Police Assault Journalist in Congo’s Capital

^{PHOTO: PEOPLE RUNNING AWAY FROM TEAR GAS POLICE RUNNING POLICE PUSHING MEN INTO VEHICLE POLICE MAKING HAND SIGNALS}

INTERNATIONAL: Media strongly condemns the beating and temporarily detention of journalist Patient Ligodi,who was covering a protest on Wednesday. The incident was called by opposition leader Martin Fayulu,who claims he defeated President Felix Tshisekedi in 2018 elections. Some members of Congolese National police assaulted the journalist and fired tear gas to disperse a handful of supporters of the opposition leader in the Congo's capital Kinshasa on Wednesday. Fayulu is seen as one of the main contenders against Tshisekedi in a likely presidential election in 2023.A government spokesman said in a statement, that police had used excessive force and that an investigation would be launched.

Taiwan Proposes to Extra Defense Spending of $9-Billion

^{PHOTO: SOUNDBITE FROM TAIWAN DEPUTY DEFENCE MINISTER, ANTI-INVASION DRILLS ON ONE OF TAIWAN'S OUTLYING ISLANDS}

Taiwan proposed on Thursday to extra defense spending of about $9 billion over the next five years. It includes new missiles, cruise missiles and warships as it warned of an urgent need to upgrade weapons in the face of a "severe threat" from their giant neighbor China.

President Tsai Ing-wen has modernised the country’s armed forces a priority as Beijing ramps up military and diplomatic pressure against the island. The amount which comes on top of planned military budget will need to be approved by the parliament where Tsai's ruling party has a large majority. The new arms would all be made domestically, although the United States will remain an important part and technology provider.

Thousands of Migrants Seeking Asylum in the U.S. Awaits at Mexico-US Border

^{PHOTO: MIGRANTS WADING THROUGH WATER BETWEEN TEXAS AND MEXICO, MIGRANTS WASHING CLOTHES IN RIVER AND MIGRANTS WALKING THROUGH AN OPENING IN A CHAIN LINK FENCE}

Thousands of migrants mostly Haitians, but also Cubans, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans were waiting for processing their papers in an overwhelmed makeshift migrant camp under the bridge connecting Del Rio and Ciudad Acuῆa.

Some of them slipped back into Mexico’s Ciudad Acuῆa to buy food, water and other essentials which, they say, they are not receiving on the American side. They could be stuck at the camp for up to five days. Authorities from Customs and Border Patrol say, around 6,000 people were in the camp. This is one of the challenges facing President Joe Biden as border arrests hover around 20-year highs. U.S. authorities arrested more than 195,000 migrants at the Mexican border in August.