AFGHANISTAN

The conflicts in Syria and Iraq were largely responsible for the increase, the U.N. refugee agency says.

The Army Sergeant was kept in a cage, beaten and threatened with execution, according to an account released by his attorney.

Republican leaders in Congress criticized President Obama's 2014 prisoner swap in light of desertion charges brought against Bowe Bergdahl.

“I knew from the beginning that he was a deserter,” a U.S. Army veteran told IBTimes.

The Army sergeant will be charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. He allegedly left his post in Afghanistan in 2009 and was later captured by the Taliban.

Also known as the Guantanamo Five, the Taliban Five are living cushy lives in Qatar.

The U.S. Army has charged Bowe Bergdahl with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. It has prosecuted about 1,900 cases of desertion since 2001, but more than 20,000 soldiers fled service.

The U.S. Army is expected to announce the charges against the American POW freed in a prisoner swap with the Taliban.

Many in Washington, lawmakers included, are relieved to be working with a different Afghan president.

Afghan leader Ashraf Ghani joined President Obama at the White House to announce a halt to U.S. troop withdrawals.

The U.S. assured Afghanistan's leaders it would keep funding Afghan security forces at a targeted peak level of 352,000 personnel at least into 2017 to provide stability as foreign troops withdraw.

Paraguay ranked highest in Gallup's Positive Experience Index.

Fighter jets have pounded positions in the Tirah Valley in the Khyber region, west of the city of Peshawar, over the last few days.

Pine Bush High School's principal has apologized for allowing the Pledge of Allegiance to be said in Arabic.

The ruling has been stayed for 60 days to allow the government to consider an appeal, in a case that has dragged on for more than a decade.

Nowruz has historically been celebrated by people in the region regardless of their religious affiliations.

The Pledge of Allegiance was read in Arabic as part of National Foreign Language Week in Pine Bush, New York, sparking anger from many.

Some Republicans want to use the so-called war fund to circumvent defense spending caps. John McCain disagrees.

ISIS "emir" Hafiz Saeed Khan confirmed deputy leader Mullah Abdul Rauf Khadim's death in a video released through the group's media office.

The GOP wrote the 10-year spending plan. But even its own members might gawk at some of its provisions.

A report last month had also said that the prince planned to do charity work in Africa after quitting the military service.