NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
Mideast violence: The Israeli military said Tuesday it struck a Hamas military post in the Gaza Strip in response to militant fire at Israeli troops, while Hamas said two of its fighters were killed after taking part in a gunfire parade inside a militant camp. The incident took place amid Egyptian efforts to broker a cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group, which controls the coastal strip. The sides have been engaged in months of border violence. The military said an Israeli tank shelled the Hamas post after troops came under fire. It released a video appearing to show militants shooting from a watchtower before a tank shell hits the position. Hamas later denied Israel’s account, saying shots were fired as part of a graduation ceremony for a group of fighters inside the camp. The group’s armed wing said Israel was “fabricating lies” and that it bore responsibility for the deaths.
Ebola outbreak: The deadly Ebola virus has killed at least nine people in Congo’s latest outbreak in North Kivu province, the country’s health ministry said Tuesday, while the World Health Organization said vaccinations could begin as early as Wednesday. The outbreak declared last week in North Kivu in the northeast near Uganda and Rwanda is a new outbreak and not connected to the one in Congo’s northwest that was declared over on July 24, WHO’s emergency preparedness chief, Peter Salama, said on Twitter. Salama cited new results of genetic analysis that confirm the strain of Ebola in the new outbreak is the Zaire strain, one for which the vaccine can be used. Congo’s health ministry has said the new vaccination campaign will target health care providers, contacts of confirmed Ebola cases and their contacts, the same strategy that was used to contain the previous outbreak in Equateur province in which more than 3,300 people were vaccinated.
Ex-official sentenced: A court in Buenos Aires on Tuesday sentenced former Vice President Amado Boudou to five years and 10 months in prison for bribery and conducting business incompatible with public office. The decision is a hard fall from grace for Boudou, 55, who also served as economy minister during the 2007-15. The court also banned Bodou for life from elective office, fined him about $3,200 and ordered him to be immediately sent to a local jail. He denied any wrongdoing in court and dismissed the accusations as politically motivated.
El Salvador corruption: Former Salvadoran President Tony Saca will plead guilty to accusations of embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars in government funds in return for a lighter sentence, his lawyers said Tuesday. Attorney Lisandro Quintanilla said Salvadoran law allows for a more lenient punishment in view of a guilty plea. Saca, 53, was arrested in October 2016 and accused of diverting $301 million in public money. He had faced up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Police brutality alleged: Maria Alekhina, an activist from Russian punk collective Pussy Riot, led a protest outside the headquarters of the state penitentiary agency to protest torture and slave labor in Russian prisons. The protest Tuesday came amid public outrage stoked by a recently released video of an inmate being beaten by men in guards’ uniforms while lying handcuffed on a table. Several guards have been put in custody while the 2017 beating is being investigated.