Palestinian campaign demands UK apologize for Balfour Declaration
More than 11,000 people have signed an online petition calling on the
British government to formally apologize for the Balfour Declaration, a
letter written by British Foreign Secretary Lord Balfour in 1917
expressing Britain’s support for the establishment of a Jewish state in
historic Palestine. The petition was recently launched by the Balfour
Apology Campaign (BAC) and calls for the British government “to openly
apologize to the Palestinian people for issuing the Balfour
Declaration.”
US troops to help Somalia fight al-Shabab
The US says it is sending dozens of troops to Somalia to train forces
fighting Islamist group al-Shabab. This is the first time regular US
troops have been deployed in Somalia since 1994, although some
counter-terrorism advisers are already there. President Donald Trump
last month approved a directive allowing tougher action against
al-Shabab.
North Korea ‘ready for nuclear attack’ amid show of force
North Korea has warned the US not to take provocative action in the
region, saying it is “ready to hit back with nuclear attacks”. The
comments came as North Korea marked the 105th anniversary of the birth
of its founding president, Kim Il-sung. A huge parade in Pyongyang was
held amid speculation current leader Kim Jong-un could order a new
nuclear test.
MOAB strike: 90 IS fighters killed in Afghanistan
At least 90 militants from the Islamic State (IS) group were killed by a
huge bomb dropped by the US in Afghanistan, a regional governor says.
The most powerful non-nuclear bomb ever used by the US in combat was
dropped on an IS base in Nangarhar province. A network of tunnels and
caves was destroyed on Thursday evening local time, US officials said.
US government ‘hacked global bank system’
A huge range of security weaknesses, said to be worth over $2m if sold
on the black market, have been leaked online. The tools are said to have
been created by the US National Security Agency (NSA), and accompanying
documents appear to indicate a possible breach of the Swift global
banking system. Such a hack could have enabled the US to covertly
monitor financial transactions, researchers said.
North Korea makes menacing boast it will take on Donald Trump with ‘merciless’ strikes on South Korea and US bases
North Korea upped its warmongering with Donald Trump today in a series
of menacing boasts threatening to ‘ravage’ US troops amid fears the two
countries are heading for war. The secretive state vowed to ‘pulverize’
US bases and South Korean capital Seoul if it was threatened by the US
military, which is carrying out drills on the Korean peninsula. A US
aircraft carrier group is steaming towards the region. It claimed it
would ‘ruthlessly ravage’ the US if Washington attacked. China warned
the region could go to war ‘at any moment’.
Chinese foreign minister: No winners if Korea war breaks out
There can be no winners in a war between the U.S. and North Korea over
Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and missile programs, Chinese Foreign
Minister Wang Yi said, while pledging support for dialogue between the
sides.
French presidential race tightens further as vote looms
France’s presidential race looked tighter than it has all year on
Friday, nine days before voting begins, as two polls put the four
frontrunners within reach of a two-person run-off vote.
US Conducts Successful Field Test Of New Nuclear Bomb
The US National Nuclear Security Administration and the U.S Air Force
announced the first successful field test of the modernized B61-12
gravity thermonuclear bomb at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada.
U.S. Insurers Sue Saudis For $4.2 Billion Over 9/11
Last year’s Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), a bill
which allowed Americans to sue Saudi Arabia in US court over their
involvement in 9/11, has yielded another major lawsuit yesterday, a $4.2
billion suit filed by over two dozen US insurers related to losses
sustained because of the 2001 attack.
Homeless Man Allegedly Robbed Queens Churches to ‘Get Back at God,’ Prosecutors Say
A homeless man faces burglary and hate crime charges after he allegedly
robbed four churches, one of which he stole from three times, in Queens,
New York, because of his hatred of God, according to prosecutors.
Obama to Return to Limelight Next Month, Alongside Candidate Merkel in Germany
President Obama looks set to return to global headlines in late May,
four months after leaving the White House, when he takes part in a
discussion on democracy alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel during
a religious festival in Berlin.
Biographer Claims Barack Obama Called America ‘Racist Society’ in Unpublished Manuscript
A biographer who is writing a book about former President Barack Obama
claims that Obama once called America “a racist society” in an
unpublished manuscript from his law school days.