Input: The groupthink among Obama’s advisors was that Afghanistan had been left to fester and turn into a full-blown insurgency, said Chaudhary, now a Senior Advisor to the Dean at the School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University

Afghanistan

School for Advanced International Studies

SAIS

Johns Hopkins University

Obama’s

Chaudhary

Dean


Input: “Afghanistan at that time was the forgotten war,” she said

Afghanistan


Input: It was announced just two months after Obama took office in 2009

Obama


Input: The Pak referred to Pakistan, reflecting the idea that success in Afghanistan could not be achieved without a stable Pakistan

Pakistan

Afghanistan

Pakistan


Input: And that, went the thinking, would require a far deeper American engagement in Pakistan

American

Pakistan


Input: To implement the new strategy, Holbrooke was named the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (SRAP) , but the status of his portfolio was somewhat ambiguous

Afghanistan

Pakistan

SRAP

Holbrooke

representative


Input: Just this week, Obama was reminded of the grim realities of 13 years of military engagement when a man dressed as an Afghan soldier killed a two-star American general, the highest ranking officer killed in combat since 1970, according to the Pentagon

Afghan

American

military

Pentagon

Obama

man

soldier

general

officer

killed

man

general

killed

officer


Input: Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan, listens to a question during a news conference in Islamabad June 19, 2010

U.S.

Pakistan

Afghanistan

Islamabad

Richard Holbrooke

representative

conference

Richard Holbrooke

Islamabad


Input: While it was given an office in the State Department, SRAP was never part of any actual chain of command within the administration, a situation that experts would say undermined Holbrooke’s effectiveness

State Department

SRAP

chain

administration

experts


Input: Nonetheless, the legendary diplomat and his team of experts began their work with a sense of mission and of history making

team

diplomat


Input: “One of things we recognized then…was that this is a ultimately a political issue within Afghanistan, right?

Afghanistan


Input: said Vikram Singh, a counterterrorism expert who was recruited to work for Holbrooke’s team

Vikram Singh

expert


Input: Singh, currently the Vice President for National Security and International Policy at Center for American Progress, said that idea was the bottom line for their work

National Security and International Policy

Center for American Progress

Singh


Input: “So, while we went in because of terrorism hitting us, Afghanistan’s future depends on some kind of durable political framework that can run that country and resolve disputes peacefully,” he said

Afghanistan’s

us


Input: In addition to SRAP, Obama turned to senior military officials to get a clear picture of the situation on the ground

SRAP

military

Obama

officials


Input: He asked then Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to assess U.S. military needs and recommend how many more troops should be deployed

U.S.

military

Robert Gates

troops

deployed

military

troops


Input: President Barack Obama speaks as then Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (L) listens during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on June 22, 2010

Cabinet Room

White House

Barack Obama

Robert Gates

meeting

Barack Obama


Input: The insider attack, claimed by the Taliban, has raised concerns about the hazards of the president’s exit plan — and the fragility of his Afghan policies

Afghan

Taliban

insider

president’s

policies

attack

Taliban


Input: According to experts involved in the new plan — one that turned Bush’s counterterrorism strategy into a counterinsurgency effort — Obama was primarily driven by his goal to end U.S. involvement there

U.S.

Bush’s

Obama


Input: The disillusionment eventually became public when Vali Nasr, a former senior advisor to Holbrooke and now the dean of SAIS at Johns Hopkins University, published his book The Dispensable Nation: American Foreign Policy in Retreat

SAIS

Johns Hopkins University

Vali Nasr

advisor

Holbrooke


Input: It was a blunt and scathing account of Nasr’s experience working for the Obama administration, in which he accused the president of forsaking American influence for political expediency

American

administration

Nasr’s

Obama

president


Input: It also accused White House staffers of undermining Holbrooke, and severely weakening American diplomacy

American

White House

Holbrooke


Input: For Stephen Biddle, a professor of political science at George Washington and an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, the president erred when he signed off on the deployment of an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan – and set a firm date for their withdrawal

Afghanistan

the Council on Foreign Relations

Stephen Biddle

professor

George Washington

president

he

troops

deployment

troops

Afghanistan


Input: “There’s a certain arithmetic to counterinsurgency,” Biddle said, who was recruited to help American General Stanley McChrystal, then Commander of ISAF troops in Afghanistan, decide how many more U.S. soldiers would be needed to reverse what was widely seen then as a war America was losing

American

Afghanistan

U.S.

America

ISAF

Stanley McChrystal

troops

soldiers

reverse

soldiers


Input: “You can either conclude the war faster by sending more troops

troops


Input: Or send fewer troops, but let the war run longer,” Biddle said

troops

Biddle


Input: “What you can’t do is conclude the war fast and not send very many troops and that’s what they decided they wanted to do.

troops


Input: Afghan workers build a combat resupply area while a Chinook CH-47F transport helicopter prepares to land at FOB Salerno, Afghanistan on December 2, 2009

Afghan

Afghanistan

Chinook CH-47F

FOB Salerno

workers

helicopter


Input: Obama chose to split the difference of what his military commanders pitched

military

Obama

commanders


Input: It was a painful process, according to Gates, who describes a deeply divided administration in his book Duty: A Memoir of a Secretary at War, published earlier this year

administration

Gates


Input: Furthermore, a political settlement — believed by Holbrooke to be the key to securing America’s interests in Afghanistan and Pakistan — was nowhere in sight

America’s

Afghanistan

Pakistan

Holbrooke


Input: And Holbrooke’s sudden death at the age of 69 in late 2010 brought the work to a screeching halt

Holbrooke’s


Input: Legacy -Obama’s hesitance to engage in a longer, some would say more thorough, effort in Afghanistan is not atypical of how most modern presidents view foreign engagement, said Daniel Serwer, professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and scholar at the Middle East Institute

Afghanistan

the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies

Middle East Institute

Obama’s

presidents

Daniel Serwer

professor


Input: “I think it is fair to say that all American presidents since the end of the Cold War have tried to avoid commitments abroad

American


Input: Obama is not out of the ordinary in this respect,” Serwer said

Obama

Serwer


Input: But what is unusual about this president is his discipline, he said

president


Input: “Obama really tries to stick to his schedule

Obama


Input: He is unusually disciplined in not doing these things,” he said, adding that the president appears to have no qualms about pulling out and leaving places to “their fates.

president


Input: Graeme Smith, a Kabul-based senior analyst with The International Crisis Group and a former journalist, said there is a clear trend that insurgents are making gains in remote parts of Afghanistan

Afghanistan

International Crisis Group

Graeme Smith

analyst

journalist

insurgents


Input: President Barack Obama arrives for a commencement ceremony at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, May 28, 2014

New York

West Point

United States Military Academy

Barack Obama


Input: But there is wide concern that time is running out for U.S. moves in Afghanistan

U.S.

Afghanistan


Input: Biddle said the situation is made worse by the fact the war we now have in Afghanistan is a stalemate militarily

Afghanistan

Biddle


Input: And to simply maintain the status quo as U.S. troops drawdown, the Afghan National Security Forces will need continuous financial backing, the kind of which only the U.S. Congress can provide

U.S.

Afghan

National Security Forces

U.S. Congress

troops


Input: And that, said Biddle, will not continue indefinitely

Biddle


Input: “If this is the state of affairs, then the war becomes a contest of stamina between the Taliban and the U.S. Congress,” he said

Taliban

U.S. Congress


Input: “And the Congress is not going to win that race.

Congress


Input: Afghanistan is mired a protracted political fight over who will be its next president — a fight being mediated personally by Secretary of State John Kerry who is in Kabul yet again

Afghanistan

Kabul

president

John Kerry


Input: “Somehow or another you have to have a plan…for how you’re going to bring about negotiated settlement before the Congress defunds the war, the Afghan military collapses and we simply lose,” Biddle said

Afghan

Congress

military


Input: Case in point: Marjah, a district in southern Helmand province, long a Taliban stronghold, that was cleared in 2010 by NATO and Afghan troops

Marjah

Helmand province

Afghan

Taliban

NATO

troops

cleared

Marjah

NATO


Input: “And I think the administration has done a poor job of putting together a strategy for bringing about that settlement.

administration


Input: Singh, who was front and center in the Af-Pak effort, frets about the future of Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Singh


Input: The recent Afghan presidential elections are cause for hope he said, pointing out that the first round went far better than expected

Afghan


Input: The second round has been compromised by allegations of fraud and a yet to be resolved dispute between the top two candidates

candidates


Input: “What we have achieved offers a lot of potential,” Singh said

Singh


Input: For his part, the president seems intent on staying the course

president


Input: “We’re finishing the job we started” more than 12 years ago, Obama said in May, when he announced his latest timetable for withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan

American

Afghanistan

Obama

troops


Input: “Insurgents are now operating within about eight kilometers from that district center [Marjah],”said Graeme, adding that violence is on the rise four years later

Marjah

Graeme


Input: “You can look at national level data and see quite clearly that more women and children are getting killed and injured this summer than at any period of time since 2001,” he said

women

children

killed

children


Input: Unrest Continues in Ferguson, Missour

Ferguson

Unrest


Input: US Needs Broad Coalition to Fight IS Militants, Analysts Say-With President Barack Obama setting a new strategy to combat Islamic State militants (also known as ISIL or ISIS) in Iraq and Syria, analysts say he will need to build a broad-based coalition of international and regional players to support those efforts

US

Iraq

Syria

Islamic State

ISIL

ISIS

coalition

Barack Obama

militants

players

combat

militants


Input: “Essentially, what Washington is trying to do right now is buy itself some really precious time so that the politics get fixed or at least put on the right track,” he said

Washington


Input: “Foreign militaries attacking Arab lands in cahoots with Arab autocrats is a recipe for catastrophe,” said Rami Khouri, director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University in Beirut

Arab

Beirut

lands

Arab

militaries

Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs

American University

autocrats

Rami Khouri

director


Input: He points to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan that gave birth to al-Qaida

Iraq

Soviet

Afghanistan

al-Qaida

invasion

Iraq

invasion

Soviet

Afghanistan


Input: Rami G. Khouri-Groups like al-Qaida and IS, he said, see themselves as trying to protect Muslims from both corrupt dictators and foreign aggressors

al-Qaida

IS

Rami G. Khouri

Muslims

dictators

aggressors


Input: “Foreign military intervention creates chaos on the ground,” Khouri said

military

Khouri

intervention

military


Input: “It opens up opportunities for people to recruit and train and mobilize and organize

people


Input: "You have that now happening with the Islamic State and it happened before, on a smaller scale, with al-Qaida in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen,” Khouri said

Afghanistan

Pakistan

Yemen

Islamic State

al-Qaida

Khouri


Input: “You’ve got groups like this in Nigeria, Mali, Somalia and Libya to a smaller extent—and this is a real problem.

Nigeria

Mali

Somalia

Libya

groups


Input: “So the fighting that has to take place militarily to contain them and to drive them back and drive them out and finally extinguish them, hopefully, that has to be done mostly by the local people and also, in some cases, with foreign assistance," Khouri said

Khouri


Input: “There has been some confusion on the part of this administration in terms of what the real objective is,” said Bilal Y. Saab, an expert on Middle East security at the Atlantic Council

Middle East

administration

Atlantic Council

Bilal Y. Saab

expert


Input: "So there definitely is a role for foreign military involvement in close coordination in support of local fighters on the ground.

military

fighters

involvement

military


Input: Regional response-The U.S. coalition so far consists of 10 members: The U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Italy and Turkey

U.S.

Britain

Canada

Australia

Denmark

France

Germany

Poland

Italy

Turkey

U.S. coalition


Input: The State Department says as many as 40 countries have contributed to U.S. efforts in Iraq in the form of humanitarian aid and donation of arms

U.S.

Iraq

State Department


Input: The way Khouri sees it, three groups should take the leading role in fighting IS

groups

IS

Khouri


Input: “One group would be those in the immediate area of the Islamic State--that’s mostly the Sunni tribes of northeastern Syria or northwestern Iraq,” Khouri said

Sunni

Syria

Iraq

group

Islamic State

tribes


Input: “The second group is the governments in those countries, Iraqi or Syrian," he added

governments

countries

Iraqi

Syrian

group


Input: "And the third line is the other governments and other movements in the region who might want to go and help the Iraqis against the Islamic State.

governments

Iraqis

region

movements

Islamic State


Input: Kurdish Peshmerga forces have been fighting Islamist militants in northern Iraq since June, and Sunni forces have been on the offense since at least mid-August

Kurdish Peshmerga

Islamist

Iraq

Sunni

forces

militants

forces


Input: For the first time last weekend, they took part in a ground operation alongside Iraqi forces, securing a dam that IS militants had been trying to take for weeks

Iraqi

IS

forces

militants


Input: Bilal Y. Saab-“When we talk about defeat, ultimately we really want to talk about defeat of the ideology

Bilal Y. Saab


Input: After the fall of Saddam Hussein’s government-- and in the wake of their political marginalization by former prime minister Nouri Al-Maliki--thousands of Sunnis joined Islamist militants in Iraq

Sunnis

Iraq

government

Saddam Hussein’s

Nouri Al-Maliki

Islamist

militants


Input: But many now say they are willing to turn against IS if they are given a voice in the new government of Haider Al-Abadi, who was confirmed this week as prime minister

IS

government

Haider Al-Abadi

minister


Input: But in Syria, any U.S. effort against Sunni militants is liable to be seen as helpful to President Bashar Al-Assad

Syria

U.S.

Sunni

militants

Bashar Al-Assad


Input: Daniel Benjamin-“There is a lot of loose talk about what it is we might do in Syria,” said Dartmouth College’s Daniel Benjamin, who served as State Department counterterrorism coordinator during the Clinton era

Syria

Dartmouth

State Department

Daniel Benjamin

Daniel Benjamin

coordinator

Clinton


Input: “And it seems to me that government spokesmen have left the door open to a potential punitive strike against leadership elements of ISIS based in Syria," he said

Syria

government

ISIS

spokesmen


Input: "But I think the chances of any serious cooperation between Washington and Damascus against ISIS is extremely low.

Washington

Damascus

ISIS


Input: Gulf outreach-The Arab League Monday called for taking drastic action against extremists like IS, but stopped short of expressing support for the U.S. effort

U.S.

Gulf

Arab League

IS


Input: Saudi Arabia announced it will host talks in Jeddah this week with officials from Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and other members of the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council

Saudi Arabia

Jeddah

Egypt

Turkey

Jordan

Gulf Cooperation Council

officials

talks

officials


Input: The United Arab Emirates released a statement last week expressing support for regional and international efforts against terrorism, not just in Iraq and Syria, but wherever it is found

Iraq

Syria

United Arab Emirates


Input: Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have been criticized for their support Sunni rebels against Bashar Al-Assad and for turning a blind eye to the flow of funds from wealthy donors to IS

Saudi Arabia

Qatar

Sunni

Gulf

IS

Bashar Al-Assad


Input: So it’s beyond the movement of ISIS itself,” Saab said

ISIS

Saab


Input: “Washington has been very critical in private of Saudi Arabia’s failure to really address private terrorist financing from inside the Kingdom to outside groups," said Lori Plotkin Boghardt, an expert in Gulf Politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Washington

Saudi Arabia’s

Kingdom

groups

Gulf Politics

Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Lori Plotkin Boghardt


Input: “As the Saudis have found out that ISIS is colluding with Saudi citizens inside the country in attacks against national and foreign targets in the country and in assassinations, the Saudis are very interested in cutting down right now on any kind of support to ISIS and other formerly Al-Qaida linked groups,” Boghardt said

Saudi

ISIS

ISIS

Al-Qaida

groups

Saudis

Saudis


Input: Faysal Itani-The Atlantic Council’s Faysal Itani does not see Gulf countries participating militarily in Syria and Iraq

Syria

Iraq

Gulf

Atlantic Council’s

Faysal Itani

Faysal Itani


Input: “Where they have strength or an advantage is in their resources, their financial clout, and in the fact that there has been quite an extensive intelligence outreach between the Saudi and the Qatari security agencies and many of the fighting groups active in Iraq and Syria,” he said

Saudi

Qatari

Iraq

Syria

agencies

groups


Input: One other neighbor stands to play a key role in the fight against Islamists in Iraq and Syria: Iran, which has been blamed not only for fueling Iraq’s civil strife through its support of the Maliki government and, more broadly, for driving the Shia-Sunni divide that has destabilized the entire Middle East

Iraq

Syria

Iran

Middle East

government

Maliki


Input: "What many, if not most, analysts don't know is that Iran and the United States tacitly cooperated in their fight against Al Qaida in Iraq in the past and they are doing the same today with ISIS,” said Atlantic Council’s Saab

Iran

United States

Iraq

Al Qaida

ISIS

Atlantic Council’s

analysts

Saab

fight

Iran

Al Qaida

Iraq

doing the same

Iran

ISIS


Input: "Is there a risk of the United States being perceived as siding with the Shiites

United States

Shiites


Input: That, he said, will require fixing the broken political systems in Iraq and Syria and providing opportunities for disenfranchised youth

Iraq

Syria


Input: “But you really can’t stay on the sidelines and wait for them to materialize because the enemy, meanwhile, will grow, adapt and acquire new capabilities

enemy


Input: In the interim, he believes the U.S. should continue airstrikes to disrupt IS and keep it on the run

U.S.

IS

airstrikes

U.S.

IS


Input: Bahrain to Put Activist on Trial on Defamation Charge-DUBAI — -Pro-democracy campaigner Nabeel Rajab, one of the highest profile activists in the Arab world, is to go on trial in Bahrain accused of insulting the Interior and Defense Ministries, his supporters said on Thursday

Bahrain

Bahrain

Arab

world

Interior

Defense Ministries

Nabeel Rajab


Input: While the Public Prosecution did not name Rajab on a statement carried on the official news agency announcing a trial on October 19, the Interior Ministry identified him when he was arrested on October 2

agency

Interior Ministry

Rajab

he

arrested


Input: The ruling was overturned, but only after Rajab had already served his sentence

Rajab


Input: Rajab took a leading role in the 2011 mass Shi'ite-led demonstrations demanding reforms in the Sunni-ruled Gulf Arab kingdom that were inspired by other pro-democracy uprisings of the Arab Spring

Gulf Arab kingdom

Rajab

demonstrations

Gulf Arab kingdom


Input: If convicted, Rajab, founder of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, could find himself back in prison just months after completing a two years sentence in May for organizing and participating in illegal protests

prison

the Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Rajab

founder

prison

Rajab


Input: In its statement, the Public Prosecution said the individual had “posted on his personal social media account insults against the two ministries in which he made defamatory allegations.

Public Prosecution


Input: Rajab was detained for questioning shortly after returning to Bahrain from a trip abroad

Bahrain

Rajab

detained

Rajab

Bahrain

returning

Bahrain


Input: Bahrain, where the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet is based, put down the protests but has since struggled to resolve political deadlock between the government and the opposition

Bahrain

U.S.

Fifth Fleet

government


Input: Rajab was sentenced to three months in jail last year in a separate case over a tweet criticizing the prime minister, the king's uncle

jail

Rajab

minister

uncle


Input: Vietnam: Lack of Credit Cards Not Stopping Pursuit of E-commerce-HO CHI MINH CITY — -When it comes to e-commerce, Vietnam is somewhat perplexing to observers

CITY

Vietnam


Input: Many Vietnamese love to buy things from the internet, and yet the country seems to lack a key ingredient for online shopping: credit cards

country

Vietnamese


Input: By contrast, a Vietnamese would go to Vatgia.com to find the notebook, have the vendor drive it by motorbike to his house, and then pay in cash

house

Vietnamese

motorbike

drive

house


Input: This method solves two problems for Vietnam

Vietnam


Input: The second is delivery; merchants tend to use their own motorbike fleets because the postal system is notoriously unreliable and few Vietnamese have mailboxes

Vietnamese


Input: Nevertheless, “Clearly, e-commerce is working in Vietnam, despite what outsiders see as problems.

Vietnam


Input: “The Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand rank in the top 10 markets globally for use of a mobile phone to shop online,” Nielsen said in a press release, “and all Southeast Asia markets scored above the global average.

Philippines

Indonesia

Vietnam

Thailand

Southeast Asia

Nielsen


Input: Mobile shopping here is likely to beat rates in developed countries like the United States, where the recent unveiling of Apple Pay stirred questions about whether people would warm to the idea of shopping on their phones

United States

Apple Pay


Input: The New York Times reported in September that Americans use mobile devices for just 11 percent of e-commerce spending

New York


Input: Phones are vital in Vietnam -- where mobile subscriptions outnumber people -- because fewer citizens have computers, and most are not entering their payment information anyway

Vietnam


Input: Vietnamese people have a reputation for entrepreneurship

Vietnamese


Input: It shouldn’t have been such a surprise, then, when a reporter approached Nguyen Hoang My Khanh to ask her about virtual marketplaces

Nguyen Hoang My Khanh


Input: Not only does this college student shop online -- as it turned out, she also sells her own products

college

shop

student


Input: After buyers contact her, they meet to complete the transaction

buyers

her

meet

her


Input: “I used to sell things in person,” she told VOA

VOA


Input: Among Vietnamese who go online, 61 percent prefer to pay with cash, according to market researcher Nielsen

Vietnamese

Nielsen


Input: With at least 22 million users out of a population 90 million, Facebook in Vietnam is popular for online shopping

Vietnam


Input: But plenty of indigenous sites have popped up, including Zalora, Tiki, Mua Chung, and Lazada, which is the 15th most popular website in the country

Zalora

country


Input: Web developer Huynh predicted “huge potential” for growth in e-commerce because unlike the U.S. market, which is saturated, Vietnam still has more than 50 million citizens offline

U.S.

Vietnam


Input: That follows a trend across Asia-Pacific, according to Dezan Shira & Associates

Asia-Pacific


Input: The law firm wrote in a May report that consumers in the region are “set to dominate e-commerce spending this year and lead global e-retail growth through the end of the decade.

region

firm


Input: This number rises when taking into account the two-thirds of Vietnamese who don’t use the internet and are less likely to own credit cards

Vietnamese


Input: “It’s a chicken and egg problem,” said Tomo Huynh, an Ohio native who has been building e-commerce websites since he moved to Vietnam in 2008

Ohio

Vietnam

Tomo Huynh

he

moved

Vietnam


Input: For comparison purposes, consider an online transaction in the United States

United States


Input: al Shabaab Militants Strike in Kenya-Gunmen attacked workers from a quarry in Mandera County in northeastern Kenya, near the border with Somalia, as they slept in their tents on Tuesday, Dec. 2, an attack claimed by the Somali militant group al-Shabab

tents

Kenya

Mandera County

Kenya

Somalia

Somali

border

al Shabaab

group

al-Shabab

Militants

Gunmen

workers

Strike

Kenya

attacked


Input: Egyptian Reporter Aids in Police Crackdown on Gays-For a while after the Arab Spring, it looked like gay Egyptians were finally feeling safe enough to step out of the closet

Egyptian


Input: But now, they’re being forced back underground as a result of an escalating police crackdown – one that activists say is being encouraged by pro-government media

police

media


Input: It didn't take long for the news of the police operation to get out

police


Input: “We heard about it Sunday night around midnight,” said gay rights activist Scott Long, who lives in Cairo and blogged about the incident the following morning

Cairo

activist

Scott Long


Input: "What was most striking to me was that she [Iraqi] was absolutely unashamed about her collusion with security forces in brutalizing these men

Iraqi

men


Input: In September, police arrested eight men who had appeared in a gay wedding video posted on YouTube (below)

police

men

arrested

police

men


Input: They were sentenced to three years in prison each

prison


Input: Last April, four men were sentenced to eight years in prison for hosting “deviant” sex parties

prison

men


Input: But, things began turning backward after the army led by general Abdel Fattah el-Sissi ousted Egypt's first freely elected civilian president Mohamed Morsi of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood last year

army

Muslim Brotherhood

Abdel Fattah el-Sissi

Mohamed Morsi


Input: Cairo police stormed a bath house this week after receiving a tip from an investigative journalist

house

Cairo

police

journalist


Input: "Today, it’s dangerous being gay in Egypt," said Youseff, who is today a prominent LGBT activist

Egypt

Youseff

activist


Input: Since Sissi came to power, activists say as many as 148 homosexuals have been arrested

Sissi

homosexuals

arrested

homosexuals


Input: Same-sex relations aren’t against the law in Egypt, but police have routinely invoked anti-prostitution laws to target the gay community

Egypt

police


Input: “Debauchery” carries a sentence of from one to three years in prison

prison


Input: Egyptian security flank 52 men accused of sexual immorality as they arrive at a Cairo court November 14, 2001

court

Egyptian

Cairo

men

arrive

men


Input: They arrested at least two dozen men for "debauchery.

They

men

arrested

men


Input: Or if [the person being arrested] owns a flat or is renting an apartment, they might also add ‘running a house of prostitution’ to the charges

apartment

house

person

arrested


Input: And if he is arrested in the street, they might charge him with trying to get other people on the street to commit ‘debauchery’ as well.

street

street

he

arrested

street


Input: All this means that the final prison sentence could really add up

prison


Input: Targeting the gay community is an easy way for the government to do so, he said

government


Input: “Moreover, it’s a very easy way for the government to reestablish the credibility of the police, because the police were widely hated after the revolution for their complicity in human rights abuses,” Long said

government

police

police


Input: In a recent post on his “A Paper Bird” blog, Long cites a sensational web story that included a “map of the most popular places for perverts to go in Egypt.

Egypt


Input: "Media in Egypt these days is totally under the control of the Junta," said journalist and political activist Wael Abbas in an emailed statement

Egypt

journalist

activist

Wael Abbas


Input: Journalist Mona Iraqi and her film crew accompanied police on the raid as part of an upcoming television exposé on “perversion” and the “spread of HIV/AIDS.

police

Mona Iraqi


Input: In addition, says Abbas, stories like these help the Sissi government divert attention from the economic challenges facing Egypt's citizens

government

Abbas

Sissi


Input: Graeme Reid, director of Human Rights Watch’s LGBT Rights Program, recently blogged that police vice squads alert the media ahead of “dramatic raids.

Human Rights Watch’s LGBT Rights Program

police

media

Graeme Reid

director


Input: But critics say in the case of the bath house raid, it was the show host who alerted police

house

police

critics


Input: Iraqi believes that she is being judged unfairly, especially considering that critics haven’t seen the entire story

Iraqi


Input: On her Facebook page, she promised that her show, "El Mestakhabi," which translates to "The Hidden," would reveal Cairo’s "biggest gay orgy den" and include recorded "confessions" about the "group sex trade.

group


Input: The cast and crew of the El Mestakhabi issued a statement earlier this week defending their work on the series, saying they have “worked towards achieving the highest degree of accuracy and professionalism in observing international professional, humane and scientific rules.

El Mestakhabi


Input: Iraqi said they are currently working on translating and/or dubbing the episodes into English for the benefit of international audiences

Iraqi


Input: The U.S. has not commented on the bath house arrests, but has in the past called on countries to respect the rights of all people, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals, to “lead productive and dignified lives, free from fear, discrimination and violence.

house

U.S.


Input: Following the arrests, a State Department spokesperson told Think Progress it will continue to stress the importance of those rights to the Egyptian government

Egyptian

State Department

government

spokesperson


Input: She also posted photographs of the men being loaded into police vans, wearing only bath towels and handcuffs

police

men

vans


Input: Hong Kong Activists Vow Return as Protests Declared Over -Hong Kong protesters are vowing to not give up their fight for democratic reforms, even as they prepare to vacate the camps they have occupied for over two months

camps

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

protesters

vacate

camps


Input: Taliban Attack Pakistan Military School-Taliban gunmen stormed a military-run school in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Tuesday, killing and wounding scores, officials said, in the worst attack to hit the country in over a year

Pakistan

Pakistani

city

Peshawar

country

Taliban

Military

Taliban

school

gunmen

scores

officials

Attack

Taliban

Military

stormed

gunmen

school

city

killing

gunmen


Input: Father of Captured Jordanian Pilot Pleads for Son's Return-The father of a Jordanian captured by Islamic State militants in Syria is pleading with the rebel group for the fighter pilot's safe return

Syria

Islamic State

group

Captured Jordanian Pilot Pleads

father

Jordanian

militants

Captured

captured

militants

Syria


Input: The father appealed to the religious extremists to treat First Lieutenant Muath al-Kasaesbeh as a "guest," not a hostage, telling them "we are all Muslims.

father

Muath al-Kasaesbeh

guest


Input: Abadi said Turkey and Iraq would collaborate on military, intelligence, weapons and training

Turkey

Iraq

military

Abadi

weapons


Input: "Neither the Iraqi government nor the entire international community is in a position to defend themselves against Islamic State," Abadi said

Iraqi

government

Islamic State

Abadi


Input: "This is a terrorist organization; they have an international network

organization

network


Input: We've made a request within the international framework to receive military training in operating weapons used in airstrikes.

military

weapons


Input: The countries both have vocal Kurdish minorities

countries

Kurdish


Input: Despite long-standing movements for independence, they have become a central force in countering the Islamic state with their militias

state


Input: Davutoglu indicated Turkey had helped train Kurdish peshmerga fighters in Iraq and would continue supporting the country against the militant group

Turkey

Iraq

country

Kurdish

group

Davutoglu

fighters


Input: "We are open to any suggestions to support the Iraqi government, and we will weigh any suggestion," Davutoglu said

Iraqi

government

Davutoglu


Input: "Talks are underway with Iraqi security officials to expand our support in the fields of training and supply, as well as helping further cooperation in other fields

fields

fields

Iraqi

officials


Input: "I send a message to our generous brothers of the Islamic State in Syria: (I ask them) to host my son, pilot Muath, with generous hospitality, and they (referring to the Islamic State) are generous, and (I ask them) not to be ungenerous toward my son," said Safi al-Kasaesbeh, father of captured pilot

Islamic State in Syria

Islamic State

brothers

son

pilot

Muath

son

Safi al-Kasaesbeh

father

pilot


Input: "I ask God to fill their hearts with love, and (I ask for him) to be returned to his family, wife and mother.

family

wife

mother


Input: Jordan confirmed Wednesday that the pilot was being held

Jordan

pilot

held

pilot


Input: The F-16 fighter jet he was flying as part of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State group went down near the rebel stronghold of Raqqa, in northern Syria

coalition

Raqqa

Syria

Islamic State

group

jet


Input: The U.S. military acknowledged that the plane crashed, but it denied a claim by Islamic State militants that they shot it down

U.S. military

Islamic State

militants

plane


Input: Jordan is one of several countries in the region participating in the air campaign against the group

Jordan

countries

region

group


Input: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday announced an agreement between the two countries to expand cooperation in fighting the Islamic State group

Iraqi

Turkish

countries

Islamic State

group

Haider Abadi

Ahmet Davutoglu


Input: In the last year, the extremist militants overran large areas of northern and western Iraq and launched an offensive in Syria along the Turkish border

Iraq

Syria

Turkish

border

militants


Input: Hundreds Rescued From Greek Ferry, Many More Still on Board-Italian and Greek rescue crews battled gale-force winds and massive waves as they struggled Sunday and Monday to evacuate hundreds of people from a ferry on fire and adrift in the channel between Italy and Albania

Greek

Italian

Greek

Italy

Albania

the channel

rescue crews

people

evacuate


Input: France Remains on High Alert-

France


Input: Kyiv Says Russian Military Attacked Its Forces Inside Eastern Ukraine-Ukraine said Tuesday that Russian forces had attacked its military units fighting separatists in eastern Ukraine's Luhansk region

Russian

Eastern Ukraine

Ukraine

Russian

Ukraine's

Luhansk region

Military

Forces

military units

forces

Attacked

Military

Eastern Ukraine

attacked

forces

military units

Luhansk region


Input: Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said that "in violation of all prior agreements," a "regular military formation of the Russian armed forces" had attacked Ukrainian forces in the northern part of the zone of the "anti-terrorist operation," as Kyiv calls its campaign against the pro-Russian separatists

Ukrainian

Russian

Ukrainian

part

Kyiv

military

military

spokesman

Andriy Lysenko

forces

forces


Input: “We're faced with a threatening situation again due to new fighting flaring up in eastern Ukraine in recent days,” Steinmeier said Tuesday

Ukraine

Steinmeier


Input: According to Steinmeier, the request for a meeting came from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin

Russian

Ukrainian

Steinmeier

Sergei Lavrov

Pavlo Klimkin


Input: “We now need to prevent military confrontations from intensifying any more and avoid further political escalation between Kyiv and Moscow,” Steinmeier said

Kyiv

Moscow

military

Steinmeier


Input: A meeting on Ukraine involving the four countries’ leaders was to take place last week in Kazakhstan but was called off because of lack of progress in the implementation of a 12-point peace plan the warring sides agreed to in September in Minsk, Belarus

Ukraine

Kazakhstan

Minsk

Belarus

countries’ leaders


Input: Klimkin said that as a precondition for any future meetings with separatist leaders, Ukraine would demand a “detailed plan to return to the separation line.

Ukraine

Klimkin


Input: The move is a procedural requirement needed for requesting Yanukovych's extradition from Russia, the prosecutor general’s office said Tuesday

Russia

prosecutor


Input: Ukrainian soldiers carry a coffin bearing the body of a fellow serviceman who was killed in fighting with pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine, during his funeral in Kyiv Jan. 20, 2015

Ukrainian

Ukraine

Kyiv

soldiers

serviceman

rebels

carry

soldiers

Kyiv


Input: Yanukovych fled Ukraine for Russia last February in the face of mass street protests against his government

Ukraine

Russia

government

Yanukovych

fled

Yanukovych

Ukraine

Russia


Input: More than 100 people, mostly demonstrators, were killed during the rallies

100 people

demonstrators


Input: Protest leaders allege that Yanukovych gave the order to security forces to use lethal force against demonstrators

Yanukovych

forces


Input: Earlier this month, Interpol put Yanukovych and other former Ukrainian officials on its international “wanted persons” list

Ukrainian

Interpol

Yanukovych

officials


Input: Interpol’s charges against the former president include misappropriation and embezzlement

president


Input: Last week, Russia's Interfax news agency quoted what it called "a source familiar with the situation" as saying that Moscow is likely to turn down a request to extradite Yanukovych, who is believed to be living in an upscale suburb of the Russian capital

Moscow

Russian

capital

suburb

Russia's Interfax

agency

Yanukovych


Input: Yanukovych’s ouster, which was precipitated by his abandoning an association agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Moscow, is widely believed to have prompted Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea followed by a separatist conflict in the country’s east which to date has claimed more than 4,800 lives

European Union

Moscow

Ukraine’s Crimea


Input: Both are seen as part of efforts by Russia to destabilize Ukraine, now under a new pro-Western leadership

Russia

Ukraine


Input: Lysenko said heavy fighting was continuing around two Ukrainian military checkpoints near Slovyanoserbsk, but that government forces had "stopped the advance of Russian troops.

checkpoints

Ukrainian

Slovyanoserbsk

Russian

military

government

Lysenko

forces

troops


Input: Ukraine-IMF talks-A Ukrainian Central Bank official has voiced optimism on the prospects of securing aid from the International Monetary Fund to cover a $15 billion funding gap, as negotiations by both sides on a new tranche of credit continue in Kyiv

Ukrainian

Central Bank

International Monetary Fund

$15 billion funding


Input: Ukraine, whose economy has been pushed close to bankruptcy by the ongoing conflict in its east, depends on outside assistance as it faces a budget shorfall and huge debt repayments

Ukraine


Input: Cooperation with the IMF is fruitful

IMF


Input: I feel optimism about the possible outcome,'' the first deputy head of Ukraine's Central Bank, Oleksander Pisaruk, told journalists Tuesday

Ukraine's Central Bank

Oleksander Pisaruk

journalists


Input: An IMF team has been in Kyiv since January 8 negotiating the disbursement of a third tranche from the Fund’s current $17 billion assistance package for Ukraine

Kyiv

Ukraine

IMF

team


Input: Kyiv has already received two tranches worth $4.6 billion

Kyiv

$4.6 billion


Input: He also said that Ukrainian intelligence had tracked three more battalion tactical groups of Russian motorized infantry and a Russian artillery division heading toward Russia's border with Ukraine

Ukrainian

Russian

Russian

Russia's

Ukraine

border

groups

division

artillery


Input: On Monday, Lysenko said some 700 Russian troops had crossed into Ukraine that day to back up rebel forces

Russian

Ukraine

troops

forces


Input: On Tuesday, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, Major General Igor Konashenkov, called Lysenko's claim "absolute nonsense.

Russian Defense Ministry

spokesman

Igor Konashenkov

Lysenko's


Input: A new round of peace talks to settle the Ukraine conflict will be held Wednesday in Berlin, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said

Ukraine

Berlin

German

Frank-Walter Steinmeier


Input: The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany will participate

Ukraine

Russia

France

Germany


Input: Myanmar Fashion-Myanmar Fashio

Myanmar

Myanmar


Input: US Ambassador to South Korea Needs 80 Stitches After Knife Attack-The U.S. Ambassador to South Korea received 80 stitches in his face after he was attacked by a knife-wielding assailant Thursday morning in Seoul

US

South Korea

U.S.

South Korea

Seoul

Ambassador

Ambassador

assailant

Attack

Ambassador

attacked

Ambassador

assailant

Seoul


Input: Emergency Aid Rushed to Cyclone-hit Vanuatu-International aid agencies ramped up appeals for cyclone-hit Vanuatu on Wednesday, warning that the powerful storm which affected more than two-thirds of the South Pacific island nation had wiped out crops and destroyed fishing fleets, raising the risk of hunger and disease

Vanuatu

Vanuatu

nation

South Pacific

Emergency Aid

Rushed

Vanuatu


Input: Aftermath of the Tunis Museum Attack-Tunisia's prime minister fired five police commanders Monday in the wake of last week's terrorist assault in Tunis, on the country's national museum, that left 21 people dead, all but one of them foreign tourists

country's national museum

Tunis

police

minister

commanders

terrorist

people

assault

Tunis

dead

terrorist


Input: Authorities Search Home of Germanwings Co-Pilot Andreas Lubitz-On Friday, German police searched the two homes where the co-pilot stayed when not flying: an apartment he kept in Dusseldorf, and his parents' home in the small German town of Montabour

homes

apartment

German

Dusseldorf

German

town

Montabour

Germanwings

police

Andreas Lubitz

co-pilot


Input: Yemen's FM Hopes for Quick End to Saudi-led Strikes -Yemeni Foreign Minister Riyadh Yasin says that airstrikes being carried out by a Saudi-led coalition against Yemen's Shi'ite Houthi rebels, who have seized control over large swaths of the country, should weaken the group and end quickly

Yemen's

Yemeni

country

Saudi-led coalition

Yemen's Shi'ite Houthi rebels

group

Riyadh Yasin

airstrikes

Saudi-led coalition


Input: At Summit of Americas, US Faces Charged Environment-PANAMA CITY — -When President Barack Obama meets Friday and Saturday with other leaders of the Americas, he will encounter a charged environment full of factions – some allied with him, some arrayed against the U.S. and most trying to secure an economic future amid diminishing resources

Americas

US

PANAMA CITY

U.S.

Americas

Barack Obama

leaders

meets

Barack Obama


Input: FILE - U.S. President Barack Obama can expect various factions at summit

U.S.

Barack Obama


Input: Cuba's removal from the list has long been anticipated, and Obama for months has signaled he's prepared to take that step once he received a formal recommendation

Cuba's

Obama


Input: Havana has eagerly sought removal from the list as part of a reopening of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba

Havana

United States

Cuba


Input: All eyes will be on the two leaders and on whether Obama announces Cuba's removal from the terror-sponsor list

Cuba's

Obama


Input: "It's one thing for them to meet – it’s an international forum – and shake hands politely,'' said Raul Madrid, a Latin American expert at the University of Texas

Latin American

University of Texas

them

Raul Madrid

expert


Input: "It's another thing for them to be seen actually talking to each other at length, having some kind of negotiations, trying to work something out.'

them


Input: Hopes ran high in the initial days after the December 17 announcement that the U.S. and Cuba could move quickly toward normalized ties

U.S.

Cuba


Input: In the initial days, there was a flurry of activity: an exchange of prisoners, intensive meetings in Havana and looser restrictions on travel and trade

Havana

prisoners


Input: The U.S. had hoped to reopen an embassy in Havana before the summit, but that has not yet materialized

embassy

U.S.

Havana


Input: Obama's participation in this year's Summit of the Americas comes as his administration seeks to normalize relations with Cuba but also as it takes a tough stand against the government of Venezuela and its harsh attempts to silence dissent in the oil-rich but economically struggling nation

Cuba

Venezuela

nation

Americas

administration

government

Obama's


Input: Obama recently slapped sanctions on seven leading Venezuelans in protest over President Nicolas Maduro's crackdown on dissidents

Obama

Venezuelans

Nicolas Maduro's


Input: In so doing, the administration described Venezuela as a threat to U.S. security

Venezuela

U.S.

administration


Input: That's just boilerplate language when imposing sanctions, the U.S. says

U.S.


Input: But Maduro, facing increasing economic pressure as oil prices have plummeted, has used the designation as an anti-U.S. rallying cry

Maduro


Input: Obama's challenge is to prevent the summit from being overshadowed by U.S. tensions with Venezuela, which have irked other Latin American nations and increased the pressure on the U.S. to back up its outreach to Cuba with some tangible results

U.S.

Venezuela

Latin American

U.S.

Cuba

Obama's


Input: "The sense is we want to lead, but we also want to make it easier for other countries to follow us

countries


Input: The timing of the sanctions has made it harder and I wonder what the urgency was,'' said Carl Meacham, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies

the Americas Program

the Center for Strategic and International Studies

Carl Meacham

director


Input: But Shannon O'Neil, Latin American expert at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said Maduro wants to highlight the sanctions to overshadow changes in U.S.-Cuba relations and his own economic and political troubles

Latin American

Council on Foreign Relations

Shannon O'Neil

expert

Maduro

tank


Input: The U.S. is clearly the biggest economic power and, as such, the most influential voice in the hemisphere

U.S.

hemisphere


Input: "Given the usual anti-U.S. rhetoric coming out of Venezuela and the limiting of the movement of U.S. diplomats in the country, it is unlikely Venezuela's approach at the summit would be much different'' even if no sanctions had been imposed, she said

Venezuela

U.S.

country

Venezuela's

diplomats


Input: ALBA nations-These are the countries in the 12-member Bolivarian Alliance, a coalition of center-left countries in Latin America and the Caribbean known as ALBA

countries

coalition

Latin America

Caribbean

ALBA

Bolivarian Alliance


Input: Together, they represent the face of opposition to the United States

United States


Input: Their members include Maduro of Venezuela, Castro of Cuba, and Presidents Rafael Correa of Ecuador, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and Evo Morales of Bolivia

Venezuela

Cuba

Ecuador

Nicaragua

Bolivia

Maduro

Castro

Rafael Correa

Daniel Ortega

Evo Morales


Input: Member countries also include Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Antigua

Barbuda

Dominica

Saint Lucia


Input: Grenanda and St. Kitts and Nevis joined in December

Grenanda

Kitts

Nevis


Input: Most recently, alliance members have banded in support of Venezuela, denouncing the U.S. sanctions against the seven Venezuelans and claiming that the Obama administration is trying to undermine Maduro

Venezuela

U.S.

administration

members

Venezuelans

Obama

Maduro


Input: "You are going to have two camps,'' said Meacham of the Center for Strategic and International Studies

camps

the Center for Strategic and International Studies

Meacham


Input: "You are going to have the ALBA countries

countries

ALBA


Input: And then you're going to have countries that support what the United States is doing but may not be as vocal in their support of the United States because of the sanctions.'

countries

the United States

the United States


Input: But its sway over Latin America is limited

Latin America


Input: SICA nations-These are the eight countries that comprise the Central American Integration System, known as SICA for its Spanish acronym

countries

Spanish

SICA

Central American Integration System

SICA


Input: Obama plans to meet with SICA leaders Friday to highlight U.S. economic efforts in the region

U.S.

region

SICA

Obama

leaders

meet

Obama


Input: Key to him are three group members in particular: El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras

El Salvador

Guatemala

Honduras

group

members


Input: The remaining members include Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Panama

Belize

Costa Rica

the Dominican Republic

Nicaragua

Panama


Input: Obama has included a $1 billion assistance package to the region in his 2016 budget request, prompted in part by last year's increase in the number of unaccompanied minors from Central America who turned up at the Texas border

Texas

region

Central America

border

Obama

minors

$1 billion

included

Obama


Input: The U.S. aid aims to improve economies and security

U.S.


Input: The murder rates in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are among the five highest in the world

El Salvador

Guatemala

Honduras

world


Input: Brazil -FILE - Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff

Brazil

Brazil’s

Dilma Rousseff


Input: Despite winning 52 percent of the vote in her re-election last fall, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is facing vocal calls for her resignation or impeachment amid a major corruption scandal and dour economic straits

Brazilian

Dilma Rousseff


Input: Even U.S. allies have not been ready to march in lockstep with their big neighbor to the north

U.S.

allies


Input: Those revelations leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden infuriated the Brazilian leader, who canceled a visit to Washington in protest

Brazilian

Washington

NSA

contractor

Edward Snowden

leader


Input: The White House has insisted that the rift has been mended

White House


Input: Biden extended a new invitation for Rousseff to visit when he spoke to her by phone last month, but Rousseff isn't expected to decide whether to accept the invitation until after the summit

Rousseff

Biden


Input: Argentina -FILE - Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner

Argentina

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner


Input: President Cristina Fernandez was once one of Obama's more vocal fans, but these days the U.S. president might prefer that Fernandez just keep quiet

U.S.

Cristina Fernandez

fans

president

Fernandez


Input: The first woman elected president of Argentina, Fernandez as well as her administration has been rocked by the strange death of a prosecutor who had made allegations against her

Argentina

administration

woman

president

Fernandez

prosecutor

death

prosecutor


Input: The prosecutor, Alberto Nisman, was found shot dead in his bathroom in January – four days after he accused Fernandez and her aides of making a deal with Iran to cover up the alleged roles that Iranian officials played in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Argentina

bathroom

Iran

Iranian

Argentina

Jewish center

prosecutor

Alberto Nisman

Fernandez

officials

bombing

Argentina

dead

Alberto Nisman

bathroom


Input: A federal appeals court has thrown out the case, and Fernandez has always denied the allegations

court

Fernandez


Input: Still, the controversy has damaged Fernandez's credibility and her popularity has taken a hit

Fernandez's


Input: Obama may be more concerned about a long-running debt dispute with Argentina

Argentina

Obama


Input: The dispute dates back to the country's 2001 default on $100 billion and rose all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court when a group of U.S. hedge fund managers demanded full payment

U.S.

U.S. Supreme Court

group

$100 billion


Input: The high court ruled against Argentina, affirming that the country must first settle debt with a small group of hedge funds before making interest payments on debt owed to other lenders; a day later, the rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded Argentina's rating to junk status

Argentina

country

court

group

agency

Standard & Poor's


Input: FILE - Raul Castro leads Cuba, which seeks removal from U.S. list of terrorists

Cuba

U.S.

Raul Castro


Input: Although the White House says the two leaders will surely interact while attending the summit, no formal bilateral meetings had been scheduled ahead of the trip

the White House

two leaders


Input: Obama on Wednesday said the State Department had finished its review of whether to remove Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism

Cuba

state

State Department

Obama


Input: Baltimore Death Draws Protests Nationwide -On Wednesday, people across the nation marched in support of protests in Baltimore, where a young black man died while in police custody

Baltimore

nation

Baltimore

police

people

man

Protests

marched


Input: Aid Group: About 40 Migrants Reportedly Drown During Rescue-The Save the Children aid group reported that about 40 migrants may have drowned Sunday in the Mediterranean when the rubber dinghy they were on either deflated or exploded as they tried to reach the coast of Italy

Italy

Mediterranean

coast

Aid Group

The Save the Children

Migrants

migrants

drowned

Mediterranean


Input: U.S. Aid Efforts Intensify; Nepal Quake Toll Rises -

Nepal

U.S. Aid Efforts Intensify


Input: S. African Security Targets Foreigners-JOHANNESBURG — -South African police and soldiers raided Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg, known for sheltering displaced foreigners, during the early hours of Friday morning

JOHANNESBURG

South African

Johannesburg

Central Methodist Church

police

soldiers

raided

soldiers

Central Methodist Church

Johannesburg


Input: Two people were arrested and 470 are currently detained by the Home Affairs Ministry in a nearby prison

prison

Home Affairs Ministry

people

arrested

detained

Home Affairs Ministry

prison


Input: So we go here, we see a lot of police and soldiers with guns and Home Affairs

police

Home Affairs

soldiers

guns


Input: They said everyone must sit down on the ground floor

floor


Input: They said, ‘you are going back to your countries,’” said Mambu

countries


Input: Police spokesman Lt. Colonel Katlego Mogale maintains that the operation was “disciplined and organized” and that nobody was injured

Colonel

Katlego Mogale


Input: Blankets left on makeshift cardboard beds signalled a hasty departure for some 2,000 people staying in the church

church

people

departure

church


Input: Mambu said that she and her husband had few choices

Mambu

husband


Input: "I left Zimbabwe because of the elections

Zimbabwe


Input: [I was] afraid because my husband was the chairman for MDC [party]; so they want to kill people from MDC; so we leave Zimbabwe and we are staying here," said Mambu

Zimbabwe

MDC [party

MDC

husband

chairman


Input: ‘Operation Fiela’-Johannesburg's Central Methodist Church became a sanctuary for foreign nationals following a wave of xenophobic violence in 2008

Johannesburg's Central Methodist Church

‘Operation Fiela’


Input: Most who stayed here are illegal immigrants from other parts of Africa as well as South Africans with nowhere else to go

Africa


Input: Conditions in the church are unsanitary

church


Input: Bottles filled with urine line the stairwell with empty food packets and burger boxes strewn across the floor

floor


Input: The possessions of the displaced foreigners are put in a bin if they go unclaimed, Johannesburg, South Africa, May 8, 2015

Johannesburg

South Africa


Input: It is described as an anti-crime campaign but rights groups said the operation is institutionalizing anti-foreigner sentiment

groups


Input: A surge of xenophobic attacks last month left at least eight people dead and forced thousands of foreigners to desert their homes and businesses

homes

businesses

people

foreigners

attacks

people


Input: Some might be eligible for asylum, but rights groups say that there is incompetence and corruption in Home Affairs, making it difficult for many migrants to get documents

groups

Home Affairs


Input: As dawn broke in Johannesburg, hordes of heavily armed South African police and army units arrived to raid the church

Johannesburg

South African

police

army

units

church

raid

units

church


Input: Notices pinned on church walls the day before Friday's raid stated that following a theft in the building, the church had “no choice” but to evict everyone from the building

building

building

church


Input: Those who were staying at the church argue that church members wanted them out at any cost

church

church

members


Input: Bishop Ndumiso Ncombo said this was not the case

Ndumiso Ncombo


Input: "The church has no problem with housing people that are genuine and who are really desperate for help but while you do that – there are people who are going to hide behind that…

church


Input: the church was not happy, particularly about the element of crime.,” said Bishop Ncombo

church

Bishop Ncombo


Input: Paul Verryn, former bishop to the church, described the raid as “beyond despicable.

church

Paul Verryn

bishop


Input: ’”-For hundreds of people who sought refuge in the church – once renowned for its charity – it is too late

church


Input: Many are likely to be sent back to their countries regardless of what they might face on their return

countries

Many


Input: The illegal foreign nationals were carted off in armored vans

nationals

vans

carted

vans


Input: Gun-toting police entered the church shouting obscenities, calling people "kwekwerere" - a derogatory term for foreigner - according to Lizzy Mambu, who has stayed at the church since she fled Zimbabwe several years ago

Zimbabwe

police

church

church

Lizzy Mambu

fled

Lizzy Mambu

Zimbabwe


Input: A bedroom for several people who have sought refuge is seen at the church, Johannesburg, South Africa, May 8, 2015

bedroom

Johannesburg

South Africa

church


Input: North Korea’s Economy Shows Signs of Improving-SEOUL — -Although the reported purge of North Korea’s defense chief and other high ranking officials may point to instability within the Kim Jong Un regime, the country’s economy has shown signs of improving

SEOUL

North Korea’s

regime

officials

Kim Jong Un


Input: Under Kim Jong Un, the country has seen lower numbers of defectors trying to escape to the more prosperous South

country

South

defectors

escape

country

South


Input: It can cost thousands of dollars to pay smugglers and bribe border guards, to illegally cross over the border into China

China

border

smugglers

guards

dollars

pay

smugglers

bribe

guards


Input: But Andrei Lankov, a professor of North Korea history at Kookmin University in Seoul, also credits the young supreme leader for taking a more practical approach to managing the economy to give more workers a financial incentive to operate within the system

North Korea

Seoul

Kookmin University

Andrei Lankov

professor

leader


Input: A case in point, he said, is the increase of legal migrant labor programs that send low wage North Korean workers to China, Russia and the Middle East

North Korean

China

Russia

Middle East

workers

send

Middle East


Input: By allowing these laborers to work overseas, with the caveat that their families would be held accountable if they do not return, Professor Lankov said Kim Jong Un is giving workers a viable alternative to defecting

families

Lankov

Kim Jong Un


Input: Human rights groups, like the Seoul-based Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, describe the controls imposed by Pyongyang as inhumane treatment

Pyongyang

groups

Database Center for North Korean Human Rights


Input: In the wake of the reported execution of North Korea’s Armed Forces Minister Hyon Yong Chol and three other high-ranking officials, there have been no outward signs of instability in the Kim Jong Un regime

North Korea’s Armed Forces

regime

Hyon Yong Chol

officials

Kim Jong Un

execution

officials


Input: Still, these are sought after jobs in North Korea, where workers in many state run operations do not get paid at all

North Korea

state


Input: And legal migrant laborers don’t put their families back home at risk of imprisonment, as do defectors who try to escape the repressive state

home

state

families

defectors

escape

state


Input: Since the famine that struck North Korea in the late 1990s, when about one million people died of starvation, Pyongyang has slowly instituted some market-based reforms to the state run communist system to allow farmers to keep a portion of what they earn

North Korea

Pyongyang

state

people

died

North Korea

people


Input: Under Kim Jong Un some state owned enterprises have been given the latitude to operate essentially as private businesses

state

businesses


Input: Professor Lankov said the economic system now is a ruthless type of capitalism, rife with exploitation, but it is working

Lankov


Input: South Korea’s Defense Ministry says there has been no change in military readiness posture on either side of the border

border

South Korea’s Defense Ministry


Input: Professor Lankov said North Korea’s apparent improved economic performance does not necessarily equate to increased stability within the Kim Jong Un regime

North Korea’s

regime

Lankov

Kim Jong Un


Input: But he says it is important to note the country is not on the verge of starvation or economic collapse

country


Input: VOA Seoul Producer Youmi Kim contributed to this report

Seoul

VOA

Youmi Kim


Input: North Korea did begin live-fire drills at sea near the border, but they conducted similar drills last year

North Korea

border


Input: The country’s economy has also been improving, despite tough international sanctions imposed on Pyongyang for a variety of provocative actions, most importantly its continued development of nuclear weapons

Pyongyang

weapons


Input: In 2014, the Hyundai Economic Research Institute in Seoul forecast that North Korea’s economy would grow by seven percent a year for 10 years

Seoul

the Hyundai Economic Research Institute


Input: This may be overly optimistic but the country has experienced positive growth for the past three years

country


Input: And according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry the number of North Korean refugees entering South Korea dropped by more than 50 percent in 2009 to about 1,300 in 2014

North Korean

South Korea

South Korea’s Unification Ministry

refugees

entering

North Korean

South Korea


Input: Part of the reason for this decline is that Pyongyang, during the tenure of Kim Jong Un, has increased the number of border guards and instituted harsher punishments for Koreans caught attempting to illegally cross the border

Pyongyang

border

Kim Jong Un

guards

Koreans


Input: FIFA Head: Charges Bring 'Shame, Humiliation' on Sport-FIFA President Sepp Blatter said corruption scandals that rocked the world soccer organization have brought "shame and humiliation" on the sport

world

FIFA

FIFA

organization

Sepp Blatter


Input: "The next few months will not be easy for FIFA

FIFA


Input: UEFA President Michel Platini addresses a news conference after a UEFA meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, May 28, 2015

Zurich

Switzerland

UEFA

UEFA

Michel Platini

conference

Michel Platini

Zurich


Input: The president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), French football legend Michel Platini, spoke openly about the FIFA scandal and took issue with Blatter's refusal to resign

French

Union of European Football Associations

UEFA

FIFA

president

Michel Platini


Input: "We went to his office and I renewed my advice to him to go and that he should resign," Platini said

Platini


Input: According to Platini, Blatter refused, arguing that it was too late, since the electing congress was about to start

Platini

Blatter


Input: The German Football Association (DFB) has also demanded Blatter's resignation, citing the credibility issue with him

German Football Association

DFB


Input: “It is time for a change, definitely, and that it is not a question of whether Blatter is guilty or not guilty,” DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach said

DFB

Blatter

president

Wolfgang Niersbach


Input: “It is time for change because we need FIFA as an institution with credibility and that is difficult, maybe impossible without a change at the top,” he added

FIFA

institution


Input: Blatter rejected their demands

Blatter


Input: I am sure more bad news will follow but it is necessary to begin to restore trust," Blatter said, speaking publicly for the first time since U.S. and Swiss officials unveiled major corruption investigations of the organization and seven high-ranking current and former FIFA officials were arrested Wednesday

U.S.

Swiss

organization

Blatter

officials

FIFA officials

arrested


Input: Credit card company Visa made the strongest statement after the U.S. Justice Department unveiled an indictment Wednesday charging 14 people with offenses that include racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering

company

Visa

U.S. Justice Department


Input: "As a sponsor, we expect FIFA to take swift and immediate steps to address these issues within its organization," the credit card company said in a statement

FIFA

organization

company


Input: "This starts with rebuilding a culture with strong ethical practices in order to restore the reputation of the games for fans everywhere.

fans


Input: Coca-Cola Co. also said it has repeatedly expressed concern about the allegations and expects FIFA to thoroughly address the issues, while Adidas called on FIFA to "follow transparent compliance standards in everything they do.

Coca-Cola Co.

FIFA

Adidas

FIFA


Input: The United Nations is also reviewing its partnerships with FIFA following allegations of widespread corruption, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday, a day after the scandal erupted

United Nations

FIFA

U.N.

Stephane Dujarric


Input: The U.N. and FIFA have partnerships, for example, to promote health, gender equality and for child protection

U.N.

FIFA

child


Input: FILE - Jordan's Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, FIFA presidential candidate, attends the Soccerex Asian Forum on developing the business of football in Asia at the King Hussein Convention Center at the Dead Sea, Jordan, May 4, 2015

Jordan

Asia

King Hussein Convention Center

Dead Sea

FIFA

Ali Bin Al Hussein

attends

Ali Bin Al Hussein

King Hussein Convention Center


Input: Leadership vote-The Asian Football Confederation said Thursday that Friday's scheduled vote for FIFA's president should go ahead as planned and that it supports Blatter

Asian Football Confederation

FIFA's

president

Blatter


Input: Blatter is expected to win a fifth term in Friday's election against Jordan's Prince Ali

Blatter

Jordan's Prince Ali


Input: But The Football Federation of Australia, FFA, which has supported Blatter since he first assumed the presidency in 1998, said it would support the prince this year

Football Federation of Australia

FFA

Blatter


Input: "FFA believes that profound change within FIFA is needed as soon as possible to address issues of governance and transparency," a statement said

FFA

FIFA


Input: "This belief will be reflected when Australia casts its vote in the presidential election, should it proceed on Friday in Zurich.

Australia

Zurich


Input: Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Thursday that whoever serves as FIFA's next president should take steps to ensure future World Cup host cities focus on basic human rights

Human Rights Watch

HRW

president


Input: "The arrests have spotlighted FIFA's unaccountable system, but there should also be a new scrutiny of the conditions for a vast army of migrant laborers who are building massive new infrastructure to host the World Cup," said Minky Worden, HRW's director of global initiatives

FIFA's

army

HRW's

Minky Worden

director


Input: Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, said FIFA needs to learn from the Olympic movement's experience and become more transparent if it is to regain its credibility

International Olympic Committee

FIFA

Thomas Bach

president


Input: In 1998, the IOC was caught in its own bribes-for-votes scandal involving the 2002 winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City

Utah

IOC


Input: That was the catalyst that led to wholesale reforms within the organization

organization


Input: Bach, who spoke Thursday after Blatter addressed delegates, said, "These are sad and difficult days for FIFA

FIFA

Bach

Blatter

delegates


Input: We cannot allow the reputation of football and FIFA to be dragged through the mud any longer

FIFA


Input: Federal agents carry out boxes of evidence taken from the headquarters of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF,) May 27, 2015, in Miami Beach, Fla

headquarters

Miami Beach

Fla

Central America

Confederation of North

Caribbean Association Football

CONCACAF


Input: Authorities in Zurich, Switzerland, arrested seven people early Wednesday, while the FBI raided the Miami offices of CONCACAF, the regional body governing North and Central America

offices

Zurich

Switzerland

Miami

North

Central America

Authorities

FBI

CONCACAF

people

arrested


Input: U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch called the allegations "rampant, systemic and deep-rooted" corruption that "profoundly harmed a multitude of victims.

U.S.

Loretta Lynch


Input: "They did this over and over, year after year, tournament after tournament," Lynch said

Lynch


Input: Swiss authorities also unveiled a separate investigation into allegations of mismanagement and money laundering connected to the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups

Swiss


Input: FIFA's ethics committee investigated similar allegations, and concluded in November that there were only "limited" ethics breaches and not sufficient evidence of bribery in awarding the tournaments

committee


Input: FIFA said it is fully cooperating with both U.S. and Swiss authorities, and that it is in the "highest interest" of the organization that all questions are answered

U.S.

Swiss

FIFA

organization


Input: Some material for this report came from AP and Reuters

AP

Reuters


Input: FIFA Officials Arrested on Corruption Charge

FIFA


Input: "I know many people hold me ultimately responsible for the actions and reputation for the global football community," Blatter said, adding, "I cannot monitor everyone all of the time

Blatter


Input: "But it must fall to me to be responsible for the reputation and well-being of our organization and to find a way forward to fix things," he said

organization


Input: US Supreme Court Rules Gay Marriage Legal Nationwide-WASHINGTON — -President Barack Obama has hailed as "a victory for America" the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Friday that same-sex couples have the right to marry anywhere in the United States

WASHINGTON

America

United States

US Supreme Court

U.S. Supreme Court

Barack Obama

couples


Input: In a five to four decision, the high court declared that the U.S. Constitution's guarantees of due process and equal protection for all overrule any state's attempt to outlaw same-sex marriages

U.S.

court


Input: In 2013, Obergefell sued the state of Ohio over its refuals to list him as the surviving spouse on the death certificate John Arthur, the man Obergefell married in Maryland where same-sex marriage is legal

state

Ohio

Maryland

Obergefell

spouse

John Arthur

man

Obergefell

death

John Arthur


Input: "America has taken one more step toward the promise of equality enshrined in our Constitution, and I'm humbled to be part of that," Obergefell said after the ruling

America

Obergefell


Input: People wave flags, and banners in celebration of the Supreme Court's ruling on Same Sex Marriage in Washington, D.C., June 26, 2015

Washington, D.C.


Input: (Photo: M. Burke / VOA)-Obergefell spoke to reporters outside the court

VOA

court

M. Burke

Obergefell

reporters

outside

reporters


Input: “Today’s ruling from the Supreme Court affirms what millions across this country already know to be true in our hearts, our love is equal and that the four words etched above the Supreme Court, “Equal Justice Under Law”, apply to us too.

country

Supreme Court


Input: Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said on Twitter the ruling was a “shocking abuse of power, and will never be accepted.

Family Research Council

Twitter

Tony Perkins

president


Input: Speaker of the House John Boehner issued a statement, saying he was "disappointed that the Supreme Court disregarded the democratically enacted will of millions of Americans by forcing states to redefine the institution of marriage.

states

House

the Supreme Court

institution

John Boehner


Input: Scene in front of Supreme Court after ruling on Same Sex Marriage in Washington, D.C., June 26, 2015

Washington, D.C.

Supreme Court


Input: Previously only 36 of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia had allowed gay marriage

District of Columbia


Input: Representative Nancy Pelosi, leader of Democrats in the House, called the Supreme Court's ruling on gay marriage a “transformative” decision, saying the ruling “unequivocally affirmed that equal justice under the law means marriage equality” for gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender Americans

Democrats

House

Nancy Pelosi

leader


Input: “This decision is about creating a future where loving, committed families are able to live with dignity

families


Input: Kennedy wrote that gays and lesbian couples asked for “equal dignity in the eyes of the law.

Kennedy

couples


Input: Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia was among the four dissenters

Antonin Scalia


Input: He wrote the decision shows the court is “a threat to American democracy.

American

court


Input: Gay marriage supporters broke out in cheers as word of the decision spread over a crowd of hundreds who had gathered outside the court building

building

court


Input: Supporters of same-sex marriage celebrate outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, Friday June 26, 2015, after the court declared that same-sex couples have a right to marry anywhere in the US

Washington

US

the Supreme Court

court

couples


Input: Marshall said the battle over gay marriage will continue

Marshall


Input: “Well this is a disappointment because the court should have respected the fact that nothing in the Constitution required the re-definition of marriage

court


Input: Marriage policy has historically been and should remain under the authority of states and the American people

American


Input: The court has issued a decision but it will not end the conversation about what marriage is any more than the Roe versus Wade decision has ended the abortion debate.

court

Roe


Input: People celebrate Supreme Court ruling on Same Sex Marriage in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., June 26, 2015

Washington, D.C.

Supreme Court

the Supreme Court


Input: The ruling is the Supreme Court's most important expansion of marriage rights in the United States since its landmark 1967 ruling in the case Loving v. Virginia that struck down state laws barring interracial marriages

United States

Virginia

state


Input: People celebrate Supreme Court ruling on Same Sex Marriage in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., June 26, 2015

Washington, D.C.

Supreme Court

the Supreme Court


Input: “American’s views about gay marriage have changed remarkably fast in terms of being more accepting of gay marriage overall," Bowman said

Bowman


Input: Jim Obergefell, the named plaintiff in the case before the Supreme Court, center, talks on a cellphone to President Barack Obama on the steps of the Supreme Court following the court's decision, in Washington, D.C., June 26, 2015

Washington, D.C.

the Supreme Court

Supreme Court

Jim Obergefell

Barack Obama


Input: "And it has been one of the most rapid transformations I’ve seen in public opinion, in part because so many know someone who is gay or have a friend who is gay or a family member who is gay and that kind of proximity has actually created greater acceptance," he added

friend

family

member


Input: Georgetown University law professor Nan Hunter told VOA’s Mike Bowman outside the court that Friday’s decision reflected that shift in public opinion

Georgetown University

VOA’s

court

professor

Nan Hunter

Mike Bowman


Input: “I’m not sure America changed today

America


Input: I think the court today said we see how America has changed.

America

court


Input: VOA's Michael Bowman contributed to this report

Michael Bowman


Input: It will strengthen all of our communities," Obama said at the White House after the historic ruling

communities

White House

Obama


Input: "America should be very proud," Obama said

America

Obama


Input: Afghan Court Overturns Death Sentences in Mob Killing of Woman-KABUL — -An appeals court in Afghanistan has quietly overturned the death sentence given to four men involved in the brutal mob killing of a woman earlier this year

Afghanistan

Afghan Court

court

Mob

Woman

men

woman

killing

men

woman


Input: Fazal Manan Nuri, the defense attorney of one of the accused, Abdul Bashir, told VOA that three of the men convicted of the March murder of Farkhunda Malikzada were instead given 20-year sentences

VOA

Fazal Manan Nuri

attorney

Abdul Bashir

men

Farkhunda Malikzada

murder

men

Farkhunda Malikzada


Input: The secrecy with which the appeals process was handled was the opposite of the trial, during which journalists and news cameras were allowed into the courtroom

courtroom

journalists


Input: Farkhunda, 27, was killed March 19 in a brutal attack that was sparked by false accusations that she desecrated the Muslim holy book, the Quran

Farkhunda


Input: Cellphone video showed people beating her with sticks, pushing her body from a rooftop and running it over with a car, before dragging it through the streets of Kabul, burning it, and dumping it in a river

streets

Kabul

car


Input: The father of Farkhunda speaks at a hearing at the Primary Court in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Kabul

Afghanistan

the Primary Court

father

Farkhunda


Input: The attack sparked protests in Afghanistan and widespread outrage elsewhere, including condemnations by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and the United Nations

Afghanistan

Afghan

United Nations

Ashraf Ghani


Input: Afghan authorities promised swift justice

Afghan


Input: Thirty civilians and 19 police officers were arrested and charged with either participating in the attack or failing to stop it

police

civilians

officers

arrested

officers


Input: A court sentenced four civilians to death in May, including the cleric Mullah Zainul Abideen, who had falsely accused Farkhunda of desecrating the Quran

court

civilians

Mullah Zainul Abideen

Farkhunda


Input: Eight others had been sentenced to 16-year jail terms

jail

others

sentenced


Input: The fourth convict was sentenced to 10 years because of his age

convict


Input: Eleven of the police officers received one-year jail terms while eight others were acquitted

jail

police

officers

received

officers


Input: Farkhunda’s family and human rights activists had expressed dissatisfaction with that decision

family


Input: Police were blamed for failing to stop the attack on Farkhunda

Farkhunda

attack

Farkhunda


Input: They say the country’s legal system does not take crimes against women seriously

women


Input: Anisa Rasooli, a leading lawyer who has been nominated to become Afghanistan's first female Supreme Court judge

Supreme Court

Anisa Rasooli

lawyer

judge


Input: Ghani has promised to reform the judicial system

Ghani


Input: As part of his efforts to promote women's rights and representation in the government, last month he nominated a leading lawyer, Anisa Rasooli, to become Afghanistan's first female Supreme Court judge

government

Supreme Court

lawyer

Anisa Rasooli

judge


Input: The nomination, which requires parliamentary approval, has upset some Islamic clerics in male-dominated, conservative Afghan society

Afghan


Input: Ghani has also appointed two female governors in Ghor and Daikundi provinces

Ghor

Daikundi


Input: His cabinet includes four female members

cabinet

members


Input: The decision, Nuri said, was handed down Tuesday

Nuri


Input: The appeal was heard behind closed doors, with no journalists, nor even Farkhunda’s family present

journalists

Farkhunda’s

family


Input: FILE - Afghan women's rights activists carry the coffin of Farkhunda, an Afghan woman who was beaten to death and set alight on fire March 19, during her funeral ceremony in Kabul, March 22, 2015

Afghan

Afghan

Kabul

activists

Farkhunda

woman

beaten

woman


Input: The decision was kept quiet until a local TV channel, Tolo News, reported the verdict Wednesday based on anonymous sources

Tolo News


Input: Family outraged-Farkhunda’s family has expressed outrage and her father, Mohammad Nadar, has called the ruling “unacceptable.

family

father

Mohammad Nadar


Input: Africa AIDS Conference Wraps in Zimbabwe-HARARE — -Medical researchers and scholars from 13 sub-Saharan African countries on Thursday wrapped a three-day conference in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

HARARE

countries

Zimbabwe

Africa

African

researchers

scholars

conference

scholars

Zimbabwe


Input: Africa bears the biggest effects of HIV with more than two-thirds of global infections being on the continent

continent

Africa


Input: Professor Hakim said that explains why the United States, through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), provided $130 million in 2010 to support activities of the Medical Education Partnership Initiative for five years

United States

President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief

PEPFAR

Hakim

$130 million

provided

United States


Input: He said the program ensures innovations to address HIV and AIDS in Africa and, down the road, will hopefully lead to an AIDS-free generation

road

Africa


Input: The conference enabled medical researchers and scholars from across Africa to exchange notes on what is being done to fight the spread of HIV on the continent

continent

Africa

researchers

scholars


Input: One of the major highlights of the conference was a revelation that the number of medical graduates in HIV/AIDS is increasing in Africa

Africa

graduates


Input: The chairman of the conference, professor James Hakim, said a lot had improved since the introduction of antiretroviral drugs in Africa but added that much remains to be done

Africa

chairman

professor

James Hakim


Input: Although there are a lot of programs that are looking for cure, there is none, Hakim said

Hakim


Input: One new realization is that: Treatment with antiretroviral drugs is not only therapy for those affected, but it also protects others," Hakim added

Hakim


Input: Iran Deal Backers Urged to Lobby Congress-U.S. President Barack Obama told groups who support the Iran nuclear deal to make their voices heard to Congress to counter the millions of dollars in lobbying by those who want to derail the agreement

Iran

U.S.

Iran

Congress

groups

Congress

Barack Obama

millions of dollars


Input: In a call Thursday with groups affiliated with the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning Washington think-tank, Obama said activists who want peace must not make the same mistake they did in the run-up to the Iraq war, when proponents of the war drowned out their weaker voices

Washington

Iraq

groups

Center for American Progress

Obama

activists


Input: Obama suggested the United States could be forced into a military confrontation with Iran within six months of backing out of the deal

United States

Iran

military

Obama


Input: Activists deliver more than 400,000 petition signatures to Capitol Hill in support of the Iran nuclear deal in Washington, July 29, 2015

Iran

Washington

Capitol Hill

Activists


Input: If upheld, the deal is certain to shape Obama's legacy as he prepares to leave office, saying "I've never been more certain about a policy decision than I am here.

Obama's


Input: Obama explained how the deal is designed to prevent Iran from acquiring the nuclear weapons he said it otherwise could develop within six months without the deal's constraints

Iran

Obama

weapons


Input: Not only are the vast majority of Republicans in Congress opposed and mobilizing to send him a resolution of disapproval in September, but support among Democrats has been slow to come

Republicans

Congress

Democrats


Input: "It's very clear to me that the agreement is the best path forward," two-term Michigan Representative Kildee told The Associated Press in an interview

Michigan

Associated Press

Kildee


Input: "This agreement allows us to prevent (Iran) from gaining a nuclear weapon, and if they cheat, we will know it

Iran

weapon


Input: "Right now the opponents of this deal have been flooding Congressional offices," pouring $20 million into television ads and "putting the squeeze" on legislators to vote against the deal, he said, telling supporters they must work hard to counter an aggressive lobbying campaign against it

television ads

Congressional

campaign

legislators

supporters

$20 million


Input: New Mexico Democratic Senator Tom Udall and North Carolina Representative David Price also announced their support for the agreement, a boost for Obama amid a week of furious lobbying and committee hearings on Capitol Hill

New Mexico

North Carolina

Capitol Hill

Democratic

committee

Senator

Tom Udall

David Price

Obama


Input: Congress is currently reviewing the deal and has until September 17 to approve or reject the agreement

Congress


Input: Pro-Israel lobby-The pro-Israel lobby behind the multimillion-dollar ad campaign argues that Iran cannot be trusted – a contention that resonates with the public as opinion polls show most Americans do not trust Iran to keep its promises

Iran

Iran

Americans

multimillion-dollar


Input: Calling Iran's government a "brutal" regime, Obama conceded that Iran might try to cheat

Iran

government

regime

Iran's

Obama


Input: But if it does, he said the deal gives the United States the leverage it needs to punish Iran harshly by sending its economy back into "depression.

United States

Iran


Input: "If they cheat, the sanctions will go back into place and their economy will go back into the tank," Obama said

Obama


Input: Every argument that's been made against the deal is either "inaccurate" or assumes the United States could have gotten a better deal by persuading Iran to forgo even peaceful development of nuclear power, he said

United States

Iran


Input: Under pressure from powerful lobbies like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, "they start getting squishy because they're feeling the political heat," Obama said

American Israel Public Affairs Committee

Obama


Input: "In the world of our dreams, that would be preferable," Obama said

world

Obama


Input: "In the real world, this is a deal that gets the job done.

world


Input: The White House did not provide a list of all the groups on Thursday's call

White House

groups


Input: Meanwhile, Reza Najafi, the chief Iranian delegate to the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency, accused the U.S. of violating the nuclear deal with his country

Iranian

U.S.

country

U.N.'s

International Atomic Energy Agency

Reza Najafi

delegate


Input: Najafi said Friday U.S. officials have made comments indicating that the accord, which foresees increased overview of Iran's nuclear activities by the IAEA, would make any attack on Tehran's atomic program more efficient because it would result in greater insight about potential targets

U.S.

Iran's

IAEA

Najafi

officials


Input: He quoted White House spokesman Josh Earnest as saying the increased overview would result in enhanced U.S. or Israeli military action against Iran – if needed – "because we'd been spending the intervening number of years gathering significantly more detail about Iran's nuclear program.

U.S.

Israeli

Iran

Iran's

White House

military

spokesman

Josh Earnest


Input: 'Military option'-Earnest, in his comments to reporters July 17, said the U.S. "military option would remain on the table" if Iran breaks the accord and races to make a bomb

U.S.

Iran

military

Earnest

reporters

bomb


Input: Najafi, in a July 24 letter posted to the IAEA website Wednesday, called Earnest's statement "outrageous.

IAEA


Input: He said it "seriously undermines the very basic principles" needed to implement the deal, adding that the comments amount to "a material breach of the commitments" agreed to by the U.S., Britain, China, Russia, France and Germany at the negotiating table with Iran

U.S.

Britain

China

Russia

France

Germany

Iran


Input: FILE - U.S. President Barack Obama takes a question during a news conference about the recent nuclear deal reached with Iran, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, July 15, 2015

U.S.

Iran

Washington

White House

Barack Obama


Input: Some material for this report came from Reuters and AP

Reuters

AP


Input: The president, who has been aggressively courting Democrats, said legislators he's talked to say they want to vote for the deal, but cite the vigorous and loudly heard opposition, which has been beating a drumbeat against the agreement in virtually every social forum in the United States

United States

Democrats

president

legislators


Input: The July 14 agreement, reached between Iran and the U.S. plus five other world powers, calls on Tehran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief

Iran

U.S.

Tehran


Input: However, opposition in the United States has been unexpectedly strong, with opponents of the deal questioning whether it goes far enough to ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon

United States

Iran

weapon


Input: "In the absence of your voices, you are going to see the same array of voices that got us into the Iraq war, leading to a situation in which we forgo a historic opportunity and we are back on the path of potential military conflict," he said

Iraq

military


Input: Erdogan Signals Possible Snap Election-Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has signaled the possibility of an early parliamentary election

Turkey’s

Erdogan Signals

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan


Input: His comments come as talks about forming a coalition government drag on in Ankara

coalition

Ankara

government


Input: Pro-Kurdish party-The small pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) has been loudest in making those claims, accusing Erdoğan of trying to shape the electoral circumstances that would allow his Justice and Development Party (AKP) to form a single-party government once again

Justice and Development Party

AKP

government


Input: HDP leaders met midweek with a series of foreign ambassadors in Ankara — on Thursday with U.S. ambassador John Bass and Friday with European Union ambassadors — to brief them on rising tensions between the AKP and HDP

Ankara

U.S.

European Union

leaders

ambassadors

ambassador

John Bass

met

Ankara


Input: AKP lawmakers accuse the party of having links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), whose bases and training camps in northern Iraq and Turkey have come under a series of Turkish airstrikes with 30 F-16 bombings on Thursday alone

bases

training camps

Iraq

Turkey

Turkish

AKP

party

Kurdistan Workers’ Party

PKK

F-16 bombings

airstrikes

bases


Input: Among the issues raised with the ambassadors are moves in parliament to lift immunity protections on two HDP co-chairs, Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, paving the way for them to be prosecuted, according to party officials

parliament

Selahattin Demirtaş

Figen Yüksekdağ

officials


Input: State prosecutors are investigating both for “terrorism propaganda,” which could result in 24-year prison sentences

prison

prosecutors


Input: On social media forums, AKP supporters and Twitter trolls have been urging the HDP be banned

AKP


Input: Speaking to the media Friday, Demirtaş urged the government to cease bombing PKK bases and to renew peace talks with the separatists

bases

media

government

PKK

Demirtaş


Input: His supporters, meanwhile, are calling for the main pro-Kurdish opposition party, whose electoral performance last month denied the ruling party a majority, to be banned, accusing it of being a stalking horse for terrorists

party


Input: Turkish defense officials say at least 190 militants have been killed in the airstrikes and more than 300 wounded

Turkish

officials

militants


Input: The PKK has responded with the shootings and attacks that have killed a dozen members of the security forces and one civilian

PKK

members

security forces

civilian

killed

civilian


Input: He added: “As the people of Turkey, we should say, ‘Remove your hands from the trigger, solve this issue at the table

Turkey


Input: ’”-Earlier this week President Erdoğan appeared to slam the door on resuming talks, saying, “It is not possible for us to continue the peace process with those who threaten our national unity and brotherhood.

Erdoğan


Input: “Executives of this party (HDP) should pay,” he added, prompting Kurdish fears the government may act on the demands of its supporters and move more broadly against the HDP, or possibly ban it

Kurdish

government


Input: Damaging the HDP-Merve Tahiroglu, an analyst with the Washington-based Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, said he thinks it unlikely the AKP government would take such a drastic move, arguing the ruling party’s leadership has in the past adopted a strong stance against banning political parties

Foundation for the Defense of Democracies

AKP

government

Merve Tahiroglu

analyst


Input: The endgame for Erdoğan is early elections and to regain the conservative Kurdish votes the AKP lost to the HDP in June — and also to diminish the HDP’s appeal among liberal Turkish voters.

Turkish

Kurdish

AKP

Erdoğan

voters


Input: Erdoğan raised the possibility of a snap election in remarks to reporters while heading to Indonesia, noting that Turkey will need to return to the polls if ongoing government coalition talks fail

Indonesia

Turkey

coalition

government

Erdoğan

reporters


Input: Demirtaş, a former human rights lawyer, led the HDP into the parliamentary elections

Demirtaş

lawyer


Input: Campaigning on a progressive agenda, the HDP broadened its appeal beyond traditional Kurdish supporters, winning enough seats to deprive the AKP of a parliamentary majority for the first time in more than a decade

Kurdish

AKP


Input: Turkish government leaders have maintained a drum beat all week against the pro-Kurdish party

Turkish

government

leaders


Input: In China, Erdoğan told reporters traveling with him that Demirtaş “can't take a stand against the PKK, which is recognized as a terrorist organization by Europe and the United States.

China

United States

Europe

PKK

organization

reporters


Input: He also raised the issue that the HDP leader’s brother, Nurettin, was imprisoned in the past for fighting alongside Kurdish separatists in the mountains of Iraq

Iraq

Kurdish

brother

Nurettin

imprisoned

Nurettin


Input: “These operations will continue until armed groups leave the country and lay down their arms, and until the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ceases to be a threat,” he said, addressing a counter-terrorism conference

country

groups

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

arms

leave

groups

country


Input: He dismissed opposition allegations that the abrupt launching of attacks on IS and the PKK are linked to domestic politics or electoral calculations

IS

PKK