| Ukraine peace talks aborted as civilians die in east Posted: 30 Jan 2015 10:10 AM PST  By Aleksandar Vasovic and Andrei Makhovsky DONETSK, Ukraine/MINSK (Reuters) - Civilians were killed on both sides in heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine on Friday, while an attempt to reopen peace talks in neighboring Belarus was aborted before it began. Rebel delegates flew to the Belarus capital Minsk, only to announce that no talks would take place on Friday and they were flying straight back to Moscow. Any talks would be the first since a five-month-old ceasefire collapsed with a new rebel advance last week. The main rebel stronghold Donetsk echoed to the sound of heavy artillery fire, including salvoes from multiple rocket launchers and heavier thuds from artillery coming from the direction of the airport, a constant battlefield.
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| Hezbollah: we don't want war with Israel but do not fear it Posted: 30 Jan 2015 10:20 AM PST  By Tom Perry and Laila Bassam BEIRUT (Reuters) - The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Friday his group did not want war with Israel but was ready for one, and reserved the right to respond to Israeli attacks any time, anywhere. "We do not want a war but we are not afraid of it and we must distinguish between the two, and the Israelis must also understand this very well," Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said. Nasrallah was speaking at an event to commemorate the deaths of six Hezbollah fighters and an Iranian general killed by an Israeli air strike in Syria on Jan. 18. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah hit back on Wednesday with a rocket attack that killed two Israeli soldiers on the frontier with Lebanon.
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| Islamic State attacks Kurdish outposts across Iraq Posted: 30 Jan 2015 02:20 PM PST  By Stephen Kalin BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State militants struck at Kurdish forces southwest of the Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Friday, while bombs in Kirkuk, Baghdad, Samarra and Ramadi killed at least 27 people. The Sunni Islamists have often battled Iraqi security forces and Shi'ite militias further south and west, but attacks in and around Kurdish-controlled Kirkuk have been less frequent. Kurdish military sources said the peshmerga had repelled dawn attacks by Islamic State at different points along a more than 1,000 km frontline, including Khazer, west of Arbil, and Makhmur, further south. "Maybe they are afraid the fight for Mosul has started so they are trying to show they can operate close to Arbil or Kirkuk," Roj Nuri Shaways, Iraq's deputy prime minister and a peshmerga commander, told Reuters.
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| Aviation leaders seek new safety mandate after deadly 2014 Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:33 PM PST  By Allison Lampert and Allison Martell MONTREAL (Reuters) - Aviation leaders will try to secure a mandate to implement new safety standards when they meet next week after a string of high-profile accidents around the world made 2014 the deadliest year for commercial airlines in almost a decade. Efforts to adopt new standards for global plane tracking and co-operation on the risks of flying over conflict zones will dominate the meeting on safety in Montreal from Feb. 2-5, weeks ahead of the anniversary of the disappearance of flight MH370, the Malaysian Airlines jet with 239 people on board. "Issues such as flight restrictions over conflict zones can only be tackled at a global or regional level," Patrick Ky, executive director of the European Aviation Safety Agency, said. "The global aviation regulatory system should also act more quickly to address the recommendations for safety improvement made by accident investigators," he told Reuters ahead of the talks at the International Civil Aviation Organization.
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| Mexico tests DNA of babies who survived blast in search for parents Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:10 PM PST  Plunged into chaos just hours after entering this world, nine babies found alive after a gas blast in a Mexican maternity hospital underwent DNA tests on Friday in a bid to reunite them with their parents. Thursday's blast devastated the hospital on the western edge of Mexico City, sending a fireball into the air and killing a nurse and two infants. "We have nine DNA tests pending," Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said. Many areas of Mexico City have no mains gas supply and rely on deliveries from gas trucks.
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| Venezuela uses detained reporter in tourism promo Posted: 30 Jan 2015 04:46 PM PST  MIAMI (AP) — A short-lived promo posted to Twitter by Venezuelan tourism officials to highlight the nation's openness to foreigners featured a Miami Herald reporter who had been detained while covering the country's elections.
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| Top Asian News at 12:30 a.m. GMT Posted: 30 Jan 2015 04:32 PM PST TOKYO (AP) — The fates of a Japanese journalist and Jordanian military pilot were unknown Friday, a day after the latest purported deadline for a possible prisoner swap passed with no further word from the Islamic State group holding them captive. Jordan has said it will only release an al-Qaida prisoner, Sajida al-Rishawi, from death row if it gets proof the pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, is alive and so far has received no such evidence from the hostage-takers. |
| Three Chad soldiers, 123 Boko Haram militants killed in Cameroon Posted: 30 Jan 2015 04:29 PM PST  N'Djamena (AFP) - Three soldiers and 123 Boko Haram militants were killed when the Islamist group attacked a Chadian army contingent in northern Cameroon, the Chadian military said Friday. Chad sent a convoy of troops and military vehicles into neighbouring Cameroon on January 17 to deal with the growing threat Boko Haram poses in the region. A senior Cameroonian security source said the Chadian troops were deployed to the town, which sits opposite a Nigerian town under Boko Haram control and is also close to the border with Chad, on Wednesday. Boko Haram frequently stages attacks on Fotokol from their base in the Nigerian town of Gamboru, which is just 500 metres (yards) away.
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| New book lifts lid on court of Britain's Prince Charles Posted: 30 Jan 2015 04:28 PM PST  A new biography of Britain's Prince Charles reveals how his inner circle is riven with backstabbing and infighting, according to extracts published by The Times newspaper Saturday. Charles's household has been nicknamed "Wolf Hall" after Hilary Mantel's historical novel about the brutal, conniving court of Henry VIII in the 16th century, the biography says. "Charles: The Heart of a King" by Catherine Mayer is published in Britain on Thursday. Mayer has based the book on interviews with Charles himself as well as friends, courtiers and critics.
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| Thai junta tries to curb dissent and keep good terms with US Posted: 30 Jan 2015 04:23 PM PST  BANGKOK (AP) — When Thailand's military junta sensed it was being criticized this week, the country's rulers reacted as they always do: by issuing stern warnings and summoning those responsible for talks army leaders like to refer to as "attitude adjustments."
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| Third charged in US over failed Gambia coup Posted: 30 Jan 2015 04:18 PM PST  US prosecutors charged a third man Friday for conspiring to overthrow the Gambian government last month in a failed coup ostensibly aimed at restoring democracy to the small west African nation. Dual US-Gambian citizen Alagie Barrow, 41, was charged for seeking to overthrow Gambian President Yahya Jammeh on December 30 with fellow dual national Papa Faal and US resident Cherno Njie, whom they planned to then have serve as interim leader. The trio had traveled to Banjul to take part in the attack on the presidential palace. On January 1, strongman Jammeh -- who has ruled Gambia with an iron fist for 20 years -- blamed unidentified foreign dissidents and "terrorists" for the assault on his presidential palace.
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| In Ukraine's rebel capital daily life is fraught with deadly danger Posted: 30 Jan 2015 04:15 PM PST  Civilians queuing for aid handouts in Ukraine's rebel stronghold of Donetsk on Friday became the five latest casualties of a conflict which makes daily life a gamble, for those who haven't already fled. Municipal workers in the self-proclaimed separatist capital in eastern Ukraine used white sheets to cover the shattered bodies of the victims in front of the Kuybyshev Cultural Centre, a known aid distribution point.
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| Lawsuit: Exploding air bag killed Texas man Posted: 30 Jan 2015 04:04 PM PST HOUSTON (AP) — The family of a Texas man who died in a minor traffic accident is alleging in a lawsuit that their loved one is the latest person to be killed by shrapnel shooting out of exploding air bags made by Takata Corp. of Japan. |
| Kerry to visit Ukraine next week: State Department Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:55 PM PST U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Kiev on Thursday for talks with President Petro Poroshenko and other Ukrainian officials, the U.S. State Department said on Friday. President Barack Obama this week voiced deep concern about renewed fighting between Russian-backed separatist and government forces in eastern Ukraine and said the United States is considering all options short of military action to isolate Russia. "The Secretary's visit will highlight the United States' steadfast support for Ukraine and its people," the State Department said in a statement. It said Kerry will then travel to Germany from Feb. 6 to 8 for the 51st Munich Security Conference. |
| Factbox: Canada security bill's main provisions Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:53 PM PST The Canadian government introduced legislation on Friday to counter terrorism in response to attacks in Canada, France and Australia by Islamist militants since last October. The following are the main provisions: CANADIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE SERVICE - CSIS would have powers to disrupt threats to the security of Canada at home and abroad, not just collect intelligence. PROMOTION OF TERRORISM - It would make it a crime to call for attacks on Canada in general. |
| French judge to probe AirAsia crash Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:53 PM PST  Flight QZ8501 went down in stormy weather on December 28 in the Java Sea during what was supposed to be a short trip from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore. On Thursday, Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee, which has been analysing the plane's black boxes, said that prior to the crash, the aircraft had climbed fast in an area packed with huge storm clouds, and the stall alarms started going off. They also revealed that the Airbus A320-200's less experienced French co-pilot, Remi Plesel, was flying the plane before it went down, rather than Captain Iriyanto, a former fighter pilot who had around 20,000 hours of flying time. Plesel's family in France separately filed charges against AirAsia Indonesia for "endangering the life of others" as the airline did not have permission to carry out the flight between Surabaya and Singapore on the day of the crash.
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| Netanyahu denies wife pocketed from returned bottles Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:45 PM PST  Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday dismissed as "false" reports that his wife Sara had pocketed at least $1,000 worth of public money by returning empty bottles to supermarkets. The reports, which were cause for ridicule in local media, come as the head of the rightwing Likud party prepares to seek re-election in a snap March vote. Earlier this week, reports emerged that Sara Netanyahu had during her husband's second term as prime minister (2009-2013) collected a vast amount of empty bottles bought by the premier's office and returned them to supermarkets, pocketing the money herself. Over several years, the Netanyahus through this practice earned at least 4,000 shekels ($1,000, 885 euros) of what should have been public money, the reports said.
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| Central African militias appeal for ceasefire recognition Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:39 PM PST  Militia forces in war-torn Central African Republic appealed Friday for international support for an ceasefire agreement struck without government involvement. The deal was signed last week in Kenya between senior representatives of the anti-balaka rebels and the ex-Seleka movement of ex-president Michel Djotodia. CAR is struggling to recover from the coup that ousted president Francois Bozize and pushed the poor and unstable country into violence pitting the country's Christian and Muslim populations against one another.
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| Test of gun finds only DNA of deceased Argentine prosecutor Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:39 PM PST  BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Testing of the pistol used to kill a prosecutor who had leveled incendiary charges against Argentina's president has found traces of DNA only belonging to him, the lead investigator in the case said Friday.
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| IS hostage drama shows change in propaganda technique Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:39 PM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — The latest Islamic State hostage drama involving a veteran Japanese war correspondent and a young Jordanian pilot marks the first time the group has publicly demanded prisoner releases. It also signals a change in the extremist group's propaganda technique.
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| Obama, Dalai Lama set to attend National Prayer Breakfast Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:33 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama will be at the National Prayer Breakfast next week in Washington, the first time the two men have been together in nearly a year. |
| African Union urged to release S.Sudan atrocity probe Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:29 PM PST  A top African Union official who led an inquiry into atrocities in war-torn South Sudan warned Friday that ignoring its recommendations would help the guilty to evade justice. Led by former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, the AU commission of inquiry spent six months last year investigating the tens of thousands slaughtered in the civil war between fighters loyal to South Sudan President Salva Kiir and his sacked deputy-turned-rebel leader Riek Machar. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch also said keeping the report under wraps would only benefit those trying to avoid possible war crimes trials.
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| Nations Cup hosts 'saved Africa's honour' Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:24 PM PST  Equatorial Guinea "saved Africa's honour" by stepping in to host the Africa Cup of Nations at the last minute, organisers said on Friday. The local organising committee also said the tournament in the oil-rich country -- which replaced Morocco in November following the latters' withdrawal over Ebola fears -- had been hitch-free so far despite late venue changes for two of this weekend's quarter-finals. "We are proud that the Nations Cup was not staged outside Africa. It has been in Equatorial Guinea under the best conditions.
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| Venezuela allows security forces to use firearms in protests Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:19 PM PST C ARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Human rights groups and Venezuela's opposition are criticizing the government's new authorization for riot police to use firearms to control protests. |
| US says Islamic State militant killed in Iraq Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:17 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. military officials say a mid-level Islamic State militant who specialized in chemical weapons was killed in an U.S. airstrike near Mosul in Iraq last week. |
| Venezuela confirms shooting down small plane near Aruba Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:12 PM PST Venezuela said on Friday it shot down a civilian plane after it ignored communications off its Caribbean coast near the island of Aruba, but denied any violation of international airspace. Authorities on Aruba, a semi-autonomous island that is part of the kingdom of the Netherlands, had said on Thursday the aircraft being pursued by Venezuelan military jets went down off its coast, with human remains and packages of drugs visible in the water. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino told reporters the plane, which first landed in Apure state, was shot down after ignoring communications on takeoff. Venezuela for several years has operated under a shoot-down policy when drug flights are suspected. |
| Air strike kills IS 'chemical weapons expert': US Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:11 PM PST  A US-led coalition air strike killed a chemical weapons specialist with the Islamic State group in Iraq who once worked for Saddam Hussein, US military officers said Friday. The air raid carried out last Saturday near Mosul took out Abu Malik, whose training "provided the terrorist group with expertise to pursue a chemical weapons capability," the military said in a statement. Malik had worked at a chemical weapons production plant under Saddam's regime and later forged an affiliation with Al-Qaeda in Iraq in 2005, before joining the extremist IS group, according to Central Command. "His death is expected to temporarily degrade and disrupt the terrorist network and diminish ISIL's ability to potentially produce and use chemical weapons against innocent people," it said.
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| Goodell high on London, shy on UK franchise Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:10 PM PST  National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell likes the "passion" he sees in London fans, but offered no word on Friday on a potential franchise in the United Kingdom. "London has done not only everything we expected but more than we expected," said Goodell, whose league held three regular-season contests at Wembley Stadium in 2014. Goodell said ticket sales are brisk for the three NFL games in London next season -- the New York Jets against Miami on October 4 and an unprecedented back-to-back weekends pairing of Buffalo and Jacksonville on October 25 and Detroit against Kansas City on November 1. The 2015 London Series games have been scheduled for an afternoon kickoff that will put them on US television on Sunday morning.
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| Thousands protest right-wingers at Vienna ball, 38 detained Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:08 PM PST  VIENNA (AP) — As elegant pairs waltzed under crystal chandeliers Friday, thousands of raucous demonstrators outside their lavish palace ball demanded an end to the black-tie event, which they say draws the far-right fringe from across Europe. Police detained dozens and at least two people were injured.
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| Stocks sag at the close; January finishes on weak note Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:07 PM PST  The U.S. stock market capped a rough month Friday, delivering its third loss in five days and extending its declines for the year.
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| Yemen Shiite militia holds widely boycotted meeting on crisis Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:06 PM PST  Yemen's Shiite militia and ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh's party held a meeting boycotted by others parties Friday to discuss ending the country's political crisis, as protests hit several cities, including the capital. The militia, which overran Sanaa in September, seized the presidential palace and key government buildings last week, plunging the country deeper into crisis and prompting President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and his prime minister to resign.
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| Daughter of L'Oreal tycoon takes the stand in 'exploitation' trial Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:01 PM PST  Liliane Bettencourt's daughter, who triggered a probe into the alleged exploitation of the elderly L'Oreal heiress, told a French court Friday that her mother's closest confidant was a "con man" bent on destroying her family. Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers accused photographer Francois-Marie Banier of deliberately "shattering" her relationship with her mother to take advantage of the billionaire's increasing mental frailty. He is one of 10 people in the 92-year-old's entourage to stand trial in an explosive drama involving a bitter mother-daughter feud, unscrupulous friends and a butler's betrayal that even dragged in former president Nicolas Sarkozy.
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| Canada to criminalize public terror threats Posted: 30 Jan 2015 03:01 PM PST  TORONTO (AP) — Canada announced a new anti-terror law Friday that will make it a crime for people to call for a terrorist attack, even if they don't make a specific threat.
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| Hong Kong businessman charged with damaging Montana house Posted: 30 Jan 2015 02:45 PM PST POLSON, Montana (AP) — A Hong Kong businessman is charged with breaking into a northwestern Montana home after getting drunk at a wedding and causing extensive damage in a case a judge says "reads like a 'Hangover' movie." |
| Nigeria military says NE town retaken from Boko Haram Posted: 30 Jan 2015 02:42 PM PST  Nigeria's military on Friday said it had retaken the northeast town of Michika from Boko Haram after weeks of unrest that reportedly killed dozens of people and forced thousands to flee. The Islamist insurgents were thought to have controlled the town for several months, while local officials and relief workers said the area had seen a spike in Boko Haram attacks over the past two weeks. Military accounts of offensives against Boko Haram have in the past not been consistent with witness reports and it was not immediately possible to reach locals around Michika. Retaking Michika from Boko Haram, which controls large swathes of territory across the northeast, would mark a success for Nigeria's military, which has been fiercely criticised for its handling of the six-year Islamist uprising.
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| US judge: No asylum for Afghan soldier who fled training Posted: 30 Jan 2015 02:34 PM PST BUFFALO, New York (AP) — An immigration judge denied asylum Friday for an Afghan military officer who sneaked away from a U.S. training exercise in Massachusetts to avoid returning to Afghanistan, where he said he had been threatened by the Taliban. |
| Deportivo beats Rayo Vallecano 2-1 in Spanish league Posted: 30 Jan 2015 02:34 PM PST MADRID (AP) — A late penalty by Celso Borges gave Deportivo La Coruna a 2-1 win at Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish league on Friday. |
| Bayern slumps to 1st Bundesliga defeat, 4-1 at Wolfsburg Posted: 30 Jan 2015 02:32 PM PST  BERLIN (AP) — Wolfsburg routed Bayern Munich 4-1 on Friday to hand the Bundesliga leader its first defeat of the league season in the first game after the winter break.
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| Mexico cuts spending by $8.4 billion due to oil price drop Posted: 30 Jan 2015 02:31 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico said Friday it will cut government spending by $8.4 billion this year because of a drop in revenues due to declining oil prices. |
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