Blog Posts

As Afghanistan prepares for presidential elections on Saturday, the Taliban is again threatening to disrupt the polling, while the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has urged the insurgents to refrain from attacking civilians exercising their democratic right.

"Saudi Arabia's minister of state for foreign affairs has said all options, including a military response, are open after attacks on two oil facilities, which it has blamed on Iran."

A bitter, fraud-marred presidential election in 2014 pushed Afghanistan to the brink of civil war before a power-sharing deal was reached between Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, who became president and chief executive officer.

Omar Mohammed set up "Mosul Eye" to expose the atrocities and failings of IS fighters, but at great personal risk. Omar tells Witness History how he posted news from Mosul to the outside world from right under the noses of the "Islamic State" group.

"Libya's Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj will be representing only part of the country when he addresses the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday. His government has been battling for months to keep control of the capital, Tripoli, amid an offensive by forces aligned with a rival authority based in the country's eastern portion."

"The ongoing conflict in Yemen , which has killed tens of thousands of people and sparked a humanitarian crisis, is among the thorniest issues facing world leaders this week as they meet at the United Nations."

"President cites his efforts to talk to anyone, including the leaders of North Korea, Iran and other nations that have long been at odds with the U.S."

"The highly classified map shows a Colombian guerrilla camp on the southern bank of a hydroelectric plant in the picturesque foothills of the Venezuelan Andes. Allegedly led by a leftist fighter known as 'Commander Lenin,' it’s one of several heavily armed outposts of combatants said to be fighting against the Colombian government while engaging in extortion, kidnapping, assassinations and drug trafficking from bases in Venezuela."

"President Donald Trump took center stage at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday to deliver a strong defense of nationalism while exhorting the world to act against Iran's "bloodlust" and rising aggression."

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has opened the annual UN General Assembly debate in New York, painting a grim picture of a deeply divided and anxious planet facing a climate crisis, spreading terrorism, rising inequality, and "the alarming possibility" of a conflict in the Persian Gulf.

“Britain, France and Germany say it is time for Tehran to start talks on a new, long-term pact dealing with its nuclear, regional and missile activities.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has long opposed globalism and criticized the multilateralism that is the foundation of the United Nations. However, as the leader of the country that hosts the world body, Trump is obligated to attend and speak to the U.N.’s General Assembly every year, which he will do for the third time on Tuesday.

"A Taliban delegation met China’s special representative for Afghanistan in Beijing to discuss the group’s peace talks with the United States, a spokesman for the Islamist insurgency said."

At least 40 members of a wedding party, including women and children, were killed and another 13 wounded in an airstrike in southern Afghanistan Sunday night, according to a provincial council member from Helmand province.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the U.S. is working to find a diplomatic outcome to tensions with Iran, which has been blamed for an attack on Saudi oil facilities, but he warned if diplomacy fails President Donald Trump "will make necessary decisions to achieve our objectives."

Afghan authorities say Taliban militants have suffered heavy casualties in the latest security operations in several provinces across the country.

"Future conflicts will mostly be waged by drug cartels, mafia groups, gangs, and terrorists. It is time to rethink our rules of engagement."

At least 20 Somali government soldiers were killed and 18 others were wounded when al-Shabab raided a military base south of Mogadishu, security sources told VOA Somali. The sources said militants detonated a suicide car bomb at the El-Salin military base followed by an infantry attack in the early hours of Sunday.

"Key FARC drug smugglers renew the guerrilla war.... It’s doubtful there was ever a FARC commitment to peace."

On the fifth anniversary of the Houthis' takeover of Sanna, Al Jazeera provides an overview of the five-year conflict.

Riyadh has taken a "wait-and-see" response to the announcement by Huthi militants in Yemen that they are halting all drone and missile attacks against Saudi Arabia.

"The information has been passed along to the Saudis and the U.S., according to people briefed on the warnings."

As the world waited for the U.S. and Saudi Arabia to decide what to do next in response to last weekend's drone and missile attack on two major Saudi oil fields, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made the most bellicose statement yet on the attacks, unambiguously accusing Iran of launching them and declaring the attacks an "act of war."

"The U.S. said it would send military forces and hardware to Gulf allies and moved to sever some of Iran’s last ties to world markets on Friday, while preparing to outline a case for international action next week when world leaders gather at the United Nations."

"As the Marine Corps and its sister services shift focus to near peer battles and the range of ways to meet that fight, some experts think they may be losing sight of ways in which other threats could emerge both separate from peers and from them through other means."