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A Texas law banning sanctuary cities would harm diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Mexico, Mexico argues in a brief submitted to the appeals court reviewing the law. The brief, filed Thursday with the Fifth District Court of Appeals in New Orleans, says whenever state or local officials act improperly in upholding the sanctuary law, …
Read more “Mexico Argues Texas Immigration Law Will Harm Relations”
Officials in Afghanistan say a suicide blast inside a crowded Shi’ite Muslim mosque in Kabul has killed at least 40 worshippers and wounded dozens more. Eyewitnesses and security officials told VOA the bomber walked into the Imam Zaman Mosque on Friday evening in the western Dashti Barchh area of the capital city and blew himself …
Scores of Afghan troops have failed to show up while undergoing military training in the United States due to death threats, other potential violent acts and uncertain job prospects, according to a report issued Friday. Of the 320 foreign military trainees who left U.S. military bases without permission since 2005, about half were Afghan nationals, …
Read more “Report: Scores of Afghan Military Trainees Go AWOL During Training in US”
NATO would not be able to rebuff a potential Russian attack on its eastern flank, according to an internal report cited on October 20 by German weekly Der Spiegel. …
People rushed to help the victims after a suicide bomber attacked a Shi’ite mosque in western Kabul on October 20, leaving dozens dead and wounded. A separate attack on a Sunni mosque in the central Afghan province of Ghor claimed more casualties the same day. (AP) Note: Contains graphic images. …
Afghan soldiers and police who train in the United States go “absent without leave,” or AWOL, at far higher rates than those of any other country, possibly jeopardizing efforts to assist Afghan security forces, a U.S. watchdog says. …
Senate Republicans plan to introduce legislation that would add new conditions to the legislation that gives them review authority over the Iran nuclear deal, a longtime lawmaker says. Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, told VOA the current Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is “a lousy deal” and explained President Donald Trump …
Read more “Senate Republicans Plan Iran Nuclear Deal Strategy”
Four opposition-appointed Venezuelan judges have found refuge in Chile to avoid possible prison time. “All I can say today is that we were forced to abandon our beloved home of Venezuela, but that another nation has embraced us and will protect our freedom,” judge Beatriz Ruiz told reporters at the Santiago airport Thursday. Another judge …
Senate Republicans plan to introduce legislation that would add new conditions to the legislation that gives them review authority over the Iran nuclear deal, a longtime lawmaker says. Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, told VOA the current Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is “a lousy deal” and explained President Donald Trump …
Read more “Graham: Senate Republicans Plan Iran Nuclear Deal Strategy”
The Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law), which earlier passed both houses of the Canadian Parliament, on October 19 received royal assent, which is required before a bill can come into force. …
A bipartisan trio of U.S. senators has introduced legislation to regulate paid political ads that appear on Facebook, Google, and other social media in an effort to prevent foreign interference in U.S. elections, with special emphasis placed on alleged actions by Russia. …
EU leaders on October 19 are set to voice support for a landmark deal to limit Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief, one week after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would not to certify that Iran was complying with the agreement. …
At least four people have been killed across the small West African nation of Togo in clashes between security forces and protesters demanding an end to the rule of President Faure Gnassingbe. Security Minister Colonel Damehame Yark said Wednesday that one person was shot dead in the capital, Lome, while three others were killed in …
Read more “At Least Four Dead in Anti-Government Protests in Togo”
Afghan officials say the Taliban have carried out two suicide car bombings at an army camp in the southern Kandahar province, setting of several hours of fighting and killing at least 41 soldiers. Khalid Pashtun, a member of parliament from the province, provided the toll from the attack, which began late Wednesday. An Afghan …
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In military training, the body and mind are often pushed to the limit. In some cases, it could prove to be deadly. “We are killing more Marines and soldiers in training than in combat. Why does that happen? A lot of times it is fatigue,” Lt. Col. Warren Cook of the U.S. Marine Corps said. …
Afghan officials say at least 25 soldiers have been killed and 20 others injured in a Taliban attack on an army camp in the southern province of Kandahar. …
The White House has said the imminent liberation of Raqqa, the Islamic State (IS) group’s last major stronghold in Syria, will open a new phase in the long-running conflict there. …
U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley urged the UN Security Council on October 18 to follow the United States’ example and address what she called Iran’s “destructive conduct” in the Middle East rather than focusing on the 2015 nuclear deal. …
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is threatening to “shred” the nuclear deal between Tehran and global powers if the United States pulls out. …
The Cambodian government rushed through legislative amendments on Monday all but sealing the fate of more than 480 commune chiefs elected just months ago under the banner of the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party, or CNRP. And as the National Election Committee hits the provinces to register voters for next year’s parliamentary elections, many now …
Read more “Hundreds of Cambodian Commune Chiefs Face Expulsion Months Into Job”
Former Soviet gymnast Tatiana Gutsu has accused ex-teammate Vitaly Scherbo of raping her in 1991, when she was 15 years old and he was 19. …
Reports two weeks ago that the Federal Security Service (FSB) had thwarted a planned attempt to assassinate charismatic Salafi preacher Khamzat Chumakov and arrested three of the four would-be perpetrators risk exacerbating the long-standing conflict in Ingushetia between the adherents of traditional Sufi Islam, on the one hand, and of moderate Salafi Islam on the …
Read more “Who Was Behind Third Attempt To Kill Popular Ingush Preacher?”
Portugal’s Interior Minister Constanca Urbano de Sousa resigned Wednesday after wildfires killed more than 100 people this year. The latest fires erupted last weekend and have killed at least 41 people. They followed a fire in June that left 64 people dead. Urbano de Sousa said in her resignation letter that “though the tragedy was …
Read more “Latest Wildfires Prompt Resignation of Portugal’s Interior Minister”
A car bomb attack struck a Pakistani police truck in the southwestern city of Quetta on Wednesday, killing at least five policemen and two civilians. In a separate attack in Quetta, a police officer was gunned down by assailants riding on a motorcycle, authorities said. Also Wednesday, a roadside bombing near a tribal area along …
Read more “Car Bomb Kills 5 Police, 2 Civilians in Southwest Pakistan”