Month: October 2017

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio says eight people have been killed when a pickup truck drove onto a bike path in Lower Manhattan on October 31. …

Two top Iranian military commanders say that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has restricted the range of ballistic missiles manufactured in the country to 2,000 kilometers. …

A senior official in Russia says Protestant Christians are part of the country’s traditional religious communities, and praises the important role they have played in Russian society. …

The suburbs of Washington are the setting for a pilot project to promote healthier eating habits, a partnership between leaders of the Latino community there and researchers at George Washington University. The “Water up Project” encourages the community to drink more water and reduce their consumption of sugary beverages. Faiza Elmasry reports. Faith Lapidus narrates. …

Read more “A Community Experiment Promoting Heathier Habits to Reduce Obesity Among Latinos”

The luncheon special has brought a crowd into El Puente de Oro, a Salvadoran restaurant in Langley Park, Maryland. Owner and chef, Ciro Castro, has put together a meal with a large plate of chicken, beans and rice, salad, and a bottle of water. “The plate that costs $10, for them costs only $5,” he …

Read more “Community Experiment to Reduce Obesity Among Latinos Promotes Healthier Habits”

Facebook has found 80,000 posts published by Russia-based operatives that were aimed at swaying U.S. voters, and about 126 million Americans may have viewed those posts over a two-year period, media reported on October 30. …

Japan will clamp down on asylum seekers’ rights to work and detain other refugee applicants, the Yomiuri daily reported on Tuesday, in a move that would put further curbs on one of the developed world’s tightest refugee systems. From as early as mid-November, Japan will only allow those it regards as bona fide refugees the …

Read more “Yomiuri: Japan to Launch Crackdown on Asylum Seekers”

U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl apologized to the troops who got hurt searching for him after he deserted his post in Afghanistan in 2009 in testimony at a sentencing hearing on October 30. …

United Nations nuclear inspectors have encountered no problems in checking facilities in Iran to determine whether Tehran is complying with the 2015 nuclear deal, the head of the UN’s atomic energy agency has said. …

British Prime Minister Theresa May is calling for changes in the way Parliament deals with allegations of inappropriate behavior as she responds to suggestions that dozens of U.K. lawmakers have sexually harassed their employees or other people.   May wrote to House of Commons speaker John Bercow proposing a mediation service and contractually binding grievance …

Read more “May Calls for Changes in Handling UK Sex Harassment Cases”

Afghan officials say at least nine police officers were killed in a Taliban attack on a security checkpoint in the country’s southeast. …

Paul Manafort, who for a short time was U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign chairman last year, turned himself in to authorities Monday, as part of the criminal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016  presidential election. A federal grand jury on Friday approved charges in the probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller. Manafort long …

Read more “Manafort, Associate Surrender to US Authorities in Russia Probe”

The New York Times and CNN, citing unnamed sources, are reporting that U.S. President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been asked to surrender to authorities. …

Afghanistan’s Taliban claims the health condition of an American hostage, Kevin King, is rapidly deteriorating and he urgently needs better medical care. The 60-year-old King and his Australian colleague, Timothy Weeks, 48, were teaching at Kabul’s American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) before they were kidnapped at gunpoint near the campus in August 2016. The Islamist insurgency later claimed responsibility and …

Read more “Taliban Claims US Hostage Health Deteriorating”

The president of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region says he is stepping down amid tensions over last month’s independence referendum. …

An air of calm settled over Barcelona after hundreds of thousands of Catalans attended a rally Sunday for Spanish unity.  The atmosphere of the rally was peaceful, as police helicopters monitored from above. Amid a forest of Spanish national flags and chants of “Viva Espana,” protesters called for the jailing of Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, …

Read more “In Calm Before Storm, Madrid and Catalan Separatists Maneuver”