MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — The Yves Saint Laurent museum opened its doors to the public Thursday in Marrakech, the sunny, bustling, gritty Moroccan city beloved by the late French designer. The highly-anticipated opening comes less than three weeks since the inauguration of a museum dedicated to the fashion pioneer in his home city of Paris. … Continue reading
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl told a military judge on Monday that he’s pleading guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. “I understand that leaving was against the law,” said Bergdahl, whose decision to walk off his remote post in Afghanistan in 2009 prompted intense search and recovery missions, during … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — Turkish armored vehicles have rolled into northwestern Syria to impose a “de-escalation zone” in a province dominated by al-Qaida-linked militants, an incursion that the Turkish leader said was meant to secure his country’s border. The Turkish military said it began an operation late Thursday to set up “observation points” in Idlib, without … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will say Friday the Iran nuclear deal is no longer in America’s national security interests, but he won’t withdraw from the landmark 2015 accord or immediately re-impose sanctions against Tehran, according to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, other U.S. officials and outside advisers to the administration. Trump’s speech from … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The parents of an American woman freed with her family after five years of captivity say they are elated, but also angry at their son-in law for taking their daughter to Afghanistan. “Taking your pregnant wife to a very dangerous place, to me, and the kind of person I am, is unconscionable,” … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Five years after they were seized by a terrorist network in the mountains of Afghanistan, an American woman, her Canadian husband and their children — all three born in captivity — are free after a dramatic rescue orchestrated by the U.S. and Pakistani governments, officials said Thursday. The U.S. said Pakistan accomplished … Continue reading
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s surprise decision to grant women the right to drive in the conservative kingdom marks a significant expansion in women’s rights, but activists said Wednesday it is also only the first step in a long list of demands for equality. Saudi Arabia was the only country in the world … Continue reading
IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — The Kurdish referendum on independence from Iraq was approved by more than 92 percent of voters, officials said Wednesday, as Iraq’s prime minister vowed to keep his country united without resorting to the use of force. Even with the strong support, the non-binding vote is unlikely to lead to formal independence, … Continue reading
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli banks are contributing to the proliferation of West Bank settlements by providing loans and mortgages for construction there, violating their human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch said in a report Wednesday. The report said that Israeli law does not require banks to provide such services to the settlements, and urged them … Continue reading
UKHIYA, Bangladesh (AP) — The Latest on violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state and the flood of ethnic Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh (all times local): 9:30 a.m. Four Hercules planes carrying 34 tons of aid for Rohinyga refugees have departed for Bangladesh from an air force base in the Indonesian capital. Indonesia’s President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo … Continue reading
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Authorities say a suicide bomber has attacked a cricket stadium in the Afghan capital of Kabul, killing at least two people and wounding at least seven. Basir Mujahid, spokesman for Kabul police, said the attack just outside the gates of the stadium happened Wednesday as hundreds of people were inside enjoying … Continue reading
Indian journalist’s killing provokes outrage, anguish By NIRMALA GEORGE, Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — The killing of an Indian journalist provoked outrage and anguish across the country on Wednesday, with thousands protesting what they saw as an effort to silence a critic of India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party. Even as police promise to hunt down … Continue reading
UN probe says Syrian government launched April sarin attack By JAMEY KEATEN and ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — U.N.-mandated investigators said Wednesday that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s air force conducted a sarin-gas attack in the spring that killed at least 83 civilians and sparked a retaliatory U.S. strike. The investigators also appealed to the … Continue reading
HOUSTON (AP) — The gymnasium at the Champions Islamic Center is covered with mats and blankets, donated clothes and boxes of food lining its walls. On the eve of the Eid al-Adha festival, one of Islam’s holiest days, it’s become the temporary home for 15 of the thousands of Harvey evacuees, Muslim and non-Muslim. And … Continue reading
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide car bomb exploded Thursday at a bank in Afghanistan’s Helmand province as Afghan troops and government workers waited to collect their pay ahead of a major Muslim holiday, killing at least 29 people, officials said. Most of the casualties in the explosion near the bank in the provincial capital … Continue reading
MOSCOW (AP) — Warplanes from the U.S.-led coalition operating over Syrian government-controlled areas west of the Euphrates River will be tracked as potential targets, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday, a day after the U.S. military shot down a Syrian air force jet. Moscow condemned the downing of the Syrian jet after it dropped bombs near … Continue reading
BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the conflict in Syria (all times local): 4:20 p.m. The Dutch government is sending a military refueling plane to Kuwait to assist the U.S.-led coalition carrying out airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. The government announced the deployment Monday, saying a KDC-10 refueling plane left … Continue reading
