NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 _ Thai protests: Thailand’s prime minister on Wednesday pleaded with citizens to resolve their political differences through Parliament, as studentled protests seeking to bring his government down continued for an eighth straight day. Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha offered a concession to protesters, saying he would promptly lift the state of emergency he declared in Bangkok last week “if there are no violent incidents.” Withdrawing the emergency decree has been one of the protesters’ demands. Demonstrations have continued daily in a movement that calls for Prayuth to step down, for a more democratic constitution and for reforms to the monarchy — a revered institution traditionally treated as sacrosanct.
2 _ Space station crew: A trio of space travelers safely returned to Earth on Thursday after a sixmonth mission on the International Space Station. The Soyuz MS16 capsule carrying NASA astronaut _ Chris Cassidy, and Roscosmos’ Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner landed on the steppes of Kazakhstan, southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan. After a brief medical checkup, the three will depart for home. As part of additional precautions due to the coronavirus, members of the Russian rescue team meeting the crew were tested for the virus and the number of people involved in the recovery effort was limited. Cassidy, Ivanishin and Vagner spent 196 days in orbit since arriving at the station on April 9. Before the crew’s departure, Russian cosmonauts were able to temporarily seal the air leak they tried to locate for several months.
3 _ Drug seizure: A British royal navy vessel seized 990 pounds of methamphetamine in the northern Arabian Sea in the largest bust by a joint maritime operation in the region, officials said Wednesday. The HMS Montrose seized the drugs last week hidden aboard a stateless dhow, a traditional cargo ship that plies the Persian Gulf and surrounding waters, the joint task force said. The task force said it was unable to say where the drugs came from, who manufactured them or their ultimate destination.
4 Libya conflict: The U. N. envoy for Libya said Wednesday the two warring factions have agreed on issues that “directly impact the lives and welfare of the Libyan people,” noting that work to cement a ceasefire in the restive North African country will continue. Envoy Stephanie Turco Williams cited agreements to open air and land routes, to work to ease inflammatory rhetoric in Libyan media, and to help kick start Libya’s vital oil industry, as talks in Geneva continued this week. Libya is split between a U. N. supported government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities based in the east. The two sides are backed by an array of local militias as well as regional and foreign powers. The country was plunged into chaos after the 2011 NATObacked uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Khadafy.
5 _ Deportation policy: Britain’s Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that a government policy that gave migrants as little as 72 hours’ notice before they are deported is unlawful, arguing it would lead to an “unacceptable risk of interference with the right of access to court.” Under the rule, asylum seekers or migrants whose applications failed were told they had three days to make final representations or be flown out at any time in the following three months. The policy, which was meant to prevent lastminute bids to prevent removals, affected thousands of cases. Medical Justice, the campaign group that brought the legal challenge, argued it posed a “serious threat to the rule of law” because it would be impossible for many migrants to find a lawyer to represent them at such short notice.