NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Globe
1 Ferry disaster: South Korean police said Tuesday that they have found the body of a fugitive billionaire businessman sought over April’s ferry disaster that killed more than 300 people. The body was found at a site in southern South Korea on June 12, and DNA and fingerprint tests confirmed it was Yoo Byung-eun, said police officer Wu Hyung-ho. Wu said it was not immediately known how Yoo died. Authorities believe Yoo was the owner the ferry and that his alleged corruption may have contributed to its sinking. Police had offered a $500,000 reward for tips about his whereabouts. The sinking caused an outpouring of national grief.
2 Cambodia politics: The ruling and opposition parties said Monday that their leaders will hold a fresh round of talks to end the yearlong political deadlock after last year’s contentious election. Both parties said in a joint statement Monday that Prime Minister Hun Sen and opposition leader Sam Rainsy will hold talks for the third time in the past year to “defuse political tension.” Lawmakers from Rainsy’s Cambodia National Rescue Party have boycotted their seats in Parliament since last July’s election, which they alleged was rigged.
3 Jamaica drought: A severe drought is worsening in Jamaica with water supply systems already well below normal, the country’s environment minister said. In a national address Sunday night, Robert Pickersgill told Jamaicans the government is trucking water to hard-hit farming districts where parched conditions have withered crops. Reservoirs are dwindling so badly in areas serving the island’s capital of Kingston that temporary shutoffs of the public water supply happen daily.
4 Iraq fighting: Attacks overnight in two Iraqi cities killed at least 16 people, officials said Monday as authorities struggle to stop an offensive by Sunni militants that has left huge areas in northern and western Iraq outside of government control. The attacks occurred in Shiite neighborhoods in the town of Mahmoudiya and in Baghdad’s western suburb of Abu Ghraib. In June, the al Qaeda breakaway extremist group known as the Islamic State began a massive blitz that brought large swaths of territory under their control.
5 Airport battle: Clashes between rival Libyan militias fighting for control of the international airport in the capital, Tripoli, have killed 47 people over the last week, Libya’s Health Ministry said. The battle over the airport is being waged by a militia from the western city of Zintan, which controls the facility, and Islamist-led militias, including fighters from Misrata, east of Tripoli. The U.N. Support Mission in Libya said last week it was temporarily withdrawing its staff because of the deteriorating security situation.
6Embassy apology: The U.S. Embassy in Ghana is apologizing after a staff member sent what’s being described as “an errant tweet” criticizing the president from the official Embassy Twitter account. Ghanaian President John Mahama had tweeted about the country’s financial woes, saying “as a people, we have had to make sacrifices.” A post from the U.S. Embassy’s Twitter account later retorted to the president: “And what sacrifices are you making?” In an apology made public Monday, the U.S. Embassy in Accra says an embassy staff member mixed up a personal Twitter account with that of the embassy’s.