| Rouhani expands Iran's missile program despite U.S. sanctions threat Posted: 31 Dec 2015 10:06 AM PST  President Hassan Rouhani ordered his defense minister on Thursday to expand Iran's missile program, in defiance of a U.S. threat to impose sanctions over a ballistic missile test Iran carried out in October. Under a landmark agreement it clinched with world powers in July, Iran is scaling back a nuclear program that the West feared was aimed at acquiring atomic weapons, in return for an easing of international sanctions.
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| White House delays imposing new sanctions on Iran: WSJ Posted: 31 Dec 2015 04:10 PM PST  The White House has delayed imposing new financial sanctions on Iran over its ballistic-missile program, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. On Wednesday, the Journal, citing U.S. officials, said the Obama administration was preparing to sanction nearly a dozen companies and individuals in Iran, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates for their role in developing Iran's ballistic-missile program. The U.S. sanctions were expected to be formally announced this week, the newspaper said.
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| Blaze hits Dubai skyscraper, New Year's fireworks proceed nearby Posted: 31 Dec 2015 01:01 PM PST  By Noah Browning DUBAI (Reuters) - Fire engulfed a 63-storey skyscraper in Dubai on Thursday night, but with the block evacuated and only minor injuries reported authorities went ahead with a New Year's fireworks display at the world's tallest building a few hundred meters away. Tongues of flame shot skywards from one side of the luxury Address Downtown Dubai hotel and residential block, which stands across a plaza from the 160-storey Burj Khalifa tower where people had gathered for fireworks to mark the New Year. "We came out on my balcony to look at the Burj.
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| Syria ceasefire plan struggles to define a 'terrorist' Posted: 31 Dec 2015 03:29 AM PST  By Arshad Mohammed and Louis Charbonneau WASHINGTON/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.N. plan to suspend Syria's nearly five-year-old civil war calls for listing which militant groups may be fought despite an eventual ceasefire, one of the toughest issues vexing diplomats trying to end the conflict. A U.N. draft discussion paper obtained by Reuters includes eight "framework principles" to be embraced by all countries and rebel groups that sign on to a ceasefire. The ceasefire plan also lists issues still to be negotiated, including defining "those terrorist organizations against whom combat is allowed." The paper's authenticity was confirmed by two diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity. The diplomats stressed that the document was a draft, originally prepared by the United Nations, and they said multiple versions of the draft have been passed back and forth among U.S., U.N. and other diplomats.
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| Police evacuate two Munich train stations, citing threat of militant attack Posted: 31 Dec 2015 04:32 PM PST  By Joseph Nasr BERLIN (Reuters) - German police evacuated two train stations in Munich late on Thursday, saying on Twitter they had received a tip regarding a planned militant attack on New Year's Eve in the Bavarian capital. A police spokeswoman declined to give further details, saying a search for possible suspects had been launched. "Actual lead that in #Munich a terror attack is planned.
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| Arrests, security fears dampen New Year spirit in Europe Posted: 31 Dec 2015 07:06 AM PST  By Johnny Cotton and Philip Blenkinsop PARIS/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Shaken by a year of militant attacks, Europeans will ring in 2016 in subdued fashion on Friday, with soldiers on the streets of Paris, a heightened police presence at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, and silence across the vast cobbled emptiness of Moscow's Red Square. Prosecutors said police had seized a 10th suspect in Belgium in connection with the Nov. 13 Paris attacks that killed 130 and were claimed by Islamic State. Two others were arrested earlier this week, prompting authorities to call off the city's traditional Dec. 31 fireworks display, which last year drew a crowd of around 100,000.
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| Police in Munich warn of 'imminent threat' of terror attack Posted: 31 Dec 2015 04:52 PM PST  BERLIN (AP) — Police in Munich warned of a "serious, imminent threat" by Islamist extremists wanting to commit a terror attack on New Year's Eve and asked people to stay away from the city's main train station and a second train station in the city's Pasing neighborhood.
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| Despite fears and huge Dubai fire, New Year revelry rolls on Posted: 31 Dec 2015 04:37 PM PST  On a New Year's Eve haunted by fears of terrorism, a spectacular fire in one of Dubai's tall towers captured the world's attention. With few exceptions, the celebrations rolled on, and while fire still raged, the Dubai Media office declared on Twitter: "New Year celebrations in Dubai will continue as scheduled."
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| Top Asian News 12:36 a.m. GMT Posted: 31 Dec 2015 04:36 PM PST On a New Year's Eve haunted by fears of terrorism, a spectacular fire in one of Dubai's tall towers captured the world's attention. With few exceptions, the celebrations rolled on, and while fire still raged, the Dubai Media office declared on Twitter: "New Year celebrations in Dubai will continue as scheduled." As 2015 drew to a close, many people were bidding a weary and wary adieu to a year marred by attacks that left nations reeling and nerves rattled. In Bangkok, site of a deadly bombing months ago, police flanked partygoers. In Paris, residents recovering from their city's own deadly attacks enjoyed scaled-back celebrations. |
| British PM: I'll fight to fix EU frustration in 2016 Posted: 31 Dec 2015 04:28 PM PST  Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to fight hard in 2016 to resolve troublesome features of Britain's relationship with the EU ahead of a planned referendum that could come this year. Cameron said aspects of being in the European Union were the cause of "so much frustration" in Britain -- but ultimately voters would decide whether the country remains in the bloc. "It's a New Year, and Britain begins it with renewed strength.
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| I.Coast president frees prisoners held over post-vote violence Posted: 31 Dec 2015 04:24 PM PST  Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara announced Thursday in his New Year's address that he had reduced the sentences of 3,100 prisoners held over bloody post-election unrest. Around 3,000 people died in five months of violence in 2010-2011 in the west African nation following elections that saw Ouattara unseat then president Laurent Gbagbo. "I have decided to use my right of clemency to grant full and partial sentence reductions," Ouattara said.
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| Mother of 'affluenza' teen is jailed in Los Angeles Posted: 31 Dec 2015 04:13 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (AP) — The mother of a fugitive Texas teen known for using an "affluenza" defense in a fatal drunken-driving accident will likely remain jailed for several days in Los Angeles after being deported from Mexico, investigators said Thursday.
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| Belgium holds 5 over 'New Year plot', cancels Brussels fireworks Posted: 31 Dec 2015 04:08 PM PST  Belgian police were holding five people early Friday over an alleged New Year plot in Brussels, and also arrested a 10th suspect over last month's attacks in Paris. Both Brussels and Paris cancelled annual New Year's Eve fireworks displays as soldiers and police ramped up security in European capitals over perceived terror threats. There were instead plenty of private fireworks displays throughout the Belgian capital at midnight, accompanied by cheers and loud music, but the celebrations were vastly diminished compared to last year's.
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| German police warn NYE 'terror attack' planned in Munich Posted: 31 Dec 2015 04:06 PM PST  German police said Thursday that they had "indications that a terror attack" was being planned by Islamists for New Year's Eve in the southern city of Munich. "Current indications show that a terror attack is being planned in Munich. Please avoid gatherings of people and the Munich and Pasing train stations," police said in a tweet.
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| Dubai New Year fireworks kick off while nearby tower blazes Posted: 31 Dec 2015 04:05 PM PST  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A 63-story luxury hotel was engulfed in flames even as a massive New Year's fireworks display kicked off at the world's tallest skyscraper nearby, while tens of thousands of people whistled and cheered at early Friday's pyrotechnics.
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| The Latest: Lawyers: 'Affluenza' teen's mom didn't break law Posted: 31 Dec 2015 03:55 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (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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| Fears of more death, devastation in flood-ravaged Missouri Posted: 31 Dec 2015 03:45 PM PST  Nervous residents in the flood-ravaged US state of Missouri waited anxiously Thursday to see how high the Mississippi River would rise, as the death toll from the record-breaking deluge hit 14. Hundreds of homes and businesses have been swallowed up by the frigid, muddy waters. Governor Jay Nixon pleaded with people to heed evacuation orders and stay off flooded roadways, after the body of a motorist who was swept off a road was recovered on Wednesday.
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| Body recovered from river as UK reels from storms Posted: 31 Dec 2015 03:02 PM PST  The body of a kayaker who went missing during Storm Frank was recovered from a river on Thursday as Britain's battle with localised flooding stretched into the New Year. The body of the man in his 50s was recovered from the River Findhorn in Moray, northeastern Scotland. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited the town of Newton Stewart in southwest Scotland to see the damage to shops and businesses affected by flooding there.
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| Huge fire erupts at Dubai hotel, near New Year celebrations Posted: 31 Dec 2015 02:49 PM PST  A huge fire ripped through a luxury Dubai hotel Thursday night, injuring 16 people, just a few hours before the emirate celebrated the new year with a spectacular fireworks display nearby. The Address Downtown hotel, which is a few blocks from the iconic Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower, was engulfed in flames across several floors as sirens wailed and helicopters hovered overhead, witnesses said. Dubai's police chief said all the residents of the five-star hotel had been evacuated from the scene of the blaze, the cause of which was unknown and which had still not been extinguished some four hours after it broke out.
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| How the Dow Jones industrial average fared on Thursday Posted: 31 Dec 2015 02:32 PM PST U.S. stocks closed lower on lighter-than-usual trading ahead of the New Year's Day holiday. The modest declines capped a sluggish 2015 for the market. The Standard & Poor's 500 index ended the year down about three-quarters of a percent. With dividends included, the index was up slightly for 2015, but its performance amounted to the worst return for the index since 2008. |
| Determined Merkel tells Germans: refugee influx 'an opportunity' Posted: 31 Dec 2015 02:23 PM PST  Chancellor Angela Merkel stood firm on her decision to open Germany to refugees despite mounting criticism, telling citizens in her New Year's address Thursday that the record influx is "an opportunity for tomorrow". Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government has meanwhile filed a legal challenge against the EU's plan to distribute 160,000 asylum-seekers under a quota system.
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| Hollande invokes French terrorism threat, defends passport-stripping Posted: 31 Dec 2015 02:22 PM PST President Francois Hollande said on Thursday France was "not finished with terrorism" and used a new year's message to defend controversial plans to strip citizenship from those convicted of terrorism offences. The proposals, yet to go before the French National Assembly and Senate, have divided Hollande's ruling Socialists and drawn veiled criticism from his own justice minister, Christine Taubira. "I made a choice in good conscience that was proportionate to what France has suffered," Hollande said. |
| Police in Munich warn of 'imminent threat' of terror attack, order 2 train stations cleared Posted: 31 Dec 2015 02:22 PM PST BERLIN (AP) — Police in Munich warn of 'imminent threat' of terror attack, order 2 train stations cleared. |
| Weird weather brings warm welcome to 2016 Posted: 31 Dec 2015 02:19 PM PST  With temperatures above freezing at the North Pole, deadly tornadoes in Texas, extreme heat in Australia and floods in Britain and Missouri, the world is beset by extreme weather events as it welcomes 2016. A powerful and destructive low-pressure system in the North Atlantic has pushed the mercury up to two degrees Celsius (35.6 Fahrenheit) at the pole, 20 degrees above the seasonal norm. The Arctic has borne the brunt of global warming, with temperatures three degrees higher than the pre-industrial era.
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| Floods swamp Missouri, Illinois; nine million people in risk areas Posted: 31 Dec 2015 02:11 PM PST  Record flooding from rain-swollen rivers has washed out hundreds of structures in Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma, forcing thousands to flee their homes, and 9.3 million Americans still face flood warnings. At least 28 people have died in the U.S. Midwest's extreme weather since the weekend, mostly from driving into flooded areas after storms dropped up to 12 inches (30 cm) of rain, officials said. The days of downpours have pushed the mighty Mississippi and its tributaries to record highs or levels not seen in decades, the National Weather Service and local officials said.
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| Environmentalists sue Oregon for removing gray wolf from endangered list Posted: 31 Dec 2015 02:08 PM PST  Environmental groups have sued Oregon wildlife officials for removing gray wolves from a list of state-protected endangered species, officials said on Thursday. Three environmental groups led by the Center for Biological Diversity filed a brief petition for judicial review with the Oregon Court of Appeals on Wednesday. "It's not rocket science that roughly 80 wolves in 12 percent of suitable habitat in Oregon does not equal a recovered population," Noah Greenwald, endangered species director for the Diversity group, said in a statement announcing the legal challenge.
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| Biggest container ship to visit US enters San Francisco Bay Posted: 31 Dec 2015 02:06 PM PST SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The largest container ship to visit the U.S. passed under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco before arriving at the Port of Oakland. |
| UN Libya envoy in push for national unity govt Posted: 31 Dec 2015 01:50 PM PST  The UN envoy for Libya arrived Thursday in the east of the restive country in a bid to persuade the internationally recognised administration to join a national unity government, state media reported. Martin Kobler visited Shahat, a town close to the temporary headquarters of Libya's exiled legislature, and met with senior officials, including parliament head Aguila Saleh, the LANA news agency said. Libya has been in chaos since the 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi, with armed factions battling for territory and control of its oil wealth.
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| US beats Denmark 4-1 in world juniors Posted: 31 Dec 2015 01:42 PM PST  HELSINKI (AP) — Auston Matthews had a goal and an assist to lead the United States to a 4-1 victory over Denmark on Thursday in the world junior hockey championship.
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| Influx of teen migrants leads US to open 3 more shelters Posted: 31 Dec 2015 01:39 PM PST DENVER (AP) — The U.S. government plans to open a new shelter in each of three states to house unaccompanied migrant children as officials brace for another influx of young Central American immigrants crossing the border. |
| Ballots counted after pivotal C. African Republic election Posted: 31 Dec 2015 01:12 PM PST  BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Votes were being counted Thursday after Central African Republic's national elections drew massive crowds of voters seeking peace after years of violence. The United Nations said "armed elements" attacked peacekeepers as they loaded election materials into a truck in the capital, with three police injured.
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| France 'not finished with terrorism' says Hollande Posted: 31 Dec 2015 01:10 PM PST  President Francois Hollande said in his New Year's Eve address to the nation Thursday that France "has not finished with terrorism yet". Speaking six weeks after gunmen and suicide bombers killed 130 people in Paris, Hollande said the threat of another attack "remains at its highest level". After a "terrible" year in which jihadists also attacked the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket and a heavily armed man attacked passengers on a high-speed train in France, Hollande said his "first duty" was to protect the French people.
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| Iran-US tensions flare over new sanctions threat Posted: 31 Dec 2015 01:07 PM PST  Iran's President Hassan Rouhani denounced Thursday possible new US sanctions on his country which, if enacted, could jeopardise a hard-won nuclear deal due to be finally implemented within weeks. In a letter to his defence minister Rouhani said reports that the US Treasury planned to blacklist companies and individuals with ties to Iran's ballistic missile programme constituted "hostile and illegal interventions" that justified a response. Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards, who are responsible for protecting Iranian interests in the Strait and regularly patrol and conduct exercises in the area where much of the world's oil passes, denied its ships were involved.
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| Algeria opposition leader Ait-Ahmed given state funeral Posted: 31 Dec 2015 01:00 PM PST  The remains of Hocine Ait-Ahmed, one of the fathers of Algeria's struggle for independence from France and then a longtime opposition figure, arrived home on Thursday for a state funeral. Ait-Ahmed, who was jailed by the French in 1956, was freed after a ceasefire in 1962.
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| UN council envoys plan visit to Burundi Posted: 31 Dec 2015 12:57 PM PST  UN Security Council envoys are awaiting agreement from Burundi's government to travel to the country in January as part of a diplomatic effort to pull the nation away from the brink of war, diplomats said Thursday. The United States had proposed a trip to Burundi in December during its presidency of the Security Council but the mission never materialized. "We think it's very important for the Security Council to travel to Burundi and are engaging to try to make that happen," said US Deputy Ambassador David Pressman.
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| Canada misses year-end Syrian refugee target of 10,000 Posted: 31 Dec 2015 12:54 PM PST  The Canadian government said Thursday it had welcomed more than 6,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2015, falling short of its pledge to take in 10,000 but vowing to meet that target next month. New Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had initially promised to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees by December 31. The interim target of taking in 10,000 Syrian refugees by year's end was set in late November.
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| Dubai's New Year fireworks go ahead despite skyscraper fire nearby Posted: 31 Dec 2015 12:46 PM PST DUBAI (Reuters) - An elaborate New Year's fireworks display began in Dubai on Friday at the world's tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa, even though fire was still raging at a 63-storey hotel and apartment block nearby. Dubai authorities had said the festivities would go ahead despite the fire at the Address Hotel, which they said was 90 percent under control. The hotel was evacuated and most of the injuries were reported to be minor. (Reporting By Noah Browning; Editing by Kevin Liffey) |
