ECM WORLD WATCH: GLOBAL AND NATIONAL NEWS

July 29,  2015 (San Diego's East County)-- East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• US to investigate airlines for price gouging after Amtrak derailing (CS Monitor)
• Under Obama, Blacks Are Worse Off --- Far Worse (JWR)
• House votes to revoke passports of US citizens with terror links (CS Monitor)
• Clinton: I did not send or get classified emails on private account (Reuters)
• Some Guantanamo inmates would go to U.S. under new plan: Obama aide (Reuters)

WORLD

• Mexico search for missing students turns up 129 bodies (AP)
• The illusion of containing druglord ‘El Chapo’ (San Diego Union-Tibune)
• U.S., allies conduct 20 air strikes in Iraq: U.S. Military (Reuters) 
• Turkey stages first airstrikes on Islamic State while rounding up Kurds (JPost)
• Protests show migrant crisis has reached Italian doorsteps (Reuters)
• Putin OKs maritime code calling for strong Atlantic presence (AP)
• WATCH: Police release footage of clashes with Palestinian rioters on Temple Mount (JPost)
• Police say gunmen kill local US Embassy employee in Pakistan (AP)
• Authorities order mosques closed in north Cameroon (AP)
• Gazans, Jordanians stage protests against UNRWA decision to cut services to Palestinian population (JPost)
• In Syria, Chlorine Attacks Continue To Take A Toll (NPR)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

U.S.

US to investigate airlines for price gouging after Amtrak derailing (CS Monitor)

The Transportation Department is looking into whether Delta, American, Southwest, United, and JetBlue 'went beyond the pale' in price hikes after the tragedy, says Secretary Anthony Foxx.

 Under Obama, Blacks Are Worse Off --- Far Worse (JWR)

By every key economic measurement, blacks are worse off under Obama. In some cases, far worse off.

House votes to revoke passports of US citizens with terror links (CS Monitor)

The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would let the government confiscate passports of Americans with links to terrorist groups.

Clinton: I did not send or get classified emails on private account (Reuters)

At least four emails from the private email account that Clinton used while secretary of state contained classified information, Inspector General Charles McCullough, who oversees U.S. intelligence agencies, told members of Congress in a letter on Thursday.  Clinton said on Saturday she had "no idea" what were the emails mentioned in the letter.  

Some Guantanamo inmates would go to U.S. under new plan: Obama aide (Reuters)

A plan being drafted for closing the Guantanamo military jail will call for the transfer to U.S. prisons of possibly dozens of inmates deemed too dangerous to release, President Barack Obama’s counter terrorism adviser said, setting up a fight with congressional opponents.

WORLD

Mexico search for missing students turns up 129 bodies (AP)

The search for 43 missing college students in the southern state of Guerrero has turned up at least 60 clandestine graves and 129 bodies over the last 10 months, Mexico's attorney general's office says.  None of the remains has been connected to the youths who disappeared after a clash with police in the city of Iguala on Sept. 26, and authorities do not believe any will be. 

The illusion of containing druglord ‘El Chapo’ (San Diego Union-Tibune)

If Mexico had extradited Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera to the United States he would not likely be at large. Nor, however, would it have made a dent in the drug war, or the mythical status of its charismatic leaders. 

U.S., allies conduct 20 air strikes in Iraq: U.S. Military (Reuters) 

The United States and its allies made 20 air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq on Saturday, with targets near Ramadi bearing the brunt of the attacks, the military said on Sunday.

Turkey stages first airstrikes on Islamic State while rounding up Kurds (JPost)

Turkish warplanes pounded Islamic State targets in Syria for the first time on Friday, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promising more decisive action against both the jihadists and Kurdish militants at home.  The air strikes, which followed a phone conversation between Erdogan and US President Barack Obama on Wednesday, were accompanied by a series of police raids across Turkey to detain hundreds of suspected militants, including from Kurdish groups.

 Protests show migrant crisis has reached Italian doorsteps (Reuters)

Migrants arriving at a new shelter outside Rome needed riot police to protect them from far-right activists and furious residents. In the north, locals vandalized a home to keep asylum seekers from moving in.

Putin OKs maritime code calling for strong Atlantic presence (AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a new version of the country's maritime doctrine that calls for maintaining a strong Russian presence in the Atlantic Ocean amid concerns about NATO expansion.  The doctrine, which covers naval, merchant marine and scientific maritime issues, also adds the Antarctic as a region of strategic interest for Russia.... The new doctrine states that NATO is pursuing "unacceptable" plans to move military infrastructure to Russia's borders.

WATCH: Police release footage of clashes with Palestinian rioters on Temple Mount (JPost)

On Sunday morning, the masked Palestinian youths took up arms and set up barricades on the Temple Mount to attack police and Jewish visitors during Tisha Be’Av, Judaism’s annual day of mourning.

Police say gunmen kill local US Embassy employee in Pakistan (AP)

Police say gunmen have killed a local employee of the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, though a motive for the attack is still unclear.  Police identified the dead employee as Iqbal Baig, saying he worked for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. They say Baig was killed early Sunday morning at his home.

Authorities order mosques closed in north Cameroon (AP)

Authorities have ordered the closure of mosques and Islamic schools following a series of suicide bombing attacks in northern Cameroon that have left at least 60 people dead, the region's governor said Sunday.  Child beggars are also being ordered off the streets because all the suicide bombers so far have been children, including the 13-year-old female who detonated explosives in an attack Saturday evening.

Gazans, Jordanians stage protests against UNRWA decision to cut services to Palestinian population (JPost)

UNRWA spokesman Adnan Abu Hasna said that his agency was suffering from a severe financial crisis. He said that UNRWA needs about $101 million to overcome the crisis....  UNRWA officials say they currently have enough funds to maintain its services essential to protect public health, which includes immunizations for children, primary health care, relief and sanitation and some emergency programs through to the end of 2015. However, the money is not enough to guarantee the stable provision of its education services from September onwards.

In Syria, Chlorine Attacks Continue To Take A Toll (NPR)

Activists say the Syrian regime continues to attack its people with chlorine gas — with little reaction from an international community once focused on preventing Syria's use of chemical weapons.