MANCHESTER, N.H./WATERLOO, Iowa – To Barb Stensland, who works at a soda counter in Grundy County, Iowa, Donald Trump was just telling it “the way it is” when he called this week for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. Though the Republican presidenti... More »
MOSCOW Russia will consider Afghanistan’s request for arms supply in a careful manner, but that task belongs first of all to the United States, RIA news agency cited Kremlin’s special envoy to Afghanistan as saying on Monday. Zamir Kabulov told the agency that... More »
LONDON British detectives have charged a man with attempted murder after a knife attack at an east London metro station on Saturday night which was described by police as a terrorist incident. Police said 29-year-old Muhaydin Mire of east London would appear a... More »
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama on Sunday laid out the most sweeping defense yet of his strategy to defeat Islamic State, but he offered no U.S. policy shift to confront what he called a “new phase” in the terrorist threat after a mass shooting in California... More »
WASHINGTON Republican presidential candidates roundly criticized President Barack Obama’s Sunday night address to the nation about the U.S. response to the threat of terror, arguing that he lacked a vision and was not aggressive enough. Republicans have become... More »
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama has asked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the State Department to review the K-1 fiance visa program that was used by a couple responsible for a mass shooting in California, a White House official said on Sunday. ... More »
WASHINGTON The White House is urging Silicon Valley to help address the threat posed by militant groups by restricting the use of social media for planning and promoting violence, a senior administration official said on Sunday. Last week’s mass shooting in Ca... More »
BANGUI Pope Francis ventured into one of the world’s most dangerous neighbourhoods on Monday to beg Christians and Muslims to end a spiral of hate, vendetta and bloodshed that has killed thousands over the past three years. Under intense security, Francis pass... More »
BAGHDAD Two senior U.S. senators called on Sunday for Washington to nearly triple military force levels in Iraq to 10,000 and send an equal number of troops to Syria as part of a multinational ground force to counter Islamic State in both countries. Republican... More »
WASHINGTON Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Saturday reframed his claim that he saw Muslims in Jersey City, New Jersey, cheering the attacks on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001 by asserting the sentiment... More »
BRUSSELS Soldiers patrolled the streets of Brussels on the third day of a security lockdown on Monday and the tenth day of a manhunt for the suspected mastermind of the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris. Belgian national Salah Abdeslam has not been found despite 19 rai... More »
WASHINGTON Several Republican presidential candidates insisted Syrian refugees pose a potential danger to America and should not be allowed into the country, despite growing criticism within and outside their party of some of their statements. Debate over the ... More »
WASHINGTON The White House deployed Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday to explain to fearful Americans the administration’s policy on Syrian refugees in the weekly address to the nation. Refugees have become a top political concern after Islamic State milita... More »
PARIS/BRUSSELS French warplanes pounded Islamic State positions in Syria on Sunday as police in Europe widened their investigations into coordinated attacks in Paris that killed more than 130 people. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Friday’s suicid... More »
BEIJING China has appealed for international help in the battle it says it is waging against Islamist militants in its far western region of Xinjiang, as Beijing seeks Western support for its own “war on terror” in the wake of the Paris attacks. Hundreds of pe... More »
PARIS French police raided homes of suspected Islamist militants across the country overnight in the aftermath of the Paris shootings, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Monday as he warned of potential further attacks. Valls said that since this summe... More »
BELEK, Turkey Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday he wanted Britain to carry out air strikes against Islamic State militants (ISIL) in Syria but still needed to convince more lawmakers to back such action. “I have always said I think that it is sensibl... More »
BRUSSELS “A breeding ground for violence” the mayor of Molenbeek called her borough on Sunday, speaking of unemployment and overcrowding among Arab immigrant families, of youthful despair finding refuge in radical Islam. But as the Brussels district on the wro... More »
SYDNEY/TOKYO/PARIS/NEW YORK Stocks in major markets are set for a short-term sell-off on Monday after suspected Islamist militants launched coordinated attacks across Paris that killed more than 130 people, but few strategists expect a prolonged economic impac... More »
SHANGHAI Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, enjoys strong support in the United States, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told Chinese officials during a visit this week to the Himalayan region, while expressing concern about human rights there. Pel... More »
WASHINGTON/DES MOINES, Iowa The lethal attacks in Paris have the potential to reshape the U.S. presidential race, placing a new emphasis on issues of national security, border control, and counterterrorism, while perhaps bolstering candidates who talk toughest... More »
WASHINGTON The United States needs to increase its efforts in Syria and Iraq “directly” and expand its support to other nations where Islamic State militants operate, U.S. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said in a statement on Saturday responding to the Pa... More »
WASHINGTON The Obama administration should reconsider plans to bring thousands of Syrian refugees into the Unites States after at least 127 people died in Paris in gun and bomb attacks claimed by Islamic State, two Republican candidates said on Saturday. “Pres... More »
LOS ANGELES The California-based rock band Eagles of Death Metal was in the midst of a European tour, promoting its fourth album release, when the musicians found themselves caught up in a terror attack at the Paris concert hall where they had begun to perform... More »
LONDONBritain’s security agencies will receive a significant boost to staff numbers as part of a multi-pronged effort to stave off threats from terrorist plotters, finance minister George Osborne said on Monday. “I can confirm that over the next five years we ... More »
NEW DELHIIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet leaders of his party on Monday to discuss whether to overhaul policies and priorities in the wake of a humiliating defeat in elections in the eastern state of Bihar. Modi was due to huddle with a dozen sen... More »
BRUSSELS Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, who has been sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in jail for insulting Islam and for cyber crime, was awarded the European Union’s prize for human rights and freedom of thought on Thursday. Badawi received the first of hi... More »
ISTANBUL Disparate ideas like a sea-borne zoo, an Aboriginal peace treaty and the lost birdsong of a ruined Armenian capital form a cohesive body of work at this year’s Istanbul Biennial, a top international art show taking place in turbulent times. “Saltwater... More »
KARACHI The lean days appear to be over for Mor Sahib, an 87-year-old crocodile venerated by Pakistan’s tiny Sheedi community, as pilgrims once again flock to a shrine in Karachi that has been shunned for years amid fears of Taliban attacks. The aging reptile,... More »
MOSCOW Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet the United Nations’ special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, on Tuesday, RIA news agency quoted the ministry’s press department as saying. RIA said the information came in response to a question on wh... More »
KABUL Police and residents said Afghan government forces had regained control of most of the besieged city of Kunduz on Monday, and some shops in the center of the provincial capital opened for the first time since it fell to Taliban fighters a week ago.Reside... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said on Sunday the Middle East would be more stable if Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein were still in power in Libya and Iraq, saying it’s “not even a contest”. Trump mentioned the countries i... More »
UNITED NATIONS Russia appeared to seize the initiative in international efforts to end the conflict in Syria on Sunday as Washington scrambled to devise a new strategy for the war-ravaged country and France sent warplanes to bomb Islamic State targets. As lead... More »
WASHINGTON Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said on Sunday that Muslims were unfit to be president of the United States, arguing their faith was inconsistent with American principles. “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nat... More »
WASHINGTON Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump said on Saturday it was not his job to stand up for U.S. President Barack Obama after a man at one of his campaign events said he was a Muslim and “not even an American.” “Am I morally obligated to de... More »
ISLAMABAD U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice warned Pakistani political and military leaders on Sunday that recent attacks in Afghanistan by militants based in Pakistan threaten regional security, an official said. Rice also delivered an invitation from... More »
WASHINGTON Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush on Tuesday attacked Democrat Hillary Clinton for her handling of Iraq as secretary of state, saying she must share the blame for the rise of Islamic State militants, in a prelude to a potential general elec... More »
BEIRUT A Syrian military source said on Tuesday the army had retreated to new defensive lines in a region of vital strategic importance to President Bashar al-Assad, seeking to avoid losses at the hands of advancing rebels. The insurgent advance into the Sahl ... More »
WASHINGTON Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush on Tuesday will launch an attack on Democrat Hillary Clinton’s handling of Iraq when she was secretary of state, saying she must bear some of the blame for the rise of Islamic State militants. Bush is to de... More »
CAIRO The United States and Egypt are returning to a “stronger base” in bilateral ties despite tensions and human rights concerns, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday after talks with his Egyptian counterpart. “Egypt remains vital … to engagement... More »
WASHINGTON U.S. backers of the Iran nuclear deal are increasingly confident of enough Democratic support to ensure it survives review by Congress, despite fierce opposition by majority Republicans and a massive lobbying drive. By the time the House of Represen... More »
WASHINGTON The United States has decided to allow airstrikes to defend Syrian rebels trained by the U.S. military from any attackers, even if the enemies hail from forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, U.S. officials said on Sunday. The decision by... More »
BEIRUT Young people from two warring districts in the Lebanese city of Tripoli are taking to the stage in a comedy inspired by their own lives, trying to turn their backs on old rivalries inflamed by Syria’s civil war. “Love and War on the Rooftops” played to ... More »
ADEN, Yemen Yemeni fighters backed by Saudi-led air strikes battled to take back northern suburbs of Aden from Houthi opponents on Tuesday, residents said, a day after completing their capture of the center of the strategic port city. The country’s dominant Ho... More »
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Religious groups are an under-used health resource that could help achieve universal healthcare and accelerate the medical response to disease outbreaks, health experts said on Tuesday. Faith-based organizations such as th... More »
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama pledged to increase U.S. support for the moderate opposition in Syria’s civil war on Monday and said the United States needed to do more at home to prevent attacks and combat Islamic State efforts to recruit followers. Obama, ... More »
TUNIS Tunisia expects to lose at least $515 million this year, or about a quarter of its estimated annual tourism earnings, following last Friday’s attack on a beach hotel that killed 39 people, mostly British holidaymakers. The attack by a gunman on the Imper... More »
PARIS The suspected Islamist who attempted to blow up a French chemical plant on Friday has admitted killing his manager beforehand, a source close to the investigation said on Sunday, as police linked the suspect to a militant now in Syria. Yassin Salhi, 35, ... More »
