NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Climate rally:
Thousands of demonstrators marched Saturday through Bonn, Germany, to protest the use of fossil fuels ahead of a global climate conference being held in the city this week. Participants carried banners with slogans that included “Revolution Not Pollution,” “Frack Off Our Land” and “Trump: Climate Genocide.” Protest organizers say some 25,000 people took part. Many protesters criticized the German government’s reliance on coal-fired power plants for much of the country’s energy even as it pursues ambitious targets for renewable sources. The 2017 United Nations Climate Conference known as COP23 begins on Monday.
2 Somalia threat:
The United States on Saturday ordered all non-essential employees of its mission to Somalia to leave the capital, Mogadishu, because of “specific threat information” against them. The U.S. statement said the information relates to Mogadishu International Airport. Somalia remains one of the world’s most dangerous countries. The U.S. hasn’t had an embassy there since 1991 and calls security “extremely unstable.” Somalia’s capital was rocked last month by a bomb attack that killed more than 350 people. The U.S. on Friday carried out its first air strikes against Islamic State fighters in Somalia.
3 South Sudan unrest:
Tensions were high Saturday in South Sudan’s capital of Juba after President Salva Kiir sent troops to surround the home of former military chief of staff Paul Malong, disarm his bodyguards and remove all weapons. Malong’s wife, Lucy Ayak Malek, said bodyguards refused to hand over arms and the situation had worsened, with hundreds of soldiers deployed. “I think things will escalate if the president doesn’t act quickly,” she said. The United Nations issued an emergency notification advising staff in Juba to remain vigilant. It was not immediately clear what led to the president’s order, which also prevents any visitors to Malong’s home. Malong was fired in May and had been one of Kiir’s closest allies.
4 Iran military:
Iran displayed a missile Saturday as part of events marking the anniversary of the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover and hostage crisis amid uncertainty about its nuclear deal with world powers. Thousands gathered at the former U.S. embassy in Tehran where a missile, believed to be a 1,200-mile-range solid-fuel Sejjil, was on display. Hundreds of Iranian militant students stormed the U.S. Embassy following the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled U.S.-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. They took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days after Washington refused to hand over the shah, who was in the U.S.
5 China anthem:
China’s rubber-stamp legislature made disrespecting the national anthem a criminal offense punishable by up to three years in prison amid rising nationalist appeals from the ruling Communist Party under the leadership of President Xi Jinping. Saturday’s move follows Xi’s appointment to a second five-year term as party leader, for which he has touted a vision of achieving a “Chinese Dream” of a powerful, prosperous nation. It also comes as the anthem, “March of the Volunteers,” has in recent months been a political flashpoint in the southern Chinese city of Hong Kong, where tensions are rising over Beijing’s efforts to assert its authority over the territory.
6 Deadly storm:
A powerful typhoon that battered Vietnam has killed at least 27 people and left 22 others missing amid extensive damage along the south-central coast. The missing include 17 crew members of cargo ships that sank off the coast of the central province of Binh Dinh. Seventy-four other crew members were rescued. More than 600 houses have been destroyed and nearly 40,000 others damaged as Typhoon Damrey caused widespread blackouts across the region. Heavy rains were reported and the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority warned of flooding in low-lying areas and landslides in mountainous districts. Damrey slammed into Vietnam’s south-central coast Saturday. More than 35,000 villagers in highrisk areas were evacuated before its arrival.