Afghanistan: Explosion hits US airbase in Bagram
Attack claimed by Taliban at facility near Kabul that houses the largest contingent of US soldiers in the country.
NATO says at least four people have been killed in an explosion inside the largest US military base in Afghanistan, with the Taliban claiming responsibility for it.
The explosion struck at dawn on Saturday inside the heavily fortified Bagram airfield, north of Kabul, as the Taliban step up attacks on Western targets before the onset of winter, when fighting usually ebbs.
The nationalities of those killed were not immediately known after the blast, which highlights a worsening security situation nearly two years after NATO formally ended its combat operations in Afghanistan.
Tens of thousands march demanding South Korean president Park Geun-Hye resign
One million expected to turn out for day of protest in Seoul against the president, who is engulfed in a growing corruption scandal
Tens of thousands of men, women and children joined one of the largest anti-government protests seen in Seoul for decades on Saturday, demanding President Park Geun-Hye’s resignation over a snowballing corruption scandal.
Police had planned for 170,000 people, but organisers said they expected a final turnout of up to one million for what was the third in a series of weekly mass protests that have left Park fighting for her political survival.
On the back of official appeals for calm, police deployed around 25,000 officers, many of them in full riot gear, while police buses and trucks blocked every access road – major or minor – around the presidential Blue House.
Haiti faces ‘major food crisis’ after Hurricane Matthew and needs more global donations, says interim president
Jocelerme Privert makes impassioned plea for more fundraising from abroad
Haiti is facing a “major food crisis” and the international community is falling short of helping it to recover from Hurricane Matthew, the country’s interim president has said.
Jocelerme Privert said Haitians were suffering from higher levels of malnutrition and were unable to take action during the upcoming winter planting season due to the scale of the damage.
“I don’t want Haitian citizens to die because of the inability of international assistance,” Mr Privert told BBC News. “But I want the world to understand that we Haitians want to get back to work.
Turkey closes lawyers' groups as thousands languish in jail in post-coup crackdown
Turkey has closed 370 associations, including two lawyers' groups defending human rights and civil liberties. The closures raise the question of who will be left to defend people in courts amid a government crackdown.
Turkish authorities ordered the suspension of 370 associations on Friday, including two prominent lawyers' groups, in the latest blow to civil society and democracy under sweeping emergency powers granted in the wake of July's failed coup bid.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement the 370 associations "threatened national security" with their ties to terrorist organizations and were closed to protect "security, law and order and public peace."
Among the associations ordered to close were the Progressive Lawyers Association (CHD) and Liberal Lawyers Association (OHD), some of whose members are already facing trial on terror related charges. The two legal associations are active defenders of human rights and civil liberties, and represent those charged under Turkey's broad anti-terror laws. Another organization supporting the families of the arrested and convicted people was also closed.
Chaos at India’s banks as two bank notes are made illegal
Indians are forming long queues outside India’s banks after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on the night of November 8 that 1,000 and 500 rupee notes (€13.70 and €6.90, respectively) would stop being legal tender.
The surprise broadcast sent Indians flocking to banks and ATMs to exchange the notes in the days after the ban came into force at midnight on November 9.
The move is an attempt by the government to combat tax evasion and the circulation of “black money”, or undeclared cash. In his speech, Modi said, “the five hundred and thousand rupee notes hoarded by anti-national and anti-social elements will become just worthless pieces of paper.”
WHO WILL BE PRESIDENT TRUMP’S DR. STRANGELOVE?
IF HE COULD, President Donald Trump might roll up his sleeves and single-handedly manage U.S. foreign and military policy. He would be the only man in the room for the coming negotiations with Russia and NATO. He would personally select targets for lethal strikes in places like Yemen, Iraq, and Syria. He might even spend his afternoons piloting each of the unmanned drones and choosing the right moment to pull the trigger.
But he can’t. It’s too much work for one man. Instead, he’ll likely pursue his overseas agenda through the administrative instrument over which the White House has the most direct control — the National Security Council, or NSC, and the national security adviser.
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