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.