Balkan Leaders to Attend EU Meeting as Migrant Surge Growsby webdesk@voanews.com (Henry Ridgwell) Thursday August 27th, 2015 at 4:23 PM
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Balkan Leaders to Attend EU Meeting as Migrant Surge Growsby webdesk@voanews.com (Henry Ridgwell)
Leaders from the Balkan states will attend a summit Thursday in Vienna on European integration – but the immigration crisis is expected to be high on the agenda. In the past few days a surge of tens of thousands of migrants has passed from Greece into the Balkans towards Western Europe. Countries on the front line of the crisis are demanding help from European partners. Along disused railroad tracks between Serbia and Hungary, the human traffic of Europe’s refugee crisis slowly...
Saudi Arrested in 1996 Bombing That Killed 19 Americansby webdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press)
A man described as the mastermind of the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing that killed 19 American servicemen in Saudi Arabia has been captured, a U.S. and a Saudi official said Wednesday, ending a nearly two-decade manhunt for one of the FBI's most-wanted terrorists. Ahmed al-Mughassil was arrested in Beirut and transferred to Riyadh, the Saudi capital, according to the Saudi newspaper Asharq Alawsat. The Saudi Interior Ministry and Lebanese authorities had no immediate comment on the...
Is China's Economic Data Accurate?by webdesk@voanews.com (Jim Randle)
Some investors say China's wild stock market gyrations have been made worse by worries about the reliability of that nation's economic data. And some critics say the reports can mislead investors by painting an unrealistically-strong picture of the economy. A key China scholar says Beijing is not fudging ((manipulating)) the numbers, but that the economy is evolving quickly from smoke-stack industries to services, and the ways of tracking new economic activity are falling behind...
Hundreds of Colombians have fled Venezuela since last week, amid an escalating border crisis between the two countries. Last week, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered the closure of a key border crossing after smugglers injured three Venezuelan soldiers and a civilian. The president also ordered the deportation of Colombians who are in Venezuela illegally. Zlatica Hoke reports.
Western Balkan Leaders, Merkel Discuss Migrant Crisisby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
As leaders from the western Balkans were meeting Thursday in Vienna to discuss action to stem Europe's migrant crisis, as many as 50 refugees were found dead in a parked truck in eastern Austria, the Krone newspaper reported. Initial reports indicate the refugees had suffocated, the paper reported. An Austrian official confirmed that a tractor-trailer had been found on a motorway by the town of Parndorf, but he was unable to give an exact number of people found in the truck. The...
Israeli Military Strikes Target in Gaza After Rocket Attackby webdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press)
The Israeli military says it struck a Hamas target in the Gaza Strip after a rocket was fired at Israel. The military says it hit a Hamas weapon manufacturing facility early Thursday. It says the rocket launched earlier caused no damage or injury. No injuries were reported following the airstrike. Israel says it holds the Islamic militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza, responsible for rockets launched from the territory. Israel and Hamas fought a brutal 50-day war last year. Since...
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Accused Mastermind of 1996 Khobar Towers Bombing Reportedly Arrested by webdesk@voanews.com (Victor Beattie)
A Saudi-owned newspaper says the man suspected of being the mastermind behind the truck bombing that killed 19 U.S. Air Force personnel in Saudi Arabia nearly 20 years ago has been arrested. The United States, while declining to confirm the report, says it is working to bring to justice all the perpetrators of the 1996 attack. Quoting an unnamed Saudi official, Asharq al-Awsat, a Saudi-owned pan-Arab daily, identified the suspect as 48-year old Ahmed al-Mughassil, who was arrested in...
Islamic State Car Bomb Kills 2 Iraqi Military Commandersby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
An Islamic State suicide car bomber has driven into a convoy of Iraqi troops, killing two senior military commanders, according to Iraqi officials. The officials say the attack occurred Thursday north of the Islamic State-held town of Ramadi in Anbar province, where pro-Baghdad forces have been battling the extremists for months. Major General Abdul-Rahman Abu-Regheef, deputy commander of Anbar operations, and Brigadier General Sefeen Abdul Maguid, head of the 10th army division, were...
US Ex-Generals Urge Congress to Reject Iran Nuclear Dealby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
A group of nearly 200 retired, high-ranking American military officials is urging U.S. lawmakers to reject the Iran nuclear deal, arguing it will not prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. "Removing sanctions on Iran and releasing billions of dollars to its regime over the next ten years is inimical to the security of Israel and the Middle East," said the letter, addressed to leaders in both houses of Congress. It comes a little more than a week after another letter,...
Hundreds of Thousands of Enforced Disappearances Remain Unresolved by webdesk@voanews.com (Lisa Schlein)
In advance of the International Day of the Disappeared on August 30, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is appealing to governments and civil society to document the fate and whereabouts of people who have gone missing in conflicts and other disasters to alleviate the suffering of thousands of families living in a state of limbo. A Latin American non-governmental organization created the International Day of the Disappeared in Costa Rica in 1981. The aim was to draw...
Unease With Assad Regime on the Riseby webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer)
A growing number of soldiers and civilians in government-controlled areas of Syria are expressing rare public disaffection with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Noncombatants as well as the military in traditionally loyal coastal regions are complaining that not enough is being done to relieve enclaves besieged by rebels. Political activists also report rising alarm at the increasing presence of Tehran-backed foreign fighters from Lebanon, Afghanistan and Iran. In recent days,...
Report: Poland to Store US Military Equipment From Mid-2016by webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
The United States will store heavy military equipment at two sites in Poland from mid-2016, Poland's defense minister said, a part of Washington's efforts to reassure allies made uneasy by Russian actions in Ukraine. The move will mark the first time Washington has stored heavy military equipment in the newer NATO member states in Eastern Europe and the Baltics, which were once under the Soviet sphere of influence or part of the Soviet Union. In June, a senior Russian Defense...
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NATO: Training Center in Georgia Step to Membershipby webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
NATO said a new training center opened in Georgia on Thursday would help the former Soviet republic to move closer to membership in the military alliance, a prospect sharply opposed by neighboring Russia. Georgia's government has long hoped to join the alliance. But Russia, which fought a 2008 war with Georgia over two Moscow-backed breakaway regions, has said such a move would threaten its security. "The inauguration of the joint training and evaluation center will be a...
In Afghanistan's Helmand Province, Taliban Talk War, Not Peace by webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
Soldiers from the U.S.-led NATO coalition have joined combat to stop a Taliban advance in Afghanistan's Helmand province, where battlefield success has given the insurgents' their biggest symbolic victory in years and made talking peace a fading hope. Nearly 14 years on from the U.S. invasion that toppled the Islamist regime after the Sept. 2011 attacks, the Taliban are undefeated and making gains since most foreign forces left last year, but are still far from their goal of...
Pakistan Demands Afghanistan Protect Its Kabul Mission, Staffby webdesk@voanews.com (Ayaz Gul)
Pakistan has demanded Afghanistan ensure protection of its diplomatic staff and premises in Kabul, where officials say Afghan agents are harassing the Pakistani staff, particularly those living outside of the embassy compound. Officials at the Pakistani diplomatic mission also have reported kidnapping bids against staff members. The developments, say officials, have forced the embassy personnel to restrict movement and most of them have moved to the embassy compound citing security...
Finland Detains Russian Accused of US Malware Crimesby webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
Finland confirmed on Thursday it has detained a Russian citizen, Maxim Senakh, at the request of U.S. federal authorities on computer fraud charges, in a move that Russia calls illegal. The Finnish Justice Ministry says Senakh is accused in the state of Minnesota of infecting computer servers with malware, resulting in criminal gains worth millions of dollars. Konstantin Dolgov, the Russian Foreign Ministry's special representative for human rights, said on Wednesday that...
Islamic State Takes New Ground Near Turkish Borderby webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
Islamic State has seized new territory from Syrian rebels in northern Syria, advancing in an area where Turkey and the United States are planning to open a new front against the group in coordination with insurgents on the ground. The ultra-radical Islamist group and a monitor said it had seized several villages as it stepped up an offensive in northern Aleppo province, in a blow to rebels who are likely partners for Ankara and Washington in any ground campaign. In an attack that began...
Jewish Settlers Grab Building in Jerusalem's Arab Neighborhood by webdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press)
Ultra-nationalist Israelis have taken over a four-story building in the heart of an Arab neighborhood in east Jerusalem, raising fears of fresh violence in the tense area. A small group of activists from the Ateret Cohanim settler organization moved into the building on Thursday. It was the latest in a wave of settler advances since nationalist Jews began buying up properties in Palestinian neighborhoods two decades ago. The building is located in Silwan, a neighborhood that is...
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Russia Courts Mideast With Military Hardwareby webdesk@voanews.com (Daniel Schearf)
As Russia's economy heads into recession, its defense industry is one of the few that seems to be prospering. And that was made clear at Russia's International Aviation and Space Show (MAKS) this week with the display of its military hardware. As Daniel Schearf reports from Moscow, the recession coupled with Western sanctions has also meant courting customers and allies from the Middle East.
Taliban Captures District Center In Afghan Opium Heartlandby support@pangea-cms.com (RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan)
Afghan Taliban fighters have seized the administrative headquarters of the Musa Qala district in Helmand Province after a week of heavy fighting, the latest in a series of setbacks for Afghan government security forces in the area.
Russian Soldiers Get Lengthy Prison Terms For Killing Tajikby support@pangea-cms.com (RFE/RL's Tajik Service)
Two Russian soldiers have been found guilty of killing a Tajik taxi driver and sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
Dirty Jokes: Internet Awash With Memes Mocking Russia's Detergent Ban by support@pangea-cms.com (Anna Shamanska)
As Russia sweeps Western cleaning products from the shelves, the Internet responds with a wash of mocking memes -- some gentle, others more abrasive.
A Russian parliamentary delegation that had planned to attend Inter-Parliamentary Union events in New York next week has canceled the visit because of restrictions on the visa the United States granted to Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko.
Matviyenko, who was targeted by broad U.S. sanctions and a travel ban last year because of her involvement in Russia's annexation of Crimea, was restricted from attending parliamentary union events that were scheduled to take place at the United Nations.
Matviyenko, who was targeted by broad U.S. sanctions and a travel ban last year because of her involvement in Russia's annexation of Crimea, was restricted from attending parliamentary union events that were scheduled to take place at the United Nations.
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow did not comment on the curbs in Matviyenko's visa.
The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the restrictions as "inpermissible" and "unacceptable" for states hosting multilateral forums on their territory, and said the restrictions make it "impossible" for the delegation to visit.
That's "absolutely right," said Andrei Klimov, deputy head of the Federation Council foreign affairs committee. "The main goal of the visit was to take part in a meeting of female speakers of parliament, and senators who accompany Valentina Matviyenko would have nothing to do there if they went without our speaker."
Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax
U.S. Envoy To Visit Moscow, Riyadh This Week On Syrian Conflict by support@pangea-cms.com (RFE/RL)
The newly appointed U.S. special envoy for Syria will travel to Moscow, Geneva, and Riyadh this week in an attempt to find a political solution to the four-year old Syrian conflict, officials said August 26.
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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg arrived August 26 for a two-day visit to Georgia.
U.S. President Barack Obama spoke by phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the recent upsurge in violence in eastern Ukraine, the White House said August 26.
Kyiv has reached a debt restructuring deal with a group of international creditors under which part ofits debt will be written off.
NATO says a new training center in Georgia will help the Caucasus country to move closer to membership in the military alliance.
North Caucasus Men In Syria Face Different Fates On Russia Return by support@pangea-cms.com (Joanna Paraszczuk)
Russian media published two very different reports this week about Russian citizens who returned home allegedly after fighting alongside the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria -- one was jailed for 14 years, the other walked away free.
The leaders of six countries of the Western Balkans met with EU officials at a summit in Vienna on August 27. The influx of refugees into southern Europe was at the top of the agenda.
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A Pakistani court has issued arrest warrants for former Prime Minister Yusaf Raza Gilani and one of his senior ministers, Makhdoom Amin Fahim.
A former mayor of Daghestan’s capital, Makhachkala, has been sentenced to life in prison.
Iran Executes Kurdish Activist Awaiting Appealby support@pangea-cms.com (RFE/RL)
Amnesty International says Iran has executed a Kurdish activist who was awaiting the outcome of a Supreme Court appeal.
Minnow FC Astana Splashes Into Champions League, Seeking Attention by support@pangea-cms.com (Pete Baumgartner)
Soccer fans burst into the streets of the Kazakh capital to celebrate after FC Astana became the first Central Asian team to advance to the group stage of Europe’s Champions League, the most exclusive club tournament in the world.
Hundreds of people have kept up protests in Beirut as the crisis over garbage collection worsened with fresh piles of trash accumulating in streets of the capital.
China is by far the biggest trading partner for Hamburg, the largest port in the world’s fourth-biggest economy. Now that lucrative traffic is slipping.
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A Pentagon investigative office is examining an allegation that the U.S. military may have distorted intelligence data to cast a positive light on the war against Islamic State extremists, according to officials familiar with the probe.
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