President Trump’s ban on travelers from six majority-Muslim countries is set to be replaced as soon as this weekend with more targeted restrictions on visits to the United States that would vary by country, officials familiar with the plans said on Friday.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday backed having companies from the United States develop Afghanistan’s reserves of rare earth minerals, despite formidable obstacles to industrial mining in the country.

The Trump administration is preparing to dismantle key Obama-era limits on drone strikes and commando raids outside conventional battlefields, according to officials familiar with internal deliberations.

More from WPR: The Risks of Giving the CIA Expanded Drone Strike Authority

U.S. and Russian generals held a face-to-face meeting this week in an effort to avoid accidental clashes as both sides fight to retake what is left of Islamic State’s territory in Syria, U.S. military officials said on Thursday.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Thursday a range of options remained on the table, including a possible oil embargo, if Venezuela did not move to restore its democratic processes.

More from WPR: Why Maduro Can Stay Afloat Despite More U.S. Sanctions on Venezuela

Responding directly for the first time to President Trump’s threat at the United Nations to destroy nuclear-armed North Korea, its leader called Mr. Trump a “mentally deranged U.S. dotard” on Friday and vowed the “highest level of hard-line countermeasure in history.”

More from WPR: Now That North Korea Has Nukes, What Will It Do With Them?

President Trump lashed back Friday at North Korea's leader, calling Kim Jong Un a “madman” whose regime will be “tested like never before” amid new U.S.-imposed financial sanctions.

An international group of cryptography experts has forced the U.S. National Security Agency to back down over two data encryption techniques it wanted set as global industry standards, reflecting deep mistrust among close U.S. allies.

Ukraine’s Petro Poroshenko met U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday and said afterwards that they had a shared vision on a “new level” of defense cooperation, but not whether this included the U.S. provision of defensive weapons to Ukraine.

The U.S. State Department on Thursday announced more than $697 million in additional humanitarian assistance for the people of Syria, bringing total U.S. assistance since 2012 to more than $7 billion.

The Maritime Self-Defense Force conducted exercises with the U.S. Navy on Friday amid North Korea’s continued nuclear and missile tests, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Be wary of tiny nukes in tiny hands.

Venezuela has a lot to gain from a grand bargain including Cuba and the United States, but so do Cuba, the United States and the rest of Latin America.

Dozens of countries signed a treaty to ban nuclear weapons on Wednesday amid tensions over North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests, although the United States, Britain, France and others boycotted the event at the annual United Nations gathering of world leaders.

More from WPR: Why the New Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty Is So Polarizing

The Trump administration’s effort to combat violence and poverty in Central America will not mean greater militarization in Honduras, the country’s president, Juan Orlando Hernandez, said in an interview.

More from WPR: Development Takes a Back Seat in Trump’s Central America Policy

Iran's supreme leader said Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump's "cheap, ugly, foolish and unreal" remarks before the U.N. General Assembly earlier this week were a sign of desperation.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed optimism on Wednesday about reaching a peace agreement with Israel this year and said U.S. President Donald Trump’s commitment to the issue would help create the “deal of the century” in the region.

More from WPR: Can Abbas Use His White House Visit to Preserve His Power and Undercut Hamas?

President Trump said on Wednesday that he has decided what to do about the Iran deal, which he has strongly and repeatedly criticized. But he left a cliffhanger about what that decision will be.

After years of largely avoiding regulation, businesses like Facebook, Google and Amazon are a focus of lawmakers, some of whom are criticizing the expanding power of big tech companies and their role in the 2016 election.

Amid heated discord between the United States and Colombia regarding surging drug production in the South American country, Colombian officials are making it clear that they are not buckling under U.S. pressure to harden the country's new, less draconian anti-narcotic strategies.

More from WPR: To Deal With Colombia’s Coca Bonanza, Keep Calm and Honor the FARC Peace Deal

The U.S. State Department on Wednesday called on the Democratic Republic of the Congo to protect civilians affected by violence in the country’s east, and urged its security forces to refrain from excessive force.

Among the many listeners who believed he heard some telling inconsistencies in President Trump’s first address to the U.N. General Assembly was one Western leader who hopes to help Trump resolve the contradictions.

How it undermines U.S. foreign policy.

Unprecedented opportunity awaits investors on a continent that harbors ten of the world’s twenty-one fastest growing economies.

Canada will impose targeted sanctions against forty Venezuelan senior officials, including President Nicolas Maduro, to punish them for “anti-democratic behavior,” the foreign ministry said on Friday.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Thursday a range of options remained on the table, including a possible oil embargo, if Venezuela did not move to restore its democratic processes.

More from WPR: Why Maduro Can Stay Afloat Despite More U.S. Sanctions on Venezuela

Guatemala’s Congress on Thursday once again voted to maintain beleaguered President Jimmy Morales’ immunity and shield him from a probe into suspected illicit campaign funding, a move that could raise tensions among anti-graft protesters.

More from WPR: Will Latin America’s Anti-Corruption Wave Founder Where It Began?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday admitted Canada had failed its indigenous people and told the United Nations his government would do better to improve the lives of aboriginals and achieve reconciliation.

More from WPR: Canada’s Indigenous Nations Struggle for Balanced Relationship With the State

Chile’s Central Bank Wednesday announced it revoked a reciprocal credit line with its Venezuelan counterpart due to constant defaults on payments this year.

More from WPR: A Tale of Two Constitutions, or What Venezuela Can Learn From Chile

On Wednesday, September 20, the majority of Brazil's Supreme Court voted in favor of sending the accusation made by the Prosecutor General's Office against President Michel Temer to the lower house of Congress.

More from WPR: If Temer Goes, Will Brazil’s Austerity Drive Go With Him?

President Horacio Cartes, who saw his bid to amend Paraguay’s constitution to allow presidential re-election thwarted by public backlash, told EFE that his country will eventually abandon the one-term limit for the head of state.

More from WPR: Why the Roots of Paraguay’s Averted Constitutional Crisis Lie in the Countryside

Four churches have been set on fire over the past 48 hours in the southern region of Araucania, Chilean authorities said on Thursday, pointing to members of the Mapuche indigenous group as the likely culprits.

More from WPR: Mapuche Lead the Fight for Recognition of Indigenous Rights in Chile

Venezuela has a lot to gain from a grand bargain including Cuba and the United States, but so do Cuba, the United States and the rest of Latin America.

Relief agencies reached the hard-hit Caribbean nation of Dominica by air and sea on Wednesday after a direct hit by Hurricane Maria caused massive damage to homes and buildings, washed out roads, upended water pipelines and left at least seven people dead.

The Trump administration’s effort to combat violence and poverty in Central America will not mean greater militarization in Honduras, the country’s president, Juan Orlando Hernandez, said in an interview.

More from WPR: Development Takes a Back Seat in Trump’s Central America Policy

Amid heated discord between the United States and Colombia regarding surging drug production in the South American country, Colombian officials are making it clear that they are not buckling under U.S. pressure to harden the country's new, less draconian anti-narcotic strategies.

More from WPR: To Deal With Colombia’s Coca Bonanza, Keep Calm and Honor the FARC Peace Deal

Thousands of protesters marched peacefully Wednesday to the Guatemalan capital’s historic downtown to demand that President Jimmy Morales and the majority of federal lawmakers resign.

More from WPR: Guatemala’s Anti-Corruption Drive Ousted One President. Can It Take Down Another?

Villagers in the Peruvian Amazon have shut down at least 50 oil wells operated by Frontera Energy Corp to protest talks over a new contract even as past pollution lingers, the leader of an indigenous federation said on Wednesday.

With the aim of promoting economic and technical cooperation in agriculture and rural development, the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture and its Belarusian counterpart have signed a cooperation agreement.

A landmark free trade deal linking the European Union and Canada has come into effect despite lingering opposition from activists. The EU hailed the pact as one of its most ambitious ever, "setting a new standard."

More from WPR: Belgium’s CETA Debacle Puts the Future of EU Trade Policy in Doubt

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is the great survivor of Spanish politics. Now, however, Mr. Rajoy’s political survival is at stake—as well as the unity of Spain—as a secessionist challenge that he allowed to fester in Catalonia threatens to spiral out of control.

U.S. and Russian generals held a face-to-face meeting this week in an effort to avoid accidental clashes as both sides fight to retake what is left of Islamic State’s territory in Syria, U.S. military officials said on Thursday.

After a week of particularly fraught infighting in London, Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain will try on Friday to end the stalemate in negotiations over her country’s withdrawal from the European Union, and is expected to offer substantial payments to the bloc after the country’s exit.

More from WPR: As the Reality of Brexit Sinks In, There Are No Good Options for the U.K.

Fears in Germany that voter apathy could boost the far-right Alternative for Germany in Sunday’s election have driven Chancellor Angela Merkel and her main rival in final days of the campaign to urge their backers to go out and vote.

More from WPR: Germany’s Anti-Climactic Election Masks Problems for Merkel Down the Line

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday signed into law five degrees of controversial reforms, changing the country's labor code despite opposition from some unions.

Ukraine’s Petro Poroshenko met U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday and said afterwards that they had a shared vision on a “new level” of defense cooperation, but not whether this included the U.S. provision of defensive weapons to Ukraine.

The leaders of Poland and Hungary insisted Friday that they will stick to their anti-migrant policies in defiance of the European Union and warnings of sanctions.

Romania's president has canceled a visit to Ukraine next month to protest a law that critics say would infringe on the rights of ethnic minorities there.

More from WPR: A New Law To Limit Teaching Russian and Other Languages Will Further Divide Ukraine

Slovenians vote in a referendum on Sunday on whether the government should pursue construction of a $1.2 billion railway to its main Adriatic port—a test of the government’s popularity ahead of elections next year.

Egypt officially took possession of a new French warship at Lorient Port in France’s Brittany region on Friday, according to reports on Egyptian state television.

The AfD’s arrival in Berlin will irreversibly alter the political landscape.

Marine Le Pen’s right-hand man has quit the party, a move that will impact its efforts to rebrand.

Portugal treats addiction as a disease, not a crime.

As the Islamic State is weakening, France and Russia seem to be keeping each other posted on their respective agendas in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Catalan regional leader on Thursday said he would press on with an Oct. 1 referendum on a split from Spain, flouting a court ban, as tens of thousands gathered for a second day on the streets of Barcelona demanding the right to vote.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko dismissed a Russian proposal to deploy U.N. peacekeepers in eastern Ukraine as an effort to legalize its proxies and freeze the conflict.

More from WPR: Russia’s Calculus in Ukraine Is a Mix of Strategic Patience and Grim Resignation

Thousands of Polish and other NATO troops have launched major defensive exercises in Poland's north amid security concerns raised by war games recently held by neighboring Russia and Belarus.

More from WPR: How Poland Is Casting Itself as the Leader of NATO’s Eastern Flank

Prime Minister Theresa May must be asking herself: How do you solve a problem like Boris Johnson?

More from WPR: As the Reality of Brexit Sinks In, There Are No Good Options for the U.K.

Leaders of France, Italy and the United Kingdom urged social media companies on Wednesday to more swiftly remove “terrorist content” from the internet, with the aim of stopping it from being uploaded in the first place.

Russia on Thursday issued a stern warning to U.S. forces and their allies in Syria, saying it has deployed Russian special forces alongside Syrian government troops in the battle for the oil-rich Deir el-Zour province and that Moscow would retaliate if the Russians come under fire.

The European Union’s executive arm said Thursday that it is ready to propose new taxes on digital companies like Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc. by next spring if there isn’t “adequate global progress” toward a rewrite of corporate tax rules at an international level.

The right-hand man of French National Front chief Marine Le Pen quit the party on Thursday, a split that opens the way for policy changes in the far-right party and shows the depth of internal feuding after Le Pen’s presidential election defeat.

Switzerland’s putative new foreign minister called on Wednesday for a fresh start to tortuous talks on cementing ties with the European Union, the neutral country’s most important trading partner.

With the aim of promoting economic and technical cooperation in agriculture and rural development, the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture and its Belarusian counterpart have signed a cooperation agreement.

A landmark free trade deal linking the European Union and Canada has come into effect despite lingering opposition from activists. The EU hailed the pact as one of its most ambitious ever, "setting a new standard."

More from WPR: Belgium’s CETA Debacle Puts the Future of EU Trade Policy in Doubt

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman plans to discuss Syria, the Qatar blockade and oil production with Russian President Vladimir Putin next month in Russia, according to people familiar with the matter, as energy cooperation deepens political ties between the two former foes.

Among the many listeners who believed he heard some telling inconsistencies in President Trump’s first address to the U.N. General Assembly was one Western leader who hopes to help Trump resolve the contradictions.

The country’s sacrosanct labor code has been fiercely guarded by unions—but the president has his own ideas.

The Spanish state’s raids on Catalan government offices risk a loss of ground for Mariano Rajoy and may energize support for the secession vote.

Macron is strengthening Haftar.

Kim’s provocations and the U.S.’s failure to act strengthen Moscow’s position.

Ugandan authorities postponed a bill to extend leader Yoweri Museveni’s rule after protesters took to the streets against it on Thursday, confronting police who fired teargas.

An improvised bomb wounded three policemen in the main city of Cameroon’s minority English-speaking region on Thursday, the regional governor said, in an attack a senior security source blamed on separatist militants.

More from WPR: Why a Crisis Over Cameroon’s Marginalized Anglophone Regions Could Deepen

Hundreds of rioters in the Guinean bauxite mining town of Boke burned down a police and a gendarmerie building on Thursday and clashed with security forces wielding batons, leaving 17 people injured, the local Red Cross said.

Rival Tuareg groups say they have signed a cease-fire agreement in northern Mali, a deal which could bolster a fragile peace accord between the government and other armed groups.

More from WPR: ‘One Step Forward, Two Steps Back’ for Stability in Northern Mali

African National Congress (ANC) MP Makhosi Khoza, a strident critic of scandal-plagued President Jacob Zuma, quit South Africa’s ruling party on Thursday, labeling Nelson Mandela’s 105-year-old liberation movement “alien and corrupt.”

More from WPR: A New Leader for South Africa’s ANC Won’t Guarantee a Break From Zuma

A top Nigerian official was scheduled to meet the Turkish ambassador Friday after hundreds of rifles allegedly from Turkey made it to the west African country this week falsely labelled as plumbing materials.

Somalia's government has rebuked its three semi-autonomous regions for cutting ties with Qatar, saying it was determined to stay neutral in the Gulf state's dispute with other Arab states.

More from WPR: Old Game, New Stakes: How the Gulf Crisis Could Reshape the Horn of Africa

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Thursday the country’s Supreme Court staged a “coup” against the will of the people when it annulled last month’s presidential election that he won.

A 10-year-old boy was killed and 10 others injured in Togo's capital as hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters demonstrated Wednesday against a vote by the West African nation's parliament on a bill they fear will allow the president to run for more terms, the security minister said.

More from WPR: Togo, a Democratic Laggard, Sees Signs of an Energized Opposition

Ugandan police on Thursday fired tear gas to disperse protesters opposed to plans to introduce legislation that could allow the longtime president to extend his rule.

More from WPR: Catastrophic Victory: Museveni’s Re-Election and Uganda’s Future

There are signs that the refugee crisis is causing Angola—a powerful regional ally that helped sustain Congolese President Joseph Kabila and his father in power for two decades—to question its support for the leader of its volatile neighbor.

More from WPR: As Kabila’s Control Slips, Congo’s Relations With Neighboring Angola Fray

The U.S. State Department on Wednesday called on the Democratic Republic of the Congo to protect civilians affected by violence in the country’s east, and urged its security forces to refrain from excessive force.

An ex-wife of South African President Jacob Zuma said Thursday that she was being re-appointed a lawmaker in parliament, in what is being seen as her latest step to secure the country's presidency in two years' time.

More from WPR: A New Leader for South Africa’s ANC Won’t Guarantee a Break From Zuma

South Sudan’s hellish war will get worse if its neighbors let President Salva Kiir hold an election before he accepts peacekeepers, a ceasefire and political opposition, U.N. investigators said on Wednesday.

More from WPR: How South Sudan Is Trying to Mitigate Its Diplomatic Isolation

A landmark agreement between the U.N. and the Civilian Joint Task Force will end the use of children in the conflict against Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria.

Unprecedented opportunity awaits investors on a continent that harbors ten of the world’s twenty-one fastest growing economies.

Eternal power will elude South Africa’s liberation movement as economic apartheid lives on.

A bill to limit presidents in Togo to two terms of office will be decided by referendum after it failed on Tuesday to win approval from parliament due to a boycott by opposition lawmakers.

More from WPR: Togo, a Democratic Laggard, Sees Signs of an Energized Opposition

Tanzania’s government has closed a critical newspaper for the second time in three months, banning the weekly MwanaHalisi for two years after accusing it of inciting violence.

More from WPR: Brushing Aside Human Rights Concerns, Tanzania’s Magufuli Bulldozes Onward

Nigeria’s air force on Tuesday said it was deploying aircraft to the southeast of the country where unrest related to a campaign for secession has escalated in an area formerly known as Biafra.

Iran’s foreign minister rejected on Thursday any new negotiation with the United States over extending the length or conditions of the 2015 nuclear accord, saying that Iran would talk about changing the accord only if every concession it made — including giving up nuclear fuel — were reconsidered.

More from WPR: Iran May Have a Lot of Friends in a Future Sanctions Fight With the United States

Israeli jets have reportedly bombed an area near the Damascus international airport in the third attack in as many weeks by the Israeli military on targets associated with the Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday Turkey will deploy troops in Syria’s northern Idlib region as part of a so-called de-escalation agreement brokered by Russia last month.

Thousands were voting Friday in the predominantly Kurdish regions in northern Syria to elect heads of local communities as part of the Kurds' efforts to move closer to a federal system within Syria.

More from WPR: Can Syria’s Kurds Leverage War Gains Into Political Autonomy?

The U.S. State Department on Thursday announced more than $697 million in additional humanitarian assistance for the people of Syria, bringing total U.S. assistance since 2012 to more than $7 billion.

A high-level delegation from northern Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government will visit the Iraqi capital within the next 48 hours to discuss outstanding differences between Baghdad and Irbil, the KRG’s administrative capital.

More from WPR: Iraqi Kurds’ Independence Referendum Is a Lightning Rod for Broader Regional Conflict

Just a year out of college, Jordan's crown prince has made his debut on the world's biggest stage, addressing the U.N. General Assembly—the clearest sign yet that he is on a fast track to a prominent public role at home and abroad.

More from WPR: Can Jordan’s Abdullah Keep Walking the Middle East Tightrope?

Egypt officially took possession of a new French warship at Lorient Port in France’s Brittany region on Friday, according to reports on Egyptian state television.

A top Nigerian official was scheduled to meet the Turkish ambassador Friday after hundreds of rifles allegedly from Turkey made it to the west African country this week falsely labelled as plumbing materials.

Somalia's government has rebuked its three semi-autonomous regions for cutting ties with Qatar, saying it was determined to stay neutral in the Gulf state's dispute with other Arab states.

More from WPR: Old Game, New Stakes: How the Gulf Crisis Could Reshape the Horn of Africa

As the Islamic State is weakening, France and Russia seem to be keeping each other posted on their respective agendas in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Turkish government has long feared Kurdish independence outside its borders lest it provoke similar aspirations within them.

Russia on Thursday issued a stern warning to U.S. forces and their allies in Syria, saying it has deployed Russian special forces alongside Syrian government troops in the battle for the oil-rich Deir el-Zour province and that Moscow would retaliate if the Russians come under fire.

Turkey, Iran and Iraq have agreed to consider counter-measures against Kurdish northern Iraq over a planned independence referendum, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said on Thursday.

Iran's supreme leader said Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump's "cheap, ugly, foolish and unreal" remarks before the U.N. General Assembly earlier this week were a sign of desperation.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed optimism on Wednesday about reaching a peace agreement with Israel this year and said U.S. President Donald Trump’s commitment to the issue would help create the “deal of the century” in the region.

More from WPR: Can Abbas Use His White House Visit to Preserve His Power and Undercut Hamas?

President Trump said on Wednesday that he has decided what to do about the Iran deal, which he has strongly and repeatedly criticized. But he left a cliffhanger about what that decision will be.

The leader of Yemen's Shiite rebels has lashed out with a defiant speech on the eve of the third anniversary of the day his forces stormed into the capital.

More from WPR: Sanaa’s Survivor: How Saleh Is Still Calling the Shots in Yemen

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman plans to discuss Syria, the Qatar blockade and oil production with Russian President Vladimir Putin next month in Russia, according to people familiar with the matter, as energy cooperation deepens political ties between the two former foes.

Qatar will not renew work permits of North Korean workers and will return almost all of them to Pyongyang by early next year, reports said Thursday.

There are repercussions tied to America's actions in Syria that will impact the entire Middle East region.

Macron is strengthening Haftar.

Is missile defense the way out for the United States?

Israel's prime minister met with the Brazilian president in New York to discuss how to increase cooperation in various sectors, the Israeli government said in a statement released Wednesday.

The president of Iraqi Kurdistan gave Baghdad three days to reach an agreement with his government over an alternative to next week's highly contested referendum vote.

With President Bashar Assad seemingly poised to survive the Syrian civil war, Israeli leaders are growing nervous about the intentions of his Iranian patrons and their emerging corridor of influence across the region.

More from WPR: Will Syria Be Hezbollah’s Proving Ground, or Its Undoing?

U.S. President Donald Trump told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that now might be their "best shot ever" to achieve Middle East peace on Wednesday, hours before the Palestinian leader was slated to address the U.N. General Assembly.

Egypt's president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi urged Palestinians to unite and "be ready to coexist" in peace with Israelis in his address to the United Nations General Assembly.

Saudi Arabia and Britain on Tuesday inked a military and security cooperation agreement, according to reports in Saudi state media.

More from WPR: Britain’s May Eyes the GCC as a Surer Bet for Trade Ties After Brexit

China has tightened the financial screws on North Korea, imposing and enforcing U.N. sanctions to an unprecedented level, experts say. But Beijing remains unwilling to completely isolate the regime and has not completely cut all financial ties.

More from WPR: North Korea’s Dependence on China Is a Problem—for Pyongyang

U.S. President Donald Trump and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday backed having companies from the United States develop Afghanistan’s reserves of rare earth minerals, despite formidable obstacles to industrial mining in the country.

Responding directly for the first time to President Trump’s threat at the United Nations to destroy nuclear-armed North Korea, its leader called Mr. Trump a “mentally deranged U.S. dotard” on Friday and vowed the “highest level of hard-line countermeasure in history.”

More from WPR: Now That North Korea Has Nukes, What Will It Do With Them?

New Zealanders go to the polls on Saturday in the most volatile and hard-fought race in recent history, which could usher in a change in openness to migration and trade and the central bank’s approach to monetary policy.

Abe is expected to announce Monday that he is dissolving the lower house of the Diet, or parliament, and calling a snap election for Oct. 22, 14 months ahead of schedule.

More from WPR: As Scandals Dent His Approval at Home, Japan’s Abe Hobbles Along

President Trump lashed back Friday at North Korea's leader, calling Kim Jong Un a “madman” whose regime will be “tested like never before” amid new U.S.-imposed financial sanctions.

The Maritime Self-Defense Force conducted exercises with the U.S. Navy on Friday amid North Korea’s continued nuclear and missile tests, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The Australian government has resumed the use of Chinese-built drones in non-classifed situations, the country’s defense minister said on Thursday.

Shelling along the disputed border between Pakistan and India killed six civilians, and wounded an additional 30 people, officials from the two sides said on Friday, in the latest confrontation between the two nuclear-armed countries.

Four Thai army rangers were killed on Friday when a roadside bomb tore through their truck as they were securing a road for teachers, an army official said, the latest carnage in an insurgency roiling the kingdom’s far south.

More from WPR: Rising Violence in Thailand’s ‘Deep South’ Exposes Cracks in the Junta’s Strategy

How to take down Kim Jong Un by taking in his huddled masses.

Why calls for a new jihad are falling on deaf ears.

But does it play fair?

North Korea told a U.N. rights panel that international sanctions imposed on it over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs would endanger the survival of North Korean children.

When Rohingya Muslims fled persecution and slaughter in Myanmar in past decades, tens of thousands found refuge in Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites. This time around, Muslim leaders from the Persian Gulf to Pakistan have offered little more than condemnation and urgently needed humanitarian aid.

More from WPR: The Worsening Rohingya Crisis Is Creating a Dangerous New Reality in Myanmar

On the morning he disappeared, the activist Lee Ming-cheh crossed from Macau into mainland China to meet with democracy advocates. It was 177 days later when he reappeared in public, standing in the dock of a courtroom in central China last week, confessing to a conspiracy to subvert the Communist Party by circulating criticism on social media.

More from WPR: Amid Crackdown, China’s Dissidents Fight to Keep the Spirit of Tiananmen Alive

Thousands of Filipinos rallied on Thursday to denounce Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte and warn of what they called an emerging dictatorship, in a major show of dissent against the controversial but hugely popular leader.

Qatar will not renew work permits of North Korean workers and will return almost all of them to Pyongyang by early next year, reports said Thursday.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plan to force a snap election by closing an extraordinary Diet session the same day it opens on Sept. 28—without any speeches from or questions to Cabinet ministers, including Abe himself—has drawn harsh criticism from opposition lawmakers.

More from WPR: As Scandals Dent His Approval at Home, Japan’s Abe Hobbles Along

Pakistan’s new leader, stung by President Trump’s threat to crack down on his country for harboring terrorists, insisted on Wednesday that Pakistani military forces had uprooted all the sanctuaries used by Islamic extremists along its rugged frontier with Afghanistan.

More from WPR: What Would a Regional Strategy for Afghanistan Actually Look Like?

India has announced taking up 116 "high impact community developmental projects" in 31 provinces of Afghanistan, weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump sought New Delhi's help in the economic development of the war-torn country.

An Indian TV news reporter was abducted and killed while covering a protest rally in the remote northeastern state of Tripura, the second journalist to be killed in the country this month, police said Thursday.

The former leader of the Hong Kong University student union on Thursday received a court sentence of community service for his role in a campus protest, escaping the fate of a growing list of young activists put behind bars.

More from WPR: What’s Behind Britain’s Deafening Silence on Hong Kong’s Autonomy?

Kim’s provocations and the U.S.’s failure to act strengthen Moscow’s position.

Is missile defense the way out for the United States?