World AM News Briefs For Thursday, 22 June 2017

Good Morning Australia!! - Islamic State destroys its own birthplace - British PM Theresa May is forced to drastically scale-back her ambitions - Is Trump actually running the US, or is his cabinet paying lip service? - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

The so-called Islamic State blew up the Grand Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul, Iraq, in might be a hint of coming scorched-earth tactics the group will employ as it loses its last shreds of territory.  The terrorists waited until Iraqi troops were within 50 meters before setting off explosives.  Late in the afternoon, the US released fresh overhead surveillance photos showing the destruction:

First consecrated some 845 years ago, it is a significant site to IS which chose the al-Nuri Mosque as the place where leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would make his only public appearance to proclaim a "caliphate" in 2014. 

Parts of it, including a distinctive leaning minaret, have stood for centuries - no more.  Now it appears that if IS can't have the site, no one can.  Iraqi forces have moved into the old section of Mosul in recent days, getting closer to dislodging IS from the last major city it holds.

British Prime Minister Theresa May's weakened position has become all too clear in the Queen's Speech before the UK Parliament.  The speech is read by the Queen, but prepared by the PM's office - and it didn't mention at least eleven major policy points from the Tory manifesto going into this month's election:  Fox hunting, fracking, dementia tax, as well as raids on free school lunches and pensioner benefits have all been canned.  The Tory deal with Northern Ireland's DUP isn't going well, and it looks like May will try a minority government - good luck on that one.

Prince Philip did not attend the low key function because he was admitted to hospital with an infection.  Prince Charles accompanied his mum.  Due to the turmoil in the UK government, they arrived by car and didn't do all of the usual regal pomp and robes and crowns and other Michael Jackson-ish stuff.

The Queen raised eyebrows with what she didn't say:  The speech ordinarily previews upcoming state visits, but said nothing about Donald Trump's desire to visit the UK.  Trump reportedly backed out of the invitation extended by Ms. May earlier this year over fears of mass protests by Brits who really, really don't like him.  Royal watchers are also wondering if Liz wanted to send a message with her wardrobe:

The queen's hat suspiciously resembled the European Union flag with its blue cloth and yellow buttons.  It came as a surprise because many considered her to be in favor of the Brexit.

Does anything Donald Trump says even matter?  US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James "Mad Dog" Mattis held a joint newser to say in so many words that they are putting greater pressure on China to get tougher on North Korea.  They used words such as "frank" and "robust", which when translated out of diplomatic-ese actually mean, "we yelled a lot".  Tillerson said North Korea is the "most acute threat in the region today". 

This flies counter to what the orange clown tweeted a day earlier, "At least I know China tried!" to put pressure on North Korea to curb its nuclear program.  Tillerson and Mattis appear to be saying, "try harder."  So.. is the US government running itself and ignoring the clown?

The parents of the young American who came back from North Korea in a coma and died a few days later have for some reason refused an autopsy that would shed light on what happened.  22-year old Otto Wambier went to North Korea as a tourist last year, was caught trying to steal a propaganda sign, and was sentence to 15 years of hard labor.  But last week, Pyongyang announced they were sending him home - and Warmbier arrived in a vegetative state from which he would not recover.  Mr. Mattis said, Looking for place where to trade? Best forex brokers in the Philippines with real reviews. "This goes beyond any kind of understanding of law and order, of humanity, of responsibility towards any human being."  But now, the coroner will not rule on why Warmbier is dead.

Tens of thousands of Argentinians cheered as former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner launched a new political party called Citizen's Union ahead of legislative elections on 22 October.  She was term-limited out of office in 2015, but has been a vocal critic of her successor Mauricio Macri whose lousy conservative policies pushed 1.5 million people back into poverty.  The crowd yelled, "Cristina for Senator!" leading to speculation she will run in the legislative election.

A NATO fighter jet buzzed a Russian plane as it carried Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on an unannounced visit to the Kaliningrad enclave.  Russian jets have routinely buzzed Western planes and ships in the Baltic as part of the Kremlin's provocative posture.  NATO and Russia blame each other for the close encounters.  Earlier this week, the US said a Russian jet buzzed within 1.5 meters of a US reconnaissance plane's wing tip over the Baltic Sea.

Brussels police say the man who tried to detonate a suitcase filled with gas cylinders and nails at the city's main train station was a loner who didn't have much contact with his community. 

Soldiers shot and killed the 36-year-old Moroccan identified only as O.Z.; there were no other injuries and his explosive device was dramatic but not very effective. 

Speaking of blowhards, Travis Kalanick is out as Uber CEO, after a year of bad publicity over the ride-hailing company's toxic sexist, bullying corporate culture.  Earlier, he had went on "indefinite leave" as the board took the reins, but five major investors later demanded he be removed as CEO.  Kalanick remains on the board, outnumbered by the faction that wanted to put all of his bullshyte behind them.

Forbes is out with its list of rich American mofos and guess what?  I'm not on it.  Microsoft's Bill Gates, despite constantly promising to give away his fortune, added almost US$13 Billion to his piggybank to come in first at US$88.9 Billion; rising Amazons stock let Jeff Bezos come in just shy of Gates at US$83.3 Billion.