Thursday, August 3, 2017

AMERICAS EARLY BIRD NEWS


Featured Articles

Venezuelan Bolivarian National police move away from the flames after an explosion at Altamira square during clashes against anti-government demonstrators in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, July 30, 2017. The explosion injured several officers and damaged several of their motorcycles. The officers were then seen throwing several privately owned motorcycles into the remaining fire in reprisal. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuelan corruption seen aiding South American illegal drug surge

- The Washington Times
Corruption in Venezuela is contributing to the surge in cocaine production in neighboring Colombia, complicating U.S. efforts to aid Colombia as it struggles to recover from a half-century of civil war, the State Department’s point man on illegal drug trafficking told a Senate hearing Tuesday.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, left, shake hands with Montenegro's Prime Minister Dusko Markovic during a joint press conference in Villa Gorica in Podgorica, Montenegro on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2017. Pence is attending the Adriatic Charter Summit in NATO's newest member - Montenegro, on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)

Mike Pence: Balkans’ future is ‘in the West’

- Associated Press
Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday the future of the Balkans belongs in the West, reaffirming U.S. commitment to the still-tense European region amid strong Russian pressure to assert its historical influence there.
Statistics on atheism in the Middle East and North Africa are hazy, but analysts say they represent an increasing trend based on recent developments. (Associated Press/File)

Atheists in Muslim world: Silent, resentful and growing in number

The information revolution fueled by the internet, the freedoms released by the Arab Spring, the growing power of sectarian religious parties and the rise of the harsh orthodoxy of the Islamic State have all fueled growing unbelief in God and traditional religions in the Muslim world.

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In this photo released by official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, gives his official seal of approval to President Hassan Rouhani as deputy chief of supreme leader's office Vahid Haghanian looks on in an endorsement ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017. A portrait of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini hangs at left. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

Iran's top leader pledges to continue missile program

- Associated Press
Iran's supreme leader on Thursday slammed the new U.S. sanctions on Tehran signed by President Donald Trump the previous day, and vowed his country would continue its missile program despite international pressure.
A North Korean flag flies with other flags of the ASEAN countries and its dialogue partners outside the Philippine International Convention Center, the venue for the Aug.2-8, 2017 50th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting, as a passenger plane flies above Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017 in Manila, Philippines. A North Korean flag, center, flies with other flags of ASEAN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, countries and its dialogue partners outside the Philippine International Convention Center, the venue for the Aug.2-8, 2017 50th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting, as a passenger plane flies above Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017, in Manila, Philippines. Washington is seeking talks on how North Korea can be suspended from Asia's biggest security forum as part of a broader effort to isolate Pyongyang diplomatically and force it to end its missile tests and abandon its nuclear weapons program, U.S. and Philippine officials said. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

US moves to have North Korea suspended from Asia forum

- Associated Press
Washington is seeking talks on how North Korea can be suspended from Asia's biggest security forum as part of a broader effort to isolate Pyongyang diplomatically and force it to end its missile tests and abandon its nuclear weapons program, U.S. and Philippine officials said.

UN urges all countries to keep weapons from terrorist groups

- Associated Press
The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution Wednesday urging all countries to eliminate the supply of weapons to the Islamic State extremist group and other "terrorists" including by taking legal action against suppliers and marking arms to improve their traceability.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, right, and Defense Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, arrive on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2017, to brief the Senate Foreign Relations Committee behind closed-doors regarding the administration's perspective on the authorizations for the use of military force. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Trump administration says current war authority sufficient

- Associated Press
The Trump administration told Congress on Wednesday it has sufficient legal authority to use military force against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria based on the 2001 law to counter al-Qaida approved shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks.

US and allies call Iran's recent rocket launch 'threatening'

- Associated Press
The United States and three Western allies are calling Iran's recent launch of a satellite-carrying rocket "a threatening and provocative step" that is "inconsistent" with a U.N. resolution endorsing the 2015 agreement to rein in its nuclear program.

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