Taliban control more territory in Afghanistan than at any point since 2001, US inspector says
11/1/2018, 5:42:57 AMThe Taliban have strengthened their grip in Afghanistan over the past three years, according to a new report released by the US government's own ombudsman of the war. ✔ MUST WATCH Deadliest recorded year for Afghan civilians 02:54 From January 1 to September 30, 313 civilians were killed and 335 injuries in US-backed air strikes alone -- a 39% increase from 2017, according to the report, citing UNAMA data ✔ After casting his vote, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani thanked law enforcement, election officials and citizens who made the election possible despite the risks involved
Report: Taliban maintaining foothold in Afghanistan amid increasing violence
11/1/2018, 4:35:27 AMU.S. watchdog also criticizes poor Afghan anti-drug and anti-corruption efforts. ✔ By Pamela Constable Pamela Constable Foreign correspondent covering Afghanistan, Pakistan, South Asia, Latin America and immigration Email Bio Follow November 1 at 12:01 AM KABUL A new report by a U.S. government watchdog paints a discouraging portrait of Afghanistan in recent months, detailing continued Taliban gains, record civilian casualties by pro-government airstrikes and insurgent attacks, a disappointing performance by U.S.-funded anti-corruption agencies, and soaring drug production and addiction ✔ Scott Miller, escaped unharmed in the attack, which the Taliban took credit for carrying out
Saudi-led coalition masses troops near Yemen's Hodeidah as pressure mounts to end war
11/1/2018, 7:35:00 AMThe United Nations said on Wednesday that it aims to re-launch Yemen peace talks "within a month", shortly after the United States called for the warring parties to come to the negotiating table. ✔ Envoy Martin Griffiths welcomed a call by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday for a cessation of hostilities ahead of UN-led negotiations scheduled to begin next month ✔ Half the population of Yemen - some 14 million people - could soon be on the brink of famine, the UN says ✔ The Yemeni government accused the group of trying to sabotage the negotiations
Traitors or Russian agents? Clergy caught in Ukraine church row
11/1/2018, 7:46:49 AMPriests like Metropolitan Oleksandr face a choice: join Ukraine's new indep... ✔ The next step is for Ukraine’s various church strands to meet to decide the make-up of the church and who will lead it ✔ The Russian Orthodox Church retaliated by breaking off all ties with Istanbul and accused the United States of engineering the split behind the scenes ✔ Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles
South Korea's top court legalizes conscientious objection after decades-long fight
11/1/2018, 6:29:32 AMThe South Korean Supreme Court ruled in favor of conscientious objectors Thursday, ending the country's decades-long position as the world's leading jailer of those who refuse to join the armed forces. ✔ Despite massively reduced tensions on the peninsula, many people in the country are still broadly supportive of conscription, and conscientious objectors can face stigma and discrimination well beyond their jail terms ✔ James Griffiths reported and wrote from Hong Kong
Thousands of Ypres sculptures to commemorate world war one dead
11/1/2018, 5:37:40 AMThe memorial pays tribute to the 600,000 people killed in Belgium between 1914 and 1918 ✔ It was in Flanders that armies used some of the war’s cruellest weapons for the first time, such as mustard gas and flamethrowers ✔ Vanmechelen sees the work as a warning against forgetting: It is very dangerous that we could easily create a new war if we don’t know what war is
Europe torn over Islamic State children in Syria
11/1/2018, 7:23:24 AMFor years, they heard little from daughters who went to join Islamic State. Now ... ✔ As coalition forces clear remaining pockets of IS territory, Western security sources say numbers will grow ✔ Kurdish forces have traded some women back to IS fighters in exchange for prisoners and let others go ✔ Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles
Kim Jong-un condemns sanctions as the work of ‘hostile forces’
11/1/2018, 6:43:48 AMKim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, has condemned international sanctions on his country as the work of “hostile forces” to impede efforts to improve the living standards of his citizens. ✔ The South Korean government is also calling on the US to show flexibility on the issue, with the administration of Moon Jae-in insisting that North Korea will respond positively if sanctions are toned down ✔ Washington says there can be no progress in the stalled denuclearisation talks until Pyongyang comes clean on its nuclear capabilities
‘Negro blood’: Pentagon quietly removes bizarre booklet for US troops in Saudi Arabia
11/1/2018, 6:57:25 AMAmericans have never looked to the military as a bastion of social progressivism, but a training pamphlet distributed to soldiers in Saudi Arabia was so offensive the Pentagon has quietly removed it after a Netflix comedy special. ✔ Advice like both the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea offer excellent opportunities for fishing, water skiing, sail boating, scuba diving, and snorkeling makes the average American think twice about how their tax dollars are being spent, and the detailed chapter on how to bring one’s pet to Saudi Arabia is just weird
Analysis | Trump and the Saudis keep fumbling after Khashoggi’s killing
11/1/2018, 5:23:02 AMEven the Trump administration, which has gone out of its way to defend Riyadh, may be reaching its limit. ✔ A number of prominent lobbying firms dropped their Saudi contracts in reaction to Khashoggi’s murder, and some foreign governments have trotted out tentative punishments ✔ It is no longer able to just tell the world what it wants it to think without the world now being suspicious and skeptical
'Fate of Korean Peninsula changed'
11/1/2018, 6:37:18 AMundefined ✔ The foundation was established in 2005 by filmmaker Thor Halvorssen and is headquartered in New York ✔ It has hosted the annual Oslo Freedom Forum in Norway since 2009, raising awareness of rights violations not only in North Korea, but also in China and other countries ✔ He served as the president-publisher of the nation's first English daily newspaper from 2004 to 2014 after working as a reporter since 1974
South Koreans wow Pyongyang taekwondo fans [PHOTOS]
11/1/2018, 4:20:25 AMundefined ✔ But the latest performance was more about storytelling, which described the hopes for lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula ✔ I never thought I would be able to return here and see him again … We shared our thoughts about taekwondo, which was very interesting
Marijuana Ban ‘Unconstitutional’, Rules Mexican Supreme Court, Allows Recreational Cannabis Use
11/1/2018, 6:04:34 AMThe country’s topmost court decided in favor of the use of recreational cannabis in two individual cases recently. ✔ With the existence of five precedents in the same vein on the subject, the judgment will be mandatory for all courts in the country, the topmost court concluded ✔ In the United States, 29 states have legalized medical marijuana so far, with California being the first one to do so in 1996
Trump hardens stance on Mexico border; says 15,000 troops could be sent
11/1/2018, 5:03:35 AMU.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States could send as many as 15,000 troops to the border with Mexico, as he hardens his stance against a caravan of migrants fleeing violence and poverty in Central America. The numbers cited by Trump are significantly higher than defense officials… ✔ As a presidential candidate before the U.S. election in 2016, Trump promised to harden immigration laws and build a wall along the southern border with Mexico, but implementation of his signature campaign promise has been slow ✔ Many basic questions remained unanswered days after the Pentagon announcement, including the scope of the mission as well as the Pentagon's assessment of any threat posed by arriving migrants
Allies to speed up OPCON transfer
11/1/2018, 7:50:46 AMundefined ✔ Jeong went on to say that the verification of the IOC will finish as early as July next year ✔ According to the inter-Korean military agreement, Seoul and Pyongyang must put an end to any military activities in the border area as of Nov. 1 ✔ But right now, again, this is not a total suspension of all collaboration and military exercises
Feel the love, feel the hate – my week in the cauldron of Trump's wild rallies
11/1/2018, 7:57:00 AMOn the midterms’ eve, the most powerful man on earth corrals his troops around two visions of America – one buoyed by hope, the other much darker – and tests the ground for 2020 ✔ He’s fully aware of the storm he will provoke by using a term closely associated with US white supremacy ✔ They carry with them a renewed love of their leader, reawakened fears about the mortal threats all around, strength in themselves and the rightness of their crusade, hate in their bellies towards those they call un-Americans, and hope that their worldview will prevail ✔ The doors are flung open, air rushes in to the Trump terrarium, and they step outside into the dark night
Political stalemate in Lebanon
11/1/2018, 6:58:21 AMundefined ✔ Ever since, this split has acutely polarized the country's politics ✔ Dr. Imran Khalid (ikhalid99@yahoo.com) is a freelance contributor based in Karachi, Pakistan ✔ He has been contributing articles on international relations to various newspapers and journals in the region since 1995
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