| Why oil is down by half, what it means for you Posted: 15 Dec 2014 04:50 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil has fallen by nearly half in just six months, a surprising and steep plunge that has consumers cheering, producers howling and economists wringing their hands over whether this is a good or bad thing.
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| Coburn blocks bill on veterans' suicide prevention Posted: 15 Dec 2014 04:32 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Veterans groups are criticizing Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn for blocking a bill intended to reduce a suicide epidemic that claims the lives of 22 military veterans every day. |
| Iraq jihadists release pictures of mass execution Posted: 15 Dec 2014 04:25 PM PST  The Islamic State (IS) group on Monday released pictures of the execution of 13 men described as anti-jihadist Sunni tribal fighters near the northern city of Tikrit. Local residents confirmed to AFP that a mass execution had taken place on a large roundabout six kilometres (four miles) east of the city of Tikrit at around 3:30 pm (1230 GMT). Residents said the roundabout is at an intersection for roads leading to Tikrit, Kirkuk and the town of Al-Alam. They said the men who were executed were members of an anti-IS group of Sunni tribal fighters known as the Knights of Al-Alam who were captured by jihadists in Tikrit and Al-Alam around 10 days earlier.
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| Police storm Sydney cafe to end hostage siege, three dead Posted: 15 Dec 2014 04:16 PM PST  By Lincoln Feast and Colin Packham SYDNEY (Reuters) - Heavily armed Australian police stormed a Sydney cafe early on Tuesday morning and freed a number of hostages being held there at gunpoint, in a dramatic end to a 16-hour siege in which three people including the attacker were killed. Police have not publicly identified the gunman but a police source named him as Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee and self-styled sheikh known for sending hate mail to the families of Australian troops killed in Afghanistan. ...
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| Extremist gunman, two hostages dead in Sydney siege cafe Posted: 15 Dec 2014 03:59 PM PST  Two hostages and an extremist Iranian-born gunman were killed in a siege that ended when armed police stormed a central Sydney cafe Tuesday, as a shocked Australia struggled to come to terms with the tragedy. Police in SWAT-style gear hurled percussion grenades and opened fire in the early hours of the morning after a number of staff and customers managed to flee for their lives from the Lindt eatery in the heart of Australia's biggest city. They moved in after hearing gunfire, and the 50-year-old lone gunman, widely named in the media as Man Haron Monis, was shot and killed in the exchange that followed, New South Wales Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said.
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| Suspect in six Pennsylvania killings is target of manhunt Posted: 15 Dec 2014 03:53 PM PST By Daniel Kelley LOWER SALFORD, Penn. (Reuters) - An Iraq war veteran suspected of killing six family members in towns around Philadelphia was being hunted on Monday by Pennsylvania police, authorities said. The manhunt for Bradley William Stone, 35, was concentrated in and around Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, where residents were advised to remain indoors with their doors locked, the Montgomery County district attorney said. ... |
| Hostage situation erupts in Sydney cafe Posted: 15 Dec 2014 03:36 PM PST  SYDNEY (AP) — A hostage situation erupted inside a chocolate shop and cafe in Australia's largest city on Monday, with the nation's prime minister saying it may be "politically motivated."
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| Iraq reports 2,700 missing since June jihadist onslaught Posted: 15 Dec 2014 03:17 PM PST  At least 2,700 people, mostly soldiers, are missing as a result of attacks by the Islamic State group in Iraq, the human rights ministry said on Monday. Badush is a prison outside the northern city of Mosul, which IS has used as its main hub in Iraq. According to Human Rights Watch, IS gunmen executed up to 600 inmates from Badush prison on June 10, forcing them to kneel along a nearby ravine before pushing them in and setting fire to the bodies.
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| Can identifying mental illness stop terror attacks? Posted: 15 Dec 2014 02:36 PM PST  LONDON (AP) — A radical Muslim killed a soldier outside Canada's Parliament. A right-wing extremist opened fire on buildings in Texas' capital and tried to burn down the Mexican Consulate. An Al-Qaida-inspired assailant hacked an off-duty soldier to death in London.
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| 15,000 join anti-Islam protest in eastern Germany Posted: 15 Dec 2014 02:26 PM PST  A record 15,000 people marched Monday in eastern Germany against "asylum cheats" and the country's "Islamisation" in the latest show of strength of a growing far-right populist movement. Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier cautioned Germans against falling prey to xenophobic "rabble-rousing", reacting to the nascent movement called "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident" or PEGIDA. "The people are with us!," the group's founder Lutz Bachmann shouted at the crowd, celebrating a 50-percent rise in attendance since their last "Monday demonstration" in a series of rallies that started only in October. "Everywhere now, in every news rag, on every senseless talkshow, they are debating, and the most important thing is: the politicians can no longer ignore us!" Bachmann told the mass of people, many waving the black-red-gold national flag.
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| Nightmare in Sydney ends in bangs, bloodshed Posted: 15 Dec 2014 01:52 PM PST  Nearly 17 hours after a lone gunman unfurled an Islamic flag above a "MERRY CHRISTMAS" window sign and took customers and staff captive, the siege of a Sydney cafe ended early Tuesday with explosive bangs and flashes. Others were carried or stretchered out, as heavily armed police stormed into the Lindt cafe on Sydney's Martin Place -- home to the city's financial centre, state parliament and central bank. "They are very brave people who in many cases were just buying a cup of coffee and they got caught up in this dreadful affair," said state police commissioner Andrew Scipione. "It sounded like a chain of firecrackers on the scale of thunder," wrote Sydney Morning Herald reporter James Robertson.
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| Venezuela's Maduro slams 'insolent Yankees,' 'murderer' Aznar Posted: 15 Dec 2014 01:29 PM PST  CARACAS (Reuters) - President Nicolas Maduro let rip at the U.S. government on Monday over sanctions against Venezuelan officials and branded ex-Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar a "murderer." The socialist leader, who replaced the late Hugo Chavez last year and is seeing his popularity fall amid a deep economic crisis, was addressing thousands of red-clad supporters at a rally in Caracas to protest against the U.S. sanctions plan. "They can shove their U.S. visas where they should be shoved, insolent Yankees!" Maduro thundered in rhetoric reminiscent of his mentor Chavez's 14-year rule. ...
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| Obama vows no safe haven for Islamic State Posted: 15 Dec 2014 01:15 PM PST  By Steve Holland FORT DIX, N.J. (Reuters) - President Barack Obama used a holiday season visit to a U.S. military base on Monday to issue a tough warning to Islamic State militants, saying a U.S.-led coalition will permit no safe haven to the group and will destroy it eventually. Obama spoke to hundreds of camouflage-wearing troops in a hangar at Fort Dix to thank the U.S. military for its actions around the world. In a display of bipartisan support for the troops, Obama was joined by New Jersey's Republican Governor Chris Christie, a potential candidate to succeed Obama in 2016. The U.S. ...
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| Senate Democrats push votes on Obama's nominees Posted: 15 Dec 2014 01:10 PM PST By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With the clock ticking down on their Senate majority, Democrats pushed on Monday to win approval for some of President Barack Obama's stalled nominations for government posts. Leading the list is Vivek Murthy, Obama's choice for the top U.S. public health job of surgeon general, who has drawn opposition over his support for stricter gun regulations, and Sarah Saldana, whose nomination to head the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office became bogged down after she said the president's executive action on immigration was legal. ... |
| Obama declares 'turning point' for US military Posted: 15 Dec 2014 01:05 PM PST  FORT DIX, N.J. (AP) — Marking what he called a "turning point" for the U.S. military, President Barack Obama on Monday saluted troops returning from Afghanistan and declared the United States is moving past the time for large deployments aimed at nation building.
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| Why three Obama nominees are so controversial Posted: 15 Dec 2014 01:02 PM PST Thanks to an unexpected legislative maneuver orchestrated by Sens. Ted Cruz (R) of Texas and Mike Lee (R) of Utah, Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D) of Nevada got two extra days he needed to try to move a slate of 23 presidential nominees, some strongly opposed by Republicans, before the 113th Congress ends this week and Democrats lose their majority. |
| EU backs UN drive for Aleppo ceasefire Posted: 15 Dec 2014 01:01 PM PST  The EU backed UN efforts Monday to arrange a ceasefire in Syria's second city Aleppo as one of the few options left to help end a conflict which has claimed more than 200,000 lives. EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini said the UN's planned "freeze" on the ground would ease the desperate plight of civilians caught up in the fighting and offer some way forward after repeated efforts to end the war had failed. The bloc's 28 foreign ministers accordingly endorsed efforts by UN Syria special envoy Staffan de Mistura to bring about a "strategic de-escalation" in Aleppo and possibly other areas, she said after chairing a regular meeting in Brussels.
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| Democrats Are Doing Their Homework on GOP Presidential Wannabes Posted: 15 Dec 2014 01:00 PM PST  We've all heard about Hillary Clinton's flaws in running for president: She's a tool of Wall Street; she's too pro-Obama; she's too hawkish on foreign policy and defense; she's too greedy for the huge ...
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| A Middle East ripe for vision Posted: 15 Dec 2014 12:29 PM PST The Middle East has long produced more than its fair share of prophets, or people offering visions for the future. "Where there is no vision, the people perish," states the book of Proverbs. Perhaps the region is now ripe again for present-day prophesy. Consider these trends: |
| European Union backs U.N. plan for Syrian truce Posted: 15 Dec 2014 12:10 PM PST  By Adrian Croft and Robin Emmott BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers threw their weight behind a U.N. plan for a truce in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Monday, saying it offered a glimmer of hope for a political solution to the three-and-a-half year old civil war. The EU also said it was ready to work with Iran and Russia to try to drive forward a broader political process that could lead to a settlement of a war that has killed around 200,000 people. U.N. ...
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| Sydney hostage drama: a jihadist propaganda win? Posted: 15 Dec 2014 11:45 AM PST  His motives are a mystery and his acts described as random and deranged, but analysts say the gunman who took a Sydney cafe full of terrified people hostage could still score a propaganda coup for jihadists. Bearing a black jihadist flag, the Iranian-born Islamist created precisely the sort of lone-wolf attack urged by groups such as the Islamic State -- replete with bomb threats, hostages and panic in a major Western city.
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| 'We must negotiate with Islamic State': senior mediator Posted: 15 Dec 2014 11:09 AM PST By Alex Whiting LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When Padraig O'Malley says we must talk to Islamic State, he's speaking from experience. A seasoned mediator, O'Malley brought together warring parties in Iraq at the height of the sectarian conflict in 2007 and 2008, resulting in an agreement that formed the basis for political reconciliation in Iraq and helped curb the violence. He did this with the aid of negotiators from South Africa, and from Northern Ireland, where he helped pave the way for the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that ended 30 years of sectarian conflict. ... |
| Pakistan's Fight Club emerges from the shadows Posted: 15 Dec 2014 10:27 AM PST  In a dingy gym tucked away in a basement in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore, pumped up teens get to grips with jujitsu moves before unleashing volleys of ferocious punches.
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| Japan coach Aguirre backs old guard for Asian Cup Posted: 15 Dec 2014 10:16 AM PST  Japan boss Javier Aguirre opted for caution on Monday as he named his 23-man Asian Cup squad, abandoning the tinkering approach that brought a premature end to his honeymoon period as coach.
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| Sydney hostage crisis: Live Report Posted: 15 Dec 2014 09:41 AM PST  Hong Kong (AFP) - 17:02 GMT - AFP IS NOW CLOSING THIS LIVE REPORT - after Australian police stormed a Sydney cafe where a radical Islamist had taken several people hostage in an apparent "lone wolf" attack -- bringing to an end a siege lasting nearly 17 hours that left two people dead.
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| Who is Sydney hostage taker 'Sheikh Haron'? Posted: 15 Dec 2014 09:26 AM PST  The hostage-taking by "Sheik Haron," the Iranian immigrant to Australia who took about 40 people hostage at Sydney, Australia's Lindt Chocolate Cafe in the morning of Dec. 15, is over. Local police are saying two people are dead, and it's unclear at this point whether the hostage-taker is dead or alive.
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| Two killed as Australian police storm siege cafe Posted: 15 Dec 2014 09:02 AM PST  At least two people were killed as heavily armed Australian police early Tuesday dramatically stormed a central Sydney cafe to end a day-long siege sparked when an Iranian-born Islamist took several people hostage. Security forces in SWAT-style gear intervened, unleashing a flurry of loud bangs and flashes in the eatery in the heart of Australia's biggest city, after a number of the staff and customers managed to flee for their lives. Australian media said that in addition, the gunman was shot dead by police. Sky News also reported four people were wounded, three of them critically.
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| Spin wars: How a bitter feud between the CIA and FBI stoked the torture debate Posted: 15 Dec 2014 09:01 AM PST  A glimpse into an intense, years-long bureaucratic clash between the CIA and FBI may be key to understanding the debate over the intel agency's "enhanced interrogation" program.
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| Elizabeth Warren says she's not running for president. Should we believe her? Posted: 15 Dec 2014 08:20 AM PST  Last week, several liberal groups and hundreds of former Obama campaign staffers called on Sen. Elizabeth Warren to make a 2016 presidential bid. The difference for the Democrats this time around is that Hillary Clinton's poll numbers for the primary are actually extremely good — far better than her own polling in 2008, or Romney's in 2012.
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| U.N. Gulf War fund to meet this week on Iraq payment delay Posted: 15 Dec 2014 07:50 AM PST  GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations Gulf War reparations fund will hold a special meeting on Thursday to address Iraq's plea to postpone a final $4.6 billion instalment payment for its 1990-91 occupation of Kuwait, a U.N. official said. Reuters reported exclusively on Friday that Iraq, faces a cash crisis caused by falling oil prices and war with Islamic State, is seeking to defer the final tranche of reparations to Kuwait for wartime damage to its oil facilities. ...
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| On Turkish-Syrian border, a baby Obama is born Posted: 15 Dec 2014 07:34 AM PST Ahmed Shehalo always imagined his firstborn would be named Muslim, in honor of his late father. But when the phone call came in early October announcing the birth of his son in a hospital in Turkey, there was no room for debate. |
| French police dismantle network sending jihadist fighters to Syria Posted: 15 Dec 2014 07:26 AM PST  French police on Monday dismantled a network sending jihadist fighters to Syria in a series of dawn raids that saw them nab 10 suspects across the country, said Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve. Elite and anti-terror police units descended on around a dozen targets, mostly in the southern region of Toulouse, but also around Paris and in the northern region of Normandy. In recent months France, which has Europe's largest Muslim population, has been facing the fact that hundreds of its citizens have openly joined jihadist groups in Iraq and Syria and have even called for attacks on their homeland. A grisly execution video released around the same time featured at least one French citizen who hailed from a small village in Normandy and converted to Islam in his teens.
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| Iraqi prime minister visits United Arab Emirates Posted: 15 Dec 2014 07:11 AM PST  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Monday made his first visit to the United Arab Emirates since taking office in early September as he seeks to expand cooperation with the wealthy, Western-allied Gulf nation.
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| Rape culture isn’t a myth. It’s real, and it’s dangerous. Posted: 15 Dec 2014 06:00 AM PST  There's a phrase you are increasingly likely to encounter when reading or discussing stories about sexual assault: "rape culture." It might sound like just another way to talk about high-profile rape scandals, sexual assault at colleges or in the military, or accusations against powerful people such as Bill Cosby, Woody Allen, Jerry Sandusky, or Roman Polanski. What is rape culture? It's not just about sexual violence itself, but about cultural norms and institutions that protect rapists, promote impunity, shame victims, and demand that women make unreasonable sacrifices to avoid sexual assault.
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| How do you successfully end wars? Academics seek an answer Posted: 15 Dec 2014 05:24 AM PST By Katie Nguyen LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - What constitutes a military victory? In the past, vanquishers might have planted a flag after the capture of a battlefield or capital, and held a victory parade. But in the era of insurgencies and the "war on terror", victory is much harder to define, according to academics at the University of Glasgow, who have just begun researching the ethics of victory in war. A case in point was former U.S. President George W. ... |
| Iraq's new premier battles to unite a fractured nation Posted: 15 Dec 2014 05:13 AM PST  By Dominic Evans BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three months after he took office with a mission to unite his broken, warring country, Iraq's new prime minister has swept away the divisive legacy of his predecessor with a burst of rapid and dramatic measures. But Haider al-Abadi faces a huge challenge forging a common front against Islamic State fighters, rebuilding an ineffective army and reasserting a degree of central government authority across Iraq. Time is short and the battle to contain the militants who control swathes of territory is draining the country's finances. ...
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| Dick Cheney Defends the Torture of Innocents Posted: 15 Dec 2014 04:50 AM PST  When I was growing up, Americans thought of torture as a tactic used by history's villains. A brutal dictator might keep a depraved regime in power with torture. People in foreign countries might suffer inside torture chambers. But U.S. policy reflected the will of the citizenry, not the sadism of an evil-doer. Even folks who knew that the U.S. had tortured in the past never imagined it would do so again.
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| Indian pro-Islamic State Twitter account back up as police seek clues Posted: 15 Dec 2014 04:37 AM PST By Sanjeev Miglani and Aditya Kalra NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A popular pro-Islamic State Twitter account traced to an Indian engineer was back up on Monday as police combed through tens of thousands of followers to identify sympathizers of the militant group. Mehdi Masoor Biswas, who police said was behind the @ShamiWitness Twitter handle, has cooperated with investigators since he was picked up from his one-room apartment in Bengaluru city on Saturday, the government said. His account was disabled at that time and it was not clear how it became active again. ... |
| Hostage crisis unfolds in Australia's biggest city, but motivations unclear Posted: 15 Dec 2014 04:29 AM PST The financial and commercial heart of Australia's largest city was in lockdown Monday night after an armed gunman took an unknown number of people hostage in a cafe. |
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