As U.S. debates policy, Afghan pilots fear for families’ lives
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (Reuters) – As the Trump administration debates war strategy in Afghanistan, this Afghan pilot in the U.S.-backed Afghan Air Force has more pressing concerns: He’s worried the Taliban may kidnap or kill his family.
Top U.S. general reaffirms commitment to Japan amid North Korea tensions
TOKYO (Reuters) – The top U.S. general restated Washington’s “ironclad commitment” to the security of its close Asian ally, Japan, on Friday amid regional tensions over North Korea, telling his counterpart in Tokyo that “an attack on one is an attack o…
Hong Kong legal chief denies political motive in jailings as criticism mounts
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s legal chief denied any “political motive” in seeking jail for three young pro-democracy activists on Friday, responding to a Reuters report that he had overruled other legal officials who had initially advised against …
China’s top party school urges cadres to learn from Xi’s teenage travails
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s top training school for Communist Party cadres has published a book on the experiences of President Xi Jinping during the Cultural Revolution, exhorting party members to learn from the events that drove his “unshaken pursuit…
Jailed former Mexican governor starts hunger strike over ‘witch hunt’
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Former Mexican governor Javier Duarte, in jail awaiting trial on graft charges, has embarked on a hunger strike to protest the “witch hunt” against him, according to a letter he wrote that was published by local TV on Thursday.
Furor erupts over killing of teenager as Philippines drugs war escalates
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines police came under pressure on Friday to explain the killing of a high-school student after the 17-year-old became one of at least 80 people shot dead this week in an escalation of President Rodrigo Duterte’s ruthless …
Magnitude 6.7 quake strikes north of Ascension Island: USGS
(Reuters) – An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.7 struck on Friday in the South Atlantic Ocean about 790 km (490 miles) north of Ascension Island, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
‘Guardian angel’ need for advisers in Afghanistan drives call for more troops
KABUL (Reuters) – Navigating a chaotic maze of cars and people, the convoy of British army armored vehicles weaves slowly through Kabul. The job of about a dozen soldiers is to protect just two international advisers on their way to meet Afghan soldier…
Venezuela’s new chief prosecutor vows to jail protest leaders
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela will hunt down and jail leaders of violent protests that have rocked the country since April, its new top prosecutor said on Thursday, a day before a hate crimes law was expected to be approved despite fears that it will b…
El Salvador scraps controversial law allowing pregnant minors to wed
SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) – El Salvador lawmakers on Thursday unanimously voted to abolish a controversial, 23-year-old law that allowed men to marry underage girls they had impregnated, a practice that critics charged protected sexual assailants from cri…
