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A man carries prayer flags offered by the devotees as he climbs to hang them from the Boudhanath Stupa, a UNESCO world heritage site famous among tourists, in Kathmandu, Nepal August 2, 2017. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar
Washington After a crackdown on illegal immigration that has sharply reduced the number of unauthorized border crossings from Mexico, U.S. President Donald Trump is now turning his attention to reducing the number of legal immigrants in the country. During a July 19 meeting in the White House Situation Room, President Donald Trump said Defense Secretary James Mattis and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford, a Marine general, should consider firing Army General John Nicholson, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, for not winning the war. Once the meeting concluded, Trump's chief strategist, Steve Bannon, got into what one official called "a shouting match" with White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster over the direction of U.S. policy. New White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told Attorney General Jeff Sessions last weekend that his job was safe after Sessions endured several weeks of sharp public criticism from President Trump. Thousands of potential first-time Democratic candidates are exploring political bids in what Democratic veterans say is an unprecedented surge of activity, and a broad but informal network of groups is beefing up efforts to train them for the task.
Russia New U.S. sanctions will make it harder for Russia to build two gas export pipelines to Europe but the projects are unlikely to be stopped. While U.S. President Donald Trump signed further sanctions on Russia, some of the measures are discretionary and most White House watchers believe he will not take action against Russia's energy infrastructure. Trump signs Russia sanctions bill, Moscow calls it 'trade war' S&P says new U.S. sanctions have no immediate impact on Russia's ratings
South China Sea China said that it was coordinating with the U.S. navy in the search for a missing U.S. sailor in the South China Sea, a rare show of goodwill between the navies in the disputed waters.
North Korea A ban on travel by U.S. passport holders to North Korea will take effect on Sept. 1 and Americans in the country should leave before that date, the U.S. State Department said.
U.S. The Baltimore Police Department suspended seven officers after body camera video emerged that the city's public defender said appeared to show them planting drugs in a car during a traffic stop, the second such episode in the city in two weeks. Federal and state authorities investigated the cause of a gas explosion that ripped through a Christian private school in Minneapolis that killed two people and injured nine. The state fire marshal and local fire officials were combing through the rubble to determine the exact cause of the explosion. Emergency personnel put water on the scene of school building collapse at Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., August 2, 2017. REUTERS/Adam Bettcher
Science While President Donald Trump has thrust transgender people back into the conflict between conservative and liberal values in the United States, geneticists are quietly working on a major research effort to unlock the secrets of gender identity. U.S. scientists able to alter genes of human embryos
Canada Nearly 270 people have died in Canadian provincial jails over the past five years. Two-thirds of them were legally innocent. The high number of deaths among prisoners awaiting trial, compiled by Reuters from data provided by provincial governments, is the result of some of the world's toughest bail practices that have led to overcrowding in jails, according to lawyers, prison officers and prisoner rights advocates.
Cyber Risk The cyber attack that crippled Ukraine businesses and spread worldwide to shut down shipping ports, factories and corporate offices has taken a costly toll on the results of major U.S. and European companies in the latest quarter, with more to come. Factbox: Companies whose operations were hurt by June cyber 'worm'
Business Amazon is quickly ramping up the billions of dollars a year it spends on creating and licensing TV shows and films, signaling the retailer plans to be in show business for the long haul. The Dow closed over the 22,000 mark for the first time on Wednesday, but investor fears about the sustainability of the gains took the shine off the round number milestone.
UK Victims of acid attacks in Britain are calling on the government to enforce longer prison sentences and tighten controls on the sale of corrosive substances, after a jump in the number of cases last year and in 2017. | 
