NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Rebel exodus: The final batch of opposition fighters and their families began leaving a besieged neighborhood in the central Syrian city of Homs on Saturday, a move that would bring the country’s third-largest city into full government control for the first time in years. Syrian state TV and an opposition monitoring group said that about 400 people, including 103 gunmen, left the al-Waer neighborhood heading toward the northern town of Jarablous that borders Turkey. When the evacuation of rebels from al-Waer ends, it will bring the city under full government control for the first time in more than five years. Government forces in recent years captured one Homs neighborhood after another, until opposition fighters were isolated in al-Waer; the siege of the district began in 2013.
2 CIA crackdown: The Chinese government systematically dismantled CIA spying operations in the country starting in 2010, killing or imprisoning more than a dozen sources over two years and crippling intelligence gathering there for years afterward, the New York Times reported. Current and former U.S. officials described the intelligence breach as one of the worst in decades. Some were convinced that a mole within the CIA had betrayed the United States. Others believed that the Chinese had hacked the covert system the CIA used to communicate with its foreign sources.
3 Iraq bombing: A suicide bombing near the oil-rich city of Basra killed at least eight people as the Islamic State took the fight against Iraqi forces deep into the country’s south, a military commander said Saturday. Five civilians and three troops were killed when the bomber blew up his explosives-laden car on Friday at a checkpoint north of Basra. At least 41 others were wounded. Basra, about 340 miles southeast of Baghdad, is home to about 70 percent of the country’s proven oil reserves of 153.1 billion barrels. In an online statement, Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it targeted Shiites.
4 Libya attack: A spokesman for Libya’s army says the death toll from a militia attack on an air base in the country’s south has increased to 141, including two civilians, said Col. Ahmed Mosmary, spokesman for forces loyal to an east-based parliament. Mosmary says the attack on Buraq al-Shati air base effectively ends the cease-fire brokered by the national unity government between militias and the forces commanded by army chief Gen. Khalifa Hifter in the area. Libya descended into chaos following the 2011 civil war that toppled and killed dictator Moammar Khadafy The oil-rich nation is now split between rival governments and militias.
5 Murder charges: Authorities in Congo say two suspects soon will face trial in the gruesome killings of two U.N. experts and their interpreter. The bodies of American Michael Sharp, Swedish national Zaida Catalan and colleague Betu Tshintela were found in March after they went missing while investigating human rights abuses. The Congolese government later obtained a cell phone video showing them being killed. It blamed members of the Kamwina Nsapu militia that is active in central Congo’s Kasai provinces. At least 400 people have died in the region since August. Military prosecutor Col. Odon Makutu Mwendele said Saturday two of the 16 suspects will face trial on war crimes charges including murder, mutilation, terrorism and supporting a rebel group.
Parliament invasion: Macedonia’s interior ministry says it has suspended 16 police officers, including a senior ministry official, over their failure to prevent an invasion of parliament by protesters. The incident last month resulted in injuries to dozens of lawmakers, journalists and protesters. The angry mob had stormed parliament after lawmakers clashed over the election of a new speaker. Eleven police officers, four special police unit members and a senior ministry official have been suspended because they “passively observed a crowd who entered and moved freely within the parliament ... contrary to the police rule book and professional code of ethics,” the ministry said Saturday.