Afghan troops rushed to area under Taliban attack
Afghan troops rushed to area under Taliban attack
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Afghan military has rushed reinforcements to a southern district threatened for days with takeover by the Taliban, the country’s defense minister said Wednesday as he appealed for stepped-up NATO assistance and military support.
In a besieged army base in the embattled district of Sangin, an Afghan soldier described a dire situation, saying a handful of Afghan troops inside were fighting to the last, trying to keep the Taliban out.
Meanwhile, at an air base outside of Kabul, U.S. troops saluted fallen comrades during a memorial ceremony Wednesday for six American soldiers killed in a Taliban attack this week.
The six died when a suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden motorcycle into a joint NATO-Afghan patrol near the Bagram Air Field on Monday. Two U.S. troops and an Afghan were also wounded in that attack — the deadliest day for American troops in Afghanistan since May 2013.
As fighting in the Sangin district of southern Helmand province continued Wednesday, Afghan army and police arrived to help security forces pinned down for days in the besieged area, said the minister, Masoom Stanekzai.
US blocks UK Muslim family from boarding plane to Disneyland
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister David Cameron will look into claims that U.S. officials prevented a British Muslim family of 11 from flying to Disneyland for a planned holiday.
The issue is sensitive because U.S. Republican presidential contender Donald Trump has called for a temporary ban on Muslims visiting the U.S. due to concerns about extremist attacks.
Stella Creasy, a member of the opposition Labour Party, said Wednesday that U.S. officials gave no explanation for refusing to allow her constituents to board a flight from Gatwick Airport on Dec. 15, so she wrote Cameron seeking his intervention. She said there is “growing fear” among British Muslims that aspects of Trump’s plans are coming into practice even though they have been widely condemned.
A top Muslim group said cases like this appear to be related to religion and are worrying for British Muslims.
Mohammed Zahid Mahmood said he and his family — two brothers and their nine children — were told nothing except that they were not allowed to travel to the U.S. despite having previously obtained clearance.
Republicans, administration spar on visa travel for Iran
WASHINGTON (AP) — Top GOP lawmakers accused the Obama administration Wednesday of ignoring congressional intent and the spirit of the law in offering reassurances to Iran about new visa rules.
“There is no ambiguity,” said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California. “The administration should follow the law as written and agreed to.”
At issue is a new law tightening visa-free travel to the U.S., enacted as part of a sprawling spending bill passed overwhelmingly by Congress last week and signed by President Barack Obama.
The legislation, a response to the Paris terror attacks, deals with the “visa waiver” program that allows the citizens of 38 countries to travel to the U.S. without obtaining a visa. It makes a series of changes, including requiring a visa for anyone who’s visited Iraq, Syria, Iran or Sudan in the previous five years, as well as dual nationals with citizenship in any of those countries.
This could make travel back and forth to the U.S. more difficult for Iranian-Americans or for Europeans with business dealings in Iran.
Reporting assignment raised suspicions about newspaper owner
LAS VEGAS (AP) — When several reporters for the largest newspaper in Las Vegas were taken off their beats and assigned to investigate three judges, the decision seemed strange because it came from the paper’s owners, not a newsroom editor.
The mystery deepened weeks later, when the public learned that casino mogul Sheldon Adelson’s family had purchased the paper in a secretive deal. And the questions only intensified, leading the Review-Journal to publish a front-page story about suspicions that the executives who were in talks with the Adelson family had attempted to use the paper to strike out at a judge handling a lawsuit against the wealthy political donor known as a Republican kingmaker.
On Tuesday, the Review-Journal editor who decided not to run anything on the three judges told the staff he was stepping down after accepting a voluntary buyout.
Mike Hengel stunned the newsroom with his departure, which was announced Wednesday on the front page in an article that said an unspecified number of other employees had also accepted buyouts.
“I think my resignation probably comes as a relief to the new owners,” Hengel said in an audio recording obtained by The Associated Press.
Tornado touches down in Mississippi as storm hits South
ATLANTA (AP) — Forecasters warned of a “particularly dangerous situation” as a storm system swept across the country on Wednesday, and officials said they feared Christmas yard decorations would become projectiles.
A tornado touched down in northwest Mississippi, damaging or destroying at least 20 homes. A tree blew over onto a house in Arkansas, killing an 18-year-old woman and trapping a 1-year-old child inside, authorities said. Rescuers pulled the toddler safely from the home.
Spring-like storms packing strong winds toppled tractor-trailers and knocked down trees, leaving thousands of people without power in Indiana and Arkansas.
In Mississippi, Clarksdale Mayor Bill Luckett said the only confirmed casualty was a dog killed by storm debris. Planes at a small airport overturned and an unknown number of people were injured.
“I’m looking at some horrific damage right now,” the mayor said. “Sheet metal wrapped is around trees, there are overturned airplanes, a building is just destroyed.”