| Islamic State suffers double blow as Ramadi falls, leaders killed Posted: 29 Dec 2015 06:17 PM PST  By Ahmed Rasheed and Stephen Kalin BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S.-led forces have killed 10 Islamic State leaders in air strikes, including individuals linked to the Paris attacks, a U.S. spokesman said, dealing a double blow to the militant group after Iraqi forces ousted it from the city of Ramadi. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi planted the national flag in Ramadi after the army retook the city center from Islamic State, a victory that could help vindicate his strategy for rebuilding the military after stunning defeats. "Over the past month, we've killed 10 ISIL leadership figures with targeted air strikes, including several external attack planners, some of whom are linked to the Paris attacks," said U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren, a spokesman for the U.S.-led campaign against the Islamist group also known by the acronym ISIL.
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| U.S. preparing sanctions on Iran over ballistic missile program: sources Posted: 30 Dec 2015 02:21 PM PST  President Barack Obama's administration is preparing new sanctions on international companies and individuals over Iran's ballistic missile program, sources familiar with the situation said on Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that the potential sanctions would target about 12 companies and individuals in Iran, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates for their suspected role in developing Iran's ballistic-missile program. U.S. officials have said the Treasury Department retains a right under July's landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers including Washington to blacklist Iranian entities suspected of involvement in missile development, the Journal said.
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| Iraqi PM says Turkey not respecting agreement to withdraw troops Posted: 30 Dec 2015 01:10 PM PST  By Saif Hameed and Ece Toksabay BAGHDAD/ANKARA (Reuters) - Iraq's prime minister accused Turkey on Wednesday of failing to respect an agreement to withdraw its troops from the country's north and its foreign minister said if forced, Iraq could resort to military action to defend its sovereignty. The diplomatic dispute flared after Turkey deployed a force protection unit of around 150 troops earlier this month, citing heightened security risks near Bashiqa military base where its troops were training an Iraqi militia to fight Islamic State insurgents in nearby Mosul. Iraqi security forces have had only a limited presence in Nineveh province, where the camp is located, since collapsing in June 2014 in the face of a lightning advance by Islamic State.
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| Twin suicide bombs in northeast Syria kill or wound dozens: Kurds, monitoring group Posted: 30 Dec 2015 03:02 PM PST Twin suicide bombings hit two restaurants in a Kurdish-controlled city in northeastern Syria on Wednesday, killing or wounding dozens of people, a Kurdish official and a group monitoring the war said. The explosions took place in Qamishli, near the Turkish border, the Kurdish YPG militia's Redur Xelil told Reuters. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 16 people were killed and more than 22 wounded from the blasts in an area inhabited by Christians. |
| U.S. warily eyes New Year's threats in cities abroad Posted: 30 Dec 2015 02:11 PM PST  By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. authorities are monitoring investigations overseas of alleged plots by Islamic State operatives or sympathizers to launch attacks over the New Year's holiday period, U.S. officials said on Wednesday. Officials at the Department of Homeland Security and other U.S. agencies, however, said they were unaware of any imminent or credible threats by Islamic State or other militants to attack inside the United State or hit American targets overseas. In New York City, traditionally the site of the nation's largest New Year's Eve celebration, police have seen no credible threat at this time, a New York police spokesman said.
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| Syrian troops backed by Russian jets enters rebel-held southern town: army Posted: 30 Dec 2015 09:50 AM PST  By Suleiman Al-Khalidi BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian troops fought their way into a rebel-held town in the southern province of Deraa on Wednesday in an assault which rebels said was supported by the heaviest Russian aerial bombing campaign so far in the south. Troops were in Sheikh Maskin's main square and had taken over the eastern and northern neighborhoods of the town which lies on a major supply route from the Syrian capital, Damascus, to the city of Deraa, the army said in a statement. A commander in a leading rebel group fighting in the area said the heavy Russian bombing on their posts, where rebels had counted at least 100 raids in the past two days, had been decisive in tipping the balance against the rebels.
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| Charlie Hebdo to release special issue one year after attack Posted: 30 Dec 2015 04:49 PM PST  French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday said it would release nearly a million copies of a special issue to mark a year since jihadists killed a dozen people in its Paris offices. Charlie Hebdo said it had already received large orders for the new special issue from overseas, including 50,000 from Germany. The release comes at a time of heightened concern about more attacks in Europe after jihadists with links to the Islamic State group killed 130 people in Paris in November, in a wave of coordinated shootings and explosions.
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| Deep snow in California mountains offers hope in drought Posted: 30 Dec 2015 04:43 PM PST  By Sharon Bernstein PHILLIPS, Calif. (Reuters) - A cold, wet start to California's winter has dumped nearly five feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains, state water experts said Wednesday, fueling hope that 2016 will bring enough precipitation to help offset four years of drought. Snow surveyors headed to the mountains in Phillips near Lake Tahoe on Wednesday for the first manual check of the state's snowpack this winter, dipping a long measuring pole into a snow-covered meadow at seven different points to see how deep the white stuff was. "There's hope that we will have much more than we had last year," said Frank Gehrke, chief of the California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program.
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| Venezuela top court blocks four lawmakers-elect from taking office Posted: 30 Dec 2015 04:37 PM PST  Venezuela's Supreme Court on Wednesday blocked four newly elected lawmakers from taking office after a legal challenge by the ruling Socialist Party, which was roundly defeated by the opposition coalition in the Dec. 6 congressional election. The court's Electoral Chamber approved injunctions against the election victories of three lawmakers linked to the opposition and one from the Socialist Party, while it hears the legal challenge against them. The court also agreed to hear legal challenges to the election of another six opposition deputies, but dismissed requests for similar injunctions in those cases, according to information posted on the court's website.
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| Mexico deports mother of US 'affluenza' teen Posted: 30 Dec 2015 04:25 PM PST  Mexican authorities on Wednesday deported a US woman accused of helping her fugitive teenage son flee despite his probation in a notorious and deadly drunk-driving case. While Tonya Couch was sent on a plane to the United States, her 18-year-old son Ethan remained in custody at a National Migration Institute facility, an official from that agency told AFP.
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| 5 soldiers who drowned in Missouri floods identified Posted: 30 Dec 2015 04:24 PM PST FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (AP) — Five international soldiers who were on holiday leave during a temporary assignment at Fort Leonard Wood drowned when their car went off a dark, rural highway in southwest Missouri. |
| House Intelligence chair seeks answers on NSA spying report Posted: 30 Dec 2015 04:24 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said Wednesday his committee will look into a report the U.S. spied on the Israeli prime minister and in the process swept up communications with Congress.
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| Venezuela court suspends inauguration of three opposition lawmakers Posted: 30 Dec 2015 04:17 PM PST  Caracas (AFP) - Venezuela's highest court on Wednesday suspended the inauguration of three opposition lawmakers who were due to take office next week, effectively undoing the two-thirds majority the opposition won in landmark legislative polls.
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| Two UN police officers found dead in Haiti Posted: 30 Dec 2015 04:15 PM PST  Port-au-Prince (AFP) - Two female officers from the United Nations police force in Haiti were found dead in their home on Wednesday, the UN mission to the country said. The MINUSTAH mission did not say which country the officers came from -- there are police from 45 countries in the 2,600-strong force -- nor how they died. A joint investigation has been launched by the UN force and Haiti's own national police, which work together to enforce law and order in the troubled country.
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| Mexico football legend Blanco sworn in as mayor Posted: 30 Dec 2015 04:03 PM PST  Mexico football legend Cuauhtemoc Blanco was sworn in as mayor in the crime-plagued city of Cuernavaca on Wednesday, with the playmaker tackling tough political opposition before kicking off his tenure. The player who dribbled past defenders in his heyday in Mexico, Spain and the United States faces challenges in the political and criminal fronts.
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| Several hurt after turbulence during China-to-Canada flight Posted: 30 Dec 2015 04:02 PM PST  Montreal (AFP) - An Air Canada flight from Shanghai to Toronto made an emergency landing in Calgary on Wednesday so that several people injured in severe turbulence could get treatment.
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| Lawyer: Trump comments could bias jurors in terrorism case Posted: 30 Dec 2015 04:00 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — A lawyer for a man accused in a New York terrorism case is arguing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's call for a ban on Muslim immigration into the United States will make it difficult to find unbiased jurors. |
| Truck, SUV collide on slushy Vermont mountain road; 3 dead Posted: 30 Dec 2015 03:58 PM PST KILLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Vermont State Police say a tractor-trailer crashed into an SUV on a mountain road covered with slush and ice, killing three people in a ski resort town. |
| 16 dead, 30 wounded in three blasts in northeast Syria: monitor Posted: 30 Dec 2015 03:53 PM PST  At least 16 people were killed and 30 wounded by explosions in three restaurants in the northeast of Syria on Wednesday, a monitoring group said, in attacks claimed by the Islamic State group. At least one of the blasts in the city of Qamishli was caused by a suicide bomber, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP. An AFP correspondent in the city said the suicide attack took place in a restaurant in a Christian neighbourhood.
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| Nigeria president says ready to negotiate for release of Chibok girls Posted: 30 Dec 2015 03:51 PM PST  Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday said he had no new intelligence on some 200 schoolgirls kidnapped almost two years ago, and that his government would negotiate with any "credible" Boko Haram leadership for their release. A total of 276 girls were taken from their school in the northeastern town of Chibok in April 2014 by Boko Haram fighters, in a case that made global headlines. Several dozen girls managed to escape soon afterwards, but nothing has been seen or heard from around 200 of them since a video released in May 2014.
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| Air Canada flight lands in Calgary after strong turbulence Posted: 30 Dec 2015 03:49 PM PST TORONTO (AP) — Air Canada says that a flight en route from Shanghai to Toronto has been diverted to Calgary after emergency crews say heavy turbulence injured about 20 passengers. |
| McCoy leads British sports stars in New Year Honours List Posted: 30 Dec 2015 03:44 PM PST  Legendary jump jockey Tony McCoy was awarded a knighthood in the New Year Honours List out Wednesday, in which British sports stars including Chris Froome were recognised for their achievements. Two-time Tour de France winner Froome, 1964 Formula One world champion John Surtees and five-time world snooker champion Ronnie O'Sullivan were among those honoured. Stars from football, tennis and boxing were among those made commanders (CBE), officers (OBE) or regular members (MBE) of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, an order of chivalry.
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| Merkel tells Germans refugee influx 'an opportunity' Posted: 30 Dec 2015 03:42 PM PST  Chancellor Angela Merkel in her New Year's address Thursday asked Germans to see a record refugee influx as "an opportunity for tomorrow" and urged doubters not to follow racist hate-mongers. The past year -- when the top EU economy took in over one million asylum seekers -- had been unusually challenging, she said in a pre-released text of the speech, also bracing Germans for more hardships ahead. Merkel has earned both praise and criticism at home and abroad for her decision to open Germany to a record wave of refugees, about half from war-torn Syria.
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| US preparing new sanctions against Iran: report Posted: 30 Dec 2015 03:38 PM PST  The United States is preparing sanctions against firms and individuals in Iran, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates over alleged links to Iran's ballistic missile program, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. Such a move would be the first American sanctions against Iran since Tehran signed a nuclear deal with world powers in July that will eventually see Washington drop separate sanctions targeting that program. According to the Journal, the Treasury Department is preparing sanctions on two Iran-linked networks helping develop the missile program.
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| Mexican official says that mother of fugitive Ethan Couch has been deported to US Posted: 30 Dec 2015 03:31 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican official says that mother of fugitive Ethan Couch has been deported to US. |
| Officials: 'Affluenza' teen, mother detained in Mexico Posted: 30 Dec 2015 03:26 PM PST  DALLAS (AP) — In a story Dec. 29 about the detention of a Texas teen on probation for a deadly drunken-driving crash, The Associated Press reported erroneously the punishment that Ethan Couch could face if his probation is revoked. Couch could be held in a juvenile facility until April if his probation is revoked, not 10 years in prison. Couch could face 10 years in prison for each of the four deaths if his case is transferred to adult court and he violates his probation in the future.
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| Coast Guard to close 76-mile stretch of Mississippi River Posted: 30 Dec 2015 03:25 PM PST The U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday will close a 76-mile stretch of the Mississippi River roughly defined by Chester, Illinois, to the north and Billings Island, Missouri, to the south, public affairs officer Christopher Pince said. The section of the river, between mile markers 110 and 34, would be closed later on Wednesday to all vessel traffic, Pince said, after heavy rainfall this week raised water levels to moderate and major flood stages, making navigation hazardous. The Coast Guard on Tuesday closed a 5-mile stretch of the river near St. Louis, Missouri. |
| Venezuela opposition warns of 'judicial coup' by Maduro Posted: 30 Dec 2015 03:24 PM PST  The plea came after Maduro's party filed a legal challenge to his opponents' landslide victory in legislative elections. In an open letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and senior international officials, the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) coalition condemned the legal threat to the super-majority it won on December 6.
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| Brussels cancels New Year's fireworks, festivities over terror threat Posted: 30 Dec 2015 03:15 PM PST  Belgian authorities on Wednesday cancelled the annual New Year's Eve festivities and fireworks in the heart of Brussels after revealing an alleged jihadist plot to attack the capital during the holiday. The city of 1.2 million people has been on high alert since France said several men involved in the deadly November 13 attacks in Paris had links to Brussels, which is home to the headquarters of the European Union and NATO. "Unfortunately we have been forced to cancel the fireworks and all that was planned for tomorrow (Thursday) evening," mayor Yvan Mayeur told Belgian broadcaster RTBF.
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| Polish government takes control of public media with new law Posted: 30 Dec 2015 02:41 PM PST  Poland's conservative government took control of state media Wednesday after new legislation giving it the power to directly appoint the heads of public broadcasters was rushed through parliament, despite EU concern and condemnation from rights watchdogs. Under the new law, senior figures in public radio and television will in future be appointed -- and sacked -- by the treasury minister, and no longer through contests by the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT). The new legislation will also see the current managers and supervisory board members of Poland's public broadcasters fired with immediate effect.
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| McCoy, Law, Froome among UK sports stars honored by Queen Posted: 30 Dec 2015 02:38 PM PST  LONDON (AP) — Jockey Tony McCoy, former Manchester United striker Denis Law, two-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome, and five-time world snooker champion Ronnie O'Sullivan are among United Kingdom sporting figures honored by Queen Elizabeth in her New Year list.
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| US 'affluenza' teen wins Mexico deportation delay Posted: 30 Dec 2015 02:33 PM PST A fugitive US teenager on Wednesday won a three-day delay from deportation from Mexico where he was detained weeks after fleeing probation imposed for a deadly drunk-driving crash in Texas. An official at the National Migration Institute told AFP that lawyers for Ethan Couch, 18, had secured a court order to stop the deportation process for 72 hours. Authorities in Texas say they hope that Couch, whose case became notorious because of his legal team's "affluenza" defense, will face adult justice whenever he returns home. |
| Stage and screen stars honored along with Ebola fighters Posted: 30 Dec 2015 02:30 PM PST LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II's New Year honors list makes knights and dames out of some of Britain's best loved stage and screen stars even as it recognizes the sacrifices of doctors who treated Ebola victims and the everyday heroism of those who spent time helping others. |
| US beats Switzerland 10-1 in world juniors Posted: 30 Dec 2015 02:28 PM PST  HELSINKI (AP) — Auston Matthews had two goals and two assists to help the United States rout Switzerland 10-1 on Wednesday in the world junior hockey championship.
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| Turkey detains 2 IS suspects over New Year plot as Europe fears attacks Posted: 30 Dec 2015 02:27 PM PST  Turkish police on Wednesday detained two Islamic State suspects accused of plotting to attack New Year's Eve celebrations, as jittery European capitals readied to see in 2016 under tight security. In a sign of the widespread anxiety just weeks after the deadly Paris terror assaults, Brussels cancelled its festivities and fireworks, while Moscow said it would close off Red Square to the public. Paris itself announced that 11,000 police, soldiers and firefighters would be patrolling the French capital, where the annual fireworks display on the Champs-Elysees had also been called off.
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| Messi scores in 500th game for Barca to keep La Liga lead Posted: 30 Dec 2015 02:24 PM PST  BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lionel Messi scored in his 500th match for Barcelona to help them ease past Real Betis 4-0 on Wednesday and ensure they kept the lead of the Spanish league to conclude a superb year for the Catalan club.
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| US says Iran launched 'provocative' rocket test near ships Posted: 30 Dec 2015 02:20 PM PST  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. on Wednesday accused Iran of launching a "highly provocative" rocket test last week near its warships and commercial traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz, exposing how tensions between the two countries could escalate even after a landmark nuclear deal.
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