Deadly shooting in LA, Taiwan air raid drill, Myanmar’s military executions

Top headlines for July 25, 2022:

Deadly LA park shooting – Two people were killed and at least five others were injured in a Sunday shooting at a park in Los Angeles. No arrests were immediately made in the case, and police did not immediately offer a motive outside of saying it was “a dispute between two parties.” There was a car show going on at the time of the shooting.

“There were about 500 people in the park, many of which had cars. So it was not necessarily a permanent car show. But that was a draw of the park,” Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Kelly Muniz said Sunday. “We don’t know exactly how many shooters we have at this point.”

Taiwan air raid drill – Taiwan conducted an air raid exercise Monday. Sirens sounded and a missile alert was sent to residents at 1:30 p.m. local time. The alert asked people to take shelter indoors. The exercise was seen as the island’s latest preparation for a potential Chinese attack.

“In recent years, Chinese military planes have frequently harassed Taiwan, and the war between Russia and Ukraine broke out in February this year,” Taipei City Mayor Ke Wen-je said Monday. “All these things make us understand the importance of being vigilant in times of peace and we need to be prepared when there is war.”

The drill also comes ahead of a reported trip by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to visit Taiwan. China said the visit would “seriously undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” President Biden planned to talk with Chinese leaders in the coming days, and casted doubt over the trip.

“Well, I think that the military thinks it’s not a good idea right now, but I don’t know what the status of it is,” Biden said.

Myanmar’s military execution – Myanmar’s military received international condemnation after it executed four democracy activists Monday. The activists were convicted of helping fight back after the military seized power of the country in a coup last year.
Myanmar’s national unity government, which has been outlawed by the military, is now calling for international action.

“Extremely saddened… condemn the junta’s cruelty,” Kyaw Zaw, the spokesman of the NUG president’s office, told Reuters in a message. “The global community must punish their cruelty.”

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.