Input: “Yes, Donald Trump is president, but he still needs to protect everybody's rights,” said Chasin, a Democrat

Donald Trump

president

Chasin


Input: As he completed the oath, the room broke into a standing ovation complete with high-five celebrations

room


Input: “I was expecting him to win,” said businessman David Pattinson

businessman

David Pattinson


Input: In Moscow, Russians hoping Trump will usher in a new era of detente welcomed his inauguration

Moscow

Trump


Input: Russian nationalists held an all-night party at what used to be the main Soviet-era post office in Moscow

Russian

Moscow


Input: FILE - Painted matryoshka dolls, or Russian nesting dolls, bearing the faces of then-U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are displayed at a souvenir shop in central Moscow, Russia, Nov. 7, 2016

Russian

Russian

Moscow

Russia

Donald Trump

Vladimir Putin


Input: Sellers of traditional matryoshka nesting dolls have added Trump dolls to their popular lineup of items carved in the likeness of President Vladimir Putin, Bolshevik revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, ex-President Mikhail Gorbachev and Josef Stalin

Bolshevik

Trump

Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Lenin

Mikhail Gorbachev

Josef Stalin


Input: And craftsmen in the city of Zlatoust, east of Moscow, have released a limited series of silver and gold commemorative coins, engraved with “In Trump We Trust” — an allusion to the phrase on U.S. banknotes “In God We Trust.

city

Zlatoust

Moscow

U.S.

Trump


Input: In Nigeria, more than a thousand supporters of a southern secessionist movement took to the streets to welcome Trump, hoping he will end what they see as the “Islamization” of the West African nation

streets

Nigeria

nation

West African

Trump


Input: Campaigners hold a banner reading "Build Bridges Not Walls" from Tower Bridge in London to protest Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. president, Jan. 20, 2017

London

U.S.

Tower Bridge

Campaigners

Donald Trump's

president

protest

Tower Bridge


Input: In the Scottish capital, banners on Edinburgh's North Bridge read “Women rise up” and “There is no Planet B” — a reference to Trump's perceived lack of interest in combating climate change

Scottish

capital

Edinburgh's

North Bridge

banners

North Bridge


Input: Later, after the inauguration ceremony, several hundred people gathered outside the U.S. embassy in London, chanting and singing protest songs

U.S. embassy

London

people

gathered

London


Input: “I'm deeply, deeply saddened and embarrassed,” said one of them, Kim Grey, 40, from Texas

Texas

Kim Grey


Input: “I'm here because I think the majority of Americans who didn't vote for him need to see the solidarity around the world ... that he's unfit, he's unacceptable.

world


Input: Trump opponents were angered by his comments during last year's election campaign about women, illegal immigrants and Muslims, and his pledges to build a wall on the Mexican border

Mexican

border

Trump

women

immigrants


Input: Women’s March Fills Washington, Cities Around US, World -On Donald Trump’s first full day in office, hundreds of thousands of protesters descended on Washington for the Women’s March in a display of popular opposition to the new administration and its policies

Washington

US

Washington

administration

Donald Trump’s

protesters

Washington


Input: Sister marches were held in more than 600 locations Saturday in the U.S. and across the globe in solidarity with the marchers in Washington

U.S.

Washington

globe

marches

Washington


Input: Other celebrities who appeared onstage to cheer on the demonstrators included songwriter Alicia Keyes, actor Scarlett Johansson and R&B artist Maxwell

R&B

celebrities

Alicia Keyes

actor

Scarlett Johansson

Maxwell


Input: 'Rights are what matters'-Republican Martha Ehrmann Conte joined the march because she says Trump does not represent her values or the values of the Republican Party, which she joined 35 years ago

Republican

the Republican Party

Martha Ehrmann Conte

Trump

march

Martha Ehrmann Conte


Input: “(Republicans) only differ in the ‘how’ of achieving many of the same objectives,” she told VOA

Republicans

VOA


Input: “Trump doesn’t represent Republicans

Republicans

Trump


Input: Rashmi Misra made the trip to the capital from New York with her 3-year-old daughter as well as her brother, nephew and husband

capital

New York

Rashmi Misra

daughter

brother

nephew

husband

trip

capital

New York

husband


Input: Like the demonstration in the U.S. capital, many of the global protests were sparked by concern about women’s rights, civil rights and environmental issues as Trump begins his term

U.S.

capital

global

Trump

protests

capital


Input: “I just want my daughter to understand that she can’t just think of herself as an individual but think of everybody — think about peace and love.

daughter


Input: Marches across US-A crowd of more than 150,000 in Chicago — seven times as large as had been expected — meant that a planned march was turned into a rally

US

Chicago

crowd

rally

crowd

Chicago


Input: Another crowd gathered in Los Angeles, and in New York, tens of thousands of people flooded the upscale shopping district along Fifth Avenue, heading toward Trump Tower, the president’s home and base of operations before he moved into the White House Friday

home

base

Los Angeles

New York

Fifth Avenue

Trump Tower

White House

crowd

people

gathered

crowd

New York

heading

Fifth Avenue

Trump Tower


Input: St. Paul, Minnesota, and Boston were two other cities where crowds of more than 50,000 people were reported

Paul

Minnesota

Boston

cities


Input: Tens of thousands of protesters gathered at a rally in Oakland, California

Oakland

California

protesters

rally

protesters

Oakland


Input: “I’m here because I’m very concerned about Trump and all the changes he and his cronies say they will do right away,” said Jen Tellier from Alameda, California

Alameda

California

Trump

Jen Tellier


Input: “This is threatening to Medicare, Social Security, the environment, education

Medicare

Social Security


Input: View of the Women's March on Washington from the roof of the Voice of America building in Washington, D.C. January 21, 2017 (B. Allen / VOA)-Crowd too big to march-Organizers of the Women’s March in Washington had planned for a rally near the U.S. Capitol, to be followed by a march to the White House, more than 2 kilometers away, past many of Washington’s historic sights

building

Washington

Washington, D.C.

Washington

U.S. Capitol

White House

Voice of America

VOA

Organizers

March

Washington

March

Washington

rally

Organizers

U.S. Capitol

march

White House


Input: The march formed part of a worldwide day of action following the inauguration of Donald Trump to U.S. President

U.S.

Donald Trump


Input: Marches around globe-Elsewhere, Cape Town, South Africa, participated with a gathering in the city’s Gardens neighborhood for what was billed as the Sister’s March Against Trump

Cape Town

South Africa

neighborhood

Trump

gathering

Cape Town


Input: “There’s no difference between women who are in the U.S. and here,” Rachael Mwikali, who helped organize a march in Nairobi, told the Reuters news service

U.S.

Nairobi

Reuters

Rachael Mwikali


Input: In Japan, hundreds of mostly American expatriates marched through Tokyo neighborhoods, chanting slogans and carrying signs advocating love and compassion

Japan

American

Tokyo

expatriates

marched

Tokyo


Input: In Australia, thousands of protesters marched past the American consulate in Sydney to challenge what rally organizers called the “hateful rhetoric” of the new U.S. president, accusing Trump of “normalizing sexism and racism.

consulate

Australia

American

Sydney

U.S.

protesters

president

Trump

marched

Australia

protesters


Input: An estimated 80,000 people rallied in London at the American embassy and marched to Trafalgar Square

embassy

London

American

Trafalgar Square

people

rallied

people

London

marched

people

Trafalgar Square


Input: In Berlin women held posters in front of the Brandenburg Gate in one of seven rallies across Germany

Berlin

Germany

Brandenburg Gate

women

rallies

Berlin

women


Input: Protests were held in several other European cities, including Paris, Budapest, Amsterdam and The Hague

Paris

Budapest

Amsterdam

The Hague

European

Protests

The Hague


Input: March in Antarctica-In Antarctica, a small group of tourists and scientists marched at one of their landings at Paradise Bay holding signs that said “Penguins for Peace” and “Seals for Science.

Antarctica

Antarctica

Paradise Bay

group

Seals for Science

marched

Antarctica


Input: A young boy looks on the Women’s March rally crowd from a tree in Washington, D.C., Jan. 21, 2017

Washington, D.C.

boy

March

Washington, D.C.


Input: (E. Sarai/VOA)-Many of the women marching in Washington and other cities wore knitted pink “pussycat” hats, featuring small cat-like ears, to show their solidarity with the anti-Trump sentiments and make an oblique reference to vulgar comments Trump made years before he entered politics

Washington

women

Trump

marching

women

Washington


Input: Most of the planned march route along Independence Avenue was filled from curb to curb with people, hours before the march was to begin

Independence Avenue

march

Independence Avenue


Input: Peter Newsham, Washington’s interim police chief, said, “The crowd stretches so far that there’s no room left to march.

police

Peter Newsham

chief


Input: Singer Alicia Keys at the Women's March in Washington, D.C., Jan. 21, 2017

Washington, D.C.

Alicia Keys

March

Alicia Keys

Washington, D.C.


Input: Madonna won huge cheers from the crowd in Washington when she unexpectedly appeared near the end of an hours-long rally near the U.S. Capitol

Washington

U.S. Capitol

Madonna


Input: Trump, Saudi King Agree to Back Safe Zones in Syria and Yemen-WHITE HOUSE — -The White House says President Donald Trump and Saudi King Salman bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud have agreed to back safe zones in Syria and Yemen

Saudi

Syria

Yemen

Saudi

Syria

Yemen

White House

Trump

Donald Trump

Salman bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud


Input: The two spoke by telephone Sunday, reaffirming the longstanding relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia

United States

Saudi Arabia

two


Input: Neither side mentioned U.S.-imposed sanctions on Russia, or the possibility they could be eased

Russia


Input: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Jan. 28, 2017

phone

U.S.

Russia's

Washington

Oval Office

White House

President

Donald Trump

Vladimir Putin

speaks

Vladimir Putin

Washington


Input: A Kremlin statement said Putin and Trump "thoroughly discussed" international issues, "including the fight against terrorism, the situation in the Middle East, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the sphere of strategic stability and nonproliferation, the situation around the Iranian nuclear program and the Korean Peninsula.

Iranian

Middle East

Korean Peninsula

Kremlin

Putin

Trump


Input: The talks also "touched upon ... the main aspects of the crisis in Ukraine," Moscow's statement said, adding: "It was agreed to establish a partnership on all these and other areas.

Ukraine


Input: A White House statement said Trump asked for the king's support for safe zones, and that the king agreed

White House

Trump

king


Input: They also said they will support what the White House called "other ideas" to help refugees driven from their homes because of war, and the "importance of rigorously enforcing" the nuclear deal with Iran, which Trump has fiercely criticized as a bad deal

Iran

White House

Trump


Input: Trump spent the last two days reaching out by telephone to a number of world leaders

telephone

Trump

leaders

reaching

Trump


Input: He also was to talk Sunday with the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed, and acting South Korean President Hwang Kyo-Ahn

United Arab Emirates

South Korean

Mohammed bin Zayed

Hwang Kyo-Ahn


Input: He spoke Saturday to Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull

German

French

Australian

Shinzo Abe

Angela Merkel

Francois Hollande

Malcolm Turnbull


Input: German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers a speech at a local meeting of her Christian Democrats in Grimmen, northern Germany, Jan. 28, 2017

German

Grimmen

Germany

Christian Democrats

Angela Merkel

meeting

Angela Merkel

Germany


Input: In a much anticipated call, Trump also spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, agreeing to cooperate in defeating Islamic State and work for peace in Syria and throughout the world

Russian

Syria

world

Islamic State

Trump

Vladimir Putin

spoke

Vladimir Putin


Input: The White House said the hour-long call was "positive," and that it was "a significant start to improving the relationship" between Washington and Moscow, which has been badly strained in recent months, primarily over allegations that Russia interfered in the November presidential election

Washington

Moscow

Russia

White House


Input: This Day in History: ‘Father’ of India Assassinated Nearly 80 Years Ago  -On January 30, 1948, a Hindu extremist waited quietly in Biria House gardens in New Delhi, India, where the ‘Mahatma’ was scheduled to lead early evening prayers

India

New Delhi

India

Biria House


Input: Moments after the revered activist was escorted through a crowd, the assassin walked towards Gandhi and, at a range of just one meter, fired his gun three times, killing the man who led India’s historic revolt against British rule

British

activist

assassin

Gandhi

man

gun

killing

Gandhi

gun


Input: Gandhi was deeply opposed to partition

Gandhi


Input: Gandhi’s non-violent campaign of civil disobedience became a model that influenced other famed activists around the world, most notably Martin Luther King Jr., who led the movement to end racial segregation in the United States

United States

world

Martin Luther King Jr.


Input: His life also inspired the 1982 Hollywood movie Gandhi, starring Ben Kingsley

Hollywood

Gandhi

Ben Kingsley


Input: His voice choked with emotion, Nehru said “ the light has gone out of our lives; there is darkness everywhere.

Nehru


Input: Mahatma Gandhi, who eventually led India to its independence, laughs with the man who was to be the nation's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, at the All-India Congress committee meeting in Bombay, India, on July 6, 1946

India

Bombay

India

committee

Mahatma Gandhi

man

minister

Jawaharlal Nehru

meeting

Jawaharlal Nehru

India


Input: The fight for independence from Britain had been won in 1947

Britain


Input: But partition - the movement to carve out a separate Muslim state - took hold, and when the British withdrew, two separate states - Pakistan and India - were born amid a deadly campaign between Muslims and Hindus

state

British

states

Pakistan

India


Input: An East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) soldier uses a field telephone in a bunker as another soldier peers inside, near Jessore, East Pakistan, Dec. 3, 1971

bunker

East Pakistan

Bangladesh

Jessore

East Pakistan

soldier

soldier


Input: The Pakistani soldiers had been shelled by Indian artillery

Pakistani

Indian

soldiers

artillery

shelled

soldiers

artillery


Input: Trump-Putin Phone Call: 'A Toe in the Water'-MOSCOW — -Saturday's phone conversation between presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin has raised the hopes of many Russian politicians for a U.S.-Russian rapprochement

phone

MOSCOW

Russian

Donald Trump

Vladimir Putin

conversation

Vladimir Putin


Input: But other observers in Moscow remain more cautious about the prospects for bilateral relations in the Trump era

Moscow

observers

Trump


Input: Slutsky also said he believes that references to economic issues in the conversation between Trump and Putin were a "positive signal for investors and, in general, for the prospects of mending relations between our countries.

countries

Slutsky

Trump

Putin

investors


Input: "For tactical reasons, it was premature to raise the issue of lifting the sanctions in the first conversation," Mikhail Emelyanov, deputy head of the Just Russia party's faction in the Duma, told the Interfax news agency

Russia

Duma

Interfax

agency

Mikhail Emelyanov


Input: While it is no surprise that leading Russian politicians spoke approvingly of the Trump-Putin phone conversation, some Russian foreign policy experts say it is premature to make favorable forecasts about the future of U.S.-Russian relations

phone

Russian

Russian


Input: "It seems to me that neither Putin nor Trump knows what constitutes the crux of the matter in our relations with America," Viktor Kremeniuk, deputy director of the Institute for U.S. and Canadian Studies, told VOA's Russian service

America

Russian

Institute for U.S. and Canadian Studies

Putin

Trump

Viktor Kremeniuk

director


Input: "The fact that we will necessarily cooperate in the fight against ISIS helps us find some common ground

ISIS

fight

ISIS


Input: But, in my opinion, it doesn't go beyond that, neither with the Americans, nor with us

Americans


Input: "Trump probably wants expand cooperation with Russia," Kremeniuk added

Russia

Trump


Input: According to the White House, the two leaders discussed topics ranging from "cooperation in defeating ISIS [Islamic State]to efforts in working together to achieve more peace throughout the world including Syria," in a phone call that was "a significant start to improving the relationship between the United States and Russia that is in need of repair.

Syria

United States

Russia

world

White House

ISIS

Islamic State


Input: "But I'm not sure that he has a program for such an expansion, and I'm not sure that what he can offer will appeal to Putin.

Putin


Input: Thorny issues remain-Thorny issues like the annexation of Crimea and war in eastern Ukraine are unlikely to continue to "color" the U.S.-Russian relationship, he said, adding that he believes the Trump administration is willing to soften the U.S. position on Crimea

Ukraine

U.S.

Crimea

Crimea

administration

Trump

war

Ukraine


Input: Andrei Kolesnikov of the Carnegie Moscow Center told VOA's Russian service it is no accident the issue of lifting sanctions was not discussed in the two leaders' phone call

Russian

Carnegie Moscow Center

Andrei Kolesnikov


Input: "The conversation took place amid rumors that Trump had already prepared a draft document on lifting the sanctions, and everyone understandably got worked up, because he was showing that he is strictly carrying out his agenda, from a wall with Mexico to anti-immigrant legislation," he said

Mexico

Trump


Input: "But, apparently, it is precisely with this issue — the issue of lifting sanctions against Russia — that something needs to be coordinated with partners from the EU and the U.K. in general, with partners in the Western world.

Russia

U.K.

Western

world

EU


Input: He added, "Apparently, [British Prime Minister] Theresa May is not thrilled with this idea, and the EU is clearly strongly against it

British

EU

Theresa May


Input: Perhaps Trump decided to back off a little bit in this matter, although in the Kremlin's press release there is a phrase, very vague, about the importance of establishing mutually beneficial trade and economic ties.

Trump


Input: According to the Kremlin, the two presidents agreed to issue instructions to work out the possible date and venue for a face-to-face meeting

Kremlin


Input: "There was apparently nothing extraordinary in this conversation," Kolesnikov said

Kolesnikov


Input: The Kremlin said the two presidents "expressed their readiness to make active joint efforts to stabilize and develop Russia-U.S. cooperation on a constructive, equitable and mutually beneficial basis.

Kremlin


Input: FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin reads papers during a meeting in the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 16, 2017

Russian

Moscow

Russia

Kremlin

Vladimir Putin

meeting

Vladimir Putin

Russia


Input: It also said they discussed the fight against terrorism, the Middle East, the Arab-Israeli conflict, strategic stability and non-proliferation, Iran's nuclear program, the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and "the main aspects of the Ukrainian crisis.

Ukrainian

Middle East

Korean Peninsula

terrorism


Input: Trump and Putin called for "real coordination of actions" aimed at "defeating ISIS and other terrorist groups in Syria," and "stressed the importance of rebuilding mutually beneficial trade and economic ties between the two counties' business communities," the Kremlin reported

Syria

communities

Kremlin

ISIS

groups

Trump

Putin


Input: Anti-IS coalition-Following the call, Leonid Slutsky, head of the international affairs committee of the State Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, said he expects Washington and Moscow to forge a joint fight against Islamic State

Washington

Moscow

committee

State Duma

Russia's parliament

parliament

Islamic State

Leonid Slutsky

fight

Moscow

Islamic State

call

Leonid Slutsky


Input: "The next step, I am sure, will be negotiations to create a broad anti-terrorist coalition in Syria, the formation of which the Russian president called for in 2015 from the rostrum of the U.N. General Assembly," Slutsky said

coalition

Syria

Russian

U.N. General Assembly

president


Input: FILE - Traditional Russian wooden dolls depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are displayed for sale at a street souvenir shop in St. Petersburg, Russia, Jan. 20, 2017

street

shop

Russian

U.S.

Russian

St. Petersburg

Russia

Donald Trump

Vladimir Putin


Input: Israeli Forces Work to Clear West Bank Settlement-Israeli security forces continued working Thursday to clear the last remaining people from an illegal Jewish settlement in the West Bank

Israeli

West Bank

forces


Input: The operation to clear the Amona outpost began Wednesday with police confronting hundreds of residents and protesters who set up barricades and threw stones at officers

outpost

Amona outpost

police

residents

protesters

officers


Input: As Amona's uprooted residents and their supporters bemoaned their fate, Arabs in a neighboring Palestinian village clapped and shook hands

Palestinian

village


Input: Ibrahim Yakoob, 56, a Palestinian farmer who is part owner of the land that Amona occupied, told reporters: "It feels great to see settlers being taken off my land and their caravans removed

Palestinian

Amona

Ibrahim Yakoob

farmer

reporters


Input: The court has done a good thing, although it has taken a long time.

court


Input: Israel's Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that the Amona settlement had been built on private Palestinian land and would have to be demolished, over the objections of ultraconservative Israeli officials who fought to reverse the ruling

Palestinian

Israeli

Amona settlement

Israel's Supreme Court

officials


Input: Built in the 1990s, Amona stretches out over a rugged, grassy hilltop and looks out across a valley onto Palestinian villages

Palestinian

villages

hilltop

valley


Input: Palestinians say Jewish settlements on land they want as part of a future state are a major impediment to peace

settlements

state


Input: Israel says the Palestinians' refusal to recognize the Jewish state is blocking Mideast peace

Israel

state

Mideast


Input: Settlers burn tires outside the Amona outpost in the West Bank, Feb. 1, 2017

outpost

Amona

West Bank


Input: The military issued eviction orders the day before, telling residents to evacuate Amona within 48 hours and blocked roads leading to the outpost

outpost

Amona

military


Input: Angry protesters and settlers yelled at the police that “Jews don’t expel Jews.

police

protesters

settlers

yelled

police


Input: Israel was furious when the United States, under former President Barack Obama, abstained instead of vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution in December calling the settlements illegal and demanding that Israel stop building them

Israel

United States

settlements

Israel

U.N. Security Council

Barack Obama


Input: The new Trump White House has so far been silent on Israeli settlement construction, but Jewish settlers told reporters Wednesday that they expected the new U.S. administration would not stand in the way of a new wave of settlements in the West Bank

Israeli

U.S.

settlements

West Bank

White House

administration

Trump

settlers

reporters


Input: Settler families leave their homes in the West Bank outpost of Amona, Feb. 1, 2017

homes

outpost

West Bank

Amona

families

leave

families

Amona


Input: Israeli forces have begun evacuating the controversial settlement, which is the largest of about 100 outposts erected in the West Bank without permission

Israeli

West Bank

forces

evacuating

forces


Input: "After eight years of Obama, who didn't let us build, now we'll say, 'We will build and build,' " said Shilo Adler, who heads the Yesha Council, which represents Jewish settlers in the West Bank

West Bank

Yesha Council

Obama

Shilo Adler

settlers


Input: "Now is history-making time," Adler told a reporter for The Washington Post

Washington

Adler


Input: He said the settlers were seeking 100,000 new homes — which would at least double the Jewish population in the West Bank — on land the Palestinians seek for a future nation

West Bank

Palestinians

nation

settlers


Input: About 20 officers were hurt

officers

hurt

officers


Input: By Thursday, the focus was on the synagogue in Amona where remaining settlers had planted themselves inside

synagogue

Amona


Input: Israel’s Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that the Amona settlement was built on private Palestinian land and would have to be demolished by February 8

Palestinian

Amona settlement

Israel’s Supreme Court


Input: Ultra-conservative Israeli officials fought to reverse the ruling

Israeli

officials


Input: On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved 3,000 new homes for the evacuated settlers and others elsewhere in the West Bank

West Bank

Benjamin Netanyahu

settlers


Input: Jewish settlers run from police outside the Amona outpost in the West Bank, Feb. 1, 2017

outpost

West Bank

Amona outpost

police

settlers

run

settlers


Input: The military issued eviction orders the day before, telling residents to evacuate Amona within 48 hours and blocked roads leading to the outpost

outpost

Amona

military


Input: Report: Trump Berates Australian Leader Over Refugee Deal-SYDNEY — -Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Thursday he had spoken candidly and frankly with U.S. President Donald Trump, but would not confirm a Washington Post report that Trump had berated him over a refugee swap deal and cut the call short

Australian

SYDNEY

Australian

U.S.

Washington Post

Trump Berates

Malcolm Turnbull

President

Donald Trump

Trump


Input: The Post report said Trump had described the call with the leader of Australia, one of the United States’ staunchest allies, as “the worst so far.

Australia

allies

Trump

leader

call

Trump


Input: It came less than a day after Washington had sewn confusion in Australia after saying it would apply “extreme vetting” as part of the resettlement deal

Washington

Australia


Input: As part of the deal, Washington agreed to resettle up to 1,250 asylum seekers held in offshore processing camps on Pacific islands in Papua New Guinea and Nauru

Washington

Papua New Guinea

Nauru

Pacific


Input: In return, Australia would resettle refugees from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras

Australia

El Salvador

Guatemala

Honduras


Input: Quoting unidentified senior U.S. officials briefed on the conversation, the Post reported that Trump had told Turnbull he had spoken to four other world leaders Saturday, including Russian president Vladimir Putin and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, but said theirs “was the worst call by far.

U.S.

Russian

Mexican

Post

officials

Trump

leaders

president

Vladimir Putin

Enrique Pena Nieto

spoken

Enrique Pena Nieto


Input: The call had been scheduled to last an hour, but the Post said Trump cut it short after 25 minutes when Turnbull tried to turn to other subjects, such as Syria

Syria

Post

Trump

Turnbull


Input: It also said Trump described the plan as “the worst deal ever” and accused Australia of trying to export the “next Boston bombers.

Australia

Boston

Trump


Input: Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull comments on a deal with the United States accepting refugees from Australia at Parliament House in Canberra, Jan. 30, 2017

Australian

United States

Australia

Canberra

Parliament House

Malcolm Turnbull


Input: If you see reports of them, I’m not going to add to them,” he told reporters in Melbourne

Melbourne

reporters


Input: The Washington Post report received almost blanket coverage in Australian media and was widely seen as embarrassing for Turnbull, whose conservative Liberal-National coalition has only a razor-thin majority after an inconclusive election last year

Australian

coalition

Washington Post


Input: “Mr. Turnbull needs to confirm or deny the accuracy of that report,” Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten told reporters in Perth

Perth

Labor

leader

Bill Shorten

reporters


Input: The resettlement deal was thrown into confusion after Trump signed an executive order last week that suspended the U.S. refugee program and restricted entry to the United States for travelers from majority-Muslim countries such as Iran, Iraq and Syria

U.S.

United States

Iran

Iraq

Syria

Trump

travelers


Input: Many of those being held in the Australian detention center, which have drawn harsh criticism from the United Nations and rights groups, have fled violence in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran

Australian

Afghanistan

Iraq

Iran

United Nations

groups


Input: The Washington Post also quoted the official read-out after Saturday’s call, which emphasized “the enduring strength and closeness of the U.S.-Australia relationship that is critical for peace stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and globally.

region

Washington Post


Input: It also said Trump had boasted to Turnbull about the size of his election victory

Trump

Turnbull


Input: The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia

Australia

Obama


Input: Mattis: No Plans for More Troops in Middle East Over Iran Actions-U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says the country is not immediately considering increasing troops in the Middle East in response to what he called Iran’s “misbehavior,” but warned that Washington and the world cannot ignore Iran’s actions

Iran

country

Washington

Iran’s

Middle East

world

U.S. Defense

Secretary

Jim Mattis

troops


Input: 'Clear threat'-Friday's actions came as a result of what U.S. officials described as an ongoing process that included consultations with key U.S. agencies and also U.S. allies

U.S.

U.S.

U.S.

allies

officials


Input: "Naturally, the Iranians want to see if Trump’s controversial rhetoric of recent months will translate into action," said Khansari, who served in Iran's pre-Islamist Revolution government

government

Khansari


Input: Tony Shaffer, a retired intelligence officer now with the London Center for Policy Research, expects Iran will learn quickly that the Trump administration is unlikely to have nearly as much patience as its predecessor

Iran

the London Center for Policy Research

administration

Tony Shaffer

officer

Trump


Input: "If they fire at our ships, fire will be returned," Shaffer said

Shaffer

ships


Input: "If they do swarm operations, where they have these small boat operations doing dangerous things in close proximately to our ships, I think you can expect they will be fired on.

boat

ships


Input: Also yet to be seen is what the new dynamic between Washington and Tehran will mean for Iran's proxies in both Iraq and Syria

Washington

Tehran

Iraq

Syria


Input: FILE - Iranian army troops march in a parade marking National Army Day just outside Tehran, Iran, April 17, 2016

Iranian

Tehran

Iran

army

National Army

troops


Input: "Iran is using this threat of ISIS to promote this regional instability," cautioned Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior Iran analyst at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies

Iran

Iran

ISIS

Foundation for Defense of Democracies

Behnam Ben Taleblu

analyst


Input: "You cannot let the Iranian PR [public relations] narrative go unchecked.

Iranian


Input: But officials said the trigger was Iran's January 29 test of a ballistic missile, which was "in defiance" of a U.N. resolution barring Iran from engaging in such tests

Iran

U.N.

officials

missile


Input: But Taleblu said that narrative may well begin to change as the Trump administration begins to focus more heavily on its primary foreign policy objective — destroying IS

administration

Trump


Input: "There are opportunities to marginalize Iran's presence in Iraq while you target ISIS," he said, using an acronym for the militant group

Iraq

ISIS

group

Iran's


Input: For now, the Trump administration's first actions against Iran are meeting with the approval of congressional Republicans, including Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, both of whom have had marked differences with the president on other foreign policy matters, such as Russia

Iran

South Carolina

Russia

Senate Armed Services Committee

Trump

Republicans

John McCain

Senator

Lindsey Graham

president


Input: "I hope the measures announced today by the Trump administration will serve as a first step toward a comprehensive strategy," McCain said in a statement

administration

Trump

McCain


Input: "A coordinated, multifaceted effort to push back against a range of illicit Iranian behavior is long overdue," Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker said in a statement

Iranian

Senate

Foreign Relations Committee

Bob Corker


Input: White House Correspondents Cindy Saine and Mary Alice Salinas, Congressional Correspondent Michael Bowman, Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Steve Herman, and VOA Persian's Guita Aryan and Deyhim Behzadi contributed to this report

White House

Congressional

VOA

Cindy Saine

Mary Alice Salinas

Michael Bowman

Steve Herman

Persian's Guita Aryan

Deyhim Behzadi


Input: A second senior administration official described Sunday's launch as "a clear threat to regional security.

administration

official


Input: The new sanctions are a culmination of the Trump administration's increasingly aggressive stance with Tehran, following a presidential campaign in which then-candidate Donald Trump said he was willing to rip up the nuclear deal former President Barack Obama and other world leaders negotiated with Iran

Tehran

Iran

Trump

Donald Trump

Barack Obama


Input: Earlier this week, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn announced the U.S. was "officially putting Iran on notice.

U.S.

Iran

Michael Flynn


Input: FILE - National Security Adviser Michael Flynn speaks during the daily news briefing at the White House, in Washington, Feb. 1, 2017

Washington

White House

Michael Flynn


Input: "The days of turning a blind eye to Iran's hostile and belligerent actions toward the United States and the world community are over," he warned

United States


Input: 'In check'-White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer continued with the tough talk

White House

Secretary

Sean Spicer


Input: "President Trump is going to do everything he can to make sure Iran is stayed in check," Spicer said

Iran

Trump

Spicer


Input: He said, however, that despite the capability for the U.S. to send more forces to the Middle East, “right now, I don’t think it’s necessary.

U.S.

Middle East

forces

send

U.S.

forces

Middle East


Input: "He is going to continue to be tough on Iran in a way that wasn't done in the past eight years.

Iran


Input: Spicer also reiterated that the president was not taking any options off the table although "he understands the impact" of resorting to military action

military

president


Input: "Iran is playing with fire — they don't appreciate how 'kind' President Obama was to them, " Trump tweeted

Iran

Obama

Trump


Input: On Friday, the United States took its first steps in backing up tough talk about Iran, slapping new sanctions on 13 individuals and 12 entities linked to Tehran’s ballistic missile program and its proxies across the Middle East

United States

Iran

Middle East

missile


Input: The targets include Iranian support networks in China and the United Arab Emirates that have been working to help Tehran obtain technology and materials needed to advance its ballistic missile program

Iranian

China

United Arab Emirates

Tehran

missile


Input: "Iran unmoved by threats as we derive security from our people," Zarif tweeted

Iran

Zarif


Input: The Treasury Department said sanctions were also levied on individuals and networks working with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite Quds Force and the Iranian-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah

Lebanese

The Treasury Department

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps'

Quds Force

group

Hezbollah


Input: "Iran will impose legal restrictions on some American individuals and entities that were involved in helping and founding regional terrorist groups," the statement was quoted as saying

Iran

American

groups


Input: The meaning or the impact of the promised Iranian sanctions was not immediately clear

Iranian


Input: "These are just initial steps in response to Iranian provocative behavior," a senior administration official warned, calling Iran's recent behavior "not sustainable, not acceptable.

Iranian

administration

official


Input: Although all of the entities and individuals targeted are located overseas, all have "touch points" in the United States, one official said

United States


Input: Whether those involved the acquisition of U.S.-made, dual-use materials or interactions with the U.S. financial system, the Iranian efforts will be impacted, the official added

U.S.

Iranian


Input: U.S. officials also said the sanctions did not impact U.S. compliance with the Iran nuclear deal and that none of the individuals or entities had previously been sanctioned under the Obama administration

U.S.

U.S.

Iran

administration

officials

Obama

nuclear


Input: "The newest round of U.S. sanctions on Iran are unlikely to impact the IRGC Quds Forces and its proxy partner Lebanese Hezbollah heavily," Marie Donovan, an Iran analyst with the American Enterprise Institute's Critical Threats Project, told VOA by email

U.S.

Iran

Lebanese

Iran

IRGC Quds Forces

Hezbollah

American Enterprise Institute's Critical Threats Project

VOA

Marie Donovan

analyst


Input: "The Islamic Republic will be able to rely on other networks.

Islamic Republic


Input: And while much of the attention has focused on Iran's ballistic missile program, Trump administration officials have voiced significant concerns about Iran's use of proxy forces across the Middle East, and in Yemen in particular

Yemen

Middle East

administration

Trump

officials

forces

missile


Input: Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have been engaged in a bloody civil war in Yemen, and earlier this week attacked a Saudi warship, killing two crew members

Yemen

Saudi

Houthi

members


Input: "Iran has heavy influence, continues to arm and support the Houthis," a senior administration official said

Iran

Houthis

administration

official


Input: And while the official said Iran was not responsible "for every tactical decision, Iran in its relationships with proxies through the region bears responsibility for these groups that they are closely entwined with.

Iran

Iran

region

groups


Input: "Iran has a choice to make," the official added

Iran


Input: "We will work positively with Iran when it abides by its international commitments while underscoring our commitment to aggressively counter Iran's destabilizing activities.

Iran


Input: Already, the U.S. appears to be backing up the concerns with action, sending the destroyer USS Cole to conduct patrols off the coast of Yemen with an eye on freedom of navigation in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait

U.S.

Yemen

coast

destroyer

USS Cole

sending

U.S.

USS Cole

Yemen


Input: But whether with the ballistic missile tests or with operations in the waters off Yemen, it may take some time before Tehran is ready to change its overall approach

Yemen

Tehran

missile


Input: FILE - This photo, released by the Iranian state-run IRIB News Agency Jan. 13, 2016, shows detention of U.S. Navy sailors by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in the Persian Gulf, Iran

Iranian

Iran

Persian Gulf

IRIB News Agency

U.S. Navy

Iranian Revolutionary Guards

sailors


Input: "The Iranian government carried out the [missile] test at this time in order to test [the] waters, " former Iranian diplomat Mehrdad Khansari told VOA Persian's NewsHour

Iranian

Iranian

government

VOA

diplomat

Mehrdad Khansari

missile


Input: Hopes Fade for Cambodia Winning US Debt Relief, Analysts Say-PHNOM PENH — -Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's recent plea for relief from decades-old debt to the United States appears to have little chance of success, regional analyst say

Cambodia

US

PHNOM PENH

Cambodian

United States

Hun Sen's

analyst


Input: Raman said there was a brief discussion of Cambodia’s official debt to the United States during the November 2015 U.S.-Cambodia Competitiveness and Growth Dialogue, while the last detailed discussion of the issue occurred in 2011, when a U.S. delegation visited Phnom Penh

Cambodia’s

United States

U.S.

Phnom Penh

Raman


Input: Local residents buy fresh vegetables at a morning market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Nov. 8, 2015

Phnom Penh

Cambodia


Input: In 2008 testimony before Congress on the debt, U.S. officials said they had negotiated for several years with the Hun Sen government to work out a payment schedule but to no avail

U.S.

Congress

government

officials

Hun Sen


Input: U.S. and World Bank officials have said Cambodia doesn't meet World Bank standards for debt forgiveness

U.S.

Cambodia

World Bank

World Bank

officials


Input: Importantly, Congress must agree to write off debts for countries that are able to pay, as Cambodia is

Cambodia

Congress

Importantly


Input: Cambodia does not suffer from the same poverty levels as it once did

Cambodia


Input: It was recently promoted to the ranks of the lower-middle income countries and despite this, the U.S. allocates an average of about $70 million a year in direct foreign aid

U.S.

allocates

U.S.


Input: But Hun Sen is sticking with his mantra and has repeatedly noted the debt issue in public since Donald Trump was elected U.S. president in November

U.S.

Hun Sen

Donald Trump

president


Input: “I don't think having a shouting match with the Americans helps

Americans


Input: I agree the Americans in a way don't really have the moral high ground, considering what they were doing in the early '70s in the region and this essentially is money that was used to prop [up] a regime that they desperately want legitimacy [for] in the middle of the Vietnam war," Tai said

Americans

region

regime

Tai


Input: Hun Sen began his push for debt relief in 2002 when the Chinese wrote off debts incurred by the Khmer Rouge during their 1975-79 rule

the Khmer Rouge

Hun Sen


Input: But Russia has also balked at canceling $1.3 billion worth of loans made during the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia in the 1980s

Russia

Vietnamese

Cambodia


Input: Ongoing debate-Sambo Manara, a history lecturer with Pannasastra University said it remains unclear whether the U.S. money was debt or humanitarian aid because it arrived during a difficult period in Cambodia's history, during a civil war, and as the Khmer Rouge militants were threatening the government

U.S.

Pannasastra University

Khmer Rouge

government

Sambo Manara

lecturer

militants


Input: “Clearly, the U.S. must accept that this was the beginning for them to use all their resources to compete in this war

U.S.


Input: “It is difficult for us to tell Cambodians to accept debt to buy bombs and bullets to kill Cambodian people,” Hun Sen said, last week

Cambodian

Hun Sen

bombs

bullets


Input: Analysts said there were several other reasons why President Trump is unlikely to listen

Trump


Input: “It is a lot of money, but I think the real point is the Americans always favor the sanctity of the International finance system,” said one analyst, who declined to be named out of fear of upsetting the Hun Sen government

government

analyst


Input: Molyny Pann contributed to this report

Molyny Pann


Input: Cambodia racked-up $278 million in U.S. loans under the Lon Nol government in the 1970s, whose efforts to defeat the Khmer Rouge were undermined by gross corruption within his own administration

Cambodia

U.S.

government

Khmer Rouge

administration

Lon Nol

$278 million


Input: U.S. records say the loans were for food and other agricultural goods

U.S.


Input: Cambodia now owes the U.S. about $505 million, all in arrears with a concessional three percent interest rate, which is below market rates

Cambodia

U.S.

$505 million

owes

Cambodia

U.S.


Input: “The United States has encouraged Cambodia to work with us on finding a solution to the debt since shortly after the 1995 Paris Club negotiations.

United States

Cambodia

Paris Club


Input: Trump's First Big Immigration Op: 680 Arrested and Lots of Questions-The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) says it rounded up 680 undocumented immigrants last week in enforcement actions in multiple locations around the U.S

Customs Enforcement Agency

immigrants

Arrested

rounded

Customs Enforcement Agency


Input: This is the first big ICE operation of the Donald Trump presidency, and it has sparked a lot of fear and questions

Donald Trump


Input: Why were the media reports so much more dramatic than DHS’ version

media


Input: Over the course of that week, immigrant protection groups got an unusual number of calls from panicking immigrants reporting arrests in homes and at workplaces

homes

workplaces

groups

immigrants

calls

groups


Input: A number of groups, led by United We Dream, held a press call February 10, alerting the media to what they said was a new era of persecution under Trump

groups

United We Dream

media

Trump


Input: They shared reports of roadside checkpoints and apartment building sweeps

checkpoints

apartment

building


Input: People participate in a protest against President Donald Trump's immigration policy and the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in New York City, Feb. 11, 2017

New York City

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

People

Donald Trump's

raids

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

New York City


Input: Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), told reporters that she has had 30 years' experience working with ICE and that the operations that week were "not normal.

Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles

CHIRLA

Angelica Salas

director

reporters


Input: But the evidence provided by hers and other groups was largely anecdotal

groups


Input: The call led to reports in major media outlets with headlines such as "Reports of Raids Have Immigrants Bracing for Enforcement Surge" and "Reports of Immigration Raids Whip Across Texas.

Texas

Immigration


Input: Amid the flurry of reports, ICE and DHS felt compelled to issue a number of statements, stressing that the enforcement operations were routine

ICE

DHS


Input: Gang members, drug dealers \u0026amp;amp; others are being removed

members

dealers


Input: During the week of February 6, ICE launched a “series of targeted enforcement operations across the country,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John Kelly said in a release

country

ICE

Department of Homeland Security

DHS

Secretary

John Kelly


Input: More than 680 undocumented people were taken into custody by ICE in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, San Antonio and New York City

Los Angeles

Chicago

Atlanta

San Antonio

New York City

ICE

680 undocumented people

custody

ICE

New York City


Input: Reports of the deportation of the mother of two American children further fueled fears

American

mother

children

deportation

children


Input: Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, 36, went in for a routine check with ICE on February 8

Garcia de Rayos


Input: She had checked in with immigration authorities every year since 2008, when she was stopped for using a fake Social Security number

Social Security


Input: In past visits, she answered questions that were put to her and went home

home


Input: This time she was taken into custody

she


Input: The family of Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos stands behind her attorney, Ray Ybarra Maldonado, as he speaks in front of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Phoenix

U.S.

Phoenix

Customs Enforcement

family

Garcia de Rayos

attorney

Ray Ybarra Maldonado

speaks

Garcia de Rayos

Phoenix


Input: Garcia de Rayos was deported Feb. 9, 2017

Garcia de Rayos

deported

Garcia de Rayos


Input: To show that this roundup was routine, ICE pointed to several nationwide enforcement operations, often called Operation Cross Check, it has conducted since 2011

ICE


Input: President Obama issued guidelines that year specifying that removal efforts should be focused on people who were a threat to public safety

Obama


Input: While there were no checkpoints and whole apartment houses weren’t raided, there were differences that point to changes in deportation policy

checkpoints

apartment

houses


Input: When Secretary Kelly said that 75 percent of the people apprehended in the enforcement operation had criminal records, he also was saying that a quarter of the people picked up were not criminals

Kelly


Input: During the Obama administration, ICE was instructed to pick up only people who were targeted in advance and not just anybody swept up in a raid

administration

ICE

Obama


Input: FILE - Immigration activists march in a rally against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) raids and deportation of immigrants near the downtown Los Angeles Federal Building, Jan. 26, 2016

U.S.

Los Angeles

Federal Building

Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE)

activists

immigrants

raids

deportation

Federal Building


Input: DHS is the parent agency of ICE

DHS

agency


Input: For example, among those arrested in the ICE roundup was DACA recipient Daniel Ramirez Medina, 23, who was caught in a raid at his father’s Seattle, Washington, house, targeting a “prior deported felon,” according to ICE

Seattle

Washington

DACA

Daniel Ramirez Medina

raid

Daniel Ramirez Medina

Washington

arrested

Daniel Ramirez Medina


Input: Not only was Medina a collateral arrest, but under Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program protecting young people who came to the U.S. as children, he had a legal work permit

U.S.

Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

DACA

Medina

people

children

arrest

Medina


Input: Another area where there seems to have been a change in policy is an Obama-era rule that ICE agents would only target deportation orders dating from the beginning of 2014

area


Input: And finally, if DHS is targeting “criminal aliens,” there is the question of what that means in the Trump era

DHS

Trump


Input: His executive order would indicate the bar has moved

bar


Input: A DHS official indicated just how far by telling the Washington Post that a “criminal alien” includes “anyone who had entered the United States illegally or overstayed or violated the terms of a visa.

Washington

United States

DHS


Input: Some 11 million people in the United States are in that group

United States

group


Input: Pro-immigrant groups believe the roundups were intended to strike fear into the heart of the immigrant community, and that they have succeeded

groups

roundups

groups


Input: The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has requested guidance from ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus

ICE

Thomas Homan


Input: Without it, the caucus said in a letter, "our communities will be paralyzed as students will remain home from school, parents will be afraid to leave children alone, and our local economies will be irreparably damaged.

school

communities

students

parents


Input: Kelly said the action was aimed at “individuals who pose a threat to public safety, border security or the integrity of our nation’s immigration system.

Kelly


Input: Analysis: Afghan Talks Reflect Russian Moves to Expand Global Influence-WASHINGTON — -With the Trump administration still stitching together its foreign policy, priorities and staff, Russia seems intent on expanding its once-shrunken sphere of influence by exploiting gaps in America's overseas presence

Afghan

Russian

WASHINGTON

Russia

administration

Trump


Input: It's been a globe-spanning effort, with Russian leader Vladimir Putin using muscle in places like Ukraine and Syria and offering sweeteners to potential allies that he hopes will pay off later

Russian

Ukraine

Syria

allies

leader

Vladimir Putin


Input: In its latest initiative, Russia seeks to transform itself from an erstwhile warmonger in Afghanistan, during its failed decade-long invasion, into a peacemaker

Russia

Afghanistan

invasion

Russia

Afghanistan


Input: On Wednesday, Moscow hosted a second-round of peace talks on the resource-rich country

Moscow

country


Input: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, India and China were invited

Afghanistan

Pakistan

Iran

India

China


Input: The United States was conspicuously left out, despite its ongoing military intervention to repel Islamic terrorists and put Afghanistan solidly on the road to stability

road

United States

Afghanistan

military


Input: Common enemies-Afghanistan watchers in the region say Moscow wants to play a more active role closer to home after its actions in Syria

Afghanistan

Moscow

Syria

region


Input: "Russia has created a role for itself in the Middle East, particularly in Syria, and has carried out effective operations against Daesh [Islamic State]," said Rahimullah Yousafzai, a noted Pakistani journalist who has written extensively on Afghanistan and the Taliban

Russia

Syria

Pakistani

Afghanistan

Middle East

Daesh

Islamic State

Taliban

Rahimullah Yousafzai

journalist


Input: FILE - Boxes of ammunition are seen inside a Russian aircraft at the International Kabul Airport, Afghanistan, Feb. 24, 2016

Russian

Afghanistan

International Kabul Airport

aircraft

ammunition


Input: Afghan officials took delivery of 10,000 automatic rifles and millions of rounds of ammunition as a gift from Russia

Afghan

Russia

officials

rifles

rounds

ammunition

delivery

officials

ammunition

Russia


Input: "Russia will definitely be part of negotiations for peace or cease-fire" in Syria, Yousafzai told Voice of America's Deewa Pashto service

Russia

Syria

Voice of America's

Yousafzai

Deewa Pashto


Input: "Now it seems Russia wants to be included in any consultations in the neighborhood, and they seem to have been successful to a great extent.

Russia

neighborhood


Input: The focus is on countries that have shaky ties with Washington, are strategically located or have abundant natural resources

Washington


Input: The United States, China and Russia have interests in Afghanistan, some of which might pit them against one another

United States

China

Russia

Afghanistan


Input: But Yousafzai said fighting against Islamic State could potentially be a common cause

Islamic State

Yousafzai


Input: "I think they can be each other's allies in the fight against Daesh," Yousafzai said, using a common Arabic name for the group

allies

Daesh

group


Input: Moscow claims it's just trying to foster peace; the U.S. says Russia's aid is helping the Taliban to wage its war against the U.S.-backed government in Kabul

Moscow

U.S.

Kabul

Taliban

government

war

U.S.

Kabul


Input: Russia's intervention in Afghanistan may be driven in large part by its desire to stop the spread of Islamist extremism through the Muslim Central Asian states and the flow of narcotics from poppy-producing Afghanistan, said Sami Yousafzai, an Afghan correspondent who has been reporting for several international media organizations

Afghanistan

states

Afghanistan

Afghan

Muslim Central Asian

organizations

extremism

Sami Yousafzai

correspondent

spread

Afghanistan


Input: But the landlocked country also is strategically located, which was a major factor in Russia's 1979 invasion

country


Input: Cozying up to Moscow might not yield the Taliban the benefits of international legitimacy or consideration as a political force within Afghanistan because Russia does not have a very influential global role and has angered many Sunni-Muslim states in the Middle East with its support for Shi'ite Iran, said Sami Yousafzai, who is not related to Rahimullah Yousafzai

Moscow

Afghanistan

Russia

Iran

Middle East

Taliban

Sami Yousafzai

Rahimullah Yousafzai


Input: FILE - An Afghan policeman walks past a bloodstained wall after Taliban fighters stormed a government compound in Kandahar province, July 9, 2014

compound

Afghan

Kandahar province

Taliban

government

policeman

fighters

walks

policeman

stormed

fighters

compound


Input: "If Taliban want to be recognized as a political power at the international level, if they want to have a political stand, they need to have backing by the U.S. and NATO," he said

U.S.

Taliban

NATO


Input: A key issue is how Putin's relationship with new President Donald Trump will pan out

Donald Trump


Input: Broad interests-The interest in Afghanistan only scratches the surface of Moscow's interest and mirrors China's aggressive efforts to build up its presence in the South China Sea

Afghanistan

South China Sea


Input: Some see the possibility of limited cooperation between Moscow and Beijing to counterbalance U.S. influence

Moscow

Beijing

U.S.


Input: Both have been taking advantage of a relatively hands-off approach to foreign policy in some areas under former President Barack Obama

Barack Obama


Input: Russia has been accused of political meddling across the Balkans, reportedly countering U.S. interests to the point of disruption

Russia

U.S.

Balkans


Input: Moscow donated weapons and other military hardware a year ago to the Pacific nation of Fiji, which has been developing new allies after being isolated by sanctions for its military coup in 2006

hardware

Moscow

nation

Fiji

allies

Pacific

military

military

weapons

coup

Fiji

donated

Moscow

weapons

Fiji


Input: "It strikes me that we could see, in 10 or 15 years, regular visits by Russian naval ships to Suva," Paul Buchanan, director of 36th Parallel Security Assessments, told The Guardian

Russian

Suva

Paul Buchanan

director

Parallel Security Assessments

ships

visits

Russian

ships

Suva


Input: "And perhaps in 20 years, China and/or Russian being granted forward basing rights in Fiji.

China

Russian

Fiji


Input: Russia also has been cultivating a relationship with Libya, which could lead to cooperation with Washington or could develop into a point of conflict

Russia

Libya

Washington


Input: And Moscow has been bolstering its presence as far away as Antarctica, which is believed to have vast stores of natural resources, while pursuing interests in the Arctic as the melting icecap provides access to previously blocked areas

Moscow

Antarctica

Arctic


Input: VOA's Deewa Pashto Service contributed to this report

Deewa Pashto Service


Input: Can two cocky personalities truly be allies against common foes like Islamic State, which could usher in a new era of cooperation

allies

Islamic State


Input: Russia's influence, which rivaled that of the United States during the Cold War, faded dramatically after the fall of communism and the breakup of the vast Soviet Union

United States

Soviet Union


Input: But under Putin, it has sought to re-establish itself in an effort that has stretched from the North Sea to Antarctica

North Sea

Antarctica

Putin


Input: Amnesty International: Rights Slipping in Southeast Asia- BANGKOK — -Amnesty International says Southeast Asia faces ongoing human rights challenges with activists and civil society targeted by governments amid ongoing failures of accountability by security forces

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Amnesty International

forces


Input: In its latest annual report, covering 159 countries, Amnesty warns of a "shrinking civic space" across Asia and the Pacific, as authorities invoke a range of repressive laws to criminalize peaceful expression

Asia

Pacific

Amnesty


Input: Patel said the reversals include the harassment of rights activists and military operations in western Rakhine State against Muslim Rohingya

Rakhine State

military

Patel


Input: FILE - Boys search for useful items among the ashes of burnt houses after fire destroyed shelters at a camp for internally displaced Rohingya Muslims in the western Rakhine State near Sittwe, Myanmar, May 3, 2016

houses

camp

Rohingya

Rakhine State

Sittwe

Myanmar


Input: Myanmar security forces mounted a major sweep through the region after an attack in October on guards at a checkpoint by suspected Rohingya attackers

checkpoint

Myanmar

Rohingya

region

forces

attackers

attack

attackers


Input: "In Myanmar, tens of thousands from the systematically discriminated against Rohingya community were yet again forced to flee their homes after enduring human rights violations that may amount to crimes against humanity," Patel said

Myanmar

homes

community

Patel


Input: Former Myanmar political prisoner Bo Kyi said the Myanmar government, while facing several challenges, believes the rights picture is more mixed

Myanmar

Myanmar

government

prisoner

Bo Kyi


Input: "Some areas are improving but many areas are still not improving because of [conflict] in the country — in Kachin State and Shan State and [illegal] land grabbing cases are still happening," Bo Kyi told VOA

country

Kachin State

Shan State

VOA

Bo Kyi


Input: The Suu Kyi led government released dozens of political prisoners early last year

government

prisoners


Input: But Bo Kyi, a member of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), said 86 prisoners of conscience remain in jail, with 200 others facing charges

jail

Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)

Bo Kyi


Input: Cambodia-In Cambodia, Amnesty warned of a crackdown on the rights of freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly had “intensified” in the lead up to elections in 2017 and 2018

Cambodia

Cambodia

Amnesty


Input: Champa Patel, Amnesty International’s director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said governments in targeting activists are "choking dissent.

Southeast Asia

Pacific

Amnesty

Champa Patel

director


Input: Amnesty accused Cambodian authorities of misusing the justice system and the punishing of civil society and the silencing of critics

Cambodian

critics


Input: In July Kem Ley, a political analyst, was shot in broad daylight amid charges of government links to the murder

government

Kem Ley

analyst

shot

Kem Ley


Input: FILE - A girl stands by a portrait of Kem Ley, a Cambodian prominent political analyst, at his grave in Ang Takok, Cambodia, Nov. 20, 2016

Cambodian

Ang Takok

Cambodia

girl

Kem Ley

analyst


Input: International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) secretary general Debbie Stothard said respect for human rights in South East Asia has been under challenge over the past year

Asia

International Federation for Human Rights

FIDH

Debbie Stothard


Input: "Not only are people being prosecuted and persecuted through very, very unjustified charges, there are also people being threatened with death and being beaten up and being tortured for speaking out," Stothard said

Stothard


Input: "These repressive governments are doing this so that civil society and people standing up for human rights and freedom of expression will be intimidated into silence," she told VOA

VOA


Input: "Several countries like Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, — we’ve seen a really disappointing decline in respect for rights," he said

countries

Thailand

Cambodia

Malaysia

Philippines


Input: Malaysia and Thailand-In Malaysia, rights activists raised concerns after a court this week convicted an activist, Lena Hendry, for her role in a private screening of a documentary on the conflict in Sri Lanka a decade ago, "without Malaysian censorship board approval.

Malaysia

Thailand

Malaysia

Sri Lanka

Malaysian

court

activist

Lena Hendry

conflict

Sri Lanka


Input: Hendry faces a possible fine and jail term

Hendry

jail

Hendry


Input: The Amnesty report said Malaysia had also witnessed an ongoing crackdown on rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association

Malaysia

Amnesty


Input: The report said the military authorities in Thailand had further restricted human rights, marked by the banning of peaceful political dissent, whether through speech or protests

Thailand

military

authorities


Input: Amy Smith, a director with rights organization, Fortify Rights, said rights defenders themselves have been targeted by authorities

organization

Fortify Rights

Amy Smith

director

defenders


Input: "In Thailand we’re seeing human rights defenders and community based activists that continue to be targeted by the government just for their involvement in legitimate activities," Smith said

Thailand

government

defenders

Smith


Input: "So anyone who speaks out, they’re being summoned by the military for attitude adjustment by the military

military

military


Input: This is the climate of impunity in the region that is pervasive," she said

region


Input: "Across Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, people have been relentlessly threatened, arrested and prosecuted for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly," Patel said

Malaysia

Thailand

Vietnam

Cambodia

Laos

people

Patel

arrested

people


Input: The report said the Philippines has been marked by the “war on drugs” under the government of President Rodrigo Duterte that has left 7,000 people killed by authorities and vigilantes

Philippines

government

authorities

Rodrigo Duterte

people

vigilantes

killed

people

vigilantes


Input: In Indonesia, Amnesty said despite a commitment to resolve past cases of human rights violations, there continued to be "reports of rights violations by security forces, including unlawful killings and the use of excessive or unnecessary force.

Indonesia

Amnesty

forces


Input: ICJ’s Zafiri says while he remains "optimistic" of long term improvements, the region’s immediate outlook remained challenging

Zafiri


Input: Backing the Amnesty report, Sam Zafiri, a representative from the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), said for Southeast Asia there has been "an erosion of respect for rights especially in areas of civil society and political rights.

Southeast Asia

Amnesty

International Commission of Jurists

ICJ

Sam Zafiri

representative


Input: Zafiri pointed to a global trend toward "authoritarianism and fear mongering," and growing concerns over government responses to terrorism threats

government

Zafiri


Input: He also pointed to the decline in U.S. influence over the past decade

U.S.


Input: Myanmar-Amnesty International said Myanmar faced reversals in human rights despite the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi coming to power in early 2016

Myanmar

Myanmar

Amnesty International

government

Aung San Suu Kyi


Input: US-backed Iraqi Forces Take Control of Mosul Airport, Enter City-Iraq military officials say their U.S.-backed forces have retaken the airport in Mosul that had been controlled by the extremist Islamic State group since 2014

airport

Iraq

Mosul

military

Islamic State

group

officials

forces


Input: In a flash on its screen, state television declared, “The Rapid Response Forces and federal police are fully in control of the airport of Mosul.

airport

state

Mosul

Rapid Response Forces

police


Input: Another commander, Hisham Abdul Kadhem, said, "Right now, thank God, we're inside Mosul airport and in front of its terminal

terminal

Mosul

commander

Hisham Abdul Kadhem


Input: Our troops are liberating it.

troops


Input: Iraqi security officers place a suspected Islamic State group member into the back of a waiting pickup truck, in east Mosul, Feb. 21, 2017

Iraqi

Mosul

Islamic State

group

member

truck


Input: Little was left inside the airport, and what was once a runway was littered with dirt and debris

airport

runway


Input: IS forces had leveled other buildings in the airport complex

buildings

airport

complex

IS

forces


Input: The Iraqi forces also seized an IS weapons storage warehouse, as well its onetime headquarters and barracks

warehouse

headquarters

barracks

Iraqi

IS

forces

weapons


Input: But the advance to retake the remainder of western Mosul may take some time

Mosul


Input: It took three months for Iraqi forces to seize control of the eastern part of the city

Iraqi

part

city

forces


Input: International relations professor Houchang Hassan-Yari of the Royal Military College of Canada told VOA's Persian service that the concentration of civilians in western Mosul would make it harder for Iraqi government forces and their coalition allies to retake that part of the city

Mosul

Iraqi

coalition

allies

city

the Royal Military College of Canada

Military

VOA's Persian service

government

professor

Houchang Hassan-Yari

civilians

forces


Input: "Comparing this situation to the recent battle for the Syrian city of Aleppo, Syrian government forces and their Russian allies directly attacked civilians [as they retook the city last November and December]," said Hassan-Yari on VOA Persian's NewsHour program

Syrian

city

Aleppo

Syrian

Russian

allies

city

government

VOA

forces

civilians

Hassan-Yari

battle

Aleppo

Syrian

attacked

allies


Input: Officials said Friday the military has also now retaken a sprawling military base next to the airport, and have entered a Mosul neighborhood for the first time in months

base

airport

Mosul

neighborhood

military

military


Input: "In Mosul, Iraqi government forces and their U.S.-led coalition partners have significantly restricted themselves in terms of the firepower they are using, in order to save the lives of civilians.

Mosul

Iraqi

coalition

government

forces


Input: Damascus and Moscow have denied targeting civilians in Aleppo

Damascus

Moscow

Aleppo


Input: U.S. on front lines-U.S. forces have played a key role in the advance of Baghdad's troops, launching airstrikes and providing advisers on the ground

U.S.

U.S.

forces

troops

launching

forces


Input: On Thursday, U.S. forces were seen on the front lines of the attack

U.S.

forces


Input: Iraqi security forces search a civilian in the city of Mosul

Iraqi

city

Mosul

forces

civilian


Input: Security forces search the liberated eastern part of the city for suspected Islamic State group members still living in the town, Feb. 21, 2017

part

city

town

Islamic State

group

forces

members


Input: The American forces are not supposed to be engaged in the fighting under Washington's terms of the U.S. involvement in Iraq

American

U.S.

Iraq

forces


Input: But a coalition spokesman, Air Force Colonel John Dorrian, said Wednesday that in recent weeks they have gotten so close to the front that they have come under attack near Mosul and returned fire

coalition

Mosul

Air Force

spokesman

Colonel

John Dorrian

attack

Air Force

Mosul


Input: Thousands of Iraqi forces have been involved in the advance on Mosul, while U.S. officials say they think that only about 2,000 jihadists remain in the city

Iraqi

Mosul

U.S.

city

forces

officials

advance

forces

Mosul


Input: But the fight for control of densely populated western Mosul is likely to be fierce

Mosul


Input: Iraqi forces launched a new bid to retake the western areas of Iraq’s second-largest city on Sunday after saying in late January they had liberated eastern parts of the city

Iraqi

Iraq’s

city

city

areas

parts

forces


Input: It includes the Old City and its narrow streets, which are impassable for some military vehicles

streets

Old City

military

vehicles


Input: Residents of western Mosul report that food supplies are dwindling, but residents on the liberated eastern side of the city are expressing their support

Mosul

city

side


Input: In Photos:-US-backed Iraqi Forces Retake Mosul Airport-On Wednesday, an army plane dropped thousands of letters from residents of the retaken eastern side into the western area

Iraqi

Retake Mosul Airport

side

area

army

plane

dropped

plane

area


Input: Earlier this week, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis visited Iraq and vowed that the U.S. would support Iraq in its fight against IS jihadists

Iraq

U.S.

Iraq

U.S. Defense

IS

Secretary

Jim Mattis

visited

Jim Mattis

Iraq


Input: When asked whether the United States would stay in Iraq after the battle for Mosul had ended, he said, "I imagine we'll be in this fight for a while and we'll stand by each other.

United States

Iraq

Mosul


Input: There are an estimated 750,000 civilians in western Mosul, essentially under siege by Iraqi forces, along with IS fighters

Mosul

Iraqi

IS

forces

fighters


Input: Many of those civilians in western Mosul were forced out of the eastern part of the city during heavy fighting there last month

Mosul

part

city

civilians

out

Mosul


Input: Meanwhile, aid agencies are worried and preparing for the possibility that up to 250,000 people might flee Mosul in the coming days or weeks

Mosul


Input: Iraqi Lieutenant General Raid Shakir Jaudat said Baghdad's forces, backed by drones and heavy artillery, had advanced on the airport from several positions

airport

Iraqi

Baghdad's

Raid Shakir Jaudat

forces

drones

artillery


Input: The U.N. refugee agency has said it is focusing its efforts on building new camps to house the displaced

camps

house

U.N. refugee agency

agency


Input: The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has completed eight camps and says it is planning to start work at another site south of Mosul

camps

Mosul

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees


Input: Parisa Farhadi and Sara Dehghan of the VOA Persian service contributed to this report

Persian

VOA

Parisa Farhadi

Sara Dehghan


Input: At first, accounts of the airport takeover said there was little Islamic State resistance, but later there were reports of Iraqi firefights with militants encamped in airport buildings

airport

buildings

Iraqi

Islamic State

militants

firefights

Iraqi


Input: Video size-width-x-height-pixels-IS Flees Mosul Airport-Share this video-0:00:43-▶-0:00:00-/0:00:43-▶-▶-Direct link-270p | 2.0MB-360p | 3.3MB-720p | 18.6MB-One Iraqi special forces officer reported IS fighters had targeted Baghdad's fighters with a suicide car bomb and dozens of bombs dropped from drones

Iraqi

Mosul Airport

IS

IS

forces

officer

fighters

fighters

bomb

bombs

drones

suicide

fighters

fighters

bomb


Input: The officer said there were at least a dozen casualties, although many were light injuries

officer


Input: "Daesh [IS] resistance is not inconsiderable, but they are trying to save their strength for inside the city," First Lieutenant Ahmed al-Ghalabi of the Rapid Response Forces said outside the airport's main entrance

city

Daesh

IS

Ahmed al-Ghalabi


Input: An Iraqi takeover of the airport would give its troops access to the city from the southwest and for the first time control of an area along the west bank of the Tigris River

airport

Iraqi

city

area

Tigris River

troops

access

troops

Tigris River


Input: Dakota Access Pipeline Protest Ends With Arrests-Law enforcement officials in North Dakota have officially cleared the site of the Dakota Pipeline Access protests, arresting a few dozen activists who had refused to leave the encampment

encampment

North Dakota

Dakota Pipeline Access

officials

activists

arresting

officials

North Dakota


Input: Most of the protesters had left the Oceti Sakowin camp before the Wednesday evacuation deadline

camp

Oceti Sakowin camp

protesters

left

Oceti Sakowin camp


Input: It is designed to transport up to 570,000 barrels of crude oil a day from North Dakota to Illinois

North Dakota

Illinois


Input: The protests have been led by Native American tribes, particularly the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux, whose reservations are downstream from the construction site

American

Cheyenne River

tribes

Standing Rock Sioux

Sioux

protests

Sioux


Input: In September, the Obama administration temporarily blocked construction in hopes of conducting a review of the project, but a federal court later ruled the project could continue

administration

court

Obama


Input: On Thursday, officers methodically checked buildings and arrested anyone they encountered, including a man who climbed atop a building and stayed there for more than an hour before surrendering

building

officers

man

arrested

man


Input: As the officers worked, cleanup crews began razing buildings on the 2.5-square-kilometer (1-square-mile) parcel of federal land

buildings

officers


Input: Native Americans and environmental activists have lived at the camp since August fighting construction of the pipeline, which they say threatens the Standing Rock Sioux tribe's water resources and disregards the land's sacred status

camp

pipeline

Standing Rock Sioux

Americans

activists


Input: At the height of the protests thousands lived at the site, but its population dwindled to just a couple of hundred as the pipeline battle moved into the courts

pipeline

courts


Input: A man rides a bicycle away from the police as they attempt to clear the Oceti Sakowin camp, Feb. 23, 2017

camp

Oceti Sakowin camp

police

man

bicycle

rides

man


Input: Panetta: Killing of Kim Jong Nam Reflects Instability in Pyongyang-WASHINGTON — -The apparent assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's estranged half brother reflects "instability" and "uncertainty" in the North Korean leadership, former U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said

Pyongyang

WASHINGTON

North Korean

North Korean

U.S.

Defense

Panetta

Kim Jong Nam

leader

Kim Jong Un's

brother

Leon Panetta

Killing

Pyongyang


Input: "It really confirms our worst suspicions about the regime in North Korea," Panetta told VOA on Thursday, when asked what conclusions he would draw if Pyongyang was confirmed as being responsible

North Korea

Pyongyang

regime

VOA

Panetta


Input: North Korea has denied responsibility, accusing South Korea and Malaysia of plotting to have it blamed for the death

North Korea

South Korea

Malaysia


Input: Sign of instability-Kim Jong Un has executed or deposed of senior officials and close aides, including his uncle, in what has often been described as a "reign of terror.

Kim Jong Un

officials

close aides

uncle

executed or deposed

Kim Jong Un

uncle


Input: According to Panetta, Kim Jong Nam's death is another reminder that the North Korean leader is "unpredictable and vicious.

North Korean

Panetta

Kim Jong Nam's

leader


Input: "If this is ultimately proven true, I think it only confirms the intelligence we have on the leader of North Korea," said Panetta, who also served as the head of CIA

North Korea

CIA

leader

Panetta


Input: Once deemed the legitimate heir to North Korea's ruling regime, Kim Jong Nam was known to be favored by China

China

regime

Kim Jong Nam


Input: Christine Wormuth, former undersecretary for policy at the U.S. Defense Department, said Kim's death could be seen as a snub to Beijing

Beijing

U.S. Defense Department

Christine Wormuth


Input: "One could read [it] as a sign that Kim Jong Un is basically showing the Chinese that he can reach all the way to Malaysia and take out the potential successor that China might have preferred," Wormuth told VOA

Malaysia

China

VOA

Kim Jong Un

Wormuth

told

VOA


Input: FILE - An employee walks between front-end loaders used to move coal imported from North Korea at Dandong port in the Chinese border city of Dandong, Dec. 7, 2010

port

North Korea

Dandong

Chinese

city

Dandong

border

employee


Input: China's reaction-Several days after Kim's assassination, China announced it would suspend imports of North Korean coal for the rest of 2017

China

North Korean


Input: The North's coal exports account for about one-third of the country's total export income, generating an estimated $1 billion a year for the regime, according to U.S. officials

U.S.

regime

officials


Input: "He clearly is somebody who will not hesitate to kill anyone who either displeases him or if he suspects that individual of having opinions that are not in line with the leader," said the former Pentagon chief, referring to a series of purges the North Korean leader has carried out

North Korean

Pentagon

leader

leader


Input: In an apparent protest against China's ban, North Korea's state media on Thursday harshly criticized China without mentioning its name

state

China

media


Input: It accused China of "dancing to the tune" of the United States

China

United States


Input: Panetta said he thought Chinese leaders had long been concerned about Kim Jong Un's behavior and that the incident in Malaysia would further isolate his country

Chinese

Malaysia

country

Panetta

Kim Jong Un's


Input: "So for that reason, I think it's very important for us to continue to work with China," the former intelligence chief said

China


Input: Jon Wolfsthal, senior director at the National Security Council for arms control and nonproliferation in the Obama administration, told VOA this week that the Chinese move against the North could be a "sign that China is less comfortable than it used to be with North Korean behavior," which creates room for the U.S. to put more pressure on the North

Chinese

China

North Korean

U.S.

North

North

National Security Council

administration

VOA

Jon Wolfsthal

director

Obama

arms


Input: The news of the killing came amid heightened tensions over the North's recent missile test, which took place a day before Kim died

Kim

missile


Input: FILE - "Removing North Korea from the state sponsor of terrorism list was a mistake," says Representative Ed Royce, a California Republican

North Korea

state

California

Ed Royce


Input: Washington removed Pyongyang from the list in October 2008 as part of a nuclear deal in which the communist state agreed to disable a plutonium plant and allow some inspections

plant

Washington

Pyongyang

state


Input: "Removing North Korea from the state sponsor of terrorism list was a mistake," Representative Ed Royce, a California Republican who is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement released to VOA by his office

North Korea

state

California

House Foreign Affairs Committee

VOA

Ed Royce

chairman


Input: Kim Jong Nam, 45, died February 13 after allegedly being poisoned by two women at Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur International Airport

Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur International Airport

Kim Jong Nam

women


Input: "That's why I am working on legislation that calls for North Korea to be relisted as a state sponsor of terrorism.

North Korea

state


Input: U.S. Senator Cory Gardner, a Republican from Colorado, is also calling for the reinstatement of the North to the list

U.S.

Colorado

North

Republican

Senator

Cory Gardner


Input: "The murder of Kim Jong Un's half brother is yet another reminder of North Korea's brutality," he said

Kim Jong Un's

brother


Input: VOA's Cho Eunjung contributed to this report

Cho Eunjung


Input: Malaysian police said Friday that the poison used to kill Kim was the VX nerve agent, which is banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention, which North Korea never signed

Malaysian

North Korea

police

Kim

VX nerve agent

kill

Kim


Input: Kim Jong Nam, the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, is pictured at the Beijing International Airport, China, February 2007

North Korean

China

the Beijing International Airport

Kim Jong Nam

son

leader

Kim Jong Il


Input: In an email sent Friday, a U.S. State Department official told VOA the U.S. is "always willing to help partners with law enforcement cooperation in the context of our efforts to combat transnational crime and support the rule of law.

U.S.

U.S. State Department

VOA


Input: While the investigation is still underway, police have arrested the women and one North Korean national

North Korean

police

women

national

arrested

police

women


Input: They are seeking seven other North Koreans, including one diplomat in the Malaysian capital, for questioning

North Koreans

Malaysian

capital

diplomat


Input: South Korea believes Kim Jong Un ordered the killing of his half brother

South Korea

Kim Jong Un

brother

killing

Kim Jong Un

brother


Input: OAS Call for Venezuelan Suspension Draws Mixed Reaction-CARACAS, VENEZUELA — -Critics of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro applauded the Organization of American States leader's call to suspend Venezuela from the group unless the country holds "full general elections as soon as possible," while the nation's socialist government condemned the prospect of foreign intervention

Venezuelan

Venezuela

country

OAS

the Organization of American States

group

government

Nicolas Maduro


Input: OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro on Tuesday released a 75-page report accusing Venezuela of violating the rights of its people, including by ignoring the results of 2015 legislative elections and by incarcerating political opponents

Venezuela

OAS

Luis Almagro

opponents

incarcerating

Venezuela

opponents


Input: Since then, Venezuela has spiraled "further and further into its acute economic, social, political and humanitarian crisis," he wrote in urging OAS intervention

Venezuela

OAS


Input: OAS could suspend Venezuela if at least 22 of the group's 34 active member states agree

Venezuela

OAS


Input: Oil-rich Venezuela for years doled out petroleum to some of its neighbors at minimal cost, engendering goodwill

Venezuela


Input: "We are not yet sure how the countries' representatives will behave at the time of the [OAS] vote," said Jaime Aparicio, who served as Bolivian ambassador to the United States from 2002 to 2006

United States

OAS

Jaime Aparicio

Bolivian

ambassador


Input: While "Brazil, Argentina and Peru have already expressed criticism of the system in Venezuela and their support to the Venezuelan people," he said some poor Caribbean nations were less predictable

Brazil

Argentina

Peru

Venezuela

Venezuelan

Caribbean


Input: The rise of some right-leaning governments in the region also has diminished support for Maduro

region

Maduro


Input: Since becoming president in 2013 after the death of Hugo Chavez, he has charged that Venezuela has been the target of an imperialist, capitalist United States

Venezuela

United States

president

Hugo Chavez


Input: Such actions conflict with the standards of the Inter-American Democratic Charter that Venezuela has signed

Venezuela


Input: He has steadily amassed power, taking control of the judiciary and trying to block the National Assembly, as well as stymying efforts for a recall referendum

judiciary

National Assembly


Input: Today, "corruption is rampant and the economy is in a free fall," the OAS report says

OAS


Input: "There is not enough food, health services are extremely scarce and the humanitarian crisis is at a scale unheard of in the Western Hemisphere

Western Hemisphere


Input: FILE - An anti-government protester is detained by Bolivarian National Police blocking protesters from reaching the headquarters of the national electoral body, CNE, to demand a recall referendum against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, May 18, 2016

headquarters

Caracas

Venezuela

Bolivarian National Police

CNE

protester

protesters

Nicolas Maduro

reaching

Venezuela


Input: "It's in the strong statement that a large majority of countries around the hemisphere are condemning Venezuela and are committing their democratic pressure to a shared goal

Venezuela


Input: "Unfortunately, in Venezuela there is … need for the implementation of the Inter-American Charter," said Carlos Berrisbetia, an opposition lawmaker in the National Assembly

Venezuela

National Assembly

Carlos Berrisbetia

lawmaker


Input: The OAS report represents a broadening acknowledgement of Venezuela's slide from democracy, said Angel Medina Davis, president of the Latin American Parliament, Venezuela chapter

Venezuela

OAS

Latin American Parliament

Angel Medina Davis

president


Input: It is not only the OAS that "remains impatient, remains concerned about what is happening in Venezuela," Medina said.

Venezuela

Medina

OAS


Input: ... The different chancelleries of Latin America have been raising their protests and their concern.

Latin America


Input: He also noted Venezuela's December suspension from the South American regional economic bloc Mercosur for failing to address human rights and trade standards in its national laws

South American


Input: Venezuelan elections for state governors were set for late 2016 but postponed and not yet rescheduled, while the country's presidential election is to take place in December 2018

Venezuelan

state

governors


Input: VOA Spanish Service's Gioconda Tapia Reynolds contributed to this report from Washington

Spanish

Washington

VOA

Gioconda Tapia Reynolds


Input: FILE - Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary-General Luis Almagro addresses the audience during an official visit to Honduras, in Tegucigalpa, Jan. 17, 2017

Honduras

Tegucigalpa

Organization of American States

OAS

Secretary-General

Luis Almagro

audience

addresses

Luis Almagro

visit

Luis Almagro

Tegucigalpa


Input: But Venezuela's foreign minister, Delcy Rodriguez, scolded the OAS leader as a "sad evildoer.

OAS

minister

Delcy Rodriguez

leader


Input: "Almagro, a known enemy of the people of Venezuela, has forged false assumptions against the republic with the sole objective of encouraging international intervention ... heightening the economic war," the AFP news agency reported her as saying

Venezuela

republic

AFP

agency


Input: Pakistan Cracks Down on 'Blasphemous' Social Media Content-Pakistan is cracking down on "blasphemous" content on social media, with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urging swift punishment for those involved in "a nefarious conspiracy" against the country's Muslim majority

Pakistan

Nawaz Sharif


Input: But critics claim the real goal is silencing dissent that has flourished online about everything from politics and the military to freedom of speech and women's rights

military

critics


Input: The government has requested help from Interpol in tracking the sources of questionable content

government

Interpol


Input: Established with a secular government, Pakistan has steadily leaned toward conservative Islamic policies in recent years, reflecting a social trend

Pakistan

government


Input: FILE - Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif tweeted that "all relevant institutions should trace the perpetrators behind [blasphemous] content and ensure they are handed out strict punishment.

Pakistani

Nawaz Sharif


Input: Osama Khilji, an internet freedom activist, said the government and the court seemed unable to deal with specific social media outlets and that the court order had created fear among users of all such platforms

government

court

court

Osama Khilji

activist


Input: "Blasphemy is a tag and a label to silence critical views, since the government knows it is a tool that can stifle voices," he told VOA's Deewa service

government


Input: "Political dissent occupies a genuine space in democratic societies and is thus encouraged and not discouraged," added Haroon Baloch, an Islamabad-based social media activist

media

Haroon Baloch

activist


Input: "Such restrictions on social media create an atmosphere of fear, and this is what we see being done in Pakistan.

Pakistan


Input: Being labeled as "blasphemous" in Pakistan can make a person the target of violence

Pakistan


Input: The crackdown also is leading to questions about what's blasphemous and what isn't, and whether the government might be behind any of the hundreds of pro-administration voices on Facebook and Twitter that blast dissidents and neighboring Afghanistan and India

Afghanistan

India

government


Input: FILE - The mother of slain Pakistani social media star Qandeel Baloch mourns beside her dead body in Shah Sadderuddin, Pakistan, July 18, 2016

Pakistani

Shah Sadderuddin

Pakistan

mother

Qandeel Baloch


Input: "I think in presence of stringent laws, no one would do anything deliberately that might fall under the definition of blasphemous content," rights activist Mehdi Hassan told VOA's Urdu service

activist

Mehdi Hassan

VOA's Urdu


Input: "The new order is a matter of concern as blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan, where even unproven allegations can provoke beatings and mob violence.

Pakistan


Input: Governor slain-Salman Taseer, the liberal governor of the country's largest province, was killed six years ago by his own security guard, Mumtaz Qadri, after voicing support for amending Pakistan's already stringent blasphemy laws

Governor

Salman Taseer

governor

Mumtaz Qadri

killed

Salman Taseer

Mumtaz Qadri


Input: Qadri was hanged after being convicted of murder, but an estimated 100,000 people attended his funeral, and his gravesite has become a shrine for conservatives who believe he gave his life for Islam's Prophet Muhammad

shrine

Qadri

Muhammad

hanged

Qadri


Input: A mosque is under construction alongside the site

mosque


Input: FILE - Pakistani women mourn the death of a family member during a funeral in Karachi, Pakistan, Jan. 18, 2013

Pakistani

Karachi

Pakistan

women

member


Input: The shooting death of Shahzeb Khan, 20, in one of Karachi's most upscale neighborhoods highlighted a growing trend of citizens using social media to hold the country's rich and powerful to account

neighborhoods

Shahzeb Khan

death

Shahzeb Khan

neighborhoods


Input: The crackdown has caused concern, particularly after five bloggers critical of the government vanished in January

government


Input: A critical issue is how far the government will go

government


Input: "The government has to make sure that our civil liberties are not compromised," said Sadaf Khan, a digital rights activist

government

Sadaf Khan

activist


Input: Khan, director of the nonprofit Media Matters for Pakistan group, added, "We have to ensure that the other activities of political speech are not affected

Media Matters for Pakistan

group

Khan

director


Input: [If] the government bans or restricts access to the social media, our people, and particularly our youth, will be isolated.

government


Input: When they re-emerged, clearly shaken, they refused to talk about what had happened to them amid speculation they were kidnapped and tortured by Pakistan's powerful military intelligence service

military


Input: Living in the Netherlands, one said he felt he could never return to Pakistan after being called a blasphemer by a TV host

Netherlands

Pakistan


Input: Last week, Islamabad High Court Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui ordered blasphemous content removed from social media and broke down in tears while issuing his ruling

Islamabad High Court

Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui


Input: The National Assembly passed a resolution Tuesday condemning such material and authorized a special committee to suggest measures to block "sacrilegious and blasphemous" content on social media

National Assembly

committee


Input: Sharif posted on Twitter that he expected daily updates from officials and told them to contact international social media platforms, such as Facebook, to seek their cooperation

Twitter

Sharif

officials


Input: Rights Group: Fight for West Mosul ‘Dirtier and Deadlier to Civilians’ -MOSUL, IRAQ — -Shihab Ayed and several other men struggled to push a cart carrying the bodies of his son and wife, wrapped in blankets, through a muddy ditch nearly 2 miles (3 kilometers) from their destroyed home in Mosul

West Mosul

IRAQ

Mosul

Civilians’

Deadlier

Shihab Ayed

men

son

wife

cart

push

men

wife

Mosul


Input: Reuters counted about 15 corpses on the carts

Reuters


Input: Air strikes miss IS, kill civilians-They are among the latest victims caught in the crossfire of an intensifying battle between U.S.-backed Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants holed up the center of Mosul, their last major stronghold in Iraq

center

Iraqi

Mosul

Iraq

Islamic State

forces

militants

crossfire

militants

Mosul


Input: Rights groups have expressed concern over the mounting civilian death toll, as Islamic State fights from homes and densely populated areas, a threat the Iraqi military and U.S.-led coalition have been countering with heavy weaponry to support troops on the ground

Iraqi

coalition

areas

groups

Islamic State

military

civilian

troops

weaponry


Input: “When the coalition see a sniper on a home, it’s five or 10 minutes before that house is hit,” Mohammed Mahmoud, a 40-year-old former police officer, told Reuters in another area of Mosul

home

house

coalition

Mosul

police

sniper

Mohammed Mahmoud

officer

hit

Mosul


Input: “But they don’t kill the Daesh (IS) militants

Daesh

IS

militants


Input: Daesh withdraw, and the strikes end up killing civilians — whole families.

Daesh

civilians

families


Input: Islamic State’s tactics since the beginning of the offensive to drive them out of Mosul, which began in October, have been to deploy car bombs and snipers, rain shellfire on troops and residents alike and take cover among the civilian population

Mosul

troops

bombs

deploy

bombs


Input: On Friday, even as Ayed and his helpers waited with their carts, helicopters fired at positions in Mosul and forces further back launched Grad missiles into the city

Mosul

city

helicopters

missiles

fired

Mosul

missiles