| Australian police arrest one on terrorism financing charges Posted: 14 Dec 2014 04:01 PM PST By Matt Siegel SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian police arrested a Sydney man on Monday as part of operations to disrupt the flow of money and fighters to conflict zones such as those in Iraq and Syria, where dozens of Australians are said to have joined Islamist militant groups. The arrest of the 25-year-old man was part of investigations into the planning of an attack on Australian soil and the facilitation of travel of Australian citizens to Syria to engage in armed combat", the Australian Federal Police said in a statement. ... |
| Hostages held in Sydney cafe, Islamic flag seen in window: local TV Posted: 14 Dec 2014 03:54 PM PST  SYDNEY (Reuters) - Hostages were being held inside a central Sydney cafe where a black flag with white Arabic writing could be seen in the window, local television showed on Monday, raising fears of an attack linked to Islamic militants. Australia, which is backing the United States and its escalating action against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, is on high alert for attacks by radicalized Muslims or by home-grown fighters returning from fighting in the Middle East. ...
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| Man arrested on terror charges in Australia Posted: 14 Dec 2014 03:52 PM PST  A man has been arrested in Sydney on alleged terrorism offences as part of ongoing investigations into plans for an attack on Australian soil, police said Monday. The 25-year-old was seized as part of "continuing investigations into the planning of a terrorist attack on Australian soil and the facilitation of travel of Australian citizens to Syria to engage in armed combat". The arrest comes after Canberra in September raised its terror threat level and conducted large-scale counter-terror raids across the country.
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| Russian arms sales soar on domestic spending Posted: 14 Dec 2014 03:44 PM PST  Sales by Russian arms manufacturers continue to expand thanks to Moscow's investments despite a downturn in global defence spending, a Stockholm-based think-tank said Monday. "The remarkable increases in Russian companies' arms sales in both 2012 and 2013 are in large part due to uninterrupted investments in military procurement by the Russian government during the 2000s," said Siemon Wezeman, senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Sales by Russian-based arms firms grew by 20 percent in 2013, according to SIPRI.
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| CIA report revives legal debate on interrogation Posted: 14 Dec 2014 03:07 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — When the CIA sought permission to use harsh interrogation methods on a captured al-Qaida operative, the response from Bush administration lawyers was encouraging, even clinical.
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| Jordan, Saudi kings in talks as they battle IS Posted: 14 Dec 2014 12:59 PM PST  Riyadh (AFP) - Jordan's King Abdullah II met his Saudi counterpart in Riyadh Sunday for talks as both nations participate in a US-led bombing campaign against Islamic State group extremists in Syria.
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| Iraq police crack down on kidnappings in east Posted: 14 Dec 2014 11:11 AM PST  Police operations in Iraq's eastern region of Diyala have led to three hostages being freed and the dismantling of several extortion gangs, the local police chief said on Sunday. Kidnapping for ransom in Baghdad and elsewhere in the country is a phenomenon that has grown to such an extent that the government has publicly declared tackling it would be one of its priorities. "Kidnappings are a crime -- we deal with them as we deal with terrorism," Diyala province police chief Lieutenant General Jamil al-Shammari told reporters. Shammari said a series of operations had reduced the number of kidnappings in Diyala, an ethnically mixed province where the security forces, backed by Iran and Shiite militias, recently notched up significant victories against the Islamic State group.
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| OPEC chief defends policy, says group to try to ride out price fall Posted: 14 Dec 2014 10:45 AM PST  DUBAI (Reuters) - Oil producers group OPEC can ride out a slump in oil prices and keep output unchanged, its head said on Sunday, arguing market weakness did not reflect supply and demand fundamentals and could have been driven by speculators.
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| UK lawmakers will ask U.S. for secret parts of CIA report, to scrutinize UK spies Posted: 14 Dec 2014 04:57 AM PST  By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - A powerful British parliamentary committee will ask the United States to hand over blacked out parts of a report into the CIA, to try to establish whether British spies were complicit in torture or rendition, its chairman said on Sunday. If parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) saw evidence of such behavior, it could summon politicians from the left-leaning Labour party such as former prime minister Tony Blair who were in power at the time of the allegations. ...
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| In Iraq, Sunni tribes pay heavy toll for joining fight against Islamic State Posted: 14 Dec 2014 04:00 AM PST Iraqi Sheikh Naim al-Gaood was awakened before dawn Thursday, with the grim news that Islamic State fighters had launched a fresh attack on his Sunni tribal area 120 miles northwest of Baghdad. |
| US Congress passes 2015 spending bill after bruising fight Posted: 13 Dec 2014 11:41 PM PST  The US Congress passed a $1.1-trillion spending bill for fiscal year 2015, capping a week of acrimonious wrangling while averting a government shutdown and sending the measure to President Barack Obama. The bill, which narrowly cleared the House of Representatives on Thursday and survived a series of procedural hurdles to pass the Senate 56 votes to 40 during a rare weekend session, funds nearly all federal government agencies through next September. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the bill was an imperfect but necessary compromise.
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| Senate passes spending bill, ends government shutdown threat Posted: 13 Dec 2014 08:20 PM PST  By David Lawder and Amanda Becker WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Saturday passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill that lifts the threat of a government shutdown as Congress attempts to wrap up a two-year legislative session marked by bitter partisanship and few major accomplishments. The Senate's 56-40 vote sends the measure to President Barack Obama, who is expected to sign it into law before federal spending authority expires at midnight on Wednesday. ...
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| Senate Passes Long Term Spending Bill To Avoid Government Shutdown Posted: 13 Dec 2014 06:07 PM PST  In a rare Saturday session, the Senate approved a $1.1 trillion spending measure that would fund most of the government for nine months, capping off a week of high-stakes drama over the funding bill and avoiding any government shutdown in the near future.The Senate voted 56 to 40 to approve the measure. The bill will now head to the White House for President Obama's signature.The spending measure will fund the government, except for the Department of Homeland Security, through next September. The DHS will be funded through Feb. ...
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| 5 International Stories You'll Care About Next Week Posted: 13 Dec 2014 11:23 AM PST  1. Happy Birthday, Pope FrancisFelix Natalis, Papa.Pope Francis turns 78 next week. Last year, he famously celebrated it by breakfasting with four homeless people who lived just outside the Vatican walls at Casa Santa Martha, the guesthouse he shares with other members of the Curia. ...
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