Historian: Emmet Till Witness Admits Her Testimony Untrue

The woman at the center of the trial of Emmett Till’s alleged killers has acknowledged that she falsely testified he made physical and verbal threats, according to a new book. Historian Timothy B. Tyson told The Associated Press on Saturday that Carolyn Donham broke her long public silence in an interview with him in 2008. …

Reports: 3 Yemeni al-Qaida Leaders Killed in US Raid

Tribal and local sources say the U.S. has conducted a commando raid in central Yemen, killing at least three alleged senior al-Qaida leaders and wounding civilians. Sources say the U.S. troops used drones and helicopters in the Sunday morning strike. Officials say at least one relative of the targeted men had been killed in a …

Digital Technology Aiming to Empower Small-farm Owners in East Africa

Mastercard has launched a new digital marketplace for East African farmers to sell their crops and receive payment via their mobile telephones. “2Kuze” (pronounced “tuh-KOO-zay”) works with existing mobile money systems like mPesa to facilitate transactions between farmers, agents and banks, the financial-services corporation said. The World Bank’s Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) …

Four Abducted Pakistani Rights Activists Return Home

Four of the five Pakistani rights campaigners and bloggers, who mysteriously disappeared from several cities earlier this month, have returned home. Police, relatives and sources confirmed Saturday that noted rights defender Salman Haider rejoined his family. “He is fine and safe,” said family members who refused to offer further comments on his whereabouts and the …

Effects of Trump Immigration Order Being Felt at International Airports

Several people have been detained at airports within the United States and others have been barred from boarding international flights destined for the U.S., according to U.S.-based lawyers and international airport officials, as an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Friday restricting travel from certain countries begins to take hold. The executive order …

Conservationists Eye Kazakhstan To Give Tiger Second Chance

Plans to reintroduce tigers to Central Asia, using the Amur tiger from Russia, have been a topic of discussion for about a decade. But the idea got a scientific boost earlier this month when a study laid out the options for restoring tigers to the region and identified a “promising site” in Kazakhstan that could …

Majlis Podcast: Transition And Succession In Kazakhstan

The changes announced recently by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev are themselves not very significant but the fact there are changes is important. Nazarbaev turns 77 this year and his speech was about a transition and a reminder the post-Nazarbaev era might not be too much further in the future. (The views expressed in this blog …

What Islamic State Left Behind

As its self-styled “caliphate” crumbles, militants from the group Islamic State (IS) are being driven out of areas of Iraq and Syria by local and international fighting forces. What they leave behind is a trail of crude weapons and evidence of the human misery they inflicted. …

Rogue Tweeters in Government Could Face Prosecution

Who are the federal government’s rogue tweeters, using official agency social media accounts to poke President Donald Trump? Are these acts of civil disobedience or federal crimes? The online campaign began with unauthorized tweets — on subjects such as climate change, and inconsistent with Trump’s campaign statements and policies — that have been mostly deleted …

Tariffs Help Domestic Producers but Can Hurt Consumers

President Donald Trump has threatened to impose taxes, called tariffs, on goods imported to the United States from Mexico and China. Governments impose tariffs on imported goods and services to make them more expensive to consumers. Tariffs provide revenue to the government and give a price advantage to domestic producers. A tariff could mean a …

Indonesia Breaks Silence on Refugees With Presidential Decree

Indonesia has quietly released a presidential decree addressing its roughly 14,000 refugees and asylum seekers, who were previously overlooked in the country’s laws. It is being hailed as a promising, if incomplete, first step for Indonesia, which is not a signatory to the United Nations’ 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. “The decree …

Trump, May to Meet at White House, Trade to be Key Topic

British Prime Minister Theresa May meets with U.S. President Donald Trump Friday at the White House, where the two world leaders will hold a joint news conference. She will be the first foreign leader to meet with Trump in Washington since he took office. Both leaders have taken steps to reform their international relations, particularly …

Greece Refuses Turkish Extradition for 8 Accused in Coup Attempt

Greece’s Supreme Court has rejected a request from Turkey for the extradition of eight senior servicemen who fled the country following the failed coup last July.  The eight Turkish servicemen, three majors, three captains and two sergeant majors, escaped Turkey in a helicopter July 16, the day after the failed coup. They landed in northern …

UK Does Not Condone Torture, says Spokesman as PM May Flies to See Trump

Britain does not condone torture or inhumane treatment and its close relationship with the United States allows frank exchanges on areas of disagreement, Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman said on Thursday. He was responding to questions about comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump in an interview with ABC that the practice of waterboarding “works,” …