NEWS OF THE DAY

From Around the World

1 Afghanistan violence: Two separate militant attacks killed 14 Afghan security personnel Saturday in the northeastern Badakhshan province and the capital of Kabul, officials said. A roadside bomb killed 11 security force members in Badakhshan when it tore through a security vehicle responding to attacks on checkpoints in Khash district. A spokesman for Badakhshan’s provincial police chief said four militants were killed in the fighting. A gunbattle also erupted in Kabul’s Gul Dara district when insurgents attacked a police checkpoint, killing three officers, said Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian. Afghan officials said the Taliban had carried out the attacks, although no one immediately claimed responsibility.

2 Alcohol poisonings: At least eight more people in Mexico have died from drinking alcohol adulterated with methanol, the latest round of mass alcohol poisoning incidents that have killed about 100 people in the country. Authorities in the southern state of Guerrero said the deaths occurred near the mountain city of Tlapa de Comonfort. Authorities seized 505 bottles of the liquor from four stores in the area. Such deaths have mounted in Mexico since coronavirus shutdowns began and many towns banned legitimate liquor sales. In May, as many as 40 people died after drinking methanol in two states in central Mexico.

3 Libya fighting: The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to extend the arms embargo on Libya for a year. U.N. SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres has strongly criticized violations of the embargo by foreign governments supporting the rival parties. The government in Tripoli is backed by Turkey, which deployed troops and mercenaries to help defend the capital in January, as well as by Italy and Qatar. Rival commander Khalifa Hifter is supported by France, Russia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and other key Arab countries. Libya has been in turmoil since 2011 when a civil war toppled longtime dictator Moammar Khadafy.

4 Taiwan politics: Voters in the Taiwanese port city of Kaohsiung on Saturday ousted their mayor, whose failed bid for the presidency on behalf of the Chinafriendly Nationalist Party earlier this year brought widespread disapproval among residents. The number of votes to recall Han Kuoyu far exceeded the 574,996 needed to remove him. Han blamed the media in part for the result, saying he had been subjected to “constant smears, rumors and attacks.” He has one week to leave office, unless he decides to appeal. The success of the recall vote — Taiwan’s first — was hailed by commentators as the latest sign of politicians being held accountable in the island’s robust democracy. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party rejects China’s demand that it recognize Taiwan as a part of China.

5 Lebanon clashes: Riot police fired tear gas at protesters in Beirut on Saturday, after an antigovernment rally quickly degenerated into clashes and stonethrowing confrontations between opposing camps. A few thousand demonstrators had gathered in Martyrs’ Square hoping to resume nationwide protests that began last year amid an unprecedented economic and financial crisis. But tensions and divisions among protesters over the goals of the demonstration quickly became apparent. Hundreds of soldiers and riot police were deployed in the capital and its suburbs. They later stood between supporters of Hezbollah and its allied Shiite Amal movement on one side and protesters on the other, some of whom shouted insults aimed at the Hezbollah leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.