Khamenei calls US officials ‘first-class idiots’
AP, Tehran
Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday called U.S. officials “first-class idiots,” mocking American leaders as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo toured the Mideast to promote the White House’s tough stance on Iran. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comments were unusually harsh, reflecting the broader tension between Iran and the United States after President Donald Trump withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.
Pompeo meets Sisi amid concern over US ME policy
AFP, Cairo
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Thursday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo, part of a tour to address concerns of American allies in the Middle East.
The visit by Washington’s top diplomat comes amid confusion in the region over a surprise plan by President Donald Trump’s administration to pull US troops out of Syria.
Mexico finds 20 bodies near US border
Reuters, Mexico City
Mexican authorities discovered 20 bodies on Wednesday, 17 of them burned, near the city of Nuevo Laredo, close to the U.S. border, a security official said.
Five burned vehicles were also found near the bodies in the town of Miguel Aleman, across the Rio Grande from Texas in the northern state of Tamaulipas, the official said in a statement, without providing details.
Three protesters killed in Sudan
AFP, Khartoum
Three protesters died after police broke up an anti-government demonstration in Sudan, police said Thursday, as thousands chanted support for President Omar al-Bashir at a rival rally in Khartoum.
Wednesday’s competing rallies in the Sudanese capital followed a month of angry street protests over a government decision to triple the price of bread at a time when the country faces an acute shortage of foreign currency and soaring inflation.
Los Angeles teachers postpone strike
Reuters, Los Angeles
A union representing more than 30,000 Los Angeles teachers on Wednesday postponed until next week a threatened strike over lingering contract negotiations with the country’s largest school district, citing a last-minute legal snag.
United Teachers Los Angeles had called a strike for its members in the city’s 900 public schools for Thursday if an agreement was not reached before then over such issues as pay, staffing, and class sizes.
