World

The Trump Administration has fired the first major shot in a looming trade war with China.
 
After weeks of threats, US tariffs on $34bn of Chinese imports came into effect.
 
Beijing has vowed to retaliate and is searching for non-US suppliers for some of its imports, setting the stage for a prolonged conflict between the world's two biggest economies.

Al Jazeera's Rob McBride has more from Beijing, China.

In this episode, The Stream speaks with journalists from the around world to explore:

Remember the Rohingya?
Al Jazeera Senior Correspondent Mohammed Jamjoom joins us live from Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar to talk about the ongoing - and under-reported - Rohingya refugee crisis. Tens of thousands of people are threatened by flooding and monsoon rains, which are expected to damage refugee camps and increase the potential for waterborne diseases such as cholera. Hundreds of shelters and latrines have collapsed or been destroyed, and the UN estimates that half of the 200,000 people in the camps are children.

Approximately 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar to Bangladesh since August 2017, and although both nations agreed on a plan to repatriate refugees, less than 200 have been resettled since November. Aid groups, including the UN refugee agency, are now racing to get relief to those who could be affected by the flood waters.

Denmark's ''ghetto'' controversy
New laws in Denmark are to subject children from low-income, primarily Muslim, communities to mandatory training in ''Danish values.'' The new policy will require toddlers to receive weekly instruction in Danish religious and cultural norms. Proponents say the laws will not only help children better integrate into Danish society, but tackle high crime rates and unemployment in ''parallel communities'' of uneducated immigrants from ''non-Western countries.''

''To me this is about, no matter who lives in these areas and who they believe in, they have to profess to the values required to have a good life in Denmark,'' justice minister Soren Pape Poulsen has said.

But critics say the rhetoric used by several politicians to describe people living in the so-called ''ghettos'' recalls Nazi Germany's treatment of Jews prior to World War II.

''We call them 'ghetto children, ghetto parents,' it's so crazy. It is becoming a mainstream word, which is so dangerous'', Social Democrat MP Yildiz Akdogan told the New York Times. ''People who know a little about history, our European not-so-nice period, we know what the word 'ghetto' is associated with.''

Mosul, one year later
It's been almost one year since Iraqi government forces ended ISIL's occupation of Mosul. The battle for Iraq's second-biggest city left it in ruins and forced hundreds of  thousands of civilians from their homes. As residents move back to rebuild lives and recover bodies from the rubble, ISIL is now reportedly stepping up efforts to regain position in the historic city. We'll look at how Mosul has changed since ISIL's defeat, what's still necessary to secure it, and whether ISIL can make a comeback.

Donald Trump's nuclear reaction is threatening to turn off the taps of the world's major oil supply.

The White House is threatening countries which import Iranian oil to stop shipments by November - or face U.S. sanctions.

If that happens - the Iranians are vowing to stop all oil exports from the Gulf, including from the number one supplier Saudi Arabia.

Foreign ministers from France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia are expected to meet Iranian diplomats on Friday.

In Vienna, they'll be discussing how to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear deal which Trump withdrew from two months ago.

The French government has called for calm after police in the western city of Nantes clashed with protesters overnight. The protesters rioted over the death of a young driver who had tried to avoid a checkpoint and was shot by an officer.

The young man, in his early 20s, hit a policeman as he reversed his car away from the control point. Another officer to opened fire, fatally wounding the driver, according to a police source speaking to the Reuters news agency on Wednesday.

Police authorities were investigating the officer's actions and decision to use his firearm, the police source said.

Rioters damaged some 30 cars and several buildings after news spread that the youth was shot dead.

Youths threw Molotov cocktails and clashed with police in the northwestern neighbourhood of Breil where the shooting happened before the unrest spread to two other poor districts.

Al Jazeera's Natacha Butler reports from Paris.

Najib Razak was Malaysia's Prime Minister until two months ago.
Now he's a political outcast, trying to avoid being sent to prison for 20 years.

Najib's the first person to appear in court in connection with the 1-MDB scandal and the disappearance of four billion dollars of taxpayer's money.

He's pleading not guilty and accused the new government led by Mahathir Mohamed of seeking political vengeance. What are the implications of Najib's trial?

Malaysia's former Prime Minister has been arrested by anti-corruption investigators.

Here's what you need to know about the story.

Social media is flooded with horrific images and videos of violence in Cameroon. Villages burning, beheadings, bodies mutilated piled up on the road. A conflict between the government and separatist rebels in the Anglophone region of the country is escalating, and neither side is showing signs of backing down. While the military calls the separatists ''terrorists'', the separatists have accused the military of genocide.

Violence first broke out in the northwest and southwest of Cameroon in October 2016. At that time, lawyers and teachers went on indefinite strike saying they were mistreated and marginalised socially, economically and politically by the government of the Francophone majority nation. Those protests led to calls for secession and reignited a separatist movement that was calling for the creation of the independent ''Republic of Ambazonia''. In November 2017, President Paul Biya declared war on the separatists.

In June, Amnesty International published a report in which it criticised both sides for using excessive force and said that civilians were being caught up in extreme violence. The United Nations estimates that more than 150,000 people have fled the northwest and southwest regions, often crossing into Nigeria.

Rights groups and other African nations are now calling for talks between the two sides but the separatists say they will not sit down until the self-declared president of the ''Republic of Ambazonia'' Ayuk Tabe - who was arrested in January - is released.

On this episode of The Stream, we'll examine the violence and the impact it's having, the effect of social media campaigns, and what it will take to bring a lasting peace to Cameroon.

The Israeli government has been given the green light to deduct approximately $300m a year from the budget of the Palestinian Authority.

Israeli politicians passed a law allowing the money to be taken from taxes and tariffs that the Israeli government collects on the Authority's behalf.

Israeli politicians say the Palestinian leadership paid $350m last year to Palestinian prisoners jailed for attacking Israeli security forces, and their families.

Leaked letters are said to show the US President's increasing frustration with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

Donald Trump accuses allies in the military alliance of failing to adequately pay for their protection.

The New York Times says Trump wrote to NATO members, including the leaders of Belgium, Canada and Germany.

In his letter to Chancellor Angela Merkel, he warned that what he called Germany's continued underspending on defence undermines the security of the alliance.

Will NATO members heed Trump's call?

And is the North Atlantic alliance still relevant?

A monitoring website claimed on Wednesday that despite the announcement of the commitment to disarmament of Korea Peninsula in the Singapore Summit, North Korea is increasingly improving its nuclear research center.

Kim Zhang, a nuclear weapons-rich North Korean leader, promised to work towards this goal in a historic dialogue with US President Donald Trump earlier this month in Singapore, but the Singapore meeting gave a clear definition of disarmament or North Korea by failing to give a clear timetable to destroy nuclear weapons reserves.

According to the '38 North' website, Trump claimed that the process would start early and they had said last week that there will be complete disarmament which has started, but according to the website, recent satellite photos showed that North Korea's main Yongbayon Not only are the operations going on at the atomic site, but infrastructure work is also being done there.

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong met for the historic summit in Singapore. The objective of this meeting was to make bilateral relations normal and to complete nuclear disarmament in the Korean Peninsula. Between Trump and Kim, this meeting took place in a Singapore hotel's popular tourist destination Santosa. The two leaders started the summit with warm hands in front of the media crew at the hotel.

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong met here warmly and the first round of talks was held between them. At the same time, the general summit between the two leaders began with the aim of normalization of bilateral relations and complete nuclear disarmament in the Korean Peninsula.

According to the North Korean media, Kim actually reached the meeting place seven minutes before the trump. He did this to express respect because it is a culture where young people reach them before expressing their respect for the elderly. The red tie that Trump wore, could also have some respect for Kim because North Korean likes this color.

Asked how the conversation was, Trump said, "Very, very good. Fantastic relationships.'' Kim was asked at least three times whether he would leave nuclear weapons, in response to that he just smiled. Trump and Kim both commented briefly.

Trump said that he believes that he and Kim will overcome the big problem, the big dilemma and we will take care of it by working together. Kim said, "There will be further challenges, but we will work with Trump. We will overcome all speculation and suspicions about this summit and I believe that it is good for peace."