| Iraqi couple wins U.S. award for daring missions to rescue Yazidis Posted: 19 Oct 2016 05:18 PM PDT By Sebastien Malo NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Soon after Iraqi lawyer Khaleel Aldakhi and his wife heard the chilling news that Islamic State militants were enslaving Yazidi women and children in Iraq, they began plotting a rescue mission from their home in the northern city of Dohuk. During a 2014 visit to refugee camps in Iraq's Kurdistan region to get more information about the Yazidi women and girls who had disappeared, Aldakhi met a couple whose 17-year-old daughter was held captive by the Islamist group. Two years on, Aldakhi and his wife Ameena Saeed Hasan have turned what they thought would be a one-time rescue mission into a full-time underground operation, which they say has saved some 170 girls from Islamic State. |
| IS leaders 'abandon' Mosul as Iraq forces close in Posted: 19 Oct 2016 04:39 PM PDT  Jihadist leaders are fleeing Mosul, a top US general in the coalition battling the Islamic State group said Wednesday as Iraqi forces closed in on the northern city. Mosul was where IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared his "caliphate" two years ago but is now the group's last major stronghold in Iraq. In the biggest Iraqi military operation in years, forces have retaken dozens of villages, mostly south and east of Mosul, and are planning multiple assaults for Thursday.
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| US tries to end spat threatening Mosul battle Posted: 19 Oct 2016 04:10 PM PDT  US officials are scrambling to end a dispute between Ankara and Baghdad that threatens to derail a carefully developed plan to retake Mosul from the Islamic State group. Officials fear a war of words between Turkey and Iraq's central government could jeopardize a fragile pact that would keep rival sectarian and ethnic militias out of the northern Iraqi city's center. "There is a lot of tension and the public rhetoric has gotten a bit out of hand," a senior administration official told AFP.
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| A is for alt-right, B is for Billy Bush: The ABCs of this soul-sucking election Posted: 19 Oct 2016 02:17 PM PDT  On Wednesday night, the United States (and the world) will be subjected to one final presidential debate, the 26th debate overall of a long, exhausting, trying election cycle. SEE ALSO: 11 things to watch instead of the final presidential debate And, no, that's not a typo. There have been 26 debates in this election cycle and it was almost even longer thanks to a few primary debate cancelations. All told, there were 12 GOP primary debates, 10 Democratic primary debates, three presidential debates and 1 vice-presidential debate spread across 440 days. And there are still 20 days to go until Election Day. Here at Mashable , we've covered the election in a variety of ways but as the grueling process comes to an end, it's a good time for reflection. And with there being as many debates as there are letters in the alphabet, using words (the best words!) to describe this election cycle is the surest way to get our feelings across. A is Alt-Right The long toiling members of the alt-right have found in Trump a man they can embrace for his anti-immigration stance and his willingness to indulge in conspiracy theories (like the ones about Hillary Clinton's health). Will they continue to have a voice going forward? Sure, the internet indulges racist conspiracy theorists but a movement that embraces a cartoon frog probably doesn't have much of a chance for long term success. "@codyave: @drudgereport @BreitbartNews @Writeintrump "You Can't Stump the Trump" https://t.co/0xITB7XeJV pic.twitter.com/iF6S05se2w" — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 13, 2015 B is for Billy Bush Who in a million years would have thought that Billy Bush would be the member of the Bush family that would derail Trump's presidential campaign? With Trump already reeling from a poor performance in the first debate with Hillary Clinton, the tape of the vulgar 2005 conversation between Bush and Trump was another blow to an already teetering campaign. C is for Cinco de Mayo Never forget the most famous taco bowl ever consumed on top of a photo of an ex-wife. Happy #CincoDeMayo! The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics! https://t.co/ufoTeQd8yA pic.twitter.com/k01Mc6CuDI — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2016 D is for Deplorables Even though Trump's behavior means Hillary Clinton should probably be way ahead in the polls, she's occasionally gotten in her own way, like when she insulted Trump supporters by calling them "deplorable." The insult has been embraced by Trump's Twitter troll force and thrown right back at her — millions and millions of times. E is for Emails The ongoing controversy with Hillary Clinton and her email services has been a major storyline, particularly for Trump. While Bernie Sanders didn't give a damn, Trump has made it one of the pillars of his attacks on Clinton, even saying that if he were president, Clinton would be in jail because of it. F is for Ferns As in Between Two Ferns , the popular Zach Galifinakis web series. It's hard to top President Barack Obama's previous appearance on the show but Hillary Clinton's Sept. 2016 appearance, in the midst of her campaign, was pretty darn good. Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis: Hillary Clinton from Funny Or Die G is for Giuliani One of Trump's most notable surrogates has been former New Yorker mayor Rudy Giuliani. Whether it's forgetting 9/11, forgetting Hillary Clinton was in New York after 9/11, getting owned in TV interviews, or giving an animated convention speech, he's been a noteworthy sideshow to the Trump circus. H is for hands There's nothing wrong with those tiny hands. Trump wants you to know his hands are plenty big and he definitely does not have any problems with anything small. Everything is yuge. Donald Trump knows what you mean when you say he has small hands and he says there's no problem. Nope. #GOPDebate pic.twitter.com/7eJzbRDcvJ — Mashable News (@MashableNews) March 4, 2016 I is for ISIS Battling ISIS has been at the core of Trump's platform, though his history on the terrorist organization is, at times, lacking. Not only did he insist Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton co-founded ISIS but he also tried to ding Hillary Clinton for fighting ISIS "[her] whole adult life." ISIS was founded in the early 2000s after the invasion of Iraq. J is for Jeb! If Donald Trump is your drunk uncle and Bernie Sanders is your college professor, then Jeb Bush is your awkward dad who pretends to be mad at you about breaking curfew but, deep down, just doesn't have the energy to give a damn, really. K is for Ken Bone Ken Bone, the red-sweatered undecided voter who captured America's attention during the second presidential debate, learned real quick it's a short fall from "America's sweetheart" to "unsavory fellow." pick up the phone babyyou know im ken bone baby pic.twitter.com/eS0o0NVakG — Hoodie Allen (@HoodieAllen) October 10, 2016 L is for 'Locker Room Talk' In the fallout from the release of that 2005 tape between Trump and Billy Bush, the Trump campaign has attempted to downplay the incident, insisting it was just "locker room talk" but many people who spend their careers in locker rooms beg to differ. Try again, Donald. M is for Melania While Melania Trump, wife to Donald, has raised eyebrows lately with her fashion choices and stance on online bullying, it will be hard to top the insanity that ensued following the revelation that her GOP convention speech featured passages that seemed cribbed from a speech by First Lady Michelle Obama. N is for the New York Times When the New York Times published the story of two women who accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, Trump fired back, threatening to sue the legendary newspaper. But the newspaper wasn't just going to take Trump's shots. Oh, no. They, instead, turned to the newspaper's attorneys for a legendary clap-back at a man who has made a thing out of frivolous lawsuits. The response of the New York Times to Trump's lawyers' demand for a retraction and their threats of a libel suit, is magnificent. @nytimes pic.twitter.com/VbgmFfFxwe — Alex Andreou (@sturdyAlex) October 13, 2016 O is for Obama After years of being the vocal leader of the so-called "birther" movement, who insist President Obama wasn't born in the United States, Donald Trump finally reversed course, but not without getting a few things wrong along the way. An 'extremely credible source' has called my office and told me that @BarackObama's birth certificate is a fraud. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 6, 2012 P is for Pussy Trump is no stranger to the inappropriate use of this word. While most voters will forever remember the aforementioned 2005 tape and Trump's vulgar statement about women, there was also the incident in February 2016 when Trump, still fighting off challenges from other GOP candidates, repeated the word used by a rally-goer to insult opponent Ted Cruz. Truly a new course in crass rhetoric. Q is for (Avenue) Q The cast of Avenue Q probably got pretty close to how most of us feel about Election 2016 with the little ditty called "Donald Trump makes me wanna smoke crack." R is for Robot Rubio Oh Rubio. Poor, poor Rubio. You tried so hard but then you short-circuited under those hot debate lights. 2020 is your year. Really. S is for Skittles One of the sideshows of this election cycle has been the children of Donald Trump (shout out to Tiffany!). Most notably, Donald Trump Jr. made waves when he shared a meme that compared refugees to Skittles. It wasn't only statistically incorrect, but it was made up of plagiarized claims and photos. Additionally, Skittles was not amused, marking one of the rare cases in which a candy has denounced the words of a presidential campaign. A rep for @Skittles gives me their response to @DonaldJTrumpJr pic.twitter.com/OmkJQkIqug — Seth Abramovitch (@SethAbramovitch) September 20, 2016 T is for Trump In case you forgot the man who was the GOP nominee, Trump's appearances at the convention that coronated him left little doubt. Subtle, tasteful #RNCinCLE pic.twitter.com/sHPWkm34nR — Marcus Gilmer (@marcusgilmer) July 22, 2016 U is for (Trump) University There was a university named after Trump and it turned into a mess and then a legal mess that's still lingering and Trump doesn't think much of the judge who's been presiding over the whole mess. V is for Vladimir Trump has no connection to Russia or its president Vladimir Putin, whom Trump is quite a fan of, at all. Nope. None. Zero. Zilch. Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant in November in Moscow - if so, will he become my new best friend? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2013 W is for Wall The alpha and omega of the Trump 2016 campaign: the wall that he wants to build between the United States and Mexico. Nobody wants to pay for it, surprisingly, not even Mexico who, Trump insisted, would pay for it. That said, Trump's plan for the "impenetrable... beautiful" wall sounds just a dragon-filled moat short of a ten-year-old's dream. X is for Xenophobia What's a better way to really get a campaign going then by singling out entire races and religions? As if calling Mexican immigrants rapists weren't enough, Trump announced a plan to ban Muslims from entering the United States. He's walked the proposed ban back since its debut but it came up again in the second presidential debate. The internet then battled back against the xenophobia spreading throughout the campaign with humor. I'd like to report a creeper who stalked a woman on the debate stage tonight. #MuslimsReportStuff — Fasiha Khan (@fasihalim) October 10, 2016 Y is for YUUUUUGE When will the Oxford English Dictionary add it? Z is for the Zodiac Killer How much more absurd can you get than the meme accusing Ted Cruz of being the Zodiac Killer that got so big that wife Heidi Cruz had to actually deny it in public? 100% proof pic.twitter.com/BW949XK5T5 — Jim Gravedigger (@mean_crow) January 16, 2016
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| Ending modern wars driven by ancient wrongs Posted: 19 Oct 2016 01:42 PM PDT Scratch below the surface of today's territorial conflicts – such as Russia's land grab in Ukraine, China's island claims in East Asia, or Turkey's troops in Iraq and Syria – and you find leaders who evoke memories of their countries as past victims of aggression by others. To justify China's taking of islands far from its shores, for example, Chinese envoy Liu Xiaoming said in July: "Why do we care about these islands? |
| White House plans community-based prevention of violent ideologies Posted: 19 Oct 2016 01:36 PM PDT  A White House plan aims to convene teachers and mental health professionals to intervene and help prevent Americans from turning to violent ideologies, work that is currently done mostly by federal law enforcement. The 18-page plan announced on Wednesday and first reported by Reuters, marks the first time in five years that the Obama administration has updated its policy for preventing the spread of violent groups such as Islamic State, which controls parts of Syria and Iraq and recruits fighters worldwide. The policy aims to prevent conversions to all violent ideologies, including the white supremacist beliefs held by a gunman who killed nine black church members inside a historic African-American church in Charleston and the other shootings and bombs were inspired by Islamist militants.
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| BATTLE FOR MOSUL Posted: 19 Oct 2016 01:14 PM PDT Graphic shows the geography and strategies so far for taking Mosul, Iraq from the Islamic State group;.; 2c x 5 inches; 96.3 mm x 127 mm; |
| Federal Injunction Against The SBA Thrown Out, Costing Small Businesses Billions of Dollars Posted: 19 Oct 2016 01:02 PM PDT PETALUMA, Calif., Oct. 19, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Small Business League's (ASBL's) controversial injunction against the Small Business Administration was thrown out today. After a rocky litigation riddled with several eyebrow raising moments, (the SBA tried to reword the ASBL's accusations that they were not hitting their small business contracting goals, and the initial hearing was canceled at the last minute in favor of a private ruling) Judge Vince Chhabria has ruled against the injunction. "This is not unexpected" says ASBL President Lloyd Chapman, "This case would uncover over $2 trillion in fraud from the Obama Administration. |
| Iraqi artist warns of 'scenario of destruction' Posted: 19 Oct 2016 12:55 PM PDT  Acclaimed Iraqi artist Dia Al-Azzawi, who exhibits almost 550 of his works in Qatar this week, says his country faces a bleak future and the assault on Mosul is "a scenario of destruction". "I am the cry, who will give voice to me?" showcases paintings, sculptures and drawings for the next six months across two Doha museums. It is potentially the largest ever solo exhibition by an Arab artist and is the first major retrospective of Al-Azzawi's work.
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| In Mosul fight, Iraqi forces eye redemption and revenge Posted: 19 Oct 2016 12:52 PM PDT  QAYARA AIR BASE, Iraq (AP) — For Saif, an Iraqi army corporal, the battle for Mosul is intensely personal. Over the course of two years of Islamic State rule, the extremists destroyed his home, arrested his father, killed his brother and forced his fiancee into a marriage with an IS fighter.
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| Abandoned villages on road to Mosul rigged with tunnels and bombs Posted: 19 Oct 2016 12:21 PM PDT  Residents began returning on Wednesday to the village of Sheikh Amir on the road to Mosul, recaptured overnight by advancing Kurdish fighters in the early days of the biggest advance that has been launched against Islamic State. Three days into the assault on Mosul, U.S.-backed government and Kurdish forces are steadily recovering outlying territory before the big push into the city itself, expected to be the biggest battle in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Much of Sheikh Amir had been torn down, including the house of Abbas Ahmad Hussein, a 36-year-old resident who fled the village when Sunni militants of Islamic State, also known as ISIL, ISIS or Daesh, captured it in 2014.
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| Iraqi town outside Mosul rises up against militants Posted: 19 Oct 2016 12:19 PM PDT  AL-HUD, Iraq (AP) — The mutilated bodies of Islamic State group fighters were still strewn on the ground of this northern Iraqi town on Wednesday. One was burned. Another's face was flattened by abuse.
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| The Battle for Mosul: Has the US Backed an Incompetent Commander in Iraq? Posted: 19 Oct 2016 11:53 AM PDT  With the Iraqi army battling to free Mosul from the clutches of ISIS, the coalition forces supporting the effort are hoping that this time will be different. In the past, the Iraqi army – undertrained and poorly led -- has faltered in the face of this enormous challenge. As the battle of Mosul rages, the U.S. military may learn the hard lesson soon: You can't fabricate a good army general.
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| Thousands of Iraqis fleeing Mosul arrive in Syria Posted: 19 Oct 2016 11:27 AM PDT Thousands of Iraqis fleeing fighting in the offensive against Islamic State (IS) in Mosul have taken shelter in northeastern Syria in recent days, an official from the Kurdish-led administration in the area said on Wednesday. Meanwhile there are still around 3,000 who are waiting at the border to cross," Mezkin Ahmed, an adviser to the de-facto autonomous administration that controls much of northeast Syria, said. It is a humanitarian operation - we have experienced Daesh first-hand, in Kobani for example, so this is our duty," she added, referring to a northern Syrian town previously occupied by Islamic State, and using a pejorative term for IS. |
| US general said Mosul battle could last months Posted: 19 Oct 2016 11:14 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The fight for Mosul, launched this week by Iraqi security forces supported by U.S. air power and advisers, could take months and is likely to feature periods of fierce combat, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East said Wednesday.
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| Mosul Today: Iraq calls on IS fighters in Mosul to surrender Posted: 19 Oct 2016 11:09 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — The Iraqi military on Wednesday called on Iraqis fighting for the Islamic State group in Mosul to surrender amid a wide-scale operation to retake the militant-held city, where up to 6,000 fighters are believed to be preparing for a climactic battle. |
| A look at US role against IS as Mosul offensive takes off Posted: 19 Oct 2016 10:17 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — As Iraqi tanks charge across the country to purge the city of Mosul of the Islamic State group, the United States has perhaps as much to gain from the operation as the Iraqis themselves. Wresting Iraq's second largest city from the extremists is key to eventually defeating them militarily, a major U.S. objective. Still, President Barack Obama's strategy to engage in this war without the use of combat forces has been received with some skepticism; some say this approach allowed IS to expand in the first place.
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| Revelations in WikiLeaks emails from Clinton campaign Posted: 19 Oct 2016 10:04 AM PDT  Since October 7, WikiLeaks has released thousands of emails hacked from the Gmail account of Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta. The emails don't contain any explosive revelations, but some have put Clinton on the defensive and are likely to come up during Wednesday night's debate in Las Vegas. The biggest revelations came out of paid speeches Clinton gave to investment banks and other financial institutions from 2013 to 2015.
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| From Mosul to Raqqa? A complex, risky battle against IS Posted: 19 Oct 2016 10:02 AM PDT  BEIRUT (AP) — Simultaneous attacks on the Islamic State-held cities of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa, the de facto capital of the militant group's self-proclaimed caliphate across the border in Syria, would make military sense: such assaults would make it harder for the extremists to move reinforcements and deny them a safe haven.
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| The Latest: UN humanitarian chief concerned over Mosul Posted: 19 Oct 2016 09:41 AM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — The Latest on the developments in Iraq as government forces and their allies press ahead in the battle for IS-held city of Mosul (all times local):
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| Berlin through new eyes: Syrian refugees offer guided tours Posted: 19 Oct 2016 09:16 AM PDT  BERLIN (AP) — When city guide Firas Zakri takes you on a tour of Berlin, don't expect to see the Brandenburg Gate, the city's famous TV tower or other well-known landmarks of the German capital.
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| U.S. general says will not support Shi'ite militia in Mosul campaign Posted: 19 Oct 2016 09:13 AM PDT The U.S.-led coalition will not support Shi'ite militia who might seek to participate in the campaign to retake Mosul from Islamic State and it is up to Baghdad to decide their role, a top U.S. general told Pentagon reporters on Wednesday. Late on Tuesday, a Shi'ite paramilitary force said it would support the Iraqi army's offensive west of Mosul, Islamic State's last major stronghold in Iraq, raising the risk of sectarian strife in the mainly Sunni region. The announcement came despite warnings from human rights groups that involvement of the Popular Mobilization Force (PMF), a coalition of mostly Iranian-trained militias, could ignite sectarian violence. |
| Evoking Ottoman past, Erdogan vows to tackle Turkey's enemies abroad Posted: 19 Oct 2016 07:54 AM PDT  By Orhan Coskun and Nick Tattersall ANKARA/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Smarting over exclusion from an Iraqi-led offensive against Islamic State in Mosul and Kurdish militia gains in Syria, President Tayyip Erdogan warned on Wednesday Turkey "will not wait until the blade is against our bone" but could act alone in rooting out enemies. In a speech at his palace, Erdogan conjured up an image of Turkey constrained by foreign powers who "aim to make us forget our Ottoman and Selcuk history", when Turkey's forefathers held territory stretching across central Asia and the Middle East.
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| Malala Yousafzai urges Muslims to unite for peace Posted: 19 Oct 2016 07:52 AM PDT  Pakistan's Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, giving a speech Wednesday in the Emirates, urged Muslims to respect the "true message of Islam" and unite against wars in their countries. The 19-year-old, who was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012 after she had publicly advocated education for girls, urged the world's Muslims to "come together... and follow the true message of Islam as they join hands in the struggle for peace". "We must not forget that the majority of those suffering because of these conflicts and wars are Muslims," said Malala, referring to conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
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| The Israel Lobby and American Policy conference will be held on March 24, 2017 in Washington Posted: 19 Oct 2016 07:17 AM PDT The American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy will host a historic fourth annual conference on March 24, 2017 at the National Press Club focusing on the key issues. U.S. foreign aid, intelligence and diplomatic support to Israel Since 1948, the U.S. has provided more foreign aid to Israel than to any other country. Will the U.S. provide it no matter how many illegal settlements Israel builds or what military actions it takes? |
| U.S. expects Islamic State to wield chemical weapons in Mosul fight Posted: 19 Oct 2016 06:32 AM PDT  By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States expects Islamic State to use crude chemical weapons as it tries to repel an Iraqi-led offensive on the city of Mosul, U.S. officials say, although adding that the group's technical ability to develop such weapons is highly limited. U.S. forces have begun to regularly collect shell fragments to test for possible chemical agents, given Islamic State's use of mustard agent in the months before Monday's launch of the Mosul offensive, one official said. In a previously undisclosed incident, U.S. forces confirmed the presence of a sulfur mustard agent on Islamic State munition fragments on Oct. 5, a second official said.
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| Damascus, allies see risks in Mosul campaign Posted: 19 Oct 2016 06:32 AM PDT By Laila Bassam and Tom Perry BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) - The Syrian army and its allies see a risk that Islamic State will regroup in eastern Syria as it is forced from the Iraqi city of Mosul in a U.S.-backed operation, posing new risks for President Bashar al-Assad. Both the Syrian army and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah have warned of what they have called a U.S. plan to open a path of retreat for Islamic State from Iraq into Syria. |
| Why Mosul is so important to the US Posted: 19 Oct 2016 05:52 AM PDT President Obama entered the White House pledging to end the United States' military involvement in Iraq. Eight years later, he is leaving office with the US at a crucial moment in its evolving Iraq engagement. The battle to retake Mosul – Iraq's second-largest city, center of Sunni Arab nationalism, and the place where Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2014 proclaimed his caliphate – will have far-reaching implications. |
| UN official: Yemen needs more than brief truce to help needy Posted: 19 Oct 2016 05:47 AM PDT GENEVA (AP) — A U.N. humanitarian aid official says a 72-hour pause in fighting between Yemen's warring sides is a welcome first step, but is urging longer-term access. |
| Islamic State has 5,000 to 6,000 fighters in Mosul: Iraqi army Posted: 19 Oct 2016 05:30 AM PDT Islamic State has 5,000 to 6,000 fighters defending the city of Mosul against an offensive by Iraqi forces, the head of Iraq's special forces Lieutenant General Talib Shaghati said on Wednesday. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Monday announced the start of an offensive on the northern city, the last major stronghold of the militants in Iraq, with the backing of a U.S.-led coalition. "Intelligence information indicates that there are 5,000 to 6,000 Daesh fighters," Shaghati told a news conference near Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region east of Mosul, using an Arabic acronym of Islamic State. |
| Russia says worried militants in Iraq's Mosul may flee for Syria Posted: 19 Oct 2016 05:29 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - The head of Russia's General Staff said on Wednesday Moscow was concerned that militants holed up in the Iraqi city of Mosul might escape to Syria, saying they should be killed on the spot instead. "It's essential not to chase the terrorists from one country to another but to destroy them on the spot," Valery Gerasimov said in a statement. Iraqi government forces and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are approaching Mosul, part of a plan to take back the city which has been controlled by radical Sunni group Islamic State since 2014. ... |
| Facts about Iraq's Christians as they fete army advance Posted: 19 Oct 2016 03:23 AM PDT  Iraq's Christian community is one of the oldest in the world and the loss of what was once its largest town, Qaraqosh, to the Islamic State group two years ago was a major blow. News that the town was poised to be recaptured from the jihadists sparked jubilation among Christians who had fled, with many dancing and singing in the city of Arbil. Christians once formed a significant minority of Iraq's mainly Muslim population but mounting sectarian attacks against them since the US-led invasion of 2003 have sent their numbers plummeting.
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| Inside Trump's wall: Will it work? Posted: 19 Oct 2016 02:58 AM PDT As you ride west in a Border Patrol truck, it looks like an imposing enough barrier to stop unauthorized immigrants and drug smugglers. Donald Trump wants to change that. At this point it is merely a proposal, yet the very idea of it has split the American public, offended Mexico, alienated American Latinos, and drawn a razor-sharp contrast between Mr. Trump and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton on the thorny issue of illegal immigration. |
| As territory shrinks, IS group looks for new money sources Posted: 19 Oct 2016 01:57 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — As the Islamic State group sees its territory shrink to half its original size and its dreams of a caliphate evaporate, the extremist fighters are losing access to the sources of revenue that once gave them their power, prompting them to turn to extortion, kidnapping or foreign donations like their predecessors, the militant group al-Qaida.
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| AP Interview: IMF says low oil prices still hurting Mideast Posted: 19 Oct 2016 01:57 AM PDT  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Oil-producing Mideast countries are coping with low global oil prices though more government reforms are needed, the International Monetary Fund's chief for the Mideast said as the organization issued a new report Wednesday showing weak economic growth in the region.
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| Shi'ite militias say will support Iraqi army offensive on Mosul Posted: 19 Oct 2016 01:34 AM PDT  By Maher Chmaytelli and Babak Dehghanpisheh BAGHDAD/ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - A Shi'ite paramilitary force said it would support the Iraqi army's offensive on Mosul, Islamic State's last major stronghold in Iraq, raising the risk of sectarian strife in the mainly Sunni region. The Popular Mobilization Force (PMF), a coalition of mostly Iranian-trained militias, said late on Tuesday it would back Iraqi government forces advancing toward Tal Afar, about 55 kilometers (34 miles) west of Mosul. Taking Tal Afar would effectively cut off the escape route for militants wanting to head into neighboring Syria and would please the Iran-backed army of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
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| Putin in talks on Mosul with Turkish, Iraqi leaders: Kremlin Posted: 19 Oct 2016 12:38 AM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone with the leaders of Turkey and Iraq about battle for Mosul, where Iraqi forces are fighting to oust the Islamic State group, the Kremlin said Wednesday. Putin "wished the Iraqi army and its allies complete success in their objectives," the Kremlin said in a statement on his conversations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
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| Germany finds case of low-risk bird flu in birds in park Posted: 19 Oct 2016 12:10 AM PDT A case of the low-risk bird flu strain H7N3 has been found in two pheasants in a park in Mannheim, Germany, the city's council said on Wednesday. Six pheasants, 26 ducks and two peacocks have been culled as a precautionary measure, the council said. Low-risk bird flu was also found on a German farm in July 2015. |
| AP Photographer Rodrigo Abd receives Cabot Prize Posted: 18 Oct 2016 07:24 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism honored five veteran journalists for distinguished coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean on Tuesday.
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| 'Do Not Resist' highlights crisis of police militarization Posted: 18 Oct 2016 07:01 PM PDT  It is a scene which could have been taken from archive footage of Mogadishu in 1990s Somalia or countless other battles, but this conflict is closer to home -- the streets of small-town America. The explosive film is set to fuel an already bitter debate raging in America over heavy-handed law enforcement, following a litany of police killings of black men that have sparked protests from Ferguson and Charlotte to Chicago.
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