| Asian shares, oil skid as growth concerns dominate Posted: 25 Jan 2016 04:43 PM PST  Asian shares look set to retreat and oil prices to resume their descent after investors used rebounds over the last two days to offload risk assets as fears of a global economic slowdown show no sign of abating. Japan's Nikkei fell 2.2 percent while South Korean shares dropped 0.6 percent . MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.3 percent after two days of gains.
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| Teen charged in Australia with terrorism offences Posted: 25 Jan 2016 04:37 PM PST  The 18-year-old from the western Sydney suburb of Guildford was arrested late Monday and charged with "three counts of collecting documents likely to facilitate terrorist acts", the New South Wales joint counter-terrorism team said. Authorities have conducted a series of counter-terrorism raids in various cities, while the government has passed new national security laws.
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| U.S. crude drops back below $30 as Iraq adds record output Posted: 25 Jan 2016 04:23 PM PST  SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures dropped back below $30 a barrel in Asian trading on Tuesday, extending a near 6 percent fall made in the previous session, amid news that Iraq's output reached a record high last month. U.S. crude fell 47 cents, or 1.55 percent, to $29.87 a barrel by 2309 GMT after settling $1.85, or 5.8 percent, lower at $30.34 a barrel. Global benchmark Brent crude settled down $1.68 at $30.50 a barrel in the previous session, 5.2 percent below its closing price on Friday. ...
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| Rubio's Iowa crisscross approach bends caucus campaign norm Posted: 25 Jan 2016 03:10 PM PST  DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Marco Rubio is all over the map in Iowa. Quite literally.
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| TSX drops nearly 2 percent, oil slide weighs on energy and financials Posted: 25 Jan 2016 02:03 PM PST  By Fergal Smith TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Monday as last week's crude-induced rally fizzled out and a fall in oil prices weighed on energy companies and financial shares. "There's still a lot of uncertainty out there, said Bryden Teich, associate portfolio manager at Avenue Investment Management. "I think you are sort of seeing that filter back into the markets today." Oil prices recoiled 6 percent after news that Iraq's output reached a record last month returned attention to a market glut that sent prices to 12-year lows last week.
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| Wall Street resumes 2016 slide as energy stocks tumble Posted: 25 Jan 2016 01:37 PM PST  (Reuters) - Wall Street sold off on Monday, pulled lower by further weakness in oil prices as energy shares led declines, with major indexes retreating after last week's strong gains.
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| Iraq may further raise oil output this year: senior official Posted: 25 Jan 2016 01:35 PM PST LONDON (Reuters) - Iraq may further raise oil output this year, reaching levels as high as 4 million barrels per day (bpd) from the country's south, a senior Iraqi oil official, who asked not to be named, said on Monday. |
| Exclusive: South Sudan needs arms embargo; leaders killing civilians - U.N. panel Posted: 25 Jan 2016 01:21 PM PST  By Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council should place an arms embargo on South Sudan, while the oil-rich country's President Salva Kiir and a rebel leader qualify to be sanctioned over atrocities committed in a two-year civil war, U.N. sanctions monitors said in an annual report. The confidential report by a U.N. panel that monitors the conflict in South Sudan for the Security Council stated that Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar are still completely in charge of their forces and are therefore directly to blame for killing civilians and other actions that warrant sanctions.
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| Global stocks, dollar fall as oil sell-off resumes Posted: 25 Jan 2016 01:20 PM PST  By Richard Leong NEW YORK (Reuters) - A renewed slump in oil prices due to a persistent global supply glut hurt U.S. and European stock markets on Monday and weighed on the dollar following a rebound in those sectors late last week. Anxiety over the impact of tumbling energy prices on global economic growth and central bank policies revived safe-haven demand for the yen, gold and U.S. and German government debt. Crude oil prices fell as much as 6. ...
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| ISIS Has Whole Fake Passport 'Industry,' Official Says Posted: 25 Jan 2016 12:04 PM PST  The terror group ISIS has created a whole "industry" out of the production of fake passports, a high-level French official said today. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told reporters that through ISIS's operations in Syria, Iraq and Libya, the group has acquired blank passports and has now set up a "real fake document industry." Cazeneuve made the statement following a meeting with top European officials where he proposed setting up a new task force to help nab people attempting to come into the European Union with fake papers. Last month ABC News reported that U.S. intelligence suspected ISIS had acquired thousands of blank Syrian passports and at least one passport printing machine after taking over government offices in Syria.
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| OPEC, Russia talk of oil teamwork, but Saudi talks of investment Posted: 25 Jan 2016 11:56 AM PST  Senior OPEC and Russian oil industry officials stepped up vague talk on Monday of possible joint action to remedy one of the worst supply gluts in decades, while Saudi Arabia signaled its resolve to allow the market to balance itself. The latest volley of comments highlighted the intensifying pressure of $30 a barrel oil prices on cash-strapped countries such as Russia, but did not appear to tilt the scales meaningfully towards any concerted action to reverse the price crash, an idea repeatedly mooted but dismissed for over a year. Speaking in London, OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri said other producers should work together with the group to tackle swollen global stockpiles so prices can recover, essentially reiterating OPEC's longstanding position that it would only consider cutting output if others pitch in.
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| '60 Minutes' Bowie interview 15 years of missed connections Posted: 25 Jan 2016 11:48 AM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — A brief "60 Minutes" piece on the late David Bowie that aired Sunday was the result of a 15-year journey of missed connections involving three of the newsmagazine's correspondents and a rock star gone underground.
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| EU police warn that more attacks by IS militants are likely Posted: 25 Jan 2016 11:01 AM PST  PARIS (AP) — Europe's top police agency issued a stark warning Monday: Islamic State extremists will keep attempting lethal attacks on soft targets in Europe as the militant group increasingly goes global.
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| Migrant killed on Greek-Macedonian border as EU vows tighter security Posted: 25 Jan 2016 10:53 AM PST  A Pakistani man was stabbed to death on the Greek-Macedonian border on Monday as the European Commission pledged to increase security at a key point for migrants on their route from Greece to northern Europe. The incident occurred near no-man's-land on the border between Greece and Macedonia, where thousands of migrants of different nationalities gather daily, hoping to secure passage to other destinations in Europe. In Brussels, European Commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud said additional security was needed in the area, amid fears that jihadists posing as migrants could be filtering through.
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| Qatar one win away from world stage Posted: 25 Jan 2016 10:14 AM PST  Qatar are just one win away from qualifying for the Olympics but victory against South Korea at the AFC U23 championships on Tuesday will mean more than a trip to Brazil. The tournament, which has been taking place in Doha for the past fortnight, is down to the final stages. Japan and South Korea have made 15 Olympics appearances between them and not getting to Rio would represent failure.
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| U.N. seeks Syrian peace talks this week, opposition threatens boycott Posted: 25 Jan 2016 09:41 AM PST  By Lisa Barrington and Tom Miles BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Monday it would issue invitations for marathon Syrian peace talks to begin this week, but opposition groups signaled they would stay away unless the government and its Russian allies halt air strikes and lift sieges on towns. The first talks in two years to end the Syrian civil war were meant to begin on Monday but have been held up in part by a dispute over who should represent the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad. U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura said he was still working on his list, and expected to issue the invitations on Tuesday for talks to start on Friday.
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| OPEC officials see oil market begin to start rebalancing Posted: 25 Jan 2016 09:07 AM PST  OPEC officials said on Monday the oil market was poised to start rebalancing itself after prices sank to their lowest since 2003, a sign the exporter group will stick to its policy of not cutting supplies without help from rival producers. Oil prices have collapsed to below $28 a barrel this month from $100 in mid-2014 on a supply glut. The price drop has started to slow the development of relatively expensive supply sources such as U.S. shale oil and forced companies to delay or cancel billions of dollars worth of projects, putting some future supplies at risk.
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| AP FACT CHECK: Gutted? Disaster? GOP hyperbole on military Posted: 25 Jan 2016 09:04 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio maintains that President Barack Obama is more interested in providing money to Planned Parenthood than for the nation's armed forces. The front-runner in the GOP race, Donald Trump, says the U.S. military is a "disaster." Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says the Obama administration has "gutted" every weapons system in the U.S. military's inventory.
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| Ex-Maldives leader says he may not return after UK treatment Posted: 25 Jan 2016 08:56 AM PST  LONDON (AP) — The jailed former president of the Maldives said Monday that he may not return home after being temporarily freed to seek medical treatment in Britain.
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| Rwandan police kill suspected Islamic State recruiter Posted: 25 Jan 2016 08:08 AM PST A Rwandan man who had been accused of recruiting for the Islamic State was shot and killed in the capital Kigali while attempting to escape police custody, police said in a statement on Monday. Muhammad Mugemangango, a deputy imam at Kimironko Mosque in Kigali, was under investigations for encouraging Rwandan youth to join the Islamic State, which is fighting in Iraq and Syria. After news of Mugemangango's death broke, the country's main Muslim association, Rwanda Muslims, said it planned to circulate messages condemning radicalization to all of Rwanda's mosques. |
| C$ dips with lower crude oil prices, trimming last week's rally Posted: 25 Jan 2016 06:48 AM PST  The Canadian dollar fell against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, trimming last week's gains, as Friday's short-covering rally in crude oil prices was partly unwound. The currency rallied 3.0 percent last week after the Bank of Canada surprised many traders by leaving its policy rate on hold at 0.50 percent. U.S. crude oil prices fell more than 3 percent as Iraq announced record-high oil production.
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| Czechs donate weapons, ammunition to Iraq, Jordan Posted: 25 Jan 2016 06:08 AM PST PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech prime minister says his government has approved a plan to donate further weapons and ammunition to Iraq and also ammunition to Jordan to help them fight Islamic State militants. |
| The West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce will Continue Opposing Commercial Relations With the Islamic Republic of Iran Posted: 25 Jan 2016 06:00 AM PST WEST LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 25, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --The West Los Angeles Chamber of commerce shall refuse to condone or participate in any business with countries on the State Department's list of sponsors of terrorism, including the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), as well as companies doing business with the IRI and the others on that list. The Islamic Republic of Iran, responsible for killing hundreds of Americans in Iraq, Lebanon and other regions since its inception, in addition to assassinating Iranian refugees and asylum seekers abroad, is still continuing its anti-American activities, including by direct action such as the humiliating naval conflict and hostage taking of US forces in the Persian Gulf and through its proxy forces in Iraq, who kidnapped an additional three Americans last week. |
| IS planning for 'large-scale' attacks on Europe: Europol Posted: 25 Jan 2016 05:39 AM PST  The Islamic State group has honed the ability to launch global attacks and is set to focus more on Europe following the Paris massacre, the chief of the EU police agency Europol said Monday. "So-called Islamic State has a willingness and a capability to carry out further attacks in Europe, and of course all national authorities are working to prevent that from happening," he added. IS claimed responsibility for the November 13 Paris attacks in which 130 people were killed, releasing a video on Sunday purporting to show nine of the jihadists in which they threaten "coalition countries" including Britain.
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| EU opens new counterterrorism center Posted: 25 Jan 2016 05:36 AM PST  AMSTERDAM (AP) — The European Union on Monday launched a new law enforcement center to coordinate the fight against violent extremism, saying Europe faces the most significant terrorist threat in over 10 years.
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| India, France sign Rafale fighter plane accord but haggle over price Posted: 25 Jan 2016 04:41 AM PST  By Sanjeev Miglani NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India signed an inter-governmental pact on Monday to buy 36 French-built Rafale fighter planes, but the leaders of both countries said there was still work to do to finalize financial terms after months of talks. The deal, worth an estimated $9 billion, was to have been the centerpiece of a visit to India by French President Francois Hollande, invited as guest of honor for Tuesday's Republic Day parade. Hollande described the deal on Rafale as "a decisive step", adding: "There remain financial issues which will be sorted out in a couple of days." However, Dassault Aviation, the aircraft-maker, said in a statement it expected a complete agreement on the planes in four weeks' time.
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| U.S., allies conduct 19 strikes against Islamic State: U.S. military Posted: 25 Jan 2016 04:39 AM PST The United States and its allies staged 19 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria on Sunday in the coalition's latest round of daily attacks on the militant group, the coalition leading the operations said in a statement. Sixteen strikes in Iraq were concentrated near Ramadi and Mosul where they hit five of the militants' tactical units and destroyed a weapons cache, a communications facility, four fighting positions and three buildings, among other targets, the statement released on Monday said. In Syria, three strikes near Abu Kamal, Ar Raqqah and Al Hawl destroyed two Islamic State buildings, a vehicle used by the militants, and several cranes, the statement said. |
| Czechs to send guns, ammunition to Iraq and Jordan to fight Islamic State Posted: 25 Jan 2016 03:39 AM PST  The Czech government voted on Monday to send guns and ammunition to Iraq and Jordan to support the fight against Islamic State, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said. Ministers agreed to send 6,500 new and used automatic rifles and some 7 million rounds of ammunition to Iraq via the U.S. government, and a separate shipment of ammunition to Jordan.
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| We will strike against ISIS 'again and again': France's Hollande Posted: 25 Jan 2016 02:00 AM PST  NEW DELHI (Reuters) - France and its allies are prepared to strike against Islamic State militants "again and again", President Francois Hollande said on Monday. "ISIS is provoking us in the worst possible way," Hollande said in the Indian capital after meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, using the widely used acronym for Islamic State militants, who control parts of Syria and Iraq. (Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani; Writing by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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| Afghan president vows to 'bury' Islamic State franchise Posted: 25 Jan 2016 01:21 AM PST  President Ashraf Ghani has vowed to "bury" the Islamic State group's affiliate in Afghanistan, a report said, after Washington granted the US military legal authority to strike the jihadists in the country. The group, which controls territory across Syria and Iraq, has made alarming inroads in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province, as the country grapples with a resurgent Taliban insurgency. IS jihadists claimed responsibility for a deadly gun and bomb siege targeting the Pakistani consulate in eastern Jalalabad city on January 13, the group's first major attack in an Afghan city.
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| Donald Rumsfeld Made an iOS App About Winston Churchill's Favorite Card Game Posted: 25 Jan 2016 12:29 AM PST  For a man so irrecoverably linked with hawkishness, jingoism, and the push for the American military invasion of Iraq, I thought a game connected with Rumsfeld would open with explosions, bald eagles, the stars and stripes fluttering against a proud red, white, and blue background. In fact, there's almost nothing to tie Churchill Solitaire to the former Secretary of Defense at all. Churchill Solitaire is a fairly simple tweak on the classic card game, a variant with two decks of cards instead of one that was reportedly played by the wartime Prime Minister when he was suffering from insomnia.
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| Vice President Biden, Turkey's Erdogan discuss fight against Islamic State Posted: 24 Jan 2016 06:01 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said Vice President Joe Biden and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed ways to deepen cooperation in the fight against Islamic State in a meeting on Saturday in Istanbul. Biden and Erdogan also talked about the "importance of de-escalating recent tensions between Turkey and Iraq in a manner that respects Iraqi sovereignty," the White House said in a statement released on Sunday. (Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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