| APNewsBreak: Tunisia beach killer trained with museum gunmen Posted: 30 Jun 2015 03:15 PM PDT  TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — The student who massacred tourists in a Tunisian seaside resort trained in a jihadi camp in Libya at the same time as the two men who attacked a leading museum in March, a top security official said Tuesday, enforcing the notion of a link between the two assaults and raising fears of more attacks from an underground world clawing at this North African nation's budding democracy.
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| IS car bomb kills Yemen Shiites, as rebels open prison doors Posted: 30 Jun 2015 02:59 PM PDT  An attack on Huthi rebel leaders in Yemen's capital claimed by the Islamic State group has killed at least 28 people, medics said Tuesday, in the latest anti-Shiite assault by the Sunni extremists. Yemen was previously the preserve of IS's jihadist rival Al-Qaeda, which controls swathes of the south and east, but IS has claimed a string of high-profile attacks since March. The group considers Shiites heretics and has repeatedly targeted them, not only in Yemen but across the region.
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| Egypt’s Sisi vows tougher death penalty laws in wake of prosecutor’s murder Posted: 30 Jun 2015 02:00 PM PDT A day after the assassination of Egypt's public prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi vowed to enact legal reforms to allow quicker enforcement of death sentences. Recommended: How much do you know about Egypt? The Brotherhood has denied any responsibility for Monday's car bomb attack on Barakat's convoy in Cairo, according to the BBC. |
| Islamic State threatens to topple Hamas in Gaza Posted: 30 Jun 2015 01:39 PM PDT Islamic State insurgents threatened on Tuesday to turn the Gaza Strip into another of their Middle East fiefdoms, accusing Hamas, the organization that rules the Palestinian territory, of being insufficiently stringent about religious enforcement. The video statement, issued from an Islamic State stronghold in Syria, was a rare public challenge to Hamas, which has been cracking down on jihadis in Gaza who oppose its truces with Israel and reconciliation with the U.S.-backed rival Palestinian faction Fatah. "We will uproot the state of the Jews (Israel) and you and Fatah, and all of the secularists are nothing and you will be over-run by our creeping multitudes," said a masked Islamic State member in the message addressed to the "tyrants of Hamas". |
| 'American Sniper' Writer to Direct PTSD Drama 'Thank You for Your Service' for DreamWorks Posted: 30 Jun 2015 01:33 PM PDT Jason Hall was nominated for an Oscar and now will make his directorial debut. |
| Syria mediator to brief U.N. chief next week on peace prospects Posted: 30 Jun 2015 01:07 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations Syria mediator Staffan de Mistura will brief Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon next week on his talks with Syria's warring parties and world powers on how to end the country's four-year conflict, a U.N. spokesman said on Tuesday. "Syria is on the brink of falling apart, putting at even further risk what is already the most unstable region in the world," Ban said in a statement to mark the third anniversary of a Syria roadmap for peace called the Geneva Communique. Some 220,000 people have been killed in Syria and 12.2 million people need help, including more than 5 million children, the United Nations says. |
| What to Watch Tonight: The Series Premieres of Zoo and Scream, Part 2 of Teen Wolf's Season Premiere, and Rizzoli & Isles Posted: 30 Jun 2015 01:06 PM PDT  What to watch on Tuesday, June 30... 8pm, ABC Family Pretty Little Liars Mona returns to Rosewood in "She's No Angel," and both Lesli's sister and the cops would like to have a word with her. Elsewhere, Emily encourages Sara to get emancipated, Alison grows closer to Lorenzo, and Spencer bumps into her sobriety coach Dean. SERIES PREMIERE, 9pm, CBS Zoo When the rest of the animal kingdom finally rebels against its human overlords, it's up to dreamy safari guide James Wolk and company to save the species in this adaptation of James Patterson's novel. "First Blood" opens the adventure with a series of coordinated critter attacks raising the first red flags. SEASON 5 PREMIERE, Part 2, 9pm, MTV Teen Wolf Stiles has his suspicions about a new classmate in "Parasomnia," but just because the kid doesn't speak and really loves bread doesn't mean he's definitely three ducks stacked on top of one another wearing a trenchcoat, that's just prejudiced, geez. In more cordial relations, Lydia helps a student combat night terrors. DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE, 9pm, PBS 1913: Seeds of Conflict This examination of Palestine under Ottoman rule focuses on the period before World War I, in which rising Arab and Jewish nationalism laid the groundwork for one of the 20th and 21st centuries' most intractable conflicts. 9pm, Fox Beat the Champions Amateur athletes test their limits against the pros, including NFL Pro Bowler Rob Gronkowski, swimmer Missy Franklin, and former NBA All-Star Scottie Pippen. Finesse Mitchell hosts. 9pm, TNT Rizzoli & Isles A murder victim turns up in a shallow grave at a research facility devoted to the study of human decomposition, because apparently someone took the concept of going the extra mile just a wee bit too far. Also buried in "Deadly Harvest" are Angela's secrets from Jane. 9pm, ABC Family Stitchers Clues in a conspiracy theorist's documents give Kristen second thoughts about her Stitcher coworkers in "Stitcher in the Rye." And the enigmatic messages she begins receiving from an unexpected source probably aren't helping ease those misgivings. SERIES PREMIERE, 10pm, MTV Scream A high schooler's slaying reawakens a small town's demons in this adaptation of the tongue-in-cheek slasher franchise. The pilot sees the brutal act dredging up memories of a similar incident from 20 years earlier. Although, as revivals of heinous deeds from 20 years earlier go, at least no one's doing Ace Ventura impressions again. 10pm, USA Royal Pains Hank and Olympia head to Manhattan in "Voices Carry." Back in the Hamptons, Divya greets a surprise visitor from her past, Evan believes Boris is hiding something, and Paige discovers the shocking truth behind the delay in her home renovations. 10pm, TNT Proof In "Showdown," the team looks into the case of an Iraq War veteran who claims to have PTSD tied to a past-life experience from the Korean War, though it's possible he's just recalling a particularly stressful M*A*S*H marathon. Meanwhile, Carolyn reconnects with an old med school chum. 10pm, FX Tyrant A Bedouin family offers Barry refuge, which they immediately regret when he won't stop going on and on about the events of Season 1. Elsewhere in "Faith," Tariq's military maneuvers stun Jamal, Molly digs into the Al-Fayeed family finances, and setbacks bedevil Leila's plans to boost Abbudin's cultural scene. 10pm, TBS Clipped Ben is embarrassed by his recent hookup in "Go Below," all the more so when he learns she feels the same. Meanwhile, Danni suspects A.J. and Charmaine's Spanish class may be a cover for something más caliente. 10pm, Comedy Central Inside Amy Schumer Amy gives a town the clap and takes a trip through time in "Wingwoman," as well as suffering through some abysmal stories. 10:30pm, Comedy Central Another Period Lillian hopes to jump on the latest hot trend in "Divorce," while Frederick and Garfield fall for a charismatic visitor. SEASON 2 PREMIERE, 12:30am, Comedy Central The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer fill in as hosts, and as proper substitutes they're just going to throw on a filmstrip and be done with it. Performers Andy Daly, Cameron Esposito, and Hampton Yount really hope it's "Your Gall Bladder and You," that one's a classic. LATE-NITE: – Kumail Nanjiani, Danielle Brooks, and Miguel on Conan, 11pm, TBS – Jon Hamm on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, 11pm, Comedy Central – Alyona Mink, Chris Distefano, and Boy George on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, 11:30pm, Comedy Central – Halle Berry, Rob Corddry, and Everclear on Jimmy Kimmel Live, 11:35pm, ABC WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING TONIGHT?
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| White House fence gets spiky under security enhancement Posted: 30 Jun 2015 12:57 PM PDT  The White House fence will start to get a spiked top on Wednesday in a short-term bid to thwart intrusions at the U.S. executive mansion, authorities said. The "removable anti-climb feature" with sharp metal points will be bolted on top of the black iron fence by the U.S. Secret Service and National Park Service, the agencies said in a statement on Tuesday. The feature was designed by the Secret Service and built by the Rock Island Arsenal Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center.
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| In first, IS beheads two Syria women for 'sorcery': NGO Posted: 30 Jun 2015 12:53 PM PDT  Islamic State jihadists have beheaded two women in Syria for "witchcraft and sorcery", a monitor said on Tuesday, in the group's first known decapitation of female civilians. Meanwhile, IS re-entered the town of Tal Abyad on the Turkish border, seized from it by Kurdish forces two weeks ago, and took back one district, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights added. Rami Abdel Rahman, the Britain-based watchdog's chief, said IS "executed two women by beheading them in Deir Ezzor province... the first time the Observatory has documented women being killed by the group in this manner".
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| Tunisia says resort gunman was trained in Libya Posted: 30 Jun 2015 12:33 PM PDT  The gunman who killed 38 tourists in Tunisia received weapons training from jihadists in Libya, a top official said Tuesday, as the president admitted security services were unprepared for the attack. On Friday, a student identified as 23-year-old Seifeddine Rezgui went on a bloody rampage with a Kalashnikov assault rifle at the five-star Riu Imperial Marhaba hotel in Port El Kantaoui near Sousse. Secretary of state for security Rafik Chelli told AFP Rezgui had been in Libya at the same time as the two men behind a March attack at the National Bardo Museum in Tunis that killed 21 tourists and a policeman.
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| Tunisia hotel gunman trained in Libya jihadist camp: government Posted: 30 Jun 2015 12:20 PM PDT  By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - The Tunisian gunman who carried out a deadly attack on a hotel last Friday trained in a jihadist camp in Libya last year, Tunisia's government said on Tuesday. The death toll from the assault on the Imperial Marhaba beach hotel in the popular resort town of Sousse was revised down on Tuesday to 38 from a previously given 39. A spokesman for the prime minister said Saif Rezgui, who was killed by police following the rampage, was in Libya at the same time as two Tunisian gunmen who subsequently stormed the Tunis Bardo museum in March.
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| What does the Islamic State consider 'sorcery'? Posted: 30 Jun 2015 11:37 AM PDT The self-declared Islamic State (IS) has beheaded two women and their husbands in eastern Syria, after accusing all four of sorcery, according to the BBC. IS beheaded a male street performer in a public square in Syria in early January. The magician was known for entertaining locals with innocuous magic tricks like making coins and cell phones disappear, reported Haaretz. |
| EU to help 'frontline' Hungary cope with migrant wave: official Posted: 30 Jun 2015 11:36 AM PDT  The European Commission has pledged to send financial aid and experts to Hungary to help it cope with a surge in illegal immigration this year, a senior Brussels official said in Budapest Tuesday. "Hungary will receive nearly eight million euros ($9 million) of support to help it cope with the migration issue," said Dimitris Avramopoulos, the commission's senior official for migration issues, told journalists after a meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. Calling European Union member Hungary a "frontline" state like Italy and Greece, Avramopoulos said "Europe will always support frontline member states".
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| Islamic State scores up gains and losses in Syrian fighting Posted: 30 Jun 2015 11:16 AM PDT  By Sylvia Westall and Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters stormed the Syrian town of Tel Abyad on the Turkish border on Tuesday and captured a neighborhood from the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, but suffered setbacks in the northeastern city of Hasaka, a monitor and the army said. Islamic State has launched simultaneous attacks against Syrian government and Kurdish militia this past week in the multi-sided Syrian civil war after losing ground to Kurdish-led forces near the capital of its "caliphate".
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| Factbox: Republican 2016 presidential field swells to 14 with Christie Posted: 30 Jun 2015 11:05 AM PDT (Reuters) - The race for the Republican Party's 2016 presidential nomination now includes 14 official candidates for the White House with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's bid launched on Tuesday. Here is a list of the Republicans seeking the nomination or possibly entering the race for the November 2016 election: OFFICIALLY RUNNING JEB BUSH The former Florida governor, brother of one president and son of another, formally announced his White House bid after long testing the waters. Before officially entering the race, Bush, 62, had already shaken up his staff and faced criticism for not distancing himself from the foreign policies of his brother, former President George W. Bush, and for struggling with questions about the invasion of Iraq. |
| Drought-hit North Korea seeks aid from ally Iran Posted: 30 Jun 2015 10:32 AM PDT  Tehran (AFP) - Drought-hit North Korea on Tuesday asked for humanitarian aid from its historic ally Iran, Iranian state media reported.
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| New oil bull market in sight as Brazil, Iraq cut output targets Posted: 30 Jun 2015 10:27 AM PDT  By Dmitry Zhdannikov LONDON (Reuters) - Massive downward revisions to oil output in Brazil and Iraq have increased the risks for oil markets of going from the current feast to famine within just a few years, leading to a price spike that would give a new boost to the U.S. shale industry. Brazil and Iraq had been expected to add over 2 million barrels per day to global supply by 2020 and another 2.5 million by 2025, becoming the two biggest contributors to help meet rising global demand, according to the long-term forecast of the International Energy Agency. With Brazil's Petrobras cutting this week its five-year production outlook by 1.4 million bpd in response to low oil prices and the ongoing corruption probe and Iraq renegotiating deals with oil majors to reflect "more realistic" output targets, the current glut in the oil markets is poised to end sooner than expected.
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| Erdogan and Turkey move toward once-unthinkable grand coalition Posted: 30 Jun 2015 10:18 AM PDT  By Orhan Coskun and Gulsen Solaker ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has built a career on attacking the elite, secularist tradition reviled by many of his pious supporters. "The AKP do not want to look like a right-wing party.
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| IS re-enters Syria's Tal Abyad, takes district: monitor Posted: 30 Jun 2015 08:28 AM PDT  Islamic State group fighters re-entered Syria's Tal Abyad Tuesday, seizing a district from the Kurdish forces who captured the border town in a key victory two weeks ago, a monitor said. "A cell of Islamic State fighters infiltrated Tal Abyad and took control of a district in the eastern outskirts of the town," said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Tal Abyad was a crucial IS supply hub and stronghold for around a year before Kurdish forces expelled the group.
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| The 2016 U.S. Presidential Race: A Cheat Sheet Posted: 30 Jun 2015 08:01 AM PDT  Did Chris Christie already miss his chance to be president? Back in 2012, the New Jersey governor was wildly popular at home, Republicans were clamoring for him to enter the presidential race, and donors were lined up to write checks.
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| In Yemen chaos, Islamic State grows to rival al Qaeda Posted: 30 Jun 2015 07:19 AM PDT  By Sami Aboudi DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's leadership of Islamist militancy in Yemen is being challenged amid the chaos of civil war by its rival Islamic State, which could become a bigger threat to the group than the U.S. drones that periodically kill its commanders. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) remains the country's top militant network and its several thousand fighters and bomb makers, who have repeatedly tried to bring down Western aircraft, are still seen as a serious threat by Washington. Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, evolved from the Iraqi branch of al Qaeda and now controls swathes of Iraq and Syria.
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| The Unconvincing Conservative Embrace of Same-Sex Marriage Posted: 30 Jun 2015 07:09 AM PDT  All of a sudden, conservatives were never really against gay marriage to begin with. "Many people will rejoice at this decision, and I begrudge none of their celebration," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts in his dissent, implying that he thinks gay marriage is a delightful thing. First, the conservatives who say they want same-sex marriage but only through the democratic process don't acknowledge just how devastating that principle would be to millions of LGBT Americans who want to marry the person they love.
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| Iraq: Bombs inside, around Baghdad kill at least 8 civilians Posted: 30 Jun 2015 06:53 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials say a series of attacks in Baghdad and in two towns near the capital has killed at least eight people. |
| Iran-US talks give foes rare window into another world Posted: 30 Jun 2015 06:33 AM PDT  Iran and US have not had diplomatic ties for more than three decades, yet over the past 20 months they have likely sat down together more often than any other nations on Earth. The sustained pace and intensity of the nuclear negotiations between Iran -- an Islamic clerical theocracy -- and the United States which prides itself on its constitutional freedoms, is all the more astonishing given the old enmities under the surface. Only last week shouts of "Death to America" rang out in the Iranian parliament, while Washington issued yet another indictment of Tehran's failure to improve human rights, after also reaffirming its conviction that Iran is the top state sponsor of global terror attacks.
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| France seeks terror charges in Islamic-State-like beheading case Posted: 30 Jun 2015 06:30 AM PDT The morning of the attack on the US-owned gas facility Mr. Salhi allegedly sought out and attacked his boss, knocked him unconscious, then later beheaded him and sent a photo to a friend in Syria, according to French police. Through his lawyer Salhi denies he was motivated by terrorism, according to the Associated Press, and said he does not remember the beheading or sending any photos. |
| Iron Age Warrior Lived with Arrowhead in Spine Posted: 30 Jun 2015 06:24 AM PDT  A horrific spinal injury caused by a bronze arrowhead didn't immediately kill an Iron Age warrior, who survived long enough for his bone to heal around the metal point, a new study of his burial in central Kazakhstan finds. "This found individual was extremely lucky to survive," said study researcher Svetlana Svyatko, a research fellow in the school of geography, archaeology and paleoecology at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland. The researchers have studied the area in central Kazakhstan for more than 20 years.
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| Turkey says any Syria measures not act of war but to preserve border security Posted: 30 Jun 2015 06:07 AM PDT  By Tulay Karadeniz and Daren Butler ANKARA/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A top aide of Tayyip Erdogan rejected accusations the Turkish president was ready to pitch the country's armed forces into war in Syria and said any security measures it took would be intended only to secure its southern frontier. Turkey's main opposition leader said the "drums of war" were beating as part of an effort to bolster Erdogan's authority after the AK Party lost its majority in polls. Presidential aide Ibrahim Kalin told a news conference Ankara was in talks with NATO allies over its border security, but it already had the necessary legal justification for moves that would preserve its border security.
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| Islamic State hit with 18 air strikes by U.S.-led coalition: statement Posted: 30 Jun 2015 05:18 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies staged 18 air strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq on Monday in the latest round of daily attacks on the militant Islamic group, a statement from the joint task force said. Seven of the strikes focused on an area near Al Hasaka, Syria, hitting tactical units, vehicles and a tank, while targets near Ar Raqqa and Dayr Az Zawr also were hit, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement released on Tuesday. ... |
| Tunisia sees Libya link to beach resort attacker: source Posted: 30 Jun 2015 04:52 AM PDT  By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - The Tunisian gunman who attacked a resort hotel on Friday killing 39 people, mostly British holiday-makers, likely spent time in a training camp in Libya and had been in contact with militants over the border, a security source said on Tuesday. The attack on the Imperial Marhaba beach hotel in the popular resort town of Sousse came just months after militants attacked the Bardo museum in Tunis, killing 21 people and delivering a blow to the vital tourism industry. Investigators were verifying whether the gunman, student Saif Rezgui, had received militant training in a jihadist camp across in Libya.
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| Does the emergence of global statesmen help or hinder the charity world? Posted: 30 Jun 2015 04:43 AM PDT  By Alex Whiting LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - With friends in high places and international celebrity status, the transformation of former political leaders into global statesmen able to influence the world agenda and charity spending is raising some concerns, experts say. While some prime ministers and presidents retire quietly, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, among others, have developed second acts as global philanthropists, setting up organizations to drive their chosen agendas. "They break the mould of former leaders ... that focused much more on national politics and explicit ideological concerns," said Andrew Cooper, author of "Diplomatic Afterlives" and political science professor at Canada's University of Waterloo.
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| France pursues terrorism charge against beheading suspect Posted: 30 Jun 2015 04:28 AM PDT  By Brian Love PARIS (Reuters) - A man who beheaded his boss, pinned the head on a fence and tried to blow up an industrial gas plant will be investigated on terrorism charges, France's chief public prosecutor said on Tuesday, dismissing the suspect's claim that his act was not motivated by connections with Islamist militants. Prosecutor Francois Molins announced the news at the end of a 96-hour custody period following the arrest of Yassin Salhi, 35, at the scene of the crime near the southern city of Lyon. The attack last Friday came five months after 17 people were killed in Paris by Islamist militants who targeted the offices of the Charlie Hebdo satirical journal and a Jewish shop.
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| Turkish opposition leader warns against intervention in Syria Posted: 30 Jun 2015 03:46 AM PDT By Daren Butler ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's main opposition party leader warned on Tuesday any military intervention in Syria would spell disaster for Turkey and in comments clearly aimed at President Tayyip Erdogan said the country could not be "a plaything for your ambition". Turkish newspapers have carried reports Erdogan is considering creation of a buffer zone across the border, where Kurdish militia and Islamist militants vie for control. The reports come as the AK Party he formed seeks to re-establish its authority after losing its overall majority in June 7 elections. |
| BBC to Review On-Air Use of Term "Islamic State" Posted: 30 Jun 2015 02:57 AM PDT British parliamentarians, backed by Prime Minister David Cameron, say the name helps to legitimize the terrorist group. |
| Educating Mustafa: Kurdish fighters learn near the front Posted: 29 Jun 2015 08:54 PM PDT  Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighter Hakar Mustafa trades his Kalashnikov assault rifle at night for a notebook and pen, learning reading, writing and maths near the front line held against brutal jihadists. The 21-year-old is one of dozens of members of the autonomous Kurdish region's peshmerga forces studying at a school in the northern Iraqi village of Bahra, some three kilometres (two miles) from the closest Islamic State (IS) group position.
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| US program to train Syrian rebels losing ground Posted: 29 Jun 2015 05:14 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military's program to train and equip thousands of moderate Syrian rebels is faltering, with fewer than 100 volunteers, raising questions about whether the effort can produce enough capable fighters quickly enough to make a difference in the war against the Islamic State.
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