| US strikes may have killed 119 civilians in Iraq, Syria: Pentagon Posted: 09 Nov 2016 04:40 PM PST  The Pentagon said Wednesday that US air strikes in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State group may have killed 119 civilians since 2014, a figure far lower than casualty estimates by monitoring groups. The figures released by Centcom, the US military command in the Middle East, came from a months-long review of reports and databases, it said, adding that the deaths and injuries stemmed from 24 air strikes. London-based NGO Airways estimates coalition bombing has killed 1,787 civilians since the air campaign to destroy the Islamic State group began in August 2014.
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| US: 64 civilians killed in Iraq, Syria strikes in past year Posted: 09 Nov 2016 04:02 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Sixty-four civilians were killed and eight were injured in 24 U.S.-led coalition airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria over the past year, the U.S. military said Wednesday, based on newly completed investigations. |
| Ayotte is third Republican Trump critic to lose Senate race Posted: 09 Nov 2016 03:54 PM PST  US Senator Kelly Ayotte conceded to her Democratic challenger on Wednesday, making her the third Republican to lose a Senate race in a battleground state after refusing to endorse Donald Trump. Ayotte's defeat to Governor Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire means another pick-up for the Democrats in the battle for control of the Senate. The two New Hampshire rivals were separated by just 600 votes by mid-afternoon Wednesday, some 22 hours after polls closed in the US election that saw Republican presidential nominee Trump deliver a stunning defeat of Democrat Hillary Clinton.
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| Factbox: Top goals for President Trump, hurdles in front of him Posted: 09 Nov 2016 03:39 PM PST Republican Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to shake up Washington and as president the brash real estate mogul will be in a position to dramatically change how the United States handles immigration, trade and a range of other policies. While he will likely enjoy a post-election honeymoon with congressional Republicans, a long-lasting romance is far from guaranteed, given his uneasy relationship with congressional leaders and some basic ideological differences he has with Republican orthodoxy. In his campaign, Trump argued that international trade agreements had hurt U.S. workers and the country's competitiveness. |
| UN: Mosul marks beginning of caliphate's end Posted: 09 Nov 2016 03:02 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The operation to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul marks the beginning of the end of the Islamic State group's so-called caliphate in Iraq, the U.N. envoy for the country told the Security Council on Wednesday. |
| Republican foreign policy veterans in quandary over Trump Posted: 09 Nov 2016 02:59 PM PST  By Matt Spetalnick and Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some Republican foreign policy veterans who came out against Donald Trump during the presidential campaign said on Wednesday they were sticking to their guns following his election victory, but a few others signaled that objections to serving in his new administration were softening. Trump's stunning upset over Democrat Hillary Clinton has created a new dilemma for the Republican national security establishment, much of which had publicly distanced itself from their own party's candidate, declaring him unfit to lead. Some career diplomats, intelligence officials and military officers are also facing a choice of whether to quit their posts because of concern that a Trump presidency would violate their principles, or else stay and try to influence policy from the inside.
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| Trump election elicits fears, some cheers around the globe Posted: 09 Nov 2016 02:12 PM PST  MOSCOW (AP) — World leaders struggled Wednesday to come to grips with a new reality — Donald Trump will be the next U.S. president — and an as yet unanswerable question: How many of his campaign pledges will he actually act on?
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| Trump, Turkey's Erdogan discuss boosting ties, fighting terrorism: sources Posted: 09 Nov 2016 01:07 PM PST  Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called U.S. President-elect Donald Trump by phone on Wednesday and discussed improving relations and cooperating in fighting terrorism, sources in Ankara said. A NATO member which borders Syria, Iraq and Iran, Turkey is a powerful player in the region but Erdogan's relations with U.S. President Barack Obama, as well as with Western Europe, have at times been strained. Turkey has been frustrated by what it sees as Washington's reluctance to hand over Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom it accuses of masterminding an abortive putsch four months ago.
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| U.S. arms export boom under Obama seen continuing with Trump Posted: 09 Nov 2016 01:04 PM PST  By Mike Stone and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. defense contractors, which saw international sales rise strongly under President Barack Obama's administration, can expect a continued boom in arms exports under Donald Trump, aided by persistent security risks in the Middle East and rising tensions in Asia and Europe. Shares of major defense contractors, including Raytheon Co. , Northrop Grumman Corp and General Dynamics hit lifetime highs, on Wednesday as investors bet on higher Pentagon spending under Trump, who has vowed a massive build-up of the U.S. military even as he pledges to reduce foreign entanglements.
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| Sixty-four civilians killed in air strikes in Iraq, Syria: U.S. military Posted: 09 Nov 2016 01:02 PM PST  By Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sixty-four civilians were killed and eight injured in 24 U.S. air strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria between Nov. 20, 2015, and Sept. 10, 2016, the U.S. military said in a statement on Wednesday. "In each of the cases released today, the assessment determined that although all feasible precautions were taken and strikes complied with laws of armed conflict, civilian casualties unfortunately did occur," Colonel John Thomas, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said in a statement. In a strike on Nov. 20, five civilians were killed near Dayr Az Zawr, Syria after they entered the target area after the aircraft released its weapons.
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| Who's in line for a Trump cabinet spot? Posted: 09 Nov 2016 12:53 PM PST  As his new administration takes shape, President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet choices will tell whether he intends to lean on a conventional Republican bench to govern or break out in a new direction. Trump gave shoutouts in his victory speech early Wednesday to the handful of Republican politicians who stood by him in the bruising White House race.
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| Crucifixions and vice patrols show Islamic State maintains Mosul grip Posted: 09 Nov 2016 12:28 PM PST  Islamic State militants fighting to hold on to their Mosul stronghold have killed at least 20 people in the last two days for passing information to "the enemy" and are back on the city streets policing the length of men's beards, residents say. Thousands of Islamic State fighters have run Mosul, the largest city under their control in Iraq and neighboring Syria, since they conquered large parts of northern Iraq in 2014. "I saw some of the Hisba elements of Daesh (Islamic State) checking people's beards and clothes and looking for smokers".
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| Hillary Clinton Didn’t Break the Glass Ceiling, but These Female Lawmakers Did Posted: 09 Nov 2016 11:19 AM PST  Last night was a historic evening in American politics even though Hillary Clinton did not succeed in her campaign to become the first woman president of the United States. On Tuesday, the nation elected its first Latina senator, along with its first female Thai American senator, South Asian American senator, and Indian American representative. The number of female women of color in the U.S. Senate will quadruple in the coming term.
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| Trump presidency buoys Israeli leader, rattles Palestinians Posted: 09 Nov 2016 11:02 AM PST  By Luke Baker and Nidal al-Mughrabi JERUSALEM/GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was one of the first Arab leaders to congratulate Donald Trump on his election win on Wednesday, but analysts say a Trump presidency may be profoundly negative for Palestinian aspirations while buoying Israel's confidence. Israel's right-wing prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, expressed confidence that he and Trump can work together to bring U.S.-Israeli relations to "new heights". In a statement, Abbas appeared to hold out some hope that Trump, with no clear foreign policy program, may turn a new leaf when it comes to the Middle East.
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| The Latest: Scandinavia is giving Trump benefit of the doubt Posted: 09 Nov 2016 10:38 AM PST  LONDON (AP) — The latest on world reaction to the U.S. presidential election (all times local):
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| Coalition strike 'kills 20 civilians' near IS-held Raqa Posted: 09 Nov 2016 10:14 AM PST  US-backed forces pressed offensives Wednesday on the Islamic State group's strongholds in Syria and Iraq, as an air strike by the American-led coalition reportedly killed 20 civilians near the Syrian city of Raqa. Supported by coalition air raids, Iraqi forces have pushed into IS's Mosul stronghold and a Kurdish-Arab militia alliance has been advancing on the jihadists' de facto Syrian capital Raqa. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a coalition strike overnight had hit the IS-held village of Al-Heisha, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Raqa.
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| IS turns to tunnels in last stand for Iraqi town Posted: 09 Nov 2016 10:12 AM PST  Iraqi Kurdish forces came under heavy fire from a salmon-coloured house on the edge of the Islamic State group-held town of Bashiqa, but when they stormed it, it was empty. "The fiercest resistance was coming from here," said Corporal Hawkar Weis, pointing to the two-storey house on the eastern side of Bashiqa, which is now under the control of Kurdish peshmerga forces. Peshmerga forces recaptured Bashiqa from IS this week, after street fighting and air strikes that heavily damaged many of the town's low, brightly painted homes and rows of shops.
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| Traces of Islamic State 'mass grave' rot in Iraqi spa town Posted: 09 Nov 2016 10:05 AM PST  By John Davison HAMMAM AL-ALIL, Iraq (Reuters) - On the banks of the Tigris river, men sit and watch, smiling with relief as Iraqi policemen, soldiers and local youths bathe in muddy spring water in a town that was recaptured from Islamic State just a few days ago. Residents of the town, Hammam al-Alil, say this is the site of a mass grave which Iraqi forces reported to have uncovered on Monday after driving out Islamic State militants. An operation involving the Iraqi army, Kurdish forces, Shi'ite and tribal militias and backed by U.S.-led air strikes has driven the jihadists out of many areas surrounding Mosul, with the aim of recapturing its last major city stronghold in Iraq.
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| Hillary Clinton Wasn't the Only Historic Female Candidate on the Ballot Election Day Posted: 09 Nov 2016 09:51 AM PST Sens-elect Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Kamala Harris, D-Calif., will join Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, come January. Hirono is the the first woman senator from Hawaii and the first female Asian-American senator in the country. |
| ‘Deplorables’ Rise Up to Reshape America Posted: 09 Nov 2016 09:02 AM PST "Deplorables" was, of course, the disparaging term Hillary Clinton at one point applied to some supporters of Donald Trump. Wearing such establishment disdain as a badge of honor, the Trump army cut a deep swath through the American electoral system Tuesday, propelling the Republican nominee to the most stunning victory in modern American history. In winning, Mr. Trump didn't merely vanquish Mrs. Clinton. |
| GOP keeps Senate control as Democrats fall short Posted: 09 Nov 2016 08:56 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans held onto their slim Senate majority, a stinging blow to Democrats in a night full of them. Democrats had been nearly certain of retaking control but saw their hopes fizzle as endangered GOP incumbents won in Missouri, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and even Democrat-friendly Wisconsin.
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| BATTLE FOR MOSUL Posted: 09 Nov 2016 08:42 AM PST Graphic shows the advance on Mosul, Iraq.; 2c x 4 inches; 96.3 mm x 101 mm; |
| IS 'high' command ordered Paris, Brussels attacks: prosecutor Posted: 09 Nov 2016 08:41 AM PST  The jihadist cell that launched deadly attacks on Paris and Brussels received its orders from "very high" in the Islamic State group command, Belgium's federal prosecutor said Wednesday. "We know that the orders came from the Islamic State zone.... We know that it went very high in the command," Frederic Van Leeuw said in an interview with AFP in Brussels.
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| Election 2016: twists and turns aplenty Posted: 09 Nov 2016 08:21 AM PST  Donald Trump is headed to the White House after defeating Hillary Clinton in a shock upset, concluding a bruising 18-month campaign unlike any other in modern American history. Clinton thought a controversy over her use of a private server to send email while secretary of state had been put to rest in July, when FBI chief James Comey recommended no criminal charges against her. All that changed in late October, just 11 days before the election, when Comey surprised Americans by announcing the discovery of new, potentially relevant emails without giving further details.
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| Syrian activists: Coalition strike kills 20 in IS-held area Posted: 09 Nov 2016 08:01 AM PST BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian activists are blaming the U.S.-led coalition for an early morning airstrike on Wednesday that killed at least 20 civilians in a part of Syria held by the Islamic State group. |
| What Trump's foreign critics said before he won Posted: 09 Nov 2016 06:51 AM PST  US president-elect Donald Trump was often scorned as he campaigned for office, and many of those who spoke harshly of him will now have to accommodate the unpredictable Republican tycoon. "If Donald Trump is elected, on the basis of what he has said already, and unless that changes, I think that it is without any doubt that he would be dangerous from an international point of view," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said on October 12. Zeid deplored Trump's "disturbing" comments, among them a call to adopt interrogation techniques that legal experts say amount to torture.
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| Trump: the man who tapped into American anger Posted: 09 Nov 2016 06:42 AM PST  When Donald Trump glided down an escalator in Trump Tower in June 2015 with his wife Melania and announced his bid for the White House, he was probably the only one in the room who thought he could win. In his final campaign rallies on Monday, Trump promised a Brexit-style win -- an allusion to the unexpected win of the 'leave' camp in the British referendum in June in favor of quitting the European Union. Trump has kept his word.
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| Wounded Warriors Help Families After Hurricane Matthew Posted: 09 Nov 2016 06:40 AM PST FAYETTEVILLE, N.C., Nov. 9, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hurricane Matthew roared up the coast of the Carolinas last month, causing flood damage estimated at more than $1 billion. In the storm's aftermath, Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) teamed up with other veterans service organizations to arrange events that help the communities they serve. WWP brought wounded warriors and their families to the Second Harvest Food Bank in Fayetteville shortly after the storm to provide for families that lost so much during Hurricane Matthew. |
| Trump victory likely to empower Iran's hardliners, worry investors Posted: 09 Nov 2016 06:23 AM PST  By Parisa Hafezi ANKARA (Reuters) - Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election is likely to empower hardliners in Iran who are pushing for global isolation and discourage already wary foreign investors. Republican Trump said during the election campaign that he would abandon the nuclear deal reached between Tehran and six world powers in 2015 that curbed Iran's nuclear program in return for the removal of international sanctions. "If Trump adopts hostile policies towards Iran, this will empower hardliners in Iran," a senior Iranian official told Reuters on condition of anonymity because of the political sensitivity of his comments.
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| Hillary Clinton: a tale of thwarted ambition Posted: 09 Nov 2016 05:48 AM PST  She lost to Barack Obama in the Democratic primaries in 2008. Now she has been humiliated in her second bid for the presidency by political novice and former TV reality show host Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton will go down in history as a woman of frustrated ambitions.
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| Leaders, people across the world react to Trump's victory Posted: 09 Nov 2016 04:21 AM PST  World leaders, presidents and prime ministers, officials, politicians, people from all walks of life and even the Taliban in Afghanistan are reacting to Donald Trump's astounding victory as America's 45th president.
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| US-led coalition raid 'kills 20 civilians' near Syria's Raqa Posted: 09 Nov 2016 03:39 AM PST  A US-led coalition air strike killed 20 civilians, including two children, overnight in a village near the Islamic State jihadist group's Syrian stronghold of Raqa, a monitor said Wednesday. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of people were also wounded in the strikes Tuesday night on the village of Al-Heisha, 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Raqa. "The toll has risen to 20 civilians, including nine women and two children," Observatory chief Rami Abdul Rahman said.
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| Germany expects U.S. to stand by long-standing commitment to Europe: defense minister Posted: 09 Nov 2016 03:33 AM PST Germany should act as a "bridge-builder" to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and help clear up unanswered questions about his views on conflicts in Iraq, Syria and U.S. ties to Europe, Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday. Von der Leyen, asked whether she feared that the United States under Trump could weaken its support for Europe or Germany in the face of a heightened threat from Russia, told Reuters that she expected Washington to stick to its longstanding commitment to trans-Atlantic ties. |
| UAE's Dana Gas to review Egypt investment if not repaid dues Posted: 09 Nov 2016 03:21 AM PST  By David French DUBAI (Reuters) - Dana Gas will review its 2017 investment plans for Egypt if the North African country doesn't repay the full amount it owes the United Arab Emirates-based energy firm by the end of the year, its chief executive said on Wednesday. Patrick Allman-Ward was speaking after the firm swung to a profit in the third quarter, halting a run of poor earnings performances, as it benefited from interest contributions on crude receivables from the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Dana has been hamstrung in recent quarters as it awaits receivables owed in both Egypt and Iraqi Kurdistan, following political and economic turbulence in both places which have delayed payments.
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| Analysis: Trump's win a shock to the system Posted: 09 Nov 2016 03:13 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — A shockwave.
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| 'I'm very afraid': Muslim shock as Trump clinches victory Posted: 09 Nov 2016 01:47 AM PST  Will America attack Muslim countries again?" asked Indonesian activist Alijah Diete, as Muslims reeled Wednesday from Donald Trump's shock US presidential election victory. With markets in a tailspin and the world looking on in shock, there was growing anxiety in Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh -- home to more than a third of the world's 1.5 billion Muslims -- about what his dramatic election win would mean for the Islamic world. Worried followers of the faith listed a litany of problems for Muslims they believed would come with a Trump presidency -- from the billionaire following through on a pledge to ban Muslims from entering the US, to a potential surge in Islamic extremism driven by tougher American policies.
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| EU parliament head hopes for 'rational cooperation' with Trump Posted: 09 Nov 2016 12:59 AM PST European Parliament President Martin Schulz on Wednesday said he hoped for a "rational cooperation" with Donald Trump as the next U.S. president after a bitter political campaign. "It will not be easy because during the election campaign we heard some elements of protectionism, also some worrying words about women, about minorities," said Schulz, a German Social Democrat. "But my experience is also that election campaigns are different from the real politics during a term of the president so I hope that we will get back to a rational cooperation," he said in televised remarks. |
| Republicans maintain grip on power in US Congress Posted: 09 Nov 2016 12:52 AM PST  Republicans thwarted Democratic efforts to retake Congress in Tuesday's historic US election, using a show of conservative force to maintain control of the Senate and House of Representatives. Riding the coattails of populist Republican nominee Donald Trump, who proved no drag on fellow conservatives as he steamrolled to White House victory over Hillary Clinton, the party managed to repel the Democrats' sharp threat in the 100-member Senate. The chamber was in Republican hands, 54 to 46 and in danger of sliding into Democratic control.
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| Trump rides his movement to vindication and the White House Posted: 09 Nov 2016 12:50 AM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump awakened a movement of angry working-class voters fed up with political insiders and desperate for change. On Tuesday, that movement propelled him to the White House.
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