| U.S. to apply 'extreme vetting' in refugee swap deal with Australia Posted: 31 Jan 2017 02:20 PM PST  By Colin Packham SYDNEY (Reuters) - The United States will apply "extreme vetting" to up to 1,250 asylum seekers it has agreed to resettle as part of an agreement with Australia, a spokesman for President Trump said in the United States on Tuesday. Washington agreed a deal late last year to resettle refugees, mainly from Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq, held in Australia's processing centers on remote Pacific islands in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. Under the deal, Australia will in return resettle refugees from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
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| Some nations affected by U.S. immigration order may stay on list Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:26 PM PST  By Julia Edwards Ainsley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries temporarily barred from the United States by President Donald Trump's executive order may be blocked indefinitely, and others might be added to the list, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said on Tuesday. The executive action was not explicit about how to handle a wide range of people trying to enter the United States, including permanent residents, students and even Iraqi pilots training to protect U.S. troops.
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| EU chair labels Trump a 'threat' as Europeans debate U.S. ties Posted: 31 Jan 2017 11:00 AM PST  By Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Donald Trump has joined Russia, China and radical Islam as a threat to the European Union, EU leaders were told on Tuesday by the man chairing a summit where they will debate relations with the United States. European Council President Donald Tusk, a conservative former premier of Poland, wrote to EU national leaders to lay out themes for discussion when they meet in Malta on Friday to discuss the future of their Union as Britain prepares to leave. In vivid language that reflects deep concern in Europe at the new U.S. president's support for Brexit, as well as his ban on refugees and people from several Muslim countries, Tusk called on Europeans to rally against eurosceptic nationalists at home and take "spectacular steps" to deepen the continent's integration.
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| Canada shooting suspect rented apartment close to mosque: neighbors Posted: 31 Jan 2017 05:24 PM PST  By Kevin Dougherty and Allison Lampert QUEBEC CITY (Reuters) - The French-Canadian student accused of killing six people during evening prayers in a Quebec City mosque had rented an apartment nearby, neighbors said on Tuesday, a sign he may have been targeting the house of worship. Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, was charged in court on Monday with six counts of premeditated murder and five counts of attempted murder with a restricted weapon after Sunday evening's massacre at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec. RDI, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's French-language arm, cited sources as saying the gunman had a 9 mm handgun and a long gun, but the report did not provide further details.
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| Israel says will build 3,000 new homes in West Bank settlements Posted: 31 Jan 2017 02:32 PM PST  Israel announced plans on Tuesday for 3,000 more settlement homes in the occupied West Bank, the third such declaration in eleven days since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. Trump has signaled he could be more accommodating toward such projects than his predecessor Barack Obama. A statement from the Israeli Defence Ministry, which administers lands Israel captured in a 1967 war, said the decision was meant to fulfill demand for housing and "return to life as usual".
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| French police search Fillon office as fraud affair rocks campaign Posted: 31 Jan 2017 11:21 AM PST  By Emile Picy and Chine Labbé PARIS (Reuters) - French police searched presidential candidate Francois Fillon's office in parliament on Tuesday as an inquiry into alleged fake work by his wife threatened his campaign and party leaders began to consider a 'Plan B' without him. Fillon had been favorite to win the presidency for the conservative Republicans party until a week ago, when it was reported that his wife Penelope had drawn hundreds of thousands of euros in pay from state funds without doing any work. Fillon has said his Welsh-born wife, with whom he has five children, did real work for her pay as a parliamentary assistant.
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| Trump picks conservative Neil Gorsuch as Supreme Court nominee Posted: 31 Jan 2017 05:42 PM PST  President Donald Trump nominated federal appellate Judge Neil Gorsuch as his Supreme Court nominee, tilting the balance of the court back in the conservatives' favor. Trump's pick would fill the long-vacant ninth position on the bench -- empty since Antonin Scalia died in February 2016. "Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline, and has earned bipartisan support," Trump said at the White House.
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| A glance at the teams in the Six Nations Posted: 31 Jan 2017 05:34 PM PST  LONDON (AP) — ENGLAND
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| Six Nations: England, Ireland set to slug it out for title Posted: 31 Jan 2017 05:31 PM PST Picture the scenario: Ireland vs. England for a Grand Slam decider in the final match of the Six Nations on St. Patrick's weekend in Dublin. |
| Trump picks conservative judge Gorsuch for U.S. Supreme Court Posted: 31 Jan 2017 05:30 PM PST  By Lawrence Hurley and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Neil Gorsuch for a lifetime job on the U.S. Supreme Court, picking the 49-year-old federal appeals court judge to restore the court's conservative majority and help shape rulings on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control, the death penalty and religious rights. The Colorado native faces a potentially contentious confirmation battle in the U.S. Senate after Republicans last year refused to consider Democratic President Barack Obama's nominee to fill the vacancy caused by the February 2016 death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia. Announcing the selection at the White House flanked by the judge and his wife, Trump said Gorsuch's resume is "as good as it gets." Trump said he hopes Republicans and Democrats can come together on this nomination for the good of the country.
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| Quiet deadline day for top EPL teams, busier for strugglers Posted: 31 Jan 2017 05:26 PM PST  LONDON (AP) — While the Premier League's top teams were quiet on a low-key final day of Europe's winter transfer window, Hull and Crystal Palace were busy Tuesday in late bids for survival.
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| Apple defies Wall Street with strong revival in iPhone sales Posted: 31 Jan 2017 05:09 PM PST  Apple Inc reclaimed the throne as the world's top smartphone seller for the first time in five years on Tuesday, beating out rival Samsung in units shipped for the holiday quarter and boosting revenues with a strong showing for its new, top-of-the-line iPhone 7 Plus. The iPhone sales numbers, and a profit of almost $18 billion, both handily beat Wall Street expectations, sending its shares up 3 percent in after-hours trading. Apple sold 78.29 million iPhones in the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31, up from 74.78 million the year before.
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| The Latest: Hundreds rally against order in New Jersey Posted: 31 Jan 2017 05:07 PM PST  WASHINGTON (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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| Balotelli says Italian transfer deadline day was dull Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:54 PM PST  MILAN (AP) — Even Mario Balotelli was disappointed at the lack of action by Italy's top clubs on transfer deadline day on Tuesday.
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| LA Galaxy sign midfielder Romain Alessandrini from Marseille Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:50 PM PST  CARSON, Calif. (AP) — French midfielder Romain Alessandrini joined the LA Galaxy as a designated player Tuesday.
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| Smaller Spanish clubs make the moves at transfer deadline Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:50 PM PST  MADRID (AP) — With Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid banned from registering new players and Barcelona not looking to make any blockbuster additions to its squad, the final day of the transfer window in Spain was marked by low-key deals involving smaller clubs on Tuesday.
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| Declawed, hungry tiger cub found in northern Mexico town Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:47 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's environmental protection agency says an abandoned Bengal tiger cub was discovered wandering in a town in the northern state of Sinaloa. |
| UN Security Council calls for return to Ukraine ceasefire Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:45 PM PST  The UN Security Council unanimously called Tuesday for an immediate return to a ceasefire in Ukraine after three days of fighting left at least 13 dead. The council endorsed a Ukrainian-drafted statement that did not raise objections from Russia, after meeting behind closed doors to discuss the violence in east Ukraine. The Minsk agreements, backed by France and Germany, lay out a series of measures to end the conflict in east Ukraine, but its implementation has been faltering.
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| Trump hypes Supreme Court announcement Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:42 PM PST  President Donald Trump was set to announce his nominee to sit on the US Supreme Court Tuesday -- a prime-time choice between two shortlisted finalists with more than a hint of reality TV drama. Trump's pick to fill the long-vacant ninth position on the bench will likely swing the court in the conservatives' favor -- with significant ramifications for issues from gender rights to gun control. "For 70 percent of the voters, the president's choice for supreme court was an important factor in their choice at the ballot box in November," White House spokesman Sean Spicer acknowledged Tuesday.
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| The Latest: Spanish side Rayo Vallecano signs Zozulya Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:39 PM PST  LONDON (AP) — The Latest on the final day of European soccer's transfer window (all times GMT):
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| Amnesty warns of crimes against humanity in Philippines Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:33 PM PST  Philippine police may have committed crimes against humanity by killing thousands of alleged drug offenders or paying others to murder as part of President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war, Amnesty International said Wednesday. An Amnesty report, which followed an in-depth investigation into the drug war, also outlined what it said were other widespread police crimes aside from extrajudicial killings that mainly targeted the poor. "Acting on orders from the very top, policemen and unknown killers have been targeting anybody remotely suspected of using of selling drugs," Rawya Rageh, a senior crisis adviser for Amnesty, told AFP.
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| Romania adopts controversial decree easing penal code Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:28 PM PST  Romania's social-democrat government on Tuesday adopted by emergency decree legal changes which will allow several politicians to avoid criminal prosecution, an initiative which had brought tens of thousands of protestors on to the streets. The emergency decree had not been included on the government's daily agenda. Earlier this month the government of Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu published the text which decriminalises several offences and makes abuse of power punishable by incarceration only if it results in a monetary loss of more than 44,000 euros ($47,500).
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| British MPs take first step to starting Brexit Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:26 PM PST  British MPs debated until midnight on Tuesday over the merits of a bill giving Prime Minister Theresa May the power to start the country's departure from the European Union. The government is hoping to rush through the legislation in time to trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, which opens two years of divorce negotiations, by the end of March. While the two-clause bill is expected to swiftly pass the lower House of Commons, it could be delayed in the upper House of Lords, where May's Conservative Party does not have a majority.
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| Brazil, Colombia warn FARC renegades could fuel crime Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:21 PM PST  Brazil and Colombia are stepping up security along their border to stop drug gangs from recruiting renegade FARC rebels and their weapons as the guerrillas disarm, officials said Tuesday. The countries have agreed to send army and police reinforcements to the border as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) begins implementing a historic peace deal with the government, said Colombian Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas.
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| Vonn and Shiffrin highlight US ski roster for worlds Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:20 PM PST Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin highlight the U.S. Ski Team roster for the world championships starting next week in St. Moritz, Switzerland. |
| Israel allows Venezuelan Jewish converts to immigrate Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:16 PM PST  JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli authorities said Tuesday that nine Venezuelan Jewish converts will be allowed to move to Israel in light of the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, reversing an earlier decision to keep them out.
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| US deports Colombian wanted in death of journalist Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:16 PM PST SAN ANTONIO (AP) — U.S. immigration officials say a Colombian man wanted in his home country in the fatal shooting of a journalist has been deported after being arrested in South Texas last year. |
| Iraqi man released from Texas detention following challenge Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:13 PM PST DALLAS (AP) — An Iraqi man was released Tuesday by federal authorities after his overnight detention at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport prompted a legal aid group to file a challenge in federal court. |
| 3 arrests over breach claimed by 'Phineas Fisher' hacker Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:11 PM PST  MADRID (AP) — Spanish police have arrested three people over a data breach linked to a series of dramatic intrusions at European spy software companies claimed by an online Robin Hood-type figure known as Phineas Fisher.
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| Injured batsman Chris Lynn named in Australia's T20 squad Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:11 PM PST ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Batsman Chris Lynn has been named in Australia's Twenty20 squad for the series against Sri Lanka despite still recovering from a neck injury. |
| Leader Chelsea stays in control after title rivals stumble Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:10 PM PST  Chelsea could afford to miss a late penalty in a 1-1 draw at Liverpool on Tuesday, as Antonio Conte's side extended its lead at the top of the Premier League and its rivals sabotaged their own title bids.
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| Deaths mount daily as renewed fighting hits eastern Ukraine Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:10 PM PST  AVDIIVKA, Ukraine (AP) — Heavy artillery and rockets hit residential areas in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday amid a new outburst of fighting between government troops and Russia-backed separatist rebels, killing at least eight people and injuring dozens.
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| Brazil and Colombia pledge to fight drug trafficking Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:09 PM PST  By Luis Jaime Acosta and Brad Haynes BOGOTA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Defense ministers from Brazil and Colombia agreed to step up their fight against drug traffickers at a meeting on Tuesday in the Brazilian city of Manaus, where feuding drug gangs set off a recent string of deadly prison riots. Demobilization of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) as part of a deal ending more than 50 years of war has raised concerns that heavily armed former combatants could join with increasingly powerful drug gangs in Brazil.
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| Top Asian News 12:08 a.m. GMT Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:08 PM PST TOKYO (AP) — North Korea will be casting a dark — and nuclear — shadow over U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' first foray abroad. When Mattis calls on South Korea and Japan from Wednesday he will be visiting Washington's two staunchest allies in Asia. Both host tens of thousands of American troops and both will be looking for reassurances the new administration in the U.S. is not going to drop the ball on North Korea. North Korea, racing ever closer to having a nuclear-tipped missile that could strike the U.S. mainland, is without doubt already one of the biggest security challenges on new President Donald Trump's plate. |
| Slain Myanmar lawyer's family considers him a fallen hero Posted: 31 Jan 2017 04:07 PM PST  YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — The family of an assassinated adviser to Myanmar's government had worried about his activities and warned him to be careful, but he pursued his work for the sake of the country's people, regardless of who they were or what religion they believed, his daughter said Tuesday.
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| Lille signs 6 young players transfer on deadline day Posted: 31 Jan 2017 03:53 PM PST PARIS (AP) — Under new ownership and banking on rebuilding the club with talented young players, Lille signed six players aged 23 or under on Tuesday's final day of the transfer window. |
| Iran refuses to confirm conducting missile test Posted: 31 Jan 2017 03:52 PM PST  TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's foreign minister on Tuesday refused to confirm whether his country recently conducted a missile test, saying the Iranian missile program is not part of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
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| Payet makes successful return as Marseille beats Lyon 2-1 Posted: 31 Jan 2017 03:50 PM PST  PARIS (AP) — Returning to his former club after a much debated transfer, France playmaker Dimitri Payet came off the bench as Marseille beat Lyon 2-1 to reach the last 16 of the French Cup on Tuesday.
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| Brady suggests Patriots will play game in Mexico next season Posted: 31 Jan 2017 03:49 PM PST  HOUSTON (AP) — Tom Brady is planning a trip to Mexico this year. To play football.
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| Burnley splash out on Brady, Saints land Gabbiadini Posted: 31 Jan 2017 03:48 PM PST  Burnley splashed out a reported club record £13 million ($16 million) to sign Norwich winger Robbie Brady, while Southampton's swoop for Napoli forward Manolo Gabbiadini was one of the other notable deals on transfer deadline day. Republic of Ireland star Brady agreed a three-and-a-half year deal and became Burnley's second signing of the day following their capture of Aston Villa midfielder Ashley Westwood for a reported £5 million ($6.2m). Westwood, 26, signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with the option of a further year's extension.
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