Jordan to hold talks with Russia over Syria
Reuters, Beirut
Jordan will hold talks with Russia this week over a ceasefire in southwestern Syria and alleviating the humanitarian situation there, the Jordanian foreign minister said on Monday. Ayman Safadi, speaking in Amman, said he would meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.
The Russian-backed Syrian government is pressing a major military campaign to recover southwestern Syria from rebels. At least 160,000 people have been displaced, according to the United Nations.
Australia ends direct aid to Palestinians
AP, Canberra
Australia said Monday that it has ended direct aid to the Palestinian Authority because Australian donations could increase the self-governing body’s capacity to pay Palestinians convicted of politically motivated violence.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Australia had cut funding to the World Bank’s Multi-Donor Trust Fund for the Palestinian Recovery and Development Program after writing to the Palestinian Authority in late May seeking assurance that Australian funding was not going to Palestinian criminals.
Philippine City Mayor gunned down
AP, Tanauan
A Philippine provincial city mayor known for parading drug suspects in public but also alleged to have drug ties himself was shot and killed by a sniper Monday in a brazen attack during a flag-raising ceremony in front of hundreds of horrified employees and village leaders.
The apparent lone gunshot felled Mayor Antonio Halili of Tanauan city in Batangas province south of Manila as he and about 300 employees and newly elected village leaders sang the national anthem in a parking lot outside the city hall.
Mob lynches 5 men in west India
AP, New Delhi
Police in western India said Monday that they have arrested 23 people who took part in the weekend lynching of five men suspected of being members of a gang of child kidnappers, as deadly mob attacks fueled by social media rumors continues around the country. Police officer M. Ramkumar said five men were bludgeoned to death on Sunday in a remote, mountainous village in Maharashtra state. Villagers pounced on the five when one of them tried to speak to a child at a weekly market, Rajkumar said.
Moon to visit India from July 8
Reuters, Seoul
South Korean President Moon Jae-in will visit India from July 8 to 11, his presidential office said on Monday, and hold a summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi where their discussions are expected to focus on economic cooperation.
Having been invited by PM Modi, Moon Jae-in will also meet with President Ram Nath Kovind on his first visit to the country, the statement said.
