Feb 23 Despite war's end, Gaza still struggling to rebuild By News Desk Though Israel and Hamas agreed to stop their fighting in late August, in Gaza many Palestinians are struggling to rebuild with little signs of hope or progress. PBS NewsHour Special Correspondent Martin Seemungal traveled there to get a firsthand look… Continue reading
Feb 23 Defense secretary Carter gathers war council on Islamic State group By Robert Burns, Associated Press CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait — U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter convened an extraordinary war council Monday on Iraq's doorstep, six days after taking office, to discuss the nitty-gritty of the administration's oft-criticized strategy for countering the Islamic State militant group and… Continue reading
Feb 22 Watch 25:18 PBS NewsHour Weekend full program Feb. 22, 2015 By PBS News Hour On this edition for Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015, the head of Homeland Security warns mall shoppers to be vigilant in the face of terror threats from militant groups overseas, we analyze what Wal-Mart's decision to raise wages might mean for… Continue watching
Feb 22 US defense secretary calls Afghan army 'powerful force' By Robert Burns, Associated Press U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Sunday called Afghanistan's army "a powerful force in their own right" but declined to say whether he thinks the U.S. can scale back military training and advising this year as planned. Continue reading
Feb 21 Watch 25:19 PBS NewsHour Weekend full program Feb. 21, 2015 By PBS News Hour On this edition for Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015, negotiators reach a deal that would end a lengthy labor dispute at dozens of West Coast ports, pro-Western forces prepare for a major offensive against the Islamic State in Iraq, and in… Continue watching
Feb 21 Watch In tackling the Islamic State, what are the Mosul mission's chances for success? By PBS News Hour At a briefing this week, a U.S. official announced plans to take back Iraq’s second biggest city, Mosul, from Islamic State fighters who captured it last June. What are the chances that the operation will succeed? Douglas Ollivant, a military… Continue watching
Feb 21 Despite faltering economy, Russia will continue defense upgrade By Daniel Costa-Roberts In the face of a moribund economy and growing tensions with the west, Moscow will move ahead with a planned decade-long upgrade of the Russian military, raising 2015 defense spending to 3.3 trillion rubles ($50 billion), a 30 percent nominal… Continue reading
Feb 21 Thailand bans surrogacy for foreigners with new law By Rebecca Lee Thailand is cracking down on commercial surrogacy, including enacting a measure that would ban foreign couples from seeking a surrogate in the country. Continue reading
Feb 21 U.S. and Britain consider new sanctions against Russia By Bradley Klapper, Associated Press The U.S. and Britain on Saturday discussed new sanctions against Russia as Ukraine's week-old cease-fire unravels, though it was unclear if the allies were on the same page about increasing pressure on an economy that means far more to Europe. Continue reading
Feb 21 Watch 7:36 Praise for the printed page: Will Amazon leave French bookstores in peril? By PBS News Hour In France, even though the price of books was fixed years ago to prevent price differentiation, some worry the country's thousands of bookstores may now be in jeopardy as more customers flock to online retailers, such as Amazon. The online… Continue watching