Month: April 2018

The internal organs were removed from the body of a Georgian man who died while in the custody of separatist authorities in Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetia region, prosecutors have told the family. …

U.S. President Donald Trump and Pentagon officials are dismissing Russian claims that Syrian air defense systems took out most of the cruise missiles aimed at three of the country’s critical chemical weapons sites. Russian news outlets Monday quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying Syria’s Pantsir-S1 was nearly 100-percent effective in repelling the U.S.-led airstrikes …

Read more “Trump Dismisses Russia Claims Syria Successfully Shot Down US Missiles”

Tumult continues at Kenya’s independent electoral commission (IEBC) nearly seven months after elections ended. Three commissioners quit their jobs Monday, saying the commission is dysfunctional and too vulnerable to meddling The commissioners’ complaint echoes concerns raised during last October’s contentious polls.   Speaking to journalists Monday in Nairobi, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission official Margaret …

Read more “Kenya Electoral Body in Turmoil After 3 Commissioners Resign”

In the aftermath of the Somali security force’s recent seizure of a UAE-registered civil aircraft at the Mogadishu airport that contained $9.6 million, the United Arab Emirates announced in a statement its decision to disband its military training program in Somalia which started in 2014. The UAE said the $9.6 million was for the salaries …

Read more “UAE Disbands Somalia Training Program”

Opinion in Serbia is sharply divided over whether ultranationalist Vojislav Seselj’s conviction on war crimes charges should prevent him from taking up a seat in parliament. …

In a new report, Pakistan’s leading watchdog has said the country has failed to make progress on several issues over the past year, citing forced disappearances, women’s rights violations, and protection of religious minorities. …

The calendar says spring, but Mother Nature has her own ideas. Heavy snow, ice storms and record low temperatures have turned large parts of the upper Midwest and New England into an unwanted winter wonderland. More than 61 centimeters, or two feet, of snow was on the ground Sunday in Tigerton and Big Falls, Wisconsin. …

Read more “Snow, Bitter Cold Turn Spring Into Winter in Some Parts of US”

Pakistani officials say two Christians were killed in a drive-by shooting outside a church in the country’s southwest. …

French President Emmanuel Macron says he convinced President Donald Trump not to pull U.S. troops out of Syria and limit the airstrikes. Macron spoke to France’s BFM television Sunday, marking one year in office, and two days after France joined the U.S. and Britain in airstrikes targeting Syria’s chemical weapons sites. “Ten days ago, President …

Read more “France’s Macron Says He Convinced Trump Not to Pull Out of Syria”

Focusing on Pakistani hardline religious scholars, Afghanistan is in the process of convening an international religious conference in a bid to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in the county, the Afghan High Peace Council (HPC) said. The HPC told VOA it is very important that Pakistani scholars, who believe the Taliban insurgency in …

Read more “Afghan Council to Host Religious Conference to Promote Peace”

The United States plans to announce new targeted sanctions against Russia over Moscow’s support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. …

The European Commission will recommend that the European Union opens accession negotiations with Albania and Macedonia, according to a draft document seen by RFE/RL. …

A storm system stretching from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes has buffeted the central U.S. with heavy snow, tornadoes, rain and hail, forcing flight cancellations, creating treacherous road conditions and killing at least three people, including a sleeping 2-year-old Louisiana girl. In the Upper Midwest, all flights were grounded most of Saturday at …

Read more “Flights Canceled, Roads Treacherous Amid Spring Snowstorms”

Syria’s army command on Saturday announced that the eastern Ghouta region was free of militants, following the departure of the last rebel fighters from the city of Douma towards the north of the country, state media reported, citing a statement by the Syrian army general command. “All the terrorists have left Douma city, their last …

Read more “State Media: Syrian Army Announces Eastern Ghouta Free of Militants”

The United States has warned Syria’s government that it is “locked and loaded” to strike again if Damascus carries out chemical attacks. …

Afghanistan launched its voter registration drive for long-delayed parliamentary and provincial council elections that are scheduled for October. …