White Houses announces halted American military withdrawal from Afghanistan
In a speech delivered in the Roosevelt Room on Oct. 15, 2015, American President Barack Obama revealed that the withdrawal of American military forces from Afghanistan would be halted. Approximately 5,500 troops are to remain in Afghanistan through the end of President Obama’s second term in 2017.
“While America’s combat mission in Afghanistan may be over, our commitment to Afghanistan and its people endures,” said President Obama to reporters. “I will not allow Afghanistan to be used as safe haven for terrorists to attack our nation again.”
There are currently approximately 9,800 American troops in Afghanistan. This number will drop to 5,500 by the end of 2016 or early 2017. The decision to halt military withdrawal from Afghanistan stands in direct opposition to one of President Obama’s primary goals in the White House—to completely withdraw all American military forces from Afghanistan.
The war in Afghanistan began on Oct. 7, 2001 and officially ended on Dec. 28, 2014. As of Oct. 1, 2015, there have been 2,326 U.S. military deaths as a result of the conflict.
Oscar Pistorius to carry out remainder of sentence under house arrest
According to a South African parole board statement released on Oct. 15, 2015, Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius will be released from prison to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest. Pistorius will be released on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015.
Pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison, in 2014, for the death of Reeva Steenkamp, a South African model who was Pistorius’s girlfriend. According to Pistorius, Steenkamp’s death was an accident.
Pistorius allegedly mistook Steenkamp for an intruder, before shooting her through a locked bathroom, resulting in her death. Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide—manslaughter.
Pistorius has spent 12 months in jail.
—Compiled by Sameer Chhabra