| Belgian police kill two in raid on suspected Islamists Posted: 15 Jan 2015 04:47 PM PST  By Christian Levaux VERVIERS, Belgium (Reuters) - Belgian police killed two men who opened fire on them during one of about a dozen raids on Thursday against an Islamist group that federal prosecutors said was about to launch "terrorist attacks on a grand scale". Coming a week after Islamist gunmen killed 17 people in Paris, the incident fueled fears across Europe of young Muslims returning radicalised from Syria. A third man was detained in the eastern city of Verviers, where police commandos ran into a hail of gunfire after trying to gain entry to an apartment above a town center bakery. All three were citizens of Belgium, which has one of the biggest concentrations of European Islamists fighting in Syria.
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| Belgium raid on alleged terror group kills two Posted: 15 Jan 2015 04:45 PM PST  Belgian police shot dead two alleged militants in a gun battle Thursday during a huge operation to prevent what they called imminent terrorist attacks, raising fresh alarm for Europe days after 17 people were killed in Paris. A third person was arrested after the bloody shootout in the eastern town of Verviers, near the German border, which targeted a cell of the latest in a series of young Europeans said to have returned from jihad in Syria. Police also conducted around a dozen searches in Brussels and its suburbs in a sweep that came on the heels of last week's Islamist attacks on Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket in Paris. "This operational cell of about ten people, some of whom had returned from Syria, was on the point of launching significant terrorist attacks in Belgium," Thierry Werts of the Belgian federal prosecutor's office told a press conference in Brussels.
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| Reuters Sports Schedule at 0001 GMT on Friday, Jan 16 Posted: 15 Jan 2015 04:01 PM PST Reuters sports schedule at 0001 GMT on Friday - - - - NFL Packers visit defending champion Seahawks in NFC title game We look ahead to the National Football Conference title game where the Green Bay Packers visit Seattle, who are one win away from becoming the first team in 10 seasons to reach the Super Bowl in back-to-back years. ... |
| US Air Force moves to stem shortage of drone pilots Posted: 15 Jan 2015 03:55 PM PST  Facing a shortage of drone pilots, the US Air Force said Thursday it will increase pay for those who operate the robotic planes and draw on airmen from the reserves to fill the gap. The growing demand for drones has stretched the American military's resources and placed a major strain on the aircraft's pilots, who work an average of about 14 hours a day, six days a week, Air Force Secretary Deborah James told a news conference. Plans to bolster the number of drone pilots come as the United States presses ahead with an air war against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, which has involved daily missions for the robotic aircraft. The military had expected the need for drone flights to decline slightly with the withdrawal of most troops from Afghanistan.
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| CONGRESS MUST ACT ON TERRORISM Posted: 15 Jan 2015 03:36 PM PST I was deeply moved when the French Parliament, after observing a minute of silence for those slain in the Charlie Hebdo attacks, spontaneously broke into singing France's national anthem. The Parliament immediately got down to work, and despite party differences as sharp as those that exist in the United States, the French overwhelmingly approved an extension of France's participation in airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq by a vote of 488 to 1 (with 13 abstentions). It took only a handful of people in France to create days of havoc. Astonishingly, Congress has refused to authorize U.S. actions against ISIS, the terrorist organization so brutal that even al-Qaida itself tossed them out of their membership. |
| UN calls on Israel to unlock Palestinian tax payment Posted: 15 Jan 2015 03:06 PM PST  The United Nations on Thursday called on Israel to unlock millions of dollars in taxes owed to the Palestinian Authority that were withheld after it decided to join the International Criminal Court. A senior UN official told the Security Council that the freeze of about $127 million imposed on January 3 was in violation of the Oslo agreements between Israel and the Palestinians. "We call on Israel to immediately resume the transfer of tax revenues," said UN Assistant Secretary-General Jens Anders Toyberg-Frandzen. The United States and the European Union have criticized Israel's retaliatory move in response to the Palestinian application to join the ICC, which could investigate war crimes complaints against Israel.
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| Turkey PM backs press freedom, warns against stigmatising Muslims Posted: 15 Jan 2015 02:51 PM PST  Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the European Union on Thursday they shared many values, including freedom of speech, but warned against stigmatising Muslims in the fallout from the Paris Islamist attacks. Davutoglu, in Brussels to press for progress on Turkey's stalled EU-membership bid, had warned only hours earlier that publication of cartoons of the Muslim prophet were an "open provocation" and would not be tolerated. He also accused his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu of having committed "crimes against humanity" comparable to those of the Islamist gunmen behind two Paris attacks that left a total of 17 dead. In Brussels, Davutoglu avoided any reference by name to the Charlie Hebdo magazine which on Wednesday published a new cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed despite the slaying of 12 people in an attack on its offices in the French capital.
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| Why Tom Hanks is pushing community college Posted: 15 Jan 2015 02:51 PM PST Community colleges have poor graduation rates. They prevent students from being successful. So why is Tom Hanks backing President Obama's proposal to offer two years of free community college? President Obama recently went public with the ambitious America's College Promise, a plan to offer two years of free community college for "those willing to work for it," defined by those who agree to maintain at least a 2.5 GPA. |
| Air Force to tap Guard, Reserve to fill drone pilot shortage Posted: 15 Jan 2015 02:15 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Air Force is taking several steps to fill a significant shortfall in drone pilots, laying out plans to increase incentive pay, bring more National Guard and Reserve pilots onto active duty, and seek volunteers to fill needed slots, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said Thursday.
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| Belgium's marginalized Muslims fight in Syria 'out of despair' Posted: 15 Jan 2015 02:08 PM PST By Robin Emmott BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Western fighters in Syria and Iraq have found some of their most willing recruits in tiny Belgium, a chilling trend highlighted by the killing of suspected terrorists by police on Thursday and which likely has its roots in the despair many feel at home. Belgian police killed two men who opened fire on them during one of about a dozen raids against an Islamist group that federal prosecutors said was about to launch "terrorist attacks on a grand scale". While the attack on satirical French newspaper Charlie Hebdo has focused the threat of radicalised Muslims in France returning from Syria, per capita Belgium is the European country providing the highest number of citizens to fight with Syrian rebels in recent years, data shows. The government estimates 170 Belgians are thought to be in Syria and another 40 are thought to have been killed, according to Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders, who said returned fighters are subject to investigation and monitoring. |
| Iran nuclear talks 'in decisive phase': Germany Posted: 15 Jan 2015 02:01 PM PST  "We must now use the newly opened time window, we must leave nothing undone to reach the solution that has eluded us in recent years," Frank-Walter Steinmeier said before the talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. In a brief joint press appearance with Zarif, Steinmeier said "we probably share the understanding that this is now the decisive phase of the negotiations". Iran and major world powers have given themselves until late June to reach a comprehensive agreement that would prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb, a goal it denies having, in return for an easing of punishing economic sanctions.
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| From Castrating Hogs to the Capitol Spotlight Posted: 15 Jan 2015 01:39 PM PST  Senator Joni Ernst, the daughter of Iowa pig farmers who became one of the more surprising victors in the Republican electoral sweep, will deliver the party's response to President Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday. Her selection was made jointly by Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who announced their decision Thursday at the GOP congressional retreat in Pennsylvania. Introducing Ernst to a packed room of reporters at a chocolate-themed resort, McConnell called her the "perfect choice" to represent the change voters had ushered in last fall. "It's a long way from Red Oak to Washington, D.C.," Ernst said in brief remarks, adding that she was "truly honored and humbled" by the assignment.
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| Algeria says army finds body of executed Frenchman Posted: 15 Jan 2015 01:26 PM PST  Algerian special forces have found the body of Herve Gourdel, a French tourist kidnapped and beheaded by Islamist militants last year while hiking in mountains east of Algiers, the Algerian government said on Thursday. Gourdel was snatched in September by the Caliphate Soldiers, a group of militants that claimed loyalty to Islamic State insurgents fighting in Iraq and Syria. They said they executed Gourdel to punish France for its military action in Iraq. "Using information from an arrested terrorist, the army found where the body of the Frenchman Herve Gourdel had been buried," the ministry of defense said in a statement.
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| US needs unity to counter Islamic State Posted: 15 Jan 2015 01:19 PM PST Five months after the United States began to bomb Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, it still has no new law authorizing this military action. President Obama had asked Congress to pass one. He said this week he will propose his own law, known generally as an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). Are Al Qaeda groups aligned with Islamic State or opposed to it? |
| Holders Japan face Iraq in first Cup test Posted: 15 Jan 2015 01:11 PM PST  Japan will aim to take a giant step towards retaining their Asian Cup title when they face former winners Iraq in their first real test of the tournament on Friday. The Blue Samurai ran out easy 4-0 winners against debutants Palestine in their opening Group D encounter in Newcastle on Monday, the match at times resembling an exhibition game. In Brisbane, 2007 champions Iraq overcame Jordan 1-0 and are favourites to finish second in Group D, setting up a quarter-final with arch-rivals Iran or the United Arab Emirates. Swindon Town midfielder Yaser Kasim, who scored the winner against Jordan and was named man of the match, said Javier Aguirre's Japan held no fear for his side.
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| Iowa's Ernst to deliver GOP response to Obama address Posted: 15 Jan 2015 12:39 PM PST  HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — Republican officials tapped newly elected Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst on Thursday to deliver the party's formal response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, selecting a fresh face to represent the party at the start of a new Congress and the next campaign for president.
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| Charlie Hebdo: Can 'moderate' Muslims sway an extremist few? Posted: 15 Jan 2015 12:17 PM PST  Last week's murderous rampage in Paris has reignited calls for the world's hundreds of millions of peaceable Muslims, sometimes called "moderates," to do something about the jihadi few in their midst. New York Times pundit Thomas Friedman has called for Muslims around the world to stage a march. Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has suggested that the majority of "peaceful" Muslims "must be held responsible" until they destroy their "growing jihadist cancer." For its part, the US government runs programs designed, in diplomat-speak, to "counter violent extremism" by aiding and encouraging Muslims who oppose slavery, beheadings, and attacks on cartoonists and Jewish shoppers. A close look at the histories of Muslims who decide to take up terrorism in the name of their faith reveals repeated conflicts between them and the congregations of mosques they attend.
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| Germany arrests suspected Islamic State fighter after return from Syria Posted: 15 Jan 2015 12:05 PM PST German police arrested a suspected supporter of the insurgent group Islamic State (IS) who was recently in Syria and raided his apartment in the state of Lower Saxony, federal prosecutors said on Thursday. The 26-year-old suspect, who has German and Tunisian citizenship, was suspected of having joined Islamic State during a stay in Syria from May to August last year, the federal prosecutor general said in a statement. The man is accused of receiving combat training in Syria to join Islamic fighters and of retrieving the wounded during a military offensive, the prosecutors said. Like other west European countries, Germany is struggling to stop the radicalisation of young Muslims, some of whom want to become jihadist insurgents in Syria or Iraq. |
| International force mulled to fight Boko Haram in Nigeria Posted: 15 Jan 2015 11:53 AM PST  JOHANNESBURG (AP) — As Islamic militants from Boko Haram step up attacks in Nigeria that have led to the slaughter of more civilians, there is increasing talk that international military action, possibly including a multinational force, may be needed to help crush the insurgency in Africa's most populous country.
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| Box-Office Preview: 'American Sniper' Set to Beat 'Wedding Ringer,' 'Blackhat' Posted: 15 Jan 2015 10:30 AM PST Clint Eastwood's drama is among a number of films hoping for a boost from Thursday's Oscar nominations. Family film 'Paddington' is also opening over the long MLK holiday weekend. |
| Offbeat films 'Birdman,' 'Budapest Hotel' capture Oscar's eye Posted: 15 Jan 2015 10:29 AM PST  By Mary Milliken and Piya Sinha-Roy BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (Reuters) - Show business satire "Birdman" and colorful caper "The Grand Budapest Hotel," on Thursday captured nine Academy Award nominations each, including best picture, for a year recognized for its original feats in filmmaking. Joining the two Fox Searchlight releases in the best picture race is "Boyhood," whose director, Richard Linklater, pushed cinematic boundaries by making it over 12 years with the same actors. "On the scale of difficulty, all of these are off the chart." British World War Two biopic "The Imitation Game" garnered eight nominations, including best picture and best actor for Benedict Cumberbatch. "American Sniper," an Iraq war film by director Clint Eastwood, also earned six nominations, notably best picture and a surprising best actor nomination for Bradley Cooper as the sharpshooting hero.
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| Algeria finds body of beheaded Frenchman Posted: 15 Jan 2015 09:46 AM PST  Algerian troops found the body Thursday of French tourist Herve Gourdel, security sources said, months after he was beheaded by jihadists demanding that France halt air strikes against the Islamic State group. The body was found buried without its head in Akbil, where Gourdel was abducted by the Jund al-Khilafa (Soldiers of the Caliphate) group, the sources said. The army had mobilised 3,000 troops to find the 55-year-old mountain guide's body and launched a new search operation on Wednesday. Forensic experts were present to perform tests to formally identify the body, which was exhumed in the presence of Algeria's senior terrorism prosecutor and the judge presiding over Gourdel's case.
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| Hollande says Muslims 'main victims of fanaticism' Posted: 15 Jan 2015 09:05 AM PST  French President Francois Hollande said Thursday that Muslims were the "main victims" of fanaticism, as funerals were held in Paris for five of the 17 people killed in last week's Islamist attacks. Members of the Muslim community in France, Europe's largest, have "the same rights and the same duties as all citizens" and must be "protected," the president vowed.
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| French FM to head to Morocco as cooperation on Islamist militants falters Posted: 15 Jan 2015 08:35 AM PST  France's foreign minister will soon travel to Morocco to temper a row with its former colony almost a year after it suspended judicial cooperation between the two states leaving gaps in security coordination over Islamic militants. The rare diplomatic spat between Paris and Rabat first broke out last February after French police went to the Moroccan Embassy in Paris seeking to question the head of the domestic intelligence service (DRT) over torture allegations.
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| The Great Wall of Saudi Arabia? Posted: 15 Jan 2015 08:31 AM PST  "It is the first attack by Islamic State itself against Saudi Arabia and is a clear message after Saudi Arabia entered the international coalition against it," Mustafa Alani, an Iraqi security analyst with close ties to Saudi Arabia's interior ministry, told Reuters.
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| Goal in 14 seconds as UAE, Iran progress Posted: 15 Jan 2015 08:19 AM PST  Ali Mabkhout scored the Asian Cup's fastest recorded goal after just 14 seconds on Thursday as the UAE reached the quarter-finals alongside three-time winners Iran. Mabkhout pounced just moments after the kick-off against Bahrain in the quickest strike recorded in the event's 61-year history, to set his team on the way to a 2-1 win.
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| Charlie Hebdo stands in long tradition of provocative humor Posted: 15 Jan 2015 08:15 AM PST  LONDON (AP) — Charlie Hebdo, the satirical weekly that lost 12 staff in a terrorist gun attack last week, is one of a diverse group of publications and comics around the world determined to push the boundaries of taste and acceptable expression. Lauded by fans for saying the unsayable, some have also been criticized for perceived bigotry and faced prosecution.
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| What's the evidence Al Qaeda in Yemen organized the Paris attacks? Posted: 15 Jan 2015 07:58 AM PST Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) said it planned and ordered the terrorist attacks in Paris last week that left 20 people dead. The video statement read by AQAP majordomo Nasr al-Ansi, from behind his immaculately groomed and dyed beard, contains no information about the attacks or attackers that couldn't be gleaned from press reports prior to it being issued. |
| Spain to probe Paris gunman Coulibaly's Madrid stay Posted: 15 Jan 2015 06:36 AM PST  A Spanish High Court judge has opened a preliminary investigation into French Islamist gunman Amedy Coulibaly's stay in Madrid days before last week's Paris attacks, a judicial source said Thursday. Judge Eloy Velasco will probe the visit by Coulibaly, his partner Hayat Boumeddiene and a "third person who may have helped her reach Syria," the source said. Coulibaly was shot dead by police after he killed four Jewish men in a siege at a kosher supermarket in Paris on January 9.
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| Qaeda looks to regain ground with Charlie Hebdo attack Posted: 15 Jan 2015 05:55 AM PST  The attack on Charlie Hebdo has thrust Al-Qaeda back in the spotlight as the jihadist network proves it can still attack the West and seeks to regain ground lost to the Islamic State group. The militant Islamist organisation founded by Osama bin Laden has seen its preeminence challenged by IS, an offshoot of Al-Qaeda that has seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq. Their fears were realised last week in Paris, when extremist gunmen killed 17 people in attacks including the assault on satirical French weekly Charlie Hebdo -- since claimed by Al-Qaeda -- and a hostage-taking at a kosher supermarket. "The attack on Charlie Hebdo definitely puts Al-Qaeda back in the saddle in its rivalry with the Islamic State," said Yemen expert Laurent Bonnefoy.
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| OPEC sees 2015 supply surplus rising, even as oil slump slows shale boom Posted: 15 Jan 2015 05:42 AM PST  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - The collapse in oil prices is starting to slow growth in U.S. output, OPEC said on Thursday, although the slowdown will not prevent an increasing global surplus in 2015 and demand for the exporter group's oil falling to its lowest in a decade. In a monthly report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) forecast demand for the group's oil would drop to 28.78 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2015, down 140,000 bpd from its prior estimate and well over 1 million bpd less than it is currently producing. Oil prices have fallen almost 60 percent since June, partly because OPEC in November decided against cutting output to retain market share against rival suppliers. "The steep drop in global oil prices could endanger the marginal barrel's output from unconventional sources," OPEC said in the report, written by its economists at the group's Vienna headquarters.
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| Already 4 down, West Asian contenders dropping in Australia Posted: 15 Jan 2015 04:53 AM PST  CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — With 10 out of 16 teams at the 2015 Asian Cup coming from the western side of the continent, the region was never going to have a better chance to dominate the tournament.
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| Asian Cup: UAE, Iran through to knockout stage from Group C Posted: 15 Jan 2015 09:30 AM PST  SYDNEY (AP) — Ali Mabkhout eased the tension quickly for his team, scoring after just 14 seconds to set up a 2-1 win over Bahrain that secured a spot in the Asian Cup knockout stage for the United Arab Emirates.
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| U.S.-led forces launch 22 air strikes against militants in Syria, Iraq Posted: 15 Jan 2015 04:39 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.-led forces launched 11 air strikes each in Syria and Iraq since Wednesday, targeting Islamic State fighters, equipment and buildings, the U.S. military said. Five of the strikes in Syria were in the contested city of Kobani near the Turkish border, where they destroyed four fighting positions, a building and a tactical unit, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement on Thursday. U.S. ... |
| Romney vs. Bush: Where They Stand on 7 Key Issues Posted: 15 Jan 2015 04:00 AM PST  Almost overnight, former governors Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Jeb Bush of Florida have transformed the 2016 GOP presidential campaign into a mad scramble for support and funding for a lengthy and hard-fought battle. By telling a private gathering of donors last week that he's on the verge of mounting his third campaign for president, Romney essentially threw down a challenge to Bush – a member of one of the most famous political families in American history – to slug it out for the hearts and wallets of business leaders, major donors and other establishment Republicans.
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| Japan and Iraq play for Group D honors at Asian Cup Posted: 15 Jan 2015 03:50 AM PST  BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Japan and Iraq, champions of the last two Asian Cups, go head-to-head Friday in a match that will likely determine top spot in Group D. In the other match, Jordan takes on tournament newcomer Palestine at Melbourne.
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| Wilkins hopping mad over doping fiasco Posted: 15 Jan 2015 03:43 AM PST  Jordan coach Ray Wilkins blasted Asian Cup organisers on Thursday after a botched doping test made one of his players sick, potentially ruling him out of the tournament. The Jordanian FA has lodged a formal protest to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) over striker Ahmad Hayel's treatment, claiming he began vomiting after being forced to drink water to help him give a urine sample after a 1-0 defeat by Iraq earlier this week. Wilkins confirmed Hayel will miss Friday's game against Palestine in Melbourne, and possibly their final Group D clash with Japan, and accused the AFC of ignoring the well-being of players. "The important thing is to put football into perspective," Wilkins told reporters after being prevented from entering the stadium because he had left his accreditation pass at the team hotel.
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| Islamic State beheads militiaman as opposition attacks mount Posted: 15 Jan 2015 03:21 AM PST By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Islamic State has executed a Syrian it accused of belonging to a militant cell that ambushed its fighters and blew up its vehicles in the town of al-Mayadin near the border with Iraq, a monitoring group that tracks the conflict said on Thursday. Islamic State is fighting both the Syrian army and rival insurgents along the edges of the territory it controls. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which uses a network of sources across the country to report on the war, said the man was beheaded and his body crucified in a public park in the town with his head left displayed for three days. He was accused of "setting up a cell to fight Islamic State" by staging ambushes and detonating vehicles of fighters of the militant group, it said. |
| My mum thinks I'm gorgeous, says Wilkins Posted: 15 Jan 2015 03:19 AM PST  Under-fire Jordan coach Ray Wilkins shrugged off the pressure mounting on him at the Asian Cup on Thursday by insisting his mother still thinks he's "gorgeous". The former Queens Park Rangers and Fulham manager irked the head of the Palestine FA for suggesting that whoever won Monday's Group D opener between Jordan and Iraq would advance to the quarter-finals with holders Japan. The Palestine (president) can say what he wants because words are cheap. Prince Ali is a wonderful man and needs to push forward in his life and his career.
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| Charlie Hebdo, Terrorism, and the Cost of Free Speech Posted: 15 Jan 2015 02:30 AM PST So it was when I heard that 13 people, most of them staff of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, had been shot on January 7th. The Kouachi brothers and Coulibaly likely represented French Muslims about as much as Terry Jones, the provocateur Florida preacher, or the Westboro Baptist Church represent American Christians: only a few would consider them confessionals, much less agree with their views. |
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