ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

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September 3, 2015 (San Diego's East County)-- East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

General news

Presidential campaign

WORLD

Europe

Islamic World

Asia

Africa

Armed group frees 163 children in Central African Republic (SD Union-Tribune)

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

U.S.

There aren’t enough firefighters to stop America’s west from burning (Bloomberg News)

“This thing’s going to burn until the snow flies,” Joe Flores, a Forest Service firefighter from Vernal, Utah, says to his partner, Todd Gregory, as they race ahead of yet another out-of-control wildfire. Flores, who’s fought fires for 21 years and is an expert on fire behavior, has never seen anything like this year, with so many superhot, superfast fires burning at once.

More than 3,000 respond after Washington requests firefighting volunteers (AP)

Washington officials say more than 3,000 people called and emailed in response to the state’s request for volunteer help with wildfires.

Obama visits a state that lives climate change: Alaska (APM)

President Barack Obama is in Alaska this week to talk about climate change. Some environmentalists say it’s a bit hypocritical, because just two weeks ago the government gave Royal Dutch Shell the green light to drill for oil and gas in the Arctic Ocean.

Retired US generals to Congress: Vote 'No' on Iran nuclear deal (JPost)

Almost 200 former commanders signed a letter saying that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action undermines American interests and threatens national security.  The missive is a response to a letter sent last week by a few dozen generals and admirals who expressed support for the agreement.

FBI warns U.S. art dealers about antiquities looted from Syria, Iraq

(Reuters) - The FBI on Wednesday urged art dealers in the United States to be careful when buying antiquities from the Middle East, saying there is evidence collectors have recently been offered artifacts plundered by Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq.

'Sister Wives' clan uses same-sex marriage ruling in polygamy case  (Reuters)

The stars of the reality television show "Sister Wives" used the U.S. Supreme Court's recent same-sex marriage ruling to support their case against Utah's polygamy ban, court records show.

U.S. To Accept Up To 8,000 Syrian Refugees Next Year (NPR)

More than 4 million Syrians have become homeless since civil war broke out in 2011. As of June, fewer than 1,000 had been admitted to the U.S.

Mercury in Grand Canyon's Colorado River: How did the toxin get there? (CS Monitor)

Concentrations of mercury and selenium in Colorado River food webs of the Grand Canyon National Park regularly exceeded risk thresholds for fish and wildlife, a recent study showed.

Presidential campaign

Why Ben Carson is surging (CS Monitor)

 Trump and Carson each got 23 percent of the vote among likely Iowa GOP caucus-goers, according to a Monmouth University poll released Monday. 

Bernie Sanders Meet the Press video (NBC)

The Independent Senator who is running for the Democratic nomination sounds off on guns, #BlackLivesMatter and economic inequality.

Carly Fiorina Takes Rand Paul's Place in Republican Top 10 (Reason)

Donald Trump continues to dominate the 2016 GOP presidential field in terms of mass appeal, earning 28 percent support from Republican and Republican-leaning voters in a new Quinnipiac University National Poll. Coming in second, with 12 percent, is newly top-tier candidate Ben Carson, while Jeb Bush and Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Marco Rubio (Florida) rounded out the top five with 7 percent support each. 

WORLD

Europe

A look at the latest developments in Europe's migrant crisis (AP)

Record numbers of migrants and refugees fleeing violence and poverty in countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Eritrea are trying to reach Europe, despite the risks of perilous sea crossings and the inability of countries to provide adequate humanitarian assistance.

UK immigration hits record high, causing headache for Cameron (Reuters) 

Long-term net migration to Britain has hit a record high, underscoring the challenge Prime Minister David Cameron faces to dispel voter fears that immigrants are straining public services such as housing, hospitals and schools.

Deathbed confession reveals location of Nazi train that might contain gold (CS Monitor)

A mysterious Nazi train allegedly loaded with gold and weapons that has been missing for seven decades does exist, Polish authorities confirmed

Ukraine faces risky year fighting to escape Russian orbit: Poroshenko(Reuters)

President Petro Poroshenko said on Monday Ukraine was facing a precarious year struggling to fend off what he called Russian strategies to undermine Kiev's attempts to pursue closer relations with Europe.

Thwarted French train attack highlights scant rail security against terror acts (CS Monitor)

Friday’s attack on a train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris has drawn attention to the potential terror threat facing rail networks.

Islamic World

UNICEF: 40 percent school dropouts in Mideast conflict areas (AP)

Forty percent of children from five conflict-scarred Middle Eastern countries are not attending school, the United Nations agency for children said Thursday, warning that losing this generation will lead to more militancy, migration and a dim future for the region. 

The Middle East is running out of water. Can they adapt? (CS Monitor)

Rising global population and decreasing usable water supplies will cause the world’s demand for water to surge in the next few decades and intensify conflict in many countries, experts warn.  In the rankings by the World Resources Institute (WRI), fourteen of the 33 countries most likely to be water stressed in 2040 are in the Middle East…

UN employees in Gaza strike against cost-cutting measures (AP)

Thousands of employees of the United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency in the Gaza Strip are striking against cost-cutting measures the agency is imposing to overcome a financial crisis.

Islamic State claims 30 killed for sodomy, UN meeting told (AP)

The head of an international gay rights organization is telling the U.N. Security Council that the Islamic State extremist group has claimed responsibility for executing at least 30 people for sodomy.

Gay men tell UN Security Council of being ISIS targets (JPost)

In my society, being gay means death and when (Islamic State) kills gays most people are happy because they think we are evil."

US strikes southern Afghan district seized by Taliban (San Diego Union-Tribune)

U.S. forces have launched multiple airstrikes on a district in southern Afghanistan seized by the Taliban the day before, U.S. officials said Thursday.

U.S., allies hit Islamic State in Iraq with 21 air strikes: military (Reuters)

A coalition led by the United States pummeled Islamic State targets in Iraq on Wednesday with 21 air strikes concentrated near the cities of Baji and Tuz, according to a statement released on Thursday.

U.S. using secret drone campaign to hunt ISIS leaders (Washington Post)

The clandestine program in Syria is run separately from the broader U.S. military offensive against the Islamic State, U.S. officials said

Saudi women finally get right to vote, so why aren't more registering? (CS Monitor)

Press reports say only 70 Saudi women are standing in municipal elections in December, and as few as one in twenty have registered to vote. Activists say a driving ban is among the hurdles facing women.

Asia

Asian stocks fall after Fed suggests Sept rate hike possible (SD Union-Tribune)

Asian stocks fell Monday after a U.S. Federal Reserve official suggested a September interest rate hike still was possible and Japanese factory activity weakened.

Four months after quakes, Nepal fails to spend any of $4.1 billion donor money (Reuters)

Two months after foreign countries and international agencies pledged $4.1 billion to help Nepal recover from its worst natural disaster, the government has yet to make arrangements to receive the money and has spent nothing on reconstruction. The United Nations estimates almost three million survivors of twin earthquakes in April and May – around 10 percent of the Himalayan nation's population – need shelter, food and basic medical care, many in mountainous, hard-to-reach areas.

China detains more suspects over deadly chemical disaster in Tianjin (+video) (CS Monitor)

Twenty-three people have now been detained in a broadening investigation of the port city's storage facility blasts, which killed more than 140.  China on Thursday accused 11 transport and customs officials and several municipal authorities in Tianjin of “dereliction of duty” and “abuse of power” over a chemical explosion on Aug. 12 that killed some 140 people in the northeastern city and sparked public outrage over corruption and negligence

Africa

Armed group frees 163 children in Central African Republic (SD Union-Tribune)

UNICEF says an armed militia group in Central African Republic has released 163 children, some of thousands who have been conscripted in jobs like cooks, messengers, and even combatants.

 


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