| Turkish forces deepen push into Syria, draw U.S. rebuke over their target Posted: 29 Aug 2016 01:10 PM PDT  By Lisa Barrington and Umit Bektas BEIRUT/KARKAMIS, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish-backed forces pushed deeper into northern Syria on Monday and drew a rebuke from NATO ally the United States, which said it was concerned the battle for territory had shifted away from targeting Islamic State. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter called on Turkey to stay focused on fighting Islamic State militants and not to target Kurdish elements of Syrian rebel forces, which Washington backs. The White House said a continued Turkish push would complicate the fight against Islamic State.
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| Rockets hit Saudi border town as Yemen war flares anew Posted: 29 Aug 2016 08:53 AM PDT  By Katie Paul NAJRAN, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Yemeni Houthi forces are again firing rockets at this corner of southern Saudi Arabia, ending a lull of several weeks and complicating efforts to revive talks on ending Yemen's 18-month-old civil war. This month's collapse of negotiations on the Yemen conflict - which like the Syrian civil war pits allies of Saudi Arabia against those of its regional rival Iran - is taking a toll in the Saudi city of Najran, albeit on a much smaller scale than in Yemen itself. Last week, one rocket fired by the Iranian-allied Houthi movement from northern Yemen landed in Najran, which lies 30 km (20 miles) from the border.
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| Libyan forces say Islamic State beaten back in Sirte Posted: 29 Aug 2016 04:18 PM PDT  By Aidan Lewis SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) - Libyan forces said they captured a residential neighborhood in central Sirte from Islamic State on Monday, leaving just one district of the city still occupied by the militants. Spokesman Rida Issa said Sirte's neighborhood Number One was "completely liberated", but added that the brigades, backed by U.S. air strikes, were "in the process of clearing any remnants of Daesh (Islamic State)" from the area. For more than three months, brigades aligned with Libya's U.N.-backed government have been battling to oust Islamic State from Sirte, a coastal city that the militant group turned into a regional stronghold last year.
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| Syrian rebels make gains in northern Hama province, capture strategic town Posted: 29 Aug 2016 05:45 PM PDT By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian rebels have captured a strategic town in northern Hama province in a major offensive that threatens government loyalist towns populated by minority Christians and Alawites north of the provincial capital, rebels and a monitor said on Tuesday. The town of Halfaya was stormed on Monday after the hardline jihadist Jund al-Aqsa alongside Free Syrian Army (FSA) brigades launched a battle overnight that overran several army and pro-government checkpoints in northern Hama countryside. "We are now cleansing the town after liberating it from the regime and will have more surprises in store," said Abu Kinan, a commander in Jaish al Ezza, a rebel group that fought in the town. |
| Defiant Rousseff says Brazil's democracy on trial with her Posted: 29 Aug 2016 04:53 PM PDT  By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - A defiant President Dilma Rousseff warned on Monday that her conservative opponents were trampling on Brazil's democracy by using trumped-up charges to oust her and roll back the social advances of 13 years of leftist rule. Presenting her defense at an impeachment trial in the Senate, Brazil's first female president said the economic elite had sought to destabilize her government since she narrowly won re-election to a second four-year term in 2014. Rousseff is expected to become the first Brazilian leader in more than 20 years to be dismissed from office on Wednesday when the Senate will rule on charges that she broke budgetary laws by using state banks' money to boost public spending.
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| U.S. tries to stop feuding allies from unraveling Syria strategy Posted: 29 Aug 2016 04:00 PM PDT  By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States scrambled on Monday to get its feuding allies, Turkey and Kurdish YPG militia, to focus their firepower on Islamic State instead of each other after clashes that have threatened to unravel America's war strategy in Syria. Turkey, which has long viewed Kurdish militants as its top security threat, upended U.S. assumptions about the conflict by launching a major push last week into northern Syria that has included areas controlled by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which includes experienced Kurdish YPG fighters.
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| Brazil's Rousseff urges vote against 'coup' in trial Posted: 29 Aug 2016 05:42 PM PDT  Declaring her innocence and recalling how she was tortured under Brazil's military dictatorship in the 1970s, Rousseff warned that Latin America's biggest country was on the verge of losing its democracy. "Vote against impeachment, vote for democracy.... Do not accept a coup," the 68-year-old leftist leader said as she defended herself before senators who are widely expected to remove her from office by Wednesday. About 2,000 supporters rallied in her support near the Senate building in the capital Brasilia, waving flags -- a fraction of the crowds her Workers' Party has drawn in the past.
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| Feds reviewing use of private immigration facilities Posted: 29 Aug 2016 05:35 PM PDT  TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Federal immigration officials said Monday they are considering phasing out the use of private contractors at its detention facilities amid pressure from immigrant advocates to end the practice over safety concerns.
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| Australian state to permanently ban onshore gas fracking Posted: 29 Aug 2016 05:22 PM PDT The state of Victoria plans to ban shale and coal seam gas fracking in what would be Australia's first permanent ban on unconventional gas drilling, citing the concerns of farmers and potential health and environment risks. The decision was made despite the fact that most of eastern Australia's gas supply is produced from coal seam gas and comes as a blow to manufacturers who have been clamoring for more gas supply to help keep prices down. |
| University: Mexican president copied texts in thesis Posted: 29 Aug 2016 05:12 PM PDT  MEXICO CITY (AP) — The university that granted Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto a law degree in 1991 has acknowledged he copied texts and ideas without crediting their authors in his thesis.
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| The Latest: US Open roof makes its world premiere Posted: 29 Aug 2016 05:11 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. Open (all times local):
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| Brazil's president proclaims innocence at impeachment trial Posted: 29 Aug 2016 05:11 PM PDT  BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil's suspended president proclaimed her innocence Monday, branding her vice president a "usurper" and warning senators that history would judge them harshly if they ousted a democratically elected leader on false charges.
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| The Latest: Immigrant advocates want private contracts gone Posted: 29 Aug 2016 05:07 PM PDT TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The Latest on the use of private contractors for immigration detention facilities (all times local): |
| Aristide joins Haiti rally to urge voters to back candidate Posted: 29 Aug 2016 04:52 PM PDT  PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Twice-ousted Haitian leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide made a rare public appearance Monday at a street rally to support the presidential candidate of the political movement he founded decades ago.
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| Portugal's Guterres still leads race for U.N. chief after third ballot Posted: 29 Aug 2016 04:51 PM PDT  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres still leads the race to become the next United Nations Secretary-General after a third U.N. Security Council secret ballot on Monday, diplomats said. Guterres received 11 encourage, three discourage and one no opinion, diplomats said. The Security Council will hold secret ballots until a consensus is reached on a candidate to replace U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon of South Korea who steps down at the end of 2016 after serving two five-year terms.
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| Swiss Air Force jet goes missing, search launched Posted: 29 Aug 2016 04:36 PM PDT  The Swiss military has launched a search for a pilot and his plane after a fighter aircraft belonging to the country's air force went missing during a training exercise on Monday. The suspected accident site in the mountainous Alpine region was difficult to access, with bad weather and darkness hampering the search efforts, it added. Swiss Air Force commander Aldo Schellenberg told a media conference he was deeply shocked by the incident.
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| Samarco dam failed due to poor drainage and design: investigation Posted: 29 Aug 2016 04:31 PM PDT  By Marta Nogueira and Stephen Eisenhammer BELO HORIZONTE/RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - The deadly collapse of a tailings dam last November at the Samarco mine, owned by Vale SA and BHP Billiton, was caused by drainage and design flaws, a report into Brazil's worst-ever environmental disaster showed on Monday. Norbert Morgenstern, a geotechnical engineering professor who headed the investigation, repeatedly told reporters he could not answer their questions when quizzed on whether there was negligence or malpractice on the part of the companies involved. A separate police investigation has accused Samarco of willful misconduct, saying the company ignored clear signs the dam was at risk of collapsing.
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| Fight for Syria's Aleppo exposes limits of Russian air power Posted: 29 Aug 2016 04:31 PM PDT  By Maria Tsvetkova and Christian Lowe MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's politically-sensitive and ultimately fruitless decision to launch bombing missions on Syria from Iranian soil has exposed the limits to its air power, leaving Moscow in need of a new strategy to advance its aims. People familiar with Russia's military said Moscow opted for the sorties from Iran - and Tehran agreed to allow them - because they were struggling to achieve their aim of crushing rebels in the city of Aleppo. The gamble failed and rebels fighting their ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Aasad, remain ensconced in parts of Aleppo.
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| Dotcom says extradition appeal to be live-streamed Posted: 29 Aug 2016 04:21 PM PDT  Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom said Tuesday a judge had granted his request to live-stream his appeal to avoid extradition from New Zealand to the United States where he is wanted on video piracy charges. "Breaking News: Judge has granted live streaming! Success!" Dotcom tweeted as his appeal went into its second day. The German national and founder of the Megaupload file-sharing service, who has permanent residency in New Zealand, faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted in the United States of piracy, which US authorities say cost copyright owners hundreds of millions of dollars.
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| Mexico's top police chief out after execution allegations Posted: 29 Aug 2016 04:14 PM PDT  MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's president dismissed the chief of the federal police force Monday, less than two weeks after the country's human rights commission released a scathing report alleging federal police "executed arbitrarily" at least 22 suspected drug cartel members during a raid on a ranch.
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| Insurers call on G20 to phase out fossil fuel subsidies by 2020 Posted: 29 Aug 2016 04:10 PM PDT Insurers with $1.2 trillion under management called on Tuesday for the Group of 20 to set a timetable to phase out subsidies for fossil fuels by 2020 when they meet at a summit in China this weekend. Aviva, Aegon NV and MS Amlin said fossil fuel subsidies were at odds with commitments by G20 nations to combat global warming agreed by almost 200 countries last year at a Paris summit. "Climate change in particular represents the mother of all risks," Aviva CEO Mark Wilson said in a statement. |
| Rooney remains captain, back as forward for England Posted: 29 Aug 2016 03:54 PM PDT  Wayne Rooney will remain as England captain but his midfield experiment with the national team is over, with the Manchester United veteran set to revert to playing as a deep-lying forward under new coach Sam Allardyce.
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| US alarm as Turkey warns Syrian Kurd militia of more strikes Posted: 29 Aug 2016 03:54 PM PDT  Turkey warned Monday it would carry out more strikes on a US-backed Kurdish militia in Syria if it fails to retreat, as Washington said President Barack Obama will meet his Turkish counterpart over the weekend. Turkish forces pressed on with a two-pronged operation inside Syria against Islamic State (IS) jihadists and the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), shelling over a dozen targets.
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| Irish chief Hickey freed pending ticket probe Posted: 29 Aug 2016 03:53 PM PDT  A Brazilian court granted conditional release from jail Monday to top Irish Olympic official Patrick Hickey due to ill health while he is investigated over an alleged ticket scam. Rio de Janeiro Judge Fernando de Almeida agreed in a ruling to "revoke the preventive imprisonment ordered against the patient Patrick Joseph Hickey," but ordered him not to leave Brazil. Hickey, 71, is the highest-profile suspect in an alleged scam to illegally sell tickets to this month's Rio Olympic Games for thousands of dollars.
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| The Latest: Temer denies he would strip workers of rights Posted: 29 Aug 2016 03:52 PM PDT  BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — The Latest on the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff (all times local):
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| Hart set for Torino medical: BBC Posted: 29 Aug 2016 03:48 PM PDT  England goalkeeper Joe Hart looks set to clinch a much-needed loan move from Manchester City before the transfer deadline as he is to undergo a medical at Serie A side Torino according to the BBC. The 29-year-old -- whose hopes of a move to another English club seemingly evaporated when Everton said they were not interested last week -- has been permitted by the Football Association (FA) to temporarily leave the England camp preparing for Sunday's World Cup qualifier with Slovakia. Hart, who has been England's first choice goalkeeper since 2010, has been the most high profile casualty since the arrival at City of Pep Guardiola as manager.
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| Hess evacuates some U.S. Gulf of Mexico staff on storm threat Posted: 29 Aug 2016 03:48 PM PDT HOUSTON (Reuters) - Hess on Monday said it was securing its U.S. Gulf of Mexico facilities and evacuating non-essential personnel as a precaution ahead of Tropical Depression Nine. Other operators in the Gulf of Mexico, including BP, Shell, Anadarko, and BHP Billiton have taken similar measures. The system is expected to be upgraded to a tropical storm by Tuesday, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center. (Reporting by Liz Hampton) |
| VA: Ex-Marine who killed 3 in Baton Rouge did not have PTSD Posted: 29 Aug 2016 03:39 PM PDT WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A former Marine who ambushed and killed three Baton Rouge law enforcement officers last month never saw combat in Iraq, but told doctors he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder because a buddy showed him videos of maimed and decapitated bodies, according to newly released Veterans Health Administration medical records. |
| Honduran teen held by ICE: 'I learned a lot' in detention Posted: 29 Aug 2016 03:37 PM PDT DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — The Honduran teenager who spent nearly seven months in federal custody under threat of deportation says it's difficult to explain what he went through while he was kept away from family and friends in North Carolina. |
| Hart leaves England camp to complete move from Man City Posted: 29 Aug 2016 03:33 PM PDT  BURTON-UPON-TRENT, England (AP) — The English Football Association says goalkeeper Joe Hart has been given permission to leave the England camp, amid speculation he is about to complete a loan move to Italian side Torino.
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| Some 6,500 migrants rescued off Libya: coastguard Posted: 29 Aug 2016 03:22 PM PDT  The Italian coastguard said it had coordinated the rescue on Monday of about 6,500 migrants off of Libya in one of its busiest days of life-saving in recent years. Dramatic images showed migrants wearing life jackets jumping off one of their boats into the Mediterranean and swimming toward rescuers. "The command centre coordinated 40 rescue operations" that included vessels from Italy, humanitarian organisations as well as the EU's border agency Frontex, and "saved 6,500 migrants", the coastguard wrote on Twitter.
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| Brazil judge orders release of IOC member in ticket probe Posted: 29 Aug 2016 03:17 PM PDT RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A Brazilian judge ordered on Monday the release of a high-ranking IOC member who was arrested during the Rio de Janeiro Games in a ticket-scalping probe. |
| Portugal's Guterres still leads race to be UN chief Posted: 29 Aug 2016 03:10 PM PDT  Portugal's former prime minister Antonio Guterres is still the frontrunner to become the next secretary-general of the United Nations following a third straw poll held Monday, diplomats said. Guterres, who served as UN refugee chief for 10 years, received 11 votes of encouragement, three "discourage" votes and one "no opinion" during the informal vote by the 15-member Security Council. While Guterres's ranking dropped slightly in the third straw poll, diplomats said he still held a strong lead in the race to take the helm of the world body.
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| Washington state begins killing wolf pack for preying on livestock Posted: 29 Aug 2016 03:04 PM PDT  Wildlife agents authorized to eradicate a group of 11 wolves for repeated attacks on cattle in Washington state have hunted down and killed six animals from the condemned pack and are searching for the rest, a state game official said on Monday. State biologists fatally shot two members of the so-called Profanity Peak wolf pack from a helicopter on Aug. 5 after confirming five fatal wolf attacks on livestock in that area. Aerial kill teams have since destroyed four more wolves, including a pup, and wildlife agents are looking for the remaining five members of the targeted pack, said Craig Bartlett, a spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Department.
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| Tokyo, Wall St. shares boosted by Fed rate hike talk Posted: 29 Aug 2016 02:58 PM PDT  New York (AFP) - Japanese shares pushed sharply higher and Wall Street got a boost Monday by rising expectations of an interest rate increase this year by the US Federal Reserve.
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| Clashes between Turkey, US-backed Kurds in Syria 'unacceptable': Pentagon Posted: 29 Aug 2016 02:56 PM PDT  Clashes between Turkish forces and units affiliated with a US-backed Kurdish-led alliance in Syria are "unacceptable," the Pentagon said Monday, asking all sides to stand down. "We've called on both sides to not fight with one another, to continue to focus the fight on ISIL," Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group (IS). Turkish forces last week launched a two-pronged operation against IS and Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) inside Syria.
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| North Carolina, Florida menaced as tropical systems churn Posted: 29 Aug 2016 02:51 PM PDT By Letitia Stein TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. forecasters issued a tropical storm warning for coastal North Carolina on Monday, while another system churning in the Gulf of Mexico could make landfall in Florida later in the week. The two systems, still unnamed tropical depressions, were expected to strengthen into tropical storms by Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The North Carolina tropical storm warning came as a system in the Atlantic Ocean, gusting winds around 35 miles per hour (55 km), was expected to pass near the state's Outer Banks region late on Tuesday, then turn quickly out to sea. |
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