| Quebec mosque shooting suspect charged with murdering six people Posted: 30 Jan 2017 04:53 PM PST  By Allison Lampert and Anna Mehler Paperny QUEBEC CITY/TORONTO (Reuters) - A French-Canadian university student was the sole suspect in a shooting at a Quebec City mosque and was charged with the premeditated murder of six people, Canadian authorities said on Monday, in what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called "a terrorist attack." Court documents identified the gunman in the attack on Sunday evening prayers as Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, and charged him with six murder counts and five counts of attempted murder with a restricted weapon. The slightly-built Bissonnette made a brief appearance in court under tight security wearing a white prison garment and looking downcast. Prosecutors said all of the evidence was not yet ready and Bissonnette, a student at Université Laval, was set to appear again on Feb. 21.
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| Mexico sees signs of U.S. change on wall payment Posted: 30 Jan 2017 12:05 PM PST  There are signs the U.S. government is taking a more flexible view of how to pay for its planned border wall with Mexico, and new meetings to craft future bilateral relations could take place soon, a top Mexican official said on Monday. Trump wants a wall on the U.S. southern border to keep out illegal immigrants and says Mexico will pay for it.
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| France, worried by Trump, promises to defend Iran nuclear deal Posted: 30 Jan 2017 12:22 PM PST  By John Irish TEHRAN (Reuters) - France vowed on Monday to defend Iran's nuclear deal, which U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to tear up, but said it was imperative Tehran abide strictly by the conditions of the accord. Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault arrived in the Iranian capital just as relations between Tehran and the new U.S. leadership were strained by new U.S. immigration orders that the French minister called "dangerous" and said should be revoked. Ayrault said it was in the "common interest" that the 2015 accord under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in return for lifted sanctions was obeyed.
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| Iran tested medium-range ballistic missile: U.S. official Posted: 30 Jan 2017 03:42 PM PST By Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran on Sunday carried out a test launch of a medium-range ballistic missile that exploded after 630 miles (1,010 km), a U.S. official said on Monday. The official added that the last time this type of missile was test launched was in July 2016. The White House said it was aware that Iran had tested a missile. |
| May's Brexit plan likely to survive parliamentary assault Posted: 30 Jan 2017 04:24 PM PST  By William James LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May's plan to leave the European Union is expected to survive weeks of intense parliamentary scrutiny starting on Tuesday, despite pro-EU lawmakers' attempts to force the government to rethink its strategy. May's government is seeking approval for a new law giving her the right to trigger Article 50 - the legal process for leaving the bloc - after the Supreme Court ruled last week that she could not take that decision unilaterally. Some lawmakers will try to use the legislative process to press her to reveal closely-guarded details of her negotiating strategy, give parliament and devolved governments more say over the exit talks, or even block Brexit entirely.
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| U.S., South Korean defense chiefs discuss defending against North Korean threats Posted: 30 Jan 2017 05:29 PM PST  U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis and his South Korean counterpart agreed during a phone call on Monday to take steps to strengthen the two countries' alliance "to defend against the evolving North Korean threat," the Pentagon said. Mattis reaffirmed to South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo the U.S. commitment to defend the country and "provide extended deterrence using the full range of U.S. capabilities," the Pentagon said in a statement. Mattis also met with Jordan's King Abdullah at the Pentagon and expressed his deep appreciation for Jordan's contributions to the fight against Islamic State, the statement said.
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| Oil pipeline shut after spill near Blue Ridge, Texas- report Posted: 30 Jan 2017 05:26 PM PST (Reuters) - An oil pipeline was shut after it ruptured and spilled oil near Blue Ridge in Texas on Monday, according to a report on KXII.com. The pipeline was ruptured when a contractor accidentally cut a high pressure oil line, leading to a spill, the report said quoting the Collin County Sheriff's office. |
| MLS commissioner receives application for San Diego team Posted: 30 Jan 2017 05:26 PM PST SAN DIEGO (AP) — Major League Soccer officially has another city seeking an expansion franchise. |
| 2 US basketball players hope to return to team in Iran Posted: 30 Jan 2017 05:25 PM PST  The agent for two Americans who play professional basketball in Iran hopes they will be able to return to the country to finish their season.
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| Despite tough Canadian rules, illegal guns within reach Posted: 30 Jan 2017 05:24 PM PST  By Rod Nickel and Nia Williams WINNIPEG/CALGARY (Reuters) - Canada's gun control laws ban dozens of assault rifles, but some permitted firearms are easily modified for greater damage, and more lax regulations in the United States make smuggled weapons accessible, experts said after a rare Canadian mass shooting on Sunday. A man was charged on Monday with six counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder with a restricted weapon in the shooting at a Quebec City mosque. Semi-automatic guns can legally hold magazines up to five rounds in Canada, but many military-style semi-automatics are easily modified to 30 rounds, said A.J. Somerset, an author on gun issues.
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| The Latest: Quebec mosque attack suspect appears in court Posted: 30 Jan 2017 05:15 PM PST  QUEBEC CITY (AP) — The latest on the deadly shooting at a Quebec City mosque (all times local):
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| Veterans protest travel ban, saying it hurts interpreters Posted: 30 Jan 2017 05:08 PM PST  SAN DIEGO (AP) — U.S. combat veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan say they are outraged at the temporary ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries and the suspension of the U.S. refugee program that has blocked visas for interpreters who risked their lives to help American troops on the battlefield.
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| As opposition outcry grows, Trump defends immigration order Posted: 30 Jan 2017 05:02 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Defiant in the face of an international backlash, President Donald Trump pressed into his second week in office defending his sweeping immigration ban. Protests persisted at major airports, and concern mounted from U.S. diplomats and members of his own party.
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| UN experts say Yemen opponents may have committed war crimes Posted: 30 Jan 2017 04:57 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. experts say the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and Houthi Shiite rebels may have committed war crimes in the conflict that is wracking the Middle East's poorest nation with no end in sight. |
| White House, US diplomats clash over travel order Posted: 30 Jan 2017 04:57 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House clashed Monday with a large group of American diplomats who are voicing dissent with Donald Trump's temporary travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, challenging them to resign if they aren't on board.
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| Top Asian News 12:53 a.m. GMT Posted: 30 Jan 2017 04:53 PM PST CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The White House had assured Australia that its passport-holders won't be affected by President Donald Trump's executive order suspending immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, the Australian prime minister said on Tuesday. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull made the announcement after 15-year-old Pouya Ghadirian said the U.S. Consulate in Melbourne refused him a visa Monday to go on a school trip to the United States because he had an Iranian passport as well as an Australian passport. "Our ambassador has just called me to say that he's had assurances, confirmation from the White House, that Australian passport-holders — regardless of their place of birth or whether they are dual nationals or whether they hold another passport — will remain welcome to come and go to the United States in the usual way," Turnbull told Sky News television. |
| The Latest: Somali refugee won't be reunited with girl, 4 Posted: 30 Jan 2017 04:53 PM PST  BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump, his travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries and other immigration actions (all times local):
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| Quebec mosque shooting: A shout, a hail of bullets, then death Posted: 30 Jan 2017 04:53 PM PST  Abdi was sitting cross-legged on the floor reading the Quran with his friends when the shooting began - a staccato spray of bullets into the crowd of worshippers gathered on Sunday at the mosque in Quebec City, Canada. It was the shout from the doorway that alerted them: "Allahu akbar!" which means "God is greatest!" "We all turned … and that's the point when they started shooting," said Abdi, a 22-year-old student who declined to give his last name, fearing for his safety. Abdi hit the floor, arms over his head and ears.
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| Argentina toughens immigration law, speeds up deportations Posted: 30 Jan 2017 04:49 PM PST BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina toughened its immigration law Monday, making it easier to deport foreigners who commit crimes or who are being investigated. |
| Mexico earmarks $50 million to back migrants in US Posted: 30 Jan 2017 04:49 PM PST  MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's top diplomat said Monday his country will spend about $50 million to hire lawyers for migrants in the United States facing deportation.
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| Seattle signs Swedish midfielder Gustav Svensson Posted: 30 Jan 2017 04:41 PM PST SEATTLE (AP) — Looking to bolster options in the midfield, the Seattle Sounders have signed Swedish midfielder Gustav Svensson. |
| 'Fast healer' Marler delights England ahead of Six Nations Posted: 30 Jan 2017 04:34 PM PST  England received a boost ahead of their defence of the Six Nations, with prop Joe Marler set for an extraordinary comeback for the Grand Slam champions against France on Saturday. Marler was informed he would be out of action for five weeks after withdrawing from the warm-up of Harlequins' win over Sale on January 7 with what turned out to be a fractured leg.
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| Deutsche to pay $425 million to New York regulator over Russian 'mirror trades' Posted: 30 Jan 2017 04:33 PM PST  NEW YORK/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank AG has agreed to pay $425 million to New York's banking regulator over a "mirror trading" scheme that moved $10 billion out of Russia between 2011 and 2015, the regulator said on Monday. In addition, Britain's Financial Conduct Authority is about to penalize the bank roughly $200 million for the suspicious trades, a person familiar with the matter said. The scheme involved clients buying stocks in Moscow in rubles and related parties selling the same stocks shortly thereafter through the bank's London branch, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) said in a statement.
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| Student charged with murder in Quebec mosque attack Posted: 30 Jan 2017 04:30 PM PST  A Canadian political science student known to have nationalist sympathies was charged Monday with six counts of murder over a shooting spree at a Quebec mosque -- one of the worst attacks ever to target Muslims in a western country. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned as a "terrorist attack" Sunday night's assault on the Islamic Cultural Center in a busy district of Quebec City, which sent terrified worshippers fleeing barefoot in the snow. Alexandre Bissonnette, who made a brief court appearance after surrendering to authorities, was charged with six counts of premeditated murder and five of attempted murder, police said.
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| Factbox: Could parliament change Britain's Brexit legislation? Posted: 30 Jan 2017 04:24 PM PST British lawmakers have submitted 60 pages of proposed changes to legislation published last week which will give Prime Minister Theresa May the authority to start Britain's exit from the European Union. The bill, consisting of only two clauses and less than 150 words in total, was drawn up after the Supreme Court ruled May could not trigger the legal 'Article 50' exit process without the approval of parliament. May wants to start the exit process by the end of March. |
| 17 Colombian civil leaders 'massacred': officials Posted: 30 Jan 2017 04:12 PM PST  Colombian officials said Monday that 17 civil campaigners have been murdered over the past two months in the country, amid tensions over its contested peace process. President Juan Manuel Santos has warned that fresh violence could destabilize the demobilization of the leftist FARC rebels under a historic peace accord. The last known victim was Porfirio Jaramillo, leader of a group demanding rural land restitution.
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| Stalled murder trial back on for president of Suriname Posted: 30 Jan 2017 04:02 PM PST  PARAMARIBO, Suriname (AP) — A military court on Monday ordered a resumption of the long-stalled murder trial of President Desi Bouterse in the killing of political opponents under his dictatorship in 1982.
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| OAS commends Haiti for concluding vote, notes low turnout Posted: 30 Jan 2017 03:57 PM PST  PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — International monitors commended Haitian authorities on Monday for finishing an electoral cycle that started in 2015 but expressed concern over the low participation rate by voters.
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| Exclusive: Trump administration to allow 872 refugees into U.S. this week: document Posted: 30 Jan 2017 03:55 PM PST  By Julia Edwards Ainsley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government has granted waivers to let 872 refugees into the country this week, despite President Donald Trump's executive order on Friday temporarily banning entry of refugees from any country, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security document seen by Reuters. A Homeland Security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the waivers, noting that the refugees were considered "in transit" and had already been cleared for resettlement before the ban took effect. The waivers, granted by the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), came amid international protests against Trump's rushed executive order.
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| Canadian police patrol mosques, reach out to Muslims after attack Posted: 30 Jan 2017 03:52 PM PST  By Allison Lampert and Alastair Sharp QUEBEC CITY/TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian police visibly patrolled mosques and schools in Muslim communities in several cities on Monday following the shooting attack at a Quebec City mosque that killed six worshippers. Authorities said a French-Canadian university student was the sole suspect in Sunday's shooting that also wounded 17 people and was described by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as "a terrorist attack." While mass shootings have become commonplace in the United States, Canada's neighbor to the south, they are rare in a country with more stringent gun laws. In Quebec City, police cars were stationed in front of various mosques, with officers checking the identification of reporters waiting outside.
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| France's Fillon and his wife questioned in 'fake work' probe Posted: 30 Jan 2017 03:46 PM PST  By Chine Labbé and Gérard Bon PARIS (Reuters) - French conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon and his wife were questioned for five hours by police investigators on Monday as part of a probe into allegations that Penelope Fillon had been paid for fake jobs. The allegations, which Fillon rejects, are sapping the popularity of the former prime minister and could shake up the April-May presidential contest, for which he has so far been the clear favorite. Fillon said in a statement that he and his wife had provided investigators with information that would help "establish the truth on the work carried out by Mrs Fillon." Such questioning is a normal step in a preliminary probe and not an indication of guilt.
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| Spanish league expects to be using video referees by 2018 Posted: 30 Jan 2017 03:44 PM PST  MADRID (AP) — The Spanish league is expected to be using video referees in 2018, its president said on Monday following widespread criticism of a mistake that cost Barcelona a goal at the weekend.
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| Australia, U.S. agree to deal exempting Australian citizens from travel ban Posted: 30 Jan 2017 03:40 PM PST  By Colin Packham and Tom Westbrook SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian dual-nationals will not be affected by U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order blocking visitors from seven Muslim-majority nations, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Tuesday. Trump's executive order placed a 90-day bar on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the United States, igniting chaotic scenes over the weekend as border and customs officials struggled to put the order into practice. "Australian passport holders will be able to travel to the United States in the same way they were able to prior to the executive order," said Turnbull.
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| Hamburger SV signs Brazilian midfielder Walace from Gremio Posted: 30 Jan 2017 03:39 PM PST BERLIN (AP) — Hamburger SV signed defensive midfielder Walace from Brazilian side Gremio late Monday to boost its chances of avoiding its first relegation from the Bundesliga. |
| Premier: Trump ban doesn't affect Australia passport holders Posted: 30 Jan 2017 03:29 PM PST  CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The White House had assured Australia that its passport-holders won't be affected by President Donald Trump's executive order suspending immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, the Australian prime minister said on Tuesday.
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| Philadelphia Union sign defender Oguchi Onyewu Posted: 30 Jan 2017 03:19 PM PST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — The Philadelphia Union have signed former U.S. national team defender Oguchi Onyewu, who is joining Major League Soccer after 15 years with European clubs. |
