News in Brief - Wed, Aug, 26, 2015 - 04:30 GMT

1. Stocks in Asia are mostly low despite China’s interest rate cut meant to calm global markets. Indices in Japan, China and Hong Kong are down after Beijing’s measures failed to spur a sustained rally on Wall Street. China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite nosedived 16 percent this week sending shock waves through global markets.

2. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has hailed Iran and Russia for supporting his country during the four-year-long crisis there. Assad also defended the military presence of Hezbollah fighters in Syria as legitimate. He stressed that the conflict can end only when certain countries stop funding terrorism in Syria.

3. Clashes have once again erupted between Lebanese protesters and police in the capital Beirut. The protests began on Saturday after piles of rubbish began to accumulate across the city. Beirut has been the scene of violent clashes since then, which have left a protester dead and dozens of people injured.

4. The chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in the US Senate admits the Obama administration has succeeded in rallying support for the Iran action plan. Republican Bob Corker expressed doubt whether the opponents could reject the Joined Comprehensive Plan of Action. He is known for his anti-Iran stances.

5. The IAEA chief says Iran has provided the agency with substantive data regarding the alleged military dimension of the country’s nuclear program. Yukiya Amano said it would be too early to comment on the value of the information submitted last week. Iran has rejected any military aspect to its nuclear program.

6. Iranian Ambassador to Syria Mohammad Sheibani has visited IRIB’s wounded reporter at a hospital in the port city of Latakia. Mohammad-Hassan Hosseini sustained severe injuries while covering Syrian military operations in the west of the country on Monday. A mortar attack by foreign-backed terrorists near Latakia caused the incident.

7. Spain and Morocco have jointly arrested 14 people suspected of having links with the ISIL terrorist group. They are accused of recruiting people for Daesh in Iraq and Syria. Foreign nationals from over 90 countries have joined the terrorist group. Their return has triggered concern among the Western officials.

8. Asylum seekers and activists have marched in the German city of Magdeburg to denounce what they called Germany’s racist asylum laws. They called for respecting the rights of asylum seekers. The protesters also criticized deportations under the so-called Dublin Regulation, which allows Germany to deport asylum seekers.

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