hollywood remakes, including the 2002 American adaptation The Ring.

Suzuki followed up Ring with sequels and companion works including Rasen (Spiral) (1995), which expanded the mythology of the original novel and won the prestigious Eiji Yoshikawa literary award for newcomers in Japan. His stories often moved beyond conventional horror, incorporating themes of science fiction, philosophy and existential dread.

Over the years, Suzuki’s work earned both domestic and international recognition. His novel Edge (2008) received the Shirley Jackson Award in the United States, underlining his influence beyond Japan and his standing among contemporary masters of literary horror and suspense.

Apart from Ring and Spiral, Suzuki produced a diverse body of work that included Honogurai Mizu no Soko kara (Dark Water, 1996), another acclaimed supernatural tale later adapted for cinema. Other notable works included Kamigami no Promenade (Promenade of the Gods, 2003) and Ubiquitous (2005).

Critics often credited Suzuki with helping redefine horror for a modern audience by relying less on gore and more on atmosphere, suggestion and deeply human fears. His writing influenced filmmakers, authors and screenwriters across the world, particularly during the late 1990s and early 2000s, when Japanese horror enjoyed a global boom.

Though best known for terrifying readers, Suzuki’s stories were equally noted for their melancholy and emotional depth. His legacy endures not only through his novels, but also through the vast cinematic universe and cultural impact that emerged from them.

With media inputs