Bolivia
A shootout between authorities and coca growers in the northern town of Apolo Sunday resulted to the death of two police officers and injuries to 17 others. Coca growers are also holding eight Bolivian soldiers hostage. The troops were conducting counter-narcotic operations in the town when planters of the heavily regulated plant that is manufactured into a drug started the shootout. The government suspects grower Hernan Salas to have led the shootout, but Salas denied the accusation.
Iraq
About 35 people were killed in a suicide bombing in Baghdad Sunday, which was part of a day of violence in the country that now has a total death toll of 45. The blast occurred after the bomber drove his vehicle filled with explosives into a café at the Shiite neighborhood of Amil. According to the Associated Press, no organization has claimed the attacks, although al Qaida’s local branch often utilizes car bombings as terrorist tactics. At least 385 people have died in terrorist attacks in Iraq this month, according to AP.
Montenegro
About 20 police officers and 60 protesters were injured in the first gay pride parade held in the country’s capital of Podgorica Sunday. Fights broke out when Montenegrins protesting the parade threw stones to participants and to police officers. About 2,000 officers surrounded the perimeter of the parade, and a helicopter kept constant presence throughout the event. This was the second gay pride parade in Montenegro, after one held in the coastal town of Budva in July. According to Agence France-Presse, 70 percent of Montenegrins believe homosexuality is an illness.
Philippines
The death toll from a magnitude-7.1 earthquake on the central islands of the Philippines rose to 183 Saturday. The quake happened Tuesday on the island of Bohol and destroyed 8,600 homes in the country’s metropolitan Quezon City, according to the Philippines’ National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. An additional 583 people have been injured by the calamity, and 13 people are still reported missing by Saturday. The quake happened on the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, a national holiday in the Philippines.
South Sudan
A gun attack by South Sudan rebels in the state of Jonglei killed 41 and wounded 63 others Sunday. South Sudanese officials believe that militia leader David Yau Yau led the rebel attacks with help from his tribe of Murle. Jonglei Gov. Hussein Maar said the gunmen stole cattle from the victims after the attack. South Sudanese officials accuse Sudan of supporting Yau Yau’s forces. The United Nation’s Mission in South Sudan has airlifted injured people to hospitals in the central cities of Juba and Bor.
Syria
A suicide bombing in the city of Hama Sunday killed at least 31 people. The bomber blew up his truck, which was filled with explosives, at an army checkpoint at one of the country’s central cities. The blast also damaged about 20 vehicles and surrounding homes and shops. Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights predicts the death toll to rise, in addition to the dozens injured by the incident. According to AFP, the city “has seen only sporadic violence in recent months.”
