| Iraq's Abadi plants flag in Ramadi to mark Islamic State defeat Posted: 29 Dec 2015 10:27 AM PST  By Ahmed Rasheed and Stephen Kalin BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi planted the national flag in Ramadi on Tuesday after the army retook the city center from Islamic State a day earlier, a victory that could help vindicate his strategy for rebuilding the military after stunning defeats. If the Anbar provincial capital can be fully secured and re-populated, it would be the first major success for the U.S.-trained force that fled 18 months ago as jihadist Islamic State militants surged through northern and western Iraq. Three mortar rounds landed about 500 meters (0.3 miles) from Abadi's location during his visit, three security sources said.
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| Exclusive: Islamic State ruling aims to settle who can have sex with female slaves Posted: 29 Dec 2015 07:43 AM PST  By Jonathan Landay, Warren Strobel and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Islamic State theologians have issued an extremely detailed ruling on when "owners" of women enslaved by the extremist group can have sex with them, in an apparent bid to curb what they called violations in the treatment of captured females. The ruling or fatwa has the force of law and appears to go beyond the Islamic State's previous known utterances on slavery, a leading Islamic State scholar said. It sheds new light on how the group is trying to reinterpret centuries-old teachings to justify the rape of women in the swaths of Syria and Iraq it controls.
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| France calls for EU crackdown on fake Syrian passports Posted: 29 Dec 2015 01:34 PM PST  France has asked the European Union to improve the detection of fake Syrian passports used by people trying to get into Europe after two of the suicide bombers in the Nov. 13 Paris attacks were found carrying such passports. In a letter to the European Commission, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve called on the EU to tighten security by improving the quality of equipment used to check travel documents at external borders, notably in Greece and Italy.
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| Top aide to North Korea leader Kim Jong Un dies in car crash: KCNA Posted: 29 Dec 2015 03:15 PM PST  A senior North Korean ruling party official and a top aide to leader Kim Jong Un has died in a car accident, the state news agency reported on Wednesday, in the latest event to hit the close circle of deputies of the country's leader. Kim Yang Gon, who was a secretary of the Workers' Party and the head of its United Front Department, the unit that handles the North's ties with South Korea, was Kim Jong Un's "closest comrade, a solid revolutionary partner," KCNA said. KCNA said Kim died on Tuesday in an automobile accident at the age of 73.
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| Syrian army, backed by air strikes, advances toward southern town Posted: 29 Dec 2015 12:01 PM PST  By Suleiman Al-Khalidi BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian troops backed by heavy aerial bombardment pushed toward a strategic town in the southern province of Deraa on Tuesday after capturing a nearby military base, the army said. The Syrian army said it retook Brigade 82, one of the largest bases north of the mainly rebel-held town of Sheikh Maskin, whose capture by rebels earlier this year threatened the army's supply routes to the south. A group monitoring the war said later on Tuesday that insurgents were putting up fierce resistance and that fighting raged on, counting more than two dozen air strikes during the assault.
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| Georgia, with eye on 2016 election, switches prime minister Posted: 29 Dec 2015 12:27 PM PST  By Margarita Antidze TBILISI (Reuters) - Lawmakers in Georgia voted on Tuesday to approve Georgy Kvirikashvili as the ex-Soviet state's new prime minister, an appointment widely seen as an attempt to boost the ruling coalition's flagging popularity amid an economic slump. Kvirikashvili, his replacement, was previously foreign minister. Opposition politicians and analysts linked the switch to a decline in the popularity of the ruling Georgian Dream party, saying it wanted to overhaul its image before contesting a parliamentary election in October next year.
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| Pep Boys soars on latest Icahn offer; Bridgestone bows out Posted: 29 Dec 2015 04:37 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — Carl Icahn appears to have emerged as the winner of the bidding war for auto parts and services retailer Pep Boys after Japanese tiremaker Bridgestone said it won't counter his latest offer of about $1 billion. |
| Severe floods hit Missouri as U.S. storms sweep north Posted: 29 Dec 2015 04:36 PM PST  By Kevin Murphy and Mary Wisniewski KANSAS CITY, Mo./CHICAGO (Reuters) - Missouri residents struggled through a fourth straight day of storms on Tuesday, fighting rising floodwaters that inundated homes, forced evacuations and closed highways and even part of the Mississippi River. Missouri has been pounded by downpours since Saturday, and forecasters warned that its major rivers were still days away from cresting at record levels. At the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, about 20 miles (32 km) north of St. Louis, residents of the small cities of West Alton and Arnold were told to evacuate on Tuesday due to rising waters.
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| Release from jail of far-right Colombian warlord hits snag Posted: 29 Dec 2015 04:27 PM PST  BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A last-minute judicial review has blocked the release of a longtime paramilitary warlord in Colombia who was sentenced to 40 years in prison for ordering hundreds of murders.
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| Burkina Faso swears in new president, capping transition Posted: 29 Dec 2015 04:23 PM PST  Roch Marc Christian Kabore was sworn in as Burkina Faso's president on Tuesday, completing the troubled west African state's transition after the overthrow of its longtime ruler, Blaise Compaore. "It's a triumph of orderly transition, democracy and freedom," said interim president Michel Kafando at the swearing-in ceremony, which kicked off the first of two possible five-year terms for Kabore. Regional leaders from Benin, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger and Senegal were on hand for the event attended by some 5,000 people at a sports centre in the capital Ouagadougou.
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| Latest: Call for pizza led authorities to 'affluenza' teen Posted: 29 Dec 2015 04:19 PM PST  FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — The latest in the case of a Texas teenager serving probation for killing four people in a drunken-driving wreck after invoking an "affluenza" defense (all times local):
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| Time running out to avoid new Haiti poll delay Posted: 29 Dec 2015 04:06 PM PST  Port-au-Prince (AFP) - Haiti's electoral commission was running out of time on Tuesday to study polling returns from October's first round of presidential elections, threatening to further delay the process. The second round had been due to go ahead on Sunday but has already been delayed indefinitely, and opposition flagbearer Jude Celestin had refused to campaign until the ballot-rigging is investigated. Haiti's latest period of electoral limbo -- polling has never gone smoothly in the western hemisphere's poorest country -- has been accompanied by rising tension in the streets and fears of unrest.
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| Williamson to captain New Zealand in T20s vs Sri Lanka Posted: 29 Dec 2015 03:34 PM PST WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Kane Williamson will captain New Zealand in its two-match Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka next month, taking over from Brendon McCullum who is not available for the later World Twenty20. |
| Iranian navy test fires rockets near US carrier Posted: 29 Dec 2015 03:26 PM PST  The Iranian navy test fired several rockets near three Western warships including the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier last week, a US military official said Tuesday. The official confirmed details of an NBC News report that said one rocket came within about 1,500 yards (meters) of the USS Truman as it transited the Strait of Hormuz. The incident took place on December 26, shortly after the Iranian navy had announced via radio it was about to conduct a live-fire exercise and warned ships to steer clear.
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| Puerto Rico police shooting suspect had troubled past Posted: 29 Dec 2015 03:23 PM PST  SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The policeman who allegedly shot three fellow officers to death at work underwent psychological treatment for a decade and had faced three separate investigations for insubordination and unexcused absences, a Puerto Rico police spokesman said Tuesday.
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| Venezuelan socialists fight election of opposition lawmakers Posted: 29 Dec 2015 03:21 PM PST CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Allies of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro are disputing the election of eight opposition candidates to the National Assembly. |
| Posh New York City hotels pledge to go green Posted: 29 Dec 2015 03:19 PM PST By Sebastien Malo NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Some of New York's most iconic hotels, comprising more than 11,000 guest rooms, promised to cut their carbon footprints on Tuesday and join a city effort to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. The famed Waldorf Astoria, The Peninsula New York and The Pierre are among 16 well-known, high-end hotels that committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30 percent in the next ten years, according to the Office of Mayor Bill de Blasio. |
| Leicester, Man City draw 0-0; Arsenal top going into 2016 Posted: 29 Dec 2015 02:58 PM PST  LEICESTER, England (AP) — Leicester relinquished first place in the English Premier League heading into 2016 after drawing 0-0 with Manchester City in an entertaining stalemate on Tuesday.
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| IS leader linked to Paris attacks 'mastermind' killed in Syria Posted: 29 Dec 2015 02:53 PM PST  An Islamic State leader with "direct" ties to the alleged mastermind of the Paris attacks was among 10 of the group's higher-ups killed in Syria and Iraq this month, the Pentagon said Tuesday. The US military says such strikes are helping to weaken the jihadist group, which captured large parts of Iraq and Syria last year but has recently seen significant setbacks including this week's loss of Ramadi in Iraq. Baghdad-based US military spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said French national Charaffe el Mouadan was killed in a US-led coalition strike on December 24.
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| US official: Airstrikes have killed 10 Islamic State leaders Posted: 29 Dec 2015 02:39 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. and coalition airstrikes killed 10 Islamic State leaders over the past month, including several linked to the Paris attacks or other plots against the West, a U.S. military official in Iraq said Tuesday. |
| Giorgi Kvirikashvili confirmed as Georgia PM Posted: 29 Dec 2015 02:29 PM PST  Georgia's parliament confirmed Wednesday former foreign minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili as the country's prime minister, six days after Irakli Garibashvili's surprise resignation from the post. "The parliament has approved the new government by 86 votes to 28," parliament speaker David Usupashvili said. The parliamentary vote also ratified Kvirikashvili's choice of cabinet.
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| In a year of odd moves, FIFA and Al Capone become neighbors Posted: 29 Dec 2015 02:23 PM PST  All across Europe and the Americas — as they plot legal strategy, await extradition hearings and consider the billable hours run up by their lawyers — FIFA officials can take comfort in this: They are serving the cause of art.
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| Leicester frustrate title rivals Man City Posted: 29 Dec 2015 02:18 PM PST  Manchester City were frustrated again on the road as Leicester bounced back from defeat at Liverpool with a 0-0 draw that maintained their surprise Premier League title challenge. Leicester had to withstand a barrage of first-half pressure from their visitors but they held firm for the point that took them level with Arsenal at the top of the table. Manchester City are without a win in six Premier League away games but boss Manuel Pellegrini will take heart from a dominant performance before half-time.
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| US 'affluenza' teen detained in Mexico Posted: 29 Dec 2015 02:11 PM PST  A notorious Texas teenager has been detained in Mexico with his mother, weeks after holding a "going-away party" and fleeing probation imposed for a deadly drunk-driving crash, officials said Tuesday. Ethan Couch, 18, and his mother Tonya were arrested at an intersection in the Pacific resort city of Puerto Vallarta on Monday night, said the Jalisco state prosecutor's office.
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| French jihadist Mouadan was close to Paris attacker: investigators Posted: 29 Dec 2015 01:59 PM PST  French jihadist Charaffe el Mouadan, who the United States said Tuesday was killed in Syria, was close to at least one of the gunmen who carried out a massacre at a Paris concert hall, according to investigators. The Pentagon said Mouadan had "direct" links to Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the Belgian jihadist who was suspected of planning the coordinated attacks on Paris on November 13 and was killed by police five days later. A French source was cautious as to whether Mouadan played any operational role in those attacks but gave details about his part in France's jihadist scene.
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| Businessmen, officials jailed for Argentina train crash Posted: 29 Dec 2015 01:54 PM PST  A court in Argentina sentenced 21 people including an ex-railway company boss and two former state officials to jail Tuesday for a train crash that killed 51 people in 2012. Judges handed a three-and-a-half year sentence to the driver of the train that ploughed into the buffers at a rail terminal in Buenos Aires with 1,200 passengers on board. The court also sentenced former state transport secretary Juan Pablo Schiavi to eight years and his predecessor Ricardo Jaime to six years.
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| US warns Russian strikes in Syria killing civilians Posted: 29 Dec 2015 01:54 PM PST  The United States expressed concern on Tuesday at what it said was the heavy civilian toll of "indiscriminate" Russian air strikes in Syria. US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday and conveyed Washington's worries.
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| How the Dow Jones industrial average fared on Tuesday Posted: 29 Dec 2015 01:46 PM PST U.S. stocks are closing broadly higher on Tuesday as traders were encouraged by a pickup in consumer confidence and rising prices for energy. The gain pulled the Standard & Poor's 500 index back into positive territory for the year. |
| Ex-gov't officials in Argentina sentenced in 2012 rail crash Posted: 29 Dec 2015 01:43 PM PST BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Two former transportation secretaries in Argentina have been convicted to prison sentences related to a 2012 train accident that left 51 people dead and hundreds injured. |
| Mexican prosecutor: Vigilantes infiltrated by criminals Posted: 29 Dec 2015 01:36 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — The chief prosecutor in the western Mexico state of Michoacan said Tuesday that criminals made up a large percentage of the "self-defense" vigilante movement that sprang up nearly three years ago to challenge a local drug cartel. |
| Court threat to Venezuela opposition's super-majority Posted: 29 Dec 2015 01:29 PM PST  Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's party has filed a legal challenge against the election of eight opposition lawmakers, threatening the two-thirds majority it won in landmark polls this month, the high court said Tuesday. The opposition coalition, the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), accused the leftist ruling party of violating "the people's will" after the December 6 legislative polls, in which MUD won control of the National Assembly for the first time in 16 years. The opposition won 112 of 167 seats in the elections, a dramatic blow to Maduro and the "revolution" launched in 1999 by his late predecessor Hugo Chavez.
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| Kiev cries foul as historic Crimean wines go under hammer Posted: 29 Dec 2015 01:13 PM PST  Legendary Crimean winemaker Massandra, once a supplier to Russia's Tsar Nicolas II, has provoked the ire of Kiev by putting 13,000 vintage bottles up for auction on Tuesday. Massandra described the wines, some dating back to 1935, as "pearls that have endured heavy ordeals including during the war". The Massandra region, which belonged to the Ukrainian state until the 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia, is now under Moscow's control with the rest of the peninsula.
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| Four-way phone talks Wednesday on Ukraine crisis: Kiev Posted: 29 Dec 2015 12:59 PM PST  The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France will hold a conference call Wednesday to assess implementation of a peace accord in pro-Russian eastern Ukraine, the government in Kiev said Tuesday. The phone call will bring together Ukrainian, Russian and French presidents Petro Poroshenko, Vladimir Putin and Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Poroshenko conferred with Merkel on Tuesday "to coordinate positions", his office said in a statement.
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| Gains in Iraqi city vindicate US-led strategy, at high cost Posted: 29 Dec 2015 12:47 PM PST  BAGHDAD (AP) — The advance of Iraqi forces into the heart of Ramadi, a restive city that fell to the Islamic State group earlier this year, in some ways vindicated the U.S.-led coalition's strategy for rolling back the extremists -- but victory has come at a high cost, and the same tactics might not work elsewhere.
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| Israel's Olmert to become first leader to go to prison Posted: 29 Dec 2015 12:47 PM PST  JERUSALEM (AP) — Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who claimed to be on the cusp of a historic peace deal with the Palestinians just a few years ago, now is set to become the first Israeli leader to go to prison after the Supreme Court upheld a bribery conviction against him Tuesday.
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| Iraq PM visits newly reconquered Ramadi Posted: 29 Dec 2015 12:38 PM PST  Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Tuesday visited Ramadi, a day after federal forces announced the liberation of the city from the Islamic State group, clinching a landmark victory. Abadi arrived by helicopter in the battle-scarred city, which lies around 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of Baghdad and is the capital of the province of Anbar, an AFP correspondent reported. The premier vowed Monday, after counter-terrorism forces raised the flag above the key government complex in Ramadi, to rid the whole country of IS by the end of 2016.
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| Peru warns against ritual New Year effigy-burning Posted: 29 Dec 2015 12:33 PM PST  Peru warned the public Tuesday against its popular New Year tradition of burning national hate figures in effigy, saying the smoke poses a cancer risk. A senior environmental official at the health ministry, Elmer Quichiz, issued a warning of the risk of lung damage from the toxic smoke the fires give off.
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| Obama to host Colombia's Santos for Feb. 4 White House visit Posted: 29 Dec 2015 12:29 PM PST  U.S. President Barack Obama will host Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos for an "official working visit" in Washington on Feb. 4, the White House said on Tuesday. The visit will provide an opportunity to "support the efforts of President Santos to achieve a just and lasting peace accord with the FARC, and discuss a shared vision for future collaboration in the event of an historic peace agreement," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement.
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| Suicide bombing kills 26, wounds 45 in northwestern Pakistan Posted: 29 Dec 2015 12:28 PM PST  PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a government office in a northwestern Pakistani city on Tuesday, killing at least 26 people and wounding 45 in an attack claimed by a breakaway Taliban group.
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