| Saudi Arabia, Russia sign oil pact, may limit output in future Posted: 05 Sep 2016 04:38 PM PDT  By Ruby Lian, Josephine Mason and Rania El Gamal HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed on Monday to cooperate in world oil markets, saying they will not act immediately but could limit output in the future, sending prices higher on hopes the two top oil producers would work together to tackle a global glut. The joint statement was signed by the country's energy ministers in China on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit and followed a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said the two countries were moving toward a strategic energy partnership and that a high level of trust would allow them to address global challenges.
|
| Greek volunteers share UN refugee award Posted: 05 Sep 2016 03:52 PM PDT  More than 2,000 sea rescue volunteers, who last year saved thousands trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, have won the annual Nansen prize, the UN refugee agency announced Tuesday. The Hellenic Rescue Team (HRT) will share the prestigious award with Efi Latsoudi, a human rights activist on Lesbos who helped provide a safe haven to thousands of refugees on the Greek island, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said. HRT, represented by Konstantinos Mitragas, and Latsoudi, a volunteer at PIKPA village, "were both chosen for their tireless volunteer work during the 2015 refugee crisis on Greece's shores," UNHCR said.
|
| Islamic State claims suicide bomb that kills nine in central Baghdad Posted: 05 Sep 2016 02:48 PM PDT At least nine people were killed in Baghdad late on Monday in a car bomb attack claimed by Islamic State near a hospital in a central district, police and hospital sources said. A suicide bomber had targeted a gathering of Shi'ite Muslims in the Karrada district, according to a statement circulated online by the Amaq news agency, which supports the ultra-hardline Sunni militant group. The police and hospital sources said 20 people were also wounded in the blast and they expected the death toll to rise. |
| ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’ star Bruce Campbell talks TV, lying to fans, man cleavage Posted: 05 Sep 2016 01:15 PM PDT  Ash Vs. Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell explains why the Bionic Man, Lee Majors, is the perfect choice to Ash's dad in Season 2.
|
| Iran, Saudi spar over running of haj pilgrimage Posted: 05 Sep 2016 12:32 PM PDT  Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei renewed criticism of Saudi Arabia over how it runs the haj after a crush last year killed hundreds of pilgrims, and suggested Muslim countries think about ending Riyadh's control of the annual pilgrimage. Saudi Arabia accused Iran, its main regional rival, of seeking to politicize this month's event, saying in turn on Monday that Iran was compromising safety with its actions. "The Iranian authorities are the ones who don't want the Iranian pilgrims to come here for reasons concerning the Iranians themselves and in light of them seeking to politicize haj and turn it into rituals against Islam's teachings and that compromise the safety of haj," the state news agency SPA quoted Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef as saying.
|
| Wave of IS-claimed bombings in Syria kill at least 48 Posted: 05 Sep 2016 12:07 PM PDT  BEIRUT (AP) — Near-simultaneous bombings claimed by the Islamic State group struck in and around strongholds of the Syrian government and Kurdish troops Monday, killing at least 48 people in a wave of attacks that came a day after the militants lost a vital link to the outside world along the Syrian-Turkish border.
|
| In Turkey, Kurds begin hunger strike over jailed leader Posted: 05 Sep 2016 09:23 AM PDT  A group of 50 Kurdish activists, including MPs, on Monday began a hunger strike to protest the lack of news about the welfare of jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan. The protesters, wearing T-shirts with bearing Ocalan's image, said they had received no update about him for several months. "We haven't received any objective information about Ocalan's state of health and security," said the group's spokeswoman Sabahat Tuncel in the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakir in the southeast.
|
| The Latest: Russia urges US to help stop Syria rebel attacks Posted: 05 Sep 2016 08:49 AM PDT  DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The Latest on the conflict in Syria (all times local):
|
| Turkish military says 30 Kurdish militants killed in air strikes in northern Iraq Posted: 05 Sep 2016 08:38 AM PDT ANKARA (Reuters) - The Turkish military said on Monday it had killed 30 Kurdish militants, including some senior figures, in air strikes a day earlier in northern Iraq based on tip-offs and information from drones and reconnaissance vehicles. Turkish warplanes have repeatedly carried out air strikes in northern Iraq targeting the bases of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in the Qandil mountains after a ceasefire between the state and the group broke down last summer. (Reporting by Orhan Coskun; Writing by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Nick Tattersall) |
| German conservatives divided over answer to state election rout Posted: 05 Sep 2016 08:14 AM PDT  By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged on Monday that her pro-refugee policies led to her party's state election rout on Sunday but said they would not be jettisoned even though her Bavarian ally is clamoring for change. In a rare, self-critical reflection over a state election defeat, Merkel insisted three times in the space of a four-minute statement in China that her decision to open the gate for refugees last year was right and would not be changed. "I'm also responsible, obviously," Merkel said, breaking her rule against speaking on domestic issues while outside Germany as she was on a visit to China.
|
| China looking for Korea bounce against Iran in Asian qualifying Posted: 05 Sep 2016 12:04 AM PDT  China are hoping to reproduce the form that gave South Korea palpitations last week as they take on heavyweights Iran in another big World Cup qualifying test on Tuesday. China fought back from 3-0 down to make it 3-2 with 14 minutes left in Seoul, ensuring a tense finale to a game which South Korea had looked like wrapping up with ease. While China started the final round of Asian qualifying with a defeat, they are taking heart from the performance ahead of Tuesday's home game against Iran in Shenyang.
|
| US, Russia fail to reach Syria deal Posted: 04 Sep 2016 11:21 PM PDT  Top diplomats from the United States and Russia on Monday failed to reach a deal to ease fighting in Syria, US officials said, after government troops encircled rebel-held parts of Aleppo. A senior State Department official said a fresh round of crisis talks between Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the margins of the G20 summit in China had ended without agreement. Washington and Moscow support opposing sides in the five-year conflict, which has killed around 300,000 people and forced millions to flee.
|
| Teen jailed in Australia over foiled beheading plot Posted: 04 Sep 2016 08:32 PM PDT  A teenager who plotted to run down and behead a police officer in an Anzac Day terrorist attack in Australia after being "corrupted by lunatic clerics" was on Monday sentenced to 10 years in jail. Sevdet Besim, 19, pleaded guilty to "doing an act in preparation, or planning for, a terrorist act" over the 2015 plan to attack commemorations in Melbourne honouring soldiers who fought and died for Australia. The Victorian Supreme Court had previously heard that Besim discussed the plot in encrypted messages with a British boy, who was 14 at the time.
|
| China's World Cup ambitions already in sharp focus Posted: 04 Sep 2016 08:29 PM PDT  KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Despite massive recent investment in the game domestically and abroad, China's hopes of qualification for the 2018 World Cup could be dented significantly if the team loses at home to Iran.
|
