Input: Relatives carry the bodies of civilians killed in air strikes during a battle between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants, in Mosul, Iraq, March 17, 2017

Iraqi

Mosul

Iraq

Islamic State

civilians

militants

carry

civilians


Input: The New York-based watchdog said Iraqi Interior Ministry units had recently used nonprecision rockets in west Mosul

Mosul

watchdog

Iraqi Interior Ministry

units

rockets


Input: The number of civilians killed in the Mosul campaign — by Islamic State, including executions, or by errant Iraqi and coalition fire — is unclear, with various estimates given by residents, watchdogs and the military

Mosul

Iraqi

coalition

Islamic State

military

civilians

killed

civilians

Mosul

Islamic State


Input: That estimate is lower than those of some monitoring groups

groups


Input: Airwars, a journalist-run project to monitor civilian casualties, says at least 2,590 civilians have likely been killed by coalition actions since 2014, including scores in Mosul in the first week of March alone

coalition

Mosul

killed

coalition

Mosul


Input: “Three houses were destroyed by two air strikes,” Ayed said

houses

destroyed

houses


Input: But the west, which houses the narrow-alleyed Old City, has been a tougher fight, and Islamic State have pinned down Iraqi forces for days on end in some areas without significant advances

Old City

Iraqi

Islamic State

forces


Input: In the wrecked Mamoun district Tuesday, a man trudged down a muddy road in search of body bags

road

Mamoun

man


Input: “I have 18 bodies I need to bury — my brother’s family,” Faisal Umm Tayran, 50, said matter-of-factly

family

Faisal Umm Tayran


Input: “Islamic State fighters were firing from our house and from the road outside, and we were hiding inside

house

Islamic State

fighters


Input: Then I’ll come back to my three remaining daughters,” Ayed said, in tears

daughters


Input: Relatives carry the bodies of civilians killed in air strikes during a battle between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants, in Mosul, Iraq, March 17, 2017

Iraqi

Mosul

Iraq

Islamic State

civilians

militants

carry

civilians


Input: The bodies had begun to smell, but it had only just become safe enough to leave the district, now cleared of the militants, and bring the carts to Mosul airport, where a bus might be able to take them to the nearest village for burial, he said

Mosul

village

militants

bus


Input: Sanctuary Churches in US Mobilize to Help Undocumented-WASHINGTON — -Churches across the United States have formed a grassroots movement to oppose the Trump administration’s immigration policies and to offer sanctuary to undocumented immigrants threatened with immediate deportation

US

WASHINGTON

United States

Trump


Input: More than 800 churches and some synagogues have declared themselves sanctuaries and are taking other measures to stop the deportation of immigrants who are in the country illegally

country


Input: FILE - Ingrid Encalada Latorre walks with her year-old son, Anibal, where she is taking sanctuary at a Denver Quaker center, the Mountain View Friends Meeting, a small, two-story brick structure just blocks from the University of Denver, in Denver

Denver

Denver Quaker

the University of Denver

Ingrid Encalada Latorre

son

Anibal

walks

Anibal


Input: All Souls and other American churches provided sanctuary during the 1980s for Central American refugees fleeing the wars and massacres in the region

American

Central American

region

churches

refugees


Input: Earlier, during the Vietnam War, American churches offered sanctuary to those who refused to serve in the military

American

military


Input: Bishop Dwayne Royster, political director of PICO, a national network of faith-based community organizations, notes the idea of sanctuary goes even further back in American history

American

PICO

network

organizations

Dwayne Royster

director


Input: “[It] goes back to William Penn and others who came from Great Britain escaping religious persecution, coming to Philadelphia and founding a community of religious liberty,” Royster said

Great Britain

Philadelphia

William Penn

came

William Penn

Great Britain

Philadelphia


Input: “Sanctuary is very present in the underground railroad that existed in this country where there were faith communities that housed slaves that were escaping from the south

country

communities

south

slaves


Input: According to ICE guidelines, its agents avoid "sensitive locations" which include schools, hospitals and houses of worship

hospitals

houses

schools


Input: All Souls Church Unitarian, located in the heart of Washington D.C.’s immigrant community, declared itself a sanctuary after President Donald Trump's election in November

Washington D.C.

All Souls Church Unitarian

Donald Trump's


Input: However, there has been publicity surrounding a few cases of unauthorized immigrants taking refuge in churches, including in Denver and Philadelphia

Denver

Philadelphia


Input: VOA recently reported on two undocumented immigrants, currently living in a Phoenix, Arizona, church

Phoenix

Arizona

VOA

immigrants

Arizona


Input: A Honduran woman under threat of deportation this month sought refuge at a Quaker Meeting House in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque

New Mexico

Quaker Meeting House

woman


Input: The 59-year-old woman, who goes by the name of Emma, arrived in the 1990s and has a traffic citation but no criminal record, according to her attorney

woman

Emma

attorney

arrived

Emma


Input: Emma, standing behind speaker to the left, is seeking sanctuary in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque

New Mexico

Emma


Input: For now, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is following its practice of not entering churches to arrest those living there

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement


Input: In a statement, ICE spokeswoman Jennifer Elzea said: “Enforcement actions at sensitive locations should generally be avoided and require either prior approval from an appropriate supervisory official or exigent circumstances necessitating immediate action.

ICE

spokeswoman

Jennifer Elzea


Input: The policy was confirmed by Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly last week in a closed door meeting with congressional Democrats, according to the Washington Post

Washington

Homeland Security

Democrats

Secretary

John Kelly

meeting

Democrats


Input: “Sensitive locations” include schools, hospitals, churches, synagogues or mosques, according to ICE guidelines spelled out in a 2011 memorandum

hospitals

schools


Input: As a candidate, Trump vowed to crack down on illegal immigration by building a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border and stepping up deportations of those already here, focusing particularly on those with criminal records

border

candidate

Trump


Input: In the 1980s, some pastors and activists providing sanctuary were prosecuted and convicted of conspiracy for smuggling illegal immigrants

pastors

activists


Input: All Souls' Hardies says he is consulting with lawyers but is not overly concerned

Hardies


Input: "I think churches as institutions have a certain kind of power and establishment in the community," he said, "... so I think that religious institutions in America can stand up to the power of the government.

America

institutions

institutions

government


Input: Javier Flores – living in Philadelphia’s Arch Street United Methodist Church

Philadelphia’s Arch Street United Methodist Church

Javier Flores


Input: Rapid Response teams have been formed to alert communities when ICE agents are in the area or to accompany those picked up to immigration courts

area

teams

courts

those

accompany

teams


Input: Other groups canvass immigrant neighborhoods letting people know they have certain rights even if they are in the country illegally, including the right to stay silent and to demand a lawyer

country

groups

lawyer


Input: Jeanette Vizguerra, left, a Mexican woman seeking to avoid deportation from the United States, cradles her 6-year-old daughter, Zuri, during a news conference in a church in which she and her children have taken refuge, Feb. 15, 2017, in Denver

Mexican

United States

Denver

church

Jeanette Vizguerra

woman

daughter

Zuri

children

conference

Jeanette Vizguerra

Denver


Input: At pro-Trump rallies earlier this month, demonstrators expressed support for stepped up enforcement measures to deport illegal immigrants, no matter what the costs

demonstrators


Input: “It’ll be disruptive for some people who are here illegally,” said Trump supporter John Beckendorf who was attending a rally in Palm Springs, California

Palm Springs

California

Trump

John Beckendorf

rally

John Beckendorf

California


Input: “I would like to think that families won’t be split but there may be some of that that happens.

families


Input: Preserving families is one of the main factors driving the sanctuary church movement, according to PICO’s Bishop Royster

church

families

Bishop Royster


Input: “What you’re really talking about is the destruction of society, the very fabric of which is the family,” he said

family


Input: “When you’re tearing undocumented parents from children who were born here in the U.S., we’re tearing families apart and we don’t want to see that happen

U.S.

parents

children


Input: All Souls Senior Minister Reverend Robert Hardies says his congregation is motivated to protect undocumented immigrants in the community

Robert Hardies


Input: “These immigrants in our neighborhood, they’re our neighbors

neighborhood


Input: They’re our friends," he said

friends


Input: US Condemns Russia's Arrest of Opposition Leader, Hundreds of Protesters-MOSCOW — -The United States has "strongly condemned" the detention of hundreds of protesters throughout Russia Sunday, including the country's opposition leader, Alexei Navalny

US

MOSCOW

United States

Russia

Russia's

Leader

protesters

leader

Alexei Navalny

detention

Russia

Alexei Navalny


Input: Tens of thousands of Russians demonstrated in cities across the country in support of a call by Navalny for accountability among Russia's elite

country

Russians

demonstrated

country


Input: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is escorted upon his arrival for a hearing after being detained at the protest against corruption, at the Tverskoi court in Moscow, Russia, March 27, 2017

Russian

Moscow

Russia

Tverskoi court

court

Alexei Navalny

protest

Alexei Navalny

Russia

detained

Alexei Navalny

Russia


Input: "Detaining peaceful protesters, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values," acting U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement

U.S. State Department

protesters

observers

journalists

spokesman

Mark Toner


Input: He said the U.S. is "troubled" by the arrest of Navalny, who has announced plans to run for president in the 2018 election

U.S.

Navalny

president

arrest

Navalny


Input: We came here to express our position as citizens," said one protester who just gave her first name as Alina

protester


Input: "We came to remain citizens of our country.

country


Input: Russia's leading opposition figure Alexei Navalny and his supporters aim to hold anti-corruption demonstrations throughout Russia

Russia

Alexei Navalny

supporters

demonstrations

Alexei Navalny

Russia


Input: "By my presence here, I stand against the corruption of the incumbent power," said another protester who only gave his first name as Maxim

protester

Maxim


Input: OVD-Info, an organization that monitors Russian political repression, said on its website that more than 1,000 people were arrested in the Moscow demonstrations alone

Russian

Moscow

OVD-Info

organization

1,000 people

demonstrations

Moscow

arrested

Moscow


Input: Navalny, a Kremlin critic, called the demonstrations after his Foundation for Fighting Corruption released a detailed report earlier this month accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of amassing a collection of mansions, yachts and vineyards through a shadowy network of non-profit organizations

Foundation for Fighting Corruption

network

organizations

Navalny

Dmitry Medvedev

yachts


Input: Law enforcement officers detain an opposition supporter during a rally in Moscow, Russia, March 26, 2017

Moscow

Russia

officers

supporter

rally

supporter

Russia


Input: A short report on TASS said a police officer was injured during an "unauthorized" rally in Moscow

Moscow

TASS

police

officer


Input: Navalny said on his official website that 99 Russian cities planned to protest, but that in 72 of them local authorities did not give permission

Russian


Input: Law enforcement officers gather as they block opposition supporters in Moscow, Russia, March 26, 2017

Moscow

Russia

officers

supporters

gather

officers

Russia


Input: He was detained while walking from a subway station to join the rally at Moscow's iconic Pushkin Square

station

Moscow's

Pushkin Square

He

rally

Pushkin Square


Input: Reports from the scene say police put him in a truck that was surrounded by hundreds of protesters

police

him

protesters

truck


Input: "Guys, I am all right, go on along Tverskaya," Navalny tweeted from the van, referring to Moscow's main central street

street

Navalny

van

from

van


Input: Trump Outrage at Syria Attack Sparks Speculation of Retaliation-WHITE HOUSE — -U.S. officials from President Donald Trump on down have expressed outrage at the apparent chemical weapons attack in Syria, and have suggested that retaliatory action is being considered against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, either by a multinational response or alone

Syria

U.S.

Syria

Syrian

regime

Trump

officials

Donald Trump

Bashar al-Assad’s

weapons

attack

weapons

Syria


Input: At a joint Rose Garden news conference alongside visiting Jordanian King Abdullah II, Trump on Wednesday said the attack "cannot be tolerated.

Jordanian

Rose Garden

Abdullah II

Trump


Input: One of them read: "The only reason President Obama wants to attack Syria is to save face over his very dumb RED LINE statement

Syria

Obama


Input: The Jordanian monarch also condemned the attack, calling it “another testament to the failure of the international diplomacy to find solutions to this crisis [in Syria].

Jordanian

Syria


Input: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley shows pictures of Syrian victims of chemical attacks as she addresses a meeting of the Security Council on Syria at U.N. headquarters, in New York, April 5, 2017

headquarters

U.S.

Syrian

New York

United Nations

Security Council on Syria

U.N.

Ambassador

Nikki Haley

victims

chemical attacks


Input: At the United Nations earlier in the day, U.S. envoy Nikki Haley castigated the international community for its inaction in the face of past atrocities, and seemed to suggest that the United States would act, with or without a multinational response

U.S.

United States

United Nations

envoy

Nikki Haley


Input: “When the United Nations consistently fails in its duty to act collectively, there are times in the life of states that we are compelled to take our own action,” Haley warned

United Nations

Haley


Input: “For the sake of the victims, I hope the rest of the council is willing to do the same.

council


Input: Criticized Russia-Haley explicitly criticized Syria’s chief ally, Russia, which has used its veto power on the Security Council to prevent passage of resolutions condemning Syria’s use of chemical weapons

Russia

Syria’s

ally

Russia

the Security Council

Haley

weapons


Input: “Assad has no incentive to stop using chemical weapons as long as Russia protects his regime from consequences,” she said

Russia

regime

Assad

weapons


Input: U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and Jordan's King Abdullah II hold a joint news conference in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, April 5, 2017

U.S.

Washington

Rose Garden

White House

President

Donald Trump

Jordan's King Abdullah II

news conference

Jordan's King Abdullah II

Rose Garden


Input: The comments come just days after Haley said the U.S. is not focused on removing Assad from power

U.S.

Haley

Assad


Input: From left, President Donald Trump's Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the White House in Washington, April 5, 2017

Washington

Commerce

State

the White House

Donald Trump's

Reince Priebus

Wilbur Ross

Secretary

Rex Tillerson


Input: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also spoke to Russia's support of Assad

State

Russia's support

Secretary

Rex Tillerson

Assad


Input: "There's no doubt in our mind that the Syrian regime under the leadership of Bashar al-Assad is responsible for this horrific attack," Tillerson said

Syrian

regime

Bashar al-Assad

Tillerson


Input: "And we think it's time that the Russians really need to think carefully about their continued support for the Assad regime.

regime

Assad


Input: Trump's actions-Robert Satloff of the Washington Center for Near East Policy said that Trump's own words mean that he must now separate his administration's response to Syria from that of Obama's

Washington

Syria

Center for Near East Policy

Robert Satloff


Input: “By his words and demeanor, Trump has implicitly laid down a marker; I’m not going to say a red line," he added

Trump


Input: “So if he does not take action, it would be a sign he is continuing the Obama administration policy

administration

Obama


Input: That cannot be the sort of idea the Trump White House would like to nurture.

White House

Trump


Input: He did not rule out the use of retaliatory force, warning that the use of chemical weapons against civilians had “crossed many, many lines beyond a red line” for him

weapons


Input: Satloff said the chemical weapons incident poses a major challenge to the nascent relationship between the Trump White House and the Kremlin

Kremlin

White House

Satloff

Trump

weapons


Input: “If the Russians are maintaining the folly that the rebels themselves were responsible for the chemical weapons, this really calls into doubt the idea that the U.S. can partner with Russia," he said

U.S.

Russia

weapons


Input: Robert Danin, senior fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations, called this a defining moment in the evolution of Trump’s Middle East policy

Middle East

the Council of Foreign Relations

Robert Danin


Input: “What we’re seeing is the transformation, education and evolution of Trump to understand what America’s role in the Middle East is,” Danin said

Middle East

Trump


Input: “He came to power with a desire to limit America’s involvement in the Middle East, and I think he’s quickly realizing that that’s a lot harder to do than he may have thought.

Middle East


Input: Nike Ching at the State Department contributed to this report

State Department


Input: "Yesterday's [Tuesday's] chemical attack, a chemical attack so horrific in Syria against innocent people including women, small children, and even beautiful little babies — their deaths was an affront to humanity,” he said

Syria

women

children

attack

Syria

children


Input: "These heinous actions by the Assad regime cannot be tolerated.

regime

Assad


Input: While acknowledging that he is in charge in Washington now, Trump laid some of the blame for the chaos in Syria at the feet of his predecessor, Barack Obama, who famously threatened military action in response to a 2013 chemical attack in Syria, but did not follow through

Washington

Syria

Syria

military

Trump

Barack Obama


Input: “I think the Obama administration had a great opportunity to solve this crisis a long time ago when he [spoke of] the red line in the sand,” he said

administration

Obama


Input: “And when he didn’t cross that line after making the threat, I think that set us back a long ways, not only in Syria but in many other parts of the world, because it was a blank threat.

Syria

world


Input: Tweeted otherwise-In 2013, however, Trump issued a series of tweets in which he urged then-President Obama not to attack Syria

Syria

Trump

Obama


Input: Top Mexican Official Said to Tip Drug Cartel About US Probe-MEXICO CITY — -In a major embarrassment for Mexican law enforcement, U.S. prosecutors said in documents made public Wednesday that the commander of a Mexican police intelligence-sharing unit was passing information on a DEA investigation to the Beltran Leyva drug cartel in exchange for millions of dollars

Mexican

US

Mexican

U.S.

Mexican

police

unit

DEA

prosecutors

commander

Beltran Leyva


Input: Ivan Reyes Arzate was named in a U.S. district court indictment, just hours after Mexico's federal police revealed an unnamed agent had been charged with obstructing an investigation

U.S.

court

police

Ivan Reyes Arzate

agent


Input: "Reyes, in his role as supervisor over the SIU, routinely had contact and worked collaboratively with DEA agents in Mexico City," according to the indictment

Mexico City

SIU

DEA

supervisor


Input: "The higher echelon, the higher level of the federal police, do not want to be vetted," Vigil said

police

Vigil


Input: "So the information that goes from the vetted units to their commanders can be easily compromised.

units

commanders


Input: "We have pushed for that ... they have never wanted to and I think that a lot of them have severe integrity issues, so they don't want to go through that vetting because they're afraid of what we may find out," Vigil said

Vigil


Input: What is startling is the length and depth of Reyes Arzate's collusion with the Beltran Leyva gang, which has built a reputation of specializing in corrupting or bribing law enforcement officials

Beltran Leyva

officials


Input: Beyond giving the drug trafficker detailed advice on how to evade the DEA investigation, the commander passed on to him fresh information given to him by the U.S. agency

U.S.

DEA

agency

commander


Input: What Mexican police commissioner Manelich Castilla did not reveal was that Ivan Reyes Arzate, the officer charged, was the commander of a federal police sensitive investigative unit

Mexican

police

police

unit

commissioner

Manelich Castilla

Ivan Reyes Arzate

officer

commander


Input: An unidentified confidential source cited in the indictment said Reyes Arzate had directly passed tips to Arturo Beltran Leyva, the cartel boss who was killed in 2009

Reyes Arzate

Arturo Beltran Leyva

boss

killed

boss


Input: That meant that Reyes Arzate had been a cartel mole in police agencies for at least seven years

police

Reyes Arzate


Input: The cartel even killed a DEA informant based on information supplied by Reyes Arzate

DEA

informant

Reyes Arzate


Input: Still, it's not the first time Mexico has failed to detect such deep corruption

Mexico


Input: The indictment comes about a week after the attorney general for the Mexican state of Nayarit was arrested at the U.S. border on drug charges

Mexican

state

U.S.

border

attorney

arrested

border


Input: Edgar Veytia was charged in the United States with conspiracy to smuggle cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine to the U.S. from January 2013 to last month, while he was chief law enforcement officer in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit

United States

U.S.

state

Pacific

coast

Edgar Veytia

officer

smuggle

U.S.


Input: The revelations about two such-high-ranking officers could fuel continuing tensions between Mexico and the United States

Mexico

United States

officers


Input: Mexican security analyst Alejandro Hope said "there seems to be a pattern here.

Mexican

analyst

Alejandro Hope


Input: "In both cases, the arrests were made without the participation of Mexican authorities

Mexican


Input: The special units, known as SIUs, were formed starting in the 1990s precisely to create more secure groups that the U.S. could feel more comfortable sharing intelligence with

U.S.

groups


Input: Castilla said Reyes Arzate had been fired in November

Castilla

Reyes Arzate


Input: According to the U.S. indictment, Reyes Arzate was caught on a wiretap in September telling a drug trafficker to get rid of his communications equipment because he was under investigation and his phones were being tapped

U.S.

Reyes Arzate


Input: FILE - Mexican federal police officers are seen standing guard during a raid

Mexican

police

officers

raid

officers


Input: He even sent the trafficker a surveillance photo that the Mexican unit had taken of him

Mexican

unit


Input: The U.S. indictment unsealed Wednesday in Chicago says Reyes Arzate was the top commander of an SIU unit whose officers were specially trained and vetted by the United States, including weeklong training at a DEA school in Quantico, Virginia

U.S.

Chicago

United States

Quantico

Virginia

SIU

unit

DEA

Reyes Arzate

commander

officers

trained

officers

Virginia


Input: A former federal police official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is no longer with the agency said Reyes Arzate was probably two or three steps down in the command chain from the federal police commissioner

police

agency

chain

police

official

Reyes Arzate

commissioner


Input: Timeline: A Chemical Attack, a Shift in US Syrian Policy-The U.S. attack on a Syrian air base Friday morning came after years of heated debate and deliberation in Washington over intervention in the bloody civil war

base

US

Syrian

U.S.

Syrian

Washington

attack

U.S.

base


Input: Chemical weapons have killed hundreds of people since the start of the conflict, with the U.N. blaming three attacks on the Syrian government and a fourth on the Islamic State group

Syrian

U.N.

government

Islamic State

group

weapons

killed

weapons

Islamic State


Input: April 5, 2017-Trump says Assad’s government had “crossed a lot of lines” with the chemical attack in Syria

Syria

government

Trump

Assad’s


Input: At a joint Rose Garden news conference alongside Jordanian King Abdullah II, Trump said the attack "cannot be tolerated.

Jordanian

Rose Garden

Abdullah II

Trump


Input: U.S. forces are said to have targeted Shayrat Airfield in western Syria, in retaliation for the chemical weapons attack that American officials believe Syrian government aircraft launched on a rebel-held town with a nerve gas, possibly sarin

Syria

American

Syrian

town

Shayrat Airfield

U.S. forces

government

officials

aircraft

weapons

targeted

U.S. forces

Shayrat Airfield

Syria

launched

government

aircraft


Input: April 6, 2017 -The U.S. fired a barrage of cruise missiles into Syria Friday morning in retaliation for the chemical weapons attack against civilians

U.S.

Syria

missiles

weapons

fired

U.S.

missiles

Syria


Input: Trump said strike on Syria in the “vital national security interest” of the United States

Syria

United States

Trump


Input: April 7, 2017-Syria decried a U.S. missile attack on a government-controlled air base where U.S. officials say the Syrian military launched a deadly chemical attack earlier this week, calling it an “aggression” that led to “losses.

base

Syria

U.S.

U.S.

Syrian

military

officials

missile

attack

U.S.

missile

base


Input: A Syrian opposition group, the Syrian Coalition, welcomed the U.S. attack, saying it puts an end to an age of “impunity” and should be just the beginning

Syrian

U.S.

group

Syrian Coalition


Input: Major Jamil al-Saleh, a U.S-backed rebel commander whose Hama district in the country’s center was struck by a suspected chemical weapons attack, said he hoped the U.S. attack on a government air base would be a “turning point” in the six-year war

center

base

Hama

U.S.

government

Jamil al-Saleh

commander

chemical weapons

attack

center

chemical weapons


Input: Here’s a timeline of this week’s events:-FILE - This April 4, 2017, photo provided by the Syrian anti-government activist group Edlib Media Center shows a man carrying a child following a suspected chemical attack at a makeshift hospital in the town of Khan Sheikhoun, Idlib province, Syria

hospital

Syrian

town

Idlib

Syria

group

Edlib Media Center

activist

man

child

Khan Sheikhoun

carrying

man

child


Input: April 4, 2017-One of the worst chemical attacks came Tuesday in rebel-held northern Idlib where dozens were killed in the town of Khan Sheikhoun

Idlib

town

Khan Sheikhoun

dozens

chemical attacks

Idlib

killed

Khan Sheikhoun


Input: Witnesses said the attack was carried out by either Russian or Syrian Sukhoi jets

Russian

Syrian

jets

attack

jets


Input: Moscow and Damascus denied responsibility

Moscow

Damascus


Input: That attack prompted President Donald Trump, on day 77 of his presidency, to dramatically shift U.S. policy on Syria

U.S.

Syria

Donald Trump


Input: Trump issued a statement saying that the “heinous” actions of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government are the direct result of Obama administration’s “weakness and irresolution.

Syrian

government

Trump

Bashar Assad’s

Obama


Input: After the attack, hospitals around Khan Sheikhoun were overwhelmed, and paramedics sent victims to medical facilities across rebel-held areas in northern Syria, as well as to Turkey

hospitals

medical facilities

Syria

Turkey

Khan Sheikhoun

victims


Input: President Donald Trump and Jordan's King Abdullah II hold a news conference in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, April 5, 2017

Washington

Rose Garden

the White House

Donald Trump

Jordan's King Abdullah II

conference

Donald Trump

Rose Garden


Input: Fifth Protester Killed as Venezuela Unrest Intensifies-CARACAS — -Venezuela's opposition was planning protests in each of the country's 335 municipalities on Thursday, in a bid to strain the capabilities of security forces as unrest mounted in the volatile nation

Venezuela

nation

Protester


Input: The oil-rich but crisis-shaken South American country has been convulsed by escalating protests over the last two weeks amid a punishing economic recession and accusations that leftist President Nicolas Maduro has morphed into a dictator

country

South American

Nicolas Maduro


Input: Demonstrators rally against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, April 13, 2017

Caracas

Venezuela

Demonstrators

Nicolas Maduro

rally

Venezuela


Input: With momentum on their side, the main opposition coalition was urging Venezuelans to take to the streets across the country Thursday in an effort to leave security forces too thinly spread to break up rallies

streets

coalition

country

forces


Input: ‘A struggle of resistance’-They accuse police and the National Guard of indiscriminate use of tear gas, including gassing clinics and dropping canisters from a helicopter, and of arbitrarily detaining people for simply being within the vicinity of protests

police

National Guard

people

helicopter

detaining


Input: "This is a struggle of resistance, whose fundamental objective is to wear them out, and see who breaks first," said opposition lawmaker Freddy Guevara in a video posted on Twitter

Freddy Guevara


Input: Will it be our desire to have a better Venezuela or theirs to obey the dictatorship?

Venezuela


Input: The opposition says Maduro made it clear to the world he was a dictator when the Supreme Court in late March assumed the functions of the opposition-led congress

world

the Supreme Court

Maduro


Input: Amid global outcry, the court quickly rolled back the most controversial part of its decision, but the move breathed new life into the fractured opposition movement and comforted demonstrators that they had international support

court

demonstrators


Input: Last week's move to ban opposition leader Henrique Capriles from holding office for 15 years also fueled demonstrators' outrage

Henrique Capriles


Input: In a worrying sign for Maduro, people in usually pro-government slums and low-income areas have blocked streets and lit fires during scattered protests this week

Maduro


Input: Unrest-Alongside planned opposition marches that have dissolved into clashes, there have also been what witnesses and local media describe as impromptu nighttime protests, where neighbors block streets with trash or burning debris

streets

media


Input: FILE - A demonstrator is arrested by riot police while rallying against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas, Venezuela, April 10, 2017

Caracas

Venezuela

police

government

demonstrator

Nicolas Maduro's

rallying

Venezuela


Input: Looting has been reported too, especially in the working-class community of Guarenas outside Caracas

Guarenas

Caracas


Input: While opposition leaders have called for protests to remain peaceful, Maduro's government has claimed that a business-backed opposition is actually pushing for violence to justify "foreign intervention.

government


Input: Maduro has drawn parallels with a brief coup against his predecessor - the late Hugo Chavez — in 2002, and warned that an opposition government would slash social benefits like health care for the poor and subsidized food

government

Maduro

Hugo Chavez


Input: The opposition has responded that any social advances made under Chavez have been wiped out by a devastating economic crisis that has brought widespread shortages of food and medicine

Chavez


Input: Some in the opposition accuse "colectivos," militant grassroots groups whom critics say are thugs paid by the government, of looting and violence to taint the opposition

groups

government

critics


Input: Many Venezuelans still worry protracted protests will not bring about political or economic change, but will just increase violence in the already volatile nation

nation


Input: Major anti-government protests in 2014 eventually fizzled out, though the opposition at the time had nebulous demands, poor neighborhoods largely abstained, and the economy was in better shape

neighborhoods


Input: Venezuelans are gearing up for next Wednesday, when opposition leaders have called for the "mother of all marches.

mother


Input: A crowd also broke through a security cordon at his rally on Tuesday, heckling at him and throwing stones while bodyguards scrambled

crowd

his


Input: Four people were killed during protests over the last week, authorities say

people

protests

people


Input: Opposition lawmaker Alfonso Marquina said on Thursday a fifth protester had died

Alfonso Marquina

protester

died

protester


Input: The public prosecutor's office says it will investigate the death of 36-year-old Miguel Colmenares, according to the Associated Press

Associated Press

Miguel Colmenares


Input: He was shot at a protest Tuesday in the central city of Barquisimeto

city

Barquisimeto

He

shot

Barquisimeto

protest

Barquisimeto


Input: Gruseny Calderon was killed during the same protest, the Associated Press reports, adding that Marquina says the 32-year-old protester was injured by rubber bullets that pierced his lung and liver

Associated Press

Gruseny Calderon

Marquina

protester

bullets

killed

Gruseny Calderon


Input: The protests have also claimed the lives of two college students and a 13-year-old

college

protests

students

lives

students


Input: (A. Algarro/VOA)-Tintori marched Thursday wearing a T-shirt with a posterized image of her jailed husband, political opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez

Tintori

husband

Leopoldo Lopez


Input: She told VOA that Venezuela’s opposition supporters would continue peaceful protests

VOA


Input: "We do not want confrontation, we want the regime of Nicolás Maduro to leave in peace,” Tintori said, noting it must schedule long-delayed elections, release political prisoners and open a humanitarian channel to deliver food and medicine now in critically short supply

regime

Nicolás Maduro

prisoners


Input: “Venezuela is in resistance,” she added

Venezuela


Input: Watch: Venezuelan Protesters: We Are in Crisis, Want Elections-Video size-width-x-height-pixels-Venezuelan Protesters: We Are in Crisis, Want Elections-Share this video-0:00:48-▶-0:00:00-/0:00:48-▶-▶-Direct link-270p | 2.2MB-360p | 3.7MB-480p | 19.9MB-Late Wednesday, Maduro announced that security forces had detained 30 people for allegedly planning violence

Venezuelan

Venezuelan

Maduro

forces

people

detained

forces


Input: Maduro supporter Diosdado Cabello, a National Assembly lawmaker with the ruling United Socialist Party, decried the National Guard member’s death and blamed it on opposition protesters

National Assembly

United Socialist Party

National Guard

Maduro

Diosdado Cabello

lawmaker


Input: On Thursday morning, supporters of the center-right political opposition blocked the Prados del Este freeway in both directions

Prados del Este


Input: Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro take to the streets of Caracas to counter an opposition march, April 19, 2017

streets

Venezuelan

Caracas

Nicolás Maduro


Input: (A. Algarro/VOA)-Businesses and universities were closed for a second consecutive day, Agence France-Presse reported, noting that the previous day was a national holiday -- April 19 marked the anniversary of the Venezuelans’ 1810 opening battle for independence from Spain

Spain

Agence France-Presse


Input: Among the victims were a 17-year-old boy and a 23-year-old woman, both shot in the head in separate incidents

victims

boy

woman

shot

boy


Input: In recent days, Maduro ordered troops to fan out around the country on high alert, and he encouraged his backers, including civilian militia members, to defend against alleged plans to overthrow his government

country

government

Maduro

troops

members

fan

troops

country


Input: He announced plans to expand the militia to half a million from its current strength of 100,000 and to arm them with rifles

rifles


Input: The United Nations issued a statement Thursday expressing concern “about the latest developments and urge that all efforts be made to lower tensions and prevent further clashes.

United Nations


Input: U.S. response-In Washington, administration officials are worried the Venezuela government is working to suppress the opposition

U.S.

Washington

Venezuela

administration

government

officials


Input: “We are concerned that the government of Maduro is violating its own constitution and is not allowing the opposition to have their voices heard, nor allowing them to organize in a way that expresses the views of the Venezuelan people," U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday at the State Department

Venezuelan

U.S.

government

State

State Department

Maduro

Secretary

Rex Tillerson


Input: Demonstrators clash with the riot police during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, April 20, 2017

Venezuelan

Caracas

police

Demonstrators

Nicolas Maduro

riot

police

Caracas


Input: We're watching it closely and working with others, particularly through the OAS [Organization of American States] to communicate those concerns to them,” Tillerson added in a brief news conference

OAS

Organization of American States


Input: The Maduro government’s seizure of U.S.-based General Motors’ sole factory in Venezuela is likely to add to Tillerson’s worries

factory

Venezuela

Maduro

Motors’


Input: The Detroit automaker described Wednesday’s takeover by Venezuelan authorities as an illegal judicial seizure of assets

Detroit

Venezuelan

automaker


Input: A National Guard soldier also reportedly was killed in protests in Miranda state, near Caracas

Miranda state

state

Caracas

National Guard

soldier

killed

soldier

Miranda state


Input: In a statement Thursday, GM said vehicles and other assets were taken from the plant

plant

GM

vehicles


Input: The company has about 2,700 workers in Venezuela

Venezuela

company


Input: GM’s statement said that if the government allowed the move, employees would get separation benefits “arising from the termination of employment relationships beyond the parties’ control.

government


Input: A police officer fires tear gas against anti-government protesters in Caracas, Venezuela, April 20, 2017

Caracas

Venezuela

police

officer

protesters

fires

officer

Venezuela


Input: Counter march-Maduro had rallied his supporters to turn out for a counter march Wednesday, and thousands showed up wearing the red clothing that marked them as Chavistas

Maduro


Input: "Today, the entire Venezuelan population comes out to ratify its support for the Bolivian revolution" and its "loyalty to supreme commander Hugo Chavez," one man in a red cap and T-shirt told VOA

Venezuelan

VOA

commander

Hugo Chavez

man


Input: Chavez launched the leftist movement carried on by Maduro, who succeeded him as president in 2013

Chavez

Maduro

president


Input: The court, stacked with appointees of Maduro and Chavez, reversed its position in the wake of domestic and international outcries about an attempted power grab

court

Maduro

Chavez


Input: The National Socialist Party has ruled Venezuela for 17 years

Venezuela

National Socialist Party


Input: Wednesday's deaths bring the number of people killed in almost three weeks of escalating protests to eight

people


Input: Venezuelans face chronic, severe shortages of food, medicine and other basics in what once was Latin America's wealthiest country

country


Input: (State Department correspondent Nike Ching contributed to this report, with Carol Guensburg contributing from Washington.

Washington

State Department

correspondent

Nike Ching

Carol Guensburg


Input: In recent protests, security forces have fired rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons

forces

bullets


Input: It hurts to see “our brave young people” subjected to violence, tweeted human rights activist Lilian Tintori, adding, “We swear we will regain [Venezuela’s] freedom

activist

Lilian Tintori


Input: Tintori’s shirt bears a likeness of her husband, jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez

husband

Leopoldo Lopez

jailed

husband


Input: US Senators to Get Rare Briefing at White House on North Korea Threat-WHITE HOUSE — -All 100 U.S. senators have been invited to the White House on Wednesday for a classified briefing that will primarily concern North Korea, the administration announced Monday

US

North Korea

U.S.

North Korea

White House

White House

administration

senators

briefing

senators

White House


Input: The briefing will be conducted by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joe Dunford

National Intelligence

the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Jim Mattis

Rex Tillerson

Dan Coats

Joe Dunford


Input: His most recent call was made just before meeting the ambassadors on Monday morning to German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the "urgent security challenge" posed by North Korea, according to the White House

German

North Korea

White House

His

Angela Merkel

call

Angela Merkel


Input: A 30-minute call (Sunday evening U.S. time/Monday morning in Asia) between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was meant to increase pressure on Pyongyang not to engage in further provocative actions, but was not prompted by any significant change in the situation, according to officials in Tokyo

U.S.

Japanese

Pyongyang

Tokyo

Asia

Trump

Shinzo Abe

officials

call

Shinzo Abe


Input: "We agreed to strongly demand North Korea, which is repeating its provocation, show restraint," Abe told reporters in Tokyo

North Korea

Tokyo

Abe

reporters


Input: "We will maintain close contact with the United States, maintain a high level of vigilance and firmly respond.

United States


Input: Abe also said he and Trump agreed that a larger role in dealing with Pyongyang should be played by China

Pyongyang

China

Abe

Trump


Input: The Chinese president said he hopes all sides avoid doing anything to worsen the tense situation on the Korean peninsula, according to the Xinhua news agency

Chinese

Korean

Xinhua

agency

president


Input: FILE - U.S. President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping chat as they walk along the front patio of the Mar-a-Lago estate after a bilateral meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, April 7, 2017

U.S.

China's

Florida

Mar-a-Lago estate

Palm Beach

President

Donald Trump

Xi Jinping

meeting

Xi Jinping

Palm Beach


Input: Trump, in the phone call with Xi, "criticized North Korea's continued belligerence and emphasized Pyongyang's actions are destabilizing the Korean Peninsula," according to a White House readout issued Monday

Korean Peninsula

White House

Trump


Input: While lawmakers often receive classified briefings on Capitol Hill, it is rare for them to take place at the White House and for the entire Senate to be involved in one event

Capitol Hill

White House

Senate


Input: "The two leaders reaffirmed the urgency of the threat posed by North Korea's missile and nuclear programs, and committed to strengthen coordination in achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Korean Peninsula

missile


Input: North Korea's continued development of ballistic missiles and its underground nuclear tests — there have been five — are "to put it mildly, a game changer," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters Monday

State Department

spokesman

Mark Toner

reporters

missiles


Input: "And it's one of the reasons why you've seen administration officials talking so candidly about our concerns and about the fact that the time for strategic patience and that policy is over.

administration

officials


Input: Trump and U.S. officials have repeatedly said all options remain "on the table" to deal with further North Korean provocations

U.S.

North Korean

Trump

officials


Input: Aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) transits the Indian Ocean, April 15, 2017

Indian Ocean

carrier

USS Carl Vinson


Input: The strike force on Monday was wrapping up a "routine" joint drill "to provide combined maritime response" with components of the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force in the Philippines Sea "as it continued its northern transit," U.S. Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters at the Pentagon

Philippines Sea

Pentagon

Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force

U.S. Navy

Jeff Davis

reporters


Input: Officials in Seoul announced earlier Monday the Vinson is also scheduled to hold a joint training exercise with South Korean naval ships

Seoul

South Korean

Vinson

ships


Input: "Consultations are under way in connection with the exercise," Ministry of National Defense spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told reporters

Ministry of National Defense

spokesman

Moon Sang-gyun

reporters


Input: FILE - Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, left, walks with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the White House in Washington, April 3, 2017

Washington

Defense

State

White House

Secretary

Jim Mattis

Secretary

Rex Tillerson

walks

Rex Tillerson

Washington


Input: The approach of the American naval carrier strike group has not gone unnoticed in Pyongyang

American

Pyongyang

group

carrier


Input: "Our revolutionary forces are combat-ready to sink a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier with a single strike," read a Sunday commentary in the Rodong Sinmun, the Workers' Party newspaper

Workers' Party

newspaper

forces

Rodong Sinmun

aircraft

carrier


Input: Such threats are common from the reclusive state

state


Input: North Korea on Tuesday celebrates the anniversary of the founding of its military, a key holiday in the country

North Korea

country

military


Input: There are concerns Pyongyang, in conjunction with the anniversary, will demonstrate a show of force by possibly firing more ballistic missiles or conducting its sixth nuclear test

Pyongyang

missiles


Input: Trump has said that Xi is applying pressure on North Korea to not engage in further provocations

North Korea

Trump


Input: It is speculated by analysts in Washington and Beijing that China is threatening to cut crude oil supplies to its impoverished neighbor should it conduct another nuclear test

Washington

Beijing

China


Input: FILE - This image made from a May 21, 2014, video shows a building at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology

building

Pyongyang University of Science and Technology


Input: Mattis and Tillerson will be among officials briefing U.S. senators on North Korea

U.S.

North Korea

Mattis

Tillerson

officials

senators


Input: The Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST) confirmed the detention of Kim Sang-duk, who had been teaching accounting at the privately-funded school started by evangelical Christians

Pyongyang University of Science and Technology

PUST

school

Kim Sang-duk


Input: "We cannot comment on anything that Mr. Kim may be alleged to have done that is not related to his teaching work on the PUST campus," the university said in a statement Sunday

campus

PUST

university

Kim


Input: At least two other U.S. citizens are known to be held in North Korea

U.S.

North Korea


Input: The U.S. State Department said it is working with Swedish diplomats on the case

Swedish

U.S. State Department

diplomats


Input: The United States and North Korea have never had diplomatic ties

United States

North Korea


Input: Sweden's embassy in Pyongyang represents the interests of American citizens in the country

embassy

Pyongyang

American

country


Input: North Korea has a pattern of detaining and sentencing American visitors to prison in order to get high-profile visitors to go there to obtain their release

prison

North Korea

American


Input: During a White House lunch with ambassadors of United Nations Security Council member states on Monday, the U.S. president called unacceptable the "status quo in North Korea.

states

U.S.

North Korea

White House

United Nations Security Council

president


Input: Trump said the Security Council must be prepared to impose additional and stronger sanctions on North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs

Security Council

Trump

missile


Input: "North Korea is a big world problem, and it's a problem we have to finally solve," the president added

North Korea

world

president


Input: Trump, Abe-The comments came after Trump made his latest round of separate telephone calls to the leaders of Japan, China and Germany to discuss concerns about North Korea

Japan

China

Germany

North Korea

Trump

Abe

Trump

calls

Germany


Input: Attack on Afghan Army Base Reportedly Killed Over 250 Soldiers-ISLAMABAD — -Afghanistan’s largest television station has reported last Friday’s deadliest-ever assault by the Taliban on a major military base in northern Balkh province left more than 250 soldiers dead and accused authorities of “hiding the truth.

Base

base

ISLAMABAD

Balkh province

Afghan Army

Taliban

military

250 Soldiers

soldiers

Attack

Afghan Army

Base

assault

Taliban

base

Balkh province


Input: The government has been under fire for refusing to reveal the number of casualties several days after the attack targeting the Afghan National Army’s 209th Shaheen Corps in the provincial capital of Mazar-i-Sharif

Afghan

capital

Mazar-i-Sharif

government

Shaheen Corps

attack

Shaheen Corps

Mazar-i-Sharif


Input: Afghan soldiers stand guard at the gate of a military base in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, April 21, 2017, after an attack by Taliban suicide bombers and gunmen who entered the compound wearing Afghan army uniforms

gate

base

compound

Afghan

Mazar-i-Sharif

Afghanistan

Afghan

military

Taliban

army

soldiers

attack

Mazar-i-Sharif

Taliban


Input: Witnesses and security sources said that Taliban assailants drove up to the base in two army vehicles mounted with machine guns, waving fake identification cards and claiming they were bringing back a seriously injured soldier from the frontline

base

Taliban

army

assailants

soldier

vehicles

guns


Input: Some of the attackers detonated explosives strapped to their bodies while others were gunned down by Afghan commandos before the hours-long siege ended

Afghan

attackers

commandos

explosives


Input: The carnage prompted the defense minister and the army chief to step down on Monday

army

minister

chief


Input: President Ashraf Ghani has also removed several corps commanders, including that of the Shaheen Corps, following the attack

the Shaheen Corps

Ashraf Ghani

commanders


Input: A high-level investigation is underway to determine how the attackers managed to enter the highly-fortified military facility in Mazar-i-Sharif and whether they had received “inside help.

facility

Mazar-i-Sharif

military


Input: The Afghan Taliban released to the media this photo which it said shows the suicide bombers and gunmen who attacked the army base in Mazar-i-Sharif, April 21, 2017

base

Afghan

Mazar-i-Sharif

Taliban

media

army

bombers

gunmen


Input: At least four Afghan soldiers are suspected of having helped the attackers but they remain at large, according to officials

Afghan

soldiers

attackers

officials


Input: American military advisors and trainers were also present at a different location inside the regional military headquarters

headquarters

American

location

military

military


Input: The deputy chairman of the Afghan Senate, the upper house of the parliament, informed lawmakers on Sunday that security officials told him the death toll stood at around 131, while provincial politicians had put it at more than 150 from the outset

Afghan Senate

parliament

chairman

officials


Input: The Taliban, while claiming responsibility for Friday’s attack, said more than 500 soldiers were killed or wounded

Taliban

soldiers

killed

Taliban

soldiers


Input: It went on to say the assault on the army base was a prelude to its coming “spring offensive” in Afghanistan

base

Afghanistan

army


Input: U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, during his day-long visit to Kabul on Monday, also warned “2017's going to be another tough year for the valiant Afghan security forces and the international troops.

Kabul

Afghan

U.S. Defense

Secretary

Jim Mattis

forces

troops


Input: “Based on information gathered from different sources, so far, the identity of 256 soldiers from 10 provinces have been confirmed,” TOLOnews reported Tuesday, quoting “credible” sources

soldiers


Input: But critics assert the government was disrespecting the slain soldiers by withholding the number of casualties

government

critics

soldiers


Input: Officials and insurgents say a group of 10 heavily-armed Taliban fighters wearing army uniforms, and accompanying an allegedly wounded soldier, stormed the base and carried out the massacre

base

group

Taliban

insurgents

fighters

soldier

stormed

fighters

base


Input: The attack mainly targeted a dining hall and mosque deep inside the facility where hundreds of Afghan soldiers were offering special Friday prayers

mosque

facility

Afghan

soldiers

attack

mosque

facility


Input: US Economy Grows at Disappointing 0.7% in First Quarter-The latest economic data indicate the U.S. economy is growing at the slowest rate in three years

US

U.S.


Input: The GDP or gross domestic product, the broadest measure of all goods and services produced in the country, increased at a disappointing 0.7 percent annual rate, according to new government estimates released Friday

country

government


Input: Most economists say the first quarter estimate should not be seen as a true measure of U.S. economic health

U.S.


Input: The U.S. unemployment rate is near a 10-year low at 4.5 percent, consumer and business sentiment are rising and major U.S. stock indexes are near record highs

U.S.

U.S.


Input: Analysts say that’s bound to be a disappointment to U.S. President Donald Trump who predicted strong economic growth on day one, once he took over the White House

U.S.

White House

President

Donald Trump


Input: “Most economists believe the track for the U.S. economy for the intermediate future is going to be very familiar to what has been seen over the last number of years, and that’s somewhere between one and probably 2.5 percent on an annual basis.

U.S.


Input: The U.S. economy grew at a 2.1 percent pace in the fourth quarter of 2016

U.S.


Input: “In some years it’s been because of bad weather that kept people in their homes, keeping them from purchasing things but it’s also believed to be somewhat flawed statistically -- meaning that what’s actually happening in the economy isn’t being perfectly captured by government statistics," Hamrick tells VOA

homes

government

VOA


Input: Trump, Turnbull: US-Australian Relations Strong, Long-lasting-U.S. President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull have pledged long-term friendship between the two countries, despite rumors of strife between them stemming from a phone call earlier this year

U.S.

Australian

countries

Trump

Turnbull

President

Donald Trump

Malcolm Turnbull


Input: “We have a great relationship,” Trump told reporters after meeting with Turnbull late Thursday ahead of a dinner honoring U.S. and Australian veterans of a pivotal World War II battle

U.S.

Australian

Trump

reporters

Turnbull

veterans

meeting

Trump


Input: He called stories that he had once hung up the phone on the prime minister “a little bit of fake news, as the saying goes.

minister


Input: He says officials in Canberra will be relieved tensions caused by that testy phone call three months ago have eased

Canberra

officials


Input: “I think it did shock the Australian side quite a bit, but obviously three months on and the fact Vice President Pence and President Trump now have reaffirmed the deal, definitely will calm some nerves I think in the government," Thomas-Noone said

Australian

government

Pence

Trump

Thomas-Noone


Input: Australia’s Labor opposition leader, Bill Shorten, suggested that Turnbull had been disrespected by being forced to wait for three hours for a brief meeting with the U.S. President

U.S.

Australia’s Labor

leader

Bill Shorten

Turnbull


Input: However, many Australian commentators believe the delay was caused by understandable domestic political necessities

Australian


Input: President Trump had delayed traveling to New York for the 30 minute meeting to remain in Washington while the healthcare bill replacement passed the House of Representatives

New York

Washington

House of Representatives

Trump


Input: In remarks at the dinner, Trump said he and Turnbull had discussed “crucial issues ranging from international security to trade.

Trump

Turnbull


Input: Analysts believe the Australia-U.S. relationship has been reset following the leaders’ meeting in New York, where they discussed economic and national security concerns, as well as migration issues

New York


Input: A bilateral military alliance dates back to the early 1950s

military


Input: Late arrival to New York-Trump arrived in New York later than planned, delaying his scheduled meeting with the prime minister by several hours while he remained in Washington until the House of Representatives signed a pivotal health care bill that would replace the Affordable Care Act

New York

New York

Washington

the House of Representatives

Trump

prime minister

meeting

prime minister

arrived

Trump

New York


Input: Getting rid of the health care reform plan nicknamed Obamacare was one of Trump’s key campaign promises

Obamacare


Input: Despite the wait, the two leaders were all smiles following a short meeting after Trump arrived in New York

New York

Trump


Input: FILE - In this Jan. 28, 2017, file photo, President Donald Trump speaks on the telephone with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington

Australian

Washington

the Oval Office of the White House

Donald Trump

Malcolm Turnbull

speaks

Malcolm Turnbull


Input: This is the first face-to-face meeting between the two men since Trump abruptly ended an introductory phone call with Turnbull in February

men

Trump


Input: Trump objected to a pre-existing agreement between Washington and Canberra that the U.S. would accept some refugees currently in Australian custody

Washington

Canberra

U.S.

Australian

Trump


Input: Trump reportedly called the deal “dumb” and “the worst deal ever” before ending the call

Trump


Input: He said the two leaders had “reaffirmed the tremendous friendship” between the two countries and the “vital importance” of a continued alliance with one another

countries


Input: Turnbull later denied reports that the American president had hung up on him

American

Turnbull

president


Input: After the dinner, Trump is not expected to go to his Manhattan headquarters, Trump Tower, but instead will spend the weekend at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey

headquarters

Manhattan

Bedminster

New Jersey

Trump Tower

Trump


Input: Phil Mercer contributed to this report from Sydney, Australi

Sydney

Phil Mercer


Input: He and Trump also expressed gratitude to a handful of elderly veterans of the Battle of Coral Sea, which occurred 75 years ago this week

Coral Sea

Trump

veterans


Input: Noting that Australian and U.S. forces worked together to repel Japanese forces trying to take control of the Pacific waters near Australia, Turnbull said, “our nation’s freedom was secured by the bravery of the men on those ships

Australian

U.S.

Japanese

Australia

Pacific

forces

forces

men

ships


Input: And the men on the planes who flew through everything the enemy, and the weather, threw their way.

men

planes


Input: Turnbull concluded his remarks with a tribute to the current members of the U.S. and Australian military forces, saying, “You keep us free.

U.S.

Australian

military

Turnbull

forces


Input: Putin’s Youth Army Debuts on Red Square for ‘Victory Day’-MOSCOW — -At a night rehearsal for Russia’s annual May 9 World War II Victory Day parade in Red Square, troops practice goose-stepping while tanks, missile launchers, and other armored vehicles roll past a select audience toward St. Basil’s Cathedral

MOSCOW

Red Square

‘Victory Day’

Red Square

St. Basil’s Cathedral

Putin’s Youth Army

troops

audience

tanks

launchers

vehicles

missile

parade

Red Square

troops


Input: Russia will show off its latest hardware, new missile defense systems for Russia’s Baltic Fleet and Arctic troops, as well as debut President Vladimir Putin’s “Youth Army,” or Yunarmiya

Russia

Arctic

Youth Army

troops

Vladimir Putin’s

Fleet

missile


Input: Opposition leader Alexei Navalny called for the demonstrations after his anti-corruption group released an investigation online alleging Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was hiding enormous wealth

group

Alexei Navalny

Dmitry Medvedev


Input: Medvedev gave no initial response to the allegations, but later dismissed them as fantasy

Medvedev


Input: Despite minimal coverage in the dominant state media, tens of thousands took part and hundreds were detained in Moscow, including 20-year-old political science major David-Viktor Ratkin

state

Moscow

media

hundreds

David-Viktor Ratkin

detained

Moscow


Input: “It was rather easy to get the information if you are a user of social networks,” says Ratkin standing outside the gates of the Peoples' Friendship University

Peoples' Friendship University

Ratkin


Input: “These organizations, I mean Nashi, Young Guard, United Russia’s (branch for young people of the ruling party), now play a less significant role,” says Kolesnikov

organizations

Nashi, Young Guard

party

United Russia’s

Kolesnikov


Input: The threat of a rising protest movement in Russia has been a driving force behind the creation of patriotic programs for young people

Russia


Input: Putin ordered the creation of the military’s "patriotic" youth organization in 2015

organization

Putin


Input: Pro-Kremlin groups have been reaching out online to Russian youth with anti-Western propaganda

Russian

groups


Input: But Putin's Youth Army raises concerns that authorities are looking to militarize a generation of nationalists

Putin's Youth Army


Input: “One should certainly be on the alert about that,” says Kolesnikov

Kolesnikov


Input: “There are nationalist organizations of young people not under the auspices of the Kremlin

organizations

Kremlin


Input: Students posted videos in late March of them challenging teachers who warn pupils not to join opposition protests or complain about corruption

teachers


Input: “Young people are quite strongly indoctrinated with Putinism,” says Kolesnikov

Kolesnikov


Input: “Many young people are quite willing to support Putin in the sense that they have lived only a certain amount of years and do not remember anyone but Putin.

Putin

Putin


Input: Putin has been in power nearly 17 years and is widely expected to run for president again in 2018 with few real challengers

Putin


Input: From just 100 members a year ago, the so-called Yunarmiya Patriotic Movement has grown to more than 30,000, aged between 11 and 18

Yunarmiya Patriotic Movement


Input: Navalny announced his campaign for president in late 2016, but a Russian court ruling last week upholding an embezzlement conviction could stop him from standing for election

Russian

court

Navalny

president


Input: Navalny wants to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights

European Court of Human Rights


Input: Russian military cadets hold a giant replica of the Soviet flag as part of preparations for Victory Day, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, May 5, 2017

Russian

Soviet

Saint Petersburg

Russia

military


Input: There are concerns that by involving youth in organizations like Yunarmiya, Russian authorities are looking to militarize a new generation of nationalists

Russian

organizations

Yunarmiya


Input: Russian authorities apparently do not want to take any chances

Russian


Input: The Kremlin’s message with these annual shows of military strength is clear, Russia is prepared to defend itself and its interests

Russia

military


Input: But, introducing its so-called Youth Army at this year’s parade underscores a growing concern for the Kremlin - the need to cultivate support among a younger generation of Russians

Kremlin

Youth Army


Input: Ricardo Marquina Montanana contributed to this report

Ricardo Marquina Montanana


Input: Analysts say Yunarmiya is the Kremlin's latest effort to encourage support from Russia's next generation

Yunarmiya


Input: “The truth is that Yunarmiya (Youth Army) is a sort of preventive work

Youth Army


Input: Preventive work against involvement of young people of Russia into the protest movement,” says Carnegie Moscow Center’s Andrei Kolesnikov

Russia

Moscow

Andrei Kolesnikov


Input: Its debut comes just weeks after nationwide anti-corruption protests that had a large turnout of Russian youth

Russian


Input: Russia's military-patriotic movement Yunarmiya cadets march during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade at Red Square in Moscow, May 7, 2017

Moscow

Red Square

military

Yunarmiya


Input: Macron Says France on Brink of 'A Great Renaissance'-France’s youngest head of state since Napoleon Bonaparte presented himself as president of all the French Sunday as he was sworn into office in Paris, following in the Fifth Republic footsteps of political giants Gen. Charles De Gaulle and Jacques Chirac

France

state

French

Paris

Fifth Republic

Napoleon Bonaparte

president

Gen. Charles De Gaulle

Jacques Chirac


Input: Much is riding on the 39-year-old Emmanuel Macron, who two years ago set out on what many dismissed as a Quixotic quest — to get himself elected to the French presidency as a centrist, pro-European Union candidate on his first ever political campaign and without the support of the country’s established parties

French

parties

Emmanuel Macron

candidate


Input: President Emmanuel Macron light up the flame on the Unknown Soldier's tomb at the Arc of Triomphe after his formal inauguration ceremony as French President in Paris, May 14, 2017

French

Paris

Arc of Triomphe

Emmanuel Macron


Input: At his swearing-in ceremony, Macron, a former investment banker who served a mere two years as an appointed minister in Hollande’s government, told France his goal is to renew the Fifth Republic and to unify the French

Hollande’s

France

Fifth Republic

French

government

banker

minister


Input: “The world needs what the French have always taught

French

world


Input: For decades France has doubted herself,” he said

France


Input: The world, and Europe, need France more than ever, he added

France

world

Europe


Input: He said he would convince the people that "the power of France is not declining - that we are on the brink of a great renaissance.

France


Input: Unifying France will be a tall order

France


Input: French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Trogneux, wave to former President Francois Hollande as he leaves after the handover ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris, May 14, 2017

French

Paris

Elysee Palace

Emmanuel Macron

wife

Brigitte Trogneux

Francois Hollande

leaves

Brigitte Trogneux

Elysee Palace


Input: And four million destroyed their ballot papers as a sign of disapproval of both candidates, the largest number ever to do so in a French election

French

candidates


Input: Children walk past election campaign posters for French centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, in Osses, southwestern France, May 5, 2017

French

Osses

France

candidate

Emmanuel Macron

Marine Le Pen


Input: Movement -- renamed last week République en marche — to victory in parliamentary elections next month, or by cobbling together a center coalition

coalition


Input: Polls suggest he might be able to pull off a parliamentary victory, one as unthinkable as his presidential win, and secure, a majority in the 577-seat lower house

house


Input: Much will depend on who he names Monday as his initial prime minister

minister


Input: President-elect Emmanuel Macron is seen on a giant screen near the Louvre museum after results were announced in the second round of voting in the 2017 French presidential elections, in Paris, France, May 7, 2017

museum

French

Paris

France

Louvre

Emmanuel Macron


Input: If his party fails to win the majority of seats, the alternative would be La Cohabitation with a prime minister from an opposing political party, something the Fifth Republic has seen three times since 1958

Fifth Republic

La Cohabitation

minister


Input: Macron was greeted midmorning at the Élysée Palace by outgoing President Francois Hollande, who for many of the French exemplifies more than most of his predecessors the old saying that all political careers end in failure

French

the Élysée Palace

Macron

Francois Hollande

greeted

the Élysée Palace

Francois Hollande


Input: La Cohabitation, analysts agree, would likely spell major trouble for Macron’s highly ambitious policy program

La Cohabitation

Macron’s


Input: Macron wants to cut public spending and reorder a rigid labor market to allow businesses to hire and fire more easily, all in a bid to revive a stagnant economy

businesses


Input: One of Macron’s rivals for the presidency, the conservative Republican Francois Fillon warned during the first round of presidential voting that Macron in office would be forced to “cook up parliamentary dishes of impotence and compromises.

Republican

Francois Fillon


Input: Grubby legislative deal-making risks fueling public disillusionment with government — paving the way, some fear, for a Le Pen victory in five years time and a defeat of Macron’s aim to turn the French away from the extremes of left or right

French

government

Macron’s


Input: Meeting with Merkel-On Monday, France’s new President will endure his first rite of passage — a flight to Berlin to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel

Berlin

German

Merkel

President

Angela Merkel

Meeting

Merkel

meet

President

Berlin


Input: On his election, Merkel acknowledged the expectations many Europeans have of Macron, saying he carried “the hopes of millions of French people and also many in Germany and across Europe.

French

Germany

Europe

Merkel


Input: He’s likely to enjoy smoother relations with Merkel than Hollande

Merkel

Hollande


Input: He has been courting assiduously German leaders the past two years

German


Input: He intends to push for closer cooperation between EU members as well greater centralization of the countries in the eurozone with the creation of a budget

countries

eurozone

EU


Input: Outgoing French President Francois Hollande, center left, welcomes incoming French President Emmanuel Macron as he arrives for his inauguration ceremony at the Elysee palace in Paris, May 14, 2017

palace

French

French

Paris

Elysee

Francois Hollande

Emmanuel Macron

welcomes

Emmanuel Macron

Elysee

arrives

Emmanuel Macron


Input: But he won’t please EU federalists in Brussels by likely also arguing the bloc has to be more flexible and in the recent words of Jean Pisani-Ferry, his chief economic adviser, recognize that “the governance of the eurozone remains excessively cumbersome and technocratic.

EU

Brussels

bloc

eurozone

Jean Pisani-Ferry

adviser


Input: Macron has talked tough about Britain when it comes to Brexit, but his approach will likely be shaped by Pisani-Ferry

Britain

Pisani-Ferry


Input: In a policy paper last year for Bruegel, a think tank in Brussels, Macron’s aide argued the EU should use Brexit as a chance to shape a “Europe of two circles,” with the EU at its core and an outer circle of countries in a structured partnership

Brussels

EU

Europe

Bruegel

think tank

EU


Input: Macron has the reputation, reinforced by his election, as a man who always succeeds

Macron

man


Input: Now he has the greatest of all challenges — to fulfill objectives even grander than those outlined by Hollande at his inauguration five years ago

Hollande


Input: Just before Macron's arrival, Hollande stood on his office balcony taking one last sweeping glance from it of the palace grounds

balcony

Hollande


Input: Amid the pomp and circumstance Sunday, future challenges were half-forgotten by the crowds lining the Champs-Élysées, where at the Arc de Triomph, Macron lay flowers at the memorial to the unknown soldier Inside the Élysée's ballroom earlier, Macron was presented with the grand collier de la Légion d'honneur once owned by Napoleon I

Champs-Élysées

Arc de Triomph

Élysée's ballroom

soldier


Input: One of his supporters, Axelle Tessandier, a marketing consultant, tweeted “Émotion immense.

Axelle Tessandier

consultant


Input: Germany, Italy Push for EU Mission on Libya-Niger Border to Deter Migrants-ROME — -The interior ministers of Germany and Italy are urging the European Union to set up a mission along Libya's border with Niger in a bid to stop mainly African migrants from reaching Europe

Germany

Italy

ROME

Germany

Italy

European Union

Libya's

Niger

border

African

Europe

EU


Input: In a letter to the European Commission, the ministers say that international efforts so far to curb the migrant flow have proven insufficient

the European Commission


Input: Italy has borne the brunt of the migration crisis since Europe concluded a deal with Turkey to stem the movement of migrants and war refugees into EU countries

Italy

Turkey

Europe

EU


Input: European leaders are worried about a possible rush of newcomers, increasing the pressure on southern European states, such as Italy and Malta, but also roiling further politics on the continent and fueling anti-immigrant and far-right sentiment

states

Italy

Malta

continent

European

European


Input: A scheme to relocate asylum-seekers continues to face stiff opposition from central European countries, especially Hungary and Slovakia

countries

Hungary

Slovakia

European


Input: The ministers’ request to the European Commission envisages shifting the EU’s external border in effect to North Africa

border

North Africa

European Commission


Input: It coincides with a warning from U.N. migration officials that hundreds of migrants along sub-Saharan migration routes are being traded openly in ‘slave markets’ as well as in Libya

Libya

U.N.

officials


Input: The office of the IOM in Niger has reported: "Sub-Saharan migrants were being sold and bought by Libyans, with the support of Ghanaians and Nigerians who work for them.

Niger

Sub-Saharan

IOM


Input: FILE - Migrants sit on their belongings in the back of a truck as it is driven through a dusty road in the desert town of Agadez, Niger, headed for Libya, May 25, 2015

road

town

Agadez

Niger

Libya

desert

truck

driven

truck

Agadez

Libya


Input: How enthusiastic EU member states will be to the request to set up a mission along the Libya-Niger border will partly be colored by the reaction of European military officials, say analysts

states

border

European

EU

military

officials


Input: EU navies alongside the Italian navy have been running a joint mission called Operation Sophia at sea, intercepting smugglers’ boats and picking up migrants to transfer them to centers in Italy

Italian

Italy

centers

EU

navy

smugglers

migrants

boats

transfer

EU

migrants

Italy


Input: FILE - Migrants are disembarked from the Italian navy ship 'Vega' in the Sicilian harbour of Augusta, southern Italy, May 4, 2015

Italian

Sicilian

Augusta

Italy

navy

ship


Input: EU plans proposed in 2015 for EU military forces to be more proactive, including mounting coastal raids to destroy traffickers’ boats, fell to the wayside

EU

EU

military

forces

boats


Input: European defense chiefs were fearful of “mission’ creep” and of being drawn into the conflict in Libya pitting rival governments and militias against each other

Libya

European

militias

chiefs


Input: In a confidential memo, they warned their political superiors that plans to stop migrant-smuggling boats crossing the Mediterranean would lead inevitably to land operations in Libya and possible clashes with the Islamic State’s affiliate in the North African state

Libya

North African

state

Mediterranean

Islamic State’s

boats


Input: The memo counseling caution was leaked to WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks


Input: FILE - A boy walks past a signboard for the International Migration Organization's transit center in Agadez, Niger, May 11, 2016

center

Agadez

Niger

boy


Input: The EU already has five migrant centers located in Niger, part of an effort to vet asylum-seekers and discourage migrants from risking the crossing into Libya and the Mediterranean and putting their lives into the hands of traffickers

Niger

Libya

Mediterranean

EU


Input: One of the three governments vying for control of Libya, the internationally-recognized Government of National Accord, has said it is willing to cooperate with the Europeans, but it has no reliable forces of its own and relies on the volatile backing of some militias whose loyalty could shift unpredictably

Libya

Europeans

Government of National Accord

forces


Input: The GNA’s vice president told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Sunday, "the difficult economic situation in that [border] region pushes lots of young people to work for the traffickers.

Italian

border

region

GNA’s

Corriere della Sera

vice president


Input: FILE - Sub-Saharan migrants are rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO at the Mediterranean sea, about 20 miles north of Ra's Tajura, Libya, Jan. 12, 2017

Ra's Tajura

Libya

Sub-Saharan

Mediterranean sea

Proactiva Open Arms

NGO

members


Input: On Monday, Italian police chief Franco Gabrielli announced that ships involved in the rescue of asylum-seekers in the Mediterranean won’t be allowed to dock at any port on the island of Sicily until after a G7 summit this month in the town of Taormina

port

Italian

island

Sicily

town

Taormina

Mediterranean

police

Franco Gabrielli

ships


Input: He said the move was designed to ease the burden on police and security agencies for the two-day summit, which begins May 26

police

agencies


Input: Nearly 1,200 migrants have died at sea trying to cross the Mediterranean

Mediterranean

migrants

died

migrants

Mediterranean


Input: In their letter, which was first reported by the German weekly newspaper Welt am Sonntag, the ministers, Thomas de Maizière and Marco Minniti, said they "are convinced that we all must do more" to “prevent that hundreds of thousands of people once again risk their lives in Libya and on the Mediterranean Sea in the hands of smugglers.

German

Libya

Mediterranean Sea

Welt am Sonntag

Thomas de Maizière

Marco Minniti


Input: They called for the setting up of "an EU mission at the border between Libya and Niger as soon as possible," which could include mobile patrols and border posts as well as vetting of asylum-seekers

Libya

Niger

border

border

EU


Input: They also want for the EU to help support economic growth and development in communities along the border

border

EU


Input: "The goal is as quickly as possible to build up an EU mission on the border between Libya and Niger" to stop migrants entering war-torn Libya

Libya

Niger

Libya

border

EU


Input: FILE - Illegal migrants arrive by boat at a naval base after they were rescued by Libyan coastguard in the coastal city of Tripoli, Libya, May 10, 2017

base

Libyan

city

Tripoli

Libya

migrants

boat

arrive

boat

base


Input: Trump Presses Turkey for Release of US 'Security Risk' Pastor -The case of a U.S. pastor jailed in western Turkey since October after lawyers say the government deemed him a "security risk" has been elevated to the highest levels of U.S.-Turkey diplomacy

Turkey

US

U.S.

Turkey

government

Trump

Risk' Pastor

pastor

jailed

pastor

Turkey


Input: The White House and the legal team for American Protestant missionary Andrew Brunson said U.S. President Donald Trump raised concerns about his detention during meetings with his Turkish counterpart this week

American

U.S.

Turkish

White House

team

Andrew Brunson

President

Donald Trump

counterpart

meetings

Donald Trump


Input: Gulen, a moderate Islamic preacher and Turkish citizen who lives in Pennsylvania legally, is accused by the Turkish government to be the mastermind behind the July 15 coup attempt

Turkish

Pennsylvania

Turkish

government

Gulen

citizen


Input: Turkey has been seeking Gulen's extradition

Turkey


Input: Tens of thousands of Turks have been arrested, suspended or fired from their jobs under a state of emergency imposed by the government following that failed coup attempt

state

government

Turks

arrested

Turks

government


Input: Christian groups in Turkey told VOA they are being targeted by the conservative Muslim-dominated government

Turkey

groups

VOA

government


Input: Officials in Ankara have not responded to several VOA requests for comment in Brunson's case

Ankara

VOA


Input: Appeal to Trump-Through his attorneys, Brunson in March appealed to Trump for help

Trump

attorneys

Brunson

Trump


Input: "Will the Turkish government face no consequence for stubbornly continuing to hold an American citizen as a political prisoner?

Turkish

American

government

prisoner


Input: "I appeal to President Trump: please help me

Trump


Input: Let the Turkish government know that you will not cooperate with them in any way until they release me

Turkish

government


Input: Please do not leave me here in prison.

prison


Input: ACLJ counsel met with Trump last week on behalf of Brunson

ACLJ

counsel

Trump

met

Trump


Input: Jordan Sekulow, ACLJ executive director, told VOA on Wednesday that Brunson's case was brought up "three times" during Tuesday's U.S.-Turkey meeting — "twice by the president and once by the Vice President [Mike] Pence," he said

ACLJ

VOA

Jordan Sekulow

director

Brunson's

president

[Mike] Pence


Input: Brunson's supporters don't know how Erdogan responded or will respond to the U.S. demand, Sekulow said

U.S.

Sekulow

Erdogan


Input: "President Trump is actively engaged with this issue," he said

Trump


Input: This is not over until Andrew Brunson is free.

Andrew Brunson


Input: Bulent Aliriza, the director of the Turkey Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told VOA that it would be a diplomatic success for Trump if Brunson is released

Turkey Project

Center for Strategic and International Studies

VOA

Bulent Aliriza

director

Trump

Brunson


Input: "This shows that for Trump, this is an important issue," he said, adding that it plays to evangelical voters who backed Trump in November

Trump

voters

Trump


Input: Authorities and representatives of the Protestant Christian community in Turkey say Brunson, who has been a Protestant missionary in Turkey for more than 20 years, is being held at an Izmir detention facility in isolation

facility

Turkey

Turkey

Izmir


Input: But Turkish analyst Metehan Demir said that given the U.S. stance of not acting on Turkey's request for Gulen's extradition, it could be a long time until Brunson is released

Turkish

U.S.

analyst

Metehan Demir


Input: The pastor's wife said she remains optimistic

wife


Input: "I am grateful that you are praying and I have heard of some who are fasting," Norine Brunson said in a web post late Tuesday

Norine Brunson


Input: Pray for peace for Andrew and for me.

Andrew


Input: He and his wife, Norine Brunson, who led the Protestant Resurrection Church in the city of Izmir, were detained October 7, Turkish officials confirmed to VOA

city

Izmir

Turkish

Protestant Resurrection Church

VOA

wife

Norine Brunson

officials

detained

Norine Brunson


Input: Norine Brunson was released October 20 and has since pursued her husband's freedom

Norine Brunson


Input: Alleged ties to Gulen-In a statement to the United Nations on May 15, the legal Christian advocacy group, American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), said Brunson was told that he was being detained as a "national security risk.

United Nations

group

American Center for Law and Justice

ACLJ

Brunson

detained

Brunson


Input: His "detention appears to be related to his work as a Christian minister," the statement said

minister


Input: Brunson was charged in December with belonging to what the Turkish government calls the Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organization (FETO)

Turkish

government

Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organization

FETO

Brunson


Input: Crackdowns Have Indonesian Gay Community on Edge-JAKARTA — -A string of high-profile crackdowns on gay rights in Indonesia has the country’s LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community on edge

Indonesian

JAKARTA

Indonesia


Input: There were several high profile raids of saunas and "sex parties" this month, including one in Jakarta where 141 men were arrested

Jakarta

men

arrested

Jakarta

men


Input: FILE - Two men convicted of gay sex, center, are surrounded as Shariah law officials escort them to a mosque to be publicly caned in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia, May 23, 2017

mosque

Banda Aceh

Aceh province

Indonesia

men

officials

escort

men

officials

Banda Aceh


Input: With regards to the raids on sex clubs in Jakarta and Surabaya, Oetomo said, “police usually know what’s going on

Jakarta

Surabaya


Input: Last week in Bandung, the capital of West Java, provincial police chief Charliyan told reporters that LGBT people suffered a "disease of the body and soul.

Bandung

capital

West Java

police

Charliyan

reporters


Input: But a spokesman for the national police, Setyo Wasisto, said there were no plans to scale up the West Java task force on a national level

West Java

police

spokesman

Setyo Wasisto


Input: “The duty of the police to enforce the rules and laws so that everyone has the same rights,” said Yuli Rustinawati, chair of the LGBT activist group Arus Pelangi

police

LGBT

group

Yuli Rustinawati

Arus Pelangi


Input: Last week, a gay couple was publicly caned in conservative Aceh province, in the first-ever application of a 2015 sharia statute against homosexuality

Aceh province


Input: He denounced discrimination against gay Indonesians after asserting that “in Indonesia, beliefs [generally] do not allow [homosexuality], Islam does not allow it.

Indonesia

Indonesians


Input: FILE - Indonesian president-elect Joko Widodo gestures as he speaks to his supporters during a gathering in Jakarta

Indonesian

Jakarta

president-elect

Joko Widodo


Input: Gay rights are an uncomfortable topic in Indonesian public life, said Oetomo

Indonesian


Input: “There is no advocacy at the highest level in Jakarta

Jakarta


Input: My sense is that if the rights of governors and chief of police are willing to do something, they’ll do it quietly.

police


Input: The spike in anti-LGBT attacks follows the rising profile of one of the most virulent anti-gay voices in Indonesia, the Islamic Defenders’ Front (FPI), the hardline group that organized the rallies against Jakarta’s governor last year

Indonesia

Islamic Defenders’ Front

FPI

group

governor

rallies

Indonesia

FPI


Input: FPI-associated vigilantes filmed the gay couple who was caned in Aceh, and FPI has promised to “help” Indonesian police conduct further raids like the ones in Jakarta and Surabaya

Aceh

Indonesian

Jakarta

Surabaya

FPI

police


Input: But a sexting scandal involving its leader, Habib Rizieq Shihab, degrades some of the authority by which FPI has unofficially acted as Indonesia’s morality police since its founding in 1998

FPI

police

leader

Habib Rizieq Shihab


Input: And in West Java, Indonesia’s most populous province, officials have announced the creation of an anti-LGBT "task force.

West Java

Indonesia’s

officials


Input: FILE - In this Nov. 11, 2016 photo, contestants wait backstage during the Miss Transgender Indonesia pageant in Jakarta, Indonesia

Indonesia

Jakarta

Indonesia


Input: It hasn’t always been so in Indonesia

Indonesia


Input: Transgender people, including the waria “third-gender” people, have long been a part of Indonesian societies

Indonesian


Input: One Sulawesi group, the Bugis people, historically recognize five genders

group


Input: The worst development for LGBT rights, meanwhile, is still on the table: a Constitutional Court petition banning homosexual acts between consenting adults

Constitutional Court


Input: In the same week that Taiwan became the first Asian country to move towards formal recognition of same-sex marriage, the proposed anti-gay ban is a sobering prospect for Indonesia’s LGBT community

Taiwan

country

Asian


Input: The last two years have borne witness to unprecedented attacks on LGBT citizens in Indonesia, where gay sex is not illegal, except in Aceh

Indonesia

Aceh

LGBT citizens

attacks

Indonesia


Input: Jakarta is controlled by the central government

Jakarta

government


Input: Last year, there was an acute “gay panic” where, among other things, a transgender boarding school was shut down, a former minister called on the public to kill gay people, and the Vice President personally attacked a UN program focused on LGBT rights

school

UN

minister


Input: And the issue is impossible to disentangle from the overall rise in intolerance towards minorities that was exemplified by the racially charged campaign that unseated Jakarta’s Chinese-Christian governor last month

governor


Input: Verbatim: Ex-FBI Chief Comey's Recollection of Conversations With President -WASHINGTON — -Former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey was leading the agency's investigation of Russian interference in last year's U.S. presidential election when President Donald Trump, frustrated by the ongoing probe, fired him last month

WASHINGTON

Russian

U.S.

Conversations With

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Comey's Recollection

James Comey

Donald Trump


Input: On Thursday, Comey is testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee, one of several congressional panels probing possible collusion between Trump campaign aides and Russian officials, about his conversations with Trump over the past several months

Russian

Senate Intelligence Committee

Comey

Trump

officials

Trump


Input: "A few moments later, the president said, "I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.

president


Input: FILE - Then-White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, center, arrives at the White House in Washington, Feb. 13, 2017

Washington

White House

Michael Flynn


Input: From a Feb. 14 meeting with Trump in the Oval Office at the White House

Oval Office

White House

Trump

meeting

Trump

Oval Office


Input: Trump had fired National Security Advisor Michael Flynn the day before

Trump

Michael Flynn


Input: "The president then returned to the topic of Mike Flynn, saying, 'He is a good guy and has been through a lot.

president

Mike Flynn

guy


Input: He repeated that Flynn hadn't done anything wrong on his calls with the Russians but had misled the vice president

Flynn

president


Input: He then said, 'I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go

Flynn


Input: Here are several excerpts about Comey's recollections, from his expected opening statement to the Senate panel

Senate


Input: I replied only that 'he is a good guy.

guy


Input: "I had understood the president to be requesting that we drop any investigation of Flynn in connection with false statements about his conversations with the Russian ambassador in December

Russian

president

Flynn

ambassador


Input: I did not understand the president to be talking about the broader investigation into Russia or possible links to his campaign

Russia

president


Input: Regardless, it was very concerning given the FBI's role as an independent investigative agency.

agency


Input: "On the morning of March 30, the president called me at the FBI

FBI

president

called

FBI


Input: President Donald Trump, third from right, and first lady Melania Trump, hidden at left, sit down to dinner with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, third from left, and his wife Akie Abe, right, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Feb. 10, 2017

Japanese

Mar-a-Lago

Palm Beach

Florida

Donald Trump

Melania Trump

Shinzo Abe

wife

Akie Abe

dinner

Akie Abe

Mar-a-Lago


Input: He described the Russia investigation as 'a cloud' that was impairing his ability to act on behalf of the country

Russia

country


Input: He said he had nothing to do with Russia, had not been involved with hookers in Russia, and had always assumed he was being recorded when in Russia

Russia

Russia

Russia


Input: From a one-on-one Jan. 27 dinner with Trump at the White House

White House

Trump


Input: "I replied that I loved my work and intended to stay and serve out my 10-year term as director

director


Input: I added that I was not on anybody's side politically and could not be counted on in the traditional political sense, a stance I said was in his best interest as the president

president


Input: Pen Pal Program Connects US Students with Refugee Camp in Kenya-NAIROBI — -Fifth grade students at High Peaks Elementary School in Boulder, Colorado began exchanging letters several months ago with students at a primary school in Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camp

school

US

Kenya

NAIROBI

Boulder

Colorado

Refugee Camp

High Peaks Elementary School

Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camp

students

students


Input: They are participating in a pen pal program facilitated by the U.S.-based humanitarian group CARE

group

CARE


Input: It has also helped middle school students in New York correspond with Afghan refugees in Greece and displaced families in Yemen, and elementary school students in Atlanta to exchange letters with South Sudanese refugees in Uganda

New York

Afghan

Greece

Yemen

Atlanta

Sudanese

Uganda

school

school

students

refugees

families

students

correspond

students

Greece


Input: “Now too with the numbers of refugees and displaced people just continuing to go up every year, there also seems to be a sense of fear around the world and what we wanted to do with this project, this Letters of Hope project, is really connect people around the world, and show the common humanity that exists, and we think, what better way to do that than to connect children,” said CARE emergency communications manager Holly Frew

world

world

Letters of Hope project

CARE

manager

Holly Frew


Input: A sentiment with which Fink agrees

Fink


Input: "I hope the kids learned that regardless of what the situation is, that you can do something, that you can have a voice,” he said

kids


Input: Students and their teacher show temporary tattoos they wear made from the drawing of a letter from Safiyo Noor Hassan, a student in Dadaab Refugee Camp

Dadaab Refugee Camp

teacher

Safiyo Noor Hassan

student


Input: The students have also exchanged drawings and even challenged each other to a dance-off, sending each other recorded videos

students


Input: From left, Feisal Saney Zuber, Elisa Elisama Mangu, Safiyo Noor Hassan and Stella Poni Vuni are students at Illeys Elementary School who wrote letters to fifth grade students at High Peaks Elementary School in Boulder, Colorado

Boulder

Colorado

High Peaks Elementary School

Illeys Elementary School

Feisal Saney Zuber

Elisa Elisama Mangu

Safiyo Noor Hassan

Stella Poni Vuni

students

students

wrote

students

Boulder


Input: Dadaab Primary School teacher Victor Ochien’g Odera says that the letter writing project is providing a valuable cross-cultural exchange

Dadaab Primary School

teacher

Victor Ochien’g Odera


Input: A student, Blake Mechels, writes a letter to student Elisa, of Dadaab Refugee Camp

Dadaab Refugee Camp

student

Blake Mechels

Elisa


Input: Fifth graders at High Peaks Elementary School participate in a Letters of Hope project in Boulder, Colorado

Boulder

Colorado

High Peaks Elementary School

Letters of Hope


Input: US Sees Russia's 'Humanitarian Center' in Serbia as Spy Outpost -The United States has expressed concern about a disaster relief center Russia is operating in Serbia, which some Western groups and military analysts see as a subtly disguised military base set up by the Kremlin to spy on U.S. interests in the Balkans

base

US

Serbia

United States

Russia

Serbia

U.S.

Western

Kremlin

Balkans

groups

military

military

'Humanitarian Center'

analysts


Input: The U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, Hoyt Brian Yee, discussed "the so-called humanitarian center" in Serbia recently with lawmakers on Capitol Hill

U.S.

state

Serbia

European

Capitol Hill

secretary

Brian Yee


Input: International troops stationed in Kosovo include 600 Americans

Kosovo

troops


Input: The concerns about the Russian installation in Serbia is that it could become an outpost for Kremlin spies and, in effect, a command center for Russia's disruptive response to EU enlargement and NATO's expansion in the region

outpost

Russian

Serbia

region

Kremlin

EU


Input: Russia has always supported Serbia's refusal to recognize Kosovo as a sovereign state

Russia

Kosovo

state