| Western-backed coalition under pressure over Yemen raid Posted: 09 Oct 2016 03:52 PM PDT  By William Maclean DUBAI (Reuters) - An air strike on a funeral gathering, widely blamed on Saudi-led warplanes, poses more trouble for a Western-backed Arab campaign against Yemen's Houthis that has long been criticized for civilian losses. The White House announced an immediate review of Washington's support for the 18-month-old military push after planes hit mourners at a community hall in the capital, Sanaa, on Saturday, killing 140 people, according to one U.N. estimate and 82 according to the Houthis. The statement from Riyadh's main ally, noting for the second time in as many months that U.S. support was not "a blank check", sets up an awkward test of a Saudi-U.S. partnership already strained by differences over wars in other Arab lands.
|
| Exclusive: Afghan Taliban leader taught, preached in Pakistan, despite government vow to crack down Posted: 09 Oct 2016 04:02 PM PDT  By Mehreen Zahra-Malik KUCHLAK, Pakistan (Reuters) - For 15 years until his sudden disappearance in May, the new leader of the Afghan Taliban insurgency openly taught and preached at the Al Haaj mosque in a dusty town in southwestern Pakistan, associates and students told Reuters. Details of Haibatullah Akhundzada's life in Kuchlak, near the city of Quetta, have not previously been reported, and could put further pressure on Pakistan to do more to crack down on militants openly living there. The row over how far Islamabad will go to get rid of jihadi fighters and leaders has hurt relations between Pakistan and Washington, in part because nearly 10,000 American soldiers are in Afghanistan supporting the war against insurgents.
|
| Palestinian kills two people in Jerusalem, then shot dead: police Posted: 09 Oct 2016 05:23 AM PDT  A Palestinian who was due to begin a prison term in Israel next week went on a shooting spree on Sunday, killing a pedestrian and a police officer in Jerusalem before being shot dead by police, medical and law enforcement officials said. The incident, near Israel's national police headquarters, began when shots were fired from a vehicle at people waiting at a tram stop, a police spokeswoman said. Medical officials said six people were wounded in the attack, and that two of them, a woman and a police officer, died in hospital.
|
| Syrian government forces recapture more territory from rebels in Hama: monitor Posted: 09 Oct 2016 11:04 AM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and their allies recaptured more territory from rebels in Hama province in the west on Sunday, building on advances they have made in the last two days, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. They seized Maan and al-Kabariya, two villages in rural northern Hama, which the insurgents took control of last month, the British-based monitoring group reported. (Reporting by John Davison; Editing by Louise Ireland)
|
| Russia says U.S. actions threaten its national security Posted: 09 Oct 2016 07:23 AM PDT  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday he had detected increasing U.S. hostility towards Moscow and complained about what he said was a series of aggressive U.S. steps that threatened Russia's national security. In an interview with Russian state TV likely to worsen already poor relations with Washington, Lavrov made it clear he blamed the Obama administration for what he described as a sharp deterioration in U.S.-Russia ties. "We have witnessed a fundamental change of circumstances when it comes to the aggressive Russophobia that now lies at the heart of U.S. policy towards Russia," Lavrov told Russian state TV's First Channel.
|
| Thai king's condition unstable after hemodialysis treatment -palace Posted: 09 Oct 2016 05:20 PM PDT  Thailand's 88-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest reigning monarch, is in an unstable condition after receiving hemodialysis treatment, the palace said in a statement late on Sunday. News about the king's health is closely monitored in Thailand, where King Bhumibol is deeply revered. The king has been treated for various ailments over the past year at Bangkok's Siriraj Hospital - his home for much of the past year - and was last seen in public on Jan. 11, when he spent several hours visiting his palace in the Thai capital.
|
| Factbox: Some 1.6 million still powerless in U.S. Southeast after hurricane Posted: 09 Oct 2016 05:37 PM PDT The number of homes and businesses without power after Hurricane Matthew pummeled the U.S. Southeast's Atlantic coast over the weekend dropped to almost 1.6 million by Sunday night after the storm moved out to sea, according to local electric companies. The hardest hit utility was NextEra Energy Inc's FPL power company in Florida, which reported 959,000 customers affected by the storm. |
| 18 killed in PKK car bomb in southeast Turkey; 27 wounded Posted: 09 Oct 2016 05:27 PM PDT  ISTANBUL (AP) — Kurdish militants detonated a car bomb Sunday outside a military checkpoint in southeast Turkey, killing ten soldiers and eight civilians, the prime minister said. Turkey immediately launched a military operation against the rebels in response.
|
| Leading Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda died at 90 Posted: 09 Oct 2016 05:22 PM PDT  WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's leading filmmaker Andrzej Wajda, whose career maneuvering between a repressive communist government and an audience yearning for freedom won him international recognition and an honorary Oscar, has died. He was 90.
|
| Colombia's Santos to donate Nobel Prize money to victims Posted: 09 Oct 2016 05:19 PM PDT  BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — President Juan Manuel Santos says he'll donate almost $1 million in Nobel Peace Prize money to the victims of Colombia's half-century conflict.
|
| Thailand extends cash help for babies born in poverty amid IQ fears Posted: 09 Oct 2016 05:12 PM PDT By Alisa Tang SAMUT SONGKHRAM, Thailand (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - After the birth of her second son six months ago, Narinthip Pommarin stopped work to focus on her boys but soon found her husband's sporadic $12-a-day roofing jobs could not cover their needs. Then a friend suggested Narinthip sign her baby Ang Bao up for Thailand's new child support grant providing 400 baht ($12) a month. "It's not a lot, but it helps," Narinthip said, sitting in the trash-strewn alley outside her home, tugging a rope to rock Ang Bao to sleep in a hammock. |
| World is failing former Yazidi sex slaves: Amnesty International Posted: 09 Oct 2016 05:07 PM PDT By Emma Batha LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Yazidi women and girls who survived being held as sex slaves by Islamic State urgently need better care and support to recover from the horrific abuse they suffered in captivity, which has led some to attempt suicide, Amnesty International said on Monday. Islamic State (IS) militants, who control a swathe of Iraq and Syria, have killed or enslaved thousands of Yazidis since overrunning the town of Sinjar in northern Iraq in August 2014. |
| Pique says he will leave Spain national team after 2018 WCup Posted: 09 Oct 2016 05:00 PM PDT  MADRID (AP) — Gerard Pique says the 2018 World Cup in Russia will be his final tournament with Spain because he feels he is not wanted in the national team.
|
| The Latest: Woodstock vet: Desert Trip is not like 1969 show Posted: 09 Oct 2016 04:41 PM PDT  INDIO, Calif. (AP) — The latest on the Desert Trip music festival in Indio, California, which features six legendary acts over three days: the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Roger Waters and the Who. It's the first time ever they have all performed at the same event (all times local):
|
| Report says Mexico state officials ignored massacre Posted: 09 Oct 2016 04:34 PM PDT  MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican drug gang bosses furious at suspected turncoats sent commandos aided by local police to seize dozens — perhaps hundreds — of people, murder them and dispose of their bodies in a town near the Texas border, yet state and federal officials ignored the massacre for years, according to a government-backed report released Sunday.
|
| Gabonese doctor with 'daming report' on poll unrest arrested Posted: 09 Oct 2016 04:34 PM PDT  Violence erupted in Gabon after President Ali Bongo was declared the winner with a wafer-thin majority in the August 27 vote. Defeated presidential candidate Jean Ping filed a legal challenge but the country's top court dismissed opposition claims of vote fraud and upheld Bongo's win.
|
| Car bomb attack kills 18 at Turkish military checkpoint Posted: 09 Oct 2016 04:31 PM PDT  Eighteen people were killed Sunday when a van packed with five tonnes of explosives blew up in Turkey's restive southeast, the prime minister said, in an attack blamed on Kurdish militants. The bombing, which killed 10 soldiers and eight civilians, was one of the deadliest attacks on Turkish security forces since the attempted coup of July 15 when a rogue military faction tried to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "The attack was perpetrated by a suicide bomber who detonated a van (packed) with five tonnes of explosives," Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told a news conference in Istanbul.
|
| Pope sends US church message with cardinal choices Posted: 09 Oct 2016 04:07 PM PDT  VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis named 17 new cardinals Sunday, adding like-minded prelates from dioceses big and small to the club who will elect the next pope. Three were Americans in a clear signal to the conservative U.S. church hierarchy that Francis wants moderate pastors at the helm of the U.S. church.
|
| North Carolina floodwaters, death toll rise as Matthew heads to sea Posted: 09 Oct 2016 03:58 PM PDT  By Judy Royal CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. (Reuters) - Raging North Carolina rivers still rising after Hurricane Matthew threaten up to a week more of death and destruction, the state's governor said on Sunday as the storm's remnant headed out to sea, leaving a path of carnage from the Caribbean up the U.S. Southeast coast. Matthew, the most powerful Atlantic storm since 2007, was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone on Sunday after its rampage through the Caribbean killed nearly 900 people in Haiti. With five people reported missing and rivers rising, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory said he expected more deaths.
|
| Thousands of armed Yemeni protesters call for investigation into wake bombing Posted: 09 Oct 2016 03:52 PM PDT By Mohammed Ghobari SANAA (Reuters) - Thousands of Yemenis, many of them armed, gathered at the United Nations headquarters in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Sunday calling for an international investigation into an air strike on a wake this weekend that was widely blamed on Saudi-led forces. The attack has been condemned by the U.N., the European Union and the United States. One Sanaa resident, Ahmed Abu Taleb, described his frantic search for a relative. |
| Canada demands probe of Yemen funeral air strike Posted: 09 Oct 2016 03:42 PM PDT  Canada called Sunday for a prompt investigation into the air strikes that killed more than 140 people and wounded hundreds of others at a funeral ceremony in Yemen's capital. "The Saudi-led coalition must move forward now on its commitment to investigate this incident," Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion said in a statement condemning the attack. The Huthis swept into Sanaa in September 2014 and advanced across much of Yemen, forcing the internationally recognized government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee.
|
| New incidents defy Samsung's efforts to end smartphone woes Posted: 09 Oct 2016 03:36 PM PDT  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Samsung Electronics seemed to have its smartphone troubles under control — until authorities had to evacuate a Southwest Airlines flight in Kentucky last week for an incident that involved a replacement phone.
|
| Thousands march in Yemen after over 140 killed in airstrike Posted: 09 Oct 2016 03:34 PM PDT  SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Thousands of Yemenis marched in the capital Sanaa on Sunday to protest an airstrike a day earlier by the U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition fighting Shiite Houthi rebels, one of the deadliest single attacks in the impoverished Arab country's relentless civil war.
|
| Before debate, Trump defies calls to quit over vulgar video Posted: 09 Oct 2016 03:29 PM PDT  By Richard Cowan and Steve Holland WASHINGTON/ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - Republican Donald Trump on Sunday struck a defiant tone in the face of calls for him to abandon the U.S. presidential race, attacking prominent Republicans and saying he had "tremendous support" despite a storm over his vulgar comments about women. On a day in which Trump was due to debate Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton a month ahead of the Nov. 8 election, Trump took to social media to try to squelch any speculation that he could leave the race. Thank you," Trump wrote on Twitter.
|
| Italy wins late to keep pace with Spain in Group G Posted: 09 Oct 2016 03:19 PM PDT  SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — Italy kept Spain from opening a significant advantage atop Group G by scoring two late goals and salvaging a 3-2 win at Macedonia on Sunday in European qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.
|
| US forces increasing Iraq footprint ahead of Mosul operation Posted: 09 Oct 2016 03:19 PM PDT  CAMP SWIFT, Iraq (AP) — Thirteen years ago, Chase Snow's father was among the American troops who moved into the Iraqi city of Mosul during the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Now Snow, a U.S. Army specialist, is deployed in Iraq to help in the fight to retake the city from the Islamic State group.
|
| Santos to donate Nobel prize money to Colombia conflict victims Posted: 09 Oct 2016 03:07 PM PDT  Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced Sunday that he would donate his $925,000 in Nobel Peace Prize money to victims of the conflict that has roiled his country for half a century. The Colombia leader was speaking after a religious ceremony to dozens of victims of the armed conflict, where 79 people were killed in 2002 when FARC fighters threw an explosive device at a church where villagers were sheltering from fighting between guerrillas and paramilitary forces.
|
| Iceland building off Euro 2016 success in WCup qualifying Posted: 09 Oct 2016 03:07 PM PDT  Iceland is showing that its run to the European Championship quarterfinals was no fluke.
|
| Nigeria detains judges, seizes assets in graft probe Posted: 09 Oct 2016 03:02 PM PDT  Nigeria's secret police seized hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and assets in a series of anti-corruption raids targeting senior judges, drawing sharp condemnation Sunday from the bar association and rights groups. The raids prompted the Nigerian Bar Association to declare a state of emergency, denouncing the "Gestapo-style" operation and prompting President Muhammadu Buhari's spokesman to defend the operation. In a statement, the Department of State Services (DSS) said it had seized $800,000 (715,000 euros) in cash during the operation which was launched on the basis of "allegations of corruption and professional misconduct" by a number of judges.
|
| Ukraine beats nomadic Kosovo 3-0 to end winless run Posted: 09 Oct 2016 02:50 PM PDT  KRAKOW, Poland (AP) — It's a tough life on the road for new FIFA member Kosovo.
|
| Iwobi, Iheanacho score as Nigeria triumph in World Cup Posted: 09 Oct 2016 02:48 PM PDT  Zambia dominated the second half and veteran striker Collins Mbesuma set up a tense finish by halving the deficit 19 minutes from time. The teams are in Group B which also contains three 2014 World Cup qualifiers in Algeria, Cameroon and Nigeria.
|
| Former Mali rebel leader killed in mine explosion Posted: 09 Oct 2016 02:45 PM PDT  A leader of a former rebel group in northern Mali was killed by a mine explosion in Kidal in the country's north, military and ex-rebel sources said Sunday. Cheikh Ag Aoussa's car "was hit by a mine and he died on the spot" after he left the office of the UN's MINUSMA mission on Saturday, according to an African military source who is part of the deployment. The former rebel Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), which controls Kidal, confirmed his death and called for an "independent inquiry into this odious and clearly premeditated attack".
|
| Southgate 'brave enough to make big calls' Posted: 09 Oct 2016 02:44 PM PDT  England interim manager Gareth Southgate has declared he has the necessary courage to make contentious decisions, amid clamour for him to drop under-performing captain Wayne Rooney. Rooney was booed by some fans during England's 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Malta on Saturday and former national team captain Alan Shearer has led calls for him to be dropped. Southgate said he was "very pleased" with Rooney's performance, but cited his time as manager of Middlesbrough, when he had to sack members of staff, as proof of his ability to make tough calls.
|
| Farrell set for Saracens return Posted: 09 Oct 2016 02:38 PM PDT  English and European champions Saracens beat Wasps 30-14 on Sunday and then received a further boost when it was revealed that England goalkicker Owen Farrell is set to return from injury. Saracens are optimistic Farrell will make his first appearance of the season when they face French club Toulon in the European Champions Cup this coming Saturday. Back and hip injuries have sidelined Farrell but he has been taking part in kicking training ahead of England's end-of-year internationals at Twickenham, which start with a clash against South Africa on November 12.
|
| Angry anti-Saudi protest in Sanaa after funeral carnage Posted: 09 Oct 2016 02:28 PM PDT  Thousands of Yemenis demonstrated in the capital Sanaa on Sunday to vent anger at Riyadh, head of a coalition accused of carrying out air strikes that killed at least 140 people at a funeral. The protesters gathered outside UN offices in Sanaa and chanted "Death to Al-Saud," the Saudi royal family. The rally, dubbed the "Volcano of Rage", came a day after bombs hit a funeral ceremony in the capital, in one of the deadliest air strikes since the Saudi-led coalition intervened against Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen in March 2015.
|
| Display of rare items marks 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Posted: 09 Oct 2016 02:19 PM PDT  NATICK, Mass. (AP) — President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared it a "date which will live in infamy" — and three-quarters of a century later, relics from that audacious attack still conjure strong emotions.
|
