| Exclusive: Jeb Bush says Putin's Russia should face consequences over Syria Posted: 13 Oct 2015 04:09 PM PDT  By Steve Holland PETERBOROUGH, N.H. (Reuters) - Republican Jeb Bush vowed on Tuesday to take a more aggressive approach to countering Russia if he is elected president next year, calling Vladimir Putin an "agile adversary" who is exploiting a vacuum of U.S. leadership in Syria and elsewhere. In an interview with Reuters, Bush said that if elected in 2016 he would seek to build a coalition of European and Arab partners to work for the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which he said is key to resolving the festering conflict and a worsening refugee crisis. Calling Putin a "bully", Bush said the United States and Europe should also extend sanctions against Moscow over its military aggression in Ukraine that are set to expire at year's end.
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| Syria's army, allies plan offensive against insurgents in Aleppo Posted: 13 Oct 2015 03:46 PM PDT  By Laila Bassam and Tom Perry BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's army along with Iranian and Hezbollah allies will soon launch a ground attack supported by Russian air strikes against insurgents in the Aleppo area, two senior regional officials told Reuters on Tuesday. Control of Aleppo city and the surrounding province in the area near the Turkish border is divided among the Syrian government, insurgent groups fighting Assad and the Islamic State group that controls some rural areas near the city. "There is a large mobilization of the Syrian army ... elite Hezbollah fighters, and thousands of Iranians who arrived in stages in recent days." Islamic State and other insurgents, including groups backed by Assad's foreign enemies, have been fighting each other north of the city in an area of territory where Turkey and the United States have been laying plans to crush Islamic State, which controls large swathes of Syria and Iraq.
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| US to Iraq: Time for 'final push' into Ramadi Posted: 13 Oct 2015 02:57 PM PDT  The US military is encouraging Iraqi forces to make a final push to recapture Ramadi from Islamic State jihadists who seized the Anbar provincial capital in May, a spokesman said Tuesday. Colonel Steve Warren, the Baghdad-based spokesman for the US-led coalition that has been bombing IS in Syria and Iraq, told journalists that Iraqi security forces were well placed to recapture the city, which is located about 70 miles (110 kilometers) west of Baghdad. "Iraqi ground forces recently trained and equipped by the coalition have been deployed around Ramadi in time for the decisive phase of this operation," Warren told journalists in a video briefing at the Pentagon.
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| Big Qatar, Thai wins boost World Cup qualifying hopes Posted: 13 Oct 2015 02:32 PM PDT  Qatar and Thailand took huge steps towards the next round of 2018 World Cup qualifiers after notching up resounding victories on Tuesday. Qatar thrashed Maldives 4-0 in Doha to record their fifth straight win in the qualifiers to enjoy a five-point cushion ahead of Hong Kong in Group C. In Hanoi, Thailand trounced South-East Asian rivals Vietnam 3-0 in front of 35,000 spectators in Goup F. Enjoying a rare unbeaten spell under Uruguayan coach Jose Daniel Carreno, Qatar struck twice through Boualem Khoukhi, while Mohamed Kasola and Mohamed Musa completed the tally.
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| U.S. expects agreement with Russia soon on Syria air safety Posted: 13 Oct 2015 02:24 PM PDT By David Brunnstrom and Phil Stewart BOSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States expects an agreement with Russia's military soon on air safety protocols in the skies above Syria, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Tuesday, as the former Cold War foes seek to avoid a clash during rival bombing campaigns. Russia's entry into Syria's civil war has stoked concerns about an accidental mishap between U.S. and Russia jets. |
| Clinton seeks to move past email woes in Democratic debate Posted: 13 Oct 2015 02:21 PM PDT  LAS VEGAS (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton is entering Tuesday night's first Democratic debate a weakened front-runner, anxious to move past the controversy over her email practices and persuade voters she's the best-qualified candidate to lead the party to a third straight term in the White House.
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| Clinton, Sanders ready for 1st Democratic presidential debate Posted: 13 Oct 2015 02:00 PM PDT  Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton will finally square off Tuesday with top rival Bernie Sanders in the party's first debate of the 2016 campaign as she seeks to prove she is the candidate to beat. Clinton will take center stage in Las Vegas with Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont who has drawn huge crowds on the campaign trail, and three other hopefuls seeking to make their mark with a national audience. The spotlight therefore is likely to be on Clinton and Sanders.
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| Court reinstates lawsuit over NYPD surveillance of Muslims Posted: 13 Oct 2015 01:49 PM PDT  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A federal appeals court on Tuesday reinstated a lawsuit challenging the New York Police Department's surveillance of Muslim groups in New Jersey after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, saying any resulting harm came from the city's tactics, not the media's reporting of them.
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| US says Iraqis now in position to retake Ramadi Posted: 13 Oct 2015 01:32 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military says conditions are now right for the Iraqi army to make a decisive assault on Ramadi and reclaim the provincial capital from Islamic State fighters. |
| Refugee influx set to shake up Germany's Muslim community Posted: 13 Oct 2015 01:20 PM PDT  Germany's Muslim community is bracing for a culture shock when masses of Arab migrants join millions of residents of Turkish origin. "Most sermons are held in Turkish," said Yasemin El-Menouar, Islam expert at think-tank the Bertelsmann Foundation. A legacy of Germany's post-war industrial revival, the more than four-million Muslim community is "two-thirds of Turkish origin or culturally Turkish," the researcher told AFP.
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| US draws a line on protecting CIA-backed rebels in Syria Posted: 13 Oct 2015 01:17 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Russian military intervention to prop up Syria's government has brought new scrutiny of the CIA's secret support to Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar Assad. But how far is the U.S. willing to go to empower its proxies to take on Vladimir Putin's allies?
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| IS vows to defeat Russia in Syria as strikes intensify Posted: 13 Oct 2015 01:09 PM PDT  The Islamic State group vowed Tuesday to attack Russia and defeat it, as Moscow announced it had intensified its air campaign against jihadists in Syria. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin criticised Washington for refusing to cooperate with Moscow in its Syrian campaign, which is having an increasingly dramatic effect. IS seeks not only to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but is also vying with Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front for jihadist supremacy in the country.
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| Erdogan sees Syria link in Ankara attack, orders state probe Posted: 13 Oct 2015 01:03 PM PDT  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday ordered a special state probe into possible shortcomings over the Ankara bombings which killed 97, saying intelligence indicated the attack had its origins in Syria. The government has said the Islamic State (IS) group is the prime suspect behind Turkey's deadliest attack, which saw two suicide bombers blow themselves up in crowd of leftist and pro-Kurdish activists at a peace rally. Ergodan -- who has come under fire over alleged security lapses -- broke three days of silence with his first public remarks on the attacks at a joint news conference with visiting Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.
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| Clinton plus 4: The Democrats seeking the White House Posted: 13 Oct 2015 12:20 PM PDT  Hillary Clinton comes face to face Tuesday with the four men challenging her for the Democratic presidential nomination less than four months before the first primary votes are cast. One of them, Bernie Sanders, is making a genuine race out of it. - Hillary Clinton, age 67: Her resume is as solid as any candidate in the presidential race: she has served as first lady, a US senator from New York, and President Barack Obama's first secretary of state, after she lost their bruising Democratic nomination battle in 2008.
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| Syria in crisis: The key players in the deepening conflict Posted: 13 Oct 2015 11:50 AM PDT Russia's intervention into Syria has been described as a "game changer," adding a new dimension to a war that in the past 4-1/2 years has left a quarter of a million people dead and triggered the worst refugee crisis since World War II. The conflict has attracted a kaleidoscope of local, regional, and international players all vying to prevail. 1. How strong is the Syrian Army? Before the war in Syria began in 2011, the total strength of the Syrian military, including Air Force and Navy, was estimated to be around 300,000. |
| Russian Embassy shelled in Syria as insurgents hit back Posted: 13 Oct 2015 11:40 AM PDT  DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The Russian Embassy in Damascus was shelled Tuesday as pro-government demonstrators gathered outside, and Syria's largest insurgent coalition announced an offensive to counter Moscow's airstrikes that have injected new fury in the conflict.
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| Islamic State urges jihad against Russians, Americans: audio Posted: 13 Oct 2015 11:40 AM PDT  Islamic State called on Muslims to launch a "holy war" against Russians and Americans over what it called their "crusaders' war" in the Middle East, an audio message distributed by supporters of the ultra hardline group said on Tuesday. "Islamic youth everywhere, ignite jihad against the Russians and the Americans in their crusaders' war against Muslims," the speech by Islamic State spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani said. The United States and Russia are carrying separate airstrike campaigns in Syria, which they say are targeting Islamic State.
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| Turkish PM: Suicide bombers 'originated' from Syria Posted: 13 Oct 2015 11:33 AM PDT  ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey has intelligence suggesting that militants "originating" from Syria were planning to carry out attacks in Turkey, the country's president said Tuesday, but added that no groups were being ruled out in the investigation into a deadly attack on a peace rally.
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| France in deals worth $10 bn with Saudi Arabia Posted: 13 Oct 2015 11:21 AM PDT  France on Tuesday announced a series of deals worth 10 billion euros ($11.4 billion) with Saudi Arabia, reinforcing growing ties between the two countries. Prime Minister Manuel Valls confirmed the agreements, some still to be finalised, during a visit to Riyadh. The agreements include contracts and letters of intent between the countries whose economic and political relations have grown under President Francois Hollande.
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| Greece says no plan for sea patrols with Turkey over migrant crisis Posted: 13 Oct 2015 11:05 AM PDT  Greece said on Tuesday it had no plan to carry out joint sea patrols with neighboring Turkey to stem an influx of migrants and refugees into Europe. A record 400,000 refugees and migrants have arrived in Greece this year from nearby Turkey, most fleeing war-torn Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq and hoping to reach wealthier northern Europe. Many others have died at sea while making the short but perilous crossing on flimsy rubber boats.
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| France, Saudi Arabia deepen alliance with 10B euros in deals Posted: 13 Oct 2015 11:02 AM PDT  RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — France has signed deals worth 10 billion euros ($11.4 billion) with Saudi Arabia, said French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Tuesday, underscoring the shared foreign policy stances that have helped deepen the two countries' military and economic ties.
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| Islamic State confirms senior member killed in August strike: SITE Posted: 13 Oct 2015 10:43 AM PDT The hardline Islamic State group confirmed on Tuesday that one of its senior members had been killed in an airstrike in Iraq earlier this year, the SITE monitoring service said. Islamic State's spokesman said in an audio message that Abu Mutaz Qurashi, also known as Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali, had been killed, SITE said. The White House said on Aug 21 that Hayali was killed during a U.S. air strike in Iraq and described him as the second-in-command of the group, which has seized swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq. |
| IS confirms killing of number two in US air strike Posted: 13 Oct 2015 10:42 AM PDT  "America is rejoicing over the killing of Abu Mutaz al-Qurashi and considers this a great victory," Abu Mohamed al-Adnani said in an audio recording posted on jihadist websites. "I will not mourn him... he whose only wish was to die in the name of Allah... he has raised men and left behind heroes who, God willing, are yet to harm America," he added. It said the strike targeted a vehicle and also killed an IS "media operative" known as Abu Abdullah.
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| Clinton, Sanders rivalry in spotlight as Democrats debate Posted: 13 Oct 2015 10:38 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton says she always expected tough competition in the Democratic presidential primary. It's likely she didn't expect it would come from Bernie Sanders, the rumpled independent senator from Vermont and a self-described democratic socialist calling for "political revolution."
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| Iraq using info from new intelligence center to bomb Islamic State: official Posted: 13 Oct 2015 10:28 AM PDT  By Babak Dehghanpisheh BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq has begun bombing Islamic State insurgents with help from a new intelligence center with staff from Russia, Iran and Syria, a senior parliamentary figure said on Tuesday about cooperation seen as a threat to U.S. interests in the region. The center has been operational for about a week, and it provided intelligence for air strikes on a gathering of middle-level Islamic State figures, Hakim al Zamili, the head of parliament's defense and security committee, told Reuters.
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| Soccer-North Korea, Thais and Oman move clear in Asia qualifying Posted: 13 Oct 2015 10:04 AM PDT By Patrick Johnston SINGAPORE, Oct 13 (Reuters) - North Korea, Thailand and Oman took advantage of the absence of Asia's elite to storm clear in their World Cup qualifying groups with victories on Tuesday. With the top seeds across the eight joint Asian Cup qualifying groups sitting out the sixth matchday, the region's unfancied sides boosted their chances of grabbing one of the 12 places on offer for the next stage of the Road to Russia 2018. North Korea are close to doing so after Jong Il-gwan struck a 15th minute penalty for a 1-0 home win over Yemen to leave the twice World Cup qualifiers four points clear of Uzbekistan in Group H with only three games remaining. |
| Over 710,000 migrants crossed into EU this year: Frontex Posted: 13 Oct 2015 09:41 AM PDT  EU border agency Frontex said on Tuesday that 710,000 migrants entered the European Union in the first nine months of this year, compared to 282,000 in all of 2014, but cautioned that many people were counted twice. "The total number of migrants who crossed the EU's external borders in the first nine months of this year rose to more than 710,000 with the Greek islands on the Aegean continuing to be the most affected by the unprecedented inflow of people," Frontex said in a statement. Frontex chief Fabrice Leggeri reiterated his call to member states to provide additional border guards to help deal with the unprecedented migrant influx.
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| Turkey probes IS attack link as Erdogan to break silence Posted: 13 Oct 2015 09:25 AM PDT Turkish investigators on Tuesday sought to firm up suspicions Islamic State jihadists were behind a double suicide bombing in Ankara that killed 97, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was to break days of silence over the blasts. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Monday said IS was the prime suspect behind Turkey's deadlist ever attack which saw bombs packed with ball bearings ripping through a crowd of leftist and pro-Kurdish activists at an anti-government peace rally in the capital. Three days after the bloodshed, Ergodan -- who has come under fire over alleged security lapses -- was to make his first public remarks on the attacks at a joint news conference with visiting Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. |
| Thailand win boosts World Cup qualifying hopes Posted: 13 Oct 2015 08:40 AM PDT  Thailand took a huge step towards the next round of the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers after they trounced South-East Asian rivals Vietnam 3-0 in Hanoi on Tuesday. A first-half strike by Kroekrit Thawikan put the visitors ahead at My Dinh Stadium before an own goal by Dien Tien Thanh and an effort by captain Theerathon Bunmathan sealed a comprehensive win for the visitors who moved five points clear of Iraq at the top of their group. North Korea also boosted their hopes of advancing to the next round after a 1-0 home win over Yemen while Singapore and Hong Kong claimed narrow wins against Cambodia and Bhutan respectively.
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| A viewers' guide to the first Democratic debate of 2016 race Posted: 13 Oct 2015 08:36 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Five Democrats vying to be President Barack Obama's successor meet Tuesday night for their first televised debate of the 2016 election, a confrontation between one of the best-known women on the planet and four men seeking to unseat her as the party's front-runner. |
| Former House Intel Committee Chair in New Book Exposes Disastrous Foreign Policy that Unraveled N. Africa, Mid-East Posted: 13 Oct 2015 07:32 AM PDT "The foreign policy of President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton in which they engaged Islamist terrorists and their enablers over the past seven years has been grounded in wishful thinking and self-delusion," said Hoekstra, who met with Gaddafi on three separate occasions. |
| Refugees in Pakistan hit by aid cuts as Europe crisis drains funds Posted: 13 Oct 2015 07:05 AM PDT  By Asad Hashim PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Aid programs for some of the 2.5 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan are being slashed amid the worst funding shortfall for a generation, as the European and Syrian migrant crisis uses up cash and dominates headlines, United Nations officials said. Pakistan hosts the world's largest long-term refugee population, according to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), mostly Afghans who fled more than three decades of war. The exodus of people from countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan is forcing U.N. officials to cut programs like infant feeding, education, and sanitation for refugees in Pakistan.
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| Ankara attacks intensify Kurdish party's conflict with Erdogan Posted: 13 Oct 2015 06:32 AM PDT  The double suicide bombing of a peace rally in Ankara has raised a feud between the government and Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party to a new level, widening a dangerous polarisation as Turks head towards November 1 polls. The carnage has put the charismatic leader of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas on a collision course with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who he accuses of presiding over a "mafia state" responsible for Saturday's bombings that killed at least 97 people. Rather than joining forces in solidarity, the HDP and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have exchanged acrimonious accusations as Turkey goes through one of its most explosive periods in years.
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| 'Boko Haram cluster bombs' may come from Nigerian military: campaigners Posted: 13 Oct 2015 04:47 AM PDT  Nigeria has warned civilians that Boko Haram is using deadly cluster bombs but campaigners say the Islamists may have got the banned weapons from the military in the first place. Defence spokesman Rabe Abubakar urged people to be on their guard for "cluster bombs, sometimes scalled scatter bombs", as engineers had recently found caches in northeastern Adamawa state. "The military high command has discovered that the Boko Haram terrorists in the areas have used such lethal instruments over time to push their callous terrorist cause," he said last Thursday.
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| Turkey warns U.S., Russia against backing Kurdish militia in Syria Posted: 13 Oct 2015 04:31 AM PDT  By Orhan Coskun ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey has warned the United States and Russia it will not tolerate Kurdish territorial gains by Kurdish militia close to its frontiers in north-western Syria, two senior officials said. "This is clear cut for us and there is no joking about it," one official said of the possibility of Syrian Kurdish militia crossing the Euphrates to extend control along Turkish borders from Iraq's Kurdistan region towards the Mediterranean coast. Turkey fears advances by Kurdish YPG militia, backed by its PYD political wing, on the Syrian side of its 900 km (560-mile) border will fuel separatist ambitions among Kurds in its own southeastern territories.
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| Debate Night: 5 Critical Issues That Clinton and Sanders Will Clash Over Posted: 13 Oct 2015 03:15 AM PDT There is no Donald Trump commanding attention by insulting the moderators and inciting the crowd. "With no Trump and a less interesting contest overall, ratings should be significantly lower for this debate than the two previous Republican debates," said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia's Center on Politics. |
| Ready to debate: A guide to the Democratic 2016 candidates Posted: 13 Oct 2015 01:53 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican presidential contest has been aflutter for months, but now it's time for the Democrats to spread their wings before a big national audience.
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| The OZY Hunger Games: Jim Webb's Lack of Combat Readiness Posted: 13 Oct 2015 01:00 AM PDT  Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb appears unprepared to fight on the front lines of presidential politics.
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| Two Tunisian soldiers killed in clashes with militants Posted: 13 Oct 2015 12:02 AM PDT Islamists militants killed two Tunisian soldiers who were seeking to free a man kidnapped on Monday in a mountainous area near the border with Algeria, an army spokesman said. Tunisia's army has been carrying out operations in the area after two major attacks this year claimed by Islamic State. "Two soldiers have been killed and four others wounded after clashes in the Sammama mountains in Kasserine, in clashes with terrorists," spokesman Belhassen Ouuslati said. |
| NZ man guilty of trying to fight in Syria: Australian court Posted: 12 Oct 2015 11:51 PM PDT  A New Zealand man could spend up to three decades behind bars after he was found guilty by an Australian court Tuesday of trying to travel to the Middle East to fight in the Syrian conflict. Amin Mohamed, 25, was convicted by a Victoria Supreme Court jury of three charges of preparing to enter a foreign state to engage in hostile activities. Experts believe he is the first person in Australia to be found guilty of attempting to fight in Syria on foreign incursions offences.
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