Friday, September 1, 2017

World News Briefs -- September 1, 2017



Reuters: Nearly 400 die as Myanmar army steps up crackdown on Rohingya militants

COX‘S BAZAR, Bangladesh (Reuters) - Nearly 400 people have died in fighting that has rocked Myanmar’s northwest for a week, new official data show, making it probably the deadliest bout of violence to engulf the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority in decades.

Around 38,000 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh from Myanmar, United Nations sources said, a week after Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts and an army base in Rakhine state, prompting clashes and a military counteroffensive.

“As of August 31, 38,000 people are estimated to have crossed the border into Bangladesh,” the officials said on Friday, in their latest estimate.

Read more ....

MIDDLE EAST

Iraq declares victory over 'Islamic State' in Tal Afar.

US-led forces confirm ‘unintentional killing’ of 61 more civilians in Iraq, Syria.

SDF: ISIL removed from Raqqa's Old City.

Last Isis stronghold in Syria could fall by October, says UN envoy.

Next round of Syria talks set for Sept. 14-15: Kazakhstan.

Kuwait’s ruler, mediating Qatar crisis, heads to Washington.

Muslim pilgrims mark final hajj rite with 'Stoning of Devil'.

ASIA

Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar near 40,000.

Indian PM Modi to discuss Rohingya issue on Myanmar trip.


Situation on Korean Peninsula on brink of large-scale conflict - Putin.

North Korea: US bombers, allies conduct drills over Korean peninsula after latest missile launch.


North Korea sentences journalists to death for positive reviews.

North Korea tourism: US travel ban takes effect.

Mumbai building collapse leaves 33 dead, nearly a dozen others possibly buried.

AFRICA

Shock as Kenya court cancels election result, demands re-run. Kenya court annuls presidential election result.

Al Qaeda affiliate mining uranium to send to Iran, Somali official warns US ambassador.

Al Shabaab bomb kills 12 in Somalia's Puntland.

Russia balks at France's UN proposal for Mali sanctions.

Poverty, food insecurity increasing child marriage in South Sudan, agencies say.

Amnesty warns against 'outsourcing' migrant crisis to Libya.

Niger reports 44 people killed in floods.

EUROPE

Russia, digesting U.S. diplomatic retaliation, pledges 'harsh' response. US-Russia ties battered by new row over diplomats.

Congress forces Trump's hand on sanctions to undermine Russia ties — Lavrov. Lavrov says Russia will 'respond harshly' to 'damaging' sanctions.

Teacher for a day: Vladimir Putin lectures Russian schoolchildren.

Bad blood between France and Italy undermines EU unity.

Poland has no right to WWII reparations, German lawyers say.

Germans in Aachen get free iodine amid Belgium nuclear fears.

Pope reveals he had weekly psychoanalysis sessions at age 42.

AMERICAS

Most of Houston 'now dry,' as recovery begins.

Texas governor says Houston recovery a 'multi-year project'.

Top CEOs warn Trump on ending migrant amnesty.

US employment growth misses forecasts for August.

Donald Trump owes Deutsche Bank big bucks.

White House weighing a tax on remittances to Mexico to fund border wall.

Farc former rebels choose new political party name and logo.

Turmoil in Venezuela to vie for Pope’s attention in Colombia.

TERRORISM/THE LONG WAR

'We'll just try to kill him': US vows to hunt Isis leader Baghdadi to the death.

Barcelona officials say US, CIA did not issue warning about terror attack, despite report.

Lawyer says Dutch terror threat suspect is amateur sleuth.

Bomb kills three in Pakistan tribal belt: officials.

ECONOMY/FINANCE/BUSINESS

OPEC oil output slips from 2017 high on renewed Libyan outages.

Plant explosions, spills test industry’s response to Harvey.

US dollar losing its luster as safe haven investment.

1 comment:

RussInSoCal said...

Reluctantly reported by Politico -

FBI, DHS Officially Classify Antifa Activities As "Domestic Terrorist Violence"

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/01/antifa-charlottesville-violence-fbi-242235

Federal authorities have been warning state and local officials since early 2016 that leftist extremists known as “antifa” had become increasingly confrontational and dangerous, so much so that the Department of Homeland Security formally classified their activities as “domestic terrorist violence,” according to interviews and confidential law enforcement documents obtained by POLITICO.

Since well before the Aug. 12 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned deadly, DHS has been issuing warnings about the growing likelihood of lethal violence between the left-wing anarchists and right-wing white supremacist and nationalist groups.

Previously unreported documents disclose that by April 2016, authorities believed that “anarchist extremists” were the primary instigators of violence at public rallies against a range of targets. They were blamed by authorities for attacks on the police, government and political institutions, along with symbols of “the capitalist system,” racism, social injustice and fascism, according to a confidential 2016 joint intelligence assessment by DHS and the FBI.

After President Donald Trump’s election in November, the antifa activists locked onto another target — his supporters, especially those from white supremacist and nationalist groups suddenly turning out in droves to hail his victory, support crackdowns on immigrants and Muslims and to protest efforts to remove symbols of the Confederacy.

Those reports appear to bolster Trump’s insistence that extremists on the left bore some blame for the clashes in Charlottesville and represent a “problem” nationally. But they also reflect the extent that his own political movement has spurred the violent backlash.