Thousands of Vietnam’s ethnic Cham people met under rainy late September skies for their annual “Kate” festival that, according to the multi-faith community’s calendar, marks the end of one harvest season and the beginning of another. The Cham are descendants of a powerful ancient kingdom that once spanned large parts …
The U.S. Secretary of Interior has extended the tenure of the Trump administration’s top steward of public lands, rebuffing Democrats’ calls for his termination. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt on Monday extended William Perry Pendley’s role as Bureau of Land Management Acting Director to Jan. 3. Pendley has been in the …
The main rival of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, is claiming victory in Afghanistan’s presidential election, ahead of the release of any official results. Abdullah told reporters Monday that he has “the most votes” in the election that was held Saturday. Election officials however said that Abdullah’s …
Days ahead of the anniversary of the grisly slaying of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that his country will press ahead with efforts to shed light on the killing. In a Washington Post op-ed, Erdogan described the journalist’s killing by a Saudi hit squad …
The Moscow City Court has changed actor Pavel Ustinov’s 3 1/2-year prison sentence into a one-year suspended sentence amid an outcry over punishments being handed out after a series of pro-democracy rallies over the summer. The court also ruled on Monday that Ustinov will be put on a two-year probation …
A leading Egyptian pro-democracy activist was re-arrested Sunday while on probation, his family and a security official said, amid a sweeping security clampdown following small but rare anti-government protests earlier this month. Alaa Abdel-Fattah rose to prominence with the 2011 pro-democracy uprisings that swept the Middle East and in Egypt …
Protesters and police clashed in Hong Kong for a second straight day on Sunday, throwing the semiautonomous Chinese territory’s business and shopping belt into chaos and sparking fears of more ugly scenes leading up to China’s National Day holiday this week. Riot police repeatedly fired blue liquid – used to …
Health experts say Nigeria is seeing increasing cases of heart disease. Low awareness, lack of adequate medical facilities and expertise are major factors worsening the situation in the country. But a non profit is collaborating with the World Heart Federation to provide proper education and treatment for underprivileged patients. Participants …
The Middle East. Trade tensions. Iran’s nuclear program. Venezuela’s power struggle. Civil wars in Syria and Yemen. Familiar flashpoints such as these got plenty of airtime at the U.N. General Assembly’s big annual gathering this week. But some leaders used their time on the world stage to highlight international conflicts …
A boat carrying at least 50 Europe-bound migrants capsized Saturday in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya, the U.N. refugee agency and the country’s coast guard said, while an independent support group said another 56 migrants on another boat were at risk in the sea. Coast guard spokesman Ayoub Gassim told …
French police repeatedly used tear gas and water cannons to break up a protest Saturday by nearly a 1,000 yellow vest demonstrators in the southwest city of Toulouse. A police statement said officers made five arrests after being targeted by objects thrown by some of the protesters. A group that …
For many homeless people, finding shelter sometimes isn’t nearly as important as finding a meal. Providing food is the main mission of Manna House, a charity organization, where homeless and underprivileged people get breakfast and other services for free. Nilofar Mughal is giving a view from the inside of Manna …
President Donald Trump told two Russian officials in a 2017 meeting that he was not concerned about Moscow’s meddling in the U.S. election, which prompted White House officials to limit access to the remarks, the Washington Post reported Friday. A summary of Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Russia’s foreign minister …
Afghans headed to the polls Saturday to elect a new president amid high security and Taliban threats to disrupt the elections, with the rebels warning citizens to stay home or risk being hurt. Still at some polling stations in the capital voters lined up even before the centers opened, while …
Sri Lanka’s cricket team begins play in Lahore Friday, the first time since 2009 that a foreign team will undertake a two-week tour of Pakistan. Security is extremely tight for the match, and the Sri Lanka team is basically confined to their hotel except for practices and matches. Sri Lanka’s …
More than 300 captives, most of them children and many in chains, have been rescued from a building in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna, a police spokesman said on Friday. All the children seen by a Reuters reporter at the scene were boys aged from around five to their …
A Cambodian court has charged seven top opposition politicians with plotting armed rebellion for planning to return from self-imposed exile to seek a government change through mass peaceful protests. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court also warned that anyone who supported the plans of the Cambodia National Rescue Party to oust …
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the United States has concluded that the Syrian government used chemical weapons in an attack in May. Speaking in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday, Pompeo said U.S. officials had determined that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government had …
Arab leaders have reasserted their rejection of any attempt by Israel to annex Palestinian land in the aftermath of Israel’s election. Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and President Barham Saleh of Iraq meeting at the United Nations this week say they refuse possible Israel’s annexation designs …
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began the task of forming a new coalition government Thursday after inconclusive elections Sept. 17. The move comes even though Netanyahu’s Likud party obtained one seat less than challenger Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party in the election. Likud won 32 seats to Blue and …
British car production increased by an annual 3.3% in August, the first rise in 15 months, helped by several factories having moved their summertime shutdowns to April in preparation for the original Brexit date, an industry body said Thursday. MW, Peugeot, Honda and Jaguar Land Rover all closed factories ranging …
Commercial fisheries in seven U.S. states have suffered from catastrophic failures and disasters over the past two years, making them eligible for federal aid, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross blamed the problems in part on extreme flooding in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi from the Gulf …
Amazon on Wednesday unveiled a cornucopia of new gadgets as it extended the reach of Alexa from automobiles and homes essentially into people’s heads. Amazon digital aide Alexa vies with Google Assistant software to be at the heart of smart homes where lights, security systems, televisions and more are …
The number of invasions of indigenous lands in Brazil has jumped in the first nine months of President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration, a Brazilian Catholic Church agency said Tuesday. The Missionary Indigenous Council said illegal miners, loggers and tappers of natural resources are involved in most of the invasions. The council …
An Army veteran who was deported to Mexico in 2018 arrived back in Chicago Tuesday for a final chance at becoming a U.S. citizen and living in the city he has called home since boyhood. Federal immigration authorities granted Miguel Perez Jr. a two-week parole into the U.S. for an …
U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts, speaking at a New York synagogue on Tuesday night, lamented the perception that the Supreme Court is becoming politicized and that the justices’ decisions are guided primarily by their partisan affiliation. Roberts’ concerns about the impression of the court comes during a highly-charged political moment …