NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
Afghan bombing: A bomb blast inside a mosque wounded at least 11 people Friday in northern Samangan province, a provincial official said. Sediq Azizi, spokesman for the provincial governor, said the blast took place during Friday prayers as dozens gathered in the mosque in Aybak, the provincial capital. He said the mullah of the mosque was in critical condition. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The Taliban, however, have stepped up attacks across the country.
Migrant children: Migrant children have died or gone missing at the rate of nearly one per day worldwide over the past five years, with treacherous journeys like those across the Mediterranean or the U.S.Mexico border, the Genevabased U.N. migration agency said Friday. In its latest “Fatal Journeys” report, the International Organization for Migration released findings that some 1,600 children — some as young as 6 months old — are among the 32,000 people who have perished in dangerous travels since 2014. That overall figure is likely to be lower than the real number of deaths, because many bodies are never found or identified, IOM said.
Spain wildfire: Firefighters and aircraft battled for a third straight day Friday to contain a major wildfire that started in a pile of chicken dung and raced across the hills of northeastern Spain amid a heat wave. Authorities said more than 700 firefighters, eight helicopters and six waterdropping aircraft aimed to slow the fire’s progress until nightfall, when cooler temperatures might give them an advantage. A stiff breeze was driving the flames in the direction of Lleida, 19 miles away, though officials said the city wasn’t considered to be under threat. Temperatures in the area reached 106 degrees Fahrenheit. Authorities said the fire is the Catalonia region’s worst fire in two decades and 50,000 acres of hilly terrain are at risk. By Friday, an estimated 15,000 acres had burned.
Venezuela sanctions: The Trump administration is sanctioning the son of Nicolás Maduro as it seeks to increase pressure on family members of top officials backing the socialist leader and suspected of corruption. Friday’s action by the U.S. Treasury Department freezes any U.S. assets belonging to Nicolás Maduro Jr. and prohibits Americans from doing business with him. Until recently, the 29yearold Maduro Jr. kept a low profile as a flutist in Venezuela’s worldfamous network of youth orchestras. But his political career took off shortly after his father was elected president in 2013 and he was named to lead a newly created corps of inspectors of the presidency. A senior U.S. administration official said the Trump administration is considering expanding actions against family members of Maduro officials as part of its focus on corruption.
Life support: France’s highest court has given doctors permission to restart procedures to stop feeding and hydrating a man, who has been in a vegetative state following a car accident 11 years ago. The Court of Cassation quashed a previous decision by a Paris court to resume life support so the United Nations can examine the case. Vincent Lambert was injured in a 2008 car accident. His parents and wife disagree on whether to keep him alive artificially. After years of legal battles, doctors decided to stop giving him food and liquids in May. But the parents appealed to the U.N. Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, arguing the 42yearold should be treated as disabled.