Reports: Myanmar soldiers kill and burn bodies of 19 villagers

BANGKOK (AP) — Soldiers from Myanmar’s military government raided a village in the country’s central region, killing 19 villagers including four children and burning their bodies, independent media and a resident said Friday. The killings on Wednesday in Nyaung Pin Thar village in Bago region’s Htantabin township may have been in retaliation for an attack by resistance forces opposed to army rule. Radio Free Asia, a U.S.- funded news service, quoted a member of the locally formed People’s Defense Force as saying the killings occurred after fighting the same day between the army and his group and its allies from the Karen National Liberation Army, an ethnic rebel group that operates in the area.

Turkish Red Crescent chief steps down

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch farmers protested government plans to reduce nitrogen emissions by dumping manure and garbage Wednesday on highways and setting fires alongside roads — the latest actions in a summer of discontent. Police urged them to stop for safety reasons and were investigating who was responsible. Traffic authorities said several roads in the central and eastern Netherlands were completely or partially blocked by the early morning blockades and fire services rushed to clear roads as traffic built up.

Tens of thousands march against Serbia’s populist leadership

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Tens of thousands of people marched through the Serbian capital, Belgrade, and blocked a key bridge Friday in the second large protest since two mass shootings that rattled the Balkan country and left 17 people dead, including many children. Protesters gathered in front of the Parliament building before filing by the government’s headquarters and onto a highway bridge spanning the Sava River, where evening commuters had to turn their vehicles around to avoid getting stuck. At the head of the column was a black banner reading “Serbia Against Violence.”

Palestinian militants fire more rockets as Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli airstrikes killed a senior militant commander in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian militants fired rockets toward Jerusalem on Friday, further escalating the most violent flare-up in months despite efforts to broker a cease-fire. An Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinians in a residential building in Gaza City in the afternoon, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The Israeli military said it had targeted a senior commander of the Islamic Jihad movement. The Islamic Jihad confirmed that the airstrike killed Iyad Al-Hassani, a member of the decision-making council in the group’s armed wing.