Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at women’s demands for justice over a mob attack in India’s Manipur state, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s electoral losses, and new demonstrations in Israel as judicial reform nears.

Hundreds of women gathered in Imphal, the capital of India’s Manipur state, on Friday to protest the government’s lack of action after a mob of men stripped naked and paraded two women through the streets before gang raping them on May 4. Despite the brutal incident occurring 78 days ago, the government is only now condemning the crime due to the recent emergence of a video of the assault going viral on social media.

On Thursday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledged the violence, calling it “shameful” and saying, “What has happened to the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven.” Four individuals, including the man suspected of instigating the violence, were arrested hours later. Numerous women have since targeted the alleged lead perpetrator’s home, pelting it with stones and setting it on fire. At least 30 other men are currently being traced for alleged involvement.

The mob assault occurred amid ongoing ethnic violence between the majority Meitei community and the minority Kuki people that has gripped the remote northeastern Indian state since early May. More than 130 people have died in the conflict, and another 35,000 have been displaced from their homes. The men accused of perpetrating the May 4 mob assault are Meitei, whereas the two women victims are Kuki. Two Kuki men were also killed during the mob’s attack. On May 3, a day before the assault, Kuki students held mass protests against the majority Meitei community’s petition to achieve special tribal status, which would allow them to buy more land and have greater opportunities for government jobs. Clashes ensued, leading Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to enact statewide internet restrictions as Meitei men targeted Kuki homes. The women who were assaulted on May 4 had been fleeing a Meitei mob burning down their village.

Until now, Modi has been hesitant to speak out for fear of criticizing his party’s rule in Manipur; the BJP holds a majority in the northeastern state. However, the violence is becoming harder to ignore. Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh is currently under fire for not having done enough to stem the unrest, and India’s Supreme Court has called on the federal and Manipur state governments to crack down on gender-based violence.

“Humanity has died in Manipur,” tweeted Indian National Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, the BJP’s primary rival, at Modi on Wednesday. “If there is any conscience or an iota of shame left in your government, then you should speak about Manipur in the Parliament and tell the nation on what happened, without blaming others for your dual incompetence.”

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One step forward, two steps back. In a crushing blow, Britain’s Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, failed to secure two seats in Parliament that had previously been deemed safe during Friday’s elections. Both Selby and Ainsty in Yorkshire, England, went to the rival Labour Party—signaling a drastic shift in power for the region and granting the opposition its biggest by-election victory since 1945. The Liberal Democrats also achieved a win in Somerton and Frome, a once-Conservative stronghold in southwest England.

However, not every result spelled bad news for Sunak. The Tories scored a win in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, the district once represented by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. By doing so, the Conservatives narrowly avoided a Labour sweep. But almost losing Johnson’s former seat, along with the other two losses on Friday, showed just how much popular support for the Conservative Party is slipping after repeated political scandals and the United Kingdom’s rising cost of living.

Israelis’ last-ditch effort. Social unrest in Israel escalated on Friday over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to retract the country’s looming judicial reform bill, which is expected to be passed by Monday. More than 1,100 Israeli military reservists said they will end their voluntary service to protest the government’s plan. Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets on Thursday after Netanyahu vilified what he called protesters’ “absurd” scare tactics during a televised address. And Israeli journalists are warning of a “military coup” if Netanyahu continues his assault on an independent court system.

The persistence of Israel’s protest movement has been one of its defining assets in the fight against Netanyahu’s judicial reform plan, argued Middle East expert Aaron David Miller and lawyer Daniel Miller in Foreign Policy. “In Israel’s case, the perception that the so-called judicial reform wasn’t just some technical adjustment to the political system, but rather a fundamental threat to Israelis’ way of life, sustained the protests.”

Cover-up in Kenya. At least six people were killed in Kenya during a government crackdown on protesters this week, an independent watchdog announced on Thursday. This follows the shooting deaths of at least 27 individuals killed by state police in the previous weeks. The targeted protesters were participating in mass rallies criticizing the passage of a bill implementing new tax increases amid rising costs of living in the East African nation.

According to The Associated Press, state police ordered the watchdog not to announce the nation’s death toll. Under President William Ruto, the government has a history of using excessive force to silence rights groups and opposition members. This week alone, at least 300 demonstrators were arrested, including senior opposition leaders such as parliamentarian Babu Owino, who was detained for conducting subversive activities.

Former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli was sentenced to how many years in prison on Tuesday for money laundering?

A. 4
B. 7
C. 10
D. 16

No lions, tigers, or bears for Germany—or at least no lions, anyway. German authorities have called off a dayslong search for a loose lioness reported to be prowling Berlin’s streets. Around 120 police officers and wildlife experts searched local wooded areas only to conclude that the report was a false alarm. Locals are now encouraged to look out for a wild boar instead.

C. 10

Martinelli is the latest in the long list of leaders of democratic nations who have been indicted and sentenced, a trend FP’s Ashley Ahn and Brawley Benson document in a new infographic.

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