Today In News: May 28, 2017

Today in News:

(ടുഡേ ഇൻ ന്യൂസ്):

• "The times in which we can fully count on others are somewhat over, as I have experienced in the past few days," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the crowd of some 2,500 people. "And so all I can say is that we Europeans must really take our destiny into our own hands," she said. G7 leaders were unable to reach unanimous agreement on climate change after US President Donald Trump said he needed more time to decide whether to back a key climate accord.

• President Rodrigo Duterte announced Tuesday he was imposing a 60-day period of martial law in the southern Philippines. The Philippine military said on Sunday it had found the bodies of 16 civilians as troops tried to gain control over Marawi City, which has been under siege from ISIS-allied militants.

• North Korea fired a Scud-class ballistic missile on Monday from the region of Wonsan on its east coast in an easterly direction. The missile is likely to fall in the sea within Japan's exclusive economic zone. The missile flew for 6 minutes, with a range of 450km.

• A US-led air raid in March against a building in the Iraqi city of Mosul killed at least 105 civilians, the Pentagon admitted, with the death toll expected to reach 150. According to the Pentagon's summary of the investigation, a 500-lbs bomb was dropped at 8am on March 17 in Mosul's al-Jadidah district which targeted two snipers of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) who the Pentagon claim were in the building and who had engaged with Iraqi counterterrorism forces.  The Pentagon says airstrikes it carried out on the house were the deadliest since 2003. 

     

• President Donald Trump is frustrated by what he views as his team’s inability to contain the burgeoning crisis involving alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Experienced public relations hands and lawyers are being recruited to deal with the drumbeat of new revelations about Moscow’s interference and possible improper dealings with the Trump campaign and associates. The White House also grappled with reports that Kushner proposed setting up a secret back channel between the Kremlin and the Trump transition team during a December meeting.

• Until a week ago, Britain’s upcoming general election (Theresa May vs. Jeremy Corbyn) as a forgone conclusion---May's Conservative party was to be the projected winner against Labour party's, Corbyn.  Security now is the dominant theme in a contest that was supposed to be about Britain’s exit from the European Union, with the main parties battling over which can keep Britain safer.  Recent polling has shown that the Labour party continues to narrow the gap on the Conservatives--trailing by 5 points.