| U.S.-backed Syrian alliance declares attack on Islamic State in Raqqa Posted: 06 Nov 2016 10:35 AM PST  By Rodi Said AIN ISSA, Syria (Reuters) - A U.S.-backed alliance of Syrian armed groups has launched an operation to retake the northern city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of Islamic State in Syria, the group said on Sunday. A statement issued by the U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab armed groups, said the long anticipated campaign, called Euphrates Anger, started late on Saturday. "The general command of the Syria Democratic Forces announces the blessed start of its major military campaign to liberate the city of Raqqa," Jehan Sheikh Amad, an SDF spokeswoman, told a news conference in the Syrian town of Ain Issa, 50 km (30 miles) north of Raqqa.
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| Islamic State hits back in Mosul but faces new Raqqa front Posted: 06 Nov 2016 07:56 AM PST  By Ahmed Rasheed and Rodi Said BAGHDAD/AIN ISSA, Syria (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters targeted Iraqi troops with car bombs and ambushes in Mosul, stalling an army advance in their north Iraq stronghold, but faced attack on a new front on Sunday when U.S.-backed rebels launched a campaign for the Syrian city of Raqqa. The jihadists have lost control of seven eastern districts of Mosul to Iraqi special forces who broke through their lines last Monday. Mosul, the largest Islamic State-controlled city in either Iraq or Syria, has been held by the jihadist fighters since they drove the army out of northern Iraq in June 2014.
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| U.S. citizen held in Yemen for more than 18 months freed Posted: 06 Nov 2016 03:57 PM PST A U.S. citizen who was detained for more than a year and a half by the Houthi faction in Yemen has been released, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday. Wallead Yusuf Pitts Luqman was freed with assistance from Oman, Kerry said in a statement, adding that he and his aides had been focused on the case since Luqman was detained. "We also recognize this positive gesture by the Houthis," Kerry said. |
| Erdogan blasts West as Turkey's Kurdish party boycotts parliament Posted: 06 Nov 2016 07:15 AM PST  By Tuvan Gumrukcu and Gulsen Solaker ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused Europe on Sunday of abetting terrorism by supporting Kurdish militants and said he did not care if it called him a dictator. Turkey drew international condemnation for the arrest on Friday of leaders and lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the second-largest opposition grouping in parliament, as part of a terrorism investigation. The government accuses the HDP, which made history last year by becoming the first Kurdish party to win 10 percent of the vote and enter parliament, of financing and supporting an armed Kurdish insurgency, which it denies.
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| Libyan forces report 14 civilians freed from Islamic State in Sirte Posted: 06 Nov 2016 12:57 PM PST  Libyan forces in the final stages of a six-month campaign to recapture Sirte from Islamic State said they freed 14 civilians on Sunday from a small residential area where some militants are holding out. The forces, composed of fighters mainly from Misrata, say they are exercising caution to limit casualties to civilians who may still be trapped with Islamic State fighters. Islamic State took full control of Sirte, a city of some 80,000 inhabitants, in early 2015.
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| Pacquiao has unfinished business against Mayweather Posted: 06 Nov 2016 05:36 PM PST  Floyd Mayweather accepted an invite to watch Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao's WBO title fight on Saturday, leaving many wondering if a request to step back in the ring would be next. Mayweather had a front row seat at the Thomas & Mack Center to watch Pacquiao easily beat former champion Jessie Vargas with a unanimous decision victory. Pacquiao said on Sunday that he is eager to avenge his 2015 loss to Mayweather and he doesn't feel the contract negotiations would be nearly as acrimonious as they were for the first fight, which became the richest in boxing history.
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| Syrian Kurds begin campaign to oust Islamic State from Raqqa Posted: 06 Nov 2016 05:23 PM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — Kurdish-led Syrian forces began an offensive Sunday to liberate the Islamic State group's de facto capital of Raqqa, clashing with the extremists north of the Syrian city and warning neighboring Turkey not to interfere in the operation.
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| Nicaragua's president appears headed for re-election _ again Posted: 06 Nov 2016 05:20 PM PST  MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — President Daniel Ortega cast his ballot just before polls closed in Nicaragua's elections Sunday evening, and he appeared to have a clear path to a third consecutive term — this time accompanied by his wife as vice president.
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| Stocks, dollar, peso jump in relief rally after FBI clears Clinton Posted: 06 Nov 2016 05:13 PM PST  Stocks rose and the dollar rallied against its major rivals on Monday after the FBI said it stood by its earlier recommendation that no criminal charges were warranted against Democrat Hillary Clinton. The biggest winner was the Mexican peso, which has acted as something of a bellwether of sentiment as Republican Donald Trump's proposed policies are considered to be deeply negative for the country. Barring another unexpected scandal on her side, it looks likely that she will win the race," said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities in Tokyo.
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| Nicaragua's Ortega seen winning third straight term despite autocracy fears Posted: 06 Nov 2016 05:06 PM PST  By Enrique Pretel and Alexandra Alper MANAGUA (Reuters) - Former Marxist guerrilla leader Daniel Ortega looked set to easily win a third consecutive term as president of Nicaragua on Sunday, after delivering years of steady growth that have overridden concerns he is trying to install a family dynasty. Ortega and his running mate, his wife Rosario Murillo, had nearly 70 percent support, according to a recent opinion poll, tapping into strong voter approval for a drop in poverty since he took office in 2007 in one of the poorest countries in the Americas . Ortega, 70, went to vote in Managua just before the polls closed at 6 p.m. (0000 GMT), driving his wife to the voting station in a Mercedes jeep, where they were met by supporters amid a heavy security presence.
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| Nicaragua's leader, wife appear headed to win election Posted: 06 Nov 2016 05:03 PM PST  Nicaragua held elections Sunday that look certain to hand another term to popular President Daniel Ortega, and make his wife vice president, but which the opposition said was marked by "massive" voter abstention. Pre-poll voter surveys predicted support as high as 70 percent for Ortega. "We calculate between 70 and 80 percent abstention," with voters notably staying away in areas traditionally loyal to Ortega's Sandinista National Liberation Front party, she said.
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| Top Asian News 1:03 a.m. GMT Posted: 06 Nov 2016 05:03 PM PST SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — In only a few days, South Korea's biggest scandal in years has done what six decades of diplomacy and bloodshed couldn't. It has united the rival Koreas, at least in one area: indignation against South Korea's leader. North Korea's propaganda mavens have never been shy in calling South Korean President Park Geun-hye an incompetent, power-hungry clone of her late dictator father, Park Chung-hee — and that's when they're pulling their punches. Inconceivable a week ago, many South Koreans now seem to be reaching Pyongyang levels of fury over an investigation into whether Park allowed a longtime confidante with no official government role to manipulate her administration from the shadows. |
| Scandal unites rival Koreas in fury at South Korea's leader Posted: 06 Nov 2016 05:02 PM PST  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — In only a few days, South Korea's biggest scandal in years has done what six decades of diplomacy and bloodshed couldn't. It has united the rival Koreas, at least in one area: indignation against South Korea's leader.
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| Klopp tells table-topping Reds to keep cool Posted: 06 Nov 2016 04:48 PM PST  Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has urged his players to â be coolâ after his side went top of the Premier League for the first time since he arrived at Anfield. Klopp watched Liverpool produce one of their most emphatic displays of the season as they thrashed Watford 6-1. Sadio Mane scored twice while Philippe Coutinho, Emre Can, Roberto Firmino and Georginio Wijnaldum also got their names on the scoresheet as Liverpool produced the kind of performance that will further fuel title talk.
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| California Chrome still favorite for Horse of the Year honor Posted: 06 Nov 2016 04:46 PM PST  ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) — California Chrome lost the Breeders' Cup Classic by a half-length, but the 5-year-old remains the favorite to win Horse of the Year honors despite his lone defeat in seven races this year.
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| Combative Mourinho questions fight of Manchester United stars Posted: 06 Nov 2016 04:43 PM PST  Jose Mourinho has taken a swipe at the Manchester United players he fears might not have the right attitude to guide his side back into the Premier League title race. Mourinho saw first half goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba help United to only a second league victory in eight games as his side cruised to a 3-1 success at Swansea on Sunday.
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| Rangers lack killer touch, says Warburton Posted: 06 Nov 2016 04:39 PM PST  Mark Warburton says Rangers must be more clinical in front of goal as they slipped up in the Scottish Premiership for the seventh time this season. Veteran defender Clint Hill capitalised on some poor defending to power home a header in the eighth minute but the visitors missed a number of chances to add to their tally before County claimed an equaliser in the 26th minute through Andrew Davies. Warburton, who changed his entire frontline in the second half as he chased a winner, bemoaned his side's finishing in front of goal.
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| Myanmar police suspect colleague in British teacher's death Posted: 06 Nov 2016 04:39 PM PST YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Police in Myanmar say a British teacher has been found dead with chest and head wounds in a colleague's apartment in Yangon. |
| Cameron to miss World Cup qualifiers; Howard No 1 keeper Posted: 06 Nov 2016 04:33 PM PST  CHICAGO (AP) — Defender Geoff Cameron, midfielder Kyle Beckerman and forward Chris Wondolowski will miss the United States' World Cup qualifiers against Mexico and Costa Rica because of injuries, and Tim Howard has regained the No. 1 goalkeeper's job.
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| Socialists' Radev leads Bulgaria presidential race - partial results Posted: 06 Nov 2016 04:26 PM PST  SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's Socialist-backed candidate, Rumen Radev, led the first round of Bulgaria's presidential election, partial official results showed early on Monday, leading his main rival from the ruling centre-right GERB party. Radev, 53-year-old former air force commander, led with 26.45 percent of the vote, compared with 21.38 percent for parliament speaker Tsetska Tsacheva, with 10.48 percent of polling stations counted. The result, which reflected earlier exit polls, meant the two would compete in a run-off on Nov. 13. (Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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| Indian farmers at risk as states bypass land acquisition laws – activists Posted: 06 Nov 2016 04:12 PM PST By Rina Chandran MUMBAI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - States across India are bypassing land acquisition laws by introducing land pooling schemes to speed up industrial and development projects, a move that activists say leaves farmers and the environment vulnerable. It is different from the federal Land Acquisition Act of 2013, which requires consensus to buy the land, a social impact assessment, rehabilitation for those displaced and compensation of up to four times the market value. "It can be a fair and equitable system if there is a way to ensure there is no compulsion, and if a social impact assessment is done," said E.A.S. Sarma, a land rights activist in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. |
| Hundreds forced out of Iraq's Kirkuk after IS attack: Amnesty Posted: 06 Nov 2016 04:08 PM PST  Hundreds of families have been driven out of the Iraqi city of Kirkuk in apparent retaliation for a recent attack by the Islamic State group, Amnesty International said on Monday. Authorities in the Kurdish-controlled city demolished the homes of hundreds of Arab residents and ordered them to leave Kirkuk in the wake of the attack on October 21, the London-based rights group said. An additional 190 families were said to have been displaced from nearby villages by Kurdish Peshmerga and Asayesh forces.
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| Pampling wins in Las Vegas for 1st PGA Tour win in 10 years Posted: 06 Nov 2016 04:08 PM PST  LAS VEGAS (AP) — Rod Pampling won for the first time in 10 years on the PGA Tour when he closed with a 6-under 65 for a two-shot victory Sunday in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
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| Morocco sees 'no turning back' for climate pact, despite Trump Posted: 06 Nov 2016 04:06 PM PST  By Alister Doyle MARRAKESH, Morocco (Reuters) - There is "no turning back" from a global accord to combat climate change, Morocco's foreign minister said on the eve of U.N. talks in Marrakesh amid fears that Donald Trump will try to pull out if he wins the U.S. presidency. The number of countries that have ratified the 2015 Paris Agreement to slow global warming by shifting from fossil fuels has risen to 100 nations in recent days, including OPEC's top oil producer Saudi Arabia, the United Nations said. The U.S. election is casting a shadow over the meeting of officials from almost 200 nations in Marrakesh from Nov. 7-18 to work on ways to implement pledges made in Paris to adopt cleaner energies such as wind and solar power.
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| Indigenous Australians hope marathon stirs change at home Posted: 06 Nov 2016 04:03 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — A dozen young Australian runners from indigenous tribes once targeted for genocide had a different marathon goal: "The finish line is just a start for us."
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| Pampling wins in Vegas to end 10-year US PGA win drought Posted: 06 Nov 2016 03:50 PM PST  Australia's Rod Pampling won his first US PGA title in more than a decade, holding off Americans Lucas Glover and Brooks Koepka to capture the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open on Sunday. Pampling sank a 32-foot birdie putt on the last hole to complete a final-round 65, six-under par, and finish 72 holes on 20-under 264. "It's a great feeling," Pampling said.
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| Moroccan king reaches out to African leaders in Senegal Posted: 06 Nov 2016 03:47 PM PST  Moroccan King Mohammed VI offered a conditional olive branch to African leaders Sunday in a speech in Senegal declaring his country wanted to "take back its natural position in Africa". Morocco is seeking to rejoin the African Union, 32 years after quitting the bloc in protest at its decision to accept Western Sahara as a member. In a gesture of African solidarity, Mohammed VI delivered an annual speech usually given at home in Dakar to "show the great interest we take in our continent", while still firmly maintaining the "unshakeable Moroccan identity of the Western Sahara".
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| Yemeni rebels release American man Posted: 06 Nov 2016 03:46 PM PST SANAA, Yemen (AP) — An American citizen detained by Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen for more than a year and a half has been released, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday. |
| Bale keeps Madrid ahead; Messi gets his 500th goal for Barca Posted: 06 Nov 2016 03:45 PM PST  MADRID (AP) — With Karim Benzema out injured and Cristiano Ronaldo playing below expectations again, Gareth Bale got the job done for Real Madrid with two goals against Leganes on Sunday. Not to be outdone, Lionel Messi scored his 500th goal for Barcelona as the Catalan club won a thriller against Sevilla.
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| Blow for Bulgarian PM in presidential poll Posted: 06 Nov 2016 03:33 PM PST  Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov suffered an embarrassing setback in the first round of presidential elections Sunday, with projections suggesting his nominee was beaten by a left-leaning opposition candidate. Tsetska Tsacheva won 22.3 percent of the vote behind Rumen Radev on 24.9 percent, the candidate of the opposition Socialists seen as more sympathetic to Russia, according to a projection from Gallup based on 75 percent of votes counted. The centre-right Borisov, 57, had said before the election that if Tsacheva failed to come first in the first round, he would call early elections.
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| Illegal mining, weak government help Taliban expand in Afghan north Posted: 06 Nov 2016 03:19 PM PST  By Jawad Kakar FAIZABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghan Taliban militants have strengthened their grip on lucrative illegal mining operations in the north of the country, as security forces focus most of their efforts on battling the insurgency in the volatile south, officials said. Abuses by local commanders with private militias and beyond the purview of central government have also driven people into the hands of Islamist fighters, the officials added, making it easier for them to profit from small-scale mines in the region. "The Taliban provide protection for the villagers to mine and the people are happy to do it despite the fact that there's a presidential decree banning any uncontrolled mining," said Gul Mohammad Bedar, deputy governor of Badakhshan province.
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| Benfica scores late against Porto to grab point in Portugal Posted: 06 Nov 2016 03:07 PM PST  PORTO, Portugal (AP) — Argentine defender Lisandro Lopez scored an equalizer two minutes into second-half injury time to give Benfica a 1-1 draw against rival FC Porto on Sunday.
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| McCarron wins PGA Tour Champion playoff event in Virginia Posted: 06 Nov 2016 03:05 PM PST RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Scott McCarron came into the season with a goal of winning the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. |
| American held in Yemen freed, evacuated to Oman: official Posted: 06 Nov 2016 03:02 PM PST  An American citizen held in Yemen was released Sunday and evacuated from rebel-controlled Sanaa to Muscat along with Yemenis wounded in the country's conflict, the sultanate's foreign ministry said. Identified by the US State Department, Wallead Yusuf Pitts Luqman was transported onboard an Omani military aircraft after his release was secured "following a request by the US government (to Oman) to continue helping in (releasing) its citizens held in Yemen", the ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency ONA. It said he was set free following "coordination with concerned parties in Sanaa," in an apparent reference to Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels.
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| FBI lifts Clinton email cloud as US election looms Posted: 06 Nov 2016 02:57 PM PST  The FBI on Sunday lifted the threat that Hillary Clinton might face charges over her private email server -- dropping a campaign bombshell 36 hours before her White House showdown with Donald Trump. The Democrat's camp welcomed the news that FBI Director James Comey had decided not to change his July recommendation that she not be prosecuted for putting US secrets at risk while serving as secretary of state.
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| As United winless run ends, Mourinho turns on absent players Posted: 06 Nov 2016 02:57 PM PST  SWANSEA, Wales (AP) — Even after Manchester United's four-match winless run in the Premier League ended, Jose Mourinho wasn't happy — turning on players who missed Sunday's 3-1 victory at Swansea.
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| Moroccans protest in capital over fishmonger's death Posted: 06 Nov 2016 02:57 PM PST  Around 2,000 protesters took to the streets of Morocco's capital Rabat on Sunday, in the latest in a week of rallies over a fish vendor crushed to death in a garbage compactor after a confrontation with police. The death a week ago of Mouhcine Fikri has triggered the largest protests in the North African kingdom since 2011 when the "February 20" movement organized demonstrations for reform inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings across the region. "The death of Mouhcine, is like a death for all Moroccans," said Khadija Zerwal, 22, at the Rabat rally.
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| Justin Bieber wins 3 MTV EMA Europe music awards Posted: 06 Nov 2016 02:53 PM PST  ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Justin Bieber's "Beliebers" helped turn him into the biggest winner Sunday at the MTV EMA European music awards. Again.
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