| The Latest: EU agrees migrant plan to put to Turkey Friday Posted: 17 Mar 2016 04:26 PM PDT  BRUSSELS (AP) — The Latest on European efforts to respond to the migration crisis (all times local):
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| Tunisia's youth must shun Islamic extremism, set example: France Posted: 17 Mar 2016 03:53 PM PDT By John Irish TUNIS (Reuters) - France on Thursday called on Tunisia's youth to resist the path of Islamic extremism and set the example for the rest of the region, while Paris vowed to firm up security and economic ties with Tunis as it struggles with rising Islamist militancy. With its free elections and secular history, France's former North African colony has been a target for jihadists looking to upset the young democracy just five years after Tunisians overthrew their autocratic leader Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in a model of democratic transition. It has since managed the political transformation but is suffering the effects of home-grown radicalization and instability in Libya, where a political void has enabled the Islamic State militant group to expand with violence spilling into Tunisia. |
| Iraq's Sadr spurns calls to drop sit-in over 'bastion of corruption' Posted: 17 Mar 2016 03:28 PM PDT  Influential Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr rejected calls to cancel a planned sit-in on Friday at the gates of Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, which he called "a bastion of support for corruption".He published a statement on his website on Thursday in response to politicians who asked him to drop the protest over concern that it could lead to violence near the sensitive district, which houses government offices and embassies. Sadr called for the sit-in last week to press Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to replace cabinet ministers with technocrats unaffiliated with political parties in order to counter systemic political patronage that has abetted corruption. Early on Friday, the Interior Ministry published a statement saying it had not authorized the sit-in but did not indicate how it would deal with any protesters who do show up.
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| US: Islamic State carrying out 'genocide' Posted: 17 Mar 2016 02:37 PM PDT  The United States declared Thursday that the Islamic State group's slaughter of Christians, Yazidis and Shiites in Iraq and Syria amounts to a genocide and vowed to halt it. Secretary of State John Kerry's "moral statement" does not place the United States under any new legal obligations, but the White House said it could back an international investigation. "The United States will cooperate with independent efforts to investigate genocide," President Barack Obama's spokesman Josh Earnest said.
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| US man sentenced to 22.5 years for IS recruitment Posted: 17 Mar 2016 02:35 PM PDT  An American man was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison Thursday after trying to recruit FBI informants to the Islamic State group in Syria. Mufid Elfgeeh, 32, from Rochester in upstate New York, pleaded guilty in December to attempting to provide material support to the extremists and was described by prosecutors as "one of the first" IS recruiters captured in the United States. Prosecutors said Elfgeeh spread IS propaganda on social media, sought funds for extremists and attempted to recruit and send two individuals -- both of whom were cooperating with the FBI -- to Syria to fight with IS.
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| New details hint at role of psychology in Bergdahl defense Posted: 17 Mar 2016 02:08 PM PDT  RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Well before Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl walked away from his Army post in Afghanistan, he washed out of the Coast Guard three weeks into boot camp when he was found on the barracks floor suffering a panic attack, his hands covered in blood from a nosebleed.
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| US Holocaust Memorial Museum: US Government Declares Genocide Committed by Islamic State Posted: 17 Mar 2016 01:57 PM PDT WASHINGTON, March 17, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United States government's designation today that the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) has perpetrated genocide and crimes against humanity against religious minorities in Iraq is a historic first step towards addressing the human cost of IS's atrocities. Genocide and crimes against humanity are rare acts that shock the conscience. By recognizing these crimes, the US government acknowledges the experiences and suffering of those religious minorities targeted by IS in Iraq and Syria. |
| Wheelchair refugees brave boats, border guards, flat tyres on way to Europe Posted: 17 Mar 2016 01:54 PM PDT  By Bushra Shakhshir and Alkis Konstantinidis IDOMENI, Greece (Reuters) - Hassan Omar from Iraq and Radwan Sheikho from Syria have had to rely heavily on the kindness of strangers to make the treacherous journey to Europe this winter, fleeing the conflict wracking their home countries. The pair have formed a firm friendship along the way, negotiating perilous boat trips, train rides and finally making their way together along muddy paths to Greece's Macedonian border - no mean feat for two men in wheelchairs. The two then traveled by ferry to the Greek mainland and from there north by train, Omar with his daughter and Sheikho with his sister, hoping they might have a better chance of crossing through Macedonia's closed border due to their disability.
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| Kuwait security chief to Obama: we're not free-riders Posted: 17 Mar 2016 01:53 PM PDT  By Sylvia Westall KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwait is not a "free-rider" in U.S.-led campaigns against terrorism and other threats, a senior Kuwaiti security official said on Thursday, rejecting comments by President Barack Obama critical of some U.S. allies. Sheikh Thamer al-Sabah, President of Kuwait's National Security Bureau, was referring to Obama's remarks to The Atlantic magazine last week in which he said some states in the Gulf and Europe were "free-riders" who called for U.S. action without getting involved themselves. In an interview, Sheikh Thamer said Kuwait, like fellow Gulf state Qatar, had opened up air bases and airspace for the U.S.-led coalition bombing Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
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| White House says ready to help ICC genocide probe in Syria, Iraq Posted: 17 Mar 2016 01:51 PM PDT  The White House on Thursday said it was ready to support an investigation by the International Criminal Court into alleged genocide carried out by the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq. "The United States will cooperate with independent efforts to investigate genocide," said spokesman Josh Earnest, adding that the administration is willing to support the ICC in gathering evidence. The United States declared earlier Thursday that the Islamic State group's slaughter of Christians, Yazidis and Shiites in Iraq and Syria amounts to a genocide and vowed to halt it.
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| Syria talks turn to substance as Kurds declare federal region Posted: 17 Mar 2016 01:48 PM PDT  The UN's envoy for Syria said he held "substantive" talks with the country's opposition Thursday on forging a unity government, but the fragile peace negotiations faced fresh hurdles after Syria's Kurds declared a federal region under their control. United Nations mediator Staffan de Mistura said his talks in Geneva with the main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) included clear proposals on a political transition to lead Syria out of more than five-years of brutal conflict. "We were impressed by the depth of the preparation they had," de Mistura told reporters following his HNC meet.
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| Kurdish group close to PKK claims deadly Ankara attack Posted: 17 Mar 2016 01:32 PM PDT  A radical Kurdish group with ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party on Thursday claimed responsibility for the suicide car bomb attack that killed 35 people in Ankara last weekend. The claim by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) came as Germany closed diplomatic missions and schools in Turkey after Berlin received information that they could be targeted. "On the evening of March 13, a suicide attack was carried out... in Ankara, the heart of the fascist Turkish republic," the statement said.
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| Islamic State committed genocide against Christians, Shi'ites: U.S. Posted: 17 Mar 2016 01:22 PM PDT  By Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Islamic State has committed genocide against Christians, Yazidis and Shi'ite Muslims, the United States said on Thursday, a finding U.S. officials hope will bring more resources to help the groups even though it does not change U.S. military strategy or legal obligations. "In my judgment, Daesh is responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control, including Yazidis, Christians and Shi'ite Muslims," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters, referring to the group by an Arabic acronym. "Daesh is genocidal by self-proclamation, by ideology, and by actions." Republicans, who control the U.S. Congress, had pressured the Democratic White House to call the militants' atrocities in Iraq and Syria genocide and the House of Representatives on Monday passed a nonbinding resolution 393-0 labeling them as such. U.S. officials hope the determination will help them win political and budget support from Congress and other nations to help the targeted groups return home if and when Islamic State-controlled areas such as the Iraqi city of Mosul are liberated. While the genocide finding may make it easier for Washington to argue for greater action against the group, U.S. officials said it does not create a U.S. legal obligation to do more, and would not change U.S. military strategy toward the militants.
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| Cong. Frank R. Wolf and 21CWI Applaud Statement Condemning ISIS Genocide Posted: 17 Mar 2016 01:22 PM PDT WASHINGTON, March 17, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Former Congressman Frank R. Wolf, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative (21CWI), stated, "Today the United States stood with millions in Iraq and Syria who have experienced the most brutal reality imaginable – genocide."At a press briefing this morning, Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement declaring that the Islamic State is "responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control, including Yezidis, Christians, and Shia Muslims. ... |
| AJC Partners With IsraAid To Provide Relief Aid To Fiji Posted: 17 Mar 2016 01:06 PM PDT NEW YORK, March 17, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC is partnering with the Israeli relief agency IsraAid to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to villages in Fiji that were devastated by Cyclone Winston. The IsraAid team on the ground is providing shelter, water, sanitation, and psychosocial support. "The damage inflicted by Hurricane Winston in Fiji impels us to respond with compassion," said Shira Loewenberg, director of AJC's Asia Pacific Institute. |
| Syria's Kurds rebuked for seeking autonomous region Posted: 17 Mar 2016 12:35 PM PDT  By Rodi Said RMEILAN, Syria (Reuters) - Syria's Kurdish-controlled northern regions voted to seek autonomy on Thursday, drawing rebukes from the Damascus government, neighboring power Turkey and Washington over a move that could complicate U.N.-backed peace talks. The vote to unite three Kurdish-controlled provinces in a federal system appears aimed at creating a self-run entity within Syria, a status that Kurds have enjoyed in neighboring Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. The proclamation is an open challenge to many of the sides in Syria's five-year-old civil war, as well as their international sponsors, who have mainly been battling for control of what they say must remain a unified state.
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| The US Accuses ISIS of Genocide: Will Obama Step Up the War Effort? Posted: 17 Mar 2016 12:03 PM PDT  The Obama administration on Thursday bowed to pressure from Congress and declared ISIS terrorist forces in Syria and Iraq guilty of genocide for their wonton killings and enslavement of Christians, Yezidis, Shia Turks and other ethnic groups caught up in the horrific Middle East conflict. Secretary of State John F. Kerry made the declaration today in remarks at the State Department.
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| Kerry calls ISIS actions 'genocide.' Does the label matter? Posted: 17 Mar 2016 10:27 AM PDT With the backing of Congress, Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday condemned the actions of the terrorist group known as Islamic State (IS) as genocide against Christians and other minorities in Iraq and Syria. Recommended: How much do you know about the Islamic State? "In my judgment Daesh is responsible for genocide against groups in territory under its control" Kerry said. |
| ISIS Has Committed Genocide, Obama Administration Declares Posted: 17 Mar 2016 10:10 AM PDT  Secretary of State John Kerry announced today that the terror group ISIS is guilty of committing genocide against Christians, Yazidis and Shia Muslims. Kerry's statement comes on the same day that a congressional deadline urging the Obama administration to make its own judgement was set to expire. Earlier this week, the House overwhelmingly approved a resolution 393-0 that actions taken by ISIS against Christians and other religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria constitute genocide.
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| European cities join hands to stay afloat in migrant crisis Posted: 17 Mar 2016 08:56 AM PDT  By Megan Rowling BARCELONA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - As hundreds of asylum seekers from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere make the risky journey across the Aegean Sea each day to reach Europe, the Greek island of Lesbos faces the problem of what to do with the discarded dinghies piling up on its shores. Help may be at hand, thanks to an agreement signed this week between the Lesbos municipality and Barcelona. Under the deal, Barcelona city council will also share environmental and logistical expertise with the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, which has seen a huge influx of migrants crossing from North Africa.
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| Dejected and weary, refugees in Greece choose relocation Posted: 17 Mar 2016 08:50 AM PDT  Ten days in the squalid Greek border camp of Idomeni were enough to convince Adel to put his dreams of dashing to Germany on hold and apply for the EU's refugee relocation scheme. "It was unbearable," says the 20-year-old finance student from Aleppo, one of a growing number of Syrian and Iraqi refugees who are expressing an interest in the sharing-out programme that until now appeared stalled. A family hotel, the Edelweiss is part of a programme run by the UN refugee agency to accommodate 20,000 refugees eligible for relocation after being trapped in Greece by a domino effect of border closures along the migrant trail to northern Europe.
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| Family: US man held in Emirates over faked loans in his name Posted: 17 Mar 2016 08:00 AM PDT  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A U.S. schoolteacher working abroad has been arrested while transiting through the United Arab Emirates after someone fraudulently used his name to take out nearly $90,000 in loans in the Gulf Arab country, his mother said Thursday.
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| Putin's Syria war a glimpse of what West won't do anymore Posted: 17 Mar 2016 06:35 AM PDT Russia's abrupt withdrawal of its expeditionary forces from Syria beginning this week came as a surprise at the White House and in other world capitals. "Essentially Putin is saying, 'My model is that you go in quick, you go in dirty, you stick to limited goals and you get out – and that's how you're successful,' " says Nikolas Gvosdev, a Russia specialist at the United States Naval War College in Newport, R.I. Recommended: Sochi, Soviets, and czars: How much do you know about Russia? |
| U.S., allies conduct 22 strikes in Syria, Iraq against Islamic State: statement Posted: 17 Mar 2016 05:20 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies targeted Islamic State with 22 strikes in Iraq and Syria on Wednesday, the coalition leading the operations said. In a statement released Thursday, the Combined Joint Task Force said two strikes near Al Hawl, Syria, hit a tactical unit and destroyed 10 Islamic State fighting positions. In Iraq, 20 strikes near eight cities struck weapons factories, propaganda sites and destroyed assembly areas, a mortar position and bed down locations, among other targets, the statement said. (Reporting by Megan Cassella; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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| 10 Things to Know for Today Posted: 17 Mar 2016 05:05 AM PDT  1. OBAMA'S PICK FOR THE SUPREME COURT VACANCY TO START COURTESY CALLS WITH SENATORS
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| Clinton vs. Trump: Get Ready for the Nastiest General Election in Memory Posted: 17 Mar 2016 03:15 AM PDT  Galston, a former policy adviser to President Bill Clinton, and other political experts agreed on Wednesday that the nation is likely to be treated to one of the dirtiest presidential campaigns on record. "This will be historically and classically bad, because Trump has no filter whatsoever.
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| After shootout, China says Uighur militants a threat to Indonesia Posted: 17 Mar 2016 02:47 AM PDT  Ethnic Uighur militants from western China are increasing their presence in Indonesia, China's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, after Indonesian security forces said they killed two Uighurs belonging to a militant network. Indonesia has launched an aggressive, military-backed, security campaign in the jungles of Sulawesi island as it battles the threat from growing domestic support for the Islamic State militant group. Indonesian police said the two men killed in a clash on Tuesday were from China's Uighur Muslim minority who had joined Indonesia's most high-profile backer of Islamic State, a militant called Santoso, in central Sulawesi.
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| Iraqi Kurds to visit Moscow in April to talk Russian arms supplies: RIA Posted: 17 Mar 2016 02:05 AM PDT A delegation of Iraqi Kurds will visit Moscow in April to discuss Russian weapons supplies, the RIA Novosti news agency on Thursday cited the head of an Iraqi Kurd representation office in Russia as saying. RIA on Wednesday quoted the Russian consulate in Iraq as saying Russia has already supplied weapons to Iraqi Kurds and that the first shipment had arrived on March 14. |
| Iraq's only ballet and music school faces funding crisis Posted: 17 Mar 2016 12:37 AM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's only music and ballet school has survived decades of war, sanctions and dictatorship, but now faces a funding crisis due to low oil prices and the costly war against the Islamic State group.
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| From mapping to kidnaps, U.N. aid workers train for refugee crises Posted: 16 Mar 2016 05:57 PM PDT By Kieran Guilbert THIES, Senegal (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Surrounded and dragged in all directions by hungry, sick and desperate refugees, the newly arrived aid workers race between pregnant women and small children while negotiating with the military in an attempt to control the chaos. The soldiers threaten the aid workers and draw their rifles as fighting breaks out among the refugees and several women fall to their knees, crying and pleading for food, until the shrill blast of a whistle brings the training drill to a halt. "I forgot almost everything we learned when the simulation started - you really feel the pressure and stress," said Elisa Carlaccini, one of several United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) staff gathered at an army base in the Senegalese city of Thies. |
| Fearing Islamic State spillover, France to push Tunisia aid Posted: 16 Mar 2016 05:28 PM PDT  By John Irish and Marine Pennetier PARIS (Reuters) - France's foreign minister travels to Tunisia on Thursday aiming to firm up security and economic ties as Tunis struggles with rising Islamist militancy fueled by Islamic State's growth in neighboring Libya. With its new constitution, free elections and secular history, France's former North African colony has been a target for jihadists looking to upset the young democracy just five years after the overthrow of autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali. "Tunisia is an important symbol because there are few countries in the region to be reasonably optimistic about," said a senior French diplomat before the two-day visit by Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.
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