Thursday's world news: What's making the headlines

Osama Bin Laden's son killed - reports

The United States believes that Hamza bin Laden, a son of slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and himself a notable figure in the militant group, is dead.

A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, provided no further details, including when Hamza died or where.

US President Donald Trump earlier declined to comment after NBC News first reported the US assessment. Asked if he had intelligence that bin Laden's son had been killed, Mr Trump told reporters: "I don't want to comment on it."

Separately, the White House declined to comment on whether any announcement was imminent.

Hamza, believed to be about 30 years old, was at his father's side in Afghanistan before the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States, and spent time with him in Pakistan after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan pushed much of al Qaeda's senior leadership there, according to the Brookings Institution.

Osama bin Laden was killed by US special forces who raided his compound in Pakistan in 2011.

The New York Times has reported that the United States had a role in the operation that led to Hamza's death, which it said took place in the past two years.

Reuters could not immediately verify those details.

- Reuters

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US places sanctions on Iranian Foreign Minister

The United States has imposed sanctions on Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, targeting the country's top spokesman and potentially hurting chances of diplomatic talks amid rising tensions between the two countries.

Mr Zarif, a critical figure in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, dismissed the action and said it would not affect him.

US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the deal last year and ramped up sanctions to put pressure on Iran's economy.

The move dismantled part of former US president Barack Obama's legacy and upset US allies who were party to the agreement, which was designed to restrict Tehran's pathway to a nuclear bomb in exchange for sanctions relief.

Strain between Washington and Tehran have risen more in recent months after attacks on tankers in the Gulf that the US blames on Iran, and Iran's downing of a US drone that prompted preparations for a US retaliatory air strike that Mr Trump called off at the last minute.

The sanctions would block Mr Zarif from any property or interests he has in the United States, but the Iranian foreign minister said he had none.

- Reuters

Democratic contenders battle it out in Detroit

Former Vice-President Joe Biden has come under attack from other Democratic 2020 candidates in a televised debate.

The party's frontrunner shared a stage in Detroit with nine other presidential hopefuls and there were several sharp exchanges on healthcare and the border.

In an echo of the last debate in June, Senator Kamala Harris again launched an assault on Mr Biden's record on race.

But she herself had to defend her actions against drug offenders when she was a prosecutor in California.

"She put over 1500 people in jail for marijuana violations then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana," said Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.

All eyes were on Mr Biden and Ms Harris when they took the stage, given what happened last month.

And as the candidates were introduced ahead of the opening statements, they shared their first exchange of the night, with the former vice-president saying: "Go easy on me, kid."

- BBC

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Israel announced funding for West Bank housing

Israel has approved the construction of 6000 new homes for Jewish settlers and 700 homes for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

The decision about new homes in settlements further extends the Israeli presence in the West Bank.

Israel's approval for Palestinian homes is, however, unusual.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are seen as illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

It is not clear whether the Palestinian homes would be new constructions or merely legal approval for 700 already existing homes in what is known as "Area C" of the West Bank - where Palestinian villages often lie close to Israeli settlements, and where Israel has full control of the territory.

The Palestinian leadership dismissed the announcement saying it rejected any Israeli construction or controls over Palestinian construction in the West Bank.

It said it was "evidence of the dark colonial mentality of the rules in Israel and which ignores all United Nations resolutions, international law and the signed agreements".

The move comes ahead of a visit by US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who heads the White House's faltering attempts to broker a peace deal.

- BBC

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Russian Army soldiers turn firefighters

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the army to help firefighters battle wildfires in Siberia.

Wildfires have spread to about 3,000,000 hectares of mostly remote forest in an area almost the size of Belgium, wafting smoke across Siberia and prompting several regions to declare states of emergency, according to the Federal Forestry Agency.

Environmentalists have dubbed the fires an ecological catastrophe and a petition circulated online by an ecologist from the Siberian city of Tomsk had garnered 824,000 signatures as of Wednesday demanding authorities take tougher action.

The Kremlin said Mr Putin had ordered the defence ministry to help put out the fires, and also to permanently station a firefighting unit in Siberia's Irkutsk region, one of the affected areas, until further notice.

The defence ministry was sending 10 Ilyushin-76 planes and 10 transport helicopters to the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk equipped with firefighting equipment following the order from the Kremlin, RIA news agency reported.

Firefighters were working to put out forest fires covering 107,000 hectares in Siberia's Irkutsk and other regions, but other vast blazes raging on 2.9 million hectares were only being monitored, not fought, according to the Federal Forestry Agency.

- BBC

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PLA breaks silence on Hong Kong protests

As Hong Kong's political crisis simmers amid heated protests, China's People's Liberation Army in Hong Kong released a video showing footage of "anti-riot" exercises and its top brass warned violence was "absolutely impermissible".

The three-minute video posted on the Hong Kong garrison's official Weibo social media account included footage of troops firing guns and rockets, and of light tanks, attack helicopters and missile launchers.

The PLA has remained in barracks since protests started in April, leaving Hong Kong's police force to deal with the massive and often violent protests in the Asian financial hub.

Fourty-four people have been charged with rioting, the first time authorities have resorted to using that specific charge, which carries with it a possible 10-year jail sentence.

Hong Kong has been plunged into its biggest political crisis since the former British colony's return to Chinese rule in 1997 with a wave of protests against a now suspended extradition bill, which would see people sent to mainland China for trial in Communist Party controlled courts.

The protests, which started in April, have now transformed into broader demands, including the resignation of Hong Kong's embattled leader Carrie Lam, and calls for a "free Hong Kong".

As tensions continue to rise in Hong Kong, Chinese authorities have strongly condemned the violence, and issued reminders that Hong Kong authorities could request the assistance of the PLA Hong Kong garrison if necessary.

Diplomats and foreign security analysts are watching the situation closely, but believe there's little appetite in Beijing for the PLA to be deployed on the streets of Hong Kong.

- Reuters

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