CNN's Brian Stelter Blasts Trump's Spokesman For Spinning His Disgraceful Khan Comments
Brian Stelter sat down with Trump's Assistant Communications Director, Jason Miller, to discuss the latest major disgraceful thing his boss has said. For those not caught up, Trump insulted and belittled the Gold Star parents of a deceased Muslim American soldier who was killed in battle in 2004 while fighting for our country. You know, an…
We go on tour in Paris with the Chinese tour groups who have joined the notorious club of the world's worst tourists
From setting fire to curtains inside an aeroplane cabin and hurling scalding noodles over a flight attendant to urinating in public places, Chinese tourists have gained a bad reputation.
One in 10 travellers worldwide is from China. Outside Asia, their destination of choice is France, where their museum visits and shopping for luxury labels account for a sizeable chunk of tourism profits.
Despite complaints from locals, officials in Paris want to double the number of Chinese visitors to five million a year.
Fury as Trump mocks Muslim soldier's mother Ghazala Khan
Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump drew outrage from Republicans and Democrats by mocking a dead Muslim soldier's mother who stood silently as her husband attacked him in a speech.
Mr Trump suggested Ghazala Khan may not have been allowed to speak.
Senior politicians said this was no way to talk about the mother of a hero.
In an impassioned speech at last week's Democratic National Convention, Khizr Khan said Mr Trump had sacrificed "nothing and no-one" for his country.
His son Humayun Khan was killed by a car bomb in 2004 in Iraq at the age of 27.
‘Young, old, conservative, liberal’: Turkey in shock over journalists’ arrest
Exiled writer Mahir Zeynalov brings news of president Erdoğan’s crackdown on the media after coup attempt to the world
Turkish media are in a state of shock this weekend after the government arrested 17 journalists in recent days on terror charges and issued arrest warrants for dozens more, in what a press freedom group has warned is a “sweeping purge” of the sector.
Turkey had already ordered the closure of more than 100 papers, broadcasters and publishing houses as part of a crackdown after the failed 15 July coup attempt, before sending police to round up reporters, columnists, a novelist and social commentators.
The impact of those arrests was documented by US-based journalist and government critic Mahir Zeynalov, who was expelled from Turkey for his work two years ago and who took to Twitter to commemorate the work and reputations of the journalists arrested.
Harrowing photos from inside Filipino jail show reality of Rodrigo Duterte's brutal war on drugs
'They cannot think straight. It's so crowded. Just the slightest of movements and you bump into something or someone,' inmate says
Harrowing photos have emerged showing the “inhuman” conditions inside prison in the Philippines.
The facility, Quezon City Jail, in Manila, is home to 3,800 inmates – nearly five times more people than it was designed for.
It is a reflection of a criminal justice system in chaos, set to worsen as the state engages in an aggressive war on drugs instigated by the country's hardline president, Rodrigo 'The Punisher' Duterte.
Prisoners – caught up in trials which take years – can be seen crammed body-to-body on concrete floors and stairwells. Others are forced to sleep sitting or standing.
Islamic State's Child Soldiers:First Come the Sweets, Then the Beheadings
The Islamic State is holding thousands of young boys captive in Syria and Iraq, where it is teaching them the Koran and how to become deadly child soldiers. By Katrin Kuntz
In a tent in a refugee camp in Dohuk, at the base of ochre-colored mountains, Amir and Ahmed, 15 and 16, unroll their mats on the floor to forget the terrible memories. It's a cool autumn evening, and they prop themselves up with cushions and turn on the TV. The two brothers fled from their captivity at the hands of the Islamic State (IS) six months ago. Now all they want to do is watch some cartoons.
The brothers flip through the channels. IS also has its own propaganda station, which viewers can easily receive here, in Kurdish northern Iraq. Ahmed, holding the remote control in his hand, suddenly calls out: "There we are Amir! That's us!" The brothers recognize themselves on the screen: dressed in black outfits, their faces masked, with other child soldiers during combat training in Mosul.
Hong Kong bans pro-independence candidate from election
A top leadership candidate in Hong Kong has been banned from running in the upcoming elections after the government declared he "cannot possibly fulfill his duties as a legislator" while also pledging allegiance to his pro-independence party.
Chan Ho-tin of the Hong Kong National Party is part of a separatist movement that is largely on the fringe but gaining momentum ahead of the September election.
Election officers have issued warnings to all candidates that they must vow to uphold Hong Kong's mini-constitution, officially called the Basic Law. It's a doctrine that includes a declaration stating the city is an "inalienable" part of China.
Rio 2016: First ever refugee team 'have already won'
A team of 10 refugees who will compete at the games in Brazil say they are ready to represent refugees around the world.
A team of 10 refugees athletes, set to march behind the white Olympic flag when the games open on Friday, have spoken about what they hope to achieve in Brazil.
From Yusra Mardini, a teenage swimmer from Syria who braved a Mediterranean crossing in a leaky dinghy, to Popole Misenga, who spent eight days hiding in a forest as a terrified child to flee bloody fighting, each of the refugee athletes have overcome daunting odds to maintain their Olympic dreams.
Dozens of families are leaving besieged eastern areas of the city of Aleppo along a humanitarian corridor, Syrian state media says.
The civilians later boarded buses where they were taken to temporary shelters, state news agency Sana said.
Some rebel forces had also surrendered to government forces, the report said.
Russia, an ally of the Syrian government, announced earlier this week that exit corridors would be opened in Aleppo for civilians and rebels.
The move was welcomed cautiously by the UN, the US and some aid agencies.
The US has suggested the plan may be an attempt to force the evacuation of civilians and the surrender of rebel groups in the city.
Turkey president Erdoğan to drop cases of insult in coup aftermath
President makes gesture in fiery speech, telling west to ‘mind your own business’ in wake of concerns about crackdown after failed coup
Agencies
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said he is dropping all lawsuits against those charged with insulting him, and warned western countries to “mind your own business” following concerns about retribution against suspected coup plotters.
Speaking at an event in Ankara on Friday, commemorating those killed and wounded during the failed military coup on 15 July, Erdoğan said he was withdrawing all the lawsuits for insults against his person.
“For one time only, I will be forgiving and withdrawing all cases against the many disrespects and insults that have been levelled against me,” he said.
Isis training children of foreign fighters to become 'next generation' of terrorists
At least 50 British children are believed to be among those living in the group's territories
The children of foreign fighters living in Isis territory in Syria and Iraq are being trained to become the “next generation” of terrorists, Europe’s law enforcement agency has warned.
The group advertises its use of children as fighters and suicide bombers, as well as featuring children including a four-year-old British boy as executioners in its gory propaganda videos.
There are concerns the number of young boys forced into Isis’ ranks will increase as young children taken to live in its territories or born to “jihadi brides” grow up.
Will banning foreign funds for French mosques help combat terrorism?
Latest update : 2016-07-29
In calling for a ban on foreign financing of French mosques, France’s prime minister has touched on a tricky debate in a country where the state’s relations with a fragmented Muslim community are constrained by entrenched secular rules.
Manuel Valls, who is under pressure amid a string of terrorist attacks on French soil, said Friday he was “in favour of the idea that – for a period yet to be determined – there should be no financing from abroad for the construction of mosques”. In an interview with French daily Le Monde, the Socialist prime minister also called for imams to be “trained in France, not elsewhere”.
Valls said Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, whose portfolio also includes religious affairs, was working on building a "new model" for France's relations with Islam. He added that Salafism, the fundamentalist branch of Islam espoused by many jihadists, “has no place in France”.
What's behind Indonesia's executions of drug traffickers?
Indonesia's government says the country is experiencing a 'drugs emergency.' Others say domestic political questions are at work.
Indonesia executed four people, including three foreigners, by firing squad on Friday in the latest round of executions for drug offenses carried out by the government.
The executions came just past midnight in a prison on the island of Nusakambangan, off the coast of Java Island. Two of the men were Nigerian citizens and a third was Senegalese, reported CNN.
Indonesian authorities had earlier said that 14 death row inmates would face the firing squad on Friday, but the remaining 10 appear to have been granted at least a temporary reprieve. Deputy attorney general Noor Rachmad said that the decision about whether the others would face the death penalty would later be made public, according to local media reports.
The battle to take back ISIS's last stronghold in Iraq could be long and bloody
After the Iraqi security forces (ISF) recaptured Fallujah from ISIS this June, they set their sights on Mosul, the terrorist organization’s biggest prize and Iraq’s second-largest city. Hundreds of the militants are fleeing from Iraq to Syria in anticipation of an imminent offensive to retake the city. Others are burning oil wells and planting improvised explosive devices to stymie enemy advances.
The Iraqi government hopes to expel ISIS from Mosul by the end of the year. It has momentum on its side. ISIS-held territory in Iraq has shrunk from more than 40 percent of the country to less than 10 percent. The ISF are receiving air support from an international
coalition and fire support from dozens of Kurdish and Shia militias, which will likely join the offensive.
Prime Minister Abadi says Shia forces will be subjected to military law if they are integrated into Iraq's armed forces.
Though they've been accused of widespread human rights abuses, the Popular Mobilisation Units or Shia militias have become a crucial part of the Iraqi government's strategy against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS).
Now, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi wants to integrate them into the national armed forces.
It's a move that he says will make them subject to military law and ban them from having any political affiliations.
Syria war: Civilians die as US-Russia plan falters
Coalition air strikes leave 28 dead as US attempts to partner with Russia against ISIL suffer major setbacks.
At least 15 civilians have been killed and dozens wounded in air strikes by the US-led coalition in Syria, amid setbacks to attempts by the US to partner with Russia against the Islamic State in Syria and the Levant (ISIL) group.
Thursday's air strikes hit the ISIL-controlled town of Ghandoura, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the Britain-based network of activists.
"Air strikes by international coalition fighter jets after midnight on the town of Ghandoura killed at least 15 civilians and wounded dozens," Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the SOHR, said earlier in the day.
Tokyo turmoil: race to rule world's largest city mired in sex scandal and misogyny
Japan’s capital is electing a new governor – but the battle for the job has brought criticism over mudslinging tactics
Martin Foster in Tokyo
It is a race to take charge of the world’s largest city - a metropolis with a population more than half the size of the United Kingdom and with a GDP greater than all but 10 countries.
But the election for the post of governor of Tokyo has piqued interest not only because of the size of the task which falls to its victor, but also for the mud slinging and misogyny which has characterised the fight between the candidates.
Voters in Tokyo will go to the polls on Sunday amid a campaign marred by events that some say highlights the worst of Japan’s male-dominated politics.
Racism unleashed: True extent of the 'explosion of blatant hate' that followed Brexit vote revealed
Exclusive: Prime Minister accused of helping create the 'hostile environment' that paved the way for 'F*** off to Poland' messages, excrement through letter boxes, and racist abuse from children as young as ten
The full extent and true nature of the “blatant hate” that has beset post-Brexit Britain is today detailed for the first time after The Independent was given exclusive access to a database of more than 500 racist incidents compiled in the weeks since the EU referendum.
The hatred that has divided British society in the past month features “F*** off to Poland” letters in Tunbridge Wells, wealthy London diners refusing to be served by foreign waiters, dog excrement shoved through letter boxes in Rugby, and racist abuse from children as young as ten.
A picture of nationwide hatred emerged after The Independent was allowed exclusive access to a database of accounts collected by the social media sites PostRefRacism, Worrying Signs and iStreetWatch.
Al-Nusra chief in Syria announces break with al Qaeda
Latest update : 2016-07-29
The head of the al-Nusra Front in Syria said his jihadist group was breaking ties with al Qaeda and changing its name, in remarks broadcast Thursday by Al-Jazeera.
In a rare televised message, Abu Mohamad al-Jolani said the group had renamed itself Jabhat Fatah al Sham ("Conquest of the Levant" in Arabic) so that foreign powers could no longer use the pretext of its affiliation with al Qaeda to attack Syrians.
He expressed his gratitude to the "commanders of al Qaeda for having understood the need to break ties", adding that the new group "would have no links whatsoever with foreign parties".
The announcement came a week after US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said they had agreed on "concrete steps" to save a failing Syria truce and tackle jihadist groups like al-Nusra and the Islamic State (IS) group.
India's vanishing people
Amrit Dhillon
New Delhi:It is a fact that India's tiny Parsi community is dwindling but the latest census figures show the ethnic group hurtling towards extinction.
Parsis are Zoroastrians - one of the world's oldest religions - from Persia, where it was the official religion for centuries until the advent of Islam. Persecution forced them to arrive on the shores of India over 1000 years ago where, thanks to extraordinary success in business, they have always punched above their weight, making huge contributions to Indian life.
Why can’t the UN stop sexual violence in South Sudan?
The conflict in South Sudan is essentially an ethnic one. And sexual violence has been a common weapon.
Ethnic hostilities in South Sudan have left the country awash in sexual violence, and some of it may be happening under the nose of United Nations peacekeepers.
The UN said on Wednesday that there had been least 120 cases of sexual violence and rape in the South Sudanese capital of Juba since fighting broke out three weeks ago between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those answering to Vice President Riek Machar.
Government soldiers raped dozens of ethnic Nuer women and girls just outside of a UN camp set up to provide shelter for some 30,000 civilians, reported the Associated Press on Wednesday. Two of the victims died from their injuries.
Thailand to try opposition figures in military court
Arrests and detention of loyalists of ex-PMs Thaksin and Yingluck come ahead of August 7 charter referendum.
Eight Thai politicians are facing charges of sedition and for spreading "false information" about the draft constitution, local reports said, a development that creates "a climate of fear" in the country ahead of a referendum, according to a rights group.
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said on Thursday that the politicians, who are loyalists of former Yingluck Shinawatra, would be tried in a military court, and that their detention would continue for at least a week.
But those who were detained, including a suspended provincial chief and a former member of parliament, told local media that the letters distributed to their supporters were only expressing "opinions" about the proposed new charter, which seeks to return the country to civilian rule in 2017.
During the 2014 war on Gaza, a Palestinian filmmaker joins an ambulance crew as they try to save lives.
Mohamed Jabaly, 24, aspires to make films in Gaza City, despite the lack of water and electricity, and closed borders that are part of every "normal" day under the seven-year Israeli blockade of Gaza. While many young people dream of leaving Gaza, Mohamed wants to help.
When he hears the news of a new Israeli offensive on Gaza in July 2014 he decides he cannot merely "wait for death" but must do something. He joins an ambulance crew to document the war. Mohamed comes of age among broken bodies, terrified families, and the constant risk of sudden death. He had never witnessed the effects of violence up close.
Within the first few days of war, he finds himself helping victims of a massacre. "It felt like being in the middle of a theatre play. I saw blood. I tasted the pain in the eyes of women, fear in the faces of children. To whom could I show these images that are not merely images?" he says.
It is a form of slavery that is passed down from one generation to the next, enslaving millions.
In this episode of Slavery: A 21st Century Evil, Al Jazeera's Rageh Omaar investigates slavery that is passed down from father to son, mother to daughter.
Although the practice of bonded labour is common in several parts of the world, in Pakistan and India the systematic enslavement of generations of workers is widespread as governments fail to enforce their own laws against bonded labour.
Rageh Omaar meets men, women and children labouring in quarries and brick kilns, in dangerous conditions and for effectively no pay.
Democrats nominate Hillary Clinton for US presidency
As Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton becomes the first woman to lead a major party towards the White House.
The Democratic Party has made history by nominating Hillary Clinton to run for US president as the first woman to head a major party's presidential ticket.
Speaking via video link from New York after her nomination on Tuesday night, Hillary Clinton told the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia that she was honoured to have been chosen as the party's nominee.
"I am so happy. It's been a great day and night. What an incredible honour that you have given me. And I can't believe that we've just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet. Thanks to you and everyone who has fought so hard to make this possible," she said.
Burqa ban sparks controversy in Bulgarian city
Pazardzhik is the first city in Bulgaria to ban the burqa. Some Muslim women will now rarely leave the house as a result. DW's Tatiana Vaksberg reports.
Sixteen-year-old Melissa Kartalova took a big risk: A few days ago she left the house in a burqa and got in her relative's car. Shortly thereafter, the police stopped the vehicle and brought Melissa to the station.
The southern Bulgarian city of Pazardzhik implemented its ban on fully concealing the body, such as with the burqa, one month ago. The move is reminiscent of a ban that had been in place under communist rule in the 1980s; it was revoked on the national level in the 1990s. In Pazardzhik, women who now go out in public completely covered, including the full-face veil known as the niqab, risk a fine of 150 euros ($165) on the first offense and 500 euros on the second offense. That's more than an average month's salary in Bulgaria.
"The police demanded I remove the niqab," Melissa said. She had already paid the fine. Her shame was indescribable with the loud policemen looking directly at her face, she added.
Hooded teen speaks as Australia juvenile abuse anger mounts
A teenage boy shown hooded and shackled in images from a juvenile detention centre that shocked Australia has apologised for his crimes as anger mounted over the scandal Wednesday.
The treatment of Dylan Voller has become the focus of outrage after graphic evidence was broadcast of prison guards assaulting mostly indigenous boys in the Northern Territory, including stripping them naked and using tear gas.
It prompted an appalled Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to order an inquiry into the treatment of young inmates.
In one video from last year, Voller, then 17, is shown hooded and shackled to a mechanical restraint chair and left alone for two hours.
Why some South Koreans don't want shield from North's missiles
HOW OTHERS SEE IT
Locals worry the THAAD missile defense system would be a target, while analysts point out the risks of angering China with a joint US project.
ByStuart Leavenworth, Correspondent
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — Fed up with what they call North Korea’s “nuclear blackmail,” South Korea and the United States are rolling out a counter response – a missile defense shield unlike any previously seen in East Asia.
Allied forces say that, once deployed, the $1.3 billion Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system – THAAD – would allow them to shoot down North Korean missiles fired at US and South Korean bases south of Seoul, the nation’s capital.
Yet there is a looming obstacle to this missile defense shield – opposition from within South Korea. Last week, thousands of demonstrators from Seongju County, where THAAD would be deployed, filled the streets of Seoul, watched by hundreds of riot police. Many of Seongju’s residents fear the system’s radars would emit harmful radiation and make them a certain target during a conflict with North Korea.
AS MY COLLEAGUEGlenn Greenwaldtold WNYC on Monday, while there may never be conclusive evidence that the Democratic National Committee was hacked by Russian intelligence operatives to extract the trove of embarrassing emails published by WikiLeaks, it would hardly be shocking if that was what happened.
“Governments do spy on each other and do try to influence events in other countries,” Glenn noted. “Certainly the U.S. government has a very long and successful history of doing exactly that.”
Even so, he added, given the ease with which we were misled into war in Iraq by false claims about weapons of mass destruction — and the long history of Russophobia in American politics — it is vital to cast a skeptical eye over whatever evidence is presented to support the claim, made by Hillary Clinton’s aide Robby Mook, that this is all part of a Russian plot to sabotage the Democrats and help Donald Trump win the election.
Report: Athletes at Rio Olympics 'will literally be swimming in human crap'
The pollution in Rio's waters is worse than originally anticipated
Seven years ago the Rio de Janeiro government promised to clean up the water before the 2016 Olympics.
Not only did they fail to clean it up -- it has actually gotten worse.
According to the New York Times, recent tests by government and independent scientists have found the city's waters to be full of diarrhea-causing rotaviruses and drug-resistant "super bacteria," among other pathogens.
This is the same water in which Olympians will sail, windsurf and -- yes -- swim starting on Aug. 5.
"Foreign athletes will literally be swimming in human crap, and they risk getting sick from all those microorganisms," local pediatrician Dr. Daniel Becker told the Times. "It's sad, but also worrisome."
The International Olympic Committee has rejected recommendations to ban Russia from Rio Olympics.
Many are accusing the International Olympic Committee of not taking a decisive action against Russia for its alleged state-sponsored doping programme.
The summer Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro are just a few weeks away. But hundreds of Russian athletes still don't know whether they'll be competing.
The International Olympic Committee was expected to impose a blanket ban on Russia. But instead the organisation announced on Sunday that Russian athletes will be individually drug-tested and scrutinised, before they can be cleared for competition.
Thomas Bach, IOC president, says the plan is ambitious but necessary.
