Category: World

Russian state television broadcaster Channel One says it won’t show this year’s Eurovision Song Contest after Ukraine banned Russia’s entry in the competition. …

United Nations human rights experts and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are demanding urgent action from Russian authorities to end the persecution of men perceived to be gay in the Russian region of Chechnya and to “thoroughly” investigate reports of abuse. …

A lawyer representing the man who was dragged off a United Airlines flight earlier this week said he is likely to sue the airline after he suffered serious injuries from the incident. The lawyer, Thomas Demetrio, said the airline has “bullied” passengers for a long time and he will “probably” file a lawsuit on behalf …

Read more “Man Forcibly Removed From United Flight Likely to Sue Airline”

An angry mob killed a fellow student at a Pakistani university campus Thursday on accusations that he’d posted blasphemous content online. It was the latest in a series of vigilante attacks over the increasingly contentious issue in the predominantly Muslim country. Witnesses and local media reported angry students associated with the ruling right-wing political parties …

Read more “Pakistan University Mob Kills Fellow Student Over Blasphemy Allegations”

Turkey accused the United Nations on Thursday of meddling in its internal politics shortly before a referendum that could give President Tayyip Erdogan sweeping presidential powers. In a statement earlier in the day, U.N. rights experts said Turkey’s security crackdown after a failed coup attempt in July had undermined the chance for informed debate on …

Read more “Turkey Accuses UN of Meddling in Internal Politics Before Referendum”

A mob in northern Pakistan has killed a university student over alleged blasphemy, officials say. …

Greg Barron, an award-winning radio producer, was 32 when he reported the despair of Cambodian refugees fleeing across the Thai border to escape the Khmer Rouge genocide in late 1979. Barron knew he did not completely understand what had happened to the refugees. Last year, in Minnesota, he connected with three Cambodians like those whose …

Read more “After 40 Years, Broadcaster Brings Cambodian Story to a Close”

It was one of the most exclusive tickets in town: Only 800 were made available, and those lucky enough to score one were told they would have to show photo ID at the gate, where they would be issued a wristband and a number. No signs bigger than a sheet of notebook paper allowed, so …

Read more “US Lawmakers Try to Keep Town Halls from Getting Out of Control”

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his administration would not label China a currency manipulator, backing away from a  campaign promise, even as he said the U.S. dollar was “getting too strong” and would eventually hurt the economy. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump also said he would like to see U.S. …

Read more “China Won’t Be Labeled a Currency Manipulator, Trump Says”

U.S. President Donald Trump has said the United States is “not getting along with Russia at all” and that bilateral relations may be at an “all-time low.” …

Russia has vetoed a Western-backed draft UN Security Council resolution on last week’s suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria. …

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on April 12. Speaking at a news conference with his counterpart, Tillerson said the two countries are seeking to reverse the “steady degradation” in relations, while Lavrov said that both sides have historically benefited from cooperation. …

Read more “Lavrov, Tillerson Call For Repairing U.S.-Russia Relations”

Police in Tajikistan have been ordered to go to the theater at least once a month in what officials call part of an effort to improve the moral and spiritual awareness of the force. …

Chinese state media say President Xi Jinping told U.S. leader Donald Trump that resolving North Korea tensions should be achieved peacefully. The reports said the leaders spoke by telephone Wednesday, nearly a week after after face-to-face talks at a summit in the U.S. state of Florida. The White House has not yet issued its account of …

Read more “Chinese Leader Advocates Peaceful Solution to North Korea Tensions”

A Canadian court on April 11 declined to release on bail a man accused of working with Russian intelligence agents in the largest-ever e-mail hacking scheme, calling him “a valuable operative for the FSB.” …

India on April 11 warned Pakistan of “consequences” for bilateral relations if Islamabad executes a retired Indian naval officer convicted of spying. …

The FBI obtained a secret court order last summer to monitor the communications of Carter Page, an adviser to then-candidate Donald Trump, because the government had reason to believe Page was acting as a Russian agent, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.   Page is among the Trump associates under scrutiny as the FBI and congressional …

Read more “Report: US Sought to Monitor Trump Adviser Last Summer”

Strolling down the quayside in Izmir, a liberal bastion on Turkey’s Aegean Coast, Kubilay Mutlu and his Street Orchestra sing of “the naked emperor” and the collapse of sultanates in a bid to rally “no” voters ahead of Sunday’s historic referendum. With mainstream media saturated by pro-government campaigning ahead of the vote on broadening President …

Read more “With Media Muzzled, Turkish ‘No’ Voters Seek Alternative Channels”

Several minutes after a passenger recorded a video watched around the world that showed security officers dragging another passenger off an overbooked United Express flight at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, a smaller snippet of video showed an even more troubling scene. There stood the passenger who had been dragged on his back to the front …

Read more “Chicago, United Lambasted Over Man Dragged Off Plane”

In defending President Barack Obama’s decision not to enforce his chemical weapons “red line” against Syria in 2013, Obama and other former officials repeatedly pointed to a U.S.-Russia agreement to remove Syrian stockpiles as proof that the president got results without resorting to a military response.   While it’s true that some 1,300 tons of …

Read more “AP Fact Check: Doubts Persisted on Syria Chemical Weapons”

State media in Belarus report that 20 Belarusian citizens have been charged with organizing an illegal armed group. …

Since she got struck by mortar shrapnel in Mosul just over a week ago, 10-year-old Nabaa has not been able to speak. A shard in her skull damaged part of her brain and doctors aren’t sure if she’ll ever be able to speak again.   The girl’s family had been forced to flee their home …

Read more “Bombardment in Iraq’s Mosul Takes Heavy Toll on Civilians”

Russia’s Defense Ministry said on April 11 that two of its soldiers had been killed in a mortar attack in Syria while a third was seriously wounded, Russian news agencies reported. …

A top U.S. diplomat says the United States is “concerned” about the impact of new Hungarian legislation upon on the Central European University (CEU) in Budapest, which was founded by the Hungarian-born U.S. financier George Soros. …