AFP, Washington
The United States on Monday called on the Taliban to consider an offer for peace talks extended by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
Ghani at an international conference in Kabul last week unveiled a plan to open talks with the Taliban, including eventually recognizing them as a political party.
SKorean presidential hopeful quits
AFP, Seoul
A former South Korean presidential contender stepped down as a provincial governor Tuesday and announced his retirement from politics after a secretary accused him of multiple rapes.
The resignation of Ahn Hee-jung who came second to Moon Jae-in in the contest to select the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate last year makes him the latest and most prominent figure in a swirling #MeToo movement in what is still a male-dominated society.
Child marriage drops in
South Asia
AP, New Delhi
A significant fall in child marriages in South Asia has reduced the rate of marriage for girls globally, the U.N. children’s agency said Tuesday.
More educational opportunities for young girls, government investments in adolescent girls and strong advocacy about the illegality of child marriage saw 25 million fewer child marriages in the last decade.
UNICEF says progress in India helped reduced the risk of a girl in South Asia marrying before her 18th birthday to about 30 percent from nearly 50 percent.
French FM faces criticism on Iran visit
AP, Tehran
France’s foreign minister traveled to Tehran on Monday promising tough talk on Iran’s ballistic missile program but was met with stiff resistance from his Iranian counterpart, who said Western arms deals had turned the Middle East into a “gunpowder depot.” From his first meeting with a military uniform-clad official, Jean-Yves Le Drian’s one-day trip highlighted the challenge Paris faces in challenging Iran while at the same time trying to keep the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers intact.
