World briefs
AFGHANISTAN Reversing his past calls for a speedy exit, President Donald Trump recommitted the United States to the 16-year-old war in Afghanistan, declaring U.S. troops must “fight to win.” He pointedly declined to disclose how many more troops will be dispatched to wage America’s longest war.
CAMBODIA’s prime minister said yesterday he has rescinded his decision to expel an American-led Christian organization that seeks to rescue and rehabilitate women working in the sex trade.
KOREA As North Korea vowed “merciless retaliation” against U.S.-South Korean military drills that it claims are an invasion rehearsal, senior U.S. military commanders yesterday dismissed calls to pause or downsize exercises they called crucial to countering a clear threat from Pyongyang.
AUSTRALIA Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s government could collapse if a court rules that three of his lawmakers with dual citizenship are ineligible to hold office. Even if they stay, his handling of the constitutional crisis gripping Australia’s parliament may have already sealed its fate.
INDIA’s top court has ruled that Muslim men can no longer instantly divorce their wives, in a closely watched case that has divided opinion in the country’s 170-million strong Muslim community.
IRAQ Government troops yesterday reached the first urban areas of the northern town of Tal Afar on the third day of a multi-pronged operation to retake it from the Islamic State group, a military commander said.
MOROCCO has long considered itself a haven of stability in a volatile region and a key ally in the fight against Islamic extremism, but in recent months, it has found itself shaken by carnage in Europe blamed on Moroccans who moved abroad – in Paris and Brussels, and — just last week —in Spain and Finland.
FRANCE President Emmanuel Macron is pushing for tighter European rules to protect workers in France from cheaper labor stemming from the continent’s east. Macron is set to raise his concerns with several leaders in Central Europe as he makes his first visit to the region this week.
US Sixty immigrants have been found in a load of ice-covered broccoli in a refrigerated trailer that was searched at a South Texas border checkpoint, federal officials said.
CHILE has granted political asylum to five Venezuelans who have been threatened by the government-stacked Supreme Court after being named to the court by the opposition-controlled congress. The country’s foreign minister announced yesterday that the judges who sought refuge will be allowed to reside in Chile.
