Asia Briefs: US to step up anti-ISIS ops in Afghanistan

US to step up anti-ISIS ops in Afghanistan

BRUSSELS • The US intends to step up operations against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in eastern Afghanistan during a temporary ceasefire between the Afghan government and the Taleban, the top US general in Afghanistan said yesterday.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday announced the first unconditional ceasefire with the Taleban, coinciding with the end of the Muslim fasting month.

The ceasefire could free resources for operations against ISIS, said US Army General John Nicholson, the commander of US and international forces in Afghanistan.

REUTERS


Viet rights lawyer released from jail

HANOI • Vietnamese human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai has been freed from prison and flown to Germany, activists and a diplomat said yesterday, two months after he was convicted of trying to overthrow the state and given a 15-year jail sentence.

Mr Dai, founder of the group "Brotherhood for Democracy", was released late on Thursday along with another group member, the US-based human rights group Viet Tan said.

REUTERS


Cop who breastfed abandoned baby hailed

NEW DELHI • The Bangalore city police force has hailed one of its female staff who breastfed an abandoned baby.

Police Constable , who had recently returned to work after her maternity leave, said she was acting out of "motherly instinct".

The baby boy was fouArchana Shivanandiyyand under a bush at a construction site in Bangalore in southern India on June 1.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 09, 2018, with the headline Asia Briefs: US to step up anti-ISIS ops in Afghanistan. Subscribe