| Russia says will retaliate if U.S. weapons stationed on its borders Posted: 15 Jun 2015 11:39 AM PDT  By Gabriela Baczynska and Wiktor Szary MOSCOW/WARSAW (Reuters) - A plan by Washington to station tanks and heavy weapons in NATO states on Russia's border would be the most aggressive U.S. act since the Cold War, and Moscow would retaliate by beefing up its own forces, a Russian defense official said on Monday. The United States is offering to store military equipment on allies' territory in eastern Europe, a proposal aimed at reassuring governments worried that after the conflict in Ukraine, they could be the Kremlin's next target. Poland and the Baltic states, where officials say privately they have been frustrated the NATO alliance has not taken more decisive steps to deter Russia, welcomed the decision by Washington to take the lead.
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| Questions linger on whether U.S. strike killed veteran Algerian jihadist Posted: 15 Jun 2015 01:18 PM PDT  By Patrick Markey ALGIERS (Reuters) - He lost an eye in Afghanistan, was earlier reported dead in fighting in Mali and now Libya says he was killed in a U.S. air strike at the weekend. U.S. officials have yet to confirm Libyan reports that Mokhtar Belmokhtar was killed in eastern Libya, saying on Monday only that the F-15 jet raid appeared to have succeeded but stopping short of confirming his demise. Doubts were well placed: Belmokhtar, who was in his early 40s, has been reported dead several times only to reappear in jihadist propaganda claiming responsibility for new attacks.
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| Yemeni al Qaeda leader killed in suspected drone strike: CNN Posted: 15 Jun 2015 04:52 PM PDT The Yemeni leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Nasser al-Wuhayshi, who was once an associate of Osama bin Laden, was killed in a suspected U.S. drone strike, CNN reported on Monday, citing two Yemeni national security officials. If confirmed, it would be a major blow to one of the most active branches of the network founded by Osama bin Laden that had claimed the attack on a French satirical magazine and plotted against international airlines. CNN said the attack occurred on Friday in the Hadramout region in eastern Yemen. |
| Pakistan doctors live in fear after spike in deadly attacks Posted: 15 Jun 2015 03:08 PM PDT  By Syed Raza Hassan KARACHI (Reuters) - Dr. Raza was waiting for his next patient when two young men walked into the consultation room, took pistols from a bag and shot him six times. Raza, who gave only one name to protect his identity, is one of dozens of doctors to be targeted by Islamist militants and criminals in recent years, spreading dread among senior medics and putting pressure on Pakistan's overburdened health system. "I tried to duck by covering my face, and I took the brunt of the bullets on my arms and fingers," Raza said of the attack a few months ago in the southern port city of Karachi.
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| Amnesty says world neglects Syrian refugees' plight, urges more open borders Posted: 15 Jun 2015 02:49 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Amnesty International criticized on Monday what it said was a "dismal" global response to the plight of Syrian refugees and urged neighboring countries struggling to cope with the influx of refugees to lift "deeply troubling" measures designed to keep them out. The human rights organization said the failure of the international community to adequately fund refugees' humanitarian needs or to support their host countries through settlement policies has left Syria's neighbors unable to cope with a "devastating effect." In a report entitled "Global Refugee Crisis: A conspiracy of Neglect", Amnesty said Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey after having taken in over four million Syrians since the conflict started in 2011 were now closing their borders.
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| Vatican orders former archbishop to stand trial for sex abuse Posted: 15 Jun 2015 10:40 AM PDT  By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Jozef Wesolowski, a former archbishop and papal ambassador to the Dominican Republic, will stand trial on criminal charges of paying for sex with minors and possessing child pornography, the Vatican said on Monday. Vatican sources said the decision by the president of the Vatican's tribunal to indict Wesolowski could not have been taken without a green light from Pope Francis. Wesolowski's trial will be the highest profile judicial event in the Vatican since Paolo Gabriele, a former papal butler, was convicted in 2012 of stealing and leaking private papers of former Pope Benedict XVI.
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| Penguins sign defenseman Andersen to entry-level contract Posted: 15 Jun 2015 04:56 PM PDT PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed Swedish defenseman Niclas Andersen to a one-year contract. |
| House OKs resolution urging Iran to release jailed Americans Posted: 15 Jun 2015 04:55 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has unanimously passed a resolution urging Iran to release three Americans jailed in that country and provide information on a fourth who is missing. |
| Sikh college student wins battle with Army over hair, turban Posted: 15 Jun 2015 04:43 PM PDT  MINEOLA, New York (AP) — A Sikh college student from New York said Monday he is excited about a federal court decision that will permit him to enroll in the U.S. Army's Reserve Officer Training Corps without shaving his beard, cutting his hair, or removing his turban.
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| Bolivia upsets Ecuador 3-2 with 3 first-half goals Posted: 15 Jun 2015 04:35 PM PDT  VALPARAISO, Chile (AP) — Bolivia scored three unanswered first-half goals and held on for a 3-2 victory over Ecuador on Monday in Group A of the Copa America.
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| Top Asian News at 11:30 p.m. GMT Posted: 15 Jun 2015 04:32 PM PDT BEIJING (AP) — The former Chinese security czar recently convicted of leaking state secrets did not pass classified documents to a foreign spy or a political rival. Rather, Zhou Yongkang, a former member of the all-powerful Standing Committee of the ruling Communist Party's Politburo, shared the documents with his qigong master, who claims supernatural abilities, according to a verdict made public last week and which also convicted Zhou of massive corruption. |
| The courtship of Chambers Bay at US Open Posted: 15 Jun 2015 04:24 PM PDT  UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. (AP) — Robert Streb walked off the third green at Chambers Bay, looked both directions and headed left down a dirt path toward Puget Sound.
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| Haitians scramble for legal residency in Dominican Republic Posted: 15 Jun 2015 04:16 PM PDT SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Haitians and other non-citizens stood in long lines across the Dominican Republic on Monday in last-minute bids to secure legal residency, hurrying to beat a looming paperwork deadline along with the threat of possible quick deportation. |
| Poet James Fenton wins PEN Pinter free-speech prize Posted: 15 Jun 2015 04:06 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — Poet James Fenton has won the PEN Pinter Prize, a writing award that celebrates champions of free speech. |
| Dozens of U.S. companies bet on nuclear power revolution: report Posted: 15 Jun 2015 04:02 PM PDT  By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon's top arms provider and firms partly funded by Silicon Valley billionaires Bill Gates and Paul Allen are among dozens of companies collectively betting more than $1.3 billion that a new wave of nuclear power can be a force to fight climate change. Advanced nuclear power plants, which will employ techniques such as using fuels other than uranium and coolants other than water, have attracted private investments from more than 40 companies from Florida to Washington state, the Third Way think tank says in the first report specifying the number of firms and total money invested in the technologies. Companies expressing faith in advanced nuclear power range from Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon's largest supplier, to Holtec International, which is building a $260 million technology campus in economically depressed Camden, New Jersey.
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| Sudan's Bashir flies out of S.Africa, defying court order Posted: 15 Jun 2015 03:57 PM PDT  Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir flew out of South Africa on Monday, defying a court order for him to stay as judges weighed up whether he should be arrested for alleged war crimes and genocide. The International Criminal Court (ICC) said it was "disappointed" at South Africa's failure to heed its calls to detain Bashir on long-standing arrest warrants over the Darfur conflict. As his plane took off on the final day of an African Union leaders' summit in Johannesburg, the local high court was still hearing arguments over an urgent application to force the authorities to detain him.
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| Texas, Louisiana brace for Gulf of Mexico storm Posted: 15 Jun 2015 03:51 PM PDT By Kristen Hays HOUSTON (Reuters) - A tropical disturbance packing heavy rains in the Gulf of Mexico threatened the coast of Texas on Monday weeks after floods killed about 30 people in the state, the National Weather Service said. Flash flood watches were in effect for central Texas and the Houston area, regions where flooding last month turned streets into rivers, submerged thousands of vehicles and surging water ripped houses off their foundations. Outbound and inbound traffic in the Houston Ship Channel, the largest U.S. petrochemical port, was stopped on Monday to protect vessels from rough seas, officials said. |
| UN chief calls for immediate humanitarian truce in Yemen Posted: 15 Jun 2015 03:51 PM PDT  UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday called for an immediate humanitarian truce in Yemen as peace talks began in Geneva and a Saudi-led Arab coalition continued aerial bombardments of the ravaged country. "I hope this week starts the beginning of the end of the fighting," Ban said, stressing this was vital to get crucial humanitarian supplies through. Yemen has been wracked by conflict between Iran-backed Shiite rebels and exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's internationally recognised government.
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| British scientists hunt for Viking traces in Norman DNA Posted: 15 Jun 2015 03:47 PM PDT  British researchers on Monday began collecting the DNA of residents from Normandy in northern France in search of Viking heritage, but the project has raised concerns amongst some local anti-racism activists. Around a hundred volunteers from the Cotentin Peninsula area are giving DNA samples to academics at the University of Leicester, who are trying to find descendants of the Vikings who invaded what is now Normandy in the 9th century. The aim is to learn more about "the intensity of the Scandinavian colonisation" in the 9th and 10th centuries in the Cotentin Peninsula, said Richard Jones, a senior history lecturer at the University of Leicester.
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| Alaska wildfire destroys dozens of homes, menaces highway Posted: 15 Jun 2015 03:43 PM PDT  By Steve Quinn JUNEAU, Alaska (Reuters) - A fast-spreading Alaska wildfire has destroyed up to 45 homes and forced authorities to restrict traffic on a major highway connecting two of the state's largest cities, state officials said on Monday. As many as 200 firefighters have been battling the 6,500-acre fire with more specially trained teams en route from the Lower 48 states, Alaska Forestry Division spokesman Sam Harrel said. Crews have been attacking the fire on the ground and by air, getting help from the three Alaska National Guard Blackhawk helicopters, according to state reports.
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| Hurricane Carlos moves west, tracking Mexican Pacific coast Posted: 15 Jun 2015 03:40 PM PDT  Hurricane Carlos threatened Mexico's southwest with heavy rain on Monday as it tracked the Pacific coastline, moving northwest toward the tourist resort of Puerto Vallarta, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Carlos was 85 miles (137 km) southwest of the port of Lazaro Cardenas, blowing maximum sustained winds of about 75 miles per hour (121 kph) with higher gusts, and moving west-northwest at around 6 mph (10 kph), the Miami-based NHC said. Carlos returned to category 1 hurricane status on Monday after slightly losing strength at the weekend.
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| Carlos regains hurricane strength off Mexican coast Posted: 15 Jun 2015 03:32 PM PDT  ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — Officials closed schools and had shelters ready along Mexico's southwestern coast as Hurricane Carlos swirled offshore, battering beaches with high waves and strong winds.
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| UK sisters feared headed for Syria conflict with their 9 children Posted: 15 Jun 2015 03:23 PM PDT  Three British sisters are feared to have travelled with their nine children to join up with jihadists in Syria, a lawyer for the children's parents said Monday. Sisters Sugra Dawood, 34, Zohra Dawood, 33, and Khadija Dawood, 30, travelled to Medina with their children, aged three to 15, on May 28. Preliminary inquiries suggest at least 10 members of the family boarded a flight from Medina to Istanbul -- a commonly used route into Syria.
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| Norway beat Ivory Coast but finish second in Group B Posted: 15 Jun 2015 03:16 PM PDT  Former champions Norway beat the Ivory Coast 3-1 to advance to the knockout rounds of the Women's World Cup as second in Group B on Monday. Norway, the 1995 champions, have seven points from three games, equal with Germany, but finish second on goal difference. A double from Ada Hegerberg in either half on 6 and 62 minutes and a third from Solveig Gulbrandsen on 67 minutes gave the Norwegians all three points.
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| Hegerberg's 2 goals lift Norway past Ivory Coast 3-1 Posted: 15 Jun 2015 03:07 PM PDT  MONCTON, New Brunswick (AP) — Ada Hegerberg scored twice to secure Norway's berth in the knockout stage of the Women's World Cup with a 3-1 win over Ivory Coast on Monday.
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| Germany trounces Thailand 4-0 to advance Posted: 15 Jun 2015 02:59 PM PDT  WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Lena Petermann scored twice in three minutes and top-ranked Germany trounced Thailand 4-0 Monday to advance to the round of 16 in the Women's World Cup.
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| Caribbean court rejects appeal by ex-army officer in Grenada Posted: 15 Jun 2015 02:57 PM PDT ROSEAU, Dominica (AP) — A Caribbean appeals court on Monday dismissed an attempt to become a lawyer by one of 17 men convicted of murder in a bloody 1983 coup in Grenada that triggered a U.S. invasion. |
| Taylor and Newgarden prove American racers still have a shot Posted: 15 Jun 2015 02:55 PM PDT  CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jordan Taylor stood atop the podium at Le Mans, surveyed the massive crowd below him, and thought of only one thing to scream.
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| 23 killed in Chad suicide bombings blamed on Boko Haram Posted: 15 Jun 2015 02:53 PM PDT  N'Djamena (AFP) - Twenty-three people were killed and over 100 injured in twin suicide bombings targeting police in the Chadian capital Monday, with the government blaming Boko Haram militants for the bloodshed. "Boko Haram chose the wrong target. It said 23 people were killed and another 101 wounded in the simultaneous bombings outside the police headquarters and police academy in N'Djamena.
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| Wilshere finds voice with Ljubljana recital Posted: 15 Jun 2015 02:38 PM PDT  With a pair of stand-out performances in England's final two fixtures of the 2014-15 season, Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere may have belatedly come of age as an international footballer. The 23-year-old was perhaps the only visiting player to emerge with any credit from England's 0-0 friendly draw with Ireland in Dublin and in Ljubljana on Sunday, he broke his international duck with a stunning double that inspired Roy Hodgson's men to a 3-2 win over Slovenia. Wilshere has been deployed as the deepest midfielder during England's Euro 2016 qualifying campaign to date, either in a 4-3-3 formation or at the base of a midfield diamond, but Hodgson says that should not preclude him from exerting an influence in the final third.
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| Pope's stance leaks; calls for urgent action on environment Posted: 15 Jun 2015 02:34 PM PDT  VATICAN CITY (AP) — A draft copy of Pope Francis' eagerly awaited encyclical on the environment calls for urgent action to protect the Earth and fight global warming, which the pope says is "mostly" due to human activity and the burning of fossil fuels.
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| Syrian Kurds claim capture of border town from Islamic State Posted: 15 Jun 2015 02:33 PM PDT  By Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Umit Bektas AMMAN/AKCAKALE, Turkey (Reuters) - Syrian Kurdish-led forces said they had captured a town at the Turkish border from Islamic State on Monday, driving it away from the frontier in an advance backed by U.S.-led air strikes that has thrust deep into the jihadists' Syria stronghold. The capture of Tel Abyad by the Kurdish YPG and smaller Syrian rebel groups means the Syrian Kurds effectively control some 400 km (250 miles) of the Syrian-Turkish border that has been a conduit for foreign fighters joining Islamic State. While the advance has brought the well-organized YPG deep into Islamic State's stronghold of Raqqa province, it has also concerned Turkey, which is worried the expansion of Kurdish sway risks inflaming separatist sentiment among its Kurdish minority.
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| Gays hail Mexico court's marriage ruling Posted: 15 Jun 2015 02:33 PM PDT  Mexico's gay and lesbian community is celebrating a key ruling by the Supreme Court that opens the door to same-sex marriage throughout the country. The top court's decision brings Mexico closer to a small group of Latin American nations -- Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay -- that allow gay marriage. The ruling, which was quietly issued on June 3 and only became known on Friday, says that it is unconstitutional for Mexican states to ban same-sex marriage.
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| Jeb Bush: 'I will run to win' Posted: 15 Jun 2015 02:31 PM PDT  Jeb Bush jumped headlong into the presidential race Monday, insisting "America deserves better" after eight years of Barack Obama, as the Republican seeks to win over votes skeptical of his political pedigree. Following a lengthy exploration of a White House bid, Bush made his formal announcement at Miami Dade College, a diverse university chosen to signal that he aims to run an inclusive 2016 campaign. While he is the son and brother of two former presidents, Bush highlighted his own political vision and his two terms as governor of Florida.
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| Pope calls for action on climate change in draft encyclical Posted: 15 Jun 2015 02:26 PM PDT  By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis makes an urgent call for protection of the planet and repeats his view that global warming is mostly man-made in his keenly awaited encyclical, according to a draft published by an Italian magazine on Monday. The Vatican said the document, leaked in its Italian edition by the magazine l'Espresso, was not the final version, which would remain under embargo until its release on Thursday. It was not clear how advanced in the writing process the leaked document was or how similar it would be to the final version.
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| 12-year-old girl's wedding leads to probe of Guatemala mayor Posted: 15 Jun 2015 02:25 PM PDT GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A Guatemalan mayor who allegedly authorized the marriage of a 12-year-old girl to a man 11 years her senior is facing investigation and possible prosecution. |
| Delayed Yemen rebel delegation en route to peace talks: UN Posted: 15 Jun 2015 02:19 PM PDT  A plane carrying a delegation of Yemeni rebels scheduled to attend peace negotiations for their war-torn country are on their way to Switzerland after a delay, a UN spokesman said Monday. After a layover in Djibouti, the UN plane carrying the Huthi representatives left en route to Geneva for the talks, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The peace talks began Monday, without the delegation, as the Yemeni foreign minister voiced pessimism over prospects of reaching a deal.
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| Nobel Peace Center to boot FIFA out of fair play program Posted: 15 Jun 2015 02:17 PM PDT STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Nobel Peace Center says it will stop working with FIFA on a joint fair-play program called "Handshake for Peace." |
| US stock market ends lower as Greek bailout talks stall Posted: 15 Jun 2015 02:17 PM PDT  Concerns over Greece's latest effort to avoid a default weighed on U.S. financial markets Monday.
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