NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Gang pact: El Salvador arrested its former defense minister David Munguia Paye, alleging his involvement in a pact with the country’s principle gangs in 2012. Attorney General Raul Melara said Munguia was arrested for his actions in relation to the gang pact under the administration of thenPresident Mauricio Funes. The government allegedly made a deal with the Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 gangs to lower the country’s murder rate. In exchange, the gangs’ imprisoned leaders were moved from maximum security to medium security prisons where they were able to continue managing the gangs’ operations. Melara said the attorney general’s office is also pursuing Funes, who fled to Nicaragua and received political asylum in 2016.
2 Mass grave: Sudanese authorities have found a mass grave believed to contain the bodies of 28 army officers shot in a foiled coup attempt against former President Omar alBashir in 1990, the public prosecutor said. It was the second Bashirera mass grave uncovered in as many months. AlBashir’s repressive rule collapsed last year, when the military ousted him after months of street protests. The transitional government, jointly led by civilians and army generals, is navigating a fraught path toward democratic elections and trying to hold alBashir’s government accountable for crimes committed over the 30 years that he ruled Sudan.
3 Charges dropped: Prosecutors in Thailand have dropped all charges against an heir to the Red Bull energy drink fortune who was accused of killing a Bangkok police officer in a 2012 car crash. The case attracted widespread attention because of perceptions that it showed the rich have impunity in Thailand’s judicial system, which in recent years has also been criticized for alleged political bias. “Yes, (prosecutors) had informed us of their opinion to drop all charges. They are citing the fact the family members (of the police officer) have been compensated” by Vorayuth Yoovidhya’s family, said police Lt. Col. Thanawuth Sanguansuk.
4 Peace talks: The Taliban say they are ready for talks with Afghanistan’s political leadership after the Muslim holiday of Eid ul Adha at the end of July, offering to hand over the last of the government prisoners in a week’s time, provided the government frees the last of its Taliban prisoners. In Kabul on Friday, the High Council for National Reconciliation, which was created to manage peace efforts with the Taliban, said it was still working through the Taliban’s prisoner list. The release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners held by the government and 1,000 government personnel and security officials in Taliban custody is laid out in a U.S. deal with the Taliban aimed at ending Afghanistan’s relentless wars. According to the deal, the prisoner exchange is to take place ahead of talks between Kabul and the Taliban.
5 Hungary crackdown: Dozens of journalists resigned Friday from Hungary’s main news site because of the firing earlier this week of Index.hu’s editorinchief. More than 80 Index staff members said they were leaving the country’s mostread website because the dismissal of Szabolcs Dull endangered its professional independence. The website has been a target of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who once called it a “fake news factory,” and the recent acquisition of control over the news site’s advertising sales by Orban allies was considered a bad omen for its independence. Press freedoms in Hungary have deteriorated greatly since Orban’s return to power in 2010, with the government exercising control over hundreds of publications while supporting them with taxpayer funds.