KABUL (Reuters) – The strength of the embattled Afghan defense forces has declined to its lowest level in four years, a U.S. watchdog said on Thursday, as talks between Washington and the Taliban continue over the possible withdrawal of foreign troops. The negotiations, due to resume in Qatar on Feb. 25, are centered on a possible ceasefire and the withdrawal […]

Hilary Clinton’s former campaign manager has poured cold water on speculation she is planning to launch another bid for the White House. John Podesta said the 2016 Democratic candidate had insisted she was not seeking to run for president in 2020. “I take her at her word. She’s not running for president,” he told CNN. The broadcaster reported earlier this […]

The polar vortex, dragging in arctic temperatures across swathes of the region, led to emergency measures in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. Among the worst affected cities is Chicago – where daytime highs reached only a bitter -15C – leading to frozen pipes, roads turning to ice blocks and the threat of frostbite in just minutes. NBC Storm Team […]

An 11-month-old baby was burned alive in a stove by his grandparents, say police. The boy, Maxim Sagalakov, was left by his mother Viktoria, 20, in the care of her parents in the Khakassia district of Russia. When she returned, the distraught mum found the child’s charred remains in the stove of the family’s house in Kharoy village. “The grandparents […]

Toronto police announce hate crime investigation concluded after evidence shows cutting of girl’s hijab didn’t occur. Canadian police say an alleged attack on a young girl wearing a hijab did not happen. News reports last Friday said the 11-year-old was approached by a man as she walked to school and he used a pair of scissors to cut the girl’s […]

Emmerson Mnangagwa, the man who recently ousted Robert Mugabe as president of Zimbabwe after 37 years, is in the Swiss city of Davos to tell the global elite that his country is “open for business”. Zimbabwe’s new leader Emmerson Mnangagwa is in the Swiss city of Davos, where he is looking to use the World Economic Forum as a platform […]

Many schools in the United States are teaching an increasing number of children who are homeless. Many schools in the United States are teaching an increasing number of children who are homeless. One in 10 of all public school students last year in New York State had no home: around 111,000 children. Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey reports from New York, […]

Four people face charges after Peterborough County OPP discovered drugs in a motel room just east of Peterborough on Tuesday. Officers were called to a motel on Highway 7 in Otonabee-South Monaghan Township to assist with an unwanted person complaint. Police say officers located four individuals inside and found controlled substances, including cocaine and hydromorphine. Arrested and charged were: Ashley […]

Law passes declaring Russia an ‘aggressor’ in the Donbass region, with Moscow calling it ‘preparation for a new war.’ Ukraine’s far eastern region is “occupied” by Russia, the parliament announced on Thursday, as Moscow warned the declaration could reignite a new war. Ukraine’s parliament adopted the “Donbass reintegration law” with 280 lawmakers voting in favour in the 450-seat body. The […]

Is the government of Papua New Guinea turning a blind eye while the country’s forests are destroyed? Environmental groups say Papua New Guinea’s government is sitting back while the country’s rainforests are being destroyed. The Pacific nation has just overtaken Malaysia to become the world’s biggest exporter of tropical hardwood. Politicians and officials have been accused of being too close […]