News summary for Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Photo of author

By BNO NEWS

A quick look at the most important news of the last 24 hours:

  • The U.S. Senate has voted to start debating a new Republican health care bill. The move marks a major step forward for President Trump’s attempts to repeal and replace Obamacare, even though it remains highly uncertain whether senators will be able to agree on the specifics of a bill.

  • The U.S. believes that North Korea will be able to start production of reliable, nuclear-capable long-range missiles as early as next year, the Washington Post reports. The assessment shaves a full two years from previous reports. It comes amidst possible indications that the reclusive country may be preparing to carry out another missile test in the next few days.

  • A bill to impose new sanctions on Russia, Iran, and North Korea is heading to the U.S. Senate after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted in favor. The bill also limits the president’s power to waive the sanctions. It’s not yet known whether Trump would veto the bill if approved by the Senate.

  • Killer whale Kyara, the 3-month-old calf which was the last to be born as part of SeaWorld’s orca breeding program, has died in Texas. The calf died while being treated for an infection, believed to be pneumonia. SeaWorld announced last year that it would stop breeding killer whales.

  • White House Assistant Press Secretary Michael Short has resigned after the incoming director told reporters that he planned to fire him, part of a shake-up of the president’s press shop. It comes just days after Press Secretary Sean Spicer said he would resign.

  • The number of cases as a result of an unprecedented dengue outbreak in Sri Lanka has risen to more than 100,000, flooding hospitals with patients and killing more than 300 of them, the health ministry says.

(Copyright 2015 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.)

Images Courtesy of DepositPhotos