Pakistan deports ‘Afghan girl’ after arrest
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistan on Wednesday deported Sharbat Gula, the green-eyed “Afghan Girl” whose 1985 photo in National Geographic became a symbol of her country’s wars, medical and security officials said.
Taiwan’s ruling party urges China to respect Hong Kong’s democratic aspirations
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s independence-leaning ruling party urged Beijing’s leaders on Wednesday to listen to the democratic aspirations of people in Hong Kong and to respect the rights of pro-independence representatives.
Chinese police to extradite second fugitive from France: state media
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese police will extradite two fugitives from France in the second repatriation since the two countries signed an extradition treaty that came into effect in 2015, state media reported on Wednesday.
India abolishes larger banknotes in fight against graft, ‘black money’
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced that 500 and 1,000 rupee banknotes would be withdrawn from circulation at midnight to crack down on rampant corruption and counterfeit currency.
Islamic State abducts more than 200 near Mosul, retreats with thousands: U.N.
GENEVA (Reuters) – Islamic State fighters abducted 295 former Iraqi Security Forces members near the militant stronghold of Mosul and also forced 1,500 families to retreat with them from Hammam al Alil town, the United Nations human rights organization…
Syrian army says takes Aleppo district, rebels say battle continues
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Syrian army said it had taken a strategic district of Aleppo on Tuesday in what would mark the most important advance in the divided city by Damascus and its allies in weeks, but rebels said the battle was not over.
India uses foreign funding law to harass charities: rights groups
NEW DELHI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – India’s refusal to renew the foreign funding licenses of 25 charities is a violation of their right to freedom of association and appears to be a move to quell criticism, two rights groups said on Tuesday.
Philippines drug war turns a teeming jail into a haven
MANILA (Reuters) – Jason Madarang, awaiting trial on a charge of drug use, is in a muggy, windowless cell in a Manila prison so overcrowded that inmates must sleep in halls and stairwells and share each toilet with 150 other men.
Seeking Brexit consensus, Britain offers to share information with devolved governments
LONDON (Reuters) – The British government on Wednesday pledged to share information with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as it tries to put together a common negotiating position for leaving the European Union while holding together a fraying Unit…
Ansar Dine claims attack on southern Mali town
DAKAR (Reuters) – Islamist militant group Ansar Dine has claimed responsibility for an attack on a town in southern Mali in which 21 prisoners were freed from jail, according to a social media posting monitored by the SITE Intelligence Group.
