| First Iraqi Kurdish fighters bound for Kobane arrive in Turkey Posted: 28 Oct 2014 05:00 PM PDT  Sanliurfa (Turkey) (AFP) - The first Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters bound for the battleground Syrian town of Kobane arrived in neighbouring Turkey early Wednesday, a Turkish official told AFP.
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| 'Terror threat': US boosts security at government buildings Posted: 28 Oct 2014 04:24 PM PDT  The United States said Tuesday it will boost security at government buildings following threats from Islamist groups. The "precise actions" and "precise locations" were not specified in the statement by Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, who said they would vary, shift and "be continually reevaluated." "The reasons for this action are self-evident," Johnson said, citing "continued public calls by terrorist organizations for attacks on the homeland and elsewhere" as well as the two attacks last week in Canada and elsewhere. Johnson called it "a precautionary step, to safeguard US government personnel and facilities, and the visitors to those facilities" in the capital and other major cities, as well as other locations around the country.
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| US airdrops aid for Sunnis in western Iraq: Pentagon Posted: 28 Oct 2014 04:12 PM PDT  US cargo planes have parachuted aid to a beleaguered Sunni tribe in western Iraq, the Pentagon said Tuesday, in a sign Iraqi government forces remain in a tenuous position against Islamic State jihadists in Anbar province. American C-130 aircraft carried out an airdrop of food near Al-Asad air base early on Monday at the request of the Baghdad government, Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters. US aircraft delivered more than 7,000 Halal meals that were retrieved by Iraqi forces and then delivered to the Albu Nimr tribe, which had been forced to flee homes near Heet due to Islamic State (IS) group's "aggression," Kirby said. "This assistance is just another example of our resolve to assist the people of Iraq and deny ISIL (IS) key terrain and safe haven, as well as our commitment to assist those forces who are opposing" the group, he said.
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| UC Berkeley Protests Comic Bill Maher's Planned Speech, Upholding College Tradition of Advance Heckling Posted: 28 Oct 2014 04:10 PM PDT Comedian Bill Maher is known for his rather extreme views on politics and religion. And while his HBO series, Real Time With Bill Maher, offers him a platform to express these views, some University of California, Berkeley students don't want the controversial figure using their commencement ceremony to do so. |
| A GLIMMER OF HOPE SHINES IN TUNISIA Posted: 28 Oct 2014 03:06 PM PDT WASHINGTON -- These gray days, one hardly expects to see any bright dawns of a new world breaking. Even if an event really IS positive, it is usually so complicated that the average American can't quickly "get" it. It has been that way with the complex story of Tunisia, a country of 11 million Arabs, Berbers, Italians and French tucked away on the north coast of Africa between Algeria, torn by vicious guerrilla warfare during the '90s, and Libya, now the home of so many militias one can hardly even call it a country anymore. ... |
| Kerry says Canadian parliament attack clearly 'terrorist act' Posted: 28 Oct 2014 02:37 PM PDT By David Brunnstrom and Randall Palmer OTTAWA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday that an attack on the Canadian parliament and the country's National War Memorial last week in which a soldier was killed was clearly a terrorist act. "Clearly, anybody who walks up in a premeditated way with a loaded rifle and attacks someone in uniform then purposely goes to a parliament, is committing, by common sense standards, a terrorist act," Kerry told a news briefing after talks in Ottawa with his Canadian counterpart, Foreign Minister John Baird. ... |
| Thousands mourn at funeral of Canadian soldier slain in Ottawa Posted: 28 Oct 2014 02:24 PM PDT  By Scott Malone HAMILTON Ontario (Reuters) - Thousands of mourners packed a church and lined adjacent streets in industrial Hamilton, Ontario, on Tuesday for the funeral of the soldier shot dead in last week's attack on the nation's seat of government. Corporal Nathan Cirillo, 24, was one of two soldiers killed in a pair of attacks last week that police said were carried out independently by radical recent converts to Islam. The assaults took place as Canada's military was stepping up its involvement in air strikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq. ...
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| Special Report: How Syria policy stalled under the 'analyst in chief' Posted: 28 Oct 2014 02:04 PM PDT  By David Rohde and Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - (In the Oct. 9 story, corrects size of Obama's National Security Council staff in paragraph 12 from 370 to 270, after the White House clarified imprecise numbers it had provided to Reuters. Based on new figures provided after publication, the Council staff, excluding support personnel, has gone from about 50 under George H.W. Bush to 100 under Bill Clinton, 200 under George W. Bush and about 270 under Obama.) Throughout 2012, as signs mounted that militants in Syria were growing stronger, the debate in the White House followed a pattern. In meeting after meeting, as officials from agencies outside the executive residence advocated arming pro-Western rebels or other forms of action, President Barack Obama's closest White House aides bluntly delivered the president's verdict: no. "It became clear from the people very close to the president that he had deep, deep reservations about intervening in Syria," said Julianne Smith, who served as deputy national security advisor to Vice President Joe Biden.
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| Iraqi Kurds head to fight militants in Syria Posted: 28 Oct 2014 01:42 PM PDT  IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Thousands of cheering, flag-waving people gave a noisy send-off to a group of Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga troops who left Tuesday for Turkey — the first step on their way to help their Syrian brethren fight Islamic extremists in the embattled border town of Kobani.
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| Thousands mourn Canada soldier killed in Ottawa attack Posted: 28 Oct 2014 01:34 PM PDT  Thousands of mourners lined the streets of the Canadian city of Hamilton Tuesday for the funeral procession of a soldier killed last week in an attack in the nation's capital. Wailing bagpipes and a solitary drum beat broke a solemn silence as hundreds of soldiers, veterans and police officers marched alongside the flag-draped casket of Corporal Nathan Cirillo to a cathedral in his hometown. His bereaved family, including his six-year-old son wearing his father's beret, also participated in the funeral procession, viewed on television by millions nationwide. Cirillo was fatally shot last week while standing watch at the War Memorial in Ottawa.
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| US military deaths in Afghanistan at 2,207 Posted: 28 Oct 2014 01:06 PM PDT As of Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014, at least 2,207 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to an Associated Press count. |
| Peshmerga head for Syria's Kobane to fight IS Posted: 28 Oct 2014 12:58 PM PDT Heavily armed Kurdish peshmerga fighters were on their way to joining militias defending the Syrian border town of Kobane from the Islamic State group after setting off from Iraq Tuesday. Military trucks loaded with weapons were seen departing from the base northeast of the Iraqi Kurdish regional capital Arbil bound for the besieged town on the Turkish frontier. More than three dozen vehicles carrying 80 fighters, machineguns and artillery were to travel overland to Kobane, crossing into Turkey on Tuesday, a Kurdish officer said. Another 72 peshmerga fighters were to fly to Turkey early on Wednesday, the officer said. |
| Germany warns security situation 'critical' due to radical Islam Posted: 28 Oct 2014 12:18 PM PDT By Alexandra Hudson and Sabine Siebold BERLIN (Reuters) - Radical Islam poses a critical security threat to Germany, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere warned on Tuesday, saying the number of people capable of staging attacks in the country stood at an all-time high. Besides the risk posed by German jihadists returning from Syria, there was also the danger of violent clashes on German streets as rival extremist groups turn on each other - mirroring the conflicts of the Middle East, he told a security conference. ... |
| Britain puts armed soldiers at London tourist attraction after Canada attack Posted: 28 Oct 2014 11:55 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Armed soldiers have been deployed at a top tourist attraction in the heart of London's government district as a precautionary measure after an Islamist gunman attacked the Canadian parliament last week, a military source said on Tuesday. The source told Reuters that the decision to deploy the troops at the entrance to Horse Guards Parade in London's Whitehall was not motivated by a specific threat but was designed to be a visible deterrent. ...
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| Captive John Cantlie is a propaganda prop for Islamic State Posted: 28 Oct 2014 11:28 AM PDT With its first video of John Cantlie, a British reporter held captive by the so-called Islamic State, the group signaled its intent to use him for a different kind of propaganda than its typical snuff videos. |
| International donors vow more robust help for Syrian refugees Posted: 28 Oct 2014 11:13 AM PDT  An international conference on the Syrian refugee crisis vowed Tuesday to extend longterm financial aid to countries struggling with what the UN calls the world's "most dramatic humanitarian crisis", but did not commit to an overall figure. Around 40 countries and international bodies adopted a declaration saying donors would "mobilise for years to come" increased development support to help nations like Lebanon and Jordan shoulder the impact of millions of Syrian refugees. Germany said this had not been the conference's prime aim. Berlin said it was budgeting 500 million euros ($637 million) for 2015-2017 to help Syrian refugees and the US announced $10 million in additional humanitarian assistance for host communities in the region.
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| Iraqi peshmerga fighters head for Syria to fight Islamic State Posted: 28 Oct 2014 10:39 AM PDT  By Isabel Coles and Dasha Afanasieva ARBIL Iraq/MURSITPINAR Turkey (Reuters) - Iraqi peshmerga fighters headed for the Syrian town of Kobani on Tuesday to help fellow Kurds repel an Islamic State advance that has defied U.S.-led air strikes and become an important test of the coalition's ability to combat the Sunni insurgents. Kobani, nestled on the border with Turkey, has been besieged by Islamic State for more than a month. Weeks of air strikes on the insurgents' positions and the deaths of hundreds of their fighters have failed to break the siege. ...
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| Iraqi Tycoon Builds White House Replica Posted: 28 Oct 2014 10:14 AM PDT  The Replica Was Valued At $17 Million
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| Qatar emir to face questions on militant funding on UK state visit Posted: 28 Oct 2014 09:28 AM PDT  By William James LONDON (Reuters) - The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is expected to reject allegations that his country is funding Islamic State (IS) militants during a three-day state visit to Britain which began on Tuesday. Sheikh Tamim's first official visit to Britain since becoming emir in 2013 will include talks with Prime Minister David Cameron and a meeting with Queen Elizabeth. Qatar is one of the world's richest countries and has invested heavily in British firms and property. Amongst its investments are London's tallest building, the Shard, which was funded by the Qatari royal family, and the upmarket Harrods department store which is owned by sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority.
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| IRAQ SYRIA REFUGEES Posted: 28 Oct 2014 09:07 AM PDT Graphic shows the locations of displaced Iraqis and Syrian refugees in 2014 in Iraq and Syria's surrounding region; 2c x 6 1/2 inches; 96.3 mm x 165 mm; |
| Iraqi peshmerga fighters head for Syrian town of Kobani: senior Kurdish official Posted: 28 Oct 2014 08:42 AM PDT ARBIL Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi peshmerga fighters left Iraq for the besieged Syrian town of Kobani on Tuesday to help fellow Kurds in their battle against Islamic State militants, a senior Kurdish official said. Hemin Hawrami, a senior official in the Kurdistan Democratic Party, wrote on his Twitter feed that peshmerga fighters were flying from Arbil airport to Turkey, from where they would travel by land to Kobani. U.S. ... |
| Iraq's Kurds Ready to Join the Fight Posted: 28 Oct 2014 07:51 AM PDT  The fight against ISIS in Kobani is about to get a boost in manpower. Iraqi peshmerga General Halgurd Hikmet announced new fighters will arrive in the city this week, taking the efforts on the ground up another notch. He told CNN the Kurdish fighters from Iraq will pass through the Syrian border to join the fight. "The Peshmerga have been ready for a few days, then had logistical problems, but they no longer do. They will possibly be leaving today or tomorrow," he said. This comes after Turkey agreed to allow Kurdish fighters to pass through the Turkish border into Syria last week.
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| Iran accuses Turkey of prolonging civil war in Syria Posted: 28 Oct 2014 06:41 AM PDT ANKARA (Reuters) - Iran accused Turkey on Tuesday of prolonging the three-year conflict in neighboring Syria by insisting on President Bashar al-Assad's overthrow and supporting "terrorist groups" in Syria, the official IRNA news agency reported. Tehran and Ankara back opposing sides in the civil war, which pits rebel forces including radical Sunni Muslim fighters from the Islamic State against Assad, Tehran's closest regional ally. ... |
| Nordic, Baltic states face 'new normal' of Russian military threat Posted: 28 Oct 2014 06:38 AM PDT  By Alister Doyle and Simon Johnson OSLO/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Fears of Russia re-asserting its Cold War dominance in the Baltic Sea are forcing countries there to re-think their defenses, prioritizing military spending at home and reducing participation in far-flung U.N. or U.S.-led missions. Sweden's fruitless search for a submarine -- dubbed by locals "The Hunt for Reds in October" -- and Russian violations of airspace are seen as elements of what one defense minister called a 'hybrid warfare', where fear and propaganda are deployed to keep countries on their toes. ...
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| With US women soon eligible for combat, the draft could be next Posted: 28 Oct 2014 06:33 AM PDT As Norway became the first NATO country to require women to register for the draft this month, it has American military analysts debating whether the US could be on the verge of taking the same step, too. |
| Obama White House did little to stop 'The Rise of ISIS,' says 'Frontline' documentary Posted: 28 Oct 2014 06:30 AM PDT  The Obama administration "did almost nothing" in response to intelligence warnings earlier this year that Islamic State radicals were gaining ground in Iraq and threatening the country's stability, a former ambassador to Iraq says in a new interview.
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| New Afghan president on first China visit as withdrawal looms Posted: 28 Oct 2014 06:05 AM PDT  Afghanistan and China pledged a long-term partnership Tuesday as new Afghan president Ashraf Ghani began a four-day visit while NATO combat troops prepare to withdraw from his country.
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| U.S., allies stage 13 attacks on Islamic State targets in Syria, Iraq Posted: 28 Oct 2014 05:49 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. forces staged four air strikes on Islamic State militants in Syria on Tuesday and allies joined in nine strikes on the group in Iraq , the U.S. Central Command said. In Syria, U.S. attack and fighter aircraft went after targets near the border city of Kobani, destroying a small Islamic State unit and four fighting positions. U.S. and allied attack, fighter and remotely controlled aircraft again targeted the Mosul Dam area with four strikes taking out a small fighting unit, a fighting position, vehicle and logistics base. ...
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| British hostage John Cantlie is face of Islamic State propaganda from Kobane Posted: 28 Oct 2014 05:48 AM PDT As Turkey and Kurdish officials argue over the fate of the besieged town of Kobane, the self-declared Islamic State is taking a new tack in its propaganda campaign: turning its hostages into "reporters" of the situation on the ground. |
| Turkey wants anti-Assad rebels to control Kobane: PM Posted: 28 Oct 2014 04:16 AM PDT  Turkey wants the anti-Damascus Free Syrian Army (FSA) to control the Syrian border town of Kobane if Islamist jihadists are defeated, and not the forces of separatist Kurds or President Bashar al-Assad, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. In an interview with the BBC broadcast on Tuesday, Davutoglu called for an "integrated strategy" with the United States to equip and train the FSA and oust Assad from power. He indicated that Turkey would only offer its air bases and other facilities for the international coalition fighting Islamic State (IS) if such a strategy were pursued.
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| Boehner: Bush would've punched Putin in the nose for invading Crimea Posted: 28 Oct 2014 03:54 AM PDT House Speaker John Boehner says President Barack Obama's predecessor would've deterred Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine. One problem: He didn't stop Putin from invading Georgia. |
| Could a Centrist GOP Break the Government Stalemate? Posted: 28 Oct 2014 03:45 AM PDT  If the polls and political forecasts prove true, then the GOP will be back in control of both chambers of Congress for the first time in nearly a decade. Republicans seemingly have succeeded in turning the mid-term election campaign into a referendum on the highly unpopular President Obama. With many of the Senate races in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, New Hampshire, Kansas and elsewhere likely to be decided by a few percentage points, McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) will have trouble claiming a popular mandate for change.
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| Only Syrian opposition and peshmerga can save Kobani: Turkish PM Posted: 28 Oct 2014 03:44 AM PDT  ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey cannot be expected to send troops to defend the besieged Syrian border town of Kobani and only Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters and Syria's own moderate opposition can save it, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. U.S. warplanes have been bombing Islamic State positions near Kobani for weeks, but air strikes alone will not be enough to repel the insurgents, Davutoglu said. "Saving Kobani, retaking Kobani and some area around Kobani from ISIS, there's a need for a military operation," he said in an interview with the BBC broadcast on Tuesday. ...
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| Marines leave Afghanistan after tough war years Posted: 27 Oct 2014 11:54 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Marines are putting America's longest war behind them. They are pulling up stakes in the patch of Afghan desert known as Helmand province, where 378 Marines were killed and nearly 5,000 wounded in fighting that peaked four years ago.
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| Suicide bomber kills 27 militiamen south of Iraqi capital Posted: 27 Oct 2014 11:40 PM PDT  By Michael Georgy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed at least 27 Shi'ite militiamen outside the Iraqi town of Jurf al-Sakhar on Monday after security forces pushed Islamic State militants out of the area over the weekend, army and police sources said. The attacker, driving a Humvee vehicle packed with explosives and likely stolen from defeated government troops, also wounded 60 Shi'ite Muslim militiamen, who had helped government forces retake the town just south of the capital. ...
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| Obama fights his last campaign mostly in living rooms, hotel ballrooms Posted: 27 Oct 2014 10:20 PM PDT  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is fighting his last campaign mostly at staid Democratic fund-raising events in hotel ballrooms and the private homes of donors, a far cry from the huge crowds who turned out in droves during his White House runs and helped elect him twice. This is not where Obama wanted to be in his second term. With the president's job approval near 40 percent, however, a public rally with Obama would be a liability for most Democrats in contested states where U.S. Senate control will be decided on Nov. 4 elections. ...
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| Fate twists the Rumble legacies of Ali, Foreman Posted: 27 Oct 2014 09:05 PM PDT  In a reversal of roles, the outspoken Muhammad Ali won the "Rumble In The Jungle" 40 years ago but has become a stricken, silent icon, while brooding slugger George Foreman has turned into an outgoing tycoon. Parkinson's disease ended the snappy banter that was Ali's trademark. Foreman was an awkward, unloved figure when he lost his title on October 30, 1974. Ali used a "rope-a-dope" strategy in Kinshasa and let Foreman, who had not needed more than two rounds to win or defend the crown, exhaust himself throwing punches.
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| Israel’s Soldier Suicides Posted: 27 Oct 2014 09:00 PM PDT  Were Israeli soldiers so haunted by what they saw and did in the last Gaza war that they took their own lives? What role did their zealous commander play?
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