| Iraqi Yazidi girls abducted by IS endured horror Posted: 22 Dec 2014 04:43 PM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — Women and girls from Iraq's Yazidi minority endured horrors at the hands of Islamic State group extremists after they were taken as slaves when last summer, leaving them deeply traumatized, an international watchdog group said in a report issued on Tuesday. |
| Sex slavery pushes Iraq IS victims to suicide: Amnesty Posted: 22 Dec 2014 04:11 PM PST  Women and girls from Iraq's Yazidi religious minority forced into sexual slavery by the Islamic State jihadist group have committed suicide or tried to, Amnesty International said on Tuesday. IS militants have overrun swathes of Iraq since June, declared a cross-border caliphate also encompassing parts of neighbouring Syria, and carried out a litany of abuses in both countries. The group has targeted Yazidis and other minorities in north Iraq in a campaign that rights group Amnesty said amounted to ethnic cleansing, murdering civilians and enslaving others for a fate that some captives consider even worse than death. "Many of those held as sexual slaves are children -- girls aged 14, 15 or even younger," Donatella Rovera, Amnesty's senior crisis response adviser, said in a statement.
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| Ten injured in van attack on French Christmas market Posted: 22 Dec 2014 03:34 PM PST  A driver ploughed into a Christmas market in western France Monday, injuring 10 people before stabbing himself, a day after a man shouting "Allahu Akbar" ran down pedestrians in another French city. At least four people were badly hurt in the latest incident in the city of Nantes, the third attack in three days by individuals against civilians or security forces in France, sparking fears of possible copycat action. Authorities were quick to stress there were no apparent terrorist motives in the Christmas market attack. He too had yelled "Allahu Akbar".
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| Bergdahl investigation report goes to senior Army commander Posted: 22 Dec 2014 02:15 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The fate of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl now rests with a top U.S. general in North Carolina who will decide if the soldier should be charged with desertion after he left his Afghanistan post in 2009 and was captured by the Taliban.
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| U.S. House panel seeks update on plans to upgrade White House fence Posted: 22 Dec 2014 02:03 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top two members of a U.S. House of Representatives committee said on Monday they had written to Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson asking for a briefing on his agency's plans to enhance the fence around the White House. Republican Jason Chaffetz and Democrat Elijah Cummings, the ranking members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said in a statement that the request followed a recommendation last week by a review panel charged with looking into problems with the U.S. Secret Service. ...
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| Record 17,000 rally against 'Islamisation' in Germany Posted: 22 Dec 2014 01:34 PM PST  Germany has for weeks grappled with the emergence of the "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident" or PEGIDA, whose ranks in the city of Dresden have swelled rapidly from just a few hundred in October. The influx of refugees from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and several African and Balkan countries has strained local governments, which have scrambled to house the newcomers in old schools, office blocks and army barracks.
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| Obama's popularity falls to record low among US troops. Why? Posted: 22 Dec 2014 01:01 PM PST If President Obama's approval ratings have slipped with the general population, they have plummeted to record lows within one segment of the population: the US military. |
| Homeland Season 4 Finale Review: The Woman of No Man's Land Posted: 22 Dec 2014 12:12 PM PST  Homeland S04E12: "Long Time Coming" For the second year in a row, Homeland went with a more epilogue-style finale that distanced itself a bit from the primary events of the season (in this case, the Pakistan story and setting). Although the minor jump forward in time meant that "Long Time Coming" didn't drop us right into some Carrie and Quinn versus Dar and Haqqani bloodbath—which might've been extremely thrilling—the hour was ultimately a more successful example of this "type" of episode than the Season 3 finale. Whereas at the end of last season it felt like Homeland wanted to give Brody one last send-off above all else, "Long Time Coming" offered a really strong mix of somber reflection and intrigue for the future. All told, I can't imagine many of us expected that this would be how Season 4 ended, but it was a fine change of pace after the more deliberately intense and deadly back half of the season. While I certainly would've enjoyed yet another episode featuring Quinn doing his best Jack Bauer impression, perhaps joined by an impassioned Carrie, I wonder if showrunner Alex Gansa and the writer of this episode, Meredith Stiehm, were concerned about the law of diminishing returns with the action in Islamabad. By bringing Homeland's characters and story back to the United States, "Long Time Coming" put a stop to the explosions, but hustled to try to bring everyone's season-long arcs to some kind of new—or renewed—place, without completely stripping away the espionage. I'm betting that not everyone enjoyed this approach, but for the most part, it worked for me. Stiehm's script was particularly well-constructed, creating a first half that made room for Carrie to say goodbye to her father and experience what life outside of the CIA could, in theory, be like. Whether you entirely buy the show's long-term handling of Carrie as a character (and I'm skeptical), I do buy the simple idea that the death of a family member can have nearly unlimited impact on a person, especially someone in Carrie's fragile position given everything that happened in Islamabad. As a result, the Carrie we saw here was more invested in being a mother to her baby, was generally warmer to her sister, and handled the 'big' stuff associated with her father's death (packing up boxes, delivering the eulogy, maneuvering around at the wake, etc.) without any troubled Carrie 'freak outs'. Obviously, the sudden reappearance of her mother threw Carrie for a loop, but even then, she made the effort to drive across the country to Missouri to figure out the truth of why this woman did what she did. So many of those little moments just rang true for me. Carrie and Quinn share some kind of connection and she didn't know if/how he survived in Pakistan, so their reunion had the right level of surprise and relief. The brief moment with Lockhart slinking into the wake super late, armed with a crappy dish of his wife's lasagna, like the awkward dweeb he is, only to be welcomed to the Cool Kids table with Carrie, Quinn, and Saul so they could all have a "Pakistan, Am I Right?" moment, was just great. Odd, but great. Finally, the small series of scenes where the episode hit us over the head that Quinn and Carrie, those two crazy kids, might be able to make it in the real world if they just got out of the CIA worked well enough because Claire Danes and Rupert Friend sold the heck out of it, and because in that moment, the two of them have reached a point where getting out actually seems like a decent plan. It's not just like the Carrie-Brody ill-fated Romeo and Juliet nonsense; it's a slightly more rational, if still underdeveloped, connection that the show simply isn't going to let us ignore. Plus, Carrie's struggles with her mother were, in some ways, more powerful because she walked out on her kid just as her mother did so many years ago. And while Carrie's mom eventually admitted that her mistakes were due to a level of infidelity that she couldn't control, those impulses are familiar to Carrie. Like her mother, she hasn't been able to stay still; instead of sexing up the chillest bro at the bar, she simply zooms off to a war-torn country to try to bring democracy and/or imperialism to any and all nations. It's not the same, but it's not entirely different either. Thus, Carrie feels like she's been the way she is because of what's been passed down from her dad's DNA, but these moments with her mother illustrated that she is her mother's daughter as well. And so, she was finally convinced that maybe she could escape the CIA, and maybe being bipolar wasn't a life sentence of being alone. Maybe she wouldn't screw it up with Quinn, or with the baby, or even with her sister. Again, having just watched the episode, I'm not 100 percent sure I can track this throughout all 12 episodes, but as a kicker here at the end of the season, this was a darn fine place to get with Carrie. Stiehm's the best at writing for Carrie and it's no surprise she took on this episode. In a vacuum, this was the best Carrie episode in...two years? Maybe longer. While I'm less confident about the through-lines with Carrie, the show did nice work with both Quinn and Saul in this episode, pulling together tremendous moments that were basically in-line with what we've seen all season. In that regard, it wasn't surprising to see Quinn made a grand effort to support Carrie at the funeral and wake, to play with the baby, and even clean up the dishes. He was not only jonesing to have something more with Carrie, but the dude just wants to get out. We know that, we've seen it, and we've heard it. Even though he made these gestures at a wake, and even though Carrie is absolutely a mess, Quinn has been searching for someone to get him out, and keep him out. For Saul, the story was similarly simple, but effective—he wanted back in. Lockhart's politicking submarined him last season, the private sector sucked, and now that he's come out the other side of being the key hostage of one of the world's most dangerous men, he's ready to get back in the game. Unsurprisingly, Saul's desperation meant that he was willing to listen to Dar's big pitch about Haqqani—Dar agreed to take Haqqani off the kill list if he stopped harboring terrorists and was willing to get the video of Saul as a sign of good faith—and willing to undercut Carrie, and everything that happened in Islamabad just for the chance to take back the agency. Best of all, all three of those arcs came together in the episode's final 10 minutes, with Carrie deciding she wanted to try with Quinn, only to learn that he'd already given up (again) and taken a mission with no end date to Syria and Iraq, and then her trying to blackmail Dar into getting her in touch with Quinn using the info that she saw him with Haqqani, and then discovering that Saul and taken Dar's bait and ultimately had no problem cutting a deal with Haqqani (by association, at least). Carrie made a real effort to at least try to change her life. Quinn wanted to, again, but wasn't patient enough, and didn't trust himself to stick it out. And Saul got exactly what he wanted all along, while setting himself up to save face with the powers that be, Carrie be damned. That's quite the turn of events, and one that produced an emotional gut-punch I wasn't ready for, particularly when Carrie and Saul came face to face on Dar's porch. Who would have guessed that the biggest moment of the season would take place there, after everything that has happened over the previous 11 hours? Obviously, it's worth being at least somewhat skeptical regarding this turn of events. Maybe Carrie and Quinn aren't the kind of pair you can totally invest in. Maybe we've seen Saul screw Carrie over one too many times. Maybe Dar's 'plan' involving Haqqani seemed vague enough that the show can simply move on next season, not unlike how it handled the mess in Iran in Season 3. I hear that, and in some ways, I feel that way about what occurred in this finale. But I also really, really like that after a sometimes bumpy season that served as a soft reboot, this episode showed that Homeland can still deliver an emotional wallop without drones, missiles, shootouts, or manipulated prescriptions. It's not the time to say "Homeland is back!" or that's better than ever, or any of those superlatives—it's just nice to confirm that the show has something left in the tank, and that it's continued existence is beneficial for television. NOTES – Predictably, the jump back the U.S. didn't include a check-in with the Boyds. I guess Dennis is simply going to pay for his crimes and Martha will find another job? Those two were wrongfully lost in the shuffle over the past two episodes. – No Aasar or Max this week either, but Tasneem made an appearance on TV, speaking out against American involvement in Pakistan. It will be interesting to see whether Homeland continues with that story at all in Season 5. – I laughed at how quickly Saul ignored his wife now that he's back home, safe and sound. There she was, trying to make sure he was okay, and he just had to get to that meeting. He's a terrible husband. – Now that we know the details, what do you make of Dar's plan? It seems to me that he wasn't involved with Haqqani from the jump, and more likely reached out after the siege on the embassy. Like I said up above, I'm not sure how much I really buy the idea that Dar, or Saul, could trust Haqqani, but I guess I'm willing to believe they're both selfish enough to think they can trust him as a means of gaining control of the intelligence community. Regardless, if it means more Mandy Patinkin–F. Murray Abraham diner scenes next season, I can be convinced. – Amy Hargreaves did good work as Amy in this episode. She's always good, but it was nice to see the character do more than lecture Carrie. Victoria Clark was also solid as Carrie's mom; I'd love for her to stick around more next season. – That was a great little tribute to James Rebhorn at the end of the episode. Man is he missed, everywhere. – Any other lingering story bits or confusing turns that were left unaddressed? Let's talk about them in the comments. What'd you think of the finale? How did it change your view of the season as a whole?
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| Why Tunisia's election matters Posted: 22 Dec 2014 11:44 AM PST A veteran politician with ties back to a repressive regime that was overthrown four years ago has won the presidential election in Tunisia. |
| Oil markets face uncertain future as OPEC targets competitors Posted: 22 Dec 2014 11:08 AM PST  Abu Dhabi (AFP) - The determination of powerful Gulf OPEC members to stifle competition from new oil producers has left the global energy market reeling and sparked unprecedented uncertainty, officials and experts say.
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| In IS-held town, Iraqi Kurds face heavy resistance Posted: 22 Dec 2014 11:05 AM PST  MOUNT SINJAR, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi Kurdish forces forged ahead with their assault Monday on a militant-held town in northern Iraq, but encountered heavy resistance from Islamic State fighters whose snipers fired at the attackers and who used burning tires to create a smoke screen against coalition airstrikes.
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| Iraq says Jordan to begin training Iraqi troops soon Posted: 22 Dec 2014 10:56 AM PST  By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan will begin training the first group of army troops from neighboring Iraq in the next few weeks as part of the international effort to fight Islamic State, the Iraqi defense minister said on Monday. Speaking after meeting Jordanian King Abdullah, Khaled al Obeidi said Amman would also supply the Iraqi army with arms needed for its drawn-out fight against the radical Islamists who have seized wide swathes of the north and west of his country. ...
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| Car rampage in France 'not a terrorist act' Posted: 22 Dec 2014 10:25 AM PST  A Frenchman who ploughed into pedestrians shouting "Allahu Akbar" had been to psychiatric hospital 157 times and had no known links to jihadist groups, a prosecutor said Monday, easing concerns that the attack was inspired by Islamic extremism. The incident Sunday in the eastern town of Dijon left 13 people hurt in a scene that one witness described as "apocalyptic" and came a day after a man assaulted police in the central town of Joue-les-Tours with a knife, slashing one officer in the face. In Saturday's attack, Bertrand Nzohabonayo, a Burundian convert to Islam, was shot dead after entering a police station in Joue-les-Tours armed with a knife, seriously wounding two officers and hurting another.
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| AP poll: Police killings of blacks voted top story of 2014 Posted: 22 Dec 2014 10:11 AM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — The police killings of unarmed blacks in Ferguson, Missouri, and elsewhere — and the investigations and tumultuous protests they inspired — was the top news story of 2014, according to The Associated Press' annual poll of U.S. editors and news directors.
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| Top news of 2014 left public grasping for answers Posted: 22 Dec 2014 09:26 AM PST  Twenty-thousand feet down the answers may be waiting, hidden in some underwater canyon far off Australia's coast. But more than nine months after searchers began scouring the seas for a Malaysia Airlines jetliner that vanished with 239 people aboard, the catastrophe defies resolution.
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| Late at night, Christie doing 2016 foreign policy homework Posted: 22 Dec 2014 08:58 AM PST  NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — It's after 9 p.m. on a Sunday night in late November and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is deep into a conference call, talking about nuclear weapons and Iran.
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| From Baltic to Asia, East-West aerial confrontations heat up Posted: 22 Dec 2014 08:35 AM PST By Peter Apps NEW YORK (Reuters) - From the skies of the Baltic to the South China Sea, a new era of confrontation with Russia and China is pitting U.S. and allied pilots against their counterparts on a scale not seen since the Cold War era. It is, current and former officials say, a major shift for air crews who by and large have spent more than a decade flying largely uncontested missions over Afghanistan and Iraq. Lying behind the aerial sabre-rattling are high tensions between the West and Russia over Moscow's perceived role in Ukraine's separatist conflict. ... |
| U.S. leads 22 more air strikes against Islamic State: task force Posted: 22 Dec 2014 06:45 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S.-led coalition conducted 12 air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria on Monday and 10 strikes Iraq, the U.S. military said in a statement. In Iraq, the strikes hit near the strategic northern Iraqi town of Sinjar as well as near Asad, Tal Afar, Ramdi, Mosul and Falluja, the Combined Joint Task Force said. They destroyed six units of Islamic State fighters as well as a weapons factory, numerous buildings and several vehicles, it said. ... |
| Did North Korea Really Attack Sony? Posted: 22 Dec 2014 05:00 AM PST  I am deeply skeptical of the FBI's announcement on Friday that North Korea was behind last month's Sony hack. The agency's evidence is tenuous, and I have a hard time believing it. But I also have trouble believing that the U.S. government would make the accusation this formally if officials didn't believe it.
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| Iraq TV show makes 'terrorists' confront victims Posted: 22 Dec 2014 04:05 AM PST  Haider Ali Motar was convicted of terrorism charges about a month ago for helping to carry out a string of Baghdad car bombings on behalf of the Islamic State extremist group. Now, the 21-year old is a ...
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| US Navy chopper crashes in Kuwait, minor injuries Posted: 22 Dec 2014 03:54 AM PST  A US Navy helicopter has crashed during a training mission in the Gulf state of Kuwait, slightly injuring three crew members, the Bahrain-based Naval Forces Central Command said on Monday. The MH-60S helicopter went down on Sunday morning during the overland training flight at Camp Buehring in Kuwait, it said in a statement. Kuwait hosts about 15,000 military personnel from the United States, which is leading the international coalition fighting the Islamic State extremist group in Syria and Iraq.
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| Budget pressure unlikely to deflect Iran from nuclear goals Posted: 22 Dec 2014 03:21 AM PST  By Mehrdad Balali DUBAI (Reuters) - A big oil price slide will hurt Iran's attempts to rescue battered living standards, but economic pain is unlikely to soften its stance in nuclear talks or end aid to allies such as Syria, matters seen by its ruling clerics as strategic priorities. Economic misery due to sanctions and mismanagement has been a reality for years, and while social strains in the 76 million population are deep, the clerics will seek to contain them, say experts examining Iran's budget plans for 2015. ...
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| Fallout from Obama’s Russia Strategy Is Spreading through Europe Posted: 22 Dec 2014 03:00 AM PST The Obama administration's sanctions against Russia, reluctantly supported by the Europeans, bite more deeply every day. It'll be the other kind if the European Union swoons into another recession as a consequence of America's geopolitical ambitions to Europe's east. President Putin, in his freewheeling annual encounter with journalists last week, told Russians they faced not a crisis but two years of "trying times." Then he added offhandedly, "Call it what you want." Taking his advice, let's say the Russian economy is now either in crisis or at the edge of one. Those West Europeans whose economies are most extensively interdependent with Russia's, notably but not only the Germans, are next. |
| Pope to meet Muslim, Buddhist leaders in Philippines visit Posted: 22 Dec 2014 02:49 AM PST  Pope Francis will meet with leaders of various religions when he visits the Philippines next month, pushing a message of tolerance in order to combat global religious conflicts, a church official said Monday. The pontiff will hold a 10 to 15-minute dialogue with the dean of the Philippines' largest Islamic studies centre and a Taiwan-based Buddhist leader on January 18, according to Father Carlos Reyes, a member of the committee organising the Pope's visit. He will also meet with the Hong Kong-based regional head of the Greek Orthodox Church, as well as a Hindu leader, Protestant bishops, and a Manila-based rabbi, Reyes told reporters. The dialogue will be held at the 400-year-old church-run University of Santo Tomas in Manila, where the pontiff will also address a crowd of 25,000 youths.
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| AP PHOTOS: Editor selections from the Middle East Posted: 22 Dec 2014 12:25 AM PST  In the Middle East and the wider region this past week, Taliban gunmen attacked a school in Peshawer, Pakistan, killing 148 people —most of them children — in what was one of the country's deadliest attacks in years. In the days that followed, families buried the victims of the massacre, residents held vigils and the nation mourned its loss.
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| Saudi Arabia says won't cut oil output Posted: 21 Dec 2014 07:41 PM PST  ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it would not cut output to prop up oil markets even if non-OPEC nations did so, in one of the toughest signals yet that the world's top petroleum exporter plans to ride out the market's biggest slump in years.
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