| Iraqi Kurds claim capture of town in advance on Mosul Posted: 23 Oct 2016 08:42 AM PDT  By Saif Hameed and Babak Dehghanpisheh ERBIL (Reuters) - Kurdish fighters said they had taken the town of Bashiqa near Mosul from Islamic State on Sunday as coalition forces pressed their offensive against the jihadists' last stronghold in Iraq. Masoud Barzani, President of the Iraqi Kurdish region, told U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter that the Kurds had succeeded in liberating Bashiqa from Islamic State.
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| Modi sees election danger in India's 'Dalit Queen' Posted: 23 Oct 2016 04:09 PM PDT  By Tommy Wilkes and Rupam Jain LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) - When Amit Shah, president of Narendra Modi's ruling party, meets with the Indian prime minister, he is sometimes asked a question he struggles to answer: "What is behenji thinking?" By "behenji", or "older sister", Modi means Mayawati, the enigmatic politician and former ruler of India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh. Modi's keen interest in what the 60-year-old is up to reflects concern about his political prospects, amid an economic recovery that many poor Indians have yet to feel and rising social tensions among sizeable minority communities. With a near-devotional following from tens of millions of people who, like her, belong to the bottom rung of India's social hierarchy, Mayawati is emerging as Modi's chief challenger in a key state election set for early next year.
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| Venezuela congress presses for Maduro trial in rowdy session Posted: 23 Oct 2016 03:15 PM PDT  By Alexandra Ulmer and Deisy Buitrago CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's opposition-led National Assembly in a rowdy session on Sunday pressed to put Nicolas Maduro on trial for violating democracy, days after authorities nixed a recall referendum against the unpopular leftist president. The measure is unlikely to get traction as the government and the Supreme Court have systematically undermined the legislature on grounds it is illegitimate until it removes three lawmakers accused of vote-buying. "It is a political and legal trial against President Nicolas Maduro to see what responsibility he has in the constitutional rupture that has broken democracy, human rights, and the future of the country," said opposition majority leader Julio Borges during a special congressional meeting.
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| Suicide car bomb rocks Somali capital: police Posted: 23 Oct 2016 10:31 AM PDT MOGADISHU (Reuters) - At least one person died and two others were injured in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Sunday when a car exploded near a camp for displaced people, police said. "We believe it was a suicide car bomb. Its driver detonated the bomb in his car," police officer Ibrahim Elmi told Reuters. The blast was in Mogadishu's Bondeere district, near a site where hundreds of people displaced by fighting elsewhere in the anarchic country are being temporarily sheltered. ... |
| UK PM to offer Scotland, Wales, North Ireland talks with Brexit minister Posted: 23 Oct 2016 04:24 PM PDT  Representatives of the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish governments will get a chance to tell Brexit minister David Davis how they hope Britain's future relationship with the EU will work, under plans the government announced on Monday. At a meeting on Monday, Prime Minister Theresa May will offer the leaders of the three devolved governments, which have varying degrees of autonomy, formal discussions on Brexit at least twice before the end of the year, her office said. "The country is facing a negotiation of tremendous importance and it is imperative that the devolved administrations play their part in making it work," May said in a statement her office released before the meeting.
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| Fate of child migrants uncertain before France demolishes Jungle camp Posted: 23 Oct 2016 10:21 AM PDT  By Matthias Blamont CALAIS, France (Reuters) - Aid workers accused France and Britain on Sunday of failing more than 1,300 unaccompanied child migrants whose future remained uncertain just a day before the French government begins dismantling the filthy camp where they are holed up. Charities operating in the makeshift camp dubbed the "Jungle" near Calais have criticized the slow pace at which British and French officials have processed the papers of children fleeing countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Eritrea. The U.K. government has prioritized children and youths who can claim family ties in Britain and on Friday a French Interior Ministry official said they were still negotiating over hundreds more with no such connections.
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| Clinton looks to consolidate lead over Trump Posted: 23 Oct 2016 05:41 PM PDT  With just over two weeks to go before Americans vote for a new president, Hillary Clinton -- who has widened her lead over Donald Trump -- is stepping up her efforts in key battleground states to consolidate her lead. The Democratic former secretary of state, who is vying to be America's first female president, leads the Republican real estate mogul among likely voters by 50 percent to 38 percent, according to a national ABC News poll. "We are behind," Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway admitted Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," nevertheless insisting that the race was not over.
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| Venezuelan Congress declares that Maduro has staged a coup Posted: 23 Oct 2016 05:37 PM PDT  CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's Congress on Sunday declared that the government had staged a coup by blocking a drive to recall President Nicolas Maduro in a raucous legislative session that was interrupted when his supporters stormed the chamber.
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| 'Real-life Cinderella' film delves into plight of Hong Kong maids Posted: 23 Oct 2016 05:07 PM PDT By Beh Lih Yi JAKARTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Cyril Goliava cut an elegant figure in her yellow evening gown as she won a beauty pageant in Hong Kong, smiling to cheers from the crowd as she was presented with a tiara and trophy. Six days of stressful work, I'll be eating alone again and a full day of a repetitive job." The story of Goliava, a Filipina domestic helper, and her fellow workers is the subject of a new documentary that seeks to shatter stereotypes about the millions of women employed in households across the world. Directed by filmmaker Baby Ruth Villarama, "Sunday Beauty Queen" follows five domestic workers as they gear up for the annual Miss Philippines Tourism Hong Kong, a pageant organized by the maids in the Asian financial hub since 2008. |
| Mourinho, Conte keep mum over touchline spat Posted: 23 Oct 2016 04:52 PM PDT  Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho and Chelsea counterpart Antonio Conte refused to divulge the content of a terse touchline exchange between them after the London club's 4-0 win. Prior to walking down the tunnel following Sunday's game, stony-faced former Chelsea manager Mourinho cupped Conte's head and spent a good while whispering in the Italian's left ear. Pitch-side microphones suggested Mourinho had accused Conte, in Italian, of trying to "humiliate" his side by urging the home fans to make more noise, but the United manager refused to go into detail.
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| Guardiola gives Manchester City dressing down after Saints draw Posted: 23 Oct 2016 04:44 PM PDT  Pep Guardiola kept his Manchester City players in the dressing room for nearly an hour after a 1-1 draw with Southampton meant the club had now gone five games without a victory despite the result taking them back to the top of the Premier League. "The red wine was good and I took a little bit longer with my glass," joked Guardiola, who has also seen his team draw at Celtic and be beaten 4-0 away to former club Barcelona during their current run, as he spoke to reporters following Sunday's stalemate.
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| Suspended Wallaby forward Mumm to miss Wales Test Posted: 23 Oct 2016 04:30 PM PDT  Wallabies flanker Dean Mumm has been suspended for one match after striking All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick in Saturday's Test in Auckland as Australian coach Michael Cheika blamed the New Zealander for the incident. The punishment, handed down Monday, means Mumm will miss the opening game of their northern hemisphere tour against Wales in Cardiff on November 5. Cheika, who launched into an extraordinary outburst after their 37-10 defeat about a perceived lack of respect by the All Blacks, defended Mumm before the hearing, saying Retallick was not an innocent bystander.
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| Britsh PM seeks to unite first ministers over Brexit plans Posted: 23 Oct 2016 04:27 PM PDT  British Prime Minister Theresa May will on Monday meet the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in London, where she will face calls for each region to vote on the government's Brexit plans. The meeting will see Britain's decision to leave the EU take centre stage, ahead of the formal negotiations with Brussels which are expected to begin next year. May will meet with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Welsh FM Carwyn Jones and Northern Irish FM Arlene Foster and her deputy Martin McGuinness.
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| Surfer is third Australian shark attack victim in a month Posted: 23 Oct 2016 04:23 PM PDT SYDNEY (AP) — A surfer sustained minor injuries on Monday in the third shark attack off New South Wales state north of Sydney in a month, a witness said. |
| Mumm banned 1 test for foul play in loss to New Zealand Posted: 23 Oct 2016 04:13 PM PDT SYDNEY (AP) — Australia backrower Dean Mumm will miss the Nov. 5 test against Wales after being banned for one match for foul play in the weekend loss to New Zealand. |
| Jungle migrants urged to 'give up British dream' Posted: 23 Oct 2016 04:07 PM PDT  On the eve of the demolition of the Calais "Jungle" camp, French officials on Sunday handed out flyers informing migrants of the camp's imminent closure and urging them to abandon their dreams of reaching Britain. The camp has strained relations between France and Britain and caused tensions with locals in Calais. Each night, migrants try to get past police to try to climb aboard trucks heading to the port -- a perilous venture responsible for most of the 33 migrant deaths in the Calais region since 2015.
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| Fighting shakes Aleppo as ceasefire expires Posted: 23 Oct 2016 03:50 PM PDT  Clashes and air strikes shook the Syrian city of Aleppo on Sunday, leaving three civilians dead as heavy fighting resumed after the end of a three-day ceasefire declared by government ally Russia. The unilateral ceasefire ended without any evacuations by the UN, which had hoped to bring wounded civilians out of the rebel-held east and deliver aid after weeks of government bombardment and a three-month siege.
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| Center-right opposition claims victory in Lithuania vote, to start coalition talks Posted: 23 Oct 2016 03:48 PM PDT  Lithuania's center-right opposition Peasants and Greens party declared victory after a second round of voting in a general election on Sunday and said it would start negotiations with the Homeland Union and Social Democrats over forming a coalition government. The Peasants and Greens won 54 seats in the 141-member parliament, making it the biggest party, results published by the Lithuanian election commission showed. "Our government will be transparent, responsible, professional and resolute," Saulius Skvernelis, the man who led the party's election campaign and is now its candidate to be the next prime minister, told Reuters.
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| Border mass aims to bring attention to immigrants Posted: 23 Oct 2016 03:44 PM PDT NOGALES, Ariz. (AP) — The representative of Pope Francis in the U.S. led a cross-border mass on Sunday in an effort to bring awareness to the plight of immigrants and refugees. |
| Russia oil minister signals cooperation with Saudis on price Posted: 23 Oct 2016 03:44 PM PDT CAIRO (AP) — Russia's oil minister signaled possible cooperation with Saudi Arabia at a meeting with his Gulf Arab counterparts in Riyadh on Sunday, as the kingdom seeks to convince major oil producing countries to cut production in order to increase prices. |
| Agrarian newcomers claim victory in Lithuanian election Posted: 23 Oct 2016 03:33 PM PDT  VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Lithuania's political newcomers, representing an agrarian union, claimed victory after Sunday's runoff in parliamentary elections as voters turned their backs on the ruling Social Democrats, blamed for being unable to revive a sluggish economy and held responsible for a sharp rise in prices following the adoption of the euro.
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| Benfica stays top and unbeaten in Portugal Posted: 23 Oct 2016 03:30 PM PDT LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Defending champion Benfica defeated crosstown rival Belenenses 2-0 Sunday to maintain a three-point lead over FC Porto in the Portuguese league. |
| Lewis Hamilton wins US Grand Prix to stay in F1 title chase Posted: 23 Oct 2016 03:27 PM PDT  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Lewis Hamilton got the victory he needed to keep his Formula One championship hopes alive. Now he needs more, and he needs Mercedes teammate and rival Nico Rosberg to make a mistake or have a bad race.
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| PSG draws 0-0 with Marseille, trails leader Nice by 6 points Posted: 23 Oct 2016 03:25 PM PDT  PARIS (AP) — Striker Edinson Cavani missed an open goal near the end as Paris Saint-Germain drew 0-0 at home to bitter rival Marseille on Sunday, falling six points behind French league surprise leader Nice.
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| The Latest: Mass at Arizona-Mexico border gets underway Posted: 23 Oct 2016 03:23 PM PDT NOGALES, Ariz. (AP) — The Latest on a mass at the Arizona-Mexico border for immigrants (all times local): |
| For AT&T, Time Warner was always on the menu Posted: 23 Oct 2016 03:22 PM PDT  By Liana B. Baker NEW YORK (Reuters) - When Time Warner Inc's Jeff Bewkes welcomed AT&T Inc's Randall Stephenson for lunch at Time Warner Center in New York in late August, their meeting was supposed to be one of the catch-ups the two chief executives have had over the years. Stephenson and Bewkes discussed how Time Warner could reach more customers through AT&T's mobile network, and how that content could reinforce the loyalty of customers.
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| Impressive Sevilla hands Atletico its 1st loss in Spain Posted: 23 Oct 2016 03:21 PM PDT  MADRID (AP) — Coach Jorge Sampaoli felt Sevilla needed a big win against a top opponent to establish itself as a true contender in Spain.
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| Australia's Minjee Lee wins Blue Bay LPGA in China Posted: 23 Oct 2016 03:18 PM PDT HAINAN, China (AP) — Minjee Lee got up-and-down one last time at Jian Lake on Sunday to win the Blue Bay LPGA for her second victory of the year and third in 17 months. |
| Lithuanians vote for change handing farmers' party surprise win Posted: 23 Oct 2016 03:17 PM PDT  Lithuanians fed up with low wages and a labour exodus voted for major changes in Sunday's general election, handing victory to a farmers' party that previously held just one seat in parliament. The centrist Lithuanian Peasants and Green Union party (LGPU) won 54 seats in the 141-member parliament, while the conservative Homeland Union took 31 and outgoing ruling Social Democrats 17, the state election commission told AFP Sunday, citing full results. Lithuanians voted overwhelmingly for change, Ramunas Vilpisauskas, director of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius, told AFP.
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| Fairytale African triumph for Sundowns Posted: 23 Oct 2016 03:00 PM PDT  Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa won a fairytale first CAF Champions League title on Sunday despite a 1-0 second-leg loss to Zamalek of Egypt in Alexandria. A Stanley Ohawuchi goal on 64 minutes was not enough for the home team as they trailed by three goals from the first leg in Pretoria last weekend and lost 3-1 on aggregate. Success for Sundowns made them $1.5 million (1.38 million euros) richer and secured a place at the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan during December.
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| Sheikh Khalifa, deposed former ruler of Qatar, dies at 84 Posted: 23 Oct 2016 02:56 PM PDT Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, the former emir of the tiny Gulf nation of Qatar who was deposed by his son in a bloodless palace coup, died on Sunday. |
| Cameroon President vows probe after rail crash kills at least 75 Posted: 23 Oct 2016 02:54 PM PDT  Cameroon's President Paul Biya on Sunday pledged to investigate the causes of a rail crash that killed at least 75 people, as rescue workers scoured wreckage for more bodies. The packed passenger train carrying more than 1,400 people between the capital Yaounde and the central African country's port city of Douala derailed on Friday near the town of Eseka, causing carriages to flip over at high speed. "I have ordered an in-depth inquiry into the causes of this accident," Biya told state TV in French on returning to Cameroon on Sunday afternoon after a trip in Europe.
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| Qatar's former emir dies Posted: 23 Oct 2016 02:52 PM PDT  Qatar on Sunday announced three days of national mourning after the former Emir Khalifa bin Hamad Al-Thani, who was deposed in a palace coup, died aged 84. The former ruler died on Sunday, according to an official statement from the royal palace. "His highness father Emir Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al-Thani passed away on the evening of Sunday October 23, 2016, at the age of 84 years," read the official statement.
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| South Africa's Sundowns win African Champions League Posted: 23 Oct 2016 02:49 PM PDT  ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (AP) — South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns won the African Champions League on Sunday by surviving waves of second-half attacks from Egypt's Zamalek to hold on for a 3-1 aggregate victory in the two-leg final.
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| 50-up Hamilton keeps title F1 bid alive with United States GP win Posted: 23 Oct 2016 02:46 PM PDT  Defending champion Lewis Hamilton kept alive his bid for a fourth world title on Sunday when he claimed his first victory in six races at the United States Grand Prix and a 50th career win. The Briton produced a flawless drive from pole position to finish almost five seconds ahead of his Mercedes team-mate and championship leader Nico Rosberg. Australian Daniel Ricciardo finished third for Red Bull and four-time champion Sebastian Vettel came home fourth for Ferrari after team-mate Kimi Raikkonen had been forced into a bizarre retirement when he left the pits with a loose rear wheel.
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| How one drug cartel banked its cash in New York City Posted: 23 Oct 2016 02:40 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — In the photos, Alejandra Salgado and her little brother Francisco look like ordinary tourists strolling the streets of midtown Manhattan. He carries a shopping bag. She wears a white dress, a necklace and a leather tote slung over one shoulder.
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| Late goal gives Olympiakos 2-1 win over PAOK Posted: 23 Oct 2016 02:38 PM PDT ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Luka Milivojevic's header six minutes into second-half injury time secured defending champion Olympiakos a 2-1 victory over visiting PAOK in the Greek league on Sunday. |
| Venezuelan congress declares 'coup' by Maduro govt Posted: 23 Oct 2016 02:37 PM PDT  Venezuela's opposition-majority legislature declared Sunday that President Nicolas Maduro's government had committed a coup d'etat by blocking a referendum on removing him from power, vowing mass protests and international pressure. In an emergency session on the economic and political crisis gripping the South American oil giant, lawmakers called on Venezuelans to "actively defend" the constitution and declared they would ask the international community to "activate mechanisms" to restore democracy. "A continual coup d'etat has been perpetrated in Venezuela, culminating in the decision to rob us of a recall referendum.
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