NEWS OF THE DAY
1 Australia turmoil: Malcolm Turnbull, Australia’s former prime minister, said Monday he will resign from Parliament this week in a move that could cost the unpopular conservative government its single-seat majority. Turnbull said he will resign on Friday, a week after he was forced from the presidency by lawmakers in his conservative Liberal Party because he had lost their support. That could set the stage for an Oct. 6 by-election. Newly installed Prime Minister Scott Morrison could also call general elections, although he has said he plans to hold polls close to when an election is due in May.
2 Afghanistan attack: A U.S. strike over the weekend killed a senior Islamic State commander in eastern Afghanistan, officials said Monday. The strike in Nangarhar province killed Abu Sayeed Orakzai, according to Shah Hussain Martazawi, a spokesman for the Afghan presidency. Orakzai, also known as Abu Saad Erhabi, was the head of the Islamic State group in Afghanistan, according to a government official who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Erhabi was killed alongside nine other members of the militant group in the attack, the official said.
3 Europe security: French President Emmanuel Macron pushed Monday for Europe to take more responsibility for its own defense, saying the continent’s security shouldn’t rely so much on the United States and could even include discussions with Russia. “It’s up to us to meet our responsibilities and guarantee our security, and therefore European sovereignty,” Macron said in a speech to French ambassadors in Paris. Macron’s vision included a more united front on at least half a dozen security topics and comes after President Trump’s repeated demands for Europe to become more selfsufficient in its defense.
4 Colombia vote: An anti-corruption referendum drew millions to the polls but fell just short of a required participation threshold to push forward measures aimed at improving transparency and stiffening penalties for white-collar criminals. On Sunday, nearly 11.7 million Colombians cast ballots overwhelmingly in favor of seven initiatives proposed to stamp out corruption in the upper echelons of power. But the turnout failed to draw the 12.1 million voters needed to pass the initiatives, according to quick-count results from over 99 percent of polling stations. Proponents nonetheless hailed the higher-than-expected turnout as a forceful message from citizens: Enact laws now that put an end to special privileges for lawmakers and make public spending more transparent.
5 Robot weapons: Experts from numerous countries assembled Monday to discuss ways to define and deal with “killer robots” — futuristic weapons systems that could conduct war without human intervention. The weeklong gathering is the second this year at U.N. offices in Geneva to focus on such lethal autonomous weapons systems and explore ways of possibly regulating them. Some top advocacy groups say governments and militaries should be prevented from developing such systems, which have sparked fears and led some critics to envisage harrowing scenarios about their use. As the meeting opened Monday, Amnesty International urged countries to work toward a ban. Amnesty researcher on Artificial Intelligence Rasha Abdul Rahim said killer robots are “no longer the stuff of science fiction,” warning that technological advances are outpacing international law.