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Firefights broke out along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border late on Saturday, with the Afghan Taliban attacking Pakistani posts, according to security officials from both countries, following a Pakistani airstrike in Kabul this week. Pakistani security officials said that they were responding "with full force" to what they called unprovoked firing from Afghanistan. The exchange of fire took place at more than six locations along the border, they said.

Summary BLS loses senior leaders as Trump targets agency's integrity About 12 of 35 senior leaders have left amid Trump's criticism Modernizing data collection suggested to improve response rates WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's unwarranted attacks on the integrity of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics were undermining trust in economic data and had accelerated retirements of key personnel at the agency, former BLS commissioners said on Wednesday. During a discussion at the libertarian Cato Institute, Erica Groshen and William Beach, who headed the agency under presidents of both parties, said the BLS had lost 12...

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg alleged on Tuesday that she and other detainees of the Gaza flotilla were subjected to torture in the Israeli prison they were held. Thunberg told a news conference in Stockholm that she and others were “kidnapped and tortured” by the Israeli military. She declined to elaborate, adding when pressed that she didn’t get clean water and that other detainees were deprived of critical medication. “Personally, I don’t want to share what I was subjected to because I don’t want it to make headlines and ‘Greta has been tortured’, because that’s not the story here,” she said,...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Air traffic control staffing issues are delaying flights for a second straight day at numerous U.S. airports as the government shutdown reaches its seventh day, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a notice on Tuesday. The FAA said many flights were being delayed at Nashville and Newark airports, among others. Arriving flights were being held for up to 30 minutes at Newark due to the staffing issues. Nashville air traffic control is facing significant staffing issues and will curtail operations later on Tuesday, the FAA said. Approach control will be taken over later by Memphis Center, it added....

Summary Democratic leaders oppose Trump's military deployment in cities Legal battles ensue over National Guard deployment in Chicago, Portland National Guard deployment raises concerns over militarization of cities Illinois Governor Pritzker accuses Trump of using troops as political tool Federal judge temporarily blocks Guard deployment to Portland CHICAGO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Donald Trump's threat to invoke a federal anti-insurrection law to expand his deployment of military personnel to U.S. cities has intensified his legal battle with Democratic-led cities over presidential authority, as hundreds of National Guard troops from Texas on Tuesday prepared to patrol the streets of Chicago. The...

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The United States cannot ignore the impact the war in Gaza has had on Israel's global standing, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday, as Israel's diplomatic isolation mounts despite Washington's attempts to shield its ally. "Whether you believe it was justified or not, right or not, you cannot ignore the impact that this has had on Israel's global standing," Rubio told CBS News' 'Face The Nation'. He was responding to a question about remarks by President Donald Trump to Israel's Channel 12 in an interview published on Saturday: "Bibi (Israel's Prime...

BOGOTA, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Saturday dismissed the U.S. decision to revoke his visa and accused Washington of violating international law over his criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza.The U.S. said on Friday it would revoke Petro's visa after he took to New York's streets on Friday to join a pro-Palestinian demonstration and urged U.S. soldiers to disobey President Donald Trump's orders.Read about innovative ideas and the people working on solutions to global crises with the Reuters Beacon newsletter. Sign up here."I no longer have a visa to travel to the United States. I don't...

European officials are uneasily digesting U.S. President Donald Trump's speech at the United Nations this week, where he blasted the world body and attacked Europe’s immigration policies, energy transition and commitment to climate action. Unlike his last appearance in 2020, when China dominated his speech, his European allies were the focus of some of his harshest criticism, getting mentioned twice as often as Beijing. "Immigration and their suicidal energy ideas will be the death of Western Europe," Trump told the assembly. "Illegal aliens are pouring into Europe.” The speech dismayed many in Europe - and left some bemused - -...

The United States said it would revoke Colombian President Gustavo Petro's visa after he took to New York's streets on Friday in a pro-Palestinian demonstration and urged U.S. soldiers to disobey President Donald Trump's orders. "We will revoke Petro’s visa due to his reckless and incendiary actions," the State Department posted on X. Petro, addressing a crowd of pro-Palestinian protesters outside the U.N. headquarters in Manhattan, called for a global armed force with the priority to liberate Palestinians, adding, "This force has to be bigger than that of the United States." "That's why from here, from New York, I ask...

When Israel arrested 24-year-old Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi for inciting terrorism in 2023, mainstream media outlets described her as a modern-day Gandhi. The New York Times hailed Tamimi as an "international symbol of Palestinian resistance." Reuters claimed her protests of "Israeli land seizures" had made her "a hero since she was a teenager." Even before her arrest, CNN called her a "fearless teen" who suffered the horrors of "living under Israeli military occupation." What those outlets have not reported, among other things, is Tamimi’s praise for Adolf Hitler, promises to drink the blood of Jews, and declarations that she is...

Summary ICE officers face burnout, frustration amid Trump's aggressive enforcement Public outrage grows over ICE's arrest tactics ICE launches recruitment drive to hire 10,000 officers WASHINGTON, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Under President Donald Trump, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has become the driving force of his sweeping crackdown on migrants, bolstered by record funding and new latitude to conduct raids, but staff are contending with long hours and growing public outrage over the arrests. Those internal pressures are taking a toll. Two current and nine former ICE officials told Reuters the agency is grappling with burnout and frustration among...

A widely condemned Israeli settlement plan that would cut across land which the Palestinians seek for a state received final approval on Wednesday, according to a statement from Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. The approval of the E1 project, which would bisect the occupied West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem, was announced last week by Smotrich and received final go-ahead from a defense ministry planning commission on Wednesday, he said. […] A German government spokesperson commenting on the announcement told reporters on Wednesday that settlement construction violates international law and “hinders a negotiated two-state solution and an...

Summary Republican legislators undertake rare mid-decade redistricting New map would shift conservative voters into Democrat-held districts One Democrat calls redistricting plan "illegal and racially discriminatory" Aug 20 (Reuters) - Texas legislators on Wednesday took up a new state congressional map intended to flip five Democratic-held U.S. House seats in next year's midterm elections, after dozens of Democratic lawmakers ended a two-week walkout that had temporarily blocked passage. Republican legislators, who have dominated Texas politics for over two decades, have undertaken a rare mid-decade redistricting at the behest of President Donald Trump, who is seeking to improve his party's odds...

Less than one percent of customers who filed detailed complaints about checking or savings account closures with the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over the last 13 years accused banks of acting for political or religious reasons, even as the White House mounts a campaign to stamp out "systemic abuses" in the financial system that it says have wronged conservatives, a review of the agency's data shows. U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month signed an executive order requiring banks not to discriminate against clients on political or religious grounds, a practice known as debanking, after citing what Trump called...

Israel's military said it killed Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al Sharif in a strike on Gaza City on Sunday, accusing him of heading a Hamas cell. "Anas Al Sharif served as the head of a terrorist cell in the Hamas terrorist organization and was responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops," the military said in a statement.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spoke with Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Saturday for about 40 minutes, the Brazilian presidential palace said, adding that Putin shared information about his discussions with the United States and "recent peace efforts between Russia and Ukraine." -snip- Lula has been in a public spat with Trump since the U.S. imposed a 50% tariff on the imports of Brazilian goods, which Trump linked to an alleged "witch hunt" against his ally and Brazil's former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro. U.S. imports of some Brazilian products, such as orange juice and aircraft, received a lower...

NEW DELHI, Aug 8 (Reuters) - New Delhi has put on hold its plans to procure new U.S. weapons and aircraft, according to three Indian officials familiar with the matter, in India's first concrete sign of discontent after tariffs imposed on its exports by President Donald Trump dragged ties to their lowest level in decades. India had been planning to send Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Washington in the coming weeks for an announcement on some of the purchases, but that trip has been cancelled, two of the people said. Trump on Aug. 6 imposed an additional 25% tariff on...

NEW DELHI, Aug 2 (Reuters) - India will keep purchasing oil from Russia despite U.S. President Donald Trump's threats of penalties, two Indian government sources told Reuters on Saturday, not wishing to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. On top of a new 25% tariff on India's exports to the U.S., Trump indicated in a Truth Social post last month that India would face additional penalties for purchases of Russian arms and oil. On Friday, Trump told reporters he had heard that India would no longer be buying oil from Russia.But the sources said there would be...

India will keep purchasing oil from Russia despite U.S. President Donald Trump's threats of penalties, two Indian government sources told Reuters on Saturday, not wishing to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. On top of a new 25% tariff on India's exports to the U.S., Trump indicated in a Truth Social post last month that India would face additional penalties for purchases of Russian arms and oil. On Friday, Trump told reporters he had heard that India would no longer be buying oil from Russia. But the sources said there would be no immediate changes. "These are...

President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on Indian goods will do little to slow the role of the Asian country as a key hub for manufacturing iPhones, even when it means more expensive smartphones for U.S. consumers, analysts and industry executives said. Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the U.S. market, with nearly all the $3.2 billion-worth iPhones exported by Foxconn from India going to the United States between March and May. It's "too early to say" if recent events or future changes in Trump's stance will alter Apple's manufacturing plans in India, an industry executive familiar...