Category: World

Ukraine says it will introduce new border-crossing rules from next year, affecting citizens of “countries that pose risks for Ukraine.” …

A convoy of Islamic State fighters and their families being evacuated into jihadist territory in east Syria remained in government-held areas of Syria on Friday, U.S.-led forces said. “It has not managed to link up with any other ISIS elements in eastern Syria,” said Colonel Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State. …

Read more “US-led Coalition Keeps Monitoring IS Convoy in Syria”

Mysterious health attacks on the American diplomatic community in Cuba continued as recently as August, the United States said Friday, despite earlier U.S. assessments that the attacks had long stopped. The U.S. increased its tally of government personnel affected to 19. The new U.S. disclosures came the same day that the union representing American diplomats …

Read more “US: Diplomats Still Being Injured in Cuba”

The digital arms race between the United States and Russia appears to be accelerating, fueled in part by new comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin, speaking to a group of Russian students Friday, called artificial intelligence “not only Russia’s future” but “the future of the whole of mankind.” “The one who becomes the leader …

Read more “Russia Sees Artificial Intelligence as Key to World Domination”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that U.S. law enforcement officials intend to search its San Francisco Consulate and some diplomatic residences, as it complained the U.S. demands were posing a “direct threat” to its citizens. …

Vladimir Putin is widely expected to run for another term as president in the March election. The newspaper Vedomosti reports that the Kremlin is considering how a woman candidate might help increase turnout and give the vote more credibility. …

Ukraine says it will introduce new border-crossing rules from next year, affecting citizens of “countries that pose risks for Ukraine.” …

The U.S. Supreme Court stepped into Texas’ congressional redistricting debate this week, temporarily halting a lower court order to correct two districts found to be drawn with racially discriminatory intent. The Supreme Court’s stay is the latest turn in a contentious six-year battle over accusations of racially motivated redistricting in Texas. Given Texas’ sizable congressional …

Read more “Minority Votes Speak to Congressional Battle in Texas”

Pakistani officials say a roadside bomb has struck a vehicle carrying an anti-Taliban elder, killing him, his son, and another person. …

Floodwaters may be slowly receding in Houston, but many freeways and neighborhoods near dams and reservoirs are still under water. Many flood victims are staying in shelters. There are several mosques that have opened their doors to the larger community. The volunteers and temporary residents in one west Houston mosque learned something they didn’t expect. …

Read more “Houston Mosques Open Doors to Flood Victims”

Administration officials are defending the president’s proposal to cut federal emergency funds even as the southern state of Texas struggles with the aftermath of the worst flooding in its history. The White House said Thursday that adequate relief funds would be available for disasters under President Donald Trump’s proposal. The White House also announced that …

Read more “White House Defends Trump’s Proposal to Cut Disaster Relief Budget”

A U.S. military commander said on August 31 that Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is probably still alive and hiding in the Euphrates River valley between Iraq and Syria. …

The United States is withholding a $255 million military aid payment from Pakistan until it cracks down on what President Donald Trump has called “safe havens” for anti-Afghanistan militant groups, officials said. …

Tajikistan has passed a law that urges citizens to wear traditional clothes. Though the recommendation is vague and carries no penalties, authorities appear to have a specific goal in mind: discouraging women from wearing the Islamic hijab. (RFE/RL’s Tajik Service) …

The United States is pushing U.N.nuclear inspectors to check military sites in Iran to verify it is not breaching its nuclear deal with world powers. But for this to happen, inspectors must believe such checks are necessary and so far they do not, officials say. Last week, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley …

Read more “US Pressure or Not, UN Nuclear Watchdog Sees No Need to Check Iran Military Sites”

British Prime Minister Theresa May is planning to appeal to her counterparts in the European Union to try to break an impasse in Brexit talks. After four days of negotiations, the third round of formal exit discussions between London and Brussels, the two sides are as wide apart on the key issues as they were …

Read more “Britain’s May to Appeal to European Leaders as Brexit Talks Deadlock”

A Houston-area chemical plant that lost power after Harvey engulfed the area in extensive floods was rocked by two explosions early Thursday, the plant’s operator said. Arkema Inc. said in a statement on its website that the Harris County Emergency Operations Center reported two explosions and black smoke coming from the plant at about 2 …

Read more “Explosions Rock Flooded Houston-Area Chemical Plant”

An antiterrorism court in Pakistan has declared former President Pervez Musharraf a fugitive in connection with the killing of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007. …

The studio of Russian director Aleksei Uchitel, who has been under pressure from conservative activists for his film highlighting the romantic youth of Tsar Nicholas II, has reportedly been attacked. …

The United States has sent a reinforced detachment of fighter planes to police the skies over NATO members Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia during a major Russian military exercise in the Baltic region next month. The Zapad war games, set for September 14-20 in Belarus, western Russia and Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad, have caused unease in …

Read more “US Sends Extra Fighters to Police Baltic Skies During Russian Exercise”

A look at the best news photos from around the world. …

Criminalizing marital rape could “destabilize” marriages and make men vulnerable to harassment by their wives, said India’s government in response to a plea in the capital’s high court. Victims and rights groups are seeking to change the law on marital rape, but the government said husbands risked being falsely accused of rape if the change …

Read more “Men May Suffer if Marital Rape Becomes Crime, India Government Says”

A court in Austria has rejected a Spanish extradition request for Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash. …

A Ukrainian politician’s son charged with hitting and seriously wounding a pedestrian while driving a car has avoided pretrial detention. …