NEWS OF THE DAY

1 Libya violence: The death toll from more than a week of fighting between armed groups in Tripoli has climbed to at least 50 people, including civilians, Libyan authorities said Tuesday, as the United Nations expressed alarm over the fate of detained migrants and Libyans already displaced by years of unrest. Fighting erupted last week when militias from Tarhouna, a town about 40 miles south of Tripoli, attacked southern neighborhoods of the capital. Militias which support the U.N.-backed government then came to the city’s defense. In addition to those killed, another 138 people, including civilians, have been wounded, the health ministry said. Libya slid into chaos after the 2011 uprising that overthrew long-ruling dictator Moammar Khadafy and led to his death. The country is currently governed by rival authorities in Tripoli and the country’s east, each of which are backed by an array of militias. Other armed groups have carved out fiefdoms across the country, with many profiting from smuggling and extortion.

2 Duterte in Israel: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has been accused of widespread human rights abuses, on Tuesday praised his country’s close security ties with Israel as dozens protested Israeli arms sales to his government. At a meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Duterte said he considers Israel a key strategic partner and weapons supplier. “In terms of military equipment, particularly intelligence gathering, we only have one country to buy from them, that is my order specifically: Israel,” he said. He called the United States a “good friend,” but suggested that the U.S., as well as potential suppliers China and Germany, might also be “listening.” Duterte has said he suspects the U.S. and Chinese of carrying out surveillance against him, though he has offered no evidence.

3 Money laundering: Dutch bank ING has paid $897 million to settle a huge money laundering case in the Netherlands, after it failed for years to adequately implement a law aimed at preventing money laundering and the financing of terrorism by not carrying out adequate background checks on clients and not sufficiently investigating suspicious transactions.

4 Bombs sale canceled: Spain said Tuesday it has canceled the delivery of 400 laser-guided bombs purchased by Saudi Arabia, amid fears that the weapons could be used against Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen. The arms deal was originally signed in 2015 under Spain’s former conservative government, but the new center-left administration of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez plans to return the $10.6 million already paid by the Saudis, Cadena SER radio reported on Tuesday. International rights groups have blamed a Saudiled coalition’s air strikes and other attacks in Yemen for the killing of civilians, including children.

5 Elephant poaching: Botswana, long viewed as a rare refuge for African elephants, is coming under increasing threat from poachers. Poachers are killing elephants in the southern African country in increasing numbers after wiping out large numbers of elephants in nearby Zambia and Angola, a conservation group said. The Elephants Without Borders group and wildlife officials in Botswana have conducted half of a national elephant census and so far have counted nearly 90 “fresh and recent” carcasses of poached elephants, group director Mike Chase said in an email. Botswana has an estimated 130,000 elephants, the most of any country in Africa.