| EU wins Greek backing to extend Russia sanctions, delays decision on new steps Posted: 29 Jan 2015 01:32 PM PST  By Robin Emmott and Pavel Polityuk BRUSSELS/KIEV (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers extended existing sanctions against Russia on Thursday, holding off on tighter economic measures for now but winning the support of the new left-leaning government of Greece, whose position had been in doubt. They also agreed to list the names of additional people who could be targeted with sanctions when they meet again on Feb. 9. The bloc's foreign policy chief said a decision on such measures would be left to EU leaders meeting next month. On Saturday, suspected rebel forces shelled the major port city of Mariupol, killing 30 people.
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| Jordan still holding prisoner demanded by Islamic State as deadline passes Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:33 PM PST  By Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Linda Sieg AMMAN/TOKYO (Reuters) - Jordan said on Thursday it was still holding an Iraqi would-be suicide bomber as a deadline passed for her release set by Islamic State militants who threatened to kill a Jordanian pilot unless she was handed over by sunset. An audio message purportedly from a Japanese journalist also captured by the insurgents said the pilot would be killed unless Jordan freed Sajida al-Rishawi, who is on death row for her role in a 2005 suicide bomb attack that killed 60 people in Amman. The message postponed a previous deadline set on Tuesday in which the journalist, Kenji Goto, said he would be killed within 24 hours if Rishawi was not freed. The hostage crisis comes as Islamic State, which has already released videos showing the beheadings of five Western hostages, is coming under increased military pressure from U.S.-led air strikes and by Kurdish and Iraqi troops pushing to reverse the Islamist group's territorial gains in Iraq and Syria.
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| Israel, Hezbollah signal their flare-up is over Posted: 29 Jan 2015 10:26 AM PST  By Dan Williams and Laila Bassam JERUSALEM/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Israel and Hezbollah signaled on Thursday their rare flare-up in fighting across the Israel-Lebanon border was over, after the Lebanese guerrillas killed two Israeli troops in retaliation for a deadly air strike in Syria last week. Israel said it had received a message from UNIFIL, the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon, that Hezbollah was not interested in further escalation. In Beirut, a Lebanese source briefed on the situation told Reuters that Israel informed Hezbollah via UNIFIL "that it will make do with what happened yesterday and it does not want the battle to expand".
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| Hopes of return muted in devastated Syrian Kurdish town Posted: 29 Jan 2015 10:18 AM PST  By Osman Orsal KOBANI, Syria (Reuters) - Sheets meant to hide residents from snipers' sights still hang over streets in the Syrian border town of Kobani, and its shattered buildings and cratered roads suggest those who fled are unlikely to return soon. Kurdish forces said this week they had taken full control of Kobani, a mainly Kurdish town near the Turkish border, after months of bombardment by Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot that has spread across Syria and Iraq. Their victory, raising Kurdish flags where the black symbols of Islamic State once flew, prompted celebration among the more than 200,000 refugees who have fled to Turkey since the assault on the town began in September. "Coming back to Kobani will be even more difficult than leaving it," said one fighter from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), clutching a machinegun and standing in front of the ruins of a building.
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| Islamic State's Egypt wing claims attacks that killed 27: official Twitter Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:27 PM PST By Yusri Mohamed, Ali Abdelaty and Mostafa Hashem ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) - Islamic State's Egypt wing claimed responsibility for a series of attacks that killed at least 27 on Thursday in some of the worst anti-state violence in months, after commemorations around the anniversary of the 2011 uprising turned deadly this week. Egypt's government faces an Islamist insurgency based in Sinai and growing discontent with what critics perceive as heavy handed security tactics. A series of tweets from the Sinai Province's Twitter account claimed responsibility for each of the four attacks that took place in North Sinai and Suez provinces within hours of one another on Thursday night. |
| Dutch news agencies: man wielding gun at national broadcaster Posted: 29 Jan 2015 02:46 PM PST  AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch news agencies reported on Thursday that a man with a gun had entered the offices of the national broadcaster NOS and was demanding to go on air. The RTL press agency reported that a building belonging to NOS was being cleared. An 8 p.m. (2.00 p.m. EST) NOS broadcast displayed a message reading "In connection with circumstances, no broadcast is available at this time". . (Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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| Balloon crew surpasses distance record in Pacific flight Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:44 PM PST  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Two pilots soaring over the Pacific Ocean have made history by surpassing an official world distance record for human flight in a gas balloon.
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| Robert Allenby gets only a few boos and comments in return Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:43 PM PST  SCOTTSDALE, Arizona (AP) — Robert Allenby feared the worst Thursday at the Phoenix Open in his first round since his mysterious misadventure in Hawaii.
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| 26 killed as attacks rock Egypt's Sinai Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:39 PM PST  Militants fired a barrage of rockets and set off a car bomb Thursday killing at least 26 people, mostly soldiers, in Egypt's North Sinai province, where security forces are battling a raging Islamist insurgency. Jihadists have regularly attacked security forces in the Sinai Peninsula since Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was ousted by then army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in July 2013.
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| Top Asian News at 12:30 a.m. GMT Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:32 PM PST AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — The father of a Jordanian fighter pilot and the wife of a Japanese journalist held by the Islamic State group pleaded for their loved ones' lives after a possible prisoner swap wasn't carried out by a deadline of sunset Thursday. The extremists had demanded that Jordan release a female al-Qaida prisoner from death row, and they purportedly threatened in an audio message to kill the airman if she was not freed by the deadline. |
| Man with fake gun interrupts Dutch TV, is overpowered Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:30 PM PST  A man armed with a fake gun disrupted Dutch television on Thursday evening when he forced his way into the building of public broadcaster NOS and demanded airtime before being overpowered by police. The NOS building in the central city of Hilversum was evacuated. The incident interrupted NOS's 8:00 pm (1900 GMT) newscast, with a message on screen telling viewers no broadcast was "available at this time". A spokesman for the prosecutor's office said at a press conference that the gunman, aged 19, came from the town Pijnacker near The Hague and was in police custody.
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| Michael Clarke to make injury return in club match Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:29 PM PST SYDNEY (AP) — Australia captain Michael Clarke will take a step toward proving his fitness for the Cricket World Cup when he plays for Sydney club side Western Suburbs in a two-day match starting Saturday. |
| Woods stumbles with chipping in return to golf Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:28 PM PST  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The focus on Tiger Woods at the Phoenix open shifted Thursday from a chipped tooth to his chipping.
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| Jang goes from qualifier to leader at US LPGA season opener Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:19 PM PST  OCALA, Florida (AP) — Ha Na Jang went from qualifier to leader in just a few days at the U.S. LPGA Tour season opener on Thursday.
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| Man faces execution in Texas for 1996 strangling death Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:17 PM PST  HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected last-day appeals from a man scheduled to die for the death of a woman who was strangled and beaten with a hammer before her body was set on fire nearly two decades ago.
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| Gas blast wrecks Mexico children's hospital, at least 2 dead Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:15 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — Injured and bleeding, mothers carrying infants fled from a maternity hospital shattered by a powerful gas explosion Thursday, and rescuers swung sledgehammers to break through fallen concrete hunting for others who might be trapped. |
| Jang goes from qualifier to leader at LPGA season opener Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:13 PM PST  OCALA, Fla. (AP) — Ha Na Jang went from qualifier to leader in just a few days at the LPGA season opener.
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| Lawyers snipe as jury selection resumes in Tsarnaev trial Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:12 PM PST  BOSTON (AP) — As jury selection resumed Thursday in the federal death penalty trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a prosecutor accused one of Tsarnaev's lawyers of trying to "encourage" a hung jury.
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| African Union calls for 7,500-strong force to fight Boko Haram Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:11 PM PST  The African Union called Friday for a regional five-nation force of 7,500 troops to defeat the "horrendous" rise of Nigeria's Boko Haram insurgents, AU Commission Chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said. "Boko Haram's horrendous abuses, unspeakable cruelty, total disregard for human lives, and wanton destruction of property are unmatched," Dlamini-Zuma said in a statement after the bloc's Peace and Security Council met late Thursday, ahead of a full AU summit meeting on Friday. The Boko Haram uprising has become a regional crisis, with the four directly affected countries -- Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria -- agreeing along with Benin to boost cooperation to contain the threat and to form a Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF).
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| Venezuelan general appears in NY after 11 months on the run Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:08 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — A dissident Venezuelan general who has been in hiding for nearly a year emerged Thursday for a public appearance in New York.
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| Oral arguments scheduled in American Samoa citizenship case Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:07 PM PST HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., will be hearing oral arguments in a case involving citizenship rights of American Samoa residents. |
| UN chief launches inquiry of Mali protest deaths Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:05 PM PST  United Nations (United States) (AFP) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will open an inquiry into the fatal shootings allegedly by UN troops of three protesters during demonstrations in northern Mali, his spokesman said Thursday.
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| Mexico hospital blast kills two, injures dozens Posted: 29 Jan 2015 03:59 PM PST  A gas truck explosion demolished a maternity hospital in Mexico City on Thursday, killing at least two people and injuring dozens while mothers grabbed their babies as the ceiling collapsed. "I remember the cries of the babies under the rubble and the screams of my colleagues," said Ivonne Ortega, a nurse who was injured as she helped evacuate the newborns. Mexico City Health Secretary Armando Ahued said a woman and a baby were killed. Around three-quarters of the building collapsed after the blast, which took place around 7:00 am after workers were unable to control a pipe leak, Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said.
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| Exploding air bag may have killed Texas man Posted: 29 Jan 2015 03:57 PM PST HOUSTON (AP) — Federal safety regulators are looking into the death of a Texas man who may be the latest victim of exploding automobile air bags made by Takata Corp. of Japan. |
| Tripoli rivals to join peace talks 'if held in Libya' Posted: 29 Jan 2015 03:48 PM PST  The rivals of Libya's elected parliament agreed Thursday to join UN-mediated peace talks with the internationally recognised government if they are held on home soil. The announcement by Salah al-Makhzoum, deputy speaker of the General National Congress (GNC), came as the UN said there was agreement in principle to hold future sessions in Libya, "provided that logistical and security conditions are available". The negotiations have brought together warring factions, civil society groups and officials in a bid to form a unity government to end Libya's conflict. Notably absent has been the Tripoli-based GNC, a transitional body that refused to recognise parliament, which was elected in June but fled to the far eastern city of Tobruk for security reasons.
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| Youth who stormed Dutch broadcaster claimed to be hacker Posted: 29 Jan 2015 03:42 PM PST  HILVERSUM, Netherlands (AP) — A 19-year-old brandishing a fake weapon threatened a security guard to gain access to the headquarters of Dutch national broadcaster NOS and demand airtime Tuesday night before police stormed a TV studio to arrest him.
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| DRC army in new offensive against Rwanda rebels Posted: 29 Jan 2015 03:39 PM PST  The army in the Democratic Republic of Congo announced Thursday a fresh offensive against Rwandan ethnic Hutu rebels after weeks of heavy international pressure to act. "Today we're launching new operations against the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda)," General Didier Etumba said in Beni, in the north of North Kivu province. "This is an operation by the FARDC (DRC Armed Forces)," Etumba said, rather than a joint offensive with a special UN brigade deployed in the country. The Kinshasa government and the international community gave the FDLR rebels an ultimatum to lay down their arms and surrender by January 2 or face attacks and forcible disarmament.
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| Blatter joins FIFA election race without naming nominees Posted: 29 Jan 2015 03:39 PM PST  GENEVA (AP) — Beating the entry deadline by hours on Thursday, Sepp Blatter formally joined a FIFA presidential contest he is widely expected to win.
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| Roma midfielder Strootman to have more knee surgery Posted: 29 Jan 2015 03:31 PM PST  MILAN (AP) — Roma midfielder Kevin Strootman reassured fans his latest injury is nothing serious after it was revealed he will undergo more surgery on his left knee, which was operated on last year.
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| African Union 'mixed signals' as Mugabe tipped for top job Posted: 29 Jan 2015 03:29 PM PST  African leaders are expected Friday to elect Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe to the 54-member African Union's rotating chair, a choice critics say risks tarnishing the organisation's reputation. Mugabe, who aged 90 is Africa's oldest leader, is widely expected to be anointed as successor to Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz at the start of the two-day AU summit meeting in the Ethiopian capital.
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| UD Senator: Taliban detainees have communicated with Haqqani Posted: 29 Jan 2015 03:28 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. Republican senator and frequent Mideast traveler said Thursday that the Taliban detainees released from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl have been in touch with members of the al-Qaida linked Haqqani network, yet all five still are being monitored in Qatar.
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| Simultaneous attacks in Egypt's Sinai kill 26 Posted: 29 Jan 2015 03:25 PM PST EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — Militants struck more than a dozen army and police targets in the restive Sinai Peninsula with simultaneous attacks involving a car bomb and mortar rounds on Thursday, killing at least 26 security officers. |
| New Saudi king announces major government shake-up: royal decrees Posted: 29 Jan 2015 03:25 PM PST  Saudi Arabia's new King Salman on Thursday further cemented his hold on power, with a sweeping shakeup that saw two sons of the late King Abdullah fired, and the heads of intelligence and other key agencies replaced alongside a cabinet reshuffle. "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud issued a royal order today, relieving Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, Chief of General Intelligence, of his post," the official Saudi Press Agency said. A separate decree said Prince Bandar bin Sultan, a nephew of Abdullah, was removed from his posts as Secretary General of the National Security Council and adviser to the king. Two sons of the late monarch were also fired: Prince Mishaal, governor of the Mecca region, and Prince Turki, who governed the capital Riyadh, according to the decrees broadcast on Saudi television.
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| India woman sues Uber after reporting driver raped her Posted: 29 Jan 2015 03:21 PM PST SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A woman who says an Uber driver raped her in New Dehli, India, on Thursday accused the company in a lawsuit filed in U.S. court of failing to properly investigate the alleged assailant's background. |
| Opposition leader urges US help for Guinea polls Posted: 29 Jan 2015 03:19 PM PST  A Guinean opposition leader Thursday urged the international community to help monitcor presidential elections due in the west African nation this year, voicing fears of possible fraud and violence. Former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo accused Guinea's President Alpha Conde of using the country's ongoing fight against Ebola as a "pretext" for not setting a date for the presidential polls. Diallo, leader of the Union of Democratic Forces in Guinea who was defeated by Conde in the last polls in 2010, said he would stand again in elections which are due before December when Conde's five-year mandate comes to an end. "I am lobbying the international community to become engaged in the elections, because the president has said he does not want any 'foreign interference' as he calls it," he said.
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| Protest hits California city for linking with Vietnam city Posted: 29 Jan 2015 03:19 PM PST RIVERSIDE, California (AP) — Hundreds of people gathered in Riverside on Thursday to protest its new sister-city relationship with a city in Vietnam, arguing that nation's communist government abuses human rights. |
| AP Explains: Super Bowl stadium full of unique features Posted: 29 Jan 2015 03:18 PM PST  GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — With its retractable roof and moveable field, University of Phoenix Stadium is unlike any stadium anywhere.
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| Saudi blogger's health worsening, wife says Posted: 29 Jan 2015 03:17 PM PST  The health of a Saudi blogger sentenced to 1,000 lashes for insulting Islam and whose case attracted international concern is worsening, his wife said Thursday. Raef Badawi, who could receive a round of 50 lashes on Friday, is suffering from hypertension and more flogging could weaken him further, his wife told reporters and lawmakers in Ottawa. "Raef's health condition is bad and it's getting worse. I am very concerned about him," said wife Ensaf Haidar, who sought asylum in Canada's French-speaking province of Quebec with her three children after Badawi was jailed in June 2012.
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| Nigerian govt blocking journalist visas: main opposition Posted: 29 Jan 2015 03:12 PM PST  Nigeria's main opposition party on Thursday accused the government of blocking foreign journalists from covering next month's elections and urged international monitors to press for access. The All Progressives Congress (APC) claimed there had been a "systematic denial of visas" by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. "A regime that has nothing to hide or fear will not hesitate to allow international coverage of what is undoubtedly one of the most important elections in the world this year," said APC spokesman Lai Mohammed. "Information reaching us indicates that most of the foreign journalists who applied for visas to travel to Nigeria from different parts of the world for the elections have been kept in abeyance under the guise of security clearance.
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