NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
_1 Territorial dispute: China on Monday warned India not to “push your luck” by underestimating Beijing’s determination to safeguard what it considers sovereign Chinese territory, amid an ongoing standoff between the two neighbors over a contested region in the Himalayas. Defense ministry spokesman Col. Wu Qian reiterated China’s demand that Indian troops pull back from the Doklam Plateau, an area also claimed by Indian ally Bhutan where Chinese teams had been building a road toward India’s border. India has called for both sides to withdraw forces and reach a negotiated settlement to the standoff that began last month after Chinese troops began working to extend southward the road from Yadong in Tibet.
_2 Nigeria violence: At least eight people were killed when female suicide bombers attacked two displaced persons camps in northeastern Nigeria’s main city, a civilian self-defense group said Monday. It was the first major attack on a displaced persons camp in Maiduguri, the birthplace of the Boko Haram extremist insurgency. The attack started late Sunday and left another 15 people wounded. The extremist group’s eight-year insurgency has killed more than 20,000 people, kidnapped thousands of others, spilled into neighboring countries and created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
_3 Syria fighting: Russia has deployed military police to monitor a cease-fire in a safe zone in the eastern suburbs of Damascus, the chief of the Russian General Staff said Monday. Russia has been providing air cover for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s offensive against the Islamic State group since 2015. Russia, Iran and Turkey in May approved a plan to create four “deescalation” zones in Syria, pressing Assad’s air force to halt flights over designated areas across the wartorn country.
_4 Libya unrest: French President Emmanuel Macron will host a meeting of the two main rivals of Libya, his office said Monday, to try to “contribute to an end to the Libyan crisis.” The head of Libya’s unity government, Fayez Sarraj, and Gen. Khalifa Hifter, the Egyptian-backed commander of Libya’s self-styled national army, are to meet Tuesday outside Paris. Libya, split between rival governments and militias, is a breeding ground for Islamic State militants and human traffickers preying on migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. Libya descended into chaos following the 2011 civil war that toppled and killed dictator Moammar Khadafy.
_5 Nightclub shooting: A shooting Monday at a nightclub in Paraguay near the border with Brazil left four Brazilians dead and 10 people wounded, police said. The incident took place in the northeastern city of Pedro Juan Caballero at a launch party for the After Office club. Police Chief Walter Gomez said witnesses reported two attackers arriving in a car and opening fire. The unknown assailants then fled.
_6 Bloodless bullfights: Lawmakers in Spain’s Balearic Islands have banned spectators under age 18, alcohol and the killing or harming of animals at regional bullfights. Left-wing deputies in the regional parliament passed the “Balearic-style bullfighting” bill Monday. Conservative deputies who opposed the law said promoters will find it virtually impossible to hold bullfights under the new restrictions. Opponents also say the bill could be at odds with the protection the Spanish Constitution grants to bullfighting as national heritage.