This Week in War: 4th Week, June 2018

A Saudi woman celebrates as she drives her car in her neighborhood, in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

4th week, June 2018.

This Week in War:  A Friday round-up of what happened and what’s been written in the world of war and military/security affairs this week.  

• Algeria abandons 13,000 refugees in the Sahara Desert.

• The USA now ranks among the “ Top 10 Most Dangerous Countries for Women” joining Afghanistan, DRC, and Somalia.

• North Korea 'continues its nuclear research activities’.

• Trump and Putin to meet on July 16 in Helsinki, Finland.

• The most important NSA surveillance story you will see for years, just went online.

• 4 Arab nations have blindly agreed to support the US plan for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, without knowing what the deal entails.

• Thomson Reuters (as per reuters.com) Special Services sells ICE “a continuous monitoring and alert service that provides real-time jail booking data to support the identification and location of aliens”.

• King of Saudi Arabia and Israeli’s Netanyahu have met to green light a railway deal.

• Anti-corruption watchdogs wonder: 'Who is funding Mexico's presidential candidates?’ as the 3 leading candidates have not declared a single peso in direct private financial contributions.

• Erdogan wins the re-election that opponents say are ‘entering an era of one-man rule’.

• Saudi Arabia moves forward with its plan to turn Qatar into an island.

• "The Cheat Sheet" of the humanitarian trends and developments from around the world.

• Why President Trump’s claims of MS-13 are not rooted in reality.

• Here is the first comprehensive account about the 2 elite divisions that are responsible for the Rohingya massacres.

• Blackwater founder, Erik Prince, is cooperating with the Mueller investigation. Mueller has “total access” to Prince’s phones and laptop.

• Supreme Court backs Trump on travel ban targeting Muslim-majority nations.

• The US  Pentagon are looking at temporary camps for immigrants at 2 military bases.

• UN Study: The ‘Care Crisis’ risks rise in inequality against women. Governments and firms urged to spend $7 trillion by 2030 to address gap in social care.

• Women can finally drive in Saudi Arabia-the ban has been lifted.

• #JusticeForNoura : Noura, the Sudanese girl who has been sentenced to death after killing her rapist husband, has been overturned. Instead she is jailed for 5 years.

• Spending his political career against the Mexican establishment, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is now on the brink of capturing the Mexican presidency.

• War in Syria : Intense offensive to retake Deraa.

• US President Donald Trump called for the US to abandon its judicial system and summarily deport people who enter the country.

• North Korea has agreed to send home US war remains.

• Activists call Nelson Mandela Foundation to withdraw Barack Obama’s invite stating that Obama was directly responsible for a massive expansion of US military operations in Africa, including special operations and drone attacks.

• Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring from the US Supreme Court, leaving Trump another chance to fundamentally reshape the top US court for decades to come.

• Welcome to Hadar, Syria: A village under siege by al-Qaeda and Israeli forces alike.

• Eritrea delegation arrives in Ethiopia ahead of landmark talks and a peace deal between the arch-enemies.

• A US airstrike targeted Iraqi troops fighting ISIS, leaving the forces to ponder if the US are now trying to militarily stabilize their presence in the region.

• Democratic Socialist, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY, 28 years old), has won against a 10-term Democrat for a major victory for the Progressive grassroots organizations.

• President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, had $10 million loan from Russian oligarch.

This Week in War: 3rd Week, June 2018

Migrant families from Mexico, fleeing from violence, listen to officers of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection before entering the United States to apply for asylum at Paso del Norte international border crossing bridge in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

3rd week, June 2018.

This Week in War:  A Friday round-up of what happened and what’s been written in the world of war and military/security affairs this week.  

• No sign of North Korea dismantling nuclear weapons program, Mattis admits.

• Gaza is 'on brink of war’.

• Trump doubles down as anger grows over child separation policy.

• This recording captures cries of children separated from parents at US border.

• A day in the life of a Kabul emergency room.

• Kashmir government collapsing after BJP withdraws support.

• United Arab Emirates officers sexually tortured detainees in 18 secret prisons in Yemen.

• Israeli jets carry out strikes in Gaza.

• Trump says he won't let U.S. become 'migrant camp’.

• “ ‘At Least During the Internment …’ Are Words I Thought I’d Never Utter”.

• Israel's energy minister has been accused of spying for Iran.

• Trump orders creation of U.S. force to dominate space.

• After backlash from the UN about separating children from their parents, the US plans to withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council.

• US withdrawal from UN Human Rights Council: What you need to know.

• No one is protecting India’s bravest journalists.

• In the USA, toddlers of migrants (ages 0-3) are being forcibly taken from their parents and placed in “tender age” camps for an indefinite amount of time. The Trump administration is building a 4th housing unit because the existing ones are almost filled to capacity.

• Covering a war is never easy,  but Yemeni journalists face death threats and kidnappings.

• Hodeidah: What the assault means for Yemen’s civilians and the aid effort.

• Denying it has lost war on drugs, UK rules out legalizing cannabis.

• Civilians own 85% of world's $1 billion firearms, survey reveals, with nearly 40% of all guns are in hands of US citizens.

• In Hungary, a new set of controversial laws imposes jail terms on anybody seen to be aiding undocumented immigrants.

• Young immigrants held in Virginia centre allege physical and verbal abuse by detention centre guards.

• Mossack Fonseca, the Panama Papers firm, did not know who 75% of its clients were.

• Saudi-backed Yemeni forces capture Hodeidah airport.

• Syrians in Golan Heights to boycott the first municipal elections imposed by Israel in the area, rejecting what they call the 'Israelization' of the territory.

• Reports of a Muslim "reeducation” camps in China, where over 200,000 "suspects" are being held.

This Week in War: 2nd Week, June 2018

Howard, an Australian-Chinese impersonating North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and Dennis Alan, impersonating U.S. President Donald Trump, meet at Merlion Park in Singapore. REUTERS/Edgar Su

2nd week, June 2018.

This Week in War:  A Friday round-up of what happened and what’s been written in the world of war and military/security affairs this week.  

• Saudi Arabia and UAE, launch attack on Yemen's port city of Hudaida, in the biggest battle of a 3-year war. 

• Trump and Kim sign agreement after historic summit.

• By actively influencing and benefitting from the US policies her father sets forth, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner earned at least $82m in outside income in their first year as unpaid senior advisers to the president.

• UN rejects plan to demand immediate ceasefire in Yemen port.

• South Koreans wary of losing US defense assurance.

• Hindu extremists challenge Kashmir's 'special status’. A provision in the Indian constitution which allows only long-term residents of Kashmir to own land has sparked a controversy.   Muslim groups consider it a bid to alter the state's demography.

• Hong Kong independence activist Edward Leung has been sent to prison for 6 years for taking part in a violent clash with police in 2016.

• Trump offers to end Korea war games after historic Kim summit.

• New York state sues U.S. President Donald Trump, 3 of his children, and his foundation, saying he illegally used the nonprofit as a personal “checkbook” for his own benefit,

• Fearing a second Arab Spring, Gulf nations pledge $2.5bn economic aid package to Jordan.

• Civilians fleeing domestic and gang violence 'no longer generally qualify’ for US asylum.

• Trump appointee compiles loyalty list of U.S. employees at U.N state department.

• A Mexican congressional candidate who vowed to crack down on organized crime was shot dead after a person asked him for picture.

• Russian police told to keep lid on bad news during World Cup.

• UN Human Rights Office report accuses India and Pakistan of 'excessive use of force' and human rights abuses in Kashmir. 

• Trump's pick for South Korean ambassador backs halt to major military exercises.

• Pakistani Taliban leader killed in air strike in Afghanistan near border. Fazlullah was Pakistan’s most-wanted militant, notorious for attacks including a 2014 school massacre that killed 132 children and the 2012 shooting of schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai.

• Japanese brewery admits to donating to the Myanmar army during Rohingya massacres.

This Week in War: 1st Week, June 2018

German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks to U.S. President Donald Trump during the second day of the G7 meeting in Charlevoix city of La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada. Bundesregierung/Jesco Denzel

1st week, June 2018.

This Week in War:  A Friday round-up of what happened and what’s been written in the world of war and military/security affairs this week.  

• Saudi Arabia issues first driving licences to women.

• US Special Counsel Robert Mueller has accused Paul Manafort, of trying to tamper with witnesses while under house arrest.

• UN calls on US to stop separating migrant children from parents

• Israeli army says didn't deliberately kill Palestinian nurse in Gaza. Israeli snipers shot dead 21-year-old Razan al-Najar, a volunteer medic, as she tried to help a wounded protester at the Gaza border.

• Gaza children on brink of mental health crisis.

• Up to 60% of Afghan girls out of school.

• June 6th was the 74th anniversary of WWII’s D-Day.

• Russia is trying to expand its footprint by building military ties with Africa.

• Despite the USA having the most deaths due to gun violence in any modern country, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos says school safety commission will not study the role of guns in school safety.

• Syria's President Assad 'to visit North Korea’.

• Guatemala volcano: at least 62 killed and 300 injured after Fuego, the volcano, erupts.

• At least 5 more people have been killed in Nicaragua as death toll since anti-government protests began over a month ago climbed to more than 110.

• Ethiopia accepts peace deal with longtime rival Eritrea.

• It’s the 1 year death anniversary of farmers who had been protesting over low produce prices, when Indian police officers opened fire on them.

• French leader, Macron, uses food analogy to describe chats with Trump after report claims their tariffs conversation ‘terrible’ because 'Trump can’t handle being criticized like that’. 

• Israeli army shot dead a Palestinian during a raid who they claim ‘pelted a rock’.

• Pablo Escobar's widow and son held on money laundering charges in Argentina.

• The conflict on the border of both Sudan’s could reignite South Sudan’ civil war. 

• President Donald Trump has tapped a conservative filmmaker who is a close ally of former White House strategist Steve Bannon to lead the broadcasting arm of the U.S. government.

This Week in War: 5th Week, May 2018

A Free Syrian Army fighter prays after eating his iftar (breaking fast) meal during the holy month of Ramadan in the rebel-held town of Dael, Syria. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Faqir

5th week, May2018.

This Week in War:  A Friday round-up of what happened and what’s been written in the world of war and military/security affairs this week.  

• A boat carrying Palestinian patients, students and activists was captured by Israeli warships. The boat was attempting to break an Israeli-imposed siege.

• An evacuation bid for a Yemeni port city under imminent attack has been denied.

• A transgender migrant is dead after being placed in an “ice box” for 5 days by ICE in US custody while seeking asylum from MS-13.

• A lost generation: No education, no dreams for Rohingya refugee children.

• More than 100 have died during a government crackdown on students and others in Nicaragua.

• Denmark passes law banning the burqa and niqab in public spaces.

• Occupied Territories in Palestine experience second-highest number of attacks on health workers after Syria.

• Israel launches attacks in Gaza after 'projectiles’ fired.

• 2 men attacked the Saudi military base after killing a policeman and seizing his car.

• Israel has approved construction of more than 14,000 settlement units since US President Donald Trump came to office.

• Judge denies Michael Cohen's request for more time to review seized materials in the Donald Trump-Stormy Daniels case. 

• The US is moving ahead with tariffs on aluminium and steel imports from Canada, Mexico, and the EU who are their main allies.

• The Two Koreas make progress, agree to talks on military, and family reunions.

• Kim Jong Un's right-hand man meets US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo in New York to discuss the North Korea Summit.

• If Israel reciprocates, Hamas says armed groups will agree to a Gaza ceasefire.

• U.S. military looking at deploying anti-missile system in Germany.

• London law firm of trying to ‘financially cripple’ the murdered Maltese journalist, Daphne Caruana Galizia.