NEWS OF THE DAY
_1 North Korea poll: North Korea’s nuclear weapons development is spooking most Americans, and two-thirds of them say President Trump’s war of words with the isolated nation’s leader is making the situation worse. Less than 1 in 10 think Trump’s comments are making it better. Those are the findings of a poll by the Associated PressNORC Center for Public Affairs Research, as tensions between the adversaries escalate and North Korea comes closer to its goal of having a nuclear-tipped missile that could strike the continental U.S. The poll found that 65 percent of Americans think Trump’s comments have made the situation worse, including 45 percent who think he has made the situation much worse. Only 8 percent think he is making the situation better.
_2 Liberia election: Vote counting continued across Liberia on Wednesday following presidential elections that are likely to go to a runoff with 20 candidates contesting, local media said. Ex-soccer star George Weah, Vice President Joseph Boakai and former Coca-Cola Vice President Alexander Cummings were leading, according to early reports. More than 2.1 million voters had registered to vote throughout Liberia, which was established by the U.S. in the 19th century for freed black slaves. A presidential candidate must win more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a second round. Provisional election results are expected Thursday.
_3 Government assault: Philippine troops recovered 22 bodies of suspected Muslim extremists and dozens of homemade bombs from two buildings that were retaken in one of the final government assaults to end an Islamic State-inspired siege in southern Marawi city, the military said Wednesday. The discovery brought the death toll in the siege, which was launched May 23, to more than a thousand people, including 802 militants. The fighting has left 160 soldiers and policemen and 47 civilians dead, according to the military.
_4 Reporter on trial: A German journalist who was arrested in Turkey denied terror-related accusations as a trial against her opened in a Turkish court Wednesday. Mesale Tolu, a German citizen with Turkish roots, stands accused of engaging in terrorist propaganda and being a member of a banned left-wing group, the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party. The 33-year-old was on trial at a courthouse in the outskirts of Istanbul together with 18 other defendants. She was the first of 11 German or GermanTurkish citizens arrested in Turkey over the past year to go on trial. Berlin considers them to be “political prisoners.” Dozens of reporters, including several foreign journalists, have been jailed following last year’s failed coup. Tolu’s lawyer said prosecutors considered her attendance at the funerals of several members of the outlawed group as evidence of her membership.
_5 Weinstein suspended: Britain’s film academy says it has suspended producer Harvey Weinstein over the multiple accusations of harassment and sexual assault against him that recently became public. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts said Wednesday that Weinstein was informed “that his membership has been suspended, effective immediately.” The organization says Weinstein had supported its charitable work, but called his alleged behavior “completely unacceptable and incompatible with BAFTA’s values.” The British academy has about 7,500 members who work in film, television and games.