| Strike that killed Syrian rebel chief complicates peace talks push: U.S. Posted: 28 Dec 2015 03:07 PM PST  Russian air strikes like the one that killed a top Syrian rebel leader last week send the wrong message to groups engaged in a political dialogue to end the conflict and complicate efforts to begin negotiations, the U.S. State Department said on Monday. Syrian rebel chief Zahran Alloush, the leader of Jaysh al Islam who commanded thousands of fighters in the Damascus suburbs, was killed on Friday in an air strike that rebel sources said was carried out by Russian warplanes. Jaysh al Islam was a participant in the Riyadh conference where Syrian opposition groups agreed on common aims for proposed political negotiations to end the country's civil war and chose a former Syrian prime minister to represent them in the dialogue.
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| Special Report: Pentagon thwarts Obama's effort to close Guantanamo Posted: 28 Dec 2015 08:34 AM PST  By Charles Levinson and David Rohde WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In September, U.S. State Department officials invited a foreign delegation to the Guantanamo Bay detention center to persuade the group to take detainee Tariq Ba Odah to their country. If they succeeded, the transfer would mark a small step toward realizing President Barack Obama's goal of closing the prison before he leaves office. The foreign officials told the administration they would first need to review Ba Odah's medical records, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the episode.
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| Iraq PM vows to defeat ISIS in 2016 after army's first major victory Posted: 28 Dec 2015 03:21 PM PST  By Stephen Kalin and Maher Chmaytelli BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A triumphant Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared on Monday that the coming year would see his forces defeat Islamic State, after his military achieved its first major victory since collapsing in the face of the fighters 18 months ago. Iraqi forces flew the national flag above the main government complex in Ramadi earlier in the day, declaring they had recaptured the city, a provincial capital west of Baghdad, which fell to Islamic State in May. "2016 will be the year of the big and final victory, when Daesh's presence in Iraq will be terminated," Abadi said in a speech broadcast on state television, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State that the hardline group rejects.
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| Exclusive: Seized documents reveal Islamic State's Department of 'War Spoils' Posted: 27 Dec 2015 10:10 PM PST  By Jonathan Landay, Warren Strobel and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Islamic State has set up departments to handle "war spoils," including slaves, and the exploitation of natural resources such as oil, creating the trappings of government that enable it to manage large swaths of Syria and Iraq and other areas. The hierarchical bureaucracy, including petty rivalries between officials, and legal codes in the form of religious fatwas are detailed in a cache of documents seized by U.S. Special Operations Forces in a May raid in Syria that killed top IS financial official Abu Sayyaf. The level of bureaucratization, organization, the diwans, the committees," Brett McGurk, President Barack Obama's special envoy for the anti-IS coalition, told Reuters.
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| Hundreds of fighters and civilians escape besieged Syrian areas under U.N. deal Posted: 28 Dec 2015 02:47 PM PST  By Suleiman Al-Khalidi BEIRUT (Reuters) - Around 450 Syrian fighters and their families were evacuated from two besieged areas on Monday under the kind of operation that the United Nations hopes can be a stepping stone toward a wider peace accord in the country's civil war. U.N. and airport sources said two planes with 330 Syrian Shi'ite fighters and civilians evacuated from two pro-government towns in northwestern Syria arrived in Beirut airport. Another plane carrying 126 mostly Sunni Muslim rebel fighters trapped in Zabadani near the Lebanese border landed at Hatay airport in southern Turkey, the sources said.
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| Ship with low-enriched uranium leaves Iran for Russia: U.S. Posted: 28 Dec 2015 02:47 PM PST  A ship carrying more than 25,000 pounds (11,000 kg) of low-enriched uranium materials left Iran for Russia on Monday in an Iranian step toward honoring a July 14 nuclear deal with major powers, the United States said. Under the landmark nuclear accord, certain U.S., European Union and U.N. sanctions are to be removed in exchange for Iran accepting long-term curbs on a nuclear program that the West has long suspected was aimed at creating a nuclear bomb. A key provision of the agreement, negotiated by Iran with the United States, Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany, is Tehran's commitment to reduce its stockpile of low-enriched uranium to below 660 pounds (300 kg).
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| Central American nations announce deal on Cuban migrants Posted: 28 Dec 2015 04:35 PM PST  SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Central American nations have reached a deal to let the first of thousands of stranded Cuban migrants continue their journey north toward the United States next month, officials said Monday.
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| Storms snarl U.S. travel, threaten rare winter tornadoes Posted: 28 Dec 2015 04:33 PM PST  By Mary Wisniewski CHICAGO (Reuters) - Snow, sleet and hail snarled transportation across swaths of the United States on Monday during one of the busiest travel weeks, after dozens died in U.S. storms that were part of a wild worldwide weather system seen over the Christmas holiday period. More than 40 people were killed by tornadoes and floods in the United States during the holiday season, where rare winter tornado warnings were issued in Alabama on Monday. Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida panhandle were expected to bear the brunt of the of the day's strongest storms, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Michael Leseney said.
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| Iraq declares Ramadi liberated from IS, sweeps for bombs Posted: 28 Dec 2015 04:08 PM PST  Iraq declared the city of Ramadi liberated from the Islamic State group Monday and raised the national flag over its government complex after clinching a landmark victory against the jihadists. Pockets of jihadists may remain, but the army said it no longer faced any resistance in the city and that its main task was to defuse countless bombs and traps. "Ramadi has been liberated and the armed forces of the counter-terrorism service have raised the Iraqi flag above the government complex," Brigadier General Yahya Rasool said on television.
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| C. America states agree breakthrough on stranded Cuban migrants Posted: 28 Dec 2015 04:04 PM PST  Central American countries on Monday agreed a breakthrough in the case of thousands of US-bound Cuban migrants stranded in Costa Rica, after weeks of often acrimonious regional diplomacy. In a meeting in Guatemala City, representatives from several of the countries said they would fly some of the Cubans to El Salvador, where they would be put on buses to cross Guatemala and enter Mexico. A Costa Rican foreign ministry official said the migrants would be paying for the transport themselves.
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| Rising Mississippi River floodwaters bring barge traffic to a near halt Posted: 28 Dec 2015 04:03 PM PST By Michael Hirtzer CHICAGO (Reuters) - Rapidly rising floodwaters brought barge traffic to a near standstill on the middle section of the Mississippi River on Monday, halting shipments of goods such as soybeans, concrete and road salt, government officials and traders said. The deadly storms have killed more than 40 people in flooding and tornadoes, snarling air and road traffic during one of the busiest travel times of the year. The Mississippi River at St. Louis was expected to rise to nearly 45 feet (13.7 metres) by Thursday, which would be the second-highest crest after the record of 49.58 feet (15 metres) on Aug. 1, 1993, according to the National Weather Service. |
| NGO: Venezuela's homicide rate climbs in 2015 Posted: 28 Dec 2015 03:50 PM PST CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A non-governmental group that tracks crime in Venezuela says the homicide rate climbed in 2015, putting the country on track to be perhaps the most-violent in the world. |
| Relatives of drowned Syrian boy land in Canada Posted: 28 Dec 2015 03:38 PM PST  VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Relatives of a Syrian boy whose lifeless body washed up on a Turkish beach, sparking worldwide concern for the refugee crisis, have landed in Canada
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| Iraqi troops advance in Ramadi, pockets of IS remain Posted: 28 Dec 2015 03:08 PM PST  BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi forces backed by U.S.-led airstrikes drove Islamic State militants out of the center of Ramadi on Monday and seized the main government complex there, according to military officials, who said insurgents are still dug into pockets of the city west of Baghdad.
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| Puerto Rico policeman fatally shoots 3 officers after fight Posted: 28 Dec 2015 03:07 PM PST  SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A Puerto Rico policeman fatally shot two high-ranking officers and a policewoman on Monday following an argument and hostage taking at work that temporarily shut down the station in the U.S. territory's second largest city, authorities said. The suspect was immediately placed under arrest.
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| Venezuelan military helicopter crashes in Colombia Posted: 28 Dec 2015 02:43 PM PST BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A Venezuelan military helicopter crashed in Colombia on Monday, injuring the pilot and co-pilot. |
| Trump ramps up attacks on Clinton -- and ex-president husband Posted: 28 Dec 2015 02:40 PM PST  Trump, leading the pack of Republican White House contenders, revived a flash point topic he brought up last week when he issued a warning about campaigning with former president Clinton after Hillary deplored Trump's inflammatory rhetoric. The message was an ominous one: Bill Clinton's history of marital infidelity will be a drag on his wife's campaign to become the first female commander in chief in US history. "If Hillary thinks she can unleash her husband, with his terrible record of women abuse, while playing the women's card on me, she's wrong!" Trump posted to his five million Twitter followers.
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| Chelsea starlet Bamford calls halt to 'terrible' Palace loan Posted: 28 Dec 2015 02:37 PM PST  Chelsea youngster Patrick Bamford called a halt to his "terrible" Crystal Palace loan spell on Monday just hours after missing a golden opportunity to score in a goalless draw against Swansea. Bamford was quoted as saying he had asked to return to Stamford Bridge to give himself a chance to secure a more successful loan move when the transfer window opens in January. The 22-year-old striker's frustration boiled over after he blasted a close-range effort straight at Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski when he should have scored what would likely have proved the winning goal at Selhurst Park.
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| Prosecutor seeks rehearing in Catholic church abuse case Posted: 28 Dec 2015 02:28 PM PST PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Despite losing on appeal twice, Philadelphia's district attorney said Monday he will continue to fight to keep a Roman Catholic church official who will soon be eligible for parole in prison over his handling of sex-abuse cases. |
| Mississippi family loses home, survives Christmastime storms Posted: 28 Dec 2015 02:09 PM PST  Larry Wilkins' 34-year-old son was alone in family's double-wide mobile home in Holly Springs, Mississippi, when the first winds of a lethal storm system began gusting last Wednesday afternoon. Bruce Streeter was looking for his keys to leave when the clouds outside turned ominously dark. Ain't nothing left." The twister that hit Holly Springs was just one of the holiday-week storms that killed more than 40 people, as several days of tornadoes and flooding pelted much of the U.S. South and Midwest.
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| Wounded fighters, civilians evacuated from Syria Posted: 28 Dec 2015 02:04 PM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — Hundreds of people from opposite sides in Syria's civil war were evacuated from contested areas on Monday under a U.N.-backed truce, with one group headed to Turkey and another en route to areas controlled by Syrian President Bashar Assad.
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| First of 17 detainees to be released from Gitmo next week Posted: 28 Dec 2015 02:02 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The first of 17 detainees scheduled to be released from the Guantanamo Bay prison in January will be transferred next week, as the Obama administration continues to reduce the population at the controversial detention center, a senior U.S. official said Monday.
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| Iran ships uranium to Russia under nuclear deal Posted: 28 Dec 2015 01:59 PM PST  Iran sent a major shipment of low-enriched uranium materials to Russia on Monday, a key step in Tehran's implementation of this year's historic nuclear accord with world powers. The United States hailed the move, which Secretary of State John Kerry said marked "significant progress" in Tehran's fulfillment of a deal to stop it developing nuclear weapons.
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| Evacuation of 450 from besieged Syrian areas completed: sources Posted: 28 Dec 2015 01:54 PM PST A U.N. operation to evacuate around 450 Syrian fighters and their families from two besieged Syrian areas was completed on Monday with the arrival of planes carrying them to Beirut and Hatay airport in Turkey, U.N. and airport sources said. A plane carrying 126 rebel fighters trapped in Zabadani near the Lebanese border landed at almost the same time in Turkey, the sources said. |
| How the Dow Jones industrial average fared on Monday Posted: 28 Dec 2015 01:51 PM PST Stocks closed lower on Monday, weighed down by declines in energy and mining companies as the price of oil and other commodities fell. Trading volume was lighter than usual following the Christmas holiday weekend. |
| No charges in Cleveland police shooting of 12-year-old boy Posted: 28 Dec 2015 01:48 PM PST  A grand jury in the US state of Ohio declined to bring criminal charges against Cleveland police officers involved in the fatal shooting last year of a 12-year-old boy, a prosecutor said Monday. The November 2014 death of Tamir Rice -- a black child who had been carrying a replica gun in a playground when he was shot dead -- and the fatal shootings of other African Americans by police have triggered protests across the country. Surveillance video showed Rice was fatally shot within seconds of the patrol car arriving on the scene as he began to pull the toy gun out of his waistband.
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| Energy, mining stocks lead a decline on Wall Street Posted: 28 Dec 2015 01:44 PM PST  U.S. stocks closed modestly lower on Monday as a deepening slump in crude oil prices pulled down energy and mining stocks on a lighter than usual day of trading.
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| Poland's president signs disputed amendment to top court powers Posted: 28 Dec 2015 01:40 PM PST  The European Commission is to examine the issue of Poland's constitutional court next month, PAP news agency said on Monday, after the Polish president signed into law disputed amendments to the court's powers. The EU executive last week expressed concern over the new rules, which critics say will erode checks and balances in government powers. The constitutional crisis began when the conservative nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, winner of October's parliamentary election, appointed five judges to the 15-member court, Poland's highest.
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| Top Asian News 9:37 p.m. GMT Posted: 28 Dec 2015 01:37 PM PST SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An apology from Japan's prime minister and a pledge of more than $8 million sealed a breakthrough deal Monday in a decades-long impasse with South Korea over Korean women forced into Japanese military-run brothels during World War II. The accord, which aims to resolve the emotional core of South Korea's grievances with its former colonial overlord, could begin to reverse decades of animosity and mistrust between the two thriving democracies, trade partners and staunch U.S. allies. It represents a shift for Tokyo's conservative government and a new willingness to compromise by previously wary Seoul. A statement by both countries' foreign ministers said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe "expresses anew his most sincere apologies and remorse to all the women who underwent immeasurable and painful experiences and suffered incurable physical and psychological wounds as comfort women," the euphemistic name given the women. |
| South Korea, Japan reach landmark deal on WWII sex slaves Posted: 28 Dec 2015 01:37 PM PST  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An apology from Japan's prime minister and a pledge of more than $8 million sealed a breakthrough deal Monday in a decades-long impasse with South Korea over Korean women forced into Japanese military-run brothels during World War II.
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| 'Star Wars' makers have high hopes for China success Posted: 28 Dec 2015 01:35 PM PST  SHANGHAI (AP) — The latest Star Wars movie broke the $1 billion mark before fans in China could see it, but producers anticipate "The Force Awakens" will play "very very well" in the world's second-biggest film market.
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| Carroll scores winner for West Ham vs Southampton in EPL Posted: 28 Dec 2015 01:30 PM PST  LONDON (AP) — England striker Andy Carroll marked his return from injury with a close-range header that gave West Ham a 2-1 win against Southampton in the Premier League on Monday.
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| Russia removes Iran's enriched uranium as per nuke deal Posted: 28 Dec 2015 01:15 PM PST VIENNA (AP) — A landmark nuclear deal with Tehran moved closer to implementation Monday, with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announcing that tons of enriched uranium that could potentially be turned to use in atomic arms were on a ship heading from Iran to Russia. |
| Rare evacuation of Syria towns as deadly blasts hit Homs Posted: 28 Dec 2015 01:11 PM PST  A rare UN-backed deal between Syria's warring sides saw hundreds of fighters and civilians evacuate three towns on Monday, as bomb blasts in the regime-held city of Homs killed at least 19 people. President Bashar al-Assad's regime has agreed to several ceasefires with rebel groups in the past but Monday's evacuation plan was one of the most elaborate in the nearly five-year war. The United Nations has been pushing for such local deals as global powers pursue wider efforts to resolve a conflict that left more than 250,000 dead and forced millions from their homes.
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| Tech giants spot opportunity in forecasting China's smog Posted: 28 Dec 2015 01:09 PM PST  By Adam Rose BEIJING (Reuters) - Air pollution in China could be big business. Two of the world's largest technology firms, IBM and Microsoft, are vying to tap the nascent, fast-growing market for forecasting air quality in the world's top carbon emitters. Bouts of acrid smog enveloping Beijing prompted authorities in the Chinese capital to declare two unprecedented "red alerts" this month - a warning to the city's 22 million inhabitants that heavy pollution is expected for more than three days.
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| Obamas to welcome Trudeaus for State Dinner in March 2016 Posted: 28 Dec 2015 01:07 PM PST  US President Barack Obama will welcome Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for talks on March 10, the White House said Monday -- the Liberal leader's first official visit since taking office in November. The US president and First Lady Michelle Obama will also host a state dinner for Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau, on the same date, the White House statement said. "The visit will be an opportunity for the United States and Canada to deepen their bilateral relationship, which is one of the closest and most extensive in the world," the White House said.
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| Arsenal moves top, Van Gaal says he won't leave United Posted: 28 Dec 2015 01:04 PM PST  LONDON (AP) — Arsenal moved top of the Premier League with a 2-0 win against Bournemouth on Monday, while Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal said there was "not any reason" for him to resign despite a 0-0 draw with Chelsea extending his team's winless run to eight matches.
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