AFP, Kabul
A US airstrike killed a Taliban splinter-group commander and several other fighters in the western Afghan province of Herat, Afghan and military sources said Thursday.
The commander, named as Mullah Nangyalay, was killed in Shindand district, close to the border with Iran, said Herat provincial governor’s spokesman Jailani Farhad.
US border arrests drop as focus turns to Mexicans
AP, San Diego
The number of people arrested or stopped entering the United States on the Mexico border fell for a seventh straight month in December, with Mexicans outpacing Central Americans among the detainees, authorities said Thursday.
The tally helps explain why the U.S. has turned more attention to Mexican asylum-seekers as President Donald Trump seeks to highlight his dramatic reshaping of immigration policy in his campaign for a second term.
Islamic extremism wracks Burkina Faso, spreading east
AP, Fada N’gourma
The jihadists who killed Wabwa Ampougovni’s son and two grandchildren wanted them to suffer: They cut the backs of their necks before slitting their throats, leaving them to a slow and agonizing death.
They were among 14 people killed in late November when extremists swept through the Natiaboani area in eastern Burkina Faso, where Islamic militancy is spreading. “The tears are inside me but it hurts too much,” Ampougovni said.
Xi Jinping to visit Myanmar next week
AP, Beijing
Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit neighboring Myanmar next week amid efforts to strengthen relations with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Myanmar has been a close ally in backing China’s claims in the South China Sea and a partner in Xi’s signature “Belt and Road” initiative to build railroads, highways, ports and other infrastructure connecting China with other points in Asia and into Europe and Africa.
