| Top Asian News 10:20 p.m. GMT Posted: 10 Jan 2016 02:20 PM PST KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan forces are struggling to man the front lines against a resurgent Taliban, in part because of untold numbers of "ghost" troops who are paid salaries but only exist on paper. The nationwide problem has been particularly severe in the southern Helmand province, where the Taliban have seized vast tracts of territory in the 12 months since the U.S. and NATO formally ended their combat mission and switched to training and support. "At checkpoints where 20 soldiers should be present, there are only eight or 10," said Karim Atal, head of Helmand's provincial council. "It's because some people are getting paid a salary but not doing the job because they are related to someone important, like a local warlord." In some cases, the "ghost" designation is more literal — dead soldiers and police remain on the books, with senior police or army officials pocketing their salaries without replacing them, Atal said. |
| Obama hopes to stoke optimism in farewell union address Posted: 10 Jan 2016 02:14 PM PST  Barack Obama will use his final State of the Union address Tuesday, one of the last grandstand occasions of his presidency, to define his legacy and make the case for optimism amid an angst-ridden election race. Seven years ago, a youthful President Obama's first address to Congress surprised some with gloomy talk of shaken confidence, a weakened economy and uncertain times ahead. Senior White House officials promise an unorthodox speech.
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| Timeline of events in the life of actor Sean Penn Posted: 10 Jan 2016 01:57 PM PST A timeline of events highlighting the screen career, personal life and political activism of Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn: |
| Rolling Stone faces criticism over 'El Chapo' interview Posted: 10 Jan 2016 12:55 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — It was a big scoop, and one Rolling Stone may well regret.
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| Syrian refugee invited to Obama's State of Union address Posted: 10 Jan 2016 12:55 PM PST  A newly arrived Syrian refugee with a harrowing story and a Muslim former US soldier will be among the White House invitees at President Barack Obama's final State of the Union address on Tuesday. The White House on Sunday announced the names of the guests invited to join Michelle Obama in the gallery of the House of Representatives when legislators, Supreme Court justices and other dignitaries assemble to hear the president lay out his chief goals for the year.
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| US bomber flies over S. Korea as show of force against North Posted: 10 Jan 2016 12:15 PM PST  The US sent a heavy bomber over South Korea on Sunday in a show of force as North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un insisted his country's latest nuclear test was carried out in self-defence. The test on Wednesday of what the North claimed was its first hydrogen bomb has sparked international alarm and raised tensions along the inter-Korean frontier, with Seoul reviving cross-border propaganda broadcasts. Sunday's overflight saw a B52 Stratofortress, which is capable of carrying nuclear weapons, briefly roar over the Osan Air Base, some 70 kilometres (45 miles) south of the inter-Korean border, the US military and an eye-witness said.
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| McConnell: No intention of pushing for new war powers vote Posted: 10 Jan 2016 12:15 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate won't take up President Barack Obama's request for new war powers to fight the Islamic State group, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday, to avoid tying the hands of the next president. |
| Merkel under pressure as Cologne violence cases rise to 516 Posted: 10 Jan 2016 12:13 PM PST  Cologne police on Sunday said they had now recorded over 500 cases of New Year's Eve violence blamed on migrants, piling fresh pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel over her liberal stance towards refugees. Witnesses described terrifying scenes of hundreds of women running a gauntlet of groping hands, lewd insults and robberies in the mob violence. The scale of the Cologne assaults has shocked Germany and put a spotlight on the 1.1 million asylum seekers who arrived in the country last year.
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| These are the top 25 Wikipedia articles of 2015 Posted: 10 Jan 2016 12:10 PM PST  The encyclopedia isn't dead — it's just changed format. While we may no longer line our shelves with hardback books lettering A through Z, human curiosity (and ingenuity) has developed a better way of cataloging information, and it goes by the name Wikipedia. The phrase may be "Google it," but what we really mean is "Go look it up on Wikipedia," and in 2015, people looked at a lot on the digital repository. Last year, Wikipedia logged more than 5 million articles in English, an impressive achievement nearly 15 years in the making (the site was born back in 2001). And in 2015, these were the 25 most-read articles: Deaths in 2015 (27,885,484) Chris Kyle (27,765,570) Star Wars: The Force Awakens (23,523,985) Facebook (22,330,302) Stephen Hawking (20,060,944) Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (19,335,481) List of Bollywood films of 2015 (18,171,094) Google (18,107,283) Avengers: Age of Ultron (17,409,029) United States (16,855,064) Kanye West (16,478,369) Game of Thrones (16,135,993) Star Wars (15,580,814) Wikipedia (15,157,792) Furious 7 (14,740,823) Jurassic World (14,283,010) Donald Trump (14,052,391) Fifty Shades of Grey (13,362,580) Pablo Escobar (13,190,232) India (12,864,393 ) 2015 in film (12,542,233) Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (12,436,450) Ronda Rousey (12,298,765) Paul Walker (12,201,471) World War II (12,149,875) Films seemed to pique the most interest — eight articles in the top 25 were about movies. This marks a distinct shift in readers' interests, as just four film-related articles made the list in 2013 and 2014 combined. Previously, television shows were far more popular topics on Wikipedia, which may suggest the return of full-length features to the top of the entertainment pile. This year, just two articles were related to TV — Game of Thrones and Pablo Escobar, the subject of the Netflix hit Narcos . Deaths in 2015, rather morbidly, took top honors, but in general, current events were very rarely searched on Wikipedia. With the exception of Donald Trump, who seemed to dominate in just about every aspect of the Internet last year, Wikipedia readers seemed less inclined to learn about the Paris attacks or ISIS. Of course, it does seem unlikely that you would get your up-to-date news from Wikipedia, so perhaps this discrepancy makes sense. So read on, Wiki users — keep broadening those horizons in 2016 and beyond. Also watch: These Earbuds Give you Superhuman Hearing Please enable Javascript to watch this video
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| Arab foreign ministers accuse Iran of undermining regional security Posted: 10 Jan 2016 11:59 AM PST  By Ahmed Aboulenein CAIRO (Reuters) - Arab foreign ministers condemned attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran and warned on Sunday that the country would face wider opposition if it continued its "interference" in the internal affairs of Arab states. Tensions between the Sunni Muslim kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite Muslim Iran have escalated since Saudi authorities executed Shi'ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr on Jan. 2, triggering outrage among Shi'ites across the Middle East. Other Arab countries have recalled envoys to Iran and the United Arab Emirates downgraded relations in solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
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| Sean Penn: a Hollywood rebel with many causes Posted: 10 Jan 2016 11:56 AM PST  Sean Penn, whose interview with Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman made headlines around the world, is known for his acting brilliance and bad-boy reputation but he is also a sleeves-rolled-up humanitarian and lifelong activist. A week after the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Penn moved there.
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| State of union in 2016: Strong job market, middling economy Posted: 10 Jan 2016 11:41 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama delivers his final State of the Union address on Tuesday night to a nation whose economy is far sturdier than it was when he took office in 2009.
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| Syrian refugee among first lady's guests for State of Union Posted: 10 Jan 2016 11:29 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — A Syrian scientist stricken with cancer and seeking a new start for his family in Michigan will represent Syrian refugees as a guest of first lady Michelle Obama for the president's final State of the Union address.
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| Iraq forces evacuate hundreds of civilians from Ramadi Posted: 10 Jan 2016 11:26 AM PST  Iraqi forces evacuated 635 civilians from Ramadi Sunday as they continued to clear the city two weeks after declaring victory against the Islamic State group, security officials said. Federal forces retook the strategic government compound in the centre of the capital of Anbar province late last month but they have yet to assert full control over the city. "Forces from the counter-terrorism service and the Anbar police evacuated 635 civilians," said Major General Sami Kadhem al-Aredhi, a commander of elite troops in Ramadi.
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| Iraqi families risk all to flee jihadist-held Hawijah Posted: 10 Jan 2016 11:12 AM PST  Al-Fatha (Iraq) (AFP) - Hundreds of families are fleeing hunger and jihadist rule in the Iraqi city of Hawijah and surrounding areas, witnesses and officials said Sunday. Many have died on the perilous journey to reach Iraqi security forces, which have moved closer to Hawijah following recent gains against the Islamic State group. "These families walk for two days or more through the Hamreen mountains," Colonel Fattah al-Khafaji, the police chief in charge of the Hawijah region, told AFP.
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| Obama, in State of Union speech, to draw contrast with Republican 'gloom' Posted: 10 Jan 2016 10:23 AM PST  By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will paint an optimistic picture in his final State of the Union televised address on Tuesday, drawing a contrast with Republicans running to replace him in the November 2016 presidential election, his top aide said on Sunday. White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said the address, which will air live at 9 p.m. EST (0200 GMT) on Tuesday, will be less of a laundry list of legislative plans and more of a big-picture view of America's future. "You'll hear a big, optimistic, generous view of the future of America from the president on Tuesday," McDonough said in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," one of several he gave on Sunday.
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| France remembers terror victims one year on with muted ceremony Posted: 10 Jan 2016 10:09 AM PST  A year after a million and a half people thronged Paris in solidarity with the victims of the attack on satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, the traumatised city marked the anniversary of the killings with a sombre ceremony. Around 2,000 people submitted to strict security checks to get into the Place de la Republique for the event, many saying they were determined to attend despite a lingering sense of fear after France was repeatedly targeted by jihadists in 2015. "A year ago, lots of posters read 'Not Even Scared', but no, in fact we are scared," said Gabriel Taran, 52.
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| Merkel forced to change tack as migrants linked to Cologne violence Posted: 10 Jan 2016 08:57 AM PST  German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been forced to modify her liberal stance toward refugees, after a spate of assaults during New Year's Eve celebrations blamed on asylum seekers. Turning away from her mantra of "we will manage this" over the record influx of asylum seekers that reached 1.1 million last year, Merkel has now backed changes to the law to make it easier to expel those convicted of crime. "If the law does not suffice, then the law must be changed," she said on Saturday, warning that any refugee handed a jail term -- even if it was a suspended sentence -- should be kicked out of the country.
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| Iraq drone strike mistake kills 9 militiamen: spokesman Posted: 10 Jan 2016 08:55 AM PST  An Iraqi drone strike killed nine members of the pro-government Popular Mobilisation paramilitary force near Tikrit in an apparent case of so-called "friendly fire", a spokesman said Sunday. Ahmed al-Assadi, spokesman for the Hashed al-Shaabi umbrella group that includes mostly Tehran-backed Shiite militias, said the strike occurred on Saturday at 10:00 pm (1900 GMT). "The initial report is that an Iraqi strike erroneously identified our forces as enemy forces and carried out a strike," he told AFP.
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| Turkish forces kill 32 Kurdish militants as conflict escalates: sources Posted: 10 Jan 2016 08:08 AM PST  By Seyhmus Cakan DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Security forces killed 32 Kurdish militants in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast at the weekend, army and security sources said on Sunday, escalating the conflict in the region. It was one of the bloodiest weekends since the three-decades-old Kurdish insurgency resumed last July, wrecking a peace process launched by Ankara with the jailed leader of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in late 2012. Weekend media reports said Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a closed-door meeting of his ruling AK Party that security operations and curfews in the region would end within a week, but he said on Sunday there was no such timescale.
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| 'Friendly fire' by Iraqi drone kills nine anti-IS fighters Posted: 10 Jan 2016 08:06 AM PST Nine fighters from a Shi'ite Muslim militia battling Islamic State were killed in northern Iraq when an Iraqi army aircraft fired at them in error, security and militia sources said on Sunday. The fighters were responding to an Islamic State attack west of Camp Speicher, a former U.S. base outside the city of Tikrit, said Ahmed al-Assadi, spokesman for the Hashid Shaabi, a coalition of mostly Shi'ite militias fighting the militants alongside Iraq's military. |
| As foreign crises pile up, Obama seen taking few risks in final year Posted: 10 Jan 2016 07:55 AM PST  By Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As Barack Obama prepares to deliver his final State of the Union address on Tuesday night, the U.S. president and his aides have insisted he will not be content simply to run out the clock on foreign policy and is acting decisively to tackle crises piling up around the globe. Most outside analysts agree with administration officials' insistence that much of the global tumult is driven by forces beyond Obama's control.
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| Afghan forces struggle as ranks thinned by 'ghost' soldiers Posted: 10 Jan 2016 07:30 AM PST  KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan forces are struggling to man the front lines against a resurgent Taliban, in part because of untold numbers of "ghost" troops who are paid salaries but only exist on paper.
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| AJC Welcomes American Historical Association Rejection of Anti-Israel Resolution Posted: 10 Jan 2016 07:28 AM PST NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC praised American Historical Association (AHA) members for firmly rejecting a resolution that blatantly targeted Israel. The measure accusing Israel of restricting Palestinian academic activities in Gaza and the West Bank was decisively defeated by a vote of 111 to 50, at the AHA annual meeting in Atlanta. "AHA members rebuffed the efforts of BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) activists to exploit American academic groups to single out Israel for condemnation," said AJC CEO David Harris. |
| Why ISIS Cannot Be Negotiated With Posted: 10 Jan 2016 07:26 AM PST  In his recent Atlantic piece on "What to Do About ISIS," Jonathan Powell, a former senior British diplomat, posits that eventually, the West would have to negotiate with the so-called Islamic State. It's a comforting thought, in a way—the suggestion presupposes that ISIS, just like many other armed organizations throughout history, is the kind of group that can eventually be reasoned with, however distasteful its enemies may find the prospect. Noting numerous examples in which governments have talked their way to peace with terrorist organizations, Powell acknowledges, "of course people argue that ISIS is completely different from anything we have seen before. But people have said that about each new armed group since the rise of the IRA in 1919."
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| Bombs laid by Islamic State hamper Iraqi troops in Ramadi after victory Posted: 10 Jan 2016 06:31 AM PST  By Stephen Kalin BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State militants left Ramadi's streets and buildings boobytrapped with bombs, hampering efforts to rebuild the city two weeks after Iraq's elite counter-terrorism forces claimed victory against the militant group there, officials said. Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, was touted as the first major success for Iraq's army since it collapsed in the face of Islamic State's lightning advance across the country's north and west 18 months ago. The militants have been pushed to Ramadi's eastern suburbs, but almost all of the city, which was battered by U.S.-led air strikes against Islamic State, remains off-limits to its nearly half a million displaced residents, most of whom fled before the army advance.
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| U.S.-led coalition conducts 11 strikes in Syria, 15 in Iraq: U.S. military Posted: 10 Jan 2016 05:41 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S.-led coalition conducted 11 air strikes against Islamic State forces in Syria and 15 in Iraq on Saturday, the task force leading the operation said. The strikes in Syria hit near Raqqa, Kamal, Manbij, Ayn Isa, Dayr Az Zawr, where one strike destroyed 16 skid-mounted gas and oil separation plants, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement Sunday. Six of the strikes in Iraq were near the contested city of Ramadi, where Iraqi government troops were fighting to keep militants out of the city they had occupied since May, it said. ... |
| Turkish forces kill 32 Kurdish militants in southeast: sources Posted: 10 Jan 2016 03:24 AM PST Turkish security forces killed 32 Kurdish militants in the mainly Kurdish southeast of the country this weekend, armed forces and security sources said on Sunday. Twenty of the militants were killed on Saturday, mostly near the Syrian and Iraq borders, and a further 12 in fighting in the city of Van overnight. It was one of the bloodiest weekends since a two-year ceasefire between the Turkish state and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants ended in July. |
| Iran warns of reciprocal measures in US visa row Posted: 10 Jan 2016 03:04 AM PST  Iran's parliament speaker said Sunday that new US visa regulations amounted to "harassment" and reciprocal steps would be taken if the plans are implemented. The rules, approved by Congress last month, would bar people from 38 mainly European countries from travelling to the United States without a visa if they have visited Iran, Iraq, Syria or Sudan since 2011. Dual nationals of those countries would also be banned from using the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).
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| Iraq bans poultry imports from 24 countries over avian flu threat Posted: 10 Jan 2016 03:01 AM PST  Iraq has extended a ban on imports of frozen and live poultry products to cover two dozen countries, including China and South Africa, the government said on Sunday. Baghdad last month restricted poultry imports from France, where an outbreak of avian flu has been reported. The agriculture ministry could not be contacted for immediate comment, but a ministry spokesman previously said that the ban on French poultry was because of avian flu.
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| Ambassador denies U.S. conducting helicopter raids in northern Iraq Posted: 10 Jan 2016 01:33 AM PST The U.S. ambassador to Iraq has denied reports that the United States has been carrying out helicopter raids against Islamic State militants in northern Iraq. "There have recently been reports of U.S. helicopter raids in Hawija and Kirkuk. As Defense Minister Obaidi and numerous other Iraqi officials have stated, reports of these raids are untrue," Stuart Jones said in a statement on Saturday. |
| Facts about B-52 bomber, which flew over South Korea Posted: 09 Jan 2016 09:02 PM PST  Facts about the U.S. B-52 long-range bomber, which flew over South Korea on Sunday in response to North Korea's fourth nuclear test last week:
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| Shooter of Philadelphia policeman described as quiet, devout Muslim Posted: 09 Jan 2016 08:48 PM PST The gunman who claimed allegiance to Islamic State after shooting a Philadelphia police officer was described by people who knew him as a devout, quiet Muslim who became more "combative" after trips to Egypt and Saudi Arabia. As police charged Edward Archer on Saturday with attempted murder, aggravated assault and assault of a law enforcement officer, investigators continued to examine what prompted the 30-year-old construction worker to open fire on a police car. Two people who knew him described a pious man who began expressing interest in Islam in his teenage years and devoted his life to religion. Three shots struck the officer in his arm. Archer later confessed to the attack and said he pledged allegiance to Islamic State, police said. |
| N. Korea leader defends 'hydrogen bomb' test Posted: 09 Jan 2016 07:22 PM PST  North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un on Sunday justified what he claimed was his country's first hydrogen bomb test as self-defence to prevent nuclear war with the US, in his first comments since the explosion. Pyongyang on Wednesday carried out its fourth nuclear test, angering the international community and raising tensions with neighbouring South Korea. The test was "a self-defensive step for reliably defending the peace on the Korean Peninsula and the regional security from the danger of nuclear war caused by the US-led imperialists," Kim was quoted as saying.
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| Cruz shows more personality, humor while campaigning in Iowa Posted: 09 Jan 2016 12:31 PM PST  STORM LAKE, Iowa (AP) — Lisa Naslund clutched a photo of her son Dillion in his military fatigues as she waited about an hour for a chance to meet Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz in this northwestern Iowa town.
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