| Turkey strikes Kurd, regime forces in Syria, mulls ground attack Posted: 13 Feb 2016 02:05 PM PST  Turkey's military hit Kurdish and Syrian regime targets Saturday in the northern province of Aleppo, a state-run news agency reported, as Ankara mulled joint ground assault with Saudi troops. Anatolia, quoting a military source, said the armed forces shelled Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) targets around the town of Azaz, and also responded to regime fire on a Turkish military guard post in Turkey's southern Hatay region. There were no further details on the nature of the Turkish strikes but they probably involved artillery fire from tanks.
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| Sanders says Clinton is coming 'unraveled' by his progress Posted: 13 Feb 2016 02:03 PM PST  RENO, Nev. (AP) — Bernie Sanders is pronouncing himself startled by the ferocity of Hillary Clinton's attempts to take him down, saying she's coming "unraveled" by his progress in the Democratic presidential campaign.
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| US urges Turkey to halt Syria strikes Posted: 13 Feb 2016 01:28 PM PST  The United States pressed Turkey on Saturday to halt military strikes on Kurdish and Syrian regime targets Saturday in the northern province of Aleppo, as Ankara weighs a joint ground assault with Saudi troops. "We are concerned about the situation north of Aleppo and are working to de-escalate tensions on all sides," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. State-run news agency Anatolia, quoting a military source, said the armed forces shelled Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) targets around the town of Azaz, and also responded to regime fire on a Turkish military guard post in Turkey's southern Hatay region.
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| Iraqi girl's home burned after she criticised governor Posted: 13 Feb 2016 01:26 PM PST  A 13-year-old Iraqi girl's home burned after she criticised the governor of a central Iraq province in a televised interview, her father and police said on Saturday. Rawan Salem Hussein challenged Governor Sadiq Madlool al-Sultani to an on-air debate on his contributions to "the cultural situation in Babil", and said she would prove that he had "set Babil province back 50 years". Hussein's father Salem said the fire at the family's home in Hilla, south of Baghdad, occurred not long after the clip was broadcast on Al-Baghdadiya TV.
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| This New York City skyscraper looks like it’s wrapped in a wreath of gardens Posted: 13 Feb 2016 11:45 AM PST  New York City might be famous for its skyline, but the concrete jungle doesn't exactly have much green. But a new 1,000-foot-tall skyscraper set for construction in Manhattan will combine modern high-rise architecture and the average city dweller's need for nature. Dubbed "The Spiral," the building will introduce open air spaces and cascading gardens to NYC office culture. Related: Iraq is planning a solar powered skyscraper that's 1,000 feet taller than the Burj Khalifa When it is completed, The Spiral will be 65 stories tall and will serve as an extension of the elevated High Line green space that stretches up Manhattan's West side. Hanging gardens and a series of "cascading atria" work together to connect open floor plans from bottom to top. And terraces wrapping around the building's exterior should encourage tenants to step outside for fresh air throughout the day. Please enable Javascript to watch this video Since The Spiral will cater specifically to offices and retail spaces, the nature-inspired building is "designed for the people that occupy it," according to architect Bjarke Ingels. Many recent developments in New York City have received criticism from residents who don't appreciate the construction of ugly skyscrapers in wealthy areas that detract from NYC's streetscape. That's enough of a reason for The Spiral to make a difference in juxtaposing modern skyscraper style with beautiful design and green space benefits. The Spiral will be a part of the city's Hudson Yards development, which is being built on an artificial foundation to enhance the existing train yards. Upon completion, the building is expected to be a beautiful installation in the otherwise industrial Hudson Yards area: "The Spiral will punctuate the northern end of the High Line, and the linear park will appear to carry through into the tower, forming an ascending ribbon of lively green spaces, extending the High Line to the skyline," said Ingels. Skyscrapers, green space, and poetry.
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| Turkey shells Kurdish-held areas of Syria's Aleppo: monitor Posted: 13 Feb 2016 08:10 AM PST  Turkish artillery on Saturday bombarded areas of Aleppo province in northern Syria controlled by Kurdish forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The monitoring group's head, Rami Abdel Rahman, said Turkish shelling struck areas of Aleppo, including Minnigh, recently taken by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia from Islamist rebels. Ankara considers the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its YPG militia to be branches of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.
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| GOP congressman mulls run for governor in deep blue New York Posted: 13 Feb 2016 07:51 AM PST  KINDERHOOK, N.Y. (AP) — He is a Republican former Army colonel with political positions diverse enough to support gun rights and gay marriage. He won re-election in a Hudson Valley district that favored President Barack Obama and captured a third term by crushing a deep-pocketed Democrat by almost 30 points.
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| U.S., allies say target Islamic State with 20 strikes in Iraq, Syria Posted: 13 Feb 2016 07:30 AM PST The United States and its allies conducted 20 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria on Friday, the Combined Joint Task Force leading the operations said in a statement on Saturday. In Iraq, there were 17 strikes near eight cities, with five strikes near Mosul and four near Ramadi hitting Islamic State tactical units, equipment and fighting positions, the statement said. In Syria, a vehicle, a road and a crane used by the militant group were destroyed in three strikes. |
| Bomb kills two Egyptian soldiers in Sinai: army Posted: 13 Feb 2016 07:22 AM PST  Two Egyptian soldiers, one an officer, were killed by an explosion as they tried to defuse a roadside bomb in the Sinai Peninsula Saturday, a military statement said. The Islamic State group's Egyptian branch is waging an insurgency in the restive peninsula that has killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen since the military overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. The jihadist group has said it caused the crash of a Russian passenger plane carrying holidaymakers over Sinai last October, killing all 224 people on board.
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| Turkey PM threatens military action against Syrian Kurds Posted: 13 Feb 2016 07:14 AM PST  Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Saturday said Turkey would, if necessary, take military action against fighters from the Syrian Kurdish PYD, which Ankara considers a terror group. "We can if necessary take the same measures in Syria as we took in Iraq and Qandil," Davutoglu said in a televised speech in the eastern city of Erzincan, referring to the relentless bombing campaign last year against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq on their Qandil mountain stronghold. Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its People's Protection Units (YPG) militia to be branches of the PKK which has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state that intensified in the last months.
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| AP News Guide: Diplomats push as Syria battlefield shifts Posted: 13 Feb 2016 05:47 AM PST  Diplomats from a dozen countries, led by the United States and Russia, are struggling to make progress in Syria, even as fighting in the north sends tens of thousands fleeing and threatens a deepening humanitarian crisis. Next month, Syria's civil war will reach the end of its fifth year, and its consequences continue to reach new and disastrous levels.
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| Iraq's Sadr calls for technocratic government, swift reform Posted: 13 Feb 2016 03:26 AM PST  Powerful Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Saturday the country needed a technocratic government, threatening to quit politics if Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi failed to carry out promised reforms. The remarks by Sadr, whose Al-Ahrar bloc holds 34 seats in parliament and three cabinet posts, were the first high-level reaction to the premier's call for politically appointed ministers to be replaced with technocrats. Struggling to show results from reforms he announced six months ago, Abadi said this week he wanted to make the replacements in a cabinet reshuffle, a shake-up that would alter the delicate balance of government in place since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
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| For refugees, finding work in Europe an uphill battle Posted: 13 Feb 2016 03:22 AM PST  VIENNA (AP) — Antonio Piani appears to have beaten the odds stacked against refugees finding work in Europe, but the hotel where he works was set up specifically to employ people like him.
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| Influential Iraqi Shiite cleric calls for government reforms Posted: 13 Feb 2016 02:34 AM PST  BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for government reform Saturday, demanding greater accountability and threatening to withdraw from the political process if his proposal is not accepted and the government does not show results within a year.
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| Things to know about Obama's summit with SE Asian leaders Posted: 13 Feb 2016 12:07 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama hosts Southeast Asian leaders at an unprecedented summit in California starting Monday as he looks to deepen ties with the region's fast-growing economies. But a nation not invited — neighboring power China — will be the proverbial elephant in the room as the leaders grapple with sensitive territorial disputes.
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