Trump travel ban: Seattle judge issues nationwide block
A US judge in Seattle has issued a temporary nationwide block on President Donald Trump's ban on travellers from seven mainly Muslim nations.
Federal Judge James Robart ruled against government lawyers' claims that US states did not have the standing to challenge Mr Trump's executive order.
Last week's order has led to protests and confusion at US airports.
Customs officials have told US airlines that they can resume boarding banned travellers while a legal case is heard.
The administration, however, could again block them if it were to win an emergency stay. The justice department says it will appeal against the Seattle ruling.
China accuses US of putting stability of Asia Pacific at risk
Beijing reacts to defence secretary James Mattis saying that the US would defend Japan in a conflict with China over disputed Senkaku islands
China has accused the US of putting the stability of the Asia-Pacific at risk after Donald Trump’s defence secretary said Washington would come to Japan’s defence in the event of a conflict with Beijing over the disputed Senkaku islands.
James Mattis, on a two-day visit to Japan, said the islands, which are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China, fell within the scope of the Japan-US security treaty, under which Washington is obliged to defend all areas under Japanese administrative control.
Mattis also made clear that the US opposed any unilateral action that risked undermining Japan’s control of the Senkakus, a group of uninhabited islets that are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially large natural gas deposits.
Donald Trump's Twitter aggression towards Iran will deepen sectarian conflict in the Middle East
In pursuit of an anti-Iranian line, the Trump administration is making the same mistake as that made by Western governments after the 2011 uprisings in the Arab world. They tended to think in terms of nationalities and the nation state, but in the Middle East these count for less as communal bonds than religious identity
President Trump is adding further venom to the raging sectarian hatreds tearing apart Iraq and Syria by his latest ill-judged tweets. These have far greater explosive potential than his better known clashes with countries like Australia and Mexico, because in the Middle East he is dealing with matters of war and peace. In this complex region, the US will have to pay a high price for switching to a vaguely belligerent policy which pays so little regard to the real situation on the ground.
In one tweet this week, Trump says that “Iran is rapidly taking over more and more of Iraq even after the US has squandered three trillion dollars there. Obvious long ago!” In fact, it is not obvious at all because it is not true. Iran was in a stronger position in Iraq before June 2014 when the Isis offensive captured Mosul, defeated the Iraqi army and provoked the fall of the government of Nouri al-Maliki who was close to Iran.
Tarahumara human rights activist killed in Mexico
A human rights activist has been killed in northern Mexico, only two weeks after another activist from the Tarahumara indigenous group was killed. Amnesty International and the EU have lamented the deaths in statements.
The body of Juan Ontiveros Ramos was found in Guadalupe y Calvo on Wednesday, a statement from the Chihuahua state prosecutor's office said.
A few days earlier, Ramos had reportedly told the authorities about the influence of organized crime in the community.
The statement released on Thursday said his brother had escaped the attack and later told authorities there had been a conflict between members of two families.
Pakistan’s mountain communities struggle to breathe from stone-crushing
Residents of mountain towns and villages in northern Pakistan are suffering under the side effects of pollution caused by the extensive stone-crushing industry. Stone-crushing plants have been operating in the area for almost 40 years – and locals are starting to see the effects, such as asthma, rashes and silicosis among others. Our Observer lives in the area and wants the government to finally step up and do something about the problem.
The Margalla Hills, located just outside the country’s capital Islamabad, are principally composed of limestone, a prime building material that is easy to quarry. Myriad stone-crushing plants dot the countryside, causing noise and air pollution.
In 2010, the federal government imposed a ban on stone-crushing in the Margalla Hills area, declaring it a national park. However, the industry, which is predominantly made up of local Pakistani firms, has continued unabated.
Japan, U.S. defense chiefs show unity over S. China Sea situation
(Mainichi Japan)
The Japanese and U.S. defense chiefs on Saturday took a united stand against security challenges in the region, agreeing to beef up their bilateral alliance and step up involvement in the situation in the South China Sea where China's assertiveness is seen as a concern.
The meeting was the latest in a series of talks that involved U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis who was the first member of the Cabinet of U.S. President Donald Trump to visit Japan.
Mattis was seen as trying to address any possible concerns Japan may have about the Trump administration, reaffirming fully the U.S. commitment to the defense of Japan and even hailing at a press conference Saturday that Japan's cost-sharing burden for hosting U.S. forces is "a model" for other nations to follow.
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