News in Brief - Sun, Aug, 30, 2015 - 04:30 GMT

1. Rallies have been held in the US states of Illinois and Minnesota against racial injustice and police brutality. In Chicago, protesters demanded an end to what they called racist police terror. A similar rally was held at the Minnesota State Fair.

2. A mentally-ill black inmate has died in a prison in the US state of Virginia. Jamycheal Mitchell was arrested in April for stealing five dollars worth of snacks. He was kept in custody without bail. Police are investigating the cause of his death. His family says Mitchell died of malnutrition.

3. A new report says the United States considered using nuclear weapons against Afghanistan following the 2001 invasion. A political advisor to then German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder says he feared Washington was overreacting to the 9/11 attacks and refused to declare unconditional support for it.

4. Tens of thousands rally in the Malaysian capital for the second day to call for the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Razak. Former Premier Mahathir Mohamad joined the protesters on the first day, encouraging them to carry on. People are angry about a seven hundred million-dollar payment to Razak from unnamed foreign donors.

5. Lebanese police attack protesters rallying against an ongoing waste crisis in the capital Beirut. Several demonstrators were injured in the clashes against the piling-up of tons of garbage across the city. The problem surfaced after the government closed the country’s biggest landfill.

6. Five Palestinian prisoners have pledged to continue their hunger strike until their demands are met. They've been refusing food for over ten days now in protest at their detention without trial. Also, they've threatened to stop drinking liquids if Israel doesn't end their administrative detention by September the first.

7. Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says Tehran will not accept any restrictions or limitations on its defense capabilities. Rouhani said the UN Security Council resolution approving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran’s nuclear program has only put temporary limits on the country’s import and export of weapons.

8. Turkey says for the first time, its warplanes have attacked Daesh positions in Syria as part of US-led airstrikes. A statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry says the attacks were jointly carried out with other countries late on Friday. The airstrikes are said to have targeted border areas.

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