October 13, 2015
Australia Prepares to Resettle 12,000 Syrian Refugees
Australia has begun the task of selecting for resettlement 12,000 refugees from the crisis in Syria, with the first group expected to arrive before late December. Sydney’s Lakemba district is one of Australia’s most multicultural areas. It has…
October 9, 2015
US Abandons Efforts to Train Syrian Rebels
The Obama administration is abandoning efforts to train Syrian rebel forces to fight Islamic State militants, and switching to a strategy of "equipping and enabling" a select group of "vetted" opposition leaders and units. "We will monitor the…
October 5, 2015
Germany faces 1.5 million asylum claims this year
The number of people seeking asylum in Germany this year will be as high as 1.5 million - almost double the previous estimate, German media report. The German government has not confirmed the new estimate, which comes from an internal official…
October 1, 2015
At least 11 dead in Afghanistan Hercules crash
At least 11 people have died after a US Hercules aircraft crashed at an airport in Afghanistan, the US military says. The C-130 plane crashed at around midnight local time (19:30 GMT Thursday) in Jalalabad airport. US Army Colonel Brian Tribus told…
October 1, 2015
10 Dead, 7 Wounded in Oregon College Shooting
An angry President Barack Obama demanded the American people push Congress to pass "common sense" gun laws after a gunman murdered 10 people Thursday and wounded seven at an Oregon college. A grim Obama appeared on television hours after the…
September 29, 2015
Obama and Putin’s First Formal Meeting in Two Years Described as “Businesslike” Despite Tensions
President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin met Monday for their first formal meeting in two years amid new tensions in recent weeks between the already-adversarial world leaders. While the meeting was reportedly scheduled for only an hour,…
September 21, 2015
US to Raise Quotas for Refugees in FY 2016
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States will resettle at least 85,000 refugees in fiscal 2016, which begins October 1, including a minimum of 10,000 Syrians. Kerry also warned Russia its military presence in Syria risks attracting…
September 16, 2015
Sparks fly in second Republican 2016 debate
A debate between the top Republican candidates in the 2016 presidential election has begun with a fiery exchange of verbal punches. Frontrunner Donald Trump has come under fierce attack at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. Rand…
September 16, 2015
Strong quake strikes Chile, tsunami alert issued
A strong 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the center of Chile on Wednesday, local seismologists said, triggering a tsunami alert, sparking panic and shaking buildings. The quake had a shallow depth of 11 kilometers (six miles) and hit at 7:54 pm…
September 16, 2015
Syria’s Assad ‘won’t quit under pressure’
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said in an interview for Russian TV he will not quit under foreign pressure, saying the Syrian people must decide. Western powers and much of the Syrian opposition say it is not conceivable for Mr Assad to lead a…