1. India withdraws troops from Dong Lang China on Monday confirmed via on-site checks that India has withdrawn personnel and equipment from Dong Lang (Doklam) after a military standoff* lasting more than two months. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that Chinese personnel completed the on-site check at around 2:30 p.m., adding that China will continue to safeguard its territorial* sovereignty* according to historical boundary treaties. “The Chinese frontier defense force will continue to patrol and garrison* in the Dong Lang area,” Hua said. 2. Samsung heir appeals against conviction Lawyers for the jailed heir to the Samsung empire filed an appeal against his conviction on Monday as South Korean media divided on the ruling that put the country’s top business leader behind bars. Lee Jae-yong, the de-facto head of Samsung Electronics, was found guilty last week of bribing South Korea’s ousted* president Park Geun-hye and sentenced to five years in prison. 3. Judge sends Indian guru to jail for rape A judge on Monday sentenced a flamboyant* and controversial Indian spiritual guru to 10 years in prison on charges of raping two female followers. The sentence was pronounced amid intense security at a prison in the northern town of Rohtak where the guru, who calls himself Dr. Saint Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim Insan, has been held since his conviction on Friday. The conviction sparked violent protests by the guru’s followers that left at least 38 people dead and hundreds injured. Ahead of the sentencing announcement, train and bus services to Rohtak were suspended to prevent the guru’s supporters from gathering in the town, located in Haryana state. 4. Defiant Barcelona marches against terror Spain’s King Felipe VI joined thousands of people in a defiant* march against terror through Barcelona on Saturday following last week’s deadly vehicle rampages*. People who tended the victims of the attack were given pride of place at the front of the procession behind a large white-and-black banner that read “No tinc por” — Catalan* for “I’m not afraid.” They included uniformed police officers, doctors in their white coats, firefighters wearing their helmets and residents and shop owners who rushed to help after a van struck people on the Las Ramblas avenue, as well as taxi drivers who transported people for free. 5. US protests turn violent Thousands of U.S. protesters converged* in Berkeley, California, on Sunday for a “Rally Against Hate” in response to a planned right-wing rally. Donald Trump detractors* outnumbered supporters and surrounded them with chants of “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!” At least 14 arrests were made as Trump supporters and counter protesters clashed, according to the Los Angeles Times. The rival protests encountered each other at Martin Luther King Civic Center Park where various brief fights reportedly broke out. 6. Mudslide in Guinea kills at least 8 At least eight people died and others were injured in Guinea when a portion of a rubbish landfill site collapsed on houses on the outskirts of the capital, Conakry, in torrential rain, police and government officials said on August 22. The incident in Guinea occurred in the morning in the Dar Es Salam neighborhood after an overnight deluge. The area is filled with wood and tin-roof* houses, some of which are situated at the base of a towering mass of refuse. (SD-Agencies) |