| Analysis: Obama's Asia policy set back by Democrat Posted: 01 Feb 2014 10:43 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's Asia policy took a hit this week, and it came from a member of his own party.
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| Activists: Syrian forces launch new Aleppo strikes Posted: 01 Feb 2014 10:22 AM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian military helicopters dropped barrels packed with explosives in the government's latest air raids on rebel-held areas of the northern city of Aleppo on Saturday, killing at least 23 people including a family trapped in a burning car, activists said.
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| Syria death toll tops 136,000, future talks uncertain Posted: 01 Feb 2014 10:01 AM PST  The death toll in Syria's civil war has topped 136,000 after January saw one of the conflict's bloodiest months, an NGO said Saturday, as violence claimed even more lives. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll at the end of January was at least 136,227. The Observatory said the real toll could be much higher because of the extreme secrecy of rebels, jihadists and the regime about their casualties. The conflict began after a regime crackdown on peaceful anti-government demonstrations, prompting people to take up arms against President Bashar al-Assad.
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| Kerry: Ukraine should be free to align with Europe Posted: 01 Feb 2014 09:48 AM PST  MUNICH (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday that Ukraine, confronting a political crisis and massive anti-government protests, should be free to align with Europe if it wants and not feel coerced by more powerful neighbors such as Russia.
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| UN says more than 733 Iraqis killed in January Posted: 01 Feb 2014 09:38 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — The United Nations said Saturday that at least 733 Iraqis were killed during violence in January, even when leaving out casualties from an embattled western province. |
| Iraq forces hit Anbar militants as attacks kill eight Posted: 01 Feb 2014 12:13 PM PST  Ramadi (Iraq) (AFP) - Security forces and allied tribal fighters mounted major offensives on Saturday against militants in the conflict-hit cities of Ramadi and Fallujah as attacks elsewhere in Iraq killed eight people.
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| Iraq army prepares to storm militant-held Falluja Posted: 01 Feb 2014 08:45 AM PST  By Suadad al-Salhy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces are preparing to storm Falluja and break a month-long standoff with militants who control the city, senior security officials and troops told Reuters on Saturday. Anti-government fighters, among them militants from the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), overran two cities in the Sunni-dominated western province of Anbar bordering Syria on January 1. Iraqi government forces have since regained control over most of Ramadi, but Falluja remains in militant hands and is surrounded by the army, which has periodically shelled it. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who is also commander in chief of the armed forces, has held off an assault to give local tribesmen time to expel militants from Falluja themselves.
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| Nine dead in new barrel bomb raids in Syria's Aleppo: NGO Posted: 01 Feb 2014 08:44 AM PST  At least nine people were killed when Syrian regime helicopters dropped explosive-filled barrels on two neighbourhoods of the northern city of Aleppo on Saturday, a monitoring group said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported at least seven people killed in a double car bombing carried out by the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and targeting a rebel headquarters in Aleppo. Among the dead in the twin car bombs in northeast Aleppo were two rebel fighters, including the commander of an Islamist brigade, and five civilians, the group said. The violence in the northern town came a day after Syria's Defence Minister General Fahd al-Freij visited parts of northern Aleppo province, where the army has made advances in recent weeks.
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| Iraq criticises Kurds over oil 'grey area' Posted: 01 Feb 2014 06:00 AM PST  Iraq's top minister responsible for energy affairs on Saturday criticised the autonomous Kurdish region's push towards exporting oil independently of Baghdad, calling it a grey area lacking in transparency. Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani's remarks are the latest salvo in a long-running row between the central government and the northern Kurdish region over energy sales and, by extension, the extent of federalism in Iraq. "The most prominent challenge is that we have not reached a national agreement to extract and market oil from all of Iraq's territory," Shahristani said in a speech in Baghdad at an event looking at the past decade for Iraq's energy industry.
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| U.S. defense boss seeks to put diplomacy ahead of military might Posted: 01 Feb 2014 05:32 AM PST  By Missy Ryan MUNICH (Reuters) - The top U.S. defense official on Saturday underscored the Obama administration's intention to shift the focus of its foreign policy away from military might toward diplomacy. Speaking at the Munich security conference, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said he and Secretary of State John Kerry "have both worked to restore balance to the relationship between American defense and diplomacy". Hagel, in prepared remarks, stressed that the United States was "moving off a 13-year war footing" as the war in Afghanistan winds down and as Washington seeks to avoid getting involved in additional military conflicts overseas. Hagel's remarks echo those of President Barack Obama, who in his annual State of the Union address this week said the United States could not rely on its military power alone, promising to send U.S. troops to fight overseas only when "truly necessary".
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| UN says 733 more than Iraqis killed in January Posted: 01 Feb 2014 05:17 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — The United Nations says at least 733 Iraqis have died during violence in January, excluding casualties from an embattled western province. |
| Kerry sees trend of governments trampling rights Posted: 01 Feb 2014 04:30 AM PST  MUNICH (AP) — While acknowledging "unsavory elements" among Ukraine's street protesters, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday said the former Soviet state should be free to align with Europe if it wishes and not feel coerced by more powerful neighbors like Russia.
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| Obama to visit Saudi Arabia amid tensions over Iran, Syria: report Posted: 31 Jan 2014 09:53 PM PST  (Reuters) - President Barack Obama plans to travel to Saudi Arabia in March on a mission to smooth tensions with Washington's main Arab ally over U.S. policy on Iran's nuclear program and the civil war in Syria, a newspaper reported. Obama is preparing to meet with King Abdullah for a summit, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing unnamed Arab officials briefed on the meetings. The United States and Saudi Arabia have been allies since the kingdom was formed in 1932, giving Riyadh a powerful military protector and Washington secure oil supplies.
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| Obama pivot to Asia faces setback from own party Posted: 31 Jan 2014 09:11 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's foreign policy pivot to Asia took a hit this week, and it came from a stalwart of his own party. |
| Today in History Posted: 31 Jan 2014 09:00 PM PST Today is Saturday, Feb. 1, the 32nd day of 2014. There are 333 days left in the year. |
| Biden talks oil exports with Iraqi Kurdish leader Posted: 31 Jan 2014 06:13 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Vice President Joe Biden says Iraq's self-ruled northern Kurdish region must work with Iraq's government to resolve conflicts over revenues for exported oil. |
| Kerry calls for 'transatlantic renaissance' Posted: 31 Jan 2014 04:06 PM PST  Munich (Germany) (AFP) - US Secretary of State John Kerry called Saturday for a "transatlantic renaissance" in which the United States and Europe jointly tackle shared threats, from wars and poverty to climate change. "In order to meet today's challenges both near and far, America needs a strong Europe, and Europe needs a committed, engaged America," Kerry told a security conference in Germany. Transatlantic ties have been seen to be cooling amid what analysts call Washington's strategic "pivot to Asia" and a shifting international power balance with the emergence of new global players such as China, Russia and Brazil.
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