Briefly

UNITED STATES

Further troop cuts from Iraq flagged

The United States is reducing its troop presence in Iraq this month from 5,200 to 3,000, the top US commander for the Middle East said on Wednesday, as President Donald Trump tries to make good on his campaign promise to get the country out of "endless wars." During a visit to Iraq, Marine General Frank McKenzie, the commander of US Central Command, said the reduction in Iraq reflects Washington's confidence in the ability of US-trained Iraqi security forces to handle the militant threat from the Islamic State group, which entered Iraq from Syria in 2014. Late on Tuesday, a senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters aboard Air Force One that such an announcement was coming and that an announcement on the withdrawal of additional troops from Afghanistan also could be expected in coming days.

DPRK

Kim urges quick recovery from storm

Kim Jong-un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, had called for urgent efforts to rebuild thousands of homes and other structures destroyed by a typhoon that slammed the country's eastern region last week, state media said on Wednesday. Kim, during the ruling Workers' Party meeting on Tuesday, also said the damage from Typhoon Maysak has forced the country to reconsider unspecified year-end projects, the official Korean Central News Agency said. Maysak left "severe damage "in Komdok, destroying or flooding more than 2,000 homes and dozens of public buildings and paralyzing transport systems. More than 60 kilometers of roads in the region were "washed away", while 59 bridges collapsed.

IRAN

'Advanced' nuclear centrifuges on way

Iran's nuclear body said on Tuesday that it is building a new "advanced centrifuges" facility to replace one badly damaged by "sabotage" at its main Natanz nuclear fuel plant in July. "It was decided to create a more modern, larger and more improved station in the heart of the mountains around Natanz, and the implementation of this project has started," Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's atomic agency, said on state television. After the July explosion, Iran sent warnings to the US and Israel, two countries which accuse Teheran of developing a secret military nuclear program, claims Iran has always denied. On Sunday, Teheran said that after investigations into the explosion, authorities had identified the "elements" responsible. But no further details were given.

UNITED KINGDOM

1 billion seen at risk of displacement by 2050

Rapid population growth, lack of access to food and water and increased exposure to natural disasters mean more than 1 billion people face being displaced by 2050, according to a new analysis of global ecological threats. Compiled by the Institute for Economics and Peace, a think tank that produces annual terrorism and peace indexes, the Ecological Threat Register uses data from the United Nations and other sources to assess eight ecological threats and predict which countries and regions are most at risk. With the world's population forecast to rise to nearly 10 billion by 2050, intensifying the scramble for resources and fueling conflict, the research shows as many as 1.2 billion people living in vulnerable areas of sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East may be forced to migrate by 2050.

Agencies - Xinhua