| New U.N. rights boss warns of 'house of blood' in Iraq, Syria Posted: 08 Sep 2014 02:13 PM PDT  By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The new U.N. human rights chief urged world powers on Monday to protect women and minorities targeted by Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, saying the fighters were trying to create a "house of blood." Jordan's Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein, the first Muslim to hold the position, called for the international community to focus on ending the "increasingly conjoined" conflict in the two countries, and abuses in other hotspots from Ukraine to Gaza. Islamic State's Sunni Muslim fighters have over-run large parts of Syria and Iraq since June, declaring a cross-border caliphate.
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| Ukraine president visits frontline city amid 'shaky' ceasefire Posted: 08 Sep 2014 11:26 AM PDT By Aleksandar Vasovic and Gabriela Baczynska MARIUPOL/DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko visited the eastern port of Mariupol on Monday and promised to deal a "crushing defeat" to pro-Russian rebels massed on the edge of town if they tried to advance in violation of a ceasefire agreement. "I have ordered (the military) to secure the defense of Mariupol with howitzers, multiple rocket launchers, tanks, anti-tank weapons and air cover," Poroshenko told a crowd of steel workers in the port on the Sea of Azov near the Russian border. It has also caused the sharpest confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cold War. The truce was largely holding on Monday, though each side accused the other of sporadic shelling, including in Mariupol, a city of about half a million, shortly after the president's arrival there. |
| Iraqi parliament approves new government headed by Haider al-Abadi Posted: 08 Sep 2014 02:29 PM PDT  Iraq's parliament approved a new government headed by Haider al-Abadi as prime minister on Monday night, in a bid to rescue Iraq from collapse, with sectarianism and Arab-Kurdish tensions on the rise. Abadi, a Shi'ite Islamist, included members of Iraq's Shi'ite majority and its Kurdish and Sunni minorities in his cabinet as he started his uphill task to unify the country after this summer's devastating loss of territory across northern Iraq to Islamic State fighters. Adel Abdel Mehdi from the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq was named oil minister while Ibrahim Jafaari, a former premier, was named foreign minister.
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| U.S. courts skeptical Arab allies in Islamic State fight Posted: 08 Sep 2014 03:58 PM PDT  By Jason Szep WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After threatening to destroy and degrade Islamic State militants, the United States will court skeptical Gulf Arab allies this week and consider expanding training and arming of moderate Syrian rebels to lead the fight against the jihadists. As U.S. ...
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| Poll shows rival Scottish independence camps neck-and-neck Posted: 08 Sep 2014 04:15 PM PDT  By Angus MacSwan EDINBURGH (Reuters) - The rival campaigns in Scotland's fight over independence are running neck-and-neck nine days before the referendum, with a surge in support for those who wish to break away from the United Kingdom, a TNS poll showed on Tuesday. The number of people saying they would vote "No" to independence had dropped to 39 percent, down from 45 percent a month ago. "This poll reveals a remarkable shift in voting intentions," said Tom Costley, head of TNS Scotland. "It is too close to call and both sides will now be energized to make the most of the last few days of the campaign and try and persuade the undecided voters of the merits of their respective campaigns."The late rally by the "Yes" campaign led by Alex Salmond's Scottish National Party, the ruling party in Scotland, now makes the break–up of the United Kingdom - previously thought to be a pipedream - a distinct possibility after a 300-year-old union.
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| Bomb blast in Chile wounds 10; government blames 'terrorists' Posted: 08 Sep 2014 03:34 PM PDT  By Felipe Iturrieta SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A bomb exploded next to an underground train station in the Chilean capital of Santiago on Monday afternoon, wounding at least 10 people, and the government said it bore the signs of "a terrorist" act. The blast occurred at lunchtime in a fast-food restaurant in a small shopping and eating area next to the Escuela Militar metro station in the affluent residential and shopping neighborhood of Las Condes. "This is a cowardly act because it has as its objective to hurt people, create fear and even kill innocent people," President Michelle Bachelet said. ...
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| Expert: Over 12,000 foreign fighters in Syria Posted: 08 Sep 2014 04:55 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A leading expert on terrorism says over 12,000 foreigners from 74 countries have gone to fight in Syria, 60-70 percent from other Middle Eastern countries and about 20-25 percent from Western nations. |
| Second WHO doctor contracts Ebola in Sierra Leone Posted: 08 Sep 2014 04:55 PM PDT  The World Health Organization said on Monday that one of its doctors in Sierra Leone has been diagnosed with the Ebola virus and will be evacuated. "A WHO doctor working in an Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone has tested positive for the disease," it said in a statement. "The doctor is currently in stable condition in Freetown, and will be evacuated shortly." It is the second WHO employee to contract the virus in Sierra Leone after a Senegalese medical expert was diagnosed in late August and evacuated to Hamburg, Germany, where he was said to be "in a stable condition" on Monday.
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| Oregon hazelnut crop expected to be off 20 percent Posted: 08 Sep 2014 04:54 PM PDT EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Amid a potential global shortfall in hazelnut production, Oregon groves are expected to yield about 20 percent less this year. |
| Iraq Islamists using children as suicide bombers: UN Posted: 08 Sep 2014 04:53 PM PDT  Islamic fighters in Iraq have killed hundreds of children including in summary executions and used some as suicide bombers, the top UN envoy on children and armed conflict said Monday. "Up to 700 children have been killed or maimed in Iraq since the beginning of the year, including in summary executions," Leila Zerrougui told the UN Security Council.
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| Syria regime pounds rebels near Damascus: monitor Posted: 08 Sep 2014 04:49 PM PDT  Syrian regime forces on Monday launched an offensive to retake a strategic rebel-held area near Damascus and also pressed a campaign against jihadists elsewhere in the country, a monitor said. Two days ago rebels, including from Al-Qaeda's Syria franchise, Al-Nusra Front, seized large sections of the southeastern suburb of Dukhaniyeh, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Government forces launched a major counter-offensive and pounded the rebels from the air and with mortar fire, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said. A security source in Damascus told AFP soldiers and rebels clashed in Dukhaniyeh after insurgents infiltrated the village and took position in several buildings.
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| Life in shadow of bombs for Mariupol children Posted: 08 Sep 2014 04:49 PM PDT  Mariupol (Ukraine) (AFP) - "I'm brave, I'm not afraid," shouted six-year-old Sasha as he leapt across the roofs of makeshift garages not far from the tanks and concrete barricades set up to defend the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol from a feared rebel assault. Sasha says all his friends have already fled the coastal city, the latest battleground in the five-month conflict between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists. Sasha lives just 200 metres (yards) away from the government checkpoint on the eastern edge of Mariupol that came under insurgent fire at the weekend, rattling a tenuous truce between the warring parties. After weeks of calm, Mariupol was suddenly thrust into the forefront of the battle for Ukraine when rebel fighters -- with the apparent backing of Russian elite troops and heavy weaponry -- suddenly pushed south in a dramatic reversal of fortune for government forces.
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| Cilic tops Nishikori at US Open for 1st Slam title Posted: 08 Sep 2014 04:45 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — Unable to play in the U.S. Open a year ago because of a doping suspension, Marin Cilic is now the tournament's champion.
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| US air marshal attacked with syringe in Nigeria Posted: 08 Sep 2014 04:43 PM PDT  A US air marshal was attacked with a syringe at the airport in Lagos, Nigeria and had been hospitalized, the FBI said Monday. It was not known what was in the syringe when it was injected Sunday into the on-duty marshal, whose name has not been given and is in hospital in Houston. The incident raised fears the syringe could have carried some form of the Ebola virus because Nigeria is one of the West African countries where the deadly epidemic has spread. The FBI said authorities were taking every precaution, but that initial signs were that the victim was not a danger to others and was not showing any symptoms.
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| Obama to broaden US effort to combat militants Posted: 08 Sep 2014 04:42 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will go on the offensive against the Islamic State group with a broader counterterror mission than he previously has been willing to embrace, U.S. officials said Monday. The new plan, however, still won't commit U.S. troops to a ground war against the brutal insurgency and will rely heavily for now on allies to pitch in for what could be an extended campaign.
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| Cilic routs Nishikori to win US Open Posted: 08 Sep 2014 04:32 PM PDT  Marin Cilic clinched his first Grand Slam title Monday, shattering Kei Nishikori's bid to become the first Asian man to win a major with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory in the US Open final. Cilic, the 14th-seeded 25-year-old, becomes the first Croatian man to win a major since Goran Ivanisevic, now his coach, at Wimbledon in 2001. Cilic, playing in his 28th Grand Slam event, is the lowest-ranked champion since Pete Sampras, then 17th in the world, claimed the 2002 title in New York. I think my team has brought something special to me, especially Goran," said Cilic who, like Nishikori, was making his debut in a major final.
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| Campaigners hit streets to avert Scottish independence Posted: 08 Sep 2014 04:30 PM PDT  Campaigners against independence took to the streets of Scotland's oil capital Aberdeen with just days to go to a momentous referendum, with polls showing support for the "Yes" growing and voters now almost evenly split for and against. Oil is at the heart of the debate over whether Scotland can afford to go it alone or would be better off remaining part of Britain on September 18 -- and booming Aberdeen demonstrates how wealthy it has made some. A small group of pro-union supporters met up on a street corner to argue for keeping that wealth within Britain, armed with rucksacks and badges reading "No Thanks" -- the main slogan against independence. "I think 'No' will win but I'm still concerned," said one of the campaigners, Willy Primrose, 62.
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| Torrential rains hit U.S. Southwest, two dead in Arizona Posted: 08 Sep 2014 04:20 PM PDT By David Schwartz PHOENIX (Reuters) - Torrential rains drenched much of the U.S. Southwest on Monday, prompting flash-flood warnings across four states and taking the lives of two women washed away in separate incidents in Arizona. The Phoenix area was hit by a record downpour that closed sections of two major freeways, and the National Weather Service issued flash-flood warnings for parts of Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah. "This is a life-threatening situation," the NWS said in an advisory. |
| Scramble to 'save' UK after Scotland referendum shock Posted: 08 Sep 2014 04:17 PM PDT  Supporters of the United Kingdom fought back to stop Scotland voting for independence in next week's referendum after polls showed a surge in support for the split on Tuesday. Senior politicians from the opposition Labour party hit the campaign trail amid signs that growing support among their voters for independence is driving the narrowing of the polls. In a speech urging Scots to vote to stay in the union, former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown set out a timetable for granting the Scottish parliament more powers if independence is rejected. First Minister Alex Salmond, the leader of the pro-independence Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP), warned of "panic" in the unionist camp.
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| Kerry vows 'enduring coalition' against IS Posted: 08 Sep 2014 04:15 PM PDT  Top US diplomat John Kerry vowed Monday to build an enduring international coalition to defeat the Islamic State, saying almost every nation had a role to play in eliminating the jihadists terrorizing Iraq and Syria. Speaking only hours before leaving on a mission to solidify the hardening front against the Islamic State (IS), Kerry praised the "new and exclusive" Iraqi cabinet agreed late Monday as a "major milestone" for the war-torn country. It had "the potential to unite all of Iraq's diverse communities," he said, referring to the sectarian divisions which have plagued the country for years. With over 40 nations already set to join the US-led coalition to fight the group also known as ISIL, Kerry said "now is the time for Iraq's leaders to govern their nation with the same vision and sense of purpose that helped to bring this new government together."
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| Iraqi parliament approves partial new Cabinet Posted: 08 Sep 2014 04:02 PM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's parliament officially named Haider al-Abadi the country's new prime minister late Monday and approved most of his proposed Cabinet amid calls by the Arab League for its members to combat the Sunni militant group violently advancing across Iraq and Syria.
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| Canadian navy ship buzzed by 3 Russian jets Posted: 08 Sep 2014 03:53 PM PDT TORONTO (AP) — A Canadian navy frigate taking part in a NATO exercise in the Black Sea was buzzed by three Russian military jets off the southern coast of Ukraine. |
| US judge orders Benghazi trial delay Posted: 08 Sep 2014 03:51 PM PDT  A US judge ordered a delay in the trial of Abu Khatallah, accused of being the ringleader of a 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya that killed the US ambassador and three other Americans. In a brief ruling, US District Judge Christopher Cooper granted a motion waiving Khatallah's right to a speedy trial, delaying until October 20 a hearing that had been scheduled for Tuesday. Khatallah, who faces life in prison if convicted, pleaded not guilty June 28 to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists resulting in death during the September 11, 2012 attack on US diplomatic facilities in Benghazi. US ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed when militants assaulted the US consulate and a second diplomatic compound in the Libyan port.
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| $4M sought for Guam maternity ward renovations Posted: 08 Sep 2014 03:51 PM PDT HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — A Guam doctor is pushing a hospital in the U.S. territory to update its maternity ward for the first time in 25 years. |
| Austria, Sweden draw 1-1 in Euro 2016 qualifier Posted: 08 Sep 2014 03:49 PM PDT  VIENNA (AP) — Sweden midfielder Erkan Zengin scored his first international goal to help his team draw with Austria 1-1 in a European Championship qualifier on Monday.
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| Experts question Nicaragua meteorite reports Posted: 08 Sep 2014 03:44 PM PDT  MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — Outside experts raised doubts on Monday about whether a loud boom and a gaping crater found in Nicaragua this weekend were caused by a meteorite, as the government has said.
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| Bomb rocks Chile metro, seven injured Posted: 08 Sep 2014 03:42 PM PDT  A bomb rocked a food court inside a Santiago metro station on Monday, wounding seven people in a blast Chile's government called a "terrorist act." A woman was sprawled on the floor, clients ran out without paying, leaving food on their plates," Rosa Valdes, a restaurant worker, told AFP. Nobody took immediate responsibility for the blast, which follows a string of unsolved small bombings in Chile that took place in uncrowded places. President Michelle Bachelet held an emergency meeting and met three of the wounded at a clinic.
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| Spain, England open with wins in Euro qualifiers Posted: 08 Sep 2014 03:42 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — Spain looked back to its old self in opening its European Championship qualifying campaign by running over Macedonia, while England took control of its group by beating biggest rival Switzerland on the road.
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| Obama, Iraq's Abadi discuss Islamic State threat in call: White House Posted: 08 Sep 2014 03:38 PM PDT President Barack Obama phoned Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Monday to discuss Washington's commitment to help Baghdad's new government fight Islamic State militants, the White House said. "The president and the prime minister agreed on the importance of having the new government quickly take concrete steps to address the aspirations and legitimate grievances of the Iraqi people," the White House said in a statement. "The prime minister expressed his commitment to work with all communities in Iraq as well as regional and international partners to strengthen Iraq's capabilities to fight against this common enemy," the White House said. Secretary of State John Kerry hailed the formation of a new government in Baghdad as "a major milestone" for Iraq. |
| Prince William 'thrilled' at Kate's new pregnancy Posted: 08 Sep 2014 03:37 PM PDT  Britain's Prince William said Monday he was "thrilled" that his wife Kate is pregnant with their second child, but admitted it had been a "tricky few days" as she struggles with severe morning sickness. Kate cancelled an official engagement on Monday because she is suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, the same condition that caused her to be hospitalised in 2012 when she was pregnant with her first child Prince George. William attended the public event in Oxford without her and told reporters: "It's been a tricky few days, a week or so, but obviously we're immensely thrilled, it's great news." Kate, 32, is being treated by doctors at the couple's London home Kensington Palace, a spokesman said.
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| Kerry: New Iraq gov't is key to militants' defeat Posted: 08 Sep 2014 03:33 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State John Kerry says Iraq has cleared a major milestone in the fight against the Islamic State militant group by forming a government that has pledged to ease sectarian tensions in the country.
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| After Gaza war, Palestinian in-fighting flares Posted: 08 Sep 2014 03:27 PM PDT  The war with Israel may be over, but now the fight is turning inward with bitter rivalry between Fatah and Hamas threatening to shatter a fragile Palestinian unity deal. In the latest spat between the factions, president Mahmud Abbas accused Hamas of running a "shadow government" in Gaza, prompting the Islamist movement to accuse him of trying to "destroy" the unity agreement they signed in April. The deal ended seven years of rival Palestinian administrations -- with Abbas's Fatah party which dominates the Palestinian Authority, ruling the West Bank, and Hamas's own government ruling Gaza.
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| Bomb injures at least 7 at Chile subway station Posted: 08 Sep 2014 03:26 PM PDT  SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A bomb exploded next to a Chilean subway station on Monday, injuring at least seven people, the most damaging of more than two dozen explosive devices planted around the country's capital this year.
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| England beats Switzerland 2-0 in Euro qualifier Posted: 08 Sep 2014 03:26 PM PDT  BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — Danny Welbeck scored twice to give England respite from criticism and a deserved 2-0 win at Switzerland in their European Championship qualifying opener on Monday.
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