Aug 20 Afghan forces free most hostages taken in new Taliban attack By Amir Shah, Rahim Faiez, Associated Press Afghan forces rescued nearly 150 people Monday, including women and children, hours after the Taliban ambushed a convoy of buses and abducted them. The quick response marked a rare if limited battlefield success for the troops after weeks of unrelenting… Continue reading
Aug 20 Pope on sex abuse: ‘We showed no care for the little ones’ By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press Pope Francis issued a letter to Catholics around the world, condemning the crime of priestly sexual abuse and its cover-up and demanding accountability, seeking to respond to new revelations in the U.S. of decades of misconduct by the Catholic Church. Continue reading
Aug 20 U.S. firms to Trump: Don’t raise tariffs on more Chinese goods By Paul Wiseman, Associated Press Hundreds of other American businesses are delivering the same plea to President Donald Trump as he considers imposing tariffs on nearly 40 percent of imported Chinese goods: Don't do it. Continue reading
Aug 20 Suspect detained after shots fired at U.S. Embassy in Turkey By Zeynep Bilginsoy, Associated Press Shots were fired from a moving car at the U.S. Embassy in Turkey before dawn on Monday, an attack that came during heightened tensions between the two NATO allies. Continue reading
Aug 19 Big quakes trigger landslides on Indonesia’s Lombok island By Rosidin Sembahulun, Associated Press Strong earthquakes jolted the Indonesian island of Lombok on Sunday, causing power blackouts, landslides and damage to buildings, as the tourist hotspot tries to recover from a temblor earlier this month that killed hundreds of people. Continue reading
Aug 19 Over 2 million Muslims begin annual hajj pilgrimage By Omar Akour, Associated Press More than 2 million Muslims began the annual hajj pilgrimage at first light on Sunday in Saudi Arabia. Continue reading
Aug 18 Watch 5:51 Kofi Annan’s long legacy as an arbiter for reform at the UN By PBS News Hour Kofi Annan, the first black secretary-general of the United Nations and 2001 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, died Saturday at the age of 80. Annan served two terms as head of the U.N., where he established a reputation as a promoter… Continue watching
Aug 18 Watch 4:14 Turkish lira falls as U.S.-Turkey tensions escalate By PBS News Hour Tensions continue to rise between the U.S. and its NATO ally Turkey after both countries imposed sanctions on one another over the release of a U.S. pastor held in Turkey since 2016. The spat has caused the Turkish economy to… Continue watching
Aug 18 Pakistan’s Imran Khan sworn in as prime minister By Munir Ahmed, Associated Press Pakistan's cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan was sworn in as prime minister on Saturday despite protests by opposition parties, which accuse the security services of intervening on his behalf in last month's elections. Continue reading
Aug 18 800,000 displaced in flooding in southern Indian state By Aijaz Rahi, Associated Press Some 800,000 people have been displaced and over 350 have died in the worst flooding in a century in southern India's Kerala state, officials said Sunday. Continue reading