ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey’s prime minister has vowed to press ahead with the construction of dams and roads in the country’s mainly Kurdish southeast, saying Turkey would not bow to Kurdish rebel threats. Kurdish militants have threatened to resume attacks, accusing Turkey of “preparing for war” by continuing to build …

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. envoy for Libya is urging the Islamist-led government that seized the country’s capital to sign a peace deal that would establish a unity government in the North African nation where fighting and chaos is worsening. Bernardino Leon emphasized to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday …

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. – A Tennessee man died after a witness says police in northern Mississippi police “hogtied” him on a stretcher. Multiple news outlets report that 30-year-old Memphis chemical engineer Troy Goode died in a hospital Saturday night, two hours after being detained by the Southaven Police Department. Southaven Police …

The upcoming 70th anniversary of V-J Day,August 14, brings to mind the challenge my father, Lt. Col. Wilber E. Bradt, faced in the days preceding that date in 1945. He was the acting commander — and later the commander — of the 172nd Infantry Regiment, a Vermont National Guard unit. …

KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan official says the second round of official talks between representatives of the Kabul government and the Taliban, aimed at ending the 14-year war, will take place next week in China. Mohammad Ismail Qasimyar of the Afghan High Peace Council, said Friday that the two sides …

LONDON – The former first minister of Scotland says a second referendum on Scottish independence is “inevitable.” Legislator Alex Salmond told BBC Sunday that the British government has not followed through on post-referendum promises to give Scotland more powers. He also said the planned referendum on Britain’s status within the …

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has axed his deputy in a Cabinet reshuffle and sacked the attorney general, who heads a task force investigating allegations that Najib received some $700 million in government money. Najib is under increasing pressure over leaked confidential documents that allegedly show …

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – An Albuquerque, New Mexico, firefighter has been removed from the city’s dispatch center after telling a 911 caller who was trying to keep alive a gunshot victim to “deal with it yourself.” KRQE-TV reports (http://bit.ly/1I6VpPZ) 17-year-old Jaydon Chavez-Silver was fatally shot during a party on June 26. …

KAMPALA, Uganda – Activists are urging Uganda’s government to reverse a decision to open for oil drilling a wildlife park on Uganda’s border with Congo. Uganda’s government is expected to announce next month which companies can bid for new oil blocks, including one in the Lake Edward basin inside Uganda’s …

The rapid growth and expansion of the Islamic State’s (ISIS) presence inside Afghanistan (commonly referred to as “Khorasan state”) is viewed by leaders in Afghanistan and the countries of the region as a serious threat. Seddiq Seddiqi, the spokesperson to the Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs recently said that ISIS …