NEWS OF THE DAY
_1 Cave boys: The 12 village boys who were trapped with their soccer coach in a flooded cave in northern Thailand for almost three weeks are ready to spread their wings, heading out to meet fellow youth players in Argentina and do a brief tour of the United States. The members of the Wild Boars soccer team, whose ordeal came to a happy ending in early July when an international team of cave divers brought them out in a complicated rescue mission, left Wednesday night on their 17-day journey.
_2 Graft scandal: Malaysia’s anti-graft agency said Wednesday that the wife of former Prime Minister Najib Razak has been arrested and will face money laundering charges in a graft scandal involving the 1MDB state investment fund. The agency said Rosmah Mansor was detained at its headquarters more than four hours after she arrived for a third round of questioning over alleged theft and money laundering at the fund. Rosmah will be brought to court Thursday to face “several charges” under the anti-money laundering act. Najib himself has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of money laundering, corruption, abuse of power and criminal breach of trust in the scandal and is to face trial next year.
_3 Church apology: Chile’s Roman Catholic Church has apologized for a set of conduct guidelines for priests dealing with children that has caused outrage just as the South American country is being rocked by a widespread clerical sex abuse scandal. The recommendations include asking priests not to “touch the area of the genitals or the chest” of minors, kiss them on the mouth, spank them on the buttocks or “lie down to sleep next to boys, girls or teenagers.” Priests are told to “avoid some behaviors,” including taking photographs of a child, teen or vulnerable person when they’re naked because it could be “misinterpreted.”
_4 Cancer campaign: Cervical cancer could be eliminated in Australia within the next two decades because of a government program to vaccinate children against the cancer-causing human papillomavirus, according to a new report. The study, published this week in The Lancet Public Health, found that by 2028, fewer than four women in every 100,000 could be diagnosed with cervical cancer annually in Australia — effectively eliminating the disease as a public health problem. Other countries have moved more slowly, partly because of a global antivaccination movement that has falsely claimed vaccines are linked to autism and illness. Globally, cervical cancer is still the world’s fourth most common type of cancer in women, and an additional 570,000 cases are expected this year alone.
_5 Global cyberattacks: Acting to counter Russia’s aggressive use of cyberattacks across Europe and around the world, the U.S. is expected to announce that, if asked, it will use its formidable cyberwarfare capabilities on NATO’s behalf, according to a senior U.S. official. The announcement is expected in the coming days as Defense Secretary Jim Mattis attends a meeting of NATO defense ministers on Wednesday and Thursday. The decision comes on the heels of the NATO summit in July, when members agreed to allow the alliance to use cyber capabilities that are provided voluntarily by allies to protect networks and respond to cyberattacks. It reflects growing concerns by the U.S. and its allies over Moscow’s use of cyber operations to influence elections in America and elsewhere.