| Suspected Russian warplanes kill scores in Syrian city: rescue workers Posted: 20 Dec 2015 11:29 AM PST  By Suleiman Al-Khalidi BEIRUT (Reuters) - Air strikes believed to have been carried out by Russian warplanes killed scores of people in the center of the rebel-held city of Idlib in northwest Syria on Sunday, rescue workers and residents said. Rescue workers said they had confirmed 43 dead but that at least 30 more bodies had been retrieved that had still to be identified.
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| Lebanese militant leader killed in Israeli raid in Syria: Hezbollah Posted: 20 Dec 2015 11:09 AM PST  By Mariam Karouny and Suleiman Al-Khalidi BEIRUT (Reuters) - An Israeli air strike killed Samir Qantar, a Hezbollah militant leader, in Damascus on Saturday evening, the Lebanese group and Syrian state media said on Sunday. Israel welcomed Qantar's death, saying he had been preparing attacks on it from Syrian soil, but stopped short of confirming responsibility for the strike that killed him. A former national security adviser to Israel said he doubted the strike would escalate hostilities between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah, whose last major confrontation was in 2006.
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| Turkish military offensive kills 110 Kurdish militants in six days: security sources Posted: 20 Dec 2015 07:24 AM PST  By Seyhmus Cakan DIYARBAKIR (Reuters) - Armed clashes persisted on Sunday across Turkey's southeast, where an operation by Turkish forces intensified on the sixth day of a campaign that security sources said had resulted in the death of 110 Kurdish militants. Protests erupted in Istanbul and in Diyarbakir, the biggest city in the country's south east, with hundreds demonstrating against the military operations. Police fired tear gas and plastic bullets to disperse the crowds. ...
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| U.N. sees progress in Yemen talks but urgent need for full ceasefire Posted: 20 Dec 2015 12:03 PM PST  By Tom Miles BERN (Reuters) - Yemen's warring parties have agreed on a broad framework for ending their war at talks in Switzerland but they first have to agree a permanent ceasefire, after a week-long truce was widely violated, the United Nations said on Sunday. U.N. Yemen envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the two sides would meet again on Jan. 14. The location had yet to be set, although both Switzerland and Ethiopia were possible.
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| Left-wing parties take the lead in Spanish elections Posted: 20 Dec 2015 02:29 PM PST  By Angus Berwick and Paul Day MADRID (Reuters) - Left-wing parties are close to winning an absolute majority of parliamentary seats in Spain's general election Sunday, preliminary results showed, likely scuppering Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's chances of winning a second term for the People's Party (PP). Despite garnering the most votes, the center-right PP had its worst result ever in a general election as Spaniards hurt by a grinding recession and yet to feel an economic recovery turned away from the party in droves.
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| Iraq military asks residents of ISIS-controlled Ramadi to leave city Posted: 20 Dec 2015 07:37 AM PST  Iraqi military planes dropped leaflets on Sunday on Ramadi, asking residents to leave within 72 hours the western city which is under the control of Islamic State militants, an army spokesman said."It is an indication that a major military operation to retake the city center will start soon," one officer said on condition of anonymity. The leaflets indicated safe routes for civilians to exit the city and asked them to carry proper identification documents, joint operations spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Rasool told Reuters by phone. "All security forces were instructed on how to deal with civilian approaching them." Last week Iraqi security forces said they had made advances on two fronts in Ramadi, clearing Islamic State militants from a military command base and the sprawling neighborhood of al-Taamim on the western rim of the city that they captured in May. Iraqi intelligence estimates the number of Islamic State fighters that are entrenched in the centre of Ramadi, capital of the Sunni Anbar province, at between 250 and 300.
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| Spain ruling party could be out with big vote for upstarts Posted: 20 Dec 2015 04:52 PM PST  MADRID (AP) — A strong showing Sunday by a pair of upstart parties in Spain's general election upended the country's traditional two-party system, with the ruling Popular Party winning the most votes but falling far short of a parliamentary majority and at risk of being booted from power.
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| Spanish voters deal blow to two-party politics Posted: 20 Dec 2015 04:52 PM PST  Spain dealt a blow to two-party politics Sunday in historic elections that saw the incumbent conservatives score an uneasy win tailed by the long-established Socialists and upstart, far-left Syriza ally Podemos. For more than 30 years, the Popular Party (PP) and Socialists had alternated power, but they now find themselves challenged by relative newbies Podemos and Ciudadanos, a centrist party that came fourth in the closely-fought legislative polls. While it took the largest share of the vote, the PP lost its absolute majority in parliament by a significant margin and will now have to form an alliance with other parties to govern or attempt to rule as a minority government, creating near-term uncertainty.
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| Brazil Vale says will appeal ruling to block assets for dam burst Posted: 20 Dec 2015 04:38 PM PST  By Stephen Eisenhammer RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazil's Vale SA said on Sunday it will appeal a court decision to freeze some of it and BHP Billiton's Brazilian assets, saying the ruling, which declared the two mining companies responsible for a dam burst last month, was "inappropriate." Vale said it had still not been officially notified of the decision, which was issued late Friday, but understood the ruling banned it from extracting iron ore. The consequences for the world's largest mining company are likely to be less far-reaching than for Vale, however, as BHP does not have any assets in Brazil other than Samarco, whose operations have already been suspended due to the accident. The dam burst, which turned into Brazil's worst ever environmental disaster, killed 16 people, left hundreds homeless and polluted a river 800 km (500-miles) long that flows across two states.
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| The Latest: Greek PM says austerity defeated in Spain Posted: 20 Dec 2015 04:34 PM PST  MADRID (AP) — The latest developments on Spain's general election. All times local.
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| Greek opposition leadership contest goes to January runoff Posted: 20 Dec 2015 04:31 PM PST ATHENS, Greece (AP) — An election for the leadership of main opposition New Democracy party has failed to produce a clear winner and a runoff will take place on January 10, party officials said. |
| Podemos victory in Catalonia a blow for struggling separatists Posted: 20 Dec 2015 04:10 PM PST By Sonya Dowsett MADRID (Reuters) - Left-wing newcomer Podemos, which opposes a split of Catalonia from Spain, topped polls in the northeastern region in Sunday's Spanish general election, dealing a blow to Catalan separatists already struggling with divisions in their movement. Podemos, the only national party to back a Catalan referendum on independence from Spain although it has said it would recommend voting against secession, won 12 parliamentary seats in the wealthy region of 7 million. Altogether, parties opposing a Catalan split from Spain, including the Socialists, Ciudadanos and the People's Party (PP), garnered 30 seats. |
| Canada aims to double intake of Syrian refugees next year Posted: 20 Dec 2015 04:08 PM PST  AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Canada's minister of immigration and citizenship says the country's resettlement program for Syrian refugees could double its intake by the end of next year to 50,000.
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| Cameron to send Britons dossier on benefits of EU: report Posted: 20 Dec 2015 04:05 PM PST  British Prime Minister David Cameron is planning to send voters a dossier on the benefits of European Union membership ahead of an in-out referendum, British media reported on Sunday. Under pressure from eurosceptics within his ruling Conservative party and many Britons, Cameron is currently renegotiating Britain's relationship with the EU ahead of a referendum expected by the end of 2017. Citing unnamed sources, Britain's Telegraph newspaper said Cameron was planning to issue a document outlining the "changes, the benefits of the changes to Britain, and why therefore we need to stay in the EU".
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| Andy Murray named 2015 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Posted: 20 Dec 2015 03:57 PM PST  LONDON (AP) — Andy Murray has been voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year for the second time after helping Britain win the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936.
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| Brussels police raid home, make arrests in Paris attacks probe Posted: 20 Dec 2015 03:54 PM PST  Belgian police searched a home in the centre of Brussels on Sunday and made two arrests in connection with a probe into last month's terror attacks in Paris, federal prosecutors said. Special forces and federal police were involved in a raid which lasted around five hours and took place close to the city's popular tourist area, authorities said. "They have been taken in for questioning," Eric Van Der Sypt, spokesman for the federal prosecutor, said of the men, but gave no further details about them.
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| SpaceX postpones rocket launch until Monday Posted: 20 Dec 2015 03:45 PM PST  SpaceX postponed until Monday its first rocket launch since an explosion after liftoff destroyed its unmanned Dragon cargo ship bound for the International Space Station six months ago. After liftoff, SpaceX will attempt to land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket in an upright position on solid ground for the first time, a milestone it sees as key to making rockets as reusable as commercial airplanes one day. The Falcon 9 rocket is now scheduled to launch at 8:33 pm Monday (0133 GMT Tuesday) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the California-based company said.
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| Chile's airports to resume normal operations as strike ends Posted: 20 Dec 2015 03:40 PM PST  Chile's Defense Minister said the government and workers tied to the civil aviation authority reached an agreement Sunday, ending a four-day strike that forced airlines to cancel hundreds of flights and left thousands of passengers stranded. "We want say to all the Chileans who were affected (by the strike) that we deeply regret this situation, that we will go the extra mile together with the airlines, with all of our staff and also with workers from the civil aviation authority to reverse this situation," said Defense Minister Jose Antonio Gomez. LAN, Chile's flagship airline and part of LATAM Airlines, had said earlier on Sunday that domestically, it was only flying from Chile's capital Santiago to Punta Arenas, Temuco and Calama, affecting 80 percent of its flights.
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| Brazil president's survival odds improve, but ally demands growth Posted: 20 Dec 2015 03:37 PM PST  By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's key ally in Congress is certain it can head off an impeachment threat, but in return the party demands a radical change of policy course to pull the economy out of its deepest downturn in 25 years. Senator Eunicio Oliveira, Senate leader of the fractious Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), told Reuters on Sunday that Rousseff took a first step in that direction by replacing an austerity-minded Joaquim Levy with leftist economist Nelson Barbosa, who is expected to ease up the belt-tightening to spur growth. Levy threw in the towel after Brazil lost its hard-won investment grade last week.
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| Spain's Ciudadanos says will play key role in forming government Posted: 20 Dec 2015 03:28 PM PST MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's market-friendly Ciudadanos said on Sunday it will play a key role in forming a majority government after it won 40 seats in general elections, coming fourth after fellow newcomer, leftist Podemos. "We will be decisive in forming a majority administration that will be able to change this country," Rivera told supporters. (Reporting By Jesús Aguado; Editing by Sonya Dowsett) |
| Spain's acting PM Rajoy says will try to form government Posted: 20 Dec 2015 03:25 PM PST MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's acting prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, said he would try to form an administration, adding the country needed a stable government that would build on work carried out over the past four years by his center-right People's Party (PP). Rajoy, speaking from a balcony of party headquarters in central Madrid to cheering supporters, said the days following elections in which no party got an absolute majority would not be easy and pacts would need to be made. (Reporting By Julien Toyer; Editing by Sonya Dowsett) |
| Fact file: same-sex marriage around the world Posted: 20 Dec 2015 03:19 PM PST  PARIS (France) (AFP) - Slovenians on Sunday shut down efforts by their national parliament to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples -- the second time they have voted in a referendum against changing the law.
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| Sudanese refugee recounts forced deportation from Jordan Posted: 20 Dec 2015 03:13 PM PST  CAIRO (AP) — Ahmed Doury and his wife had fled their home in Sudan's Darfur region for safety in Jordan. But after Jordanian security forces violently rounded up and deported them and other Sudanese asylum seekers, the 32-year-old says he's now more determined than ever to go to Europe.
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| Spain's PP has first right to try and form government says opposition Posted: 20 Dec 2015 03:10 PM PST The ruling People's Party should be the first party to try and form a government as it was the party with the highest number of votes, the leader of the opposition party PSOE said late on Sunday. "The most voted political force should try and form a government," Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez told supporters. "Spain has voted for the left. |
| New Zealand beats Sri Lanka by 5 wickets in 2nd te Posted: 20 Dec 2015 02:49 PM PST  HAMILTON, New Zealand (AP) — Kane Williamson kept his head while all around him were losing theirs, reaching an unbeaten century to steer New Zealand to a tense five-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second test on Monday and a 2-0 sweep of the two-test series.
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| Experts: Jet crew shouldn't tell passengers of bomb scare Posted: 20 Dec 2015 02:42 PM PST  The crude combination of a kitchen timer, paper and cardboard found in a lavatory on an Air France flight could have been a bomb, but the crew didn't tell passengers of that possibility. Instead, people were told the plane had a technical problem and would be landing in Kenya instead of Paris.
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| Roma ends winless streak with 2-0 victory over Genoa Posted: 20 Dec 2015 02:35 PM PST  MILAN (AP) — Roma ended its winless streak with a 2-0 victory over Genoa in Serie A on Sunday to relieve some of the pressure on coach Rudi Garcia, while league leader Inter Milan lost 2-1 at home to Lazio.
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| New Zealand beats Sri Lanka by 5 wickets in 2nd test Posted: 20 Dec 2015 02:25 PM PST HAMILTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by five wickets in the second cricket test at Seddon Park on Monday to win the two-match series 2-0: |
| Madrid routs 9-man Rayo Vallecano 10-2 in Spanish league Posted: 20 Dec 2015 02:21 PM PST  MADRID (AP) — Gareth Bale scored four goals, Karim Benzema added three and Cristiano Ronaldo two as Real Madrid made it look easy against nine-man Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, winning 10-2 to get within two points of Spanish league frontrunners Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
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| Spain's Popular Party 'has won election': deputy PM Posted: 20 Dec 2015 02:14 PM PST  Spain's ruling conservative Popular Party won Sunday's general election with 28.7 percent of the vote, Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said. "According to the information we have, with 90.39 percent of the ballots counted, the Popular Party won this general election," she said.
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| Left bloc ahead in Spain's general election: official data Posted: 20 Dec 2015 02:12 PM PST MADRID (Reuters) - A bloc of several left-wing parties was seen coming close to an absolute majority in Spain's general election on Sunday, official data with 90 percent of the votes counted showed. Left wing parties, including the Socialists, anti-austerity Podemos, former communists Izquierda Unida and two other regional groups would jointly total 175 seats, just below the 176 mark for an absolute majority. The ruling conservative People's Party (PP) would get 121 seats while Ciudadanos, often seen as a potential coalition partner for the PP, would garner 39 seats. ... |
| Lyon loses at Gazelec Ajaccio to pile pressure on Fournier Posted: 20 Dec 2015 02:04 PM PST PARIS (AP) — Lyon lost 2-1 away to Gazelec Ajaccio on Sunday, heaping the pressure on beleaguered coach Hubert Fournier after a fifth defeat in six league matches. |
| Slovenians reject same-sex marriage law in low-turnout referendum Posted: 20 Dec 2015 01:55 PM PST  More than 60 percent of Slovenians voted against extending marriage to same-sex couples in a referendum Sunday marked by low turnout, according to near-complete results from the electoral commission. For the outcome to be legally valid, opponents of the law needed to muster the support of at least 20 percent of registered voters -- the equivalent of at least 342,000 votes. In March, parliament approved legislation redefining marriage as a "union of two" instead of a "union of a man and a woman", granting same-sex couples the same rights as their opposite-sex counterparts, including the right to adopt children.
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| Spain's ruling conservatives win elections, Socialists second: partial results Posted: 20 Dec 2015 01:51 PM PST  Spain's ruling conservative Popular Party won the most seats in parliament in a general election Sunday but lost its absolute majority, partial results showed with over 80 percent of votes counted. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's Popular Party won 122 seats in the 350-seat assembly, the Socialists came in second with 92 seats and new anti-austerity party Podemos and its allies took 68 seats. New centre-right party Ciudadanos obtained 38 seats.
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| One dead, several missing in gas blast at Russia apartment block Posted: 20 Dec 2015 01:48 PM PST  At least one person was killed on Sunday and several others were missing after a gas explosion ripped through an apartment block in the southern Russian city of Volgograd, authorities said. "One body has been recovered," Leonid Belyaev, a minister with the emergency situations ministry, was cited by Russian news agencies as saying.
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| 'Dull' Murray wins BBC Sports Personality award Posted: 20 Dec 2015 01:40 PM PST  Davis Cup hero Andy Murray won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award for 2015 at a star-studded reception in Belfast on Sunday. The world number two, who was picking up the honour for the second time, led Great Britain to their first Davis Cup title since 1936 last month. Accepting the award the Scot said: "I didn't expect this - a friend actually sent me a message the other day with an article from a newspaper which said Andy Murray is duller than a weekend in Worthing, which I thought was a bit harsh - on Worthing.
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| No. 9 Mississippi State beats Western Michigan 90-68 Posted: 20 Dec 2015 01:29 PM PST SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Maybe this bodes well for Mississippi State, with Southeastern Conference play starting next month. |
| Panthrakikos beats Panathinaikos 1-0 Posted: 20 Dec 2015 01:26 PM PST ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Lowly Panthrakikos beat Panathinaikos 1-0 in the Greek league Sunday. |
| Mexican cardinal says church doesn't oppose medicinal pot Posted: 20 Dec 2015 01:01 PM PST  MEXICO CITY (AP) — Roman Catholic Cardinal Norberto Rivera says that the church has no problem with the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
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