The U.S. and Global Security Review - Blog by Michael Novakhov

US president says Prince's service alongside American soldiers in Afghanistan is testament to "special relationship" between two countries in first meeting at White House's Oval Office

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U.S. steps up diplomacy, rebel support to end Syrian 'hell': Kerry
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:43 PM

James B. Comey - Google News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is intensifying its diplomacy to end the "hell" of Syria’s civil war even as it increases support for moderate rebels fighting Islamic State militants, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday

Kerry: Vienna Talks Best Chance for Syria
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:43 PM

WSJ.Com: World News

Secretary of State John Kerry, before traveling to Vienna for meetings on Syria, said that the planned talks are the most promising opportunity for a political settlement to the country’s 4 ½ year civil war.

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Russia is feeding hundreds of fighters to ISIS — and some are starting to return - Business Insider
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:42 PM

Russia - Google News

Business Insider

Russia is feeding hundreds of fighters to ISIS — and some are starting to return
Business Insider
MAKHACHKALA, Russia (AP) — The Russian province of Dagestan, a flashpoint for Islamic violence in the North Caucasus, is feeding hundreds of fighters to the Islamic State in Syria — and now some are coming back home with experience gained from the ...
Islamic State on recruitment spree in RussiaMilitary Times
This is why Russia is in SyriaNational Post
Islamic State on recruitment spree in Russia's North Caucasus - raising fears ...680 News

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Forget the 'Ferguson effect' on crime - Washington Post
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:41 PM

Washington Post

Forget the 'Ferguson effect' on crime
Washington Post
Last week, FBI Director James Comey joined anti-reform advocates in asserting that the recent crime rise in certain cities should be attributed, at least in part, to the “Ferguson effect.” Officers, he said, are withholding their services because they ...

Philip Hammond: Briton sentenced to 350 lashes in Saudi Arabia to be freed – video by Guardian Staff
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:40 PM

World News + Video | The Guardian

Karl Andree, a British man who was facing 350 lashes in Saudi Arabia for possession of alcohol, will be freed, says Philip Hammond. The foreign secretary made the announcement during a visit to Saudi on Wednesday. Andree, 74, has been in jail since his arrest in August last year and had been sentenced to the flogging after bottles of homemade wine were reportedly found in his car

Passengers on whale-watching boat were crowded on one side when it was struck by wave by Ruth Sherlock
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:39 PM

AP Top News At 5:43 P.M. EDT

Investigators into accident in which five Britons died find the crowding caused vessel to capsize and send passengers into the water off Vancouver Island

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Fighter jets track military blimp drifting over Pennsylvaniaby By ROBERT BURNS
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:39 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two Air Force fighter jets tracked an unmanned Army surveillance blimp Wednesday that broke loose from its ground tether in Maryland and drifted north over Pennsylvania, Pentagon officials said....

Bitter Campaign Heats Up Ahead of Turkish Snap Electionby VOAvideo
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:39 PM

VOAvideo's YouTube Videos

From: VOAvideo
Duration: 02:19

Turkey will hold its second general election of this year November 1, after the ruling AK party failed to gain a majority in the last election in June and talks on a coalition government failed. Analysts say there’s a high possibility that voters could deliver another indecisive result. Henry Ridgwell reports from Istanbul on the possible outcomes after Sunday’s poll.
Originally published at - http://www.voanews.com/media/video/bitter-campaign-heats-up-ahead-of-turkish-snap-election/3026620.html

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US military blimp floats away, fighter jets scrambledby Our Foreign Staff
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:39 PM

AP Top News At 5:43 P.M. EDT

Live coverage as two F-16 fighter jets track and possibly shoot down a US surveillance blimp that became untethered and floated away

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AP-GfK Poll: Americans still feeling economic gloomby By EMILY SWANSON
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:38 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans are more likely than they were a year ago to have positive views of the nation's economy, but they're still feeling more pessimism than optimism, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll conducted ahead of CNBC's GOP primary debate on Wednesday....

Saudis to Join in Talks on Syria With Iran, Russia
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:38 PM

WSJ.Com: World News

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said Wednesday that his country would participate with Iran and Russia in talks about the possibility of a solution to Syria’s conflict.

Prince Harry tells US wounded veterans: 'Afghanistan changed my life' by Nick Allen
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:38 PM

Prince Harry visits America to promote the second Invictus Games, as Michelle Obama says "Alright ladies, Prince Harry is here. Don't pretend you didn't notice"

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Three migrants drown, Greek coastguard rescues 242 others as boat sinks
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:37 PM

ATHENS (Reuters) - At least three migrants drowned and the Greek coastguard rescued 242 others when their wooden boat sank north of the island of Lesbos on Wednesday, authorities said.

Three migrants drown, Greek coastguard rescues 242 others as boat sinks - Reuters
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:37 PM

World - Google News

Reuters

Three migrants drown, Greek coastguard rescues 242 others as boat sinks
Reuters
ATHENS At least three migrants drowned and the Greek coastguard rescued 242 others when their wooden boat sank north of the island of Lesbos on Wednesday, authorities said. "We do not have a picture of how many people may be missing yet," a ...
Greece's next aid check is matter of days, Dombrovskis saysChicago Tribune
5 migrants die, dozens missing after boats sink off TurkeyTimes LIVE
Feature: Refugees stuck in Greece with no place to go further in EuropeXinhua
Kathimerini
all 487 news articles »

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Pressure mounts on Brazilian Congress to impeach president
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:36 PM

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Opposition activists handcuffed themselves to a pillar in Brazil's Congress on Wednesday seeking the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff for mismanaging a once-booming economy and undermining confidence in the country.

Student slams principal to floor during cafeteria melee caught on video - Los Angeles Times
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:36 PM

Cannibalism, torture and rape in warring South Sudanby Aislinn Laing
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:35 PM

Long-delayed African Union report details 'widespread and systematic atrocities' in civil war it said was planned in advance of breakout of hostilities in December 2013

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In scramble for political finance, Bolivians turn to cocaby Associated Press
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:35 PM

World

While U.S. politicians are scrambling for ways to pay for campaigns, few are likely to adopt the latest Bolivian tactic.

Bavarian allies heap pressure on Merkel over refugees
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:35 PM

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel came under intense pressure for her handling of the refugee crisis on Wednesday, with her Bavarian allies warning of a full-blown coalition crisis unless she takes immediate action to limit a record influx of migrants.

Puerto Rico governor calls report on his election plans incorrect
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:29 PM

AP Top News At 5:43 P.M. EDT

SAN JUAN/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla said via social media on Wednesday that a news report he would announce this week a decision not to run in the November 2016 elections was incorrect.

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Prince Harry meets the Obamas and tells how the army changed his life by itnnews
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:28 PM

Itnnews's YouTube Videos

From: itnnews
Duration: 01:30

Prince Harry has spoken of how his two deployments in the army changed his life as he met wounded veterans alongside Michelle Obama. Report by Jessica Wakefield.

Iran to take a seat among world powers for Syria talksby By ZEINA KARAM and LEE KEATH
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:26 PM

BEIRUT (AP) -- Iran will take part in international talks on Syria for the first time this week, giving it a voice in the effort to find a resolution to the more than 4-year-old civil war that has so far defied even the slightest progress toward peace....

Smartphone that is also your virtual personal assistantby VOAvideo
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:26 PM

VOAvideo's YouTube Videos

From: VOAvideo
Duration: 01:05

Smartphone that is also your virtual personal assistant
Originally published at - http://www.voanews.com/media/video/smartphone-that-is-virtual-personal-assistant/3026838.html

Saudis deny coalition airstrikes on Yemen hospitalby Associated Press
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:25 PM

World

Saudi Arabia is denying that airstrikes by the coalition it leads in Yemen destroyed a small hospital run by Doctors Without Borders.

Iran to take a seat among world powers for Syria talksby Zeina Karam and Lee Keath | AP
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:20 PM

World

Iran will take part in international talks on Syria for the first time this week, giving it a voice in the effort to find a resolution to the more than 4-year-old civil war that has so far defied even the slightest progress toward peace.

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Kerry: Syria Talks ‘Most Promising Opportunity’ for Political Solution by webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:19 PM

Eurasia Daily Monitor - The Jamestown Foundation

Speaking Wednesday at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said talks in Vienna on Syria’s future are the “most promising opportunity” in years for reaching a political solution in the war-torn country that has suffered four and a half years of “nonstop horror.”

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Why We Should Stop Blaming OPEC for Low Oil Pricesby Jennifer So
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:19 PM

TIME

We are a little more than a month away from OPEC’s next meeting, which will be held in Vienna on December 4, 2015.

OPEC altered the course of the oil markets last year when it decided to cast aside its traditional role of maintaining balance through production cuts. Instead it pursued a strategy of fighting for market share, contributing to an immediate rout in oil prices. WTI and Brent then went on to dive below $50 in the weeks following OPEC’s decision.

OPEC is widely expected to continue its current strategy at its next meeting, and as such, no rebound in oil prices is expected, at least not because of the results of the group’s meeting in Vienna.

But that raises a question about what the world of oil expects from OPEC: Why is it that the responsibility for balancing the market falls on OPEC? Why should OPEC be the one to fix the imbalances in the global crude oil trade?

On the one hand, it makes a certain degree of sense that market watchers anticipated adjustment from OPEC. After all, the group has historically coordinated its production levels in an effort to control prices, or at least influence them. They could cut their collective production target to boost prices, and vice versa.

However, there is an element of imperialism and superiority in the expectation that the burden should fall on OPEC, which is largely made up of producers from the Middle East. It is a bizarre mentality to think that private companies deserve to seize as much market share as they can manage, after which OPEC producers can take what is left. Steven Kopits, President of Princeton Energy Advisors, laid out the concept very nicely in a Platts article earlier this year, in which he says the expression “call on OPEC” should be scrapped.

Kopits offers an interesting thought experiment. If the industry in question were, say, automobiles rather than oil, there is no question that such an arrangement would not be framed in the same manner. Imagine that the world thought it reasonable that GM or Ford could take as much market share as possible, and Toyota was expected to slash production if there weren’t enough customers left over. It is an absurd scenario, but not so different from the world of oil.

Why is it that we expect OPEC (and since Saudi Arabia is the only producer with the substantial ability to ratchet up and down production, we really are talking about Saudi Arabia) to cut output in order to help out American oil producers? Saudi Arabia and its fellow OPEC producers have their own interests, and if they believe producing at a certain level is prudent, it is a bit curious to arguethat they are “declaring war on U.S. shale.” But that is exactly what happened last year when they decided to leave their production levels unchanged.

Moreover, while cutting production would help to increase prices, OPEC would lose out from selling less oil. It is not clear why OPEC should, in effect, subsidize higher cost production from around the world. Saudi Arabia tried to cut production in the 1980s to rescue prices from rock bottom levels, but it only led to the loss of market share. It is no wonder that the oil kingdom is not keen to go that route again.

Even leaving all of this aside, it is hard to even discern that such a “war” is actually taking place. After all, OPEC has only slightly increased output from 2014, and much of it came from Iraq, which has been trying to increase production at all costs, regardless of OPEC decisions. Iraq is not subject to the quota restrictions, and so it is pulling out all the stops to increase output.

The U.S. on the other hand, has aggressively increased output. It is easy to see that much of the responsibility for the crash in oil prices stems from a massive spending spree in the U.S. shale patch, which increased output by around 4 million barrels per day between 2011 and the peak in 2015, nearly doubling production from 5.6 million barrels per day (mb/d) to 9.6 mb/d. OPEC’s production, meanwhile, hasn’t changed dramatically over the same time period.

In this light, why is it that OPEC’s decision to leave its quota unchanged in November 2014 elicited calls that the cartel was waging war? Why is the world not calling on U.S. shale producers – which have a much higher breakeven price – to get out of the business so that other oil producers around the world can survive? In any other sector, high-cost producers are forced out of the market. Nobody expects the stronger producers to cede ground to weaker ones.

U.S. production is now down by about 500,000 barrels per day since April. Oil prices will rise over the next year or so as U.S. shale is forced to cut back. That adjustment – high-cost suppliers forced out – is how markets are supposed to work.

Nevertheless, as OPEC heads to Vienna in six weeks’ time, there will undoubtedly be more headlines about OPEC continuing its war on shale.

This article originally appeared on Oilprice.com

Ukraine’s Local Polls, Marred by Irregularities in Big Cities, Show East-West Split Remains
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 5:13 PM

The ruling coalition won most local elections across Ukraine on October 25, according to preliminary figures. Results from the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) are expected next week, but it is already clear that compared to the 2010 local elections, the kleptocratic elites who used to support former President Viktor Yanukovych lost dominant positions in most local councils. However, the popularity of the pro-Western coalition, which has been ruling Ukraine since last year, declined compared to last year’s presidential and parliamentary elections. Millions of Ukrainians were disenfranchised because of war, and the elections were marred by irregularities in the key cities of Mariupol and Odesa.

The ruling coalition, which comprises President Petro Poroshenko’s Solidarity party, Lviv Mayor Andry Sadovy’s Self-Help and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s Fatherland, performed strongly, especially in the western and central areas. The far-right party Freedom won several constituencies in its western Ukrainian strongholds. Government opponents—many of whom are linked to the former ruling Party of Regions (PoR), such as Opposition Bloc (OB)—performed strongly in the mainly Russian-speaking east and south (Obozrevatel.com, October 28). The Ukrainian Association of Patriots (UKROP), the party of the rebel oligarch Ihor Kolomoysky, ran neck and neck with OP in Kolomoysky’s home city of Dnipropetrovsk (Rbc.ua, October 27).

The defeat of the ruling coalition in the east and south, especially in the areas freed from Moscow-backed rebels, came as no surprise. The coalition government has largely failed to come up with a national re-unification project or to sufficiently counteract Russian propaganda in those regions. Courts and law enforcement agencies remain notoriously corrupt, and many officials continue to live beyond their means. The economy has deteriorated considerably in 2014–2015, especially in the industrial eastern and southern areas, which lost their traditional Russian markets due to war and the sanctions introduced by Russia in 2013–2015. Many locals blame their hardships on the Maidan revolution and the government’s pro-Western course, rather than on Moscow-supported thugs and corrupt local elites. The opposition parties such as OB have capitalized on this.

Slovyansk and Mariupol (Mariupil), the cities in the Donbas region that were among the first to be freed from Moscow-backed rebels in the summer of 2014, are good cases in point. OB candidates easily won both mayoral and local council polls in Slovyansk, although a turnout of just 28 percent, compared to the national average of 47 percent, showed indifference among locals, if not despair (Vesti-ukr.com, October 26). Authorities did not organize elections in Mariupol, the biggest city in Donbas not controlled by forces imposed by Russia. Polls did not open in Mariupol, because the local electoral commission refused to use ballot papers printed by a firm linked to oligarch Rinat Akhmetov, who is behind OB. The authorities and OB accused each other of deliberately disrupting elections in Mariupol (Lb.ua, October 25).

CEC chairman Mykhaylo Okhendovsky told Western ambassadors that there were no irregularities with ballot papers in Mariupol, and he blamed the local election authorities for the election fiasco. It is now up to the national parliament to decide when repeat elections will be held in Mariupol and Krasnoarmiysk, the other Kyiv-controlled Donbas town where elections did not take place (Zn.ua, October 26).

Run-off mayoral elections will be held on November 15, in the towns and cities where no candidate won more than 50 percent of the votes on October 25. According to preliminary figures, run-offs will be needed in several big cities, including Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv. The situation is complicated in Odesa, the site of deadly fights between Ukrainian nationalists and pro-Moscow activists last year. The governor of Odesa province, Mikheil Saakashvili, the reformist former president of Georgia, claimed that mayoral election ballot papers had been tampered with. He called on Poroshenko to interfere. The local electoral commission said that incumbent mayor Hennady Trukhanov won the election with 53 percent of the popular vote, while the Saakashvili-backed, liberal, pro-Western candidate—Sasha Borovik—came in second with 26 percent (Lb.ua, October 27). Borovik has demanded a run-off election and threatened to lead mass protests (Liga.net, October 27). Borovik and Saakashvili represent Solidarity, while Trukhanov used to be in the PoR. Saakashvili, on his Facebook page, compared Trukhanov’s supporters to the Russian “little green men” who annexed Crimea last year, and called for setting up a “committee of action” to rid Odesa of “oligarchs and clans.”

The elections were not held in Russian-annexed Crimea or the areas held by Russia-backed militants in Donbas. Ukrainian local elections in Crimea are out of the question for obvious reasons. As for the Donbas region, Kyiv, Moscow and the rebels are yet to agree on when local elections will take places there and according to what rules. Moreover, about 1.2 million internally displaced persons were disenfranchised across Ukraine by the imperfect electoral legislation (Oporaua.org, October 26).

Despite all the inadequacies, the West pronounced the elections generally free and fair. Moscow has not voiced open disapproval either. The US Department of State said in a statement, citing international observers, that the elections largely reflected the will of the people and generally respected the democratic process (State.gov, October 26). Poroshenko promised sweeping reforms after the elections (Interfax, October 21). Now is the time to deliver, but election irregularities will also have to be addressed urgently if the government does not want to lose more ground to the likes of OB.

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Obama fumbles for credibility in Syria as Russia and Iran seize initiative - The Guardian
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 4:47 PM

Russia - Google News

The Guardian

Obama fumbles for credibility in Syria as Russia and Iran seize initiative
The Guardian
Fear is driving Obama's latest rethink: fear that Russia and Iran are winning the strategic tug-of-war for decisive influence in both Syria and Iraq; and fear that his Middle East legacy will be an anarchic arc of muddle and mayhem stretching from ...
Russia risks a repeat of doomed Afghan war in Syria, says EU foreign policy chiefThe Guardian
Russia and Iran helping Assad gain upper hand in Syria, head of Joint Chiefs saysLos Angeles Times
Iran Accepts Invitation to Join US and Russia in Talks on Syria's FutureNew York Times
NBCNews.com -Washington Post -The Globe and Mail
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Scientists Solve Mystery of Chameleon Eyesby webdesk@voanews.com (George Putic)
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 4:46 PM

Chameleons can move their eyes in different directions, and most scientists thought that meant that each eye worked independently from the other. Scientists in Israel say they have discovered, however, that chameleons’ eyes are, in fact, highly coordinated. VOA’s George Putic reports on this marvel of optics.

White House: No 'Large-Scale' Ground Operations in Stepped-Up IS Fight by webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 4:46 PM

The United States says it has "no intention to pursue long-term, large-scale ground combat operations" like in Afghanistan or Iraq, in its stepped-up offensive against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria. Defense Secretary Ash Carter Tuesday said the change in strategy would include more airstrikes and possible ground assaults. White House Press Secretary Eric Schultz Wednesday backed up Carter's statement, making clear the United States "retain[s] the ability to conduct limited operations [in Syria] with partners as opportunities allow.” "We're not talking full-blown attacks or assaults on major cities. We're talking about raids," said Colonel Steve Warren, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. "This is not embedding thousands of Americans with thousands or tens of thousands of Iraqis to conduct sustained offensive operations." ‘No target is beyond our reach’ On Tuesday Defense Secretary Carter told a congressional hearing there could be more raids like the one last week in which U.S. troops advised Kurdish forces on the rescue of about 70 hostages in Iraq, even as a U.S. commando was killed. "We won't hold back from supporting capable partners in opportunistic attacks against [the Islamic State], or conducting such missions directly, whether by strikes from the air or direct action on the ground," Carter said. He did not say under what circumstances the U.S. might engage in ground combat, but said that "once we locate them, no target is beyond our reach." President Barack Obama has so far ruled out the use of American ground troops in Iraq and Syria, after pulling out ground forces from Iraq in 2011 before launching an air campaign last year in the two countries against Islamic State insurgents. Officials admit uphill battle Carter and Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged to lawmakers that the U.S. is struggling to combat the Islamic State forces. "No one is satisfied with our progress to date," Dunford told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Carter said he was "disappointed" in the failure of a $500 million U.S. effort to train moderate rebel forces in Syria to fight against the Islamic State. The United States abandoned the program earlier this month after only a few soldiers had been trained. In response, Carter said the United States has intensified its aerial campaign against the Islamic State in hopes of shrinking its hold on Raqqa in northern Syria, the headquarters of its operations.

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Turkish Police Raid Critical TV Stationsby webdesk@voanews.com (Dorian Jones)
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 4:46 PM

The seizure by police of one of Turkey’s largest media organizations critical of the ruling AKP Party, just days before a general election has provoked strong criticism and added to concerns over media freedom. Police used tear gas and pepper spray during the raid that has been condemned by all of Turkey’s main opposition parties, accusing President Erdogan and the AKP of seeking to tighten its grip on the media ahead of the November 1 election. Pro-Kurdish HDP Party leader Selahattin Demirtas warned Turkey is becoming a mafia-like state. He says it is unbelievable that a state; a government can act so, like a mafia, like an illegal organization right in the public eye. He added, it also raises suspicions just a couple of days before the election. The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muižnieks, described the raid as a disturbing illustration of the dangerous path Turkey has undertaken in relation to media freedom. But the AKP insists the judiciary is independent and the raid on the TV station was part of a court order seizing control of Ipek Koza conglomerate, which owns TV stations and newspapers along with 20 other companies. The company is accused of being linked to the Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen who lives in self-imposed exile in the Untied States. Prosecutors accuse Gulen of running a terrorist organization. Gulen and his followers were once close Erdogan and AKP Party allies, but they have become bitter rivals.

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Taliban Capture One Afghan District, Lose Anotherby webdesk@voanews.com (Gulrahim Niazman)
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 4:45 PM

Taliban insurgents captured a district called Darqad in northern Afghanistan’s Takhar province early Wednesday. Abdul Khalil Aseer, a spokesman for Takhar's police, said the Taliban took control of the district center at 5 a.m. local time. Darqad district is located on the banks of the Oxus River, on the border with Tajikistan. Six members of the Afghan security forces were killed in the fighting, said Sonatullah Taimor, spokesman for the provincial governor. The area around Darqad is not one where there have been reports of major damage or loss of life from Monday's earthquake, which killed more than 300 people across broad swaths of northern Afghanistan and Pakistan. But it is well within the impact zone, and at least 15 people have been reported killed and more than 40 injured in Takhar province as a whole. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid emailed media organizations to say the battle for Darqad began at dawn Wednesday. Two Taliban fighters were killed, he said, as the insurgents captured government buildings, including police headquarters. The Taliban also claimed to have killed 12 Afghan policemen during the fight. Afghan officials say the Taliban have joined with other insurgents, such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and are spreading across the north with the aim of infiltrating Central Asian states. In late September, this combined force took control of the capital of northern Kunduz province, also called Kunduz, and held it for three days before Afghan forces launched a counteroffensive. The audacity of that attack took the Kabul government by surprise and highlighted weaknesses in intelligence and military organization nine months after international combat forces led by the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan. The Taliban, responsible for thousands of deaths since launching its insurgency after its regime was toppled in a 2001 U.S. invasion, issued a statement Tuesday saying its fighters would help in the rescue and relief efforts in the earthquake-hit areas. Taliban loss In the meantime, the Afghan Defense Ministry said Afghan forces on Tuesday captured Dasht-e-Archi district in the northeastern part of Kunduz province. The statement sent to the media by the Second Brigade of the Afghan National Army said the sweeping operation resulted in the killing of 15 Taliban members, including Mullah Abdul Rahim, the deputy district governor for Dasht-e-Archi. The statement said Afghan forces captured the police headquarters. The Taliban had destroyed the district center and police headquarters when it captured the district, the statement said, adding that Afghan security forces sustained no casualties. VOA's Afghan service contributed to this report.

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Saudis Agree to Free Briton Jailed for Having Homemade Wineby STEVEN ERLANGER
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 4:45 PM

NYT > Europe

The British foreign secretary, visiting Riyadh, said Karl Andree would be freed after more than a year in a Saudi jail and would not face a public lashing.

Fed Holds Interest Rates Steady at Record Lowby webdesk@voanews.com (Jim Randle)
Wednesday October 28th, 2015 at 4:45 PM