President Joe Biden says he stands ``squarely behind'' his decision for the U.S. to leave Afghanistan. Speaking about the chaotic situation in Kabul, Biden says he faced a choice between sticking with an agreement to leave or sending thousands more U.S. troops to fight a ``third decade'' of war. Biden spoke Monday after the planned withdrawal of American forces turned deadly at Kabul's airport as thousands tried to flee following the Taliban's swift takeover of the country. He told Americans it would be wrong to use US troops to stand up to the Taliban when Afghan forces would not. Biden retu

Haitians are searching for survivors and the dead in collapsed buildings following the powerful earthquake over the weekend as hospitals overflow with patients. Thousands of people in the quake zone have slept outside, clutching small transistor radios tuned to the news. Officials have raised the death toll from Saturday's earthquake to at least 1,297. And the devastation could soon worsen. Tropical Depression Grace is predicted to reach Haiti on Monday night and it will bring the potential for heavy rain, flooding and landslides. The country's Civil Protection Agency says the magnitude 7.2 e

Senior U.S. military officials say the chaos at the Kabul airport this morning left seven people dead, including some who fell from a departing American military transport jet. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss ongoing operations. Afghans rushed onto the tarmac of the capital's airport on Monday as thousands tried to flee the country after the Taliban seized power with stunning speed. Some clung to the side of a U.S. military plane before takeoff, in a widely shared video that captured the sense of desperation as America's 20-yea

The Taliban have seized four more provincial capitals and completed their sweep of southern Afghanistan.The Taliban now control more than two-thirds of Afghanistan -- raising fears of a return to the brutal, repressive rule it imposed before when it all but eliminated women's rights and conducted public executions as it imposed strict Islamic law.The Associated Press is reporting Canadian special forces are being sent in to evacuate Canadian Embassy staff in Kabul.

U-S President Joe Biden plans to host a virtual summit for democracy in early December in a global stand against rising autocratic forces.Biden wants to assemble government, civil society and private sector leaders to discuss three key themes -- defending against authoritarianism, fighting corruption, and promoting respect for human rights.The announcement came not long after Afghan officials announced the Taliban had seized three more provincial capitals from the elected, American-backed government in Kabul.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo continued to defend himself from what he said were ``unfair'' and ``untruthful'' sexual harassment allegations, even as he announced he would resign from office. But the 63 year old Democrat said he realized he would lose his fight to remain in power and would step aside out of his love for the state and its people. Cuomo made the resignation announcement Tuesday in a speech to the public. He said ``wasting energy on distractions is the last thing that state government should be doing. And I cannot be the cause of that.'' White House press secretary Jen Psaki says U

Federal Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole is accusing Beijing of using the death penalty for political purposes after a Chinese court upheld a Canadian's death sentence. O'Toole is also reopening the door to a Canadian boycott of next year's Winter Olympics in China, warning the Chinese government's recent actions show Canadians are not safe in the country.O'Toole was commenting after the Higher People's Court of Liaoning Province rejected Canadian Robert Schellenberg's appeal after his sentence in a drug case was increased to the death penalty in 2019.That coincided with the Chinese government

Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Monday said the country has fulfilled its "responsibility" as host nation of the Tokyo Games.The Japanese Prime Minister also thanked the citizens and expressed his "sincere appreciation" for the people of the country."Although the Olympics were postponed for a year and held under various restrictions, I believe we were able to fulfill our responsibility as host country," Kyodo News quoted Suga as saying."I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Japanese people for their understanding and cooperation," he added.Suga was presented with the Ol

Canada's women's soccer team upped the drama to the max and beat Sweden 3-2 on penalty kicks to win Olympic gold.The game was tied 1-1 after extra time.Vancouver's Julia Grosso scored the winner and Stephanie Labbe was outstanding in goal to end a nail-biter of a game. The first-ever Olympic title for the women's soccer team followed a bronze medal performance by the men's 4x100 relay team and a silver for Moh Ahmed in the men's five-thousand metres.