The U.S.-backed Afghan government said Wednesday it does not plan to attend next month's multi-nation conference in Russia on the future of Afghanistan. Representatives of the Taliban insurgency, however, confirmed to VOA that they will attend.
Afghan officials are reportedly upset because Russia did not consult them before extending an invitation to the Taliban.
Russia has also invited China, Pakistan, Iran and eight other countries to take part in the meeting, which is scheduled for September 4 in Moscow.
Fighting disrupted some Eid ul-Adha celebrations in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Wednesday.
Indian security forces fired tear gas and shotgun pellets to disperse anti-India protesters in the region's main city, Srinagar.
Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, a Himalayan territory divided between India and Pakistan but claimed by both in its entirety.
President Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, says the reimposition of economic sanctions against Iran has had a "profound effect," and the administration wants to go further than the measures that were in place before a deal was reached with Iran to end its production of nuclear weapons.
Bolton spoke Wednesday during a trip to Israel. "The Iran nuclear deal mitigated the effects of its mismanagement of the economy and gave the regime new life. Gave this regime that's been the central banker of international terrorism since 1979 new assets that it could use for its nuclear weapons program."
Bolton said American officials have spoken with allies about what else could be done to achieve "maximum pressure" on Iran.
This is VOA news.
Zimbabwe's Constitutional Court opened hearings Wednesday on the opposition's challenge to the results of last month's presidential election.
The Movement for Democratic Change has accused Zimbabwe's election commission of rigging the July 30 vote in favor of President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his ruling ZANU-PF party.
The opposition's challenge has forced the planned August 12 inauguration to be postponed.
If the court upholds the results, the inauguration would take place within 48 hours.
The U.S. is not alone in dealing with sex abuse within the Catholic Church.
Associated Press correspondent Walter Ratliff reports.
Recent revelations of sexual misconduct and cover-up within the highest ranks of the U.S. Catholic Church have revived a controversy festering for decades.
But the U.S. isn't alone: Cases of Catholic priests abusing children, and of bishops covering up for them, have erupted around the world. This includes Chile, where Pope Francis strong-armed the entire Chilean hierarchy to tender their resignations over the issue.
And Australia, where a national investigation found more than 4,000 people were abused at Catholic institutions between 1980 and 2015.
Francis is expected to address the issue this weekend when he visits Ireland, the first country to come to grips with the problem in the 1990s.
I'm Walter Ratliff.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says Democrats are not focusing on impeaching President Trump after his former campaign chairman and personal lawyer were convicted in separate cases on Tuesday.
Associated Press Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports from the White House.
Pelosi says impeachment is "not a priority" for Democrats right now, telling the AP it would have to "spring from something else."
Across Capitol Hill, top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer says there does have to be a consequence, yesterday's guilty plea by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort's conviction. "It's a game changer. It should be."
Cohen implicated the president in a federal crime and Schumer wants the Senate to delay high court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing, saying Kavanaugh's refused to say whether a president can be forced to comply with a subpoena.
Sagar Meghani, at the White House.
The U.S. Navy has begun moving its ships and submarines away from Hawaii as a powerful hurricane heads for the islands state.
The winds have slowed from 259 to 250 kilometers per hour, causing a downgrade from a category 5 to a category 4 hurricane.
But the National Weather Service is warning Hawaiians to expect flash flooding and landslides, and it says there could be total rain accumulation of around 40 centimeters.
You can find more on these and other late breaking and developing stories, from around the world, around the clock, at voanews.com and on the VOA news mobile app. I'm Christopher Cruise, VOA news.
