Global Beat is your weekly stop for news from around the world. Join us every Friday morning for important stories you should know about.

This week, Russia and Belarus launch a week of war games near neighboring NATO countries; Iraqi Kurds vow to push ahead with an independence referendum after Iraq’s parliament calls it unconstitutional; Mexicans’ views of the United States hit a new low; and more.

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Americas

Mexicans’ views of the United States have hit a new low, according to a study published this week by Pew Research Center. Nearly two-thirds of the 1,000 Mexicans surveyed in March and April expressed an unfavorable opinion of the United States. Just 5 percent said they trust U.S. President Donald Trump’s judgment in international affairs, with 93 percent saying they had "no confidence in the U.S. president to do the right thing regarding world affairs." Ninety-four percent of Mexicans oppose Trump’s border wall.

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• Trump’s first UN General Assembly: An insider’s guide – CBS News

Central & South Asia

Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar are overcrowding encampments in Bangladesh and overwhelming international aid agencies. An estimated 370,000 Rohingya have crossed the border into Bangladesh in recent weeks, seeking shelter and aid and prompting its prime minister to urge the United Nations and international community to facilitate their return to Myanmar. Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi said she will not attend the UN General Assembly in New York, which convened on Tuesday, in order to "address domestic security issues."

Also check out:

• Pakistan tells Doctors Without Borders to pull out of tribal areas – The New York Times

China & East Asia

North Korea reacted to the UN Security Council’s new sanctions by resolving to hasten its nuclear weapons development program. Its most recent test of a hydrogen bomb on September 3 garnered international attention and resulted in the ninth sanctions resolution against North Korea since 2006. The resolution would ban the import of textiles and cut 30 percent of North Korea’s annual fuel imports if enforced, but has done little to deter Pyongyang, which issued a statement saying the "four islands of the (Japanese) archipelago should be sunken into the sea" by a nuclear bomb. Japan called the threat "extremely provocative and outrageous." Early Friday morning, North Korea launched another missile that flew over Japan.

Also check out:

• More than ever, South Koreans want their own nuclear weapons – The Washington Post

Europe & Russia

Russia and Belarus launched a week of war games called "Zapad-2017" (Russian for “West”) on Thursday, making neighboring NATO countries nervous. In 2014, Russia used military exercises as a pretext for its invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko warned that Zapad-2017 could be another such pretext for an invasion of Ukraine. The scenario for the Zapad-2017 exercise is "an armed uprising in Belarus by ‘saboteurs’ and ‘terrorists’ backed by a fictitious country called Veishnoria," with Russian forces "deployed to Belarus to help crush the rebellion."

Also check out:

• London Underground blast a terror incident, say police – BBC News

Middle East & North Africa

Iraq’s parliament rejected Kurdish plans for a referendum on creating an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq. Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani said he would press ahead with the referendum anyway on September 25. Almost all of Iraq’s neighbors, including Iran, Syria, and Turkey, oppose the referendum, as does the United States. Kurdish leadership agreed to study an alternative to the referendum offered by the UN, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Also check out:

• Buses carrying evacuated ISIL fighters reached Syria’s Deir al-Zor on Wednesday in return for releasing a Hezbollah prisoner – Reuters

Southeast Asia & Oceania

Two people, a soldier and a police officer, were killed and 26 others were injured after Muslim separatists set off two bombs in southern Thailand. Since 2004, more than 6,800 people have died in relation to the insurgency’s uprising. Ethnic Malay insurgents in the Muslim-majority region of Thailand that borders Malaysia are responsible for a string of attacks over the years in an effort to get more autonomy from the Buddhist-majority state.

Also check out:

• U.S. envoy to Cambodia denies plotting to oust government – The Washington Post

Sub-Saharan Africa

Tanzania announced that it will nationalize nearly $15 million worth of diamonds suspected of being undervalued that officials seized at Dar es Salaam airport from a British mining company. The move is part of Tanzanian President John Magufuli’s campaign to address corruption and international exploitation of the country’s mining industry. Tanzania valued the diamonds at $29.5 million, more than double the $14.7 million valuation by British-owned Williamson Diamonds. Petra Diamonds, the owner of Williamson Diamonds, suspended operations at its Tanzanian mine in response. 

Also check out:

• Mugabe launches Zimbabwe biometric voter registration exercise – Voice of America

Stay informed. We’ll see you here again next week.