Input: In a statement, the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police said it was “shocked and saddened” by the choice of speakers at the Democratic convention, saying organizers should have also included victims of violence against police

Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police

Democratic

police


Input: “The Fraternal Order of Police is insulted and will not soon forget that the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton are excluding the widows and other family members of police officers killed in the line of duty who were victims of explicit, and not implied, racism, and being ‘on duty in blue,’” the statement said

Fraternal Order of Police

Democratic Party

police

Hillary Clinton

widows

family members

officers


Input: “Mrs. Clinton, you should be ashamed of yourself, if that is possible,” it continued

Clinton


Input: However, some convention speakers did highlight the plight of police officers

police

officers


Input: In a speech Tuesday, former Attorney General Eric Holder said he was “profoundly aware that an attack on a police officer anywhere is an attack on our entire society.

police

Eric Holder

officer


Input: And U.S. criminal justice policies under both Democratic and Republican administrations came in for heavy criticism during a protest Tuesday afternoon in the city’s streets

streets

U.S.

Democratic

Republican


Input: Former Attorney General Eric Holder speaks during the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia , July 26, 2016

Philadelphia

Eric Holder


Input: But he also stressed that the goal of keeping officers safe “is not inconsistent with ensuring that those in law enforcement treat the people they are sworn to protect with dignity, respect, and fairness.

officers


Input: “We must commit ourselves to both goals,” said Holder, who as attorney general carried out federal investigations into several police departments accused of racial discrimination

police

departments

Holder


Input: A diverse group of protesters carried signs reading “Hillary, Delete Yourself” and “Hillary Has Blood On Her Hands” as they chanted slogans calling for the overthrow of the “whole damn system.

group

Hillary

Hillary


Input: Jamar James of Sicklerville, New Jersey, was carrying a red, white and blue coffin marked with the letters “DNC” as he marched with several hundred other protesters

Sicklerville

New Jersey

DNC


Input: “This is a coffin for the DNC, for the end of the Democratic Party,” he said

DNC

Democratic Party


Input: You can’t trust the Democratic Party to do anything that isn’t in the corporations’ best interest.

Democratic Party


Input: As they marched through the city, protesters carried signs displaying the names of African-Americans killed by police

city

police

protesters

African-Americans

marched

city

killed

police


Input: Nine so-called Mothers of the Movement, whose children were killed by gun violence or in encounters with police, took the convention stage to loud cheers of “black lives matter!

Mothers of the Movement

police

children

gun

killed

children

gun

police


Input: At times, they erupted in chants, calling police “pigs.

police


Input: “For people of color in this country, this is a critical moment,” said Ewuare Osayande, a poet, author and activist

country

Ewuare Osayande

poet

author

activist


Input: “Even under the watch of our nation’s first African-American president, we are witnessing the escalation or the visible recognition of police murder, and yet that administration has not been able to stop the bloodshed,” he said

police

administration

president


Input: Police arrest Black Lives Matter leader DeRay McKesson during a protest along Airline Highway, a major road that passes in front of the Baton Rouge Police Department headquarters on July 9, 2016

road

headquarters

Airline Highway

Black Lives Matter

Baton Rouge Police Department

Police

DeRay McKesson

protest

Police

DeRay McKesson

Airline Highway


Input: Others have been critical of Hillary Clinton’s 1996 reference to certain black youths as “super predators,” a term she has since apologized for

Hillary Clinton’s

youths


Input: But the overwhelming majority of African-Americans appear willing to support Clinton over Trump

Clinton

Trump


Input: While many of the marchers said they would vote for Clinton, others said they support Green Party candidate Jill Stein

Green Party

Clinton

Jill Stein


Input: The women, vocal supporters of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, fought back tears as they described how she was their preferred choice to carry on their children’s legacy

Democratic

women

Hillary Clinton


Input: Richard Kossally from New York City said he sees Trump as a “racist,” but said he is opposed to both major parties

New York City

parties

Richard Kossally

Trump


Input: “I am here with Hillary Clinton tonight because she is a leader and a mother who is not afraid to say our children’s names,” said Geneva Reed-Veal, whose daughter, Sandra Bland, died in a Texas jail cell last year

jail cell

Texas

Hillary Clinton

leader

mother

Geneva Reed-Veal

Sandra Bland

died

Sandra Bland

jail cell


Input: The group includes the mothers of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed teenager shot while walking to a family friend's home in Florida in 2012, and Eric Garner, who died in 2014 after being put in a chokehold by police in New York

home

Florida

New York

group

police

mothers

Trayvon Martin

teenager

family

Eric Garner

shot

teenager

Florida

died

Eric Garner

police

New York


Input: “Hillary Clinton has the compassion and understanding to support grieving mothers,” said Sybrina Fulton, Martin’s mother

Hillary Clinton

mothers

Sybrina Fulton

Martin’s

mother


Input: “She has the courage to lead the fight for commonsense gun legislation

gun


Input: Little Progress Made in Efforts to Dismantle Human Smuggling Rings-On October 3, 2013, hundreds of African migrants desperate to reach Europe died less than 400 meters from reaching their goal

African

Europe

migrants

died

migrants

Europe

reach

Europe


Input: With the Italian island of Lampedusa in sight, the migrants’ rickety, overcrowded boat began to sink

Italian

island

boat


Input: Despite a coordinated international approach, millions of dollars spent and untold man hours, the impact of efforts to thwart the smuggling rings remains unclear

man


Input: Dozens have been arrested and face prosecution

Dozens

arrested


Input: But the death toll in the Mediterranean is on track to rise for the third straight year, with at least 10,000 additional migrant deaths recorded in the Mediterranean Sea since Lampedusa

Mediterranean

Mediterranean Sea


Input: Three wrecks in June 2016 alone may have led to 700 deaths, according to the U.N. refugee agency and IOM

U.N. refugee agency


Input: Initial successes-Calogero "Gery" Ferrara, an Italian justice department prosecutor in Palermo, said his team identified key figures in a large network of traffickers and smugglers early in their investigation

Italian

Palermo

department

team

Calogero "Gery" Ferrara

prosecutor

smugglers


Input: One breakthrough came in 2014 when Nuredin Wehabrebi Atta, an Eritrean smuggler, was arrested and agreed to assist authorities as a whistle-blower in exchange for protection

Eritrean

Nuredin Wehabrebi Atta

arrested

Nuredin Wehabrebi Atta


Input: Atta painted a gruesome picture of the system, saying traffickers often held would-be migrants hostage and extorted their families for money under threat of death to their loved ones

Atta

families


Input: They set a blanket on fire to signal for help, but flames engulfed the ship

ship


Input: He outlined a wide-reaching network that included arms and drug smugglers

smugglers

arms


Input: On July 4, 2016, Italian authorities arrested 25 Eritreans, 12 Ethiopians and an Italian thought to be involved in smuggling after a raid on a perfume shop in Italy

shop

Italian

Italy

Eritreans

Ethiopians

Italian

arrested

Italian

Italian


Input: Authorities also found an address book that contained names of smugglers, according to Reuters

Reuters

smugglers


Input: However, Ferrara said the investigation, code-named Glauco, was fraught with challenges from the beginning

Ferrara


Input: Investigators often must work from a distance, retracing routes from clues that migrants bring when they land in Europe

Europe


Input: The passengers crowded to one side, and the vessel capsized

passengers

vessel


Input: “They have a very structured organization — [a] very well-organized criminal association with a clear division of roles,” he said

organization

division


Input: This past May, authorities from Italy and Britain found an individual whom they believed to be a smuggling kingpin in El Diem, an area in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum

Italy

Britain

El Diem

Sudan’s

capital

Khartoum

area


Input: El Diem is a popular spot for migrants to play pool and drink tea and coffee

El Diem


Input: At a small coffeehouse called Diem, Sudanese authorities apprehended Medhane Tesfamariam Berhe of Eritrea and extradited him to Italy

Sudanese

Eritrea

Italy

Medhane Tesfamariam Berhe


Input: Italian and British authorities hailed it as the big break they had spent over a year looking for, but it may be a case of mistaken identity that demonstrates the difficulty of dismantling trafficking networks

Italian

British


Input: Following the arrest, family members and journalists questioned whether authorities had the right person

members

journalists

person


Input: The official death toll was 368, according to the International Organization for Migration

International Organization for Migration


Input: Victims of the actual trafficker testified in court that authorities had arrested the wrong man

man


Input: Friends in Sudan who knew Berhe insisted that authorities had the wrong person

Sudan

Berhe

person


Input: In this picture taken June 9, 2106, Hiweet Berhe Tesfamarian Kidane holds photocopies of documents she told the Associated Press belong to her brother, Medhane Tesfamariam Berhe, during an interview in Oslo

Oslo

Associated Press

Hiweet Berhe Tesfamarian Kidane

brother

Medhane Tesfamariam Berhe


Input: Eritrean names follow a paternal line, and the suspect extradited to Europe shares only the first, or given, name with the wanted criminal, whom authorities initially identified as Medhane Yehdego Mered

Eritrean

Europe

Medhane Yehdego Mered


Input: By one account, he controlled 4 percent of the human trafficking into Italy

Italy


Input: Michele Calantropo, the Italian lawyer of Medhane Tesfamariam Berhe, said that confusion about the name isn’t the only reason his client should be released

Italian

Michele Calantropo

lawyer

Medhane Tesfamariam Berhe

client


Input: A photo used by prosecutors and circulated around the world via social media did not match the man who was extradited, he said

world

prosecutors

man


Input: Medhane Tesfamariam Berhe is the name of the ringleader, not Medhane Yehdego Mered, they say

Tesfamariam Berhe

Medhane Yehdego Mered


Input: And the photo that circulated in the media, online and in the prosecution’s own presentation materials is of a different, unrelated person

media

person


Input: Ferrara, however, maintains they have the right person

Ferrara


Input: “He was operating in Sudan and Libya, so we never saw him

Sudan

Libya


Input: We don’t know his face, but we have 12,000 conversations regarding, concerning him,” Ferrara said

Ferrara


Input: Medhane Tesfamariam Berhe’s lawyer sees it differently

Tesfamariam Berhe’s

lawyer


Input: “It’s very strange that before it was a good photo and now it’s not,” Calantropo said in reaction to the prosecutor’s dismissal of the image

Calantropo


Input: The phone in possession of the individual they apprehended in Khartoum had been used to log in to the same Facebook account and call the same numbers as the person they had been investigating since 2014, prosecutors asserted

Khartoum

person

prosecutors


Input: Migrants and refugees spend over $1.1 billion a year, according to The Migrants' Files, a consortium of journalists from 10 European countries

European

consortium

journalists


Input: Beyond risking inhumane treatment and jeopardizing their lives, migrants pay smugglers and traffickers large sums of money, often at multiple points in their journeys

smugglers


Input: Most migrants crossing the Mediterranean pay between $5,500 (to travel overland through Turkey and into Europe) to $18,700 (to board a flight, depending on the destination), a spokesperson for Britain’s National Crime Agency told VOA

Turkey

Mediterranean

Europe

Britain’s National Crime Agency

VOA

spokesperson


Input: But the NCA said that there are also times when smugglers lower prices to entice migrants to board ships in bad weather

NCA

ships


Input: Whether or not migrants can make good on their payments, smugglers and traffickers find ways to profit

smugglers


Input: Amanuel Zaid, an Eritrean living in Virginia, knew the extradited Medhane in Sudan and made observations on smuggling networks during his time in Khartoum

Eritrean

Virginia

Sudan

Khartoum

Amanuel Zaid


Input: Smugglers based in the Sudanese capital have their own employees across countries in the region, he said

Sudanese

capital

region


Input: When migrants enter Sudan from places like Ethiopia and Eritrea, smugglers take them to a checkpoint called Hajer to determine who has paid the full amount before letting them pass

checkpoint

Sudan

Ethiopia

Eritrea

smugglers


Input: From Eritrea to Sudan, for example, safe passage could cost between $6,000 and $7,500, Zaid said, but there are additional costs to continue on from Sudan to Libya that could total about $1,600

Eritrea

Sudan

Sudan

Libya


Input: In the wake of the Lampedusa tragedy, European authorities set out to crack down on the smugglers and traffickers who sent the migrants to their deaths

European

smugglers

traffickers

migrants

deaths

smugglers


Input: Children watch as women queue to receive free clothes at a makeshift camp for refugees and migrants at the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni, Greece, May 12, 2016

camp

village

Idomeni

Greece

Greek-Macedonian border

women


Input: It has contributed to the interception of boats en route to Libya with weapons, ammunition and smuggled cigarettes, according to a statement from the spokesperson

Libya

boats

weapons

ammunition


Input: Some of these boats are used to transport migrants when returning back, the statement said

boats


Input: Sudanese authorities also say they are eager to help dismantle trafficking networks

Sudanese


Input: Mekki Elmograbi, the media representative of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, says that his government is working with the European Union to bridge gaps and improve the international prosecution system

Washington

media

the Sudanese Embassy

government

the European Union

Mekki Elmograbi

representative


Input: “The level of understanding between the Sudanese government and the European Union and European countries has reached a very advanced level,” he said

Sudanese

European

government

European Union


Input: The European Commission recently announced a $110 million aid package for Sudan to address the “root causes of irregular migration and forced displacement” in places including Darfur, East Sudan, and the states of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile — all areas ravaged by war over the last decade

Sudan

Darfur

states

East Sudan

Southern Kordofan

Blue Nile

European Commission


Input: Elmograbi said there are more than 15 smuggling gangs operating in the region

region


Input: “There is sometimes a kind of cooperation between gang to gang so that they take the immigrants from here and bring them to another country

country


Input: They determined that a vast, organized and well-funded network fuels much of the migration out of Africa and the Middle East

Africa

Middle East

network


Input: So they are acting just like authorities receiving money from people and sometimes abandoning people in the desert, letting them to die, or even in the sea,” he said

desert

sea


Input: When Sudanese authorities arrested him, they took all his identification documents and didn’t hand them over to Italian or British authorities, said his lawyer, Calantropo

Sudanese

Italian

British

lawyer


Input: To fill biographical details, Calantropo collected documentation from his family

Calantropo

family


Input: His sister, Seghen Berhe, told VOA that he was born in 1987 in the neighborhood of Geza Banda Tilian in Eritrea’s capital, Asmara

Eritrea’s

capital

Asmara

neighborhood

VOA

sister

Seghen Berhe

Geza Banda Tilian


Input: He attended Isak Teweldemedhin Secondary School and underwent military training in Sawa

Sawa

Isak Teweldemedhin Secondary School

military


Input: Like many youth who feel trapped by Eritrea’s system of mandatory national service, he fled to Ethiopia and entered the Hitsats refugee camp in April 2014, his sister said

camp

Ethiopia

sister


Input: During his first hearing on July 4, victims tortured by the criminal who shares his name explained their encounters and confirmed to authorities that they had the wrong person

person


Input: For three years, officials from Italy, Britain and other countries have investigated the network behind the Mediterranean migration crisis

Italy

Britain

countries

Mediterranean

network

officials


Input: All the while, Calantropo said, the real criminal remains at large in Libya, where he has been since 2015

Libya


Input: Speculation Grows That Peace Process With Kurds Could Resume-ISTANBUL — -Speculation is growing that the stalled peace process between the Turkish government and the Kurdish rebels could resume after its breakdown last year

ISTANBUL

Turkish

Kurdish

government


Input: "So I am happy that the PKK is not doing anything, but I don't know whether there has been [any] kind of communication.

PKK


Input: Possibility of peace-Turkey's air force, which regularly bombs the PKK, has only launched one strike against rebel bases in neighboring northern Iraq since the failed coup

bases

Turkey's

Iraq

air force

PKK

bombs

strike

Iraq


Input: While PKK skirmishes are still continuing five police officers and soldiers were killed in separate attacks Thursday in the predominantly Kurdish southeast

Kurdish

police officers

soldiers

killed

Kurdish


Input: Ayse Sozen Usluer, the Turkish president's international relations chief, insists there has been no change in policy toward the PKK, but does not rule out that the conflict can be resolved politically

Turkish

PKK

Sozen Usluer


Input: The peace process with the PKK collapsed in July amid mutual recriminations

PKK


Input: Its failure led to a resumption of fighting that caused massive destruction in towns and cities across Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast, along with claims by human rights groups of widespread abuses

Kurdish

groups


Input: But Selahattin Demirtas, co-leader of the HDP, Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party, was quick to condemn the coup attempt, and many Kurds heeded Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's call to go to the streets to oppose it

streets

Turkish

Selahattin Demirtas

Kurds

Recep Tayyip Erdogan's


Input: Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, greets Devlet Bahceli before a meeting in Ankara, Turkey, July 25, 2016

Ankara

Turkey

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Devlet Bahceli

greets

Devlet Bahceli

Ankara


Input: For one, nearly half of Turkey's top generals have been removed from office in connection with the failed coup attempt earlier this month, yet despite the Turkish military's disarray, the PKK Kurdish rebel group has not launched any major attacks

Turkish

PKK Kurdish

group

generals


Input: "Now, it would not be too pleased at the fact the president is not willing to meet the HDP leader while he is prepared to meet other opposition leaders, even though the HDP came out against the coup

president

leader


Input: But I think there is a possibility that the government under these conditions will try and go back to some kind of negotiation process with the Kurds or PKK

government

Kurds


Input: HDP co-leader Demirtas strongly condemned his exclusion from Erdogan's meeting Monday with parliamentary opposition leaders

Demirtas

Erdogan's


Input: However, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim suggested the HDP could be brought into what the government calls a consensus-building process

government

Binali Yildirim


Input: "If there is a kind of undeclared cease-fire for some time, it may be easier to actually include them [Kurds] in the process, as well," Ozel said

Kurds

Ozel


Input: In what analysts say is an important gesture to the Kurdish minority, the government says it is considering reopening an investigation into the deaths of 34 young Kurdish smugglers four years ago in a Turkish airstrike near Uludere, on Turkey's border with Iraq

Turkish

Uludere

Iraq

Kurdish

Kurdish

border

government

smugglers

deaths

smugglers

border


Input: In addition, Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party joined other opposition parties in opposing the putsch

parties


Input: General Adem Huduti, the commander of Turkey's Second Army, is the most senior among the military officers detained in the ongoing crackdown on coup plotters

Turkey's Second Army

military

Adem Huduti

commander

officers

detained

commander


Input: Huduti has led counter-insurgency operations against the PKK since fighting resumed following last year's collapse of the government-backed peace process with the rebels

PKK


Input: Many of Turkey's elite special forces and commandos who have been at the forefront of the fight against the PKK have also been detained

PKK

forces

commandos

detained


Input: Yet the rebels have not moved to take advantage of the chaos within the Turkish military

Turkish

military


Input: "I liken what happened to a massive stroke, so the body is extremely weak, it is unable to truly protect itself," said Soli Ozel, an international relations expert at Istanbul's Kadir Has University

Istanbul's Kadir Has University

Soli Ozel


Input: US Paints Bleak Portrait of Global Religious Freedom-STATE DEPARTMENT — -The United States is painting a bleak portrait of religious freedom around the world, particularly condemning some Islamic societies that have adopted laws that harshly penalize blasphemy and apostasy

US

United States

world


Input: “One quarter of all the countries in the world have some form of anti-blasphemy law, one out of 10 punishes people for apostasy,” State Department’s Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom David Saperstein told VOA Wednesday in an interview, “so this is a serious problem because often this has death penalties that are attached in them or very severe punishments

countries

world

VOA

David Saperstein


Input: FILE - Pakistanis rally in support of Mumtaz Qadri who was convicted and executed for a blasphemy-motivated killing of a former governor, in Lahore, Pakistan, Feb. 29, 2016

Lahore

Pakistan

Pakistanis

Mumtaz Qadri

governor

killing

Mumtaz Qadri

governor

executed

Mumtaz Qadri


Input: It said Sudan detained 27 Muslims last November, all "adherents of a school of Islam that maintains that the Quran is the sole source of religious authority, and that rejects the sanctity of the hadiths — contrary to the government’s official view of Islam.

Sudan

school

Muslims

detained

Sudan


Input: The State Department said Mauritania imprisoned Mohammad Cheikh Ould Mohammad, better known as “MKheytir,” after he allegedly criticized the Prophet Mohammad and "implicitly blamed the country’s religious establishment for the plight of the country’s forgeron (blacksmith) caste, which historically has suffered discrimination.

Mauritania

State Department

Mohammad Cheikh Ould Mohammad

Mohammad

imprisoned

Mauritania

Mohammad Cheikh Ould Mohammad


Input: It said Islamic State jihadists have committed what U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry believes to be "genocide against Yazidis, Christians, Shia, and other vulnerable groups in the territory it controlled.

U.S.

territory

Islamic State

State

groups

Secretary

John Kerry


Input: “Daesh kills Yazidis because they are Yazidi, Christians because they are Christian, Shia Muslim because they are Shia,” said Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, using another name for Islamic State group, “Daesh is also responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing directed at these same groups, and in some cases also against Sunni Muslims, Kurds, other minorities.

Daesh

State

Islamic State

group

Daesh

groups

Yazidis

Christians

Shia

Secretary

Antony Blinken

Kurds

kills

Daesh

Yazidis


Input: The State Department said Boko Haram in Africa "continued to launch indiscriminate, violent attacks targeting both Christians and Muslims who spoke out against or opposed their violent ideology.

Africa

State Department

Boko Haram

Christians

Muslims

attacks

Muslims


Input: FILE - A soldier walks through the burnt building at the headquarters of Michika local government in Michika town, after the Nigerian military recaptured it from Boko Haram, in Adamawa state, May 10, 2015

building

headquarters

Michika

Michika

town

Nigerian

Adamawa state

government

military

Boko Haram

soldier


Input: And we see this in countries all across the globe.

globe


Input: It noted that "Boko Haram claimed responsibility for scores of attacks on churches and mosques, often killing worshipers during religious services or immediately afterward.

Boko Haram

worshipers

attacks

worshipers


Input: The report denounced Iran, where it said government officials executed 20 individuals "on charges of moharebeh, translatable as 'enmity towards god,' among them a number of Sunni Kurds.

Iran

government

officials

individuals

Kurds

executed

officials


Input: It said a number of other prisoners, including several Sunni preachers, are still being held while awaiting a government decision whether to implement their death sentences

government

prisoners


Input: The State Department also disparaged religious freedom in China, saying that Beijing "ordered the demolition of several state-sanctioned Protestant and Catholic churches and the removal of over 1,500 crosses as part of a government campaign targeting so-called 'illegal' structures.

China

Beijing

State Department

churches

government


Input: FILE - A church member shovels cement mix preparing to re-mount a cross on a Protestant church, which had been forcibly pulled down by Chinese government workers in Taitou Village, eastern China, July 29, 2015

Chinese

Taitou Village

China

church

church

government

member


Input: Meanwhile, it said Russia "continued to grant privileges to the Russian Orthodox Church that it did not accord to others," limiting the activities of Muslims and other minority religious groups, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Pentecostals and Scientologists

Russia

the Russian Orthodox Church

groups


Input: The State Department said religious freedom is gradually improving in Vietnam and praised the European Union for appointing two officials to monitor anti-Semitism and combat anti-Muslim hatred

Vietnam

State Department

European Union

officials


Input: The report lauded Kenyan Muslims for shielding Christians when al-Shabab militants attacked a bus they were riding on

Kenyan

al-Shabab

militants

bus

attacked

militants

bus


Input: FILE - Kenyan security forces and others gather around the scene on an attack on a bus about 50 kilometers (31 miles) outside the town of Mandera, near the Somali border in northeastern Kenya, Nov. 22, 2014

Kenyan

town

Mandera

Somali

Kenya

border

forces

bus

attack

forces

bus

Mandera


Input: Saperstein underscored that the very nature of all these laws “punishes people for expressing their core beliefs, when those core beliefs turn out to be offensive to whoever has the political power in the country

country


Input: "Around the world," the State Department said, "governments continued to tighten their regulatory grip on religious groups, and particularly on minority religious groups and religions which are viewed as not traditional to that specific country.

country

world

State Department

groups

groups


Input: The report said that in Pakistan, 40 people remain on death row for blasphemy, many of them religious minorities

Pakistan

people

death row

Pakistan


Input: Pakistan-based Rebel Leader Warns India Over Kashmir Violence-ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — -The head of a Pakistan-based militant group fighting Indian rule in Kashmir has warned that his followers will storm the cease-fire line that divides the region unless New Delhi ends its current wave of violence against Kashmiris

India

ISLAMABAD

PAKISTAN

Indian

New Delhi

Kashmir

Kashmir

cease-fire line

region

group

followers


Input: Syed Salahuddin, commander of the separatist Hizbul Mujahideen, or HuM, issued the warning Thursday while addressing an anti-India rally in Muzaffarabad, the capital of the Pakistan-ruled part of the disputed Himalayan region

Muzaffarabad

capital

Himalayan

region

Hizbul Mujahideen

HuM

Syed Salahuddin

commander


Input: Islamabad denies the charges and maintains it provides moral and political support to Kashmiris

Islamabad


Input: It has condemned the killing of Wani as an "extrajudicial murder" and consistently denounced the use of force against protesters as a "blatant violation of basic human rights.

Wani

protesters


Input: Pakistan’s High Commissioner Abdul Basi in New Delhi was summoned to the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday amid allegations that Pakistanis have been trained and instructed to carry out attacks in India and Kashmir

New Delhi

India

Kashmir

Foreign Ministry

Abdul Basi


Input: Speaking at the weekly news conference in Islamabad Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nafees Zakaria responded to the summoning of the Pakistani envoy in India and the confession by an alleged Pakistani national

Islamabad

Pakistani

India

Pakistani

Foreign Ministry

Nafees Zakaria

envoy


Input: “We have rejected the [Indian] allegations or claim of any infiltration across LoC

Indian


Input: We have a very firm policy in this regard that we would not allow our soil to be used for any terrorist activity against anyone,” Zakaria said

Zakaria


Input: A military cease-fire line called the Line of Control, or LoC, divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan and both claim the region in its entirety

India

Pakistan

Line of Control

Kashmir

region

military

LoC


Input: The dispute has sparked two of the three wars between the two countries and remains at the center of bilateral tensions

center

countries


Input: “A major cause of the uprising is the resentment among Kashmiri youths who have come of age under an Indian security apparatus that acts against civilians with impunity,” noted The New York Times in a July 21 editorial

Indian

New York

apparatus

youths


Input: He reiterated his call for Islamabad to cut all ties to New Delhi

Islamabad

New Delhi


Input: “Kashmir is subject to India’s Armed Forces Special Powers Act, or Afspa, which grants the military wide powers to arrest, shoot to kill, occupy or destroy property

Kashmir

military


Input: The newspaper emphasized the need for an independent investigation into the use of force by Indian security forces, saying that a failure to take such steps will only push more young Kashmiris into militancy, and make impossible a political solution that alone can end the “desperation” gripping the region

Indian

region

newspaper

forces


Input: “We will now have to announce and God willing practically cross the bloody line [the disputed Kashmir border] together with the entire population of Azaad Kashmir [Pakistani Kashmir] and mujahideen (holy warriors) as well as refugees [who have come from the Indian side] without fearing any restrictions,” Salauhddin said

population

Pakistani

Indian

Kashmir

border

Azaad Kashmir

Kashmir


Input: Tens of thousands of residents of Indian Kashmir have for weeks defied a strict curfew and security crackdown to attend street protests over the killing of a 22-year-old HuM commander, Burhan Wani, by Indian government forces on July 8

Indian

Indian Kashmir

HuM

government

residents

commander

Burhan Wani

forces

killing

Burhan Wani

forces


Input: Kashmiri villagers carry body of Burhan Wani, chief of operations of Indian Kashmir's largest rebel group Hizbul Mujahideen, during his funeral procession in Tral, some 38 Kilometers (24 miles) south of Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir, July 9, 2016

Tral

Srinagar

Kashmir

Indian Kashmir's

group

Hizbul Mujahideen

villagers

Burhan Wani

procession

villagers


Input: Since his death, clashes between stone-throwing Kashmiri youth and Indian security forces firing live ammunition, shotgun pellets and tear gas have left more than 55 civilians and two police officers dead

Indian

Kashmiri

police

civilians

officers

ammunition

shotgun pellets

tear gas

dead

officers


Input: Thousands of civilians have been injured and hospitals in Kashmir are overwhelmed while scores are threatened with blindness by pellets lodged in their eyes; but, the violence continues to paralyze life in Kashmir

hospitals

Kashmir

Kashmir

civilians


Input: India regards Salahuddin, who also heads an alliance of 15 Kashmiri rebel groups called the United Jihad Council, or UJC, and his group as terrorists and blames Pakistan for fueling the recent unrest

India

Pakistan

groups

United Jihad Council

UJC

group

terrorists


Input: Pakistan: Intelligence Cooperation Deal With Afghanistan Can Help Counter Terrorism - ISLAMABAD — -Pakistan is calling on Afghanistan to help create a formal intelligence-sharing deal so that the countries can better address allegations that their spy agencies are involved with anti-state violence on both sides of their shared border

Pakistan

Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD

Pakistan

Afghanistan

countries

border


Input: Pakistani prime minister’s foreign policy advisor, Sartaj Aziz, renewed the call amid allegations the Afghan intelligence agency, National Directorate of Security (NDS) had links to Monday’s deadly suicide hospital bombing in the southwestern city of Quetta

hospital

Pakistani

Afghan

city

Quetta

agency

National Directorate of Security

NDS

advisor

Sartaj Aziz

bombing

hospital


Input: But we fear and are concerned that this possibility exists and as the investigation progresses it would become evident,” Aziz said

Aziz


Input: FILE - Pakistani foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz

Pakistani

Sartaj Aziz


Input: The advisor noted that in official discussions with their Afghan counterparts, Pakistani interlocutors are trying to promote close “links and interaction” between the Pakistani spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, and NDS to enable the two countries identify incidents of their involvement and to prevent terrorists from using their respective soils against each other

Afghan

Pakistani

Pakistani

countries

agency

Inter-Services Intelligence

ISI

advisor


Input: “This commitment can only be monitored when interaction exists between the two intelligence agencies at various levels, including at the border level and higher level

border

agencies


Input: This is our objective and God willing we will make progress towards it,” vowed Aziz

Aziz


Input: It may not completely deter terrorism, he said, but asserted cooperation between ISI and NDS in terms of timely sharing of intelligence about possible terrorist or other illegal movements across the border will help minimize mutual "misperceptions and misunderstandings.

border

ISI

NDS

movements


Input: Kabul's accusations-For its part, Kabul has long accused the Pakistani ISI of covertly providing sanctuaries to the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network of terrorists for staging attacks against local and foreign forces in Afghanistan

Kabul

Pakistani

Afghan

Afghanistan

ISI

Taliban

Haqqani Network

terrorists

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attacks

Taliban


Input: Islamabad acknowledges Taliban insurgents are among millions of Afghan refugees Pakistan has been hosting for more than three decades but denies giving any support to the Afghan insurgency

Islamabad

Afghan

Pakistan

Afghan

Taliban

insurgents


Input: Aziz acknowledged that there is mistrust in bilateral relations because of “historical reasons” but said that if established, the proposed intelligence cooperation forum will be to the benefit of both Pakistan and Afghanistan

Pakistan

Afghanistan

Aziz


Input: The attack killed more than 70 people and wounded scores of others, with most of the victims belonging to the lawyer community

people


Input: The United States last month designated it as a global terrorist organization

United States

organization


Input: “It has already been known that this group (JuA) is somewhat indirectly being supported by the NDS,” Aziz asserted, while addressing a news conference in Islamabad

Islamabad

group

JuA

NDS

Aziz


Input: He added the militants operate out of Afghanistan

Afghanistan

militants


Input: Attacks Against US Muslims Growing in Frequency, Violence-WASHINGTON — -The cold-blooded killing of a New York imam and his assistant over the weekend has heightened Muslim American fears of rising violence against the 3.5 million-strong community

US

Frequency

WASHINGTON

New York

American


Input: While prosecutors have yet to uncover any religious motive in the shootings of Imam Maulama Akonjee and Thara Uddin, to many Muslims, the murders illustrate the increasingly violent face of Islamophobia in the United States

United States

prosecutors

Imam Maulama Akonjee

Thara Uddin


Input: Steady uptick-In the Georgetown study, the number of attacks against Muslims leveled off this year after soaring in November and December but “if you compare them to pre-election in March 2015, you’re still three to five times higher,” Abdelkader said

Georgetown


Input: Though Georgetown hasn't released data for the period since April 1, Abdelkader says anecdotal evidence suggests “anti-Muslim acts and threats of violence” remain at the highest levels since 9/11

Georgetown


Input: • On July 11, two men stalked a hijab-wearing woman out of a Walmart in San Leandro, California, and “attacked her with blows to her head and body with eggs.

Walmart

San Leandro

California

men

woman

blows

attacked

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Walmart


Input: • On June 29, a man approached a group of Muslim men wearing Islamic attire in Minneapolis, Minnesota, made anti-Islamic remarks before opening fire on them, wounding two of them

Minneapolis

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Input: “The perception among Muslim Americans is that it is potentially a hate crime,” said Engy Abdelkader, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and author of a recent report on Islamophobia in America

America

Georgetown University

Engy Abdelkader

professor


Input: “When you go back to 2010 and the controversy over the Ground Zero mosque what we were seeing was a pushback against the construction of a mosque,” Saylor said

mosque

mosque

Ground Zero


Input: The sharp increase in anti-Muslim attacks has come during a period of public anxiety over several high profile terrorist attacks in Europe and the U.S. Indeed, three spikes in anti-Muslim violence recorded over the past year followed the Paris and San Bernardino attacks last year and the Orlando shooting in June

U.S.

Paris

San Bernardino

Orlando

Europe


Input: In November, Georgetown recorded 35 acts or threats of violence against Muslims in America, up from eight the previous month, after terrorists killed 130 people in a series of coordinated attacks in Paris

Georgetown

America

Paris


Input: In December, it documented a record 53 incidents, after a Muslim couple inspired by the Islamic State killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California

San Bernardino

California

Islamic State

Muslim couple

14 people

killed

San Bernardino


Input: And in June, 2016, the month that saw the largest domestic terror attack since the 9/11 attacks, the Huffington Post documented 24 acts of aggression, the highest monthly figure since it started tracking Islamophobia in January

the Huffington Post


Input: But Muslim American critics of Islamophobia say terrorist attacks alone don’t explain the recent rise in violent attacks on Muslims

American

critics


Input: FILE - A July 27, 2014, photo shows San Berdardino attackers Tashfeen Malik (L) and Syed Farook as they pass through O'Hare International Airport in Chicago

San Berdardino

Chicago

O'Hare International Airport

Tashfeen Malik

Syed Farook


Input: The result was a ten-fold increase in anti-Muslim attacks: In September, Georgetown documented 10 incidents or threats of violence, including three murders, compared with only one incident recorded in August

Georgetown


Input: The rhetoric escalated after the San Bernardino shooting, leading Donald Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner at the time and now the GOP nominee, to call for mosque closures and announce his controversial ban on Muslims entering the U.S. And it further heated up after the Orlando shooting when Trump said he’d ban all immigration from regions of the world with a history of terrorism

mosque

San Bernardino

U.S.

Orlando

world

Republican

GOP

Donald Trump

Trump


Input: Trump “escalated anti-Muslim vitriol in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris, France, in November 2015 rather than urge calm and international unity,” the report says

Paris

France

Trump


Input: But Brian Levin, who directs California State University’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism and tracks hate crimes, said “actual hate crime spikes do correlate to events.

California State University’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism

Brian Levin


Input: Abdelkader led a study by Georgetown’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding earlier this year showing hate crimes against Muslim Americans during the 2016 U.S. election cycle have soared to levels not seen since the attacks of September 11, 2001

U.S.

Abdelkader

Alwaleed bin Talal Center


Input: Between March 2015, when the first candidate entered the U.S. presidential race, and March 2016, there were 180 reported incidents of anti-Muslim violence, according to the study, “When Islamophobia Turns Violent.

U.S.

candidate


Input: FILE - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, left, looks on as one of his supporter reaches for a sign that reads "Islamophobia is not the answer," at a rally in Oklahoma City, Feb. 26, 2016

Oklahoma City

Republican

candidate

Donald Trump


Input: The figures are based on published news reports and incidents reported by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based Muslim advocacy organization

Council on American-Islamic Relations

CAIR

organization


Input: “The data reveals that acts and threats of anti-Muslim violence remained significantly higher than pre-9/11 levels with American Muslims approximately six to nine times more likely to suffer threats and attacks,” the report says

American


Input: Trump Urges African-American Voters to 'Try Something New'-Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump tried to woo African-American voters away from Hillary Clinton Friday, saying Democrats like Clinton take the African-American vote for granted

Republican

Trump

Donald Trump

voters

Hillary Clinton

Clinton


Input: At a speech in Dimondale, Michigan, Trump used the city of Detroit – about 150 kilometers east of Dimondale – as an example of how Democrats have neglected urban areas

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Detroit

Dimondale

areas

Democrats

Trump


Input: FILE - Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort walks around the convention floor before the opening session of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland

floor

Cleveland

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chairman

Paul Manafort


Input: He also accused Clinton of wanting to give jobs to refugees rather than black youths, who Trump said "have become refugees in their own country.

country

Clinton

youths

Trump


Input: Polls suggest Trump has a lot of ground to make up with black voters, as his support in that demographic often hovers in the single digits

Trump

voters


Input: But Trump promised Friday that if he’s elected, by the end of his first term, "I guarantee you I will get over 95 percent of the African-American vote.

Trump


Input: Earlier Friday, Trump's campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, resigned, the campaign said in a statement

chairman

Paul Manafort


Input: Manafort's role was diminished this week when Trump hired a new campaign chief executive officer and campaign manager to try to help the nominee reverse falling poll numbers that have deeply worried Republican party leaders

Republican party

Trump

officer

manager


Input: Manafort also has been the subject of extensive news coverage over his work for pro-Russia former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich that allegedly involved overseeing millions of dollars in secret payments

Ukrainian

Manafort

Viktor Yanukovich


Input: Manafort denied that he received any off-the-books cash payments

Manafort


Input: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, right, help to unload supplies for flood victims during a tour of the flood damaged area in Gonzales, Louisiana, Aug. 19, 2016

Indiana

Gonzales

Louisiana

area

Republican

candidate

Donald Trump

Mike Pence


Input: "Look at how much African-American communities have suffered under Democratic control," Trump said

Democratic

Trump


Input: The campaign said Manafort offered his resignation and Trump accepted it, thanking him for his help during the Republican convention and calling him a "true professional.

Republican

Manafort

Trump


Input: Trump and his running mate Mike Pence drove through flood-ravaged areas and met with disaster relief volunteers outside the state capital, Baton Rouge

state

capital

Baton Rouge

Trump

Mike Pence


Input: Video of their visit shows Trump helping unload supply packages from a truck

Trump

truck


Input: Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, said he had not been informed of Trump's visit and hoped the candidate was not in town solely "for a photo-op.

Louisiana

town

Democrat

Governor

John Bel Edwards

candidate


Input: Edwards said, "Instead, we hope he'll consider volunteering or making a sizable donation ...to help the victims of this storm.

Edwards

he'll

victims


Input: Unprecedented flooding has left at least 13 people dead and thousands displaced after record-breaking rains of more than 75 centimeters that began last week

people


Input: He claimed that 40 percent of Detroiters live in poverty and half of the city is unemployed

city


Input: "To those hurting, I say: What do you have to lose by trying something new, like Trump?

Trump


Input: "You're living in poverty, your schools are no good

schools


Input: Trump placed much of the blame for economic woes on free trade deals, a common theme in his campaign speeches

Trump


Input: Italy Marks Day of Mourning; Prosecutors Threaten Quake Victims' Families-AMATRICE, ITALY — -Italy marked a day of national mourning Saturday for the 290 people confirmed killed so far by Wednesday’s powerful quake that devastated four towns in the mountainous heartland of the country and rattled the central agricultural regions

Italy

heartland

country

regions

Threaten Quake Victims' Families

people


Input: But as political leaders gathered for a state funeral for 35 of the dead in the city of Ascoli Piceno, which didn’t suffer any serious damage itself from the midweek temblor but felt the quake, recriminations started to fly over the devastation caused by the country’s biggest earthquake in seven years

state

city

Ascoli Piceno

dead

Ascoli Piceno


Input: The prosecutor said he was considering ordering police to mount a round-the-clock guard on the rubble of Amatrice’s municipal buildings to ensure documents and computer hard drives that survived the quake weren't removed

buildings

Amatrice’s

police

prosecutor


Input: The renovation work on the town’s elementary schoolhouse four years ago was undertaken by brothers who have been accused in the past of association with the mafia

brothers


Input: Firefighters operate a drone to survey quake-damaged buildings in the village of Cossito, central Italy, Aug. 27, 2016

buildings

village

Cossito

Italy


Input: As the prosecutor issued his threats, nine more bodies were dug out by emergency crews from the rubble of Amatrice, which so far has accounted for 230 of those killed midweek

Amatrice

prosecutor


Input: Earlier Saturday, Italian President Sergio Mattarella toured the mainly medieval hilltop stone town to see the damage for himself before traveling to Ascoli Piceno for a funeral held in a sports hall where 35 wooden coffins were lined up

Italian

town

Ascoli Piceno

hilltop

Sergio Mattarella


Input: The dead being honored at Ascoli Piceno came from Arquata del Tronto, another one of the towns devastated by Wednesday’s magnitude-6.2 quake

Ascoli Piceno

Arquata del Tronto

Wednesday’s


Input: Two of the caskets contained the remains of two children — Marisol Piermarini, 18 months, and Giulia Rinaldo, 9, whose younger sister survived and was found by a rescue crew holding her dead sibling

children

Marisol Piermarini

Giulia Rinaldo

sister

crew

dead

Marisol Piermarini


Input: Regional public prosecutors said they would investigate why recently constructed public buildings, including a schoolhouse renovated in 2012, failed to withstand the quake’s force, but they also threatened to file charges against private-property owners who may have altered their houses, most very ancient, in ways that breached building codes and anti-seismic engineering regulations

houses

prosecutors


Input: Renovation work on the city of L’Aquila, which was severely damaged in a 2009 quake, still remains incomplete and more than 8,000 of the city’s inhabitants are still housed in temporary accommodations

city

L’Aquila


Input: It is a great opportunity for politicians to show extraordinary commitment," Mayor Sergio Pirozzi told Mattarella

Sergio Pirozzi


Input: The coffin of Giulia, 9 years old, is carried outside the gymnasium at the end of the state funeral service in Ascoli Piceno, Italy, Aug. 27, 2016

state

Ascoli Piceno

Italy

Giulia


Input: They wept and embraced each other as Ascoli Piceno’s bishop, Giovanni D’Ercole, told them: “Don't be afraid to cry out your suffering — I have seen a lot of this — but please do not lose courage.

bishop

Giovanni D’Ercole


Input: The prelate also urged the government to rebuild the towns of Amatrice, Arquata, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto, saying, “Only together can we rebuild our houses and our churches

houses

towns

government

Amatrice, Arquata, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto

churches


Input: Together, above all, we will be able to restore life to our communities.

communities


Input: The prosecutors’ threats enraged survivors and relatives of the dead, which they dubbed insensitive

relatives


Input: As the bishop spoke, many of the relatives of the dead cried quietly

bishop

relatives


Input: One woman consoled her husband by rubbing his back gently as he bowed his head

woman

husband


Input: Among the mourners were doctors and nurses who had treated the injured

doctors

nurses


Input: My thoughts are with them because there are people who have lost everything, homes, loved ones,” local resident Luciana Cavicchiuni told reporters

resident

Luciana Cavicchiuni

reporters


Input: But civil protection experts and geologists say Italy is likely to experience many more high death tolls and quake devastation in the future

Italy


Input: A message is seen during the state funeral service of some of the earthquake victims in Ascoli Piceno, Italy, Aug. 27, 2016

state

Ascoli Piceno

Italy


Input: And they stressed that renovation work seldom observes the country’s notoriously complex building regulations, which more often than not are bypassed by homeowners with a bribe or a fine agreed upon with their local officials

complex

building

officials


Input: He argued that Italians need to rethink what they expect from the government in terms of rebuilding damaged towns and homes

government


Input: Many private-sector insurers don’t even offer quake insurance, even if a homeowner requests it

insurers


Input: This needs to change, said Curcio, who thinks Italians need to be willing to have their homes assessed by insurers from a seismic point of view

Curcio


Input: “I believe this is the model to aim for, even, to limit the burden on the state,” he maintained

state


Input: But it will be difficult for politicians to engineer such a change and to persuade already straitened households, especially in deeply depressed and neglected rural areas where unemployment is sky high and economic prospects remain grim, to accept the cost of private insurance

areas


Input: Paintings hang on the walls of the earthquake-damaged church in the village of Santi Lorenzo e Flaviano, central Italy, Aug. 27, 2016

village

Santi Lorenzo e Flaviano

Italy


Input: “Our houses are hundreds of years [old] and it is impossible or prohibitively expensive to make changes within the regulations that are drawn up by the government in Rome without any regard to our economic circumstances,” said Perluigi, a retiree from Amatrice, the worst hit of four towns devastated by the midweek quake

houses

Rome

government

Perluigi


Input: He asked for his full name to be withheld because he had recently renovated his property

property


Input: He said he intended to mount a house-by-house investigation and was prepared to file criminal charges against anyone — even those who lost family members — if their renovations failed to observe anti-seismic regulations

members


Input: Afghanistan: The Forgotten War of the US Presidential Campaign-During Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign, the then-senator argued that the war in Afghanistan had been neglected because of the U.S. invasion of Iraq

Afghanistan

US

Afghanistan

U.S.

Iraq

Barack Obama’s


Input: "And that is why, as president, I will make the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban the top priority that it should be

al-Qaida

Taliban

president


Input: He recommended that his successor maintain funding at that level through 2020

successor


Input: U.S. military trainers continue to advise Afghan forces, and U.S. warplanes carry out strikes to help Afghan units fighting on the ground

Afghan

U.S.

Afghan

U.S. military

units

forces

warplanes


Input: Clinton has said she supports Obama’s troop draw down, but has offered little else about what she plans to do if she becomes president

Clinton

Obama’s


Input: Hillary Clinton has said she supports Obama’s troop draw down but has offered little else about what she plans to do if she becomes president

Hillary Clinton

Obama’s


Input: Her campaign website does not mention any plans for Afghanistan

Afghanistan


Input: Last November, during a speech focused on the Islamic State extremist group, she suggested that Afghanistan should take more responsibility for its own security

Afghanistan

Islamic State

group


Input: “If we have learned anything from 15 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is that local people and nations have to secure their own communities

Iraq

Afghanistan

communities


Input: Clinton did not mention the war in her sweeping policy speech when she accepted her party’s nomination for president

Clinton

president


Input: Her campaign website, which contains policy papers on a wide range of issues, does not mention any plans for Afghanistan

Afghanistan


Input: This is a war we have to win," Obama said in 2008

Obama


Input: Trump has been more direct about his thoughts on Afghanistan, at times calling for a complete withdrawal

Afghanistan

Trump


Input: In January 2013, he tweeted the U.S. should leave Afghanistan immediately

U.S.

Afghanistan


Input: Our troops are being killed by the Afghanis we train and we waste billions there

troops

Afghanis

killed

troops


Input: Eight years later, after surging 100,000 U.S. troops into Afghanistan and then scaling back to fewer than 10,000, there is little talk of “winning” the war

U.S.

Afghanistan

troops


Input: The Afghan government continues to struggle against a resilient Taliban insurgency

Afghan

government

Taliban


Input: Later that month, Trump told CNN he did not believe Afghanistan was a mistake and rather the U.S should not have involved itself in Iraq

Afghanistan

U.S

Iraq

CNN

Trump


Input: Donald Trump has been more direct about his thoughts on Afghanistan at times calling for a complete withdrawal

Afghanistan

Donald Trump


Input: Last October, he told CNN the war in Afghanistan was a mistake and he feared the U.S will get stuck there

Afghanistan

U.S


Input: Afghanistan ‘better off’ without U.S. attention

Afghanistan

U.S.


Input: John C. Fortier, the director of Democracy Project at Bipartisan Policy Center, believes that the past focus on Afghanistan had much to do with the political debate over whether the war in Iraq was a mistake that spread the U.S. military too thin, increasing the challenge in Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Iraq

U.S.

Afghanistan

Democracy Project

Bipartisan Policy Center

military

John C. Fortier

director


Input: “To go back to 2008, I think our role in Afghanistan played a significant role in the campaign in part because at the time [President] Bush was unpopular, and the argument from Democrats in general and from President Obama in particular was the Iraq war has not gone as well and is not a war we should have done and the Afghanistan situation is one where we should’ve exercised force,” Fortier said

Afghanistan

Iraq

Afghanistan

Bush

Obama

Fortier


Input: And Obama says his successor will determine the next U.S. move

U.S.

Obama


Input: Republicans have criticized Obama’s handling of Afghanistan in recent years in part for his decision to announce the gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country, which they said signaled to the Taliban that Washington is not committed to the war effort

Afghanistan

U.S.

country

Washington

Taliban

Obama’s

troops


Input: However, Michael O’Hanlon, director of research for foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, told VOA that even critics of Obama's policy do not offer much in the way of alternative policies

the Brookings Institution

VOA

Michael O’Hanlon

director


Input: President Obama requested $3.45 billion in the 2017 budget to help fund Afghan security forces

Afghan

Obama

forces


Input: "Even though no one is happy that the U.S is reaching its 15th year mark in Afghanistan, it’s not as if anybody has great ideas for either totally pulling out or for beefing the force way back up,” O’Hanlon said

U.S

Afghanistan


Input: “As a person who supports the mission in [Afghanistan], I am actually glad that it is not getting the attention because I am not sure that more attention could actually improve the quality of the debate

Afghanistan

person


Input: At a time when threats from Islamic State terrorists, the war in Syria and tensions with Russia and China are the foremost foreign policy priorities for the U.S., some say it's only natural for U.S. officials to focus less on the Afghan conflict

Syria

Russia

China

U.S.

U.S.

Afghan

Islamic State

officials


Input: “Now Afghanistan is competing [for attention] with a lot of other countries where the U.S is engaged," said Seth Jones, the director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at Rand Corporation

Afghanistan

countries

U.S

International Security

Defense Policy Center

Rand Corporation

Seth Jones

director


Input: But neither Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton nor Republican Donald Trump has outlined what they plan to do

Democratic

Republican

Hillary Clinton

Donald Trump


Input: "It is obviously competing with Iraq which is getting a lot of attention, it’s competing with Syria, it is competing with U.S. operations in Libya, it’s competing with the terrorism issue in Europe with the attacks in Paris, Brussels, Turkey and other locations.

Iraq

Syria

U.S.

Libya

Paris

Brussels

Turkey

Europe


Input: A British soldier guards a site near Kabul's international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 17, 2015

British

Kabul's

Kabul

Afghanistan

soldier

guards


Input: Declining U.S. interest in the war reflects in part the declining number of U.S. casualties there

U.S.

U.S.


Input: He said that Afghanistan’s role in the election campaign largely reflects U.S. public opinion on the war

U.S.


Input: “I do think there is also more for the worse rather than for the better some domestic tiring in the U.S. public arena of the engagement in Afghanistan.

U.S.

Afghanistan


Input: Thomas H. Johnson, the director of the Program for Culture & Conflict Studies at the Naval Postgraduate School, makes that point

Program for Culture & Conflict Studies

Naval Postgraduate School

Thomas H. Johnson

director


Input: “If you take a look at both Republicans and Democrats primary debates, Afghanistan is, I think, only mentioned once or twice and the Republican candidate Trump knows very little about Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Republicans

Republican

candidate

Trump


Input: I have seen only one interview where he was asked anything about Afghanistan and his basic response was Afghanistan is really not the problem, Pakistan is,” Johnson said

Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Pakistan

Johnson


Input: Johnson said Clinton and her team have not really focused on Afghanistan either, partly due to a string of international terror attacks by Islamic State that have captured the public's attention

Afghanistan

team

Islamic State

Johnson

Clinton


Input: Indeed, over the past year the war itself has barely been mentioned by the candidates

candidates


Input: But, he said, Islamic State's emergence in Afghanistan about a year ago might help push Afghanistan back to the center of the U.S. policy debate

center

Afghanistan

Afghanistan

U.S.


Input: U.S. military analysts said in a report earlier this year that the government lost control or influence of nearly five percent of its territory between January and May

U.S.

territory

military

government

analysts


Input: A top U.S. commander said Afghan forces suffered more than 900 fatalities in July alone

U.S.

Afghan

commander

forces


Input: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, center, speaks with U.S. President Barack Obama and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland, July 9, 2016

Afghan

U.S.

Warsaw

Poland

NATO

NATO

Ashraf Ghani

Barack Obama

Jens Stoltenberg


Input: A joint statement reaffirmed a "mutual commitment to ensure long-term security and stability in Afghanistan" and said "Afghanistan will not stand alone.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan


Input: "Our aim remains that Afghanistan will never again become a safe haven for terrorists ... and that it is able to sustain its own security, governance, and economy and social development, while respecting human rights for all of its citizens," the statement said

Afghanistan


Input: Ghani told the gathering that the country will move forward, with help

country

Ghani


Input: "With your resolute support, we will redouble our efforts to create a democratic constitutional order and an accountable and effective state that can bring peace to our people and secure our future from the menace of terrorism," he said

state


Input: The United States remains a key part of that effort, but with little discussion of their plans during the U.S. campaign, it is unclear how long that will remain the case under either a Clinton or Trump administration

United States

U.S.

administration

Clinton

Trump


Input: Correction: A photo caption in an earlier draft of this story mistakenly identified a British soldier as an American one

British

American

soldier


Input: Obama requested $3.45 billion in the 2017 budget to help fund Afghan security forces

Afghan

Obama

forces

$3.45 billion

fund

forces


Input: FBI Notes Bring Renewed Focus on Clinton Emails-WASHINGTON — -The Clinton and Trump campaigns traded barbs over which presidential candidate Americans can trust, two days after the FBI released notes from its July interview with Hillary Clinton concerning her handling of emails as secretary of state

WASHINGTON

state

FBI

FBI

Clinton

Clinton

Trump

Hillary Clinton

secretary


Input: Campaign 2016 Clinton Emails: FILE - In this March 12, 2012, file photo, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton checks her mobile phone after her address to the Security Council at United Nations headquarters

headquarters

State

Security Council at United Nations

Clinton

Hillary Clinton


Input: In a rare step, the FBI on Friday, Sept. 2, 2016, published scores of pages about confidential interviews with Hillary Clinton and others from its recently closed investigation into the former secretary of state’s use of a private email server

FBI

Hillary Clinton

secretary


Input: According to the FBI’s notes, Clinton said she was unaware some emails she received contained classified information because she did not know that a “C” marking denoted “Confidential.

FBI’s

Clinton


Input: “A former U.S. senator, former first lady, and, certainly, the sitting secretary of state should know what the ‘C’ means,” Conway said

U.S.

state

former first lady

secretary

Conway


Input: The FBI said it cannot be sure foreign entities did not gain access to classified material Clinton sent or received while serving as President Barack Obama’s first secretary of state

state

FBI

Clinton

Barack Obama’s

secretary


Input: But it the focus is on sensitive data falling into the wrong hands, Kaine argued the most egregious act by far was Trump publicly stating that Russia should try to find Clinton’s missing emails

Russia

Kaine

Trump


Input: The FBI released 58 pages of notes on Friday, two days after Donald Trump’s trip to Mexico and subsequent immigration speech ignited a media firestorm and drew sharp criticism from Democrats

Mexico

FBI

Democrats

Donald Trump’s

trip

Donald Trump’s

Mexico


Input: Although most polls show Clinton leading Trump nationally, the margin has narrowed and majorities of Americans view both Clinton and Trump unfavorably

Clinton

Trump

Clinton

Trump


Input: That’s in addition to the 33,000 emails that had been deleted,” said Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Kelleyanne Conway, on ABC’s This Week program

ABC’s

Donald Trump’s

manager

Kelleyanne Conway


Input: “Hillary Clinton is having a hard time being accepted as a truthful and honest candidate.

Hillary Clinton


Input: “These notes, which Hillary urged to make public, demonstrate clearly why the FBI saw no need for additional criminal proceedings,” said Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine, also on This Week

FBI

Democratic

Hillary

candidate

Tim Kaine


Input: “On the other hand, we have a candidate in Donald Trump who won’t release his tax returns to the public after he promised to do so.

Donald Trump


Input: The FBI already announced it uncovered no criminal wrongdoing, but the notes underscore conclusions that have dogged Clinton for months

FBI

Clinton


Input: More than two dozen times, Clinton said she could not remember details about her electronic correspondence as secretary of state

state

Clinton

secretary


Input: The FBI was only partially successful recovering data from a private server that had been wiped clean

FBI


Input: With Trains of Cattle, Nigeria Eyes Railroad Revival-LAGOS — -Exactly 36 hours after it left a northern Nigerian town, a freight train brimming with cattle and sheep rumbled into the Oko-Oba slaughterhouse in Nigeria’s economic hub, Lagos

Nigeria

Nigerian

town

Nigeria’s

Lagos

Oko-Oba


Input: Cattle are offloaded from a freight train at the Oko-Oba abattoir in Lagos, Nigeria, Sept. 3, 2016

Lagos

Nigeria

Oko-Oba abattoir


Input: (C. Stein/VOA)-Train tracks crisscross Nigeria, most of which were built by British colonizers

Nigeria

British


Input: They fell into disrepair in the decades since Nigeria gained independence in 1960

Nigeria


Input: The National Bureau of Statistics says roads make up 90 percent of Nigeria’s transportation sector

The National Bureau of Statistics


Input: While some roads in Nigeria are well paved, many of its major trade routes are filled with potholes, or lined with security checkpoints that some travelers say are just avenues for bribe-taking by local officials

checkpoints

Nigeria

officials


Input: Nigeria has tried many times to get its railways in order

Nigeria


Input: Cattle are pictured after being offloaded from a train at the Oko-Oba abattoir in Lagos, Nigeria, Sept. 3, 2016

Lagos

Nigeria

Oko-Oba abattoir


Input: (C. Stein/VOA)-Those efforts began bearing fruit in recent years, such as in 2012 when a passenger rail line restarted between Lagos and Kano, the northern city that’s the country’s second-largest

Lagos

Kano

city


Input: This year, a new rail line linking the capital Abuja to the city of Kaduna opened

capital

Abuja

city

Kaduna


Input: When Nigerians need to get themselves or their possessions around, they mostly turn to buses, trucks and cars, but those can be unreliable in a country that suffers from decrepit roads and intermittent fuel shortages

country

buses

trucks

cars


Input: Sulyman Dauda says Oko-Oba relies on a stream of trucks to supply cattle

Oko-Oba

Sulyman Dauda

trucks


Input: But that flow is unreliable, and often brings in cows that are injured from the hours on the road

road


Input: “Sometime there will be traffic on the roads

roads


Input: Other times, cars will break down and arrive late,” he said

cars


Input: When cattle herders aren’t bringing their cows to market in trucks, they move them on foot around the country in search of grazing land

country

trucks


Input: Dozens of people have been killed in clashes between farmers and herdsmen across the country this year

country

people

killed

country


Input: Many at the slaughterhouse greeted Saturday’s arrival of 15 cars of cows and sheep with jubilation, but kinks remain to be worked out

cars


Input: The shipment of cattle by train from the northern town of Gusau to Lagos is being called a milestone in the country’s quest to revitalize its railway system

town

Gusau

Lagos


Input: Cattle are offloaded from a freight train at the Oko-Oba abattoir in Lagos, Nigeria, Sept. 3, 2016

Lagos

Nigeria

Oko-Oba abattoir


Input: (C. Stein/VOA)-Oko-Oba lacks a formal platform for unloading animals, so the cows were led off the train cars on wooden planks

cars


Input: Crowds gathered around the train in a field of mud and broken pieces of wood and plastic, the remnants of shacks that had recently been demolished to make room along the railroad tracks

room


Input: Cattle dealer Tahir Jibrin Kabir said the cows he inspected were in better shape than those brought in by truck

Tahir Jibrin Kabir

truck


Input: He expects it to return every week to Lagos with more cattle

Lagos


Input: “The reliance on road has been too much over the last few years,” said Niyi Alli, director of operations for the Nigerian Railway Corporation

Nigerian Railway Corporation

Niyi Alli

director


Input: Pakistan Faces Rising Criticism Over Inability to Curb Extremism-As two U.S. lawmakers pursue legislation to designate Pakistan a terror state, Islamabad is facing the threat of increasing diplomatic isolation over its inability to curb homegrown militancy and the threat it poses to its neighbors

Pakistan

U.S.

Pakistan

state

Islamabad


Input: The legislation, introduced this week by Republican Representatives Ted Poe of Texas and Dana Rohrabacher of California, accuses Pakistan of harboring global terrorist leaders and supporting terror groups

Texas

California

Pakistan

Republican Representatives

groups

Ted Poe

Dana Rohrabacher


Input: "Pakistan has suffered the most in the war against terrorism.

Pakistan


Input: In his speech before the United Nations on Wednesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said his government has a "comprehensive strategy of law enforcement and targeted military operations that has produced remarkable results and enabled Pakistan to turn the tide against terrorism.

Pakistani

Pakistan

United Nations

government

military

Nawaz Sharif


Input: He did not address the issue of terrorist groups targeting neighboring countries from Pakistan

Pakistan

groups


Input: American lawmakers recently urged the U.S. government to cut off financial and military aid to Pakistan because its "military and intelligence services are still linked to terrorist groups.

American

U.S.

Pakistan

government

military

military

groups


Input: Facing isolation-While the U.S. bill has a long way to go before becoming law — a version of it must pass both houses of Congress and be signed by the president — Washington's tough stance shows the level of global and regional isolation that Islamabad is facing, analysts said

houses

U.S.

Islamabad

Congress

president

analysts


Input: "Pakistan has not satisfied the U.S. on the question of its alleged support to the Haqqani network, and that is deteriorating the relations with the U.S.," Peshawar University professor Ijaz Khattak told VOA's Deewa service

Pakistan

U.S.

U.S.

network

Peshawar University

VOA's Deewa service

Ijaz Khattak


Input: "Pakistan's relations with Afghanistan also are not good

Afghanistan


Input: A demonstrator hits a poster of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during a protest organized by India’s main opposition Congress party against Sunday's attack at an Indian army base camp in Kashmir's Uri in Jammu, India, Sept. 21, 2016

base camp

India’s

Kashmir's Uri

Jammu

India

Congress

party

Indian army

demonstrator

Nawaz Sharif

attack

base camp

Kashmir's Uri

protest


Input: A deadly attack on Indian soldiers in Kashmir this week increased the tension between Pakistan and India to levels not seen since the terror attack on Mumbai in 2008

Indian

Pakistan

India

Mumbai

Kashmir

soldiers


Input: Among those groups is the Haqqani network, a U.S.-designated terrorist entity that opposes the Afghanistan government and U.S.-led NATO forces in the country

Afghanistan

country

groups

network

entity

government

NATO


Input: India blames Pakistan for allowing the attack

India

Pakistan


Input: Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh called Pakistan a terrorist state and said it "should be identified and isolated as such.

Indian

Pakistan

state

Rajnath Singh


Input: The Pakistan government has rejected the allegations and accuses India of oppressing Kashmiris and violating their human rights

Pakistan

India

Kashmiris

government


Input: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry asked Sharif, during a meeting this week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, to prevent Pakistan from being used as a harbor for terrorists

U.S.

Pakistan

sidelines

U.N. General Assembly

John Kerry

Sharif

meeting

Sharif


Input: "We have repeatedly asked our neighboring country Pakistan to destroy the known terrorist safe havens, but we unfortunately are yet to witness any change in the situation," Afghan Vice President Sarwar Danesh said Wednesday at the United Nations

country

Pakistan

Afghan

United Nations

Sarwar Danesh


Input: "Terrorist attacks are being planned on Pakistani territory.

Pakistani

territory


Input: Danesh's comments came days after bombings in New York and New Jersey

New York

New Jersey

Danesh's

bombings

New Jersey


Input: The bombing suspect, Ahmad Khan Rahami, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Afghanistan, traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan several years ago

U.S.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Pakistan

Ahmad Khan Rahami


Input: "Not only is Pakistan an untrustworthy ally, Islamabad has also aided and abetted enemies of the United States for years," the proposed legislation said

Pakistan

Islamabad

United States


Input: While in Pakistan, he reportedly spent time in Quetta and Karachi, which are considered hubs for the Taliban and other militant groups

Pakistan

Quetta

Karachi

Taliban

groups


Input: The two U.S. lawmakers are pushing the bill now "because of the recent Kashmir attack, though perhaps also coupled with the fact that the man accused of staging the recent New York City blasts had spent time in Pakistan," said Michael Kugelman, an analyst at Washington's Wilson Center, a global policy research group

U.S.

New York City

Pakistan

Kashmir

Washington's Wilson Center

group

man

Michael Kugelman

analyst


Input: "For these two congressmen, this man's connections to Pakistan likely reinforced the fact that terrorism has many links to Pakistan.

Pakistan

Pakistan


Input: "From harboring Osama bin Laden to its cozy relationship with the Haqqani network, there is more than enough evidence to determine whose side Pakistan is on in the war on terror

Pakistan

network

Osama bin Laden


Input: Pakistani officials also say thousands of Pakistani lives have been lost in terror attacks

Pakistani

officials

Pakistani


Input: "Pakistan is not supporting terrorism, it is rather a victim," Rohail Dar, a leading member of the ruling Muslim League party, told VOA's Urdu service

Pakistan

Muslim League

party

VOA's Urdu service

Rohail Dar


Input: IOM: Refugee Arrivals in Europe Down Sharply but Deaths Up -The number of refugees and migrants arriving in Europe has fallen sharply this year but migration to the continent has grown more deadly, according to new data released Tuesday by the International Organization for Migration (IOM)

continent

Europe

Europe

International Organization for Migration

IOM

Refugee


Input: From January 1 through September 25, 302,149 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea, a drop of more than 40 percent from the same period last year, the IOM, the largest migration organization in the world, reported

Europe

world

IOM

organization


Input: Since Friday, it recorded a mere 51 arrivals in Greece

Greece


Input: Refugee deaths rose, however, with the IOM recording 3,501 refugee and migrant fatalities through September 25, up nearly 20 percent from the same period last year

Refugee


Input: In the latest tragedy, a boat overloaded with at least 600 migrants headed for Europe capsized off the coast of Egypt last week, killing at least 170 people

Egypt

Europe

coast

people

boat


Input: Egyptians wait on shore as a coast guard boat arrives carrying the bodies of migrants from a Europe-bound boat that capsized off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, in Rosetta, Egypt, Sept. 22, 2016

Rosetta

Egypt

coast

Egypt’s Mediterranean

coast

boat

boat


Input: Last year more than 1 million refugees and migrants fled to Europe, as the conflict in Syria spurred the largest migration crisis in the world since World War II

Syria

Europe

world


Input: Syrian refugees accounted for the largest group of migrants seeking asylum in Europe, followed by migrants from Afghanistan and Iraq

Syrian

Afghanistan

Iraq

Europe

group


Input: FILE - Migrants wait for their registration in front of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees at Berlin's Spandau district, Germany, Jan. 29, 2016

Germany

Berlin's Spandau district

Federal Office for Migration and Refugees


Input: The IOM said that while arrivals to Italy have remained steady this year, arrivals in Greece have fallen by 20,000 since late March

Italy

Greece

IOM


Input: India to Boycott South Asian Regional Summit in Pakistan-NEW DELHI, INDIA — -India announced Tuesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not attend a regional summit to be held in Islamabad in November because of increasing cross-border attacks in the region

India

Pakistan

NEW DELHI

INDIA

India

Islamabad

region

Narendra Modi


Input: The decision was announced days after Modi said that he will mount a global campaign to diplomatically isolate Pakistan in the wake of a terror attack on an Indian army base in Kashmir that killed 18 soldiers

base

Pakistan

Kashmir

Indian army

soldiers

attack

Pakistan

base

killed

Pakistan

soldiers


Input: Modi's decision to stay away from the South Asian meet came a day after India's Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj told the U.N. General Assembly in New York it is time to identify nations that "nurture, peddle and export terrorism.

New York

South Asian

India's

U.N. General Assembly

Sushma Swaraj


Input: A demonstrator hits a poster of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during a protest organized by India’s main opposition Congress party against Sunday's attack at an Indian army base camp in Kashmir's Uri in Jammu, India, Sept. 21, 2016

base

camp

India’s

Kashmir's Uri

Jammu

India

Congress

party

Indian army

Nawaz Sharif

protest

party


Input: She said Pakistan believes terrorist attacks will allow it to gain territory it covets in Kashmir

Pakistan

Kashmir


Input: "My firm advice to Pakistan is: Abandon this dream

Pakistan

firm


Input: Let me state unequivocally that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will always remain so," Swaraj said

state

Jammu

India

Kashmir

Swaraj


Input: Lodhi said the attack on the Indian army base had all the hallmarks of an operation designed to divert attention from "India's atrocities" in Kashmir

base

Kashmir

Indian army

Lodhi


Input: While New Delhi accuses Pakistan of backing and supporting militant groups that mount terror strikes in India, Islamabad holds India responsible for human rights violations in Kashmir, the Himalayan territory divided between them and claimed by both

New Delhi

Pakistan

India

Islamabad

India

Kashmir

Himalayan

territory

groups

mount

groups

India


Input: About 80 civilians have been killed since July in the largest anti-India protests in recent years

civilians

killed

civilians


Input: On Tuesday, India also summoned Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Basit in New Delhi for the second time in less than a week and presented him with what it said was proof of Pakistan's involvement in the militant strike on an Indian army base in Kashmir that killed 18 soldiers

base

India

Pakistani

New Delhi

Pakistan's

Kashmir

Indian army

Abdul Basit

soldiers

strike

Pakistan's

base

killed

soldiers


Input: Tensions between the two countries have spiked after India blamed the attack on Pakistan-based militants

countries

India

militants

attack

India


Input: FILE - India summoned Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Basit in New Delhi on Sept. 27, 2016, and presented him with what it said was proof of Pakistan’s involvement in the militant strike on an Indian army base in Kashmir

base

India

Pakistani

New Delhi

Pakistan’s

Indian

Kashmir

army

Abdul Basit

strike

base


Input: India's foreign ministry said it gave the Pakistani diplomat details on two "handlers" of the four militants who attacked the army base

base

Pakistani

India's foreign ministry

army

diplomat

militants

attacked

militants

base


Input: Officials say the "handlers," who are in Indian custody, and one of the militants killed in the attack were from Muzaffarabad in Pakistani Kashmir

Indian

Muzaffarabad

Pakistani Kashmir

militants

killed

militants


Input: Regional isolation is one among a range of retaliatory measures New Delhi has been weighing against Islamabad

New Delhi

Islamabad


Input: Water exploitation-On Thursday, Modi is due to hold a meeting to review the Most Favored Nation status that New Delhi has granted to Pakistan

New Delhi

Pakistan

Most Favored Nation

Modi

meeting

Most Favored Nation


Input: Indian officials have suggested they are also exploring ways in which New Delhi can increase the exploitation of water from three Himalayan rivers that flow into Pakistan

Indian

New Delhi

Pakistan

Himalayan

officials


Input: India has a right to use roughly 20 percent of the water under a 1960 pact, but says it has not done so

India


Input: New Delhi says there is no plan to scrap the treaty, but it will see how it can utilize more water allowed under its terms

New Delhi


Input: Such a move could further heighten tensions between the two countries

countries


Input: The waters of the three rivers are crucial for Pakistan

Pakistan


Input: Islamabad has denied any role in the assault, and said it could be a reaction to the situation in Indian Kashmir, which has been wracked with widespread civilian unrest since July

Islamabad

Indian Kashmir

civilian


Input: Coffins containing bodies of Indian soldiers G. Doloi and Biaswajit Garai, killed in an attack at the Indian army base in Kashmir, arrive at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International airport in Kolkata, India, Sept. 19, 2016

base

Indian

Indian

Kolkata

India

Kashmir

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International

army

G. Doloi

Biaswajit Garai

attack

Biaswajit Garai

base


Input: In a statement, the foreign ministry said that "increasing cross-border attacks in the region and growing interference in the internal affairs of the member states have created an environment that is not conducive to the successful hosting of the SAARC [South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation] summit.

states

region

foreign ministry

SAARC


Input: They are believed to be Afghanistan and Bangladesh, which also blame Pakistan for supporting terror groups

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

Pakistan

groups


Input: Neither country has publicly disclosed such reservations

country


Input: SAARC includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and the Maldives

India

Pakistan

Bangladesh

Nepal

Bhutan

Sri Lanka

Afghanistan

Maldives

SAARC


Input: In US, Race Relations Take Center Stage, Locally and Nationally-WASHINGTON — -As presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on Monday addressed the issue of race relations during a televised presidential debate that was watched by millions of viewers, the issue was also being hotly debated at a tense city council meeting attended by hundreds of citizens in the embattled southeastern U.S. city of Charlotte, North Carolina

US

WASHINGTON

city

U.S.

city

Charlotte

North Carolina

candidates

Hillary Clinton

Donald Trump

citizens

meeting

Charlotte


Input: An irate crowd of citizens gathered late Monday at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center for the first city council meeting since the fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott and the subsequent series of nightly protests that sometimes turned violent

city

the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center

police

citizens

Keith Lamont Scott

shooting

police

Keith Lamont Scott

gathered

the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center


Input: Many at the emotionally charged meeting called for the resignations of city leaders, including Mayor Jennifer Roberts and Police Chief Kerr Putney, who have been roundly criticized for waiting days to release police video of the shooting, fueling the discontent in the community

city

police

Mayor

Jennifer Roberts

Kerr Putney


Input: “I’m here to ask for Chief Putney’s and your resignation, mayor,” said speaker Henry Lee

Chief Putney’s

mayor

speaker

Henry Lee


Input: You don’t deserve to be mayor of this fine city

city

mayor


Input: You are on the verge of bringing this fine city to its knees

city


Input: The shooting was another example of what some people believe is a nationwide pattern of police using excessive force against African Americans

African

police


Input: Charlotte Police Chief Kerr Putney speaks as city officials, including Charlotte mayor Jennifer Roberts (R), listen during a news conference following the fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott, in Charlotte, North Carolina, Sept. 22, 2016

city

Charlotte

Charlotte

North Carolina

Charlotte Police

R

police

Kerr Putney

officials

mayor

Jennifer Roberts

Keith Lamont Scott

shooting

police

Keith Lamont Scott

Charlotte


Input: Call for federal investigation-After the meeting, some protesters gathered in the lobby of the Government Center and demanded a federal investigation into the Scott shooting

lobby

the Government Center

protesters

Scott

gathered

lobby


Input: Mayor Roberts, who has said the delayed release of the police video “was not acceptable,” said she has asked the U.S. Justice Department to monitor the state’s investigation into the killing

police

U.S. Justice Department

Mayor

Roberts


Input: While the Scott shooting is investigated by local and state officials, it also refocuses the national spotlight on race relations in the country

state

country

officials


Input: During the presidential debate, many observers believe Clinton bested Trump on the issue of race

observers

Clinton

Trump


Input: In one exchange, Clinton pummeled Trump for promoting what she described as a “racist lie” that President Barack Obama not born in the United States

United States

Clinton

Trump

Barack Obama


Input: Trump responded by incorrectly blaming Clinton for starting the controversy when she ran against Obama in 2008

Trump

Clinton

Obama


Input: In the middle of the debate, moderator Lester Holt asked the candidates how they would improve race relations in the U.S. Trump missed an opportunity to repair his image among minorities by reiterating he is the “law and order” candidate” who would expand the controversial stop and frisk policies once widely used by one of his political advisors, former New York Mayor Richard Giuliani

U.S.

New York

Lester Holt

candidates

Trump

candidate

Mayor

Richard Giuliani


Input: Stop and frisk, which allowed police to search citizens for drugs or weapons, was ruled unconstitutional for targeting minorities

police

weapons


Input: It was the beginning of a period of unrest that has since permeated the city

city


Input: Holt gave Trump another opportunity to appeal to minority voters by asking him a follow up question about why it took him years to change his mind about Obama’s birthplace, a position many people, particularly African Americans, thought showed disrespect to the president

African

Holt

Trump

voters

president


Input: But Trump interrupted and said, “Well, it was very, I say nothing

Trump


Input: A New York Times/CBC News poll conducted in September showed that nearly 85 percent of African American voters support Trump’s opponent, Hillary Clinton

New York

American

African

voters

Hillary Clinton


Input: A recent survey done by Public Policy Polling found that only 13 percent of Latino and African American voters believe that Trump is interested in them

American

African

voters

Trump


Input: Of the more than 40 people who signed up to speak about the city’s handling of the Scott shooting, was 10-year-old Zianna Oliphant

Scott

Zianna Oliphant


Input: She said her reason for coming was to tell city leaders and police what it’s like to be an African American

city

African

police


Input: Police confront protesters blocking a highway during demonstrations following the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott, in Charlotte, North Carolina, Sept. 22, 2016

highway

Charlotte

North Carolina

police

Keith Lamont Scott

shooting


Input: Clinton, Trump Clash Over Strategy to Defeat IS-The U.S. strategy against Islamic State extremists figured prominently in the first presidential debate Monday night

U.S.

Islamic State

Clinton

Trump


Input: The candidates, Democrat Hillary Clinton, 68, and Republican Donald Trump, 70, offered starkly different takes on defeating the extremist group, raising the question: How accurate were their comments on IS

Democrat

Republican

group

IS

candidates

Hillary Clinton

Donald Trump


Input: "Iraqi forces are divided across religious and ethnic lines

Iraqi

forces


Input: I doubt they can defeat IS in one year," Yasin said

IS


Input: "America needs to increase its role and unite all the forces under one umbrella

America

forces


Input: Dlawar Ala' Aldeen, founding president of the Middle East Research Institute, said it could take generations before Islamic State militants are completely defeated in Iraq

Iraq

the Middle East Research Institute

Islamic State

Dlawar Ala' Aldeen

president

militants


Input: FILE - Fighters with the militant group Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also called ISIS by some) wave flags as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Raqqa province, northern Syria, June 30, 2014

streets

Raqqa

Syria

group

Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant

ISIL

ISIS

military


Input: "IS is a political, military and social actor

IS

military

actor


Input: "You can take away the control of land and population from IS, but unless tackled comprehensively, its political and social influence will remain for generations to come.

IS


Input: To find out, VOA asked a few experts to evaluate the candidates' statements on IS

VOA

IS

experts


Input: The timeline of the birth of the group and its rise does not support this claim

group


Input: IS was created following the withdrawal of the majority of U.S troops in Iraq in 2013

U.S

Iraq

IS

troops


Input: A year later, IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi formally declared an Islamic caliphate after fighting the Iraqi army and rapidly taking control of territory in both Iraq and Syria

Iraqi

Iraq

Syria

IS

army

leader

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi


Input: Clinton was 66 years old when al-Baghdadi declared a caliphate

Clinton

al-Baghdadi


Input: FILE - This image from video posted in July purports to show Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi delivering a sermon in Iraq

Iraq

Islamic State

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi


Input: This policy is similar to an Obama administration initiative already in place

administration

Obama


Input: The State Department recently announced that it has begun working with private-sector partners on a program to combat the group's extremist messaging on social media platforms

The State Department


Input: It is partnering with an affiliate of Google to disrupt IS online recruiting efforts by targeting advertising, algorithms and the use of YouTube's video platform

affiliate

Google

IS


Input: "What she mentioned in the debate was an assertion of Obama's current policy on combating IS online," said Dlshad Othman, a digital security expert in Washington

Washington

IS

Dlshad Othman

expert


Input: Clinton "was actually part of this approach when she was secretary of state

state

Clinton

secretary


Input: She was pushing for more involvement by private-sector companies.

companies


Input: Trump on IS oil-"Had we taken the oil — and we should have taken the oil — ISIS (Islamic State) would not have been able to form either because the oil was their primary source of income

IS

ISIS

Islamic State

Trump


Input: And now they have the oil all over the place, including the oil, a lot of the oil in Libya.

Libya


Input: On the campaign trail, Trump has often made the argument that IS would be unable to launch deadly attacks if they didn't control oil fields in Iraq

fields

Iraq

IS

Trump


Input: He has said that President Barack Obama should have given the order to seize IS oil operations, cutting off its lucrative smuggling business that helped fund the group

IS

group

Barack Obama


Input: But, under international law, the United States cannot seize Iraq's oil

United States


Input: U.S. forces have also targeted IS oil production facilities, leading to IS militants losing control of some oil fields

fields

U.S.

IS

forces

militants


Input: "Oil revenue gave IS a bloom for a period of time and now does not play a major role," said Seth Frantzman, an Israeli-based Middle East commentator who recently made a trip to Iraq to assess the status of IS

Iraq

Middle East

IS

IS

Seth Frantzman

commentator


Input: FILE - Iraqi security forces patrol as smoke rises from burning oil wells in Qayara, south of Mosul, Iraq, Aug. 31, 2016

wells

Iraqi

Qayara

Mosul

Iraq


Input: And we're hoping within a year we'll be able to push them out of Iraq.

Iraq


Input: "Oil has lost much of its significance because of difficulties to exporting it due to border issues,” said Frantzman, the op-ed editor for The Jerusalem Post

Jerusalem

Frantzman

editor


Input: "At this point, [IS militants] don't rely on oil revenue as their major source of power to move their vehicle

IS

militants

vehicle


Input: As for IS oil holdings in Libya, David Mack, a scholar at the Middle East Institute and former U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, said in an interview with CNBC recently, IS "never controlled any oil exports or sales from Libyan production.

Libya

U.S.

United Arab Emirates

Libyan

IS

Middle East Institute

CNBC

IS

David Mack

scholar

ambassador


Input: "It's possible that they were in a position to extort money from some Libyan militia who had control over oil wells, but that would have only been indirect," Mack said

wells

Libyan

Mack


Input: On the campaign trail, Trump has vowed to "utterly destroy ISIS" and "bomb the hell out of ISIS.

ISIS

ISIS

Trump

bomb


Input: But he has yet to outline in detail his plan to combat IS as president, saying he doesn't want to tip off the enemy

president


Input: On the eve of Monday's debate, Trump's campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, said during an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe that Trump "certainly has a plan.

Monday's

manager

Kellyanne Conway

Trump


Input: The U.S.-led coalition has been helping a combination of Iraqi, Kurdish and Arab forces fight IS in Iraq

coalition

Iraqi

Iraq

Kurdish

Arab

IS

forces


Input: But when pressed by Clinton during the debate, Trump did not take the opportunity to disclose more details

Clinton

Trump


Input: It is hard to assess IS's presence in varying parts of the world, according to experts

world


Input: Mainly in Iraq and Syria, IS claims on its website that it has ties to 26 countries

Iraq

Syria

IS


Input: IS has also claimed responsibility for terror attacks that are sometimes lone-wolf incidents

IS


Input: Law enforcement officials say those links are more ideological than direct

officials


Input: IS has been mostly rooted out of Anbar province and the coalition is setting its sights on a big battle for Mosul, currently an IS stronghold in Iraq

Anbar province

coalition

Mosul

Iraq

IS

IS


Input: "It's difficult to know what Donald Trump meant," said Mara Revkin, a Middle East expert at Yale University

Middle East

Yale University

Donald Trump

Mara Revkin


Input: "IS has declared 'provinces' in only 10 countries, and of those, the group has only established governance institutions, such as courts, police departments and municipal services, in three — Syria, Iraq and Libya.

Syria

Iraq

Libya

IS

group

courts

police

departments