ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

February 27, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) - East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen on important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views.  Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• State Department report will trim language on women’s rights, discrimination (Politico)
• Delta, United Airlines become latest companies to cut NRA ties (Reuters)
• Florida students take on NRA, set eyes on midterm elections (Reuters)
• New indictments against Manafort after Gates pleads guilty (Politico)
• Employers can’t discriminate based on sexual orientation, court says, dealing loss to Trump administration (Washington Post)
• Two weeks after Trump blocked it, Democrats’ rebuttal of GOP memo is released (New York Times)
• U.S. Democrats’ memo charges Republicans trying to undermine Russian probe (Reuters)
• What I Saw Treating the Victims From Parkland Should Change the Debate on Guns (The Atlantic)

WORLD

• Japan wants Fukushima evacuees to go home. They're not so sure. (CS Monitor)
• PHOTOS: Myanmar Apparently Razing Remains of Rohingya Villages (NPR)
• China pushes back against criticism of plan for Xi to stay in power (Reuters)
• U.N. Security Council approves 30-day ceasefire in Syria (BBC)
• Before Russia's 'troll farm' turned to US, it had a more domestic focus (CS Monitor)
• Trump officials fight eviction from Panama hotel they manage (Japan Times)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

U.S.

State Department report will trim language on women’s rights, discrimination (Politico)

State Department officials have been ordered to pare back passages in a soon-to-be-released annual report on global human rights that traditionally discuss women’s reproductive rights and discrimination, according to five former and current department officials.

Delta, United Airlines become latest companies to cut NRA ties (Reuters)

Delta Air Lines and United Airlines on Saturday became the latest major corporations to sever marketing ties with the National Rifle Association as the fallout from last week’s massacre at a Florida high school took its toll on the gun advocacy group. The exodus of corporate names, ranging from a major insurer to car rental brands and a household moving company, began after the NRA launched a counter-offensive against a student-led campaign for tighter U.S. gun laws.

Florida students take on NRA, set eyes on midterm elections (Reuters)

In the week since 17 of David Hogg’s classmates and teachers were gunned down in Florida, he and his fellow high schoolers have launched a movement that reshaped the gun control debate almost overnight and may influence the U.S. midterm elections.

New indictments against Manafort after Gates pleads guilty (Politico)

Rick Gates, a former Trump campaign aide, pleaded guilty on Friday to felony charges of conspiracy and making false statements as part of a plea bargain hammered out with prosecutors from special counsel Robert Mueller’s office…The plea deal leaves Manafort alone fighting charges in the ongoing Mueller investigation.

Employers can’t discriminate based on sexual orientation, court says, dealing loss to Trump administration (Washington Post)

Discriminating against someone on the basis of sexual orientation is prohibited under federal civil rights law, a federal appeals court ruled Monday as it sided with a gay skydiving instructor who was fired from his job after discussing his sexuality with a client.

Two weeks after Trump blocked it, Democrats’ rebuttal of GOP memo is released (New York Times)

The House Intelligence Committee released a redacted Democratic memorandum on Saturday that counters Republican claims that top F.B.I. and Justice Department officials had abused their powers in spying on a former Trump campaign aide.

U.S. Democrats’ memo charges Republicans trying to undermine Russian probe (Reuters)

The Democratic minority on the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee on Saturday released a response to Republican charges that the FBI and Justice Department have abused the law in their investigation of possible ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

What I Saw Treating the Victims From Parkland Should Change the Debate on Guns (The Atlantic)

They weren’t the first mass-shooting victims the Florida radiologist saw—but their wounds were radically different.

WORLD

Japan wants Fukushima evacuees to go home. They're not so sure. (CS Monitor)

About 160,000 people left their homes in 2011, after an earthquake and tsunami triggered the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Today, the government says it's safe for many to return. But regaining residents' trust remains a challenge.

PHOTOS: Myanmar Apparently Razing Remains Of Rohingya Villages (NPR)

‘Satellite images reveal barren landscapes where villages stood just months ago, before Myanmar began its brutal crackdown. Activists fear officials are destroying the crime scenes of mass atrocities.

China pushes back against criticism of plan for Xi to stay in power (Reuters)

China's plan for President Xi Jinping to remain in office indefinitely has sparked social media opposition, drawing comparisons to North Korea's ruling dynasty and prompting a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist to accuse it of creating a dictator.

U.N. Security Council approves 30 day ceasefire in Syria (BBC)

The UN Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution demanding a 30-day ceasefire in Syria to allow aid deliveries and medical evacuations. However, some of the biggest jihadist rebel groups, and their associates, are not covered by the truce, raising questions about its real impact.

Before Russia's 'troll farm' turned to US, it had a more domestic focus (CS Monitor)

Though the outfit indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller may now be most famous for targeting US audiences, its original purpose was to sway Russians on domestic issues. And it was well covered by the Russian media.

Trump officials fight eviction from Panama hotel they manage (Japan Times)

One of President Donald Trump’s family businesses is battling an effort to physically evict its team of executives from a luxury hotel in Panama where they manage operations, and police have been called to keep the peace, The Associated Press has learned. Witnesses said they saw Trump’s executives carrying files to a room for shredding.