HRW wants end to Saudi arms sale after Yemen school bus attack
9/2/2018, 9:48:03 AMRights group calls Saudi-led coalition bombing an apparent war crime, placing 'arms suppliers at risk of complicity'. ✔ HRW's statement, released on Sunday, came just hours after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates admitted the bombing was unjustified ✔ The coalition's stated aim is to restore the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power ✔ At least 10,000 people have been killed since the start of the conflict, the UN said
New U.S. general arrives in Afghanistan with peace still distant
9/2/2018, 8:55:28 AMU.S. Army General Scott Miller assumed command of NATO forces in Afghanistan on Sunday, arriving as Washington faces growing questions over its strategy to force the Taliban into talks to end the 17-year conflict. ✔ I believe that some of the Taliban want peace also but they are being encouraged to keep fighting, the outgoing commander Gen ✔ John Nicholson said at the ceremony, urging the insurgents to listen to demands for peace from the Afghan people ✔ Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles
War monitor says blasts in Syria airport killed 2
9/2/2018, 10:52:07 AMBEIRUT (AP) — A group monitoring the Syrian war says at least two military personnel were killed and 11 wounded in overnight explosions in a military airport on the edge of the ca ✔ The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Sunday the blasts that rocked Damascus are believed to have been caused by an Israeli strike ✔ The Observatory relies on various sources on the ground to monitor the war ✔ Israel rarely acknowledges such strikes, but has recently targeted suspected Iranian posts inside Syria
Hope and caution in North Korea as Kim Jong Un shifts gears
9/2/2018, 8:07:15 AMTanned and wearing a swimsuit, So Myong Il walks to the barbecue pit and throws on some clams. ✔ Kim is ardently wooing South Korean investment to help him build the very things Trump was offering: infrastructure, particularly roads and railways, and the development of selected tourism zones ✔ After a high-profile chill last year, he is also actively courting Beijing, which continues to be an essential source of fuel, a key market for North Korea’s coal and other natural resources and a fairly reliable check on U.S. power in the region ✔ Follow him on Instagram and Twitter: @EricTalmadge
Syria's war: Damascus airbase blasts 'caused by electrical fault'
9/2/2018, 11:44:10 AMSyria and Iran say explosions were caused by short-circuit, denying Israeli strikes were behind the blasts. ✔ According to SANA, there were no casualties at the scene ✔ In May, it said it attacked nearly all of Iran's military infrastructure in Syria after Iranian forces fired rockets at Israeli-held territory for the first time in the most extensive military exchange ever between the two adversaries
Iran's Khamenei says war unlikely but urges boosting defense...
9/2/2018, 11:50:20 AMIranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday war was unlikely but called on Iran's armed forces to boost their defense capacities, according to his official website. ✔ Saturday’s news of the military development plans came a day after Iran dismissed a French call for negotiations on Tehran’s future nuclear plans, its ballistic missile arsenal and its role in wars in Syria and Yemen ✔ Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said last month the Islamic Republic’s military prowess was what deterred Washington from attacking it ✔ Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles
British artists join fight for release of Bangladeshi photojournalist
9/2/2018, 8:31:12 AMNiece of Shahidul Alam adds major names to letter demanding justice for crusading photographer ✔ Leading curators, such as the Tate’s Frances Morris, Nicholas Cullinan, the director of London’s National Portrait Gallery, Sarah Munro, director of Gateshead’s Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, and Sophie Wright of Magnum Photos, have also put their names behind the cause
Comrades in Commerce: A Chinese Hero’s Family Nurtures an Alliance With North Korea
9/2/2018, 11:11:50 AMA celebrated wartime alliance between North Korean founding leader Kim Il Sung and a Chinese commander has become the foundation for the kind of commercial ties that could help revive the North Korean economy if international sanctions are eased. ✔ None connects the regimes more than the Chinese commander’s legendary camaraderie with Mr. Kim’s grandfather ✔ Gasoline was almost impossible to find, he told the Journal, but his handlers secured a tankful at a military depot by explaining the chair of our company has a really good relationship with your great leaders
Ebola survivors returning home to fear, stigma in Congo
9/2/2018, 9:04:05 AMBENI, Congo (AP) — Leoni Kahumbu remembers the night her 15-year-old daughter, Pascaline, first showed signs of Ebola. She found her fainted on the bathroom floor, blood everywher ✔ Experts came to their home the next day to disinfect the house ✔ Traditional healers were trained in Ebola prevention ✔ Hand-washing with chlorinated water will be made available at the entrances of 250 schools and teachers will be newly instructed in Ebola and how to stay safe
Long reach of U.S. sanctions hits Syria reconstruction
9/2/2018, 9:03:45 AMAs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attempts to turn military success into postwar reconstruction, Western sanctions are a major obstacle that could scare off foreign companies. ✔ REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki Syria has suffered immense physical destruction, while millions of workers have fled, been conscripted or killed ✔ companies from building power plants, supplying turbines or financing such projects ✔ sanctions include exceptions for humanitarian supplies, and for items needed by United Nations missions in Syria ✔ Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles
Foreign minister to Germans: get off the couch, fight racism
9/2/2018, 10:41:24 AMCHEMNITZ, Germany (AP) — Germany's foreign minister has told his fellow countrymen they're too lazy when it comes to battling racism and fighting for democracy. Heik ✔ CHEMNITZ, Germany (AP) Germany's foreign minister has told his fellow countrymen they're too lazy when it comes to battling racism and fighting for democracy ✔ Around 4,000 leftist protesters also marched through the city in a counter-protest, and 1,800 police officers were deployed to keep the groups apart
Pope calls for all parties to safeguard Syrian civilians in Idlib
9/2/2018, 11:31:43 AMPope Francis on Sunday appealed to all parties who have influence in Syria to defend human rights and safeguard the civilian population in the rebel-held northern region of Idlib, which faces an imminent attack by government forces. ✔ I renew my heartfelt appeal to the international community and all the actors involved to use the tools of diplomacy, dialogue and negotiation to ensure the respect of international human rights and to safeguard civilian lives, he added ✔ Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles
Pentagon Cancels Millions Of Aid To Pakistan Over Record On Militant Groups
9/2/2018, 9:50:55 AMThe decision comes ahead of an expected visit to the country by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. ✔ It also underscored that Islamabad has yet to deliver the kind of change sought by Washington ✔ It is a calibrated, incremental ratcheting up of pressure on Pakistan, said Sameer Lalwani, co-director of the South Asia program at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington ✔ (Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Mary Milliken and Cynthia Osterman) Download
Protests over Yemen's weakening currency paralyze Aden
9/2/2018, 11:50:21 AMScores of demonstrators protesting against Yemen's deteriorating economic situation and weakening currency blocked major roads and burned tires in the southern city of Aden on Sunday, with shops and government offices closing. ✔ Slideshow (4 Images) Soaring prices have put some basic commodities out of reach for many Yemenis, and the central bank has struggled to pay public sector salaries on which many depend as foreign exchange reserves dwindle ✔ The war has unleashed a humanitarian and economic crisis on the already impoverished country ✔ Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles
US cancels $300m military aid to Pakistan
9/2/2018, 11:10:35 AMundefined ✔ If the US wants to have dealings with Pakistan, it cannot continue to escalate the pressure on Pakistan, retired Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi, a former senior Pakistani diplomat told the FT ✔ However, Pakistani leaders dating back to General Pervez Musharraf, the former military ruler from 1999 to 2008, have repeatedly told their western counterparts including the US that they have no ties to the Haqqani network
Syrian state media says electrical fault behind airbase blasts
9/2/2018, 9:45:47 AMAn electrical fault caused a series of loud blasts early on Sunday near a military airbase outside the Syrian capital Damascus, a Syrian military source cited by state media and an Iranian official said. ✔ Israel has previously acknowledged having carried out air strikes in Syria aimed at degrading the capacity of Iran and its allies, including Lebanon’s Shi’ite Hezbollah group, which are backing Assad in the country’s seven-year civil war ✔ Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles
Rows, resignations underscore Afghanistan's security crisis
9/2/2018, 11:12:18 AMA public row that saw two top security officials trade recriminations live on television has sharply highlighted the divisions undermining Afghanistan's Western-backed government, even as insurgents have stepped up pressure on the battlefield. ✔ Heavy fighting between Taliban insurgents and Afghan forces across the country this year, as well as repeated suicide attacks in Kabul and other major cities, have underlined the dire security situation facing Afghanistan ✔ Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles
US military confirms $300m cut in aid to Pakistan
9/2/2018, 11:42:15 AMDecision taken over perceived failure to tackle militants further strains relations with Washington ✔ Analysts noted the timing of the Pentagon’s announcement may reflect irritation within Washington at Khan’s decision to welcome the Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif, as his first diplomatic guest and the former cricketer’s subsequent statements of support for the nuclear deal that Trump recently reneged upon
Donors to increase UNRWA support and funding despite US cuts
9/2/2018, 10:17:50 AMEU says US decision to end funding to UNRWA leaves substantial gap and urges countries for further support. ✔ The loss of this organisation could unleash an uncontrollable chain reaction, Heiko Maas said on Saturday before adding that while Germany contributed $94m to UNRWA this year, it was prepared to increase its financial aid ✔ With such a decision, the US is doing Israel's bidding and destroying the very foundations of peace and stability by taking all permanent status issues 'off the table', including the right of return for refugees and occupied Jerusalem, she said
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