1. Duterte links 150 politicians to drugs

    Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte publicly linked more than 150 judges, mayors, lawmakers, police and military personnel to illegal drugs on Sunday, ordering them to surrender for investigation as he ratcheted up* his bloody war against what he calls a “pandemic*.”

    Duterte promptly relieved members of the military and police he named from their current posts and ordered government security personnel to be withdrawn from politicians he identified in a nationally televised speech. He also ordered gun licenses of those named revoked*.

    2. Thirteen killed in French bar fire

    A fast-moving fire that appeared to be accidental swept through a birthday party in a basement bar in northwest France, killing at least 13 people and injuring six others, authorities said on Saturday.

    More than 80 firefighters battled the early Saturday blaze at the downtown Cuba Libre bar in the city of Rouen, Mayor Yvon Robert said, calling the fire “very brief.”

    Vice prosecutor Laurent Labadie said that the first testimonies* from survivors and the early police investigation indicated the “fire was completely accidental.” Labadie said it’s still unclear how many people were partying at the Cuba Libre club, adding that most of the dead were between 18 and 25 years old.

    3. N. Korea missile lands in Japan waters

    North Korea launched a ballistic* missile on August 3 that landed in or near Japanese-controlled waters for the first time, the latest in a series of launches by the country in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

    The main body of the missile landed in Japan’s economic exclusion zone, a Japanese defense official said, escalating* regional tensions that were already high after a series of missile launches and the decision by the United States to place a sophisticated* anti-missile system in South Korea.

    4. Nepal picks new PM

    Nepal’s parliament on August 3 elected Communist Party of Nepal Chairman Prachanda, who led a decade-long insurgency* that toppled a feudal* monarchy*, as the Himalayan nation’s new prime minister, a week after K.P. Oli stepped down to avoid a no-confidence motion*.

    Nepal has long been mired* in political instability and Prachanda, 61, becomes its 24th prime minister since protests led to the establishment of a multi-party democracy in 1990. He has served once before, after winning power in 2008.

    5. Emirates Airline flight crash-lands

    An Emirates Airline flight coming from India crash-landed* and burst into flames on August 3 at Dubai International Airport, but all 275 passengers and crew escaped from the burning fuselage* and were evacuated to safety, authorities said.

    Video purportedly* of the incident showed a tower of flame bursting from the front of the aircraft, and then a thick black plume* of smoke rising into the sky.

    Photographs of the incident posted on social media showed a plane lying crumpled* on its belly on the tarmac with black smoke pouring from its upper section.

    6. Japan PM picks hawkish defense minister

    Japanese Prime Mi-nister Shinzo Abe appointed conservative ally Tomomi Inada as defense minister on August 3, which risked upsetting China and South Korea, as part of a limited Cabinet reshuffle that left most top posts unchanged.

    Inada, previously the ruling party policy chief, shares Abe’s goal of revising the post-war, pacifist* constitution, which some conservatives consider a humiliating symbol of Japan’s World War II defeat.

    She also regularly visits Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine for war dead, which China and South Korea see as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism. (SD-Agencies)