| Aid for Syria waits on Turkish border as warring sides bicker Posted: 14 Sep 2016 01:02 PM PDT  By Osman Orsal and John Davison CILVEGOZU, Turkey/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Two convoys of aid for the Syrian city of Aleppo were waiting in no-man's land on Wednesday after crossing the Turkish border, held up by security fears and disagreements between combatants on the third day of a ceasefire. The convoys, each of around 20 trucks carrying mostly food and flour, set off from the Turkish border town of Cilvegozu, 40 km (25 miles) west of Aleppo, on Tuesday but made it little further than the Turkish customs post on the Syrian border. The delay was a sign of the difficulties facing the ceasefire, brokered by the United States and Russia on Friday with the aim of reviving talks on ending Syria's civil war.
|
| Kerry, Lavrov agree Syria truce holding, extend it by 48 hours Posted: 14 Sep 2016 03:45 PM PDT  The United States and Russia agreed that the Syrian cessation of hostilities that began on Monday had largely held and should be extended for another 48 hours despite sporadic violence, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday. The cessation of hostilities, brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday, went into effect on Monday night.
|
| U.S., Israel sign $38 billion military aid package Posted: 14 Sep 2016 04:09 PM PDT  By Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will give Israel $38 billion in military assistance over the next decade, the largest such aid package in U.S. history, under a landmark agreement signed on Wednesday. The deal, whose details were reported by Reuters earlier, will allow Washington's chief Middle East ally to upgrade most of its fighter aircraft, improve its ground forces' mobility and strengthen its missile defense systems, a senior U.S. official said. While the package constitutes the most U.S. military aid ever given to any country, it entails concessions by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to officials on both sides.
|
| U.S. confirms two more freed Guantanamo inmates rejoined militant groups Posted: 14 Sep 2016 03:58 PM PDT  By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In the first six months of 2016, two more militants released from the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have returned to fighting, the U.S. government said on Wednesday. Washington has confirmed that a total of nine people freed from Guantanamo have rejoined militant groups since President Barack Obama took office in 2009, according to a report issued on Tuesday by the Office of Director of National Intelligence, or ODNI. The report said the number of militants freed by the Obama administration whom U.S. agencies "suspect" of having returned to action dropped to 11 from 12 between January and July.
|
| Obama, meeting with Suu Kyi, says U.S. ready to lift Myanmar sanctions Posted: 14 Sep 2016 04:33 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Timothy Mclaughlin WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi called on Wednesday for the lifting of economic sanctions against her country, and President Barack Obama, in their first White House meeting since she became leader, said the United States was ready to do so. "It is the right thing to do in order to ensure that the people of Burma see rewards from a new way of doing business and a new government," Obama said with Suu Kyi beside him in the Oval Office. The trip by Suu Kyi, 71, who like Obama is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, capped a decades-long journey from political prisoner to national leader after her party won a sweeping electoral victory last year.
|
| Brazil's Lula charged as 'top boss' of Petrobras graft scheme Posted: 14 Sep 2016 02:25 PM PDT  By Sergio Spagnuolo CURITIBA, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazilian prosecutors charged ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday with being the "top boss" of a vast corruption scheme at state oil company Petrobras, in a major blow to the leftist hero's hopes of a political comeback. It was the first time that Lula, still Brazil's most popular politician despite corruption accusations against him and his Workers Party, was charged by federal prosecutors for involvement in the political kickbacks scheme at Petroleo Brasileiro , as the company is formally known. Public Prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol told a news conference that the Petrobras scheme had caused an estimated 42 billion real ($12.6 billion) in losses.
|
| UN demands South Sudan cooperate on regional force Posted: 14 Sep 2016 05:37 PM PDT  The UN Security Council on Wednesday urged South Sudan's government to take immediate steps to allow a new regional force to deploy in Juba as it weighed imposing an arms embargo. Following a closed-door meeting, New Zealand Ambassador Gerard van Bohemen, who holds the council presidency, said it was time for "actions, not words" from President Salva Kiir's government. The council voted last month to deploy the 4,000-strong regional protection force (RPF) in Juba, which will be under the command of the UN peacekeeping mission.
|
| Mexican AG's criticized investigative chief resigns Posted: 14 Sep 2016 05:35 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (AP) — The head of the criminal investigation agency for the Attorney General's Office, whose dismissal had been demanded by the families of 43 college students who disappeared two years ago, resigned Wednesday. |
| Czech Republic nips North America 3-2 in World Cup Posted: 14 Sep 2016 05:26 PM PDT  PITTSBURGH (AP) — Matt Murray spent the end of his rookie season helping the Pittsburgh Penguins win the Stanley Cup.
|
| Brazil's Lula charged as 'top boss' of Petrobras graft scheme Posted: 14 Sep 2016 05:23 PM PDT By Sergio Spagnuolo CURITIBA, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazilian prosecutors charged ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday with being the "boss" of a vast corruption scheme at state oil company Petrobras, in a major blow to the leftist hero's hopes of a political comeback. It was the first time that Lula, still Brazil's most popular politician despite corruption accusations against him and his Workers Party, was charged by federal prosecutors for involvement in the political kickbacks scheme at Petroleo Brasileiro , as the company is officially known. Public Prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol told a news conference that Lula will be charged with corruption and money laundering for leading a kickback scheme that caused an estimated 42 billion reais ($12.6 billion) in losses to Petrobras shareholders and tax payers. |
| Facebook post inspires landmark case for migrant workers in Thailand Posted: 14 Sep 2016 05:22 PM PDT By Alisa Tang BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Tun Tun Win and his co-workers from Myanmar thought life was fine at the Thammakaset chicken farm in central Thailand, where they reared hundreds of thousands of birds for export to the European Union. "We thought our employer was a nice guy because he gave us rooms, and we didn't have to pay rent," Tun Tun Win said. "We stayed for free, and we got our money." More than 3 million migrants work in Thailand, the vast majority from neighboring Myanmar, according to the International Organization for Migration. |
| UN says South Sudan arms embargo possible Posted: 14 Sep 2016 05:21 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council called on South Sudan to honor commitments to allow a regional protection force into the country and grant peacekeepers freedom of movement or face a possible arms embargo. |
| World Bank chief Kim heads for 2nd term, as no other nominees Posted: 14 Sep 2016 05:20 PM PDT  World Bank President Jim Yong Kim effectively won a second five-year term after nominations to lead the global development bank closed with no other candidates proposed. The World Bank executive board said in a statement that, following official procedures, it would formally meet with Kim as a candidate "with the expectation of completing the selection process by the 2016 Annual Meetings," which take place on October 7-9. Kim, 56, a Korean-American medical doctor who has focused the World Bank on programs to reduce extreme poverty, earned solid backing for a second term from the United States, France, Germany, China, and other major shareholders of the bank.
|
| 'Lack of options' force 4 million to flee from one conflict to another: report Posted: 14 Sep 2016 05:20 PM PDT  By Lin Taylor LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - For Ahmad al-Rashid, fleeing from his home in Aleppo, northern Syria, to Iraq in 2013 was the safest choice he had. "[Iraq] itself was in a crisis, it got worse and worse. Syria and Iraq were the same - so being a refugee in Iraq was just like being in Aleppo," he said at a media briefing organized by aid group Oxfam UK.
|
| North Korea ramps up uranium enrichment, enough for six nuclear bombs a year: experts Posted: 14 Sep 2016 05:02 PM PDT  By Jack Kim and James Pearson SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea will have enough material for about 20 nuclear bombs by the end of this year, with ramped-up uranium enrichment facilities and an existing stockpile of plutonium, according to new assessments by weapons experts. The North has evaded a decade of U.N. sanctions to develop the uranium enrichment process, enabling it to run an effectively self-sufficient nuclear program that is capable of producing around six nuclear bombs a year, they said. North Korea has an abundance of uranium reserves and has been working covertly for well over a decade on a project to enrich the material to weapons-grade level, the experts say.
|
| Colombia top court: State responsible for satirist's murder Posted: 14 Sep 2016 04:38 PM PDT BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia's top administrative court has ruled the state was responsible for the murder of a beloved satirist and peacemaker more than a decade ago. |
| Hunger-striking ex-Gitmo prisoner in Uruguay in 'coma' Posted: 14 Sep 2016 04:34 PM PDT  A former inmate at the US Guantanamo military prison who was resettled in Uruguay has slipped into a coma after a lengthy hunger strike, a medical worker told AFP Wednesday. Jihad Diyab, a 45-year-old Syrian, has been in and out of the hospital in Montevideo since launching a hunger strike more than three weeks ago to press his demand to be reunited with his family in Turkey. "He is in a light coma, we are hydrating him, he was very dehydrated," said Julia Galzerano, a physician who is part of the medical team taking care of Diyab at his apartment in the capital, said in a telephone interview.
|
| Dolphins know they need to improve in AFC East play Posted: 14 Sep 2016 04:32 PM PDT  DAVIE, Fla. (AP) — To become a playoff contender, the Miami Dolphins know they need to fare better within their division.
|
| IMF board approves $1 billion loan disbursement to Ukraine Posted: 14 Sep 2016 04:20 PM PDT  By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund said its board on Wednesday approved a long-awaited loan disbursement to Ukraine of about $1 billion after a review of the country's bailout program. The IMF has agreed to pump $17.5 billion into Ukraine's economy in a four-year bailout, releasing the funds in installments subject to the government making progress on economic and anti-corruption reforms. To date, Ukraine has received about $7.62 billion in the program launched in March 2015.
|
| IMF approves $1 billion in Ukraine aid after long delay Posted: 14 Sep 2016 04:07 PM PDT  The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday resumed its bailout of war-torn Ukraine, approving disbursement of $1 billion from an aid package that had been held up in part on corruption concerns. Kiev had been waiting for the resumption of lending since August of last year in a $17.5 billion program intended to help stabilize the country after the 2014 ouster of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych. A message posted to the official Twitter account of Ukraine's current president, Petro Poroshenko, welcomed the news.
|
| California to end breeding of captive killer whales Posted: 14 Sep 2016 04:06 PM PDT  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - (Yesterday's story corrected to show in paragraph 6 that three marine mammals died within four months in late 2015 and early 2016 instead of three orcas died at SeaWorld's San Antonio park within a six-month span in 2015) California will no longer allow the breeding of captive killer whales such as those used in SeaWorld's famous "Shamu" shows under a measure signed on Tuesday by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown. The move comes months after the embattled entertainment company pledged to stop breeding orcas, or killer whales, in captivity, amid criticism by animal rights groups and negative publicity linked to the documentary film "Blackfish." The company pledged last year to replace its signature Shamu killer whale shows in San Diego with modified presentations of the animals that focused on conservation.
|
| Nearly half of Americans ‘very concerned’ about Clinton emails: Reuters/Ipsos poll Posted: 14 Sep 2016 04:02 PM PDT  By Chris Kahn NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nearly half of American adults are "very concerned" about two issues that have hounded Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign this year: her use of a private email server to conduct government business and donations to her family's charitable foundation, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Wednesday. During that time, she used an unauthorized private email server to conduct government business - something that the Federal Bureau of Investigation earlier this summer criticized as "extremely careless." The Clinton Foundation's acceptance of donations from foreign governments and corporations while Clinton herself was secretary of state has drawn criticism about possible conflicts of interest.
|
| No challengers to Kim emerge from World Bank leader nominations Posted: 14 Sep 2016 03:56 PM PDT  Nominations for the World Bank's next leader have closed with current president Jim Yong Kim the only candidate nominated, the bank said on Wednesday, virtually guaranteeing him another five-year term. The Washington-based multilateral lender said that executive directors will meet with Kim in accordance with previously announced selection procedures, with the expectation that the process will be completed by the time of the Oct. 3-9 annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
|
| Higuain kept quiet as Juventus held 0-0 by Sevilla Posted: 14 Sep 2016 03:37 PM PDT  TURIN, Italy (AP) — Juventus star striker Gonzalo Higuain was largely anonymous as his new side was held to a disappointing 0-0 draw by Sevilla in their opening group match in the Champions League on Wednesday.
|
| Switzerland leads Women's World Amateur Team Championships Posted: 14 Sep 2016 03:34 PM PDT RIVIERA MAYA, Mexico (AP) — Sisters Morgane and Kim Metraux combined for a 7-under 137 on Wednesday to give Switzerland a one-stroke lead over South Korea in the Women's World Amateur Team Championships . |
| Ukraine finance minister: new IMF loan will help service debts Posted: 14 Sep 2016 03:31 PM PDT KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk said on Thursday that a new loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will help Ukraine service its debts and keep the hryvnia currency and financial system stable. He also said the IMF loan tranche, worth $1 billion, is a sign of confidence in the Ukrainian government. (Reporting by Natalia Zinets; writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Chris Reese) |
| Madrid avoids setback as Aguero scores hat trick for City Posted: 14 Sep 2016 03:27 PM PDT  PARIS (AP) — Trailing until the 89th minute against Sporting Lisbon, Real Madrid was reminded that becoming the first club to retain the trophy in the Champions League era won't be an easy task.
|
| Congo government strikes deal with some opponents on elections sequence Posted: 14 Sep 2016 03:26 PM PDT  The compromise came just two days after opposition leaders walked out of the talks on the timing of the presidential election, which was due to happen in November but which authorities say cannot be held before July. The opposition had insisted the presidential election be the next poll held. The government said local elections should take place first, likely further delaying the presidential vote.
|
| Aguero hat trick leads City to 4-0 win over Moenchengladbach Posted: 14 Sep 2016 03:24 PM PDT  MANCHESTER, England (AP) — A 24-hour delay couldn't put prolific Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero off his stride in the Champions League on Wednesday.
|
| US will mix Tortorella hockey with speed, skill at World Cup Posted: 14 Sep 2016 03:07 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — John Tortorella stood in the middle of the ice and bellowed at the top of his lungs: "Too slow! We're too slow. Move the puck and skate."
|
| Aligned with Russia in Syria, Pentagon awkwardly treads on new terrain Posted: 14 Sep 2016 03:05 PM PDT  By Phil Stewart and Yeganeh Torbati WASHINGTON (Reuters) - For Pentagon officers who cut their teeth during the Cold War, the prospect of U.S. battlefield cooperation with Russia in Syria is not only uncomfortable. Against that background, the reactions of U.S. military officials range from caution to outright skepticism over a Geneva-based "joint integration center" that may soon bring together American and Russian militaries to discuss shared targets for the first time since World War Two. There is a trust deficit with the Russians," acknowledged General Joseph Votel, head of the U.S. military's Central Command, even as he voiced support for the initiative at a forum on Wednesday.
|
| Ex-England cricketer Hick named batting coach for Australia Posted: 14 Sep 2016 03:00 PM PDT MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Former England test cricketer Graeme Hick has been appointed batting coach for the Australian team. |
| World Cup of Hockey goaltending pictures coming into focus Posted: 14 Sep 2016 02:57 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Jonathan Quick's sublime play in a Team USA jersey outweighed some recent struggles with the Los Angeles Kings as coach John Tortorella named him the starting goaltender going into the World Cup of Hockey.
|
| Ukraine's Poroshenko welcomes release of more IMF aid Posted: 14 Sep 2016 02:54 PM PDT Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday welcomed a decision by the International Monetary Fund to release additional aid worth $1 billion to Kiev, saying it showed that the world recognizes that Ukraine was carrying out reforms. The IMF's decision would also help keep the Ukrainian hryvnia currency stable and maintain macroeconomic stabilization, Poroshenko said, adding that a Russian attempt to undermine the IMF's decision had failed. "The positive decision by the IMF is evidence that the world recognizes that reforms are happening in Ukraine, that real and positive changes are happening in Ukraine, and that the country is moving in the right direction," Poroshenko said in a statement. |
| Stocks shed early gain as energy and consumer companies fall Posted: 14 Sep 2016 02:51 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks surrendered early gains and finished mostly lower Wednesday as energy companies skidded with the price of oil. Apple led technology companies higher. The mixed finish came after three days of big, erratic moves.
|
| Ronaldo and Morata save Madrid in Champions League opener Posted: 14 Sep 2016 02:49 PM PDT  MADRID (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata scored very late goals as Real Madrid came from behind to beat Sporting Lisbon 2-1 and avoid starting the defense of its Champions League title with a shock defeat on Wednesday.
|
| Palestinian aid crucial for stability: World Bank Posted: 14 Sep 2016 02:48 PM PDT  The World Bank on Thursday said that international donor support is a must to maintain Palestinian budget-cutting achievements and stave off crisis. It said in a report that over the past 10 years the Palestinian Authority had slashed its deficit by an amount equal to 15 percent of its Gross Domestic Product, "an achievement rarely seen in other places around the world". "In the short term, donor support and in particular budget support is essential to avoid a fiscal crisis leading to wider economic problems," the report said.
|
| Monaco beats Tottenham 2-1 at Wembley in Champions League Posted: 14 Sep 2016 02:46 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — Tottenham's Champions League relocation to Wembley Stadium got off to a bad start with a 2-1 loss to in-form Monaco on Wednesday.
|
