World

Saudis to allow girls to play sports in public schools

Published on Tue, 07/11/2017 - 3:50pm

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that it will grant girls in public schools access to physical education, a decision that comes after years of calls by women across the kingdom demanding greater rights and access to sports.

The Education Ministry said it will introduce the physical education classes "gradually" and "in accordance with (Islamic) Shariah regulations."

Clashes shake west Mosul after victory over IS declared

Published on Tue, 07/11/2017 - 3:43pm
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MOSUL, Iraq— Airstrikes, shelling and other heavy clashes shook a small sliver of western Mosul on Tuesday in renewed fighting, a day after the government declared victory over Islamic State militants in Iraq's second-largest city.

Amnesty International, meanwhile, proclaimed the battle for Mosul to be a "civilian catastrophe," with more than 5,800 noncombatants killed in the western part of the city. The top U.S. commander in Iraq rejected the group's allegations, however, that the U.S.-led coalition violated international law.

US inks anti-terror deal with Qatar in press to end dispute

Published on Tue, 07/11/2017 - 3:39pm

DOHA, Qatar — U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sealed a deal Tuesday to intensify Qatar's counterterrorism efforts, tackling a central issue in the spat pitting the besieged Gulf nation against four other American allies lined up against it.

Tillerson outlined the agreement at the end of his first visit to Qatar since its neighbors moved to isolate it over grievances, including what they allege is its support for extremist groups.

Bosnia: thousands mark 22 years since Srebrenica massacre

Published on Tue, 07/11/2017 - 3:31pm
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SREBRENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Tens of thousands of people converged on Srebrenica Tuesday for a funeral for dozens of newly identified victims of the 1995 massacre in the Bosnian town.

Remains of 71 Muslim Bosniak victims, including seven juvenile boys and a woman, were buried at the memorial cemetery on the 22nd anniversary of the crime. They were laid to rest next to over 6,000 other Srebrenica victims found previously in mass graves. The youngest victim buried this year was 15, the oldest was 72.

Iraqi prime minister declares 'total victory' in Mosul

Published on Mon, 07/10/2017 - 2:17pm
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MOSUL, Iraq — Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory Monday evening over the Islamic State in Mosul after nearly nine months of grueling combat to drive the militants out of Iraq's second-largest city.

"We announce the total victory for Iraq and all Iraqis," al-Abadi said, speaking from a small base in western Mosul on the edge of the Old City, where the last pockets of resistance had been holding out.

"This great feast day crowned the victories of the fighters and the Iraqis for the past three years," he said.

A brief look at the medical issues in the Charlie Gard case

Published on Mon, 07/10/2017 - 2:14pm
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LONDON — Charlie Gard is a terminally ill British child whose parents are fighting for the right to take him to the United States for an experimental treatment. His case has gained international attention, including from Pope Francis and U.S. President Donald Trump.

New UN mission in Colombia to focus on reintegrating FARC

Published on Mon, 07/10/2017 - 2:05pm
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UNITED NATIONS — The Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Monday authorizing a new U.N. political mission in Colombia to focus on reintegrating leftist rebels into society after more than 50 years of war — a task the United Nations calls the most urgent challenge following the rebels' handover of their last weapons.

Israel's Labor elects newcomer Gabbay as party leader

Published on Mon, 07/10/2017 - 2:00pm
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JERUSALEM — Israel's Labor elected political newcomer Avi Gabbay as its leader Monday, hoping to inject new blood into the party that steered the Jewish state in the decades after independence but has been shut out of power for 16 years.

Labor led Israel for decades through wars, crises and the pursuit of peace, but has not governed since then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak was defeated in 2001 following a failed attempt to reach peace with the Palestinians.

Gabbay, 50, defeated Amir Peretz, a former party leader and defense minister, by a small margin in a runoff vote Monday.

Islamic militant attack in Egypt's Sinai kills 23 troops

Published on Fri, 07/07/2017 - 2:23pm
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EL-ARISH, Egypt — Islamic militants in Egypt's Sinai unleashed a suicide car bomb and dozens of masked and heavily armed gunmen who descended in multiple SUVs on a remote security outpost in the desert peninsula on Friday, killing at least 23 soldiers and wounding 33, officials said.

The brazen attack was the deadliest in the past two years in Sinai and though there was no immediate claim of responsibility, it bore all the hallmarks of the Islamic State group.

Trump confronts Putin on election hacking in first meeting

Published on Fri, 07/07/2017 - 2:20pm
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HAMBURG, Germany — At long last face to face, President Donald Trump confronted Russian President Vladimir Putin directly Friday over Moscow's meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign, as the two leaders sought to use their historic first meeting to move past the issue and forge closer cooperation on Syria.