ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

December 8, 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.

• U.S. deploying new force to Iraq to boost fight against Islamic State (Reuters)
•  Facebook CEO, now a father, will give away most of his money (Associated Press)
• Military opens all combat roles to women (Reuters)
• In Iraq, growing belief that U.S., ISIS are . . . allies (JWR)
• American WWII vet becomes first  soldier honored for saving Jews (CBS)
• The terrorists among us  (Slate)
• 'Unprecedented': What ISIS Looks Like In America (NPR)
• Trump: ‘Take out ‘ terrorists families (USA Today)
• Zucker says CNN will not pay Donald Trump to appear at next debate (CNN)
• Bernie Sanders wins reader’s poll for Time person of the year (Time Magazine)
• A world away from Europe, US has its own migrant crisis (CS Monitor)

WORLD

General world news

• 96 cities that are quitting fossil fuels and moving to 100% renewable energy (EcoWatch)
• The Marshall Islands are disappearing (New York Times)
• Declaring 'new beginning,' EU and Turkey seal migrant deal (Reuters)
• Wreck Of Legendary Spanish Galleon Is Finally Found, Colombia Says (NPR)
• In the Amazon, the world’s most endangered tribe has few options (Washington Post)
• Mysterious 'ghost' ships drift into Japanese waters (CS Monitor)
• French far-right makes major breakthrough to top regional elections(Reuters)
• Iraq blames Iran after thousands of pilgrims storm border crossing(Reuters)

 Terror news:

• France shuts down three mosques in state of emergency crackdown (USA Today)
• Three injured in knife attack 'terror incident' in London metro (Reuters)
• Boko Haram crisis: Cameroon troops  frees 900 hostages (BBC)
• Syria, Yemen, Libya – one factor unites these failed states, and it isn’t religion (Reuters)
• At NATO, Turkey defiant over downing of Russian jet (Reuters)
• Hacker sent out thousands of 'death to the Jews' messages to phones in Middle East (JPost)
• Russian air force hit 1,458 targets in Syria over week: agencies(Reuters)
• In Worst Attacks, Terrorists Often Have Fraternal Bonds (NPR)
• U.N. condemns air strike that cut water supplies to Syria's Aleppo (Reuters)
• Germany Votes To Provide Military Support In Fight Against ISIS  (NPR)
• Egypt to pay Israel $1.76 billion after halting gas supplies (AP)
• Italy rules out joining Syria air strikes, says another strategy needed (Reuters)
• Saudi-led forces fight Houthi border advance, killing 20: residents (Reuters)
• Police: Palestinian stabbing attack thwarted at Cave of the Patriarchs (JPost)

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

U.S.

U.S. deploying new force to Iraq to boost fight against Islamic State (Reuters)

 The United States said on Tuesday it was deploying a new force of special operations troops to Iraq to conduct raids against Islamic State there and in neighboring Syria, in a ratcheting up of Washington's campaign against the group.

Facebook CEO, now a father, will give away most of his money (Associated Press)

Talk about birth announcements: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife say they'll devote nearly all their wealth - roughly $45 billion - to solving the world's problems in celebration of their new baby daughter, Max.

Military opens all combat roles to women (Reuters)

The U.S. military will let women serve in all combat roles, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Thursday in a historic move striking down gender barriers in the armed forces. "As long as they qualify and meet the standards, women will now be able to contribute to our mission in ways they could not before," Carter told a Pentagon news conference.

In Iraq, growing belief that U.S., ISIS are . . . allies (JWR)

The bizarre belief is being fueled by an organized campaign.

American WWII vet becomes first  soldier honored for saving Jews (CBS)

The Nazi soldiers made their orders very clear: Jewish American prisoners of war were to be separated from their fellow brothers in arms and sent to an uncertain fate. But Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds would have none of that. As the highest-ranking noncommissioned officer held in the German POW camp, he ordered more than 1,000 Americans captives to step forward with him and brazenly pronounced: "We are all Jews here."

The terrorists among us  (Slate)

Forget Syria. The most dangerous migrants are from North Carolina.

'Unprecedented': What ISIS Looks Like In America (NPR)

A new report glimpses life "inside the bubble of American ISIS sympathizers, a diverse and diffuse scene that the FBI estimates include hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals.” 

Trump: ‘Take out ‘ terrorists families (USA Today)

Donald Trump says his strategy to fight the Islamic State would include more than going after terrorists. “You have to take out their families,” the Republican front-runner told Fox & Friends on Wednesday. “When you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families!”

Zucker says CNN will not pay Donald Trump to appear at next debate (CNN)

Trump said Monday at a campaign stop in Georgia that his presence at the debates has turned them into revenue windfalls for the cable news networks that carry them and that he wanted $5 million for CNN's next debate scheduled for Dec. 15 in Las Vegas. He said he would donate the payment to charity.

Bernie Sanders wins reader’s poll for Time person of the year (Time Magazine)

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has won the online readers’ poll for TIME Person of the Year, topping some of the world’s best-known politicians, activists and cultural figures as the most influential person of 2015 among those who voted.

A world away from Europe, US has its own migrant crisis (CS Monitor)

More than 27,000 Cubans have crossed the US-Mexico border between January and October. And experts predict that at least 300,000 Central Americans will have attempted a journey northward by the end of the year.

WORLD

96 cities that are quitting fossil fuels and moving to 100% renewable energy (EcoWatch)

While countries have dragged their feet for years on meaningful climate action, many cities around the world have forged ahead with sustainability efforts.

The Marshall Islands are disappearing (New York Times)

Rising seas are claiming a vulnerable nation.

Wreck Of Legendary Spanish Galleon Is Finally Found, Colombia Says (NPR)

The San Jose sank in 1708. The value of its cargo — believed to include gold, silver, emeralds, and other precious cargo — has been estimated at more than $10 billion.

In the Amazon, the world’s most endangered tribe has few options (Washington Post)

Wirohoa does not have a driver’s license, a television or a cellphone. He does not know how old he is and walks barefoot around the indigenous village of Tiracambu, in the Brazilian Amazon. Last December he, his mother Jakarewãja and his aunt Amakaria left the forest where they had lived their whole lives as nomadic hunter-gatherers, isolated from modern society.

Mysterious 'ghost' ships drift into Japanese waters (CS Monitor)

Japanese authorities are investigating nearly a dozen wooden boats carrying decomposing bodies found drifting in waters off Japan.  This year, officials have found 34 mystery boats so far…Last year, Japan found 65 of them, and 80 more in 2013, according to the Coast Guard….  Japanese authorities are working on the assumption that the boats are fishing vessels that strayed too far from the North Korean coast and either ran out of fuel or suffered some sort of engine malfunction before being taken by the currents to Japan….  An alternative suggestion would be that at least some of the boats were attempting to get defectors out of North Korea.

French far-right makes major breakthrough to top regional elections(Reuters)

 France's far-right National Front pulled off a historic win on Sunday, topping the vote in the first round of regional elections, in a breakthrough that shakes up the country's political landscape before 2017 presidential elections.

Declaring 'new beginning,' EU and Turkey seal migrant deal (Reuters)

Turkey promised to help stem the flow of migrants to Europe in return for cash, visas and renewed talks on joining the EU in a deal struck on Sunday that the Turkish prime minister called a "new beginning" for the uneasy neighbors.

Iraq blames Iran after thousands of pilgrims storm border crossing(Reuters)

 Iraq's interior ministry blamed Iranian authorities on Monday for allowing tens of thousands of Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims to storm a border crossing and enter the country without visas, in a rare public confrontation between the two neighbors.

Terror:

France shuts down three mosques in state of emergency crackdown (USA Today)

French authorities have shut down three mosques for an alleged "pattern of radicalization," including one raided by police at dawn Wednesday in eastern Paris, the French interior minister said.

Three injured in knife attack 'terror incident' in London metro (Reuters)

 A man with a knife stabbed another in an east London metro station on Saturday evening, reportedly screaming "this is for Syria", before police used a stun gun on the attacker and detained him.

Boko Haram crisis: Cameroon troops  frees 900 hostages (BBC)

Troops have freed 900 hostages captured by the Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram, Cameroon's defence minister has announced.Joseph Beti Assomo said his forces had also killed around 100 Boko Haram members at the end of November.

Syria, Yemen, Libya – one factor unites these failed states, and it isn’t religion (Reuters)

As world leaders gather in Paris this week to address climate change, they will labor under the shadow of recent attacks by Islamic State. Yet as they think about climate issues, they should remember that the connection between climate change and Islamic State — and more broadly, between climate change and political instability — is not just a coincidence. It may instead be the key reality of the 21^st century.

At NATO, Turkey defiant over downing of Russian jet (Reuters)

Turkey's premier dismissed on Monday any suggestion that Ankara should apologize for shooting down a Russian warplane in its airspace last week, after winning strong NATO support for the right to defend itself.

Hacker sent out thousands of 'death to the Jews' messages to phones in Middle East (JPost)

While most of the messages were blocked by the firm, around five thousand made their way through.

Russian air force hit 1,458 targets in Syria over week: agencies(Reuters)

Russia's air force flew 431 sorties and hit 1,458 "terrorist targets" in Syria in the week of Nov. 26 - Dec. 4, Russian news agencies quoted the Russian Defence Ministry as saying on Friday.

In Worst Attacks, Terrorists Often Have Fraternal Bonds (NPR)

It isn't an accident that a roster of the most recent high-profile terrorist attacks — the Boston Marathon bombings, the murders at the Charlie Hebdo editorial offices, last month's rampage in Paris — happened in part at the hands of young men who were brothers.

U.N. condemns air strike that cut water supplies to Syria's Aleppo (Reuters)

 An air strike on a water treatment plant in Syria last Thursday cut water supplies for 3.5 million people and while pumping has been partly restored, 1.4 million still have reduced supply, the United Nations said on Tuesday

Germany Votes To Provide Military Support In Fight Against ISIS  (NPR)

Germany will send six Tornado jets, a naval frigate and up to 1,200 soldiers to Syria. But it will not be conducting airstrikes.

Egypt to pay Israel $1.76 billion after halting gas supplies (AP)

Israel's state-owned electric utility said Sunday that Egyptian natural gas companies have been ordered to pay it $1.76 billion in compensation for halting gas supplies.

Italy rules out joining Syria air strikes, says another strategy needed (Reuters)

 Italy has no intention of joining a U.S.-led coalition that is attacking Islamic State targets in Syria, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Sunday, warning that the air campaign would only add to chaos in the region.

Saudi-led forces fight Houthi border advance, killing 20: residents (Reuters)

 Helicopters and fighter jets belonging to a Saudi-led coalition on Sunday repelled Yemeni Houthi fighters who were pressing a six-day-old offensive to seize Saudi territory, residents and Saudi state television said.

Police: Palestinian stabbing attack thwarted at Cave of the Patriarchs

When police began a routine search on the 18-year-old, they noticed that the woman was gripping a knife. The police cocked their weapons and after a short time gained control of the suspect without firing and seized her weapon….  On Friday afternoon, within one hour, two terror attacks took place in the Binyamin region of the West Bank.