ISIS-controlled territory: The Islamic State released a video Tuesday showing the execution of the American journalist, Steven Sotloff, according to The Wall Street Journal. He is the second American journalist in as many weeks to be executed in such a fashion, the other being James Foley, Like Foley, Sotloff was executed by a masked man with a British accent. The executioner claimed the killing was a reprisal for America’s continued airstrikes against IS. The attack has been condemned by everyone from the Iraqi foreign minister Hoshiyar Zebari to British Prime Minister David Cameron according to Reuters.
Islamabad, Pakistan: Protestors demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif clashed with police last weekend. Three people where killed. The protestors, led by former cricket star Imran Khan and cleric Tahir ul-Qadri have been camping in the city center since mid-August according to Reuters. Monday, a group of protestors stormed the news station PTV and shut it down for 45 minutes. Despite this, Sharif shows no sign of stepping down. “Chances of the PM resigning? Zero.” Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told Reuters in an interview Monday.
Louisiana, USA: Halliburton agreed to pay out a billion dollars in a settlement over their role in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, according to Al-Jazeera. Halliburton was responsible for some of the cement work for the oil rig. A former Halliburton manager already pled guilty last year to destroying evidence concerning the company’s work on the rig. Since the oil spill four and a half years ago, BP, the company in charge of the rig, has paid $28 billion in damages.
Wales, UK: NATO leaders are debating creating a 4,000-troop rapid-response team to counter Russia’s military influence in Eastern Europe, according to The New York Times. The force is a response in part to accusations that Russian troops are aiding Ukrainian separatists in the southern part of the country. Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin also called for talks with the Ukrainian government on “statehood for south-east Ukraine” according to the BBC, although a spokesman later clarified that Putin did not mean the creation of a separate country.
