Around the world today: Vajpayee passes away; Myanmar hate speech on Facebook

Facebook has been “too slow” to address hate speech in Myanmar and is acting to remedy the problem.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Facebook says it was 'too slow' to fight hate speech in Myanmar

Facebook has been "too slow" to address hate speech in Myanmar and is acting to remedy the problem by hiring more Burmese speakers and investing in technology to identify problematic content, the company said in a statement on Thursday. The acknowledgment came a day after a Reuters investigation showed why the company has failed to stem a wave of vitriolic posts about the minority Rohingya.

China rebuffs Philippines president's South China Sea rebuke

China rebuffed Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's call for Beijing to rethink its conduct in the South China Sea on Thursday, saying China had the right to react to foreign ships or aircraft that get close to its islands. Duterte said China has no right to repel foreign aircraft and boats passing by its artificial islands in the disputed waterway, and that he hoped China would "temper" its behavior and stop restricting movements.

Italy threatens action over bridge disaster, investors shun operator

Italy's biggest toll-road operator came under heavy stock-market attack on Thursday and the government said it could impose a heavy fine or revoke its concession over a bridge collapse that killed at least 38 people. An 80-meter-long section of the bridge, part of a motorway linking the port city of Genoa with southern France, gave way on Tuesday in busy lunchtime traffic, sending dozens of vehicles into free-fall.

Gunmen attack intelligence service center in the Afghan capital Kabul

Gunmen attacked an area around a security base and training center for Afghanistan's intelligence service on Thursday in the capital Kabul, officials said. Staff and officials at the center took shelter in a protected area of the compound as gunfire came from a half-finished building near the site.

U.S. concerned about irregularities in Tanzania's local elections: embassy

The United States said it was concerned about accounts of violence and intimidation in the run-up to Aug. 12 by-elections in Tanzania. Tanzanian opposition leaders have complained that tolerance for dissent has diminished rapidly since President John Magufuli took office in 2015 on pledges to reform the East African nation's economy and crack down on corruption.

Women charged with the murder of North Korean to testify in Malaysia trial

Two women charged with murdering the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un must answer for their role in a well-planned conspiracy, a Malaysian judge said on Thursday, but added that the evidence did not prove a political assassination. Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese, face the death penalty on charges of murdering Kim Jong Nam by smearing his face with VX, a nerve agent banned by the United Nations, at a Kuala Lumpur airport on Feb. 13 last year.

U.S. hits Chinese and Russian firms over North Korea sanctions breach

The United States imposed sanctions on a Russian port service agency and Chinese firms for aiding North Korean ships and selling alcohol and tobacco to Pyongyang in breach of U.S. sanctions. The U.S. Treasury said in a statement on Wednesday that China-based Dalian Sun Moon Star International Logistics Trading Co. Ltd and its Singapore-based affiliate SINSMS Pte. Ltd had netted more than $1 billion a year by exporting alcohol and cigarette products to North Korea.

Bahrain jailing of leading campaigner Rajab unlawful: U.N. experts

Bahrain's detention of activist Nabeel Rajab is unlawful and violates his right to freedom of expression, U.N. human rights experts have found, calling on the kingdom to release him immediately with compensation. There was no immediate reaction from Bahraini authorities to the appeal by the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which said the government had not responded to its requests for information on the high-profile case.

Former Indian PM Vajpayee, the gentler face of Hindu nationalism, dies

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who ordered nuclear tests to make India a nuclear weapons power and traveled by bus to Pakistan in a grand diplomatic gesture, died on Thursday, the hospital where he was admitted said in a statement. A poet-politician, Vajpayee was one of the most popular leaders of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. He was 93.

India grieves the demise of our beloved Atal Ji. His passing away marks the end of an era. He lived for the nation and served it assiduously for decades. My thoughts are with his family, BJP Karyakartas and millions of admirers in this hour of sadness. Om Shanti.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 16, 2018

Canada Hajj pilgrims, Saudi students face uncertainty due to diplomatic row

Canadian Muslims traveling to the Hajj pilgrimage face delays coming back due to a diplomatic dispute with Saudi Arabia that is also prompting thousands of students from the kingdom to scramble to sell their assets and return home to meet a month-end deadline. As the stalemate continues, Canada is reaching out to its allies, including the United States and European Union, to rally support, and talking to Saudi Arabia to resolve the dispute.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)