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July 17th, 2018 - Daily News Brief
Helsinki
Is US President Donald Trump serious? Or just joking?
It's hard to tell, after he told the world he trusts Russia's President Vladimir Putin, as much as, if not more than the collective findings of the US intelligence services.
US Intelligence concluded that Moscow hacked the 2016 presidential election. So, are they just stupid?
Former CIA director, John Brennan said Trump's performance in Helsinki was “treasonous,” and that was fairly typical of what the president's critics back home had to say.
Manbij
On a serious note, ahead of his meeting with Putin, Trump discussed the latest developments in Syria in a phone call with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The two leaders spoke about the importance of a joint roadmap in the northern city of Manbij, saying it would "significantly contribute" to a solution in the war-torn country.
EU-Japan
Meanwhile, the EU and Japan are signing a widespread trade deal today that will eliminate nearly all tariffs.
Both sides are heralding the deal, which covers a third of the global economy and more than 600 million people.
Champions of free trade will welcome the move.
Nicaragua protests
In Nicaragua, ten people, including four police officers and two children, have been killed in the latest of ongoing protests. 20 others were injured.
Pro-government forces have been clashing with demonstrators for the past three months. They started with protests against economic problems and alleged corruption.
Now people are also protesting the government's heavy-handed response to the original demonstrations, as the numbers killed continue to climb.
Thought experiment
And finally,
In other news, a court in a country we cannot name under threat of prosecution, has banned reporting on a high-profile trial, in any format that is accessible inside that country.
The country in question is usually thought of as a model for democracy. Kind of weird for a democracy, right? Or is this the future of free speech in a connected world?
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Tue, 17 Jul 2018 12:02:17 +0000
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July 16th, 2018 - Daily News Brief
Night of defiance
Sunday was the second anniversary of the defeat of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.
Tens of thousands of people joined rallies in major cites to mark the day.
President Erdogan addressed the crowd at Istanbul's July 15 Martyrs' bridge. 34 people were killed there. They were confronting soldiers and security forces who tried to overthrow the government.
In total, at least 250 people died in defence of democracy that night. More than 2,000 were wounded.
The coup was orchestrated by US-based cleric, Fetullah Gulen.
Putin-Trump summit
Russia's President Vladimir Putin today meets his US counterpart Donald Trump, in Helsinki.
The stakes could be high with Russia-US relations at a low off the back of new allegations about Moscow's hack of the 2016 US presidential election.
Evacuating Daraa
Hundreds of rebels and their families are vacating southern Daraa in Syria. They're leaving under a Russian-brokered deal to bring the city back under regime control.
Buses have taken more than 400 fighters and their families to opposition-held Idlib in Syria’s northwest. Over a thousand more are due to leave.
Daraa was the first city to rise up against Bashar al Assad over seven years ago. A brutal crackdown by Damascus triggered the civil war, now in its eighth year.
Eritrea-Ethiopia
Eritrea has re-opened its embassy in neighbouring Ethiopia.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea's longtime President Isaias Afwerki (i-SAI-as af-WER-ki) attended the ceremony in the capital Addis Ababa.
A week ago, in deal brokered by Algeria, the two leaders declared their "state of war" over.
Isaias spent the weekend in Ethiopia.
Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia in 1993. They fought a border war between 1998 and 2000 in which tens of thousands of people died.
Obama visits Kenya
And finally,
Staying in Africa, former US president Barack Obama is in Kenya for a family reunion of sorts, before before heading to South Africa to attend a birthday tribute to Nelson Mandela.
It's Obama's first visit to his father's birthplace since leaving office.
He will also be the guest of honour at the launch of a sports facility built by the foundation of his sister Auma Obama.
Monday, July 16, 2018
Mon, 16 Jul 2018 13:02:14 +0000
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July 13th, 2018 - Daily News Brief
Syria's Daraa
Syrian regime forces have entered the city of Daraa. It's the city where the revolution against Bashar al Assad began.
Some 2,000 rebels and their families are thought to be still holed up in the southwestern Syrian city.
But raising the regime flag in Daraa is a symbolic victory for Damascus after more than seven years of war.
A third of a million people have fled fighting in the region since mid-June.
Nawaz Sharif
Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter are on their way home.
They face lengthy prison terms for corruption. Sharif says he will appeal the conviction.
Police have shut down Lahore, where they're expected to land, to prevent the ex-prime minister's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, or PML-N, from giving him a hero's welcome home.
It's a high stakes gamble ahead of a July 25 election, with the PML-N losing ground in opinion polls to Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf or PTI.
Trump in UK
To the UK and the visit of US President Donald Trump.
The so-called 'special relationship' between the US and UK could be tested, after Trump blasted Prime Minister Theresa May, saying she had caved in to the EU on Brexit.
Trump arrived in Britain after a frosty NATO summit. His next stop after the UK is Moscow, where he could well get the warmest welcome of his European jaunt.
Chemical explosion
At least 19 people were killed and 12 injured when a chemical plant blew up overnight in China.
The blast was in the city of Yibin (EE-BIN) in southwestern Sichuan (SITCH-WAN) province.
China is the world's biggest producer of chemicals. An investigation into the explosion is underway.
Wimbledon women
And finally,
It's Wimbledon finals weekend.
Serena Williams faces Angelique Kerber for the women's title.
The American is on a 20-match winning streak. And she will add an eighth Wimbledon crown if she beats Germany's Kerber on Saturday.
Friday, July 13, 2018
Fri, 13 Jul 2018 11:37:15 +0000
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July 12th, 2018 - Daily News Brief
NATO summit
NATO leaders will try today to move beyond US President Donald Trump's demands for higher defence spending.
The focus of Thursday's talks will be the seemingly endless war in Afghanistan.
The government backed by NATO is facing a resurgent Taliban. But as with all wars, it's the ordinary people who continue to suffer.
Syria-Israel
Israeli forces attacked Syrian military positions near the frontier of the occupied Golan Heights on Thursday.
Israel said it was responding to a Syrian drone shot down over northern Israel.
Syria refugees
Staying with Syria, and the area where the drone was shot down is close to a developing humanitarian crisis.
Some 350,000 civilians have fled Daraa province in recent weeks, many heading to the Jordanian border. They fled after the Assad regime attacked rebels in and near Daraa province in mid-June.
Among those trapped in Daraa are almost 300 journalists. That's according to the Syrian Journalists Association.
The association says the journalists are seeking safe exit to the Jordanian border. But they fear Assad forces could attack them.
Japan floods
The death toll in Japan's floods has risen to 195.
Intense heat and water shortages are adding to the misery.
Close to half a million households are without water after a week of torrential rains.
Dozens of people are still missing.
World Cup
And finally,
It was good news for Croatian fans, but another horrible end for England.
Croatia will face France in the World Cup final on Sunday, after they beat England 2-1 in the dying minutes of Wednesday's semi-final.
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Thu, 12 Jul 2018 11:58:21 +0000
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July 11th, 2018 - Daily News Brief
Neo-Nazi
In Germany, a neo-Nazi gang member has been sentenced to life in prison for killing 10 people.
Beate Zschaepe was found guilty of the murder of eight Turkish immigrants, a Greek and a German policewoman between 2000 and 2007.
Zschaepe was part of a group that called itself the National Socialist Underground.
Turkey criticised the verdict saying the court's findings had not revealed links with the deep state and intelligence and that the real criminals had gone unpunished.
Uneasy alliance
A NATO summit is getting underway in Brussels with a showdown brewing between the US and several key allies.
US President Donald Trump claims non-US members of the pact are not paying their way to keep the alliance going.
Then, on the eve of the summit Trump said Germany was "totally controlled by" and "captive to Russia" because of German dependence on Russian energy.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel might have something to say when she meets Trump later today.
Cave rescue
After a three day international operation in Thailand, all 12 boys and their football coach are out of the cave they'd been trapped in.
They're now recovering in hospital, and the Thai prime minister is thanking everyone involved in the rescue mission.
One former Thai navy Seal died in the rescue operation.
Pakistan blast
In Pakistan, at least 21 people, including a party political leader, have been killed in a bombing at an election rally.
The explosion happened as the leader of the Awami National Party, Haroon Bilour, took to the stage in the city of Peshawar on Tuesday. More than 60 others were wounded in the attack.
The Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility.
World Cup
And finally,
In World Cup football, France are through to the final after beating Belgium 1-0 in Saint Petersburg.
They'll know who they're playing on Sunday, after today's semi-final between England and Croatia.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Wed, 11 Jul 2018 11:57:11 +0000
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July 10th, 2018 - Daily News Brief
Cave rescue
A rescue operation is underway in Thailand, to bring out the last boys and their football coach from a flooded cave.
Officials say the five still trapped will be brought out the same way as the other eight.
A team of 19 cavers and divers have headed into the cave for the third day of the operation.
Four boys were freed on Sunday - and four more on Monday. The thirteen were trapped in the cave on June 23 by floodwaters.
Japan floods
The death toll from devastating floods in Japan has now passed 130.
Dozens of people are still missing though, even as clean-up operations begin.
It's the worst flooding in Japan since 1983.
Brexit
British Prime Minister Theresa May has appointed Jeremy Hunt as her new foreign minister.
May made the appointment after Boris Johnson's resignation on Monday.
Johnson was the third minister to resign in protest at what they're calling a 'soft Brexit.'
A 'soft Brexit' is essentially the prime minister's attempt to find a middle way with the EU on Britain's exit from the bloc.
Supreme Court
US President Donald Trump has nominated Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
The 53-year-old appeals court judge would replace 81-year-old Anthony Kennedy, who is retiring.
Kavanaugh is a conservative and a former aide to President George W Bush.
Kavanaugh in 2009 said presidents should be free from civil lawsuits, criminal prosecution and investigation while in office. Trump will probably like that.
He will need to be approved by the US Senate, and faces strong opposition among Democrats.
World Cup
And finally,
It's down to the last four in World Cup football. In today's semi-final, France face Belgium.
Both teams came into the tournament with solid chances. France is used to the limelight, but a win for Belgium will put them into a World Cup final for the first time.
The game is being held in Saint Petersburg, host Russia's second city.
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Tue, 10 Jul 2018 11:39:37 +0000
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July 9th, 2018 - Daily News Brief
President Erdogan
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to take the oath of office today.
Erdogan will also announce his cabinet, under Turkey's new executive presidency.
Erdogan won Turkey's presidential election on June 24, with 52.5 percent of the vote.
Thai rescue
Thai authorities have resumed operations to rescue a boys' football team trapped in a flooded cave.
Four boys were brought out by a dive rescue team and Thai Navy Seals on Sunday.
Officials hope to get the remaining eight boys and their coach out on Monday.
Rain victims
In Japan, over 110 people are thought to be dead, and dozens more are still missing in the worst rain in decades.
Torrential rain in western Japan has forced over a million people from their homes, in the worst mudslides and flooding since 1983.
Some 50,000 rescue workers and volunteers have been mobilised in the search for survivors.
Train crash
The death toll in Sunday's train crash in Turkey has risen to at least 24.
The train derailed in the northwestern province of Tekirdag.
Authorities are investigating the incident, and say it's likely that rain damaged the tracks.
Harvey Weinstein
And finally,
Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein will be in court again on Monday, facing charges of a third alleged sex crime.
Weinstein was outed by the #MeToo movement. He already faces charges involving two women.
The new charges allege predatory sexual assault. If convicted he faces life in prison.
A lawyer for the 66-year-old says Weinstein will plead not guilty.
Monday, July 09, 2018
Mon, 09 Jul 2018 12:10:43 +0000
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