The Taliban government on Sunday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to retake Bagram Air Base, four years after America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan left the sprawling military facility in the Taliban’s hands. Trump on Saturday renewed his call to reestablish a U.S. presence at Bagram, even saying “we’re talking now to Afghanistan” about the matter. He did not offer further details about the purported conversations. Asked by a reporter if he’d consider deploying U.S. troops to take the base, Trump demurred. “We won’t talk about that,” Trump said. “We want it back, and we want it back right away. If they don’t do it,...
Pakistani Court Charges Man With Murder Of Teenage Tiktok Influencer
A Pakistani court charged a man on Saturday with murder for shooting a teenage social media influencer outside her home earlier this year after refusing his offer of friendship. Judge Mohammad Afzal Majoka in the capital, Islamabad, indicted Umar Hayat for killing 17-year-old Sana Yousuf. Hayat pleaded not guilty. Hayat, a 22-year-old TikTok content creator, was arrested in June in the eastern city of Faisalabad. Yousuf’s death drew widespread condemnation. Judge Majoka asked Hayat if he had killed Yousuf. Hayat replied that he had not. He also rejected the allegation that he had stolen her mobile phone, a court official...
Japan’s Governing Party Opens Race To Choose Ishiba’s Successor
Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba ’s ruling party opened official campaigning Monday to find his replacement who can restore political stability and voter support for the beleaguered Liberal Democrats. Five candidates are vying for the Liberal Democratic Party’s top job ahead of a highly unpredictable vote in early October. The race has a slogan: “Change, LDP.” The winner must act quickly to address rising prices if the party is to have any chance of winning back support following devastating losses to both the LDP and its junior partner Komeito in the past year that deprived their coalition of a majority in...
California Bans Most Law Enforcement Officers From Wearing Masks During Operations
California became the first state to ban most law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, from covering their faces while conducting official business under a bill that was signed Saturday by Gov. Gavin Newsom and swiftly denounced by Trump administration officials. The ban is a direct response to recent immigration raids in Los Angeles, where federal agents wore masks while making mass arrests. The raids prompted days of protest and led President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troops and Marines to the area. Newsom said at a news conference in Los Angeles, where he signed the bill flanked by state lawmakers, education leaders and...
Group Says Chinese Covid Whistleblower Is Sentenced To Four More Years In Jail.
A Chinese journalist jailed for four years after documenting the early phases of the Covid-19 outbreak from the pandemic’s epicenter was sentenced on Friday to four more years in prison, Reporters Without Borders said. Zhang Zhan, 42, was sentenced on a charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” in China, the same charge that led to her December 2020 imprisonment after she posted first-hand accounts from the central city of Wuhan on the early spread of coronavirus, the international press freedom group, known by its French initials RSF, said Saturday. China’s Foreign Ministry could not be immediately reached on Sunday...
Brazilians Protest Against A Bill That Could Lead To A Pardon For Bolsonaro And Allies
Thousands of Brazilians protested in all 26 states and the federal district Sunday against a possible pardon for former President Jair Bolsonaro and his allies, who were convicted of attempting a coup. Calls for demonstrations grew after the lower house Tuesday passed a constitutional amendment that would make it harder to arrest or launch criminal proceedings against lawmakers. The measure now heads to the Senate. The following day the lower house voted to fast-track a bill backed by right-wing opposition lawmakers that could grant amnesty to Bolsonaro, his closest allies and hundreds of supporters convicted of their roles in the January 2023...
British Couple Held For Months In Afghanistan Arrive Back In UK
A British couple held in Afghanistan for more than seven months on undisclosed charges arrived in the U.K. on Saturday after being released by the Taliban. Peter and Barbie Reynolds, aged 80 and 76, respectively, who were freed on Friday, were pictured smiling and looking to be in good health as they arrived at Heathrow Airport. The couple had lived in Afghanistan for 18 years and ran an education and training organization in the country’s central province of Bamiyan, choosing to remain in the country after the Taliban seized power. They had been held for nearly eight months following their arrest as they travelled to...
