Aug 27 Death toll from heavy Afghanistan flooding surpasses 150 By Rahmat Gul, Tameem Akhgar, Associated Press Heavy rains, compounded by mudslides, often threaten remote areas of Afghanistan, where infrastructure is poor. Summer often brings heavy rainfall and flooding to the country's north and east. Continue reading
Aug 27 How nations are going back to school — or not By Associated Press Governments around the world are taking different strategies toward the new school year, depending on how many infections they're seeing, the state of their health care systems and political considerations. Continue reading
Aug 27 New Zealand mosque shooter sentenced to life without parole By Nick Perry, Associated Press The white supremacist who slaughtered 51 worshippers at two New Zealand mosques has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the first time the maximum available sentence has been imposed in the country. Continue reading
Aug 27 Despite virus surge, Europe reopens schools By Angela Charlton, Associated Press Despite a spike in coronavirus infections, authorities in Europe are determined to send children back to school. They want to narrow learning gaps between haves and have-nots that deepened during virus lockdowns – and to get their parents back to… Continue reading
Aug 27 Putin says Russia stands ready to offer security help to Belarus By Yuras Karmanau, Vladimir Isachenkov, Associated Press Belarus’ authoritarian president of 26 years, Alexander Lukashenko, is facing weeks of protests against his reelection to a sixth term in the Aug. 9 vote, which the opposition says was rigged. Continue reading
Aug 26 Watch 3:48 News Wrap: Heavy flooding kills at least 100 in Afghanistan In our news wrap Wednesday, at least 100 people have died in heavy flooding in northern and eastern Afghanistan. Strong seasonal rains brought mudslides that filled streets, submerged cars and destroyed more than 2,000 homes. Also, police in Minsk broke… Continue watching
Aug 26 Watch 5:48 Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai on life under new national security law By Nick Schifrin Hong Kong police arrested 16 people Wednesday, including two opposition lawmakers, on rioting charges from pro-democracy demonstrations last year. Beijing’s power to punish its critics is increased due to a new national security law allowing authorities to sentence demonstrators to… Continue watching
Aug 26 In a shift, Belarus leader seeks to stem protests gradually By Yuras Karmanau, Associated Press With the protests now in their third week, authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko is shifting tactics. He is moving to squelch the demonstrations gradually with vague promises of reforms mixed with threats, court summonses and the selective jailing of leading activists. Continue reading
Aug 25 Watch 5:40 TikTok ‘absolutely not’ a U.S. security risk, says top executive The social media giant TikTok has sued the U.S. government for threatening to ban the company from the country. The Trump administration’s targeting of the video-sharing platform is part of a larger effort to confront what the U.S. says are… Continue watching
Aug 25 UN security council rejects US call for sanctions against Iran By Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press All the council members, except the Dominican Republic, had informed the council president that the U.S. administration’s action was illegal. Continue reading