Battle for Mosul: Destruction of al-Nuri mosque 'shows IS defeated'
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says the destruction of an ancient mosque in the city of Mosul is "an official declaration of defeat" by so-called Islamic State (IS).
Iraqi forces say IS blew up the Great Mosque of al-Nuri and its famous leaning minaret as jihadists battled to stop advancing pro-government troops.
IS said American aircraft had destroyed the complex, a claim denied by the US.
Aerial photographs show the complex largely destroyed.
The mosque, which was more than 800 years old, was where IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed a "caliphate" in 2014.
Britain is looking away as China tramples on the freedom of Hong Kong – and my father
Theresa May emphasises the importance of British values. But Britain’s limpness over Hong Kong demonstrates how easily they are compromised
Iam too young to remember the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997 and its promise for the new world I would live in. But I have lived to see that promise trampled.
The Sino-British Joint Declaration, signed to pave the way for the handover, was supposed to protect the people of Hong Kong from Chinese interference in their society and markets until 2047. Yet as the handover’s 20th anniversary approaches, China muscles in where it promised to tread lightly while Britain avoids eye contact.
As Xi Jinping has consolidated his grip on Chinese politics since he took office in 2013, Beijing has increasingly ignored the principle of “one country, two systems” on which the handover was based and actively eroded the freedoms this was supposed to guarantee.Moves against Polish museum and Hungarian university stir fears of censorship
VALUES & IDEALS In both countries, concerns are being raised about the health of an open society, as one government makes changes at a war museum and the other threatens to close a university.
GDANSK, POLAND —Housed in a $134-million, state-of-the-art building, Poland’s Museum of the Second World War opened early this spring. The museum, which took more than five years to construct, tells the story of Poland’s war experiences, which – given the way the country is sandwiched between Germany and Russia – are among the most tragic of all the conflict.
But even before the museum opened, it was already mired in controversy. The museum’s acting director, Karol Nawrocki – hired when former director Pawel Machcewicz was fired, two weeks after the museum opened – has complained that the exhibits about the rise of communism are too “light,” and the music is too “happy,” underplaying how deeply the political ideology inflicted damage on the Polish people. He has already indicated that he will be making changes to some exhibits.
World population to near 10 billion by 2050, says UN
India's population is expected to surpass China's in about seven years and Nigeria is projected to overtake the United States and become the third most populous country in the world shortly before 2050, a U.N. report said Wednesday.
The report by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs' Population Division forecasts that the current world population of nearly 7.6 billion will increase to 8.6 billion by 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100.
It said roughly 83 million people are added to the world's population every year and the upward trend is expected to continue even with a continuing decline in fertility rates, which have fallen steadily since the 1960s.
John Wilmoth, director of the Population Division, said at a news conference that the report includes information on the populations of 233 countries or areas of the world.
Jared Kushner’s Pursuit of Middle East Peace Looks a Lot Like Total Surrender to Israel
EVEN BEFORE BENJAMIN NETANYAHU locked him in a warm embrace, Jared Kushner began his effort to broker peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians by making it clear that he completely accepts Israel’s vision of itself as an innocent victim.
That’s because Kushner started his 15-hour trip to the Middle East on Wednesday by mourning with the family of an Israeli police officer, Hadas Malka, who was killed by a Palestinian assailant in East Jerusalem on Friday.
Since her death, Israelis have been outraged over the murder of Malka, who was a member of the border police force charged with maintaining Israeli control in the Old City of Jerusalem, one of the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967.
Japan missile defense drill aims to ease concern over North Korean threat
Today 06:50 am JSTBy Teppei Kasai and Tim Kelly
Japan opened a missile defense drill to the public on Wednesday, a move it says will reassure the country it is ready to counter any missile attack by neighboring North Korea.
A PAC-3 Patriot battery drove on to the Asaka Self Defense Forces base near Tokyo, deployed its radar antenna and raised its missile launcher to firing position. The drill is one of four being held across Japan.
"Making this public is a way to reassure people about their safety and bring peace of mind," Akinori Hanada, an Air Self Defense Force major, told reporters.
North Korea has pushed ahead with its missile and nuclear weapons programs in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and regularly threatens to destroy the United States, Japan and South Korea.
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