| Beyonce-Dixie Chicks Collab Sparks a Clash on Social Media Posted: 03 Nov 2016 03:54 PM PDT  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The surprise collaboration of Beyonce and the Dixie Chicks at the Country Music Association Awards was still rocking the music world on Thursday, but not all were impressed by the electric performance — and some country fans unleashed their anger on social media.
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| No plan so far for U.S. advisors to go into Mosul: U.S. military Posted: 03 Nov 2016 03:23 PM PDT Iraq is not planning for U.S. military advisors to accompany Iraqi forces inside the city of Mosul, at least for now, a U.S. military spokesman said on Thursday, potentially limiting America's role in the offensive against Islamic State. U.S. troops have been accompanying and advising Iraqi forces in fighting on the outskirts of Mosul since Baghdad launched its assault toward the city two weeks ago, keeping some distance behind the fast-shifting front lines of contact. The campaign is expected to become even more complicated as the fighting moves squarely into Mosul, particularly given the risk to the estimated 1.5 million civilians still in the city. |
| Fighting from above: the air war on IS Posted: 03 Nov 2016 03:15 PM PDT  The Iraqi security forces' seemingly inexorable push toward Mosul saw fighting begin in the city itself this week, but it is the work taking place in the skies above that has enabled the dramatic advance. A relentless air operation using planes and drones from a dozen or so members of a US-led coalition against the Islamic State group over more than two years has conducted some 16,000 air strikes against the jihadists in Iraq and Syria -- two-thirds of them in Iraq. "The operation in Mosul is the number one priority right now," another US military official said.
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| The moral victory in the battle for Mosul Posted: 03 Nov 2016 12:42 PM PDT Two years after losing the city of Mosul to Islamic State (IS), the Iraqi military finally breached the city's outer limits on Tuesday. Rather, it is how Iraqi forces treat Mosul's 1.5 million civilians, both during the fighting and after, that will determine the real victory – which is a moral and political one. Militant groups like IS rarely abide by the rules of modern warfare or international humanitarian law, which is exactly why the Iraqi Army should. |
| Iraqi commander predicts Islamic State withdrawal to western Mosul Posted: 03 Nov 2016 12:38 PM PDT By Stephen Kalin BARTELLA, Iraq (Reuters) - The commander of the Iraqi special forces who are spearheading the offensive to recapture the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul said on Thursday that they had gained a foothold in the city quicker than expected. Lieutenant-General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi also raised the possibility that if his elite troops made further progress they might try to sweep through the eastern half of Mosul all the way to the River Tigris, bypassing some districts. |
| Iraqis move on Mosul as IS chief defiant Posted: 03 Nov 2016 12:32 PM PDT  Iraqi forces deployed around the eastern entrance to Mosul Thursday, preparing for a push into the city which Islamic State group chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi urged his fighters to defend. In the village of Gogjali, which was recently retaken from IS, trucks carrying artillery and troop reinforcements to the front line drove past a stream of sheep and cows led in the other direction by fleeing civilians. Iraqi forces led by the elite Counter-Terrorism Service have been clearing neighbouring villages, even moving into areas inside the city's administrative boundaries, but the big push into the streets of Mosul had yet to begin.
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| Forget Populism. ‘The Establishment’ Would Rule the Clinton White House Posted: 03 Nov 2016 12:16 PM PDT  Last week, before the bombshell about the FBI looking at a new batch of emails, a story planted with Politico said that Vice President Joe Biden is on a short list of candidates for Secretary of State in a Hillary Clinton Cabinet. The campaign has been mum about other potential appointees, but sources with insights into the thinking of Clinton's transition team told Politico there is strategizing about how to approach Biden who declined to seek the presidency last year after the untimely death of his son Beau.
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| Iraqi Christian Relief Council launches a new campaign in support of rebuilding in a future Nineveh Plain Province Posted: 03 Nov 2016 12:15 PM PDT WASHINGTON, Nov. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Iraqi Christian Relief Council stands with Iraq's persecuted religious and ethnic minorities who now ask for a recognized and protected safe-haven in the form of a new federal province within Iraq. The minority groups, who make up most of the fertile Nineveh Plain north east of Mosul, believe that without the creation of a new province in Iraq they will be susceptible to new attacks. To support the return of families to their ancestral towns, Iraqi Christian Relief Council is launching a massive relief campaign, Operation Return to Nineveh, in mid-November to support Assyrian Christians in the rebuilding of community centers, schools, homes, and churches destroyed by ISIS. |
| IS leader Baghdadi losing control of his troops: Pentagon Posted: 03 Nov 2016 12:04 PM PDT  The Islamic State group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is losing the ability to control his troops as the battle for Mosul rages on, a US military official said Thursday. The IS group earlier released an audio message purportedly of Baghdadi urging his jihadi followers not retreat as Iraqi security forces continue their push toward the northern Iraqi city. Colonel John Dorrian, a spokesman for the US-led coalition attacking the IS group in Iraq and Syria, said although the military had not officially verified the recording's authenticity, it was "clearly" an effort for IS leaders to communicate with fighters.
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| As Iraqi forces enter Mosul, some civilians don't feel safe Posted: 03 Nov 2016 11:25 AM PDT  MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — As Iraqi forces pushed Islamic State militants out of Mosul's eastern neighborhoods this week, hundreds of civilians faced a dilemma: Stay in an area still beset by heavy fighting and surrounded by government troops that many still distrust, or evacuate for the uncertainty of a displacement camp.
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| Iraqi Shi'ite forces advance west of Mosul, route still open Posted: 03 Nov 2016 10:59 AM PDT Iraqi Shi'ite forces fighting to cut off an Islamic State supply route west of Mosul made progress on Thursday but several cars were still able to leave the city, a spokesman said. The leader of the Badr Organisation, the largest of the Shi'ite militias that make up the Hashid Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) forces, had said earlier he hoped to seal off Mosul's western flank on Thursday. "We are advancing slowly," Karim Nuri, a spokesman for the Hashid Shaabi told Reuters. |
| Islamic State group leader rallies his fighters in Mosul Posted: 03 Nov 2016 10:54 AM PDT  IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — The shadowy leader of the Islamic State group has released a new message urging his followers to keep up the fight for Mosul as they defend the city against a major offensive aimed at routing the militants from their last urban stronghold in Iraq.
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| Kurdish women fighters battle Islamic State with machineguns and songs Posted: 03 Nov 2016 10:46 AM PDT  By Babak Dehghanpisheh and Michael Georgy SAMAQA, Iraq (Reuters) - When Islamic State insurgents fired mortar bombs at Iranian Kurdish women fighters holding a desert position in northern Iraq, the women first hit back by singing through loudspeakers. To tell Daesh that we are not afraid," said Mani Nasrallahpour, 21, one of about 200 female peshmerga fighters who left behind their life in Iran to take on the hardline Sunni militants. A commander said Islamic State -- known to its enemies by the Arabic acronym Daesh -- deliberately targeted the female unit with 20 mortars when the singing began.
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| The Latest: UN: 22,000 Iraqis displaced by Mosul fight Posted: 03 Nov 2016 10:40 AM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — The Latest on the offensive by Iraqi forces and their allies to recapture the city of Mosul from the Islamic State group (all times local):
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| Trump: disciplined and on message in final stretch Posted: 03 Nov 2016 09:48 AM PDT  On message, disciplined and rising in the polls, Donald Trump has been playing it straight in the home stretch of the US election -- ever since the FBI clobbered Hillary Clinton's campaign by resurrecting her email scandal. The FBI announcement threw the Republican's campaign a lifeline as it reeled from a 2005 video on which Trump made vulgar remarks about groping women, and as a dozen women accused him of sexual impropriety. For a week, renewed FBI scrutiny of the Democrat's use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state has fired up the billionaire's raucous fan base and fueled perceptions that Clinton is untrustworthy.
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| Five Crucial Things to Watch for at the Marrakech Climate Summit Posted: 03 Nov 2016 09:36 AM PDT  Hundreds of international negotiators will convene in Marrakech, Morocco, next week to kick off a two-week marathon of meetings on how nations will implement the Paris Agreement to avert catastrophic climate change, which goes into force on Nov. 4. In Paris, the world agreed to keep the average global temperature increase to "well below" 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) above preindustrial norms and as close as possible to 2.7 degrees (1.5 degrees Celsius). Given that the average global temperature has risen by around 1.8 degrees F, many observers felt the Paris Agreement was more than a little late in coming.
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| Mosul Today: IS head rallies fighters, Iraq army holds gains Posted: 03 Nov 2016 09:35 AM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — The shadowy leader of the Islamic State group released a new message urging followers to keep up the fight for Mosul as they defend the city against a major offensive aimed at routing the militants from their last urban stronghold in Iraq.
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| Violence and political pressure anger Nigeria's Shi'ites Posted: 03 Nov 2016 09:10 AM PDT  By Alexis Akwagyiram KADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Blackened walls and piles of rubble are all that is left of the house of a leader of Nigeria's Shi'ite minority after it was burned down by machete-wielding youths in the tense northern city of Kaduna. A wave of attacks on members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) Shi'ite sect combined with a security crackdown by the authorities is worsening sectarian rivalries in northern Nigeria, where the army is already fighting Boko Haram, a Sunni militant group that has killed thousands. The violence risks radicalizing the sect, creating another problem for President Muhammadu Buhari as he struggles with an insurgency in the Niger Delta oil region, secession calls in the southeast and Nigeria's first recession in more than 20 years.
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| The Robot Tank That’s Taking on ISIS in Iraq’s Battle for Mosul Posted: 03 Nov 2016 08:57 AM PDT  The ongoing battle for Mosul, one of the largest cities in Iraq, has involved thousands of government-backed troops and allied fighters steadily advancing on the last urban stronghold of the terror group ISIS. It is being used in the field during the battle for Mosul by the Iraqi Army's Popular Mobilization Unit, which reported its first use on Tuesday.
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| In fight for Mosul, aid workers get close to the frontlines to help civilians fleeing ISIS Posted: 03 Nov 2016 08:34 AM PDT  Matt Willingham of Preemptive Love Coalition stands at the Qayyarah checkpoint, where burning oil still consumes the area. Northern Qayyara, Iraq — The smoke rose at the edge of northern Qayyara, just over 40 miles south of Mosul in Iraq.
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| On Mosul frontline, Iraqi soldiers keen to take on IS Posted: 03 Nov 2016 07:10 AM PDT  Ammunition strapped across his chest and armed with a Dragunov sniper rifle, Ahmed Thair Jassem of Iraq's 9th Armoured Division boasts of the jihadists he has killed in the battle for Mosul. "I aim for the head, because the jihadists often wear bullet-proof vests, but they never put on a helmet," the smiling soldier says, recounting fighting in the Christian town of Qaraqosh just east of Mosul. As Iraqi forces have advanced on Mosul, the last bastion of the Islamic State group in Iraq, elite forces like the Counter-Terrorism Service and the Rapid Response Division, or Kurdish peshmerga fighters, have garnered much of the attention.
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| Director Ang Lee prepares to be 'crucified' for new film Posted: 03 Nov 2016 05:20 AM PDT  Oscar-winning filmmaker Ang Lee said Thursday he is preparing to be "crucified" over his latest movie because it experiments with a new futuristic 3D format. Taiwan-born Lee returned to the island to promote his war drama "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" starring newcomer Joe Alwyn, Kristen Stewart, Vin Diesel and Steve Martin ahead of its November 11 international release. The film tells the story of a 19-year-old Iraq war hero, Billy Lynn, who is flown back to the United States with his fellow Bravo Squad soldiers for a victory tour and to take part in a half-time show at a football game that triggers flashbacks of his trauma.
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| Swiss skip youth Olympic event in Turkey over security risks Posted: 03 Nov 2016 04:59 AM PDT BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Switzerland has decided not to send athletes to the European Olympic Youth Festival in Turkey because of security concerns. |
| Syria's Kurds say to 'lead' Raqa fight, reject Turkish role Posted: 03 Nov 2016 04:49 AM PDT  A US-backed alliance of Syrian Kurds and Arabs will lead the assault on the Islamic State group's stronghold of Raqa, but rejects any Turkish role, its spokesman said Thursday. "We will see a campaign led by the Syrian Democratic Forces to liberate Raqa city," SDF spokesman Talal Sello said. Backed by US-led coalition air strikes, the SDF has flushed IS out of swathes of territory in northern Syria, most recently the flashpoint town of Manbij.
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| Challenging jihadist propaganda online eggs on extremists: experts Posted: 03 Nov 2016 01:41 AM PDT  Challenging online jihadist propaganda with counterarguments or shutting down extremist websites and social media accounts have little impact, and distract from the real threat, according to experts. As the Islamic State group (IS) spread across parts of Iraq and Syria, it ramped up its outreach to youths. Experts who met this week in Quebec City to find ways to combat this threat agreed that IS has used online propaganda to extend the conflict zone like no other.
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| Beyonce surprises country awards with fusion gesture Posted: 03 Nov 2016 01:25 AM PDT  Beyonce on Wednesday seized the spotlight at the Country Music Association Awards by cheerily performing a fusion song, in a powerful if unstated message on US race relations. The pop superstar, whose appearance at the awards in Nashville had not been previously announced, took the stage without an introduction and sang a track off her latest album with country veterans Dixie Chicks seamlessly joining in. The song, "Daddy Lessons," already had a country twang but the live version went fuller in regional directions with shouts of "Yeehaw!" as well as New Orleans-style brass.
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| A look at European, Asian nations servicing Iranian airline Posted: 03 Nov 2016 12:14 AM PDT Iran's second-largest carrier, Mahan Air, is flying commercial routes to more than a dozen European and Asian countries in spite of U.S. terror-related sanctions. |
| US, Europe at odds over Revolutionary Guard-backed airline Posted: 03 Nov 2016 12:11 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — An Iranian airline, backed by the country's notorious Revolutionary Guard and used to ferry weapons and fighters to support Syria's government, has acquired rights to fly commercial routes in more than a dozen European and Asian countries in spite of U.S. terror-related sanctions.
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| Two 'foreign fighters' charged in Australia Posted: 02 Nov 2016 11:42 PM PDT  Two men were charged in Australia on Thursday over breaches of the country's foreign fighter laws, with one accused of joining the Al-Nusra Front in Syria. It followed a series of morning raids across Sydney by the New South Wales Joint Counter Terrorism team, with the other person detained after allegedly trying to travel to Syria to fight with the Islamic State group. Australian Federal Police assistant commissioner for counter terrorism Neil Gaughan said it had been a protracted investigation as gathering evidence from Syria was "extremely difficult".
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| The Latest: Clinton celebrates Cubs Series win Posted: 02 Nov 2016 10:25 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. presidential race (all times EDT):
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| US monitoring group: Islamic State's leader, al-Baghdadi, urges his fighters to keep up the fight for Mosul in Iraq Posted: 02 Nov 2016 10:15 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — US monitoring group: Islamic State's leader, al-Baghdadi, urges his fighters to keep up the fight for Mosul in Iraq. |
| Australian police arrest two linked to Syria militants Posted: 02 Nov 2016 09:44 PM PDT  Australian police on Thursday arrested a man believed to have fought with Syrian militants and a youth who was stopped at the border allegedly planning to join Islamic State in Syria. The pair were detained in early morning raids in Sydney, underscoring Australia's tough stance on dealing with so called "foreign fighters" heading overseas to join in conflicts in countries including Syria and Iraq. Australia has imposed some of the harshest penalties in the world on foreign fighters returning home as the country leads a push for the United Nations to adopt international standards to curb the threat they pose.
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| Today in History Posted: 02 Nov 2016 09:02 PM PDT Today in History |
| Cinerama Dome to Install "The Whole Shebang" for 'Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk' Posted: 02 Nov 2016 09:00 PM PDT It will be one of two U.S. theaters that can display Ang Lee's groundbreaking movie in 4K, 3D at 120 frames per second. |
| Baghdadi: The enigmatic IS jihadist chief Posted: 02 Nov 2016 08:28 PM PDT  Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi rose from obscurity to lead the world's most infamous and feared jihadist group, but shuns the spotlight and cultivates an aura of mystery. A recording purportedly of the Islamic State leader's voice was released on Thursday, the first such message in 2016. It came as thousands of Iraqi forces started to mass around the city of Mosul, where Baghdadi publicly announced the creation of his "caliphate", the most ambitious and brutal experiment in modern jihad.
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| U.S.'s Carter says talking to Turkey about seizure of Raqqa Posted: 02 Nov 2016 06:11 PM PDT  By Idrees Ali FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Reuters) - The United States is continuing to talk with ally Turkey on the role it will play in the operation to seize the city of Raqqa, Islamic State's main stronghold in Syria, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said on Wednesday. Carter's comments, made during a news conference, come days after Turkey said it wants the Raqqa operation to start after Mosul and Euphrates Shield operations have been completed. "We'll continue to talk with Turkey about its role in the eventual seizure of Raqqa, but we're proceeding now with the operation according to our plan," Carter said.
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| IS leader Baghdadi in audio message says no Mosul retreat Posted: 02 Nov 2016 05:49 PM PDT  Jihadist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called on his fighters to resist as Iraqi forces were poised to enter the city of Mosul where he declared a "caliphate" two years ago. "Do not retreat," said a voice presented as belonging to the leader of the Islamic State group in an audio message released early Thursday by the IS-affiliated Al-Furqan media. "To all the people of Nineveh, especially the fighters, beware of any weakness in facing your enemy," Baghdadi said, referring to the northern Iraqi province of which Mosul is the capital.
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