| Diplomats aim for temporary Syria truce in a week Posted: 11 Feb 2016 04:50 PM PST  MUNICH (AP) — Diplomats trying to secure a ceasefire for the civil war in Syria fell short in organizing an immediate truce but agreed to try to work out details and implement a temporary "cessation of hostilities" in the coming week.
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| CIA director says IS group has used, can make chem weapons Posted: 11 Feb 2016 04:39 PM PST  CIA director John Brennan has said that Islamic State fighters have used chemical weapons and have the capability to make small quantities of chlorine and mustard gas, CBS News reported Thursday. "We have a number of instances where ISIL has used chemical munitions on the battlefield," Brennan told CBS News, which released excerpts of an interview to air in full on the "60 Minutes" news program on Sunday. The network added that he told "60 Minutes" the CIA believes that the IS group has the ability to make small amounts of mustard or chlorine gas for weapons.
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| The Latest: Diplomats agree to Syria cease-fire in a week Posted: 11 Feb 2016 04:12 PM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest developments on the war in Syria, the refugee crisis and security talks in Munich, Germany. (all times local):
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| Leaders locked in Syria talks to rescue peace process Posted: 11 Feb 2016 02:55 PM PST  Foreign ministers were locked in late-night talks in Munich on Thursday, seeking a way to revive a floundering Syrian peace process as Russia warned of the possibility of a "new world war". An onslaught on the key rebel stronghold of Aleppo by Syrian troops, backed by Russian bombers and Iranian fighters, derailed peace talks earlier this month and has triggered an exodus of over 50,000 refugees. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he had "made propositions for a ceasefire that are quite specific" as he sat down for talks with US counterpart John Kerry.
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| George W. Bush to campaign with Jeb in South Carolina Posted: 11 Feb 2016 02:48 PM PST  Big brother is watching -- and now, in George W. Bush's case, campaigning. The former US president will stump for his younger brother in South Carolina Monday as struggling candidate Jeb Bush seeks to shore up support in a state he sees as a lynchpin of his potential comeback in the Republican nomination race. Join us Monday in Charleston," Jeb Bush posted on Twitter Thursday, referring to next week's rally in the southern city.
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| Uncertainty at Syria talks as Russia backs government advance Posted: 11 Feb 2016 02:32 PM PST  By Denis Dyomkin and Shadia Nasralla MUNICH (Reuters) - Major powers began a new round of Syria talks on Thursday focusing on calls for a ceasefire and access for aid, but the mood was dour with Moscow showing no sign of calling off its bombing in support of a massive new government advance. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev raised the specter of an interminable conflict or even a world war if powers failed to negotiate an end to the fighting in Syria, which has killed 250,000 people, caused a refugee crisis and empowered Islamic State militants. With the Syrian opposition saying it cannot accept a truce because it does not trust the Russians, diplomats saw little chance of progress at the meeting in the German city of Munich.
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| The Latest: Ex-wife reported suspect was at restaurant Posted: 11 Feb 2016 02:22 PM PST  ABINGDON, Md. (AP) — The Latest on a gunman fatally shooting two sheriff's deputies and being killed in a shootout (all times local):
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| U.S. blacklists prominent Islamic State preacher, two others Posted: 11 Feb 2016 02:16 PM PST The United States blacklisted three people on Thursday for working for Islamic State, including the militant group's most prominent ideologue and a senior oil official. Turki al-Bin'ali was sanctioned for helping Islamic State recruit foreign fighters, the U.S. Treasury said in a statement. Bin'ali, 31, was an early supporter of Islamic State and authored a frequently cited biography of the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. |
| Ban, Trudeau mark Canada's renewed engagement at UN Posted: 11 Feb 2016 01:41 PM PST  UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday marked Ottawa's renewed engagement on the world stage, which should translate into a larger role on climate change and in peacekeeping missions. Trudeau signaled ahead of Ban's arrival that he wanted to restore Canada's "voice and leadership role" at the United Nations, casting the first visit of a UN chief in years as recognition of the new Liberal government's commitment to working in concert with other nations. Whereas his Conservative predecessor, Stephen Harper, sought distance from the UN in order to carve out an independent and assertive foreign policy, Trudeau signaled that he intends for Canada to play an important and increased role beyond its borders through the New York-based global body.
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| US airstrikes target Islamic State in Afghanistan Posted: 11 Feb 2016 01:36 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has expanded its fight against the Islamic State group in Afghanistan, launching 20 airstrikes in the eastern part of the country in the last three weeks, U.S. officials said Thursday. |
| George W. Bush to make first appearance for brother Jeb Posted: 11 Feb 2016 01:28 PM PST  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican George W. Bush on Monday will seek to generate a fresh burst of enthusiasm for his brother Jeb Bush's White House bid in South Carolina, marking the former president's first appearance on the campaign trail this year. George W. Bush will appear with his younger brother at a rally in North Charleston, S.C., the Jeb Bush campaign said on Thursday. The 6 p.m. EST event will be held at the North Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
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| Anti-IS coalition pledges stepped-up fight against jihadists Posted: 11 Feb 2016 01:15 PM PST  Defence ministers from the US-led coalition striking the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria vowed Thursday to redouble their efforts to defeat the jihadists and accelerate the difficult campaign. Discussions were "very successful and productive," Carter said, noting that the vast majority of the 27 nations he met with had either committed more assets or promised to ask their parliaments to do so. The contributions include a Saudi promise to renew its long-neglected air operations in Syria, a pledge from the Netherlands to carry out air strikes in Syria, and Canada's recent announcement it would send additional trainers to work with local forces.
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| Diplomacy or intervention: What can the US do to end conflict in Syria? Posted: 11 Feb 2016 12:58 PM PST Amid endeavors to find a diplomatic resolution to the Syrian civil war, the United States is pushing its allies to bolster the military coalition it leads in the fight against Islamic State (IS), also referred to as ISIL. A meeting of more than 20 defense ministers aligned with the US, including representatives from Saudi Arabia, took place in Brussels Thursday, led by US Defense Secretary Ash Carter. The gathering was focused on the military strategy behind defeating IS in Iraq and Syria, specifically in the strategic cities of Mosul and Raqqa, which are currently held by the Islamic militant group's forces. |
| Kurdistan is 'part of Iraq' and should remain so: PM Abadi Posted: 11 Feb 2016 12:43 PM PST  Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi urged Kurdistan on Thursday to drop any plans for independence, criticising a proposed statehood referendum and warning the autonomous region would not prosper on its own. Abadi also highlighted the economic crisis Iraq faces, saying that oil revenues had fallen by 85 percent compared to two years before -- a major challenge made worse by the country's costly war against the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group. "The Kurdistan region will not develop without Iraq, and Iraq must be united in all its components," Abadi said following talks in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
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| NATO orders warships into Aegean to help ease migrant crisis Posted: 11 Feb 2016 12:21 PM PST  BRUSSELS (AP) — In a dramatic response to Europe's gravest refugee crisis since World War II, NATO ordered three warships to sail immediately Thursday to the Aegean Sea to help end the deadly smuggling of asylum-seekers across the waters from Turkey to Greece.
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| Turkey tries father, smugglers over Syrian toddler's death Posted: 11 Feb 2016 12:18 PM PST  The father of Aylan Kurdi, the Syrian toddler whose drowning shocked the world last year, went on trial on Thursday along with two alleged people smugglers accused of causing the death of migrants. The trial of Syrian nationals Muwafaka Alabash and Asem Alfrhad opened at the criminal court in the western Turkish resort of Bodrum, the Dogan news agency reported. Both of the defendants in court strongly incriminated Abdullah Kurdi as a well-known organiser of people smuggling in the Bodrum area, accusing him of being responsible for the deaths and driving the boat at the time of the disaster.
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| Treasury sanctions key Islamic State leaders Posted: 11 Feb 2016 12:01 PM PST The Treasury Department is sanctioning three leaders of the Islamic State, including a senior oil official, who are instrumental in the group's finances and recruitment. Thursday's action is another step ... |
| Erdogan threatens to send refugees to EU as NATO steps in Posted: 11 Feb 2016 11:30 AM PST  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday threatened to send the millions of refugees in Turkey to European Union (EU) member states, as NATO agreed to deploy ships to the Aegean Sea to ease the migrant crisis. In a speech in Ankara, Erdogan stepped up his denunciations of Western policy in the refugee crisis, confirming he had threatened EU leaders at a summit meeting in November that Turkey could say "goodbye" to the refugees. Alarm is growing in EU capitals that thousands of migrants are still crossing the Aegean daily from Turkey after over a million made the perilous journey last year.
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| Russia boosts ties with Iraq in challenge to U.S. influence Posted: 11 Feb 2016 11:11 AM PST  By Saif Hameed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Russia is ready to sell civil airliners to Iraq and keep providing it with military aid to fight Islamic State, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Thursday, accompanied on a trip to Baghdad by the biggest Russian delegation in years. The mission by nearly 100 government and business officials was part of a drive by Moscow to strengthen commercial and security ties with Iraq, potentially eroding U.S. influence in one of the world's most critical regions. Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said discussions had revolved around providing military assistance to defeat Islamic State militants, also known as Daesh, who seized a third of Iraq in 2014 and want to redraw the map of the Middle East.
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| A look at what's next for the major players in Syria's war Posted: 11 Feb 2016 10:54 AM PST  The U.S., Russia and more than a dozen other countries met Thursday in Munich to discuss halting the fighting in Syria, while forces of President Bashar Assad are making some of their biggest gains against the opposition.
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| Pentagon chief predicting 'tangible gains' in Iraq, Syria Posted: 11 Feb 2016 10:26 AM PST  BRUSSELS (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter predicted on Thursday that recent U.S.-led efforts to accelerate the fight against the Islamic State group would produce "tangible gains" in Iraq and Syria by March, even as coalition partners pledged to expand and deepen their military contributions.
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| NATO 'exploring possibility' of joining anti-IS coalition: US Posted: 11 Feb 2016 10:20 AM PST  NATO is considering joining the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State jihadists in Syria and Iraq, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Thursday. "Thanks to the leadership of NATO (head) Jens Stoltenberg we are exploring the possibility of NATO joining the coalition as a member itself," Carter said after a meeting of the coalition in Brussels to discuss increasing their contributions to the campaign. The coalition already includes all 28 NATO member states individually but not the alliance in its own right.
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| AP appoints Zeina Karam news director for Lebanon and Syria Posted: 11 Feb 2016 09:58 AM PST CAIRO (AP) — The Associated Press has named Zeina Karam as its news director for Lebanon and Syria, a new position that consolidates leadership in video, text and photo coverage. |
| Islamic State fighters head south in Libya, threatening Sahel Posted: 11 Feb 2016 09:50 AM PST  By Emma Farge DAKAR (Reuters) - Groups of Islamic State fighters are quitting their bases in Libya fearing Western air strikes and heading south, posing a new threat to countries in Africa's Sahel region including Niger and Chad, officials and intelligence sources said. The ultra-hardline movement that has seized large areas of Syria and neighbouring Iraq has also amassed thousands of fighters along a coastal strip in Libya, where it has taken the city of Sirte and attacked oil infrastructure. "ISIS (Islamic State) are moving towards southern Libya to avoid the likely air strikes from the European coalition," said Colonel Mahamane Laminou Sani, director of documentation and military intelligence for Niger's armed forces.
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| U.S. tells allies campaign to defeat Islamic State must be accelerated Posted: 11 Feb 2016 09:08 AM PST  By Phil Stewart and Robin Emmott BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States pressed allies on Thursday to contribute more to a U.S.-led military campaign against Islamic State that it says must be accelerated, regardless of the fate of diplomatic efforts to end Syria's civil war. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter started talks on Thursday in Brussels with more than two dozen defense ministers, including from key ally Saudi Arabia, which renewed its offer potentially to send troops into Syria.
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| 5 Things to Know about the pope's trip to Mexico Posted: 11 Feb 2016 08:31 AM PST  VATICAN CITY (AP) — History's first Latin American pope travels to Mexico on Friday for a weeklong tour of some of the most violent, poverty-stricken and peripheral places in the Americas. He'll be bringing a message of hope and solidarity to victims of drug violence, trafficking and discrimination — a message the Vatican hopes will also resonate north of the border.
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| Iranians rally to celebrate anniversary of 1979 revolution Posted: 11 Feb 2016 08:26 AM PST  TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranians held nationwide celebrations Thursday to commemorate the anniversary of the 1979 revolution that ousted a pro-Western monarchy and brought Islamists to power, with some making a point of taunting the U.S. despite Iran's landmark nuclear deal with world powers.
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| Iraqi PM discourages Kurdish independence referendum Posted: 11 Feb 2016 08:07 AM PST  Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi urged the country's autonomous Kurdistan region not to go ahead with a proposed referendum on independence, saying it would be neither in its own interest nor Iraq's. Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said last week the time had come for the region to hold a non-binding referendum on independence from the rest of Iraq, despite being in the throes of political, economic and security crises. "I urge them not to go ahead with the referendum," Abadi said at a news conference in Berlin on Thursday. "If as they say they are not going to abide by its outcome, then why hold a referendum?" The chaos created by Islamic State's occupation of swathes of Iraq and Syria since in 2014 has given Iraq's Kurds a chance to further their long-held dream of independence.
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| Turkish security complete operations in Kurdish town: minister Posted: 11 Feb 2016 07:58 AM PST  Turkish security forces have completed operations against Kurdish militants in a border town after weeks of fighting, Interior Minister Efkan Ala said on Thursday, raising hopes that a lockdown could be lifted. Authorities imposed a round-the-clock curfew on Cizre, near Turkey's frontiers with both Iraq and Syria, on Dec. 14 in a bid to root out armed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who had dug trenches and erected barricades. Fighting there has killed at least 79 civilians, according to the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the biggest party in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast.
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| Gay imam helps young Muslims balance religion, sexuality Posted: 11 Feb 2016 07:51 AM PST  MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Growing up in Algeria, Shaira had almost everything a young man could wish for. But he also had a big secret.
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| Creator of popular military comic strip has book deal Posted: 11 Feb 2016 07:41 AM PST NEW YORK (AP) — An Iraq War veteran who self-published a graphic novel based on his popular comic strip now has a book deal. |
| AUA Announces 2016 Annual Award Winners Posted: 11 Feb 2016 07:30 AM PST LINTHICUM, Md., Feb. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Urological Association (AUA) today announced the list of 2016 award recipients who will be honored at the Association's upcoming Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA this May. These physician, researchers and educators are being honored for their contributions to the field of medicine, the specialty of urology, and the AUA. Ramon Guiteras Award: The Ramon Guiteras Award is presented annually to an individual who is deemed to have made outstanding contributions to the art and science of urology. William Marston Linehan, MD, will receive this award for outstanding contributions to the art and science of urology, most notably in the identification of genes associated with different types of kidney cancers and developing new strategies for their management. |
| AJC Partners with IsraAID to Assist New Migrants in Germany Posted: 11 Feb 2016 07:09 AM PST NEW YORK, Feb. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC is supporting a major initiative, led by the Israeli humanitarian relief group IsraAID, to assist Yazidi refugees, as well as other migrants from the Middle East who have been coming in large numbers to Germany. "Our Jewish tradition beckons us to help," said AJC Berlin Director Deidre Berger. In the shelters, counselors and therapists fluent in Arabic will assist vulnerable families and children, as well as unaccompanied minors, in dealing with the trauma they have experienced in fleeing their countries and seeking to adapt to life in Germany. |
| Czechs propose to send pilot trainers to Iraq Posted: 11 Feb 2016 07:08 AM PST PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech defense minister says he is planning to send about 30 instructors and military technicians to Iraq to train pilots for Czech-made planes. |
| New probe as UK Twitter fundraiser jailed for Syria jihadi links Posted: 11 Feb 2016 06:52 AM PST  By Tom Esslemont LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Britain's charity watchdog has said it will reopen an investigation into how a British man convicted of helping a teenager travel to Syria to fight with Islamic State (ISIS) diverted charitable funds raised through social media. Adeel Ulhaq, 21, was found guilty at London's central criminal court along with two other men from England and Wales of helping in "the preparation of an act of terrorism," BBC News reported on Wednesday. The three received prison sentences of between 4.5 and 5 years for assisting 19-year-old Aseel Muthana to join ISIS in February 2014, and Ulhaq received an additional year for funding terrorism, the report said.
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| Merkel says every effort must be made to get peace in Syria Posted: 11 Feb 2016 05:37 AM PST Every effort must be made to try to secure peace in Syria, including at talks later on Thursday in Munich, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at a news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. "The international environment around Iraq is very complicated and therefore we agreed that all efforts need to be made, for example today in Munich, to have talks on the future of Syria and to bring about peace in the region," said Merkel. |
| Iraq oil revenues now at just 15% of level two years ago: PM Posted: 11 Feb 2016 05:22 AM PST  Iraq's oil revenues have sunk to just 15 percent of their value two years ago, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Thursday, as he urged the international community to help shore up his country's battered economy. "Iraqi oil revenues have fallen to just 15 percent of the revenues we had two years ago.
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| Germany to loan Iraq $566 million to aid reconstruction Posted: 11 Feb 2016 05:11 AM PST  BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel says Germany will give a 500 million-euro loan ($566 million) to Iraq to help rebuild the country's infrastructure.
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| Russia proposes March 1 ceasefire in Syria; US wants it now Posted: 11 Feb 2016 04:49 AM PST  MUNICH (AP) — Russia has proposed a March 1 ceasefire in Syria, U.S. officials say, but Washington believes Moscow is giving itself and the Syrian government three weeks to try to crush moderate rebel groups.
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| The Diplomat and the Killer Posted: 11 Feb 2016 04:15 AM PST  When four American women were murdered during El Salvador's dirty war, a young U.S. official and his unlikely partner risked their lives to solve the case.
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