NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Hong Kong rallies: More than 50,000 people rallied in support of Hong Kong police Sunday as the semiautonomous territory braced for another day of protests on the anniversary of the former British colony’s return to China. Police have been criticized for using tear gas and rubber bullets during clashes with demonstrators that left dozens injured in June. A protest march has been called for Monday, the third in three weeks, this one on the 22nd anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China on July 1, 1997. The recent unrest was sparked by a government proposal to allow suspects to be extradited to mainland China to face charges. Protest leaders want the legislation formally withdrawn.
2 Mideast tensions: Israeli police clashed overnight Sunday with residents of a Palestinian neighborhood in east Jerusalem, leaving at least 15 Palestinians and two officers wounded, officials said. It was the third consecutive night of violence in the Issawiya neighborhood. The clashes erupted Thursday after the shooting death of a Palestinian man by Israeli police. Residents say police have stepped up their presence in Issawiya for several weeks and that they were demonstrating against police violence when Mohammed Obeid, 20, was shot. Police say he hurled fireworks at officers and presented a lethal threat.
3 Tourist deaths: The Senate’s top Democrat said Sunday that the U.S. government should step up efforts to investigate the deaths of at least eight Americans in the Dominican Republic this year. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives should lend support to the FBI and local law enforcement, said Sen. Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. Family members of the tourists who died have called on authorities to investigate any possible connections. Relatives have raised the possibility that the deaths may have been caused by adulterated alcohol or misused pesticides. Francisco Javier Garcia, the tourism minister in the Dominican Republic, has said autopsies show the tourists died of natural causes.
4 Mexico violence: The mayor of Mexico’s capital says the National Guard will be deployed throughout the city as the metropolis struggles to contain rising violent crime. Claudia Sheinbaum said 2,700 national guardsmen will soon begin working as “special operatives in the entire city.” Several recent kidnappings, shootings and extortions have pierced the Mexican capital’s reputation as a relative safe zone amid widespread violence and impunity in the country. Hundreds of Mexican marines, soldiers and federal police have been reassigned to the newly formed National Guard as the country attempts to break apart criminal groups and human trafficking networks. 5 Iraq aid: Iraq’s sacrifices fighting the Islamic State group have earned the country greater support in its reconstruction efforts from the international community. Prime Minister Adel AbdulMahdi made his comments during a meeting Saturday with a visiting U.N. Security Council delegation, the first such visit to Iraq. Iraq declared victory over Islamic State in July 2017 after its military regained control of the country’s secondlargest city, Mosul, three years after it was seized by extremists bent on building a global caliphate. The war against the extremists devastated many Iraqi cities, towns and villages. International donors pledged $30 billion to help rebuild Iraq last year, far short of the estimated $88 billion needed.