| Trump could easily erase much of Obama's foreign policy legacy Posted: 10 Nov 2016 05:22 PM PST  By Yeganeh Torbati and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama's foreign policy legacy rests in part on a foundation of unilateral actions that his successor Donald Trump could reverse with the stroke of a pen. Due to take office on Jan. 20, Trump, the winner in Tuesday's election, campaigned at times to dismantle Obama's nuclear deal with Iran and to reimpose sanctions Obama eased on Cuba. Trump also disagreed with foreign policy decisions that included the way Obama has deployed troops abroad to combat Islamist militant groups.
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| Top Asian News 12:58 a.m. GMT Posted: 10 Nov 2016 04:58 PM PST NEW DELHI (AP) — Throughout his campaign, Asian nations were a regular target of President-elect Donald Trump's speeches: China is a trade manipulator; Japan and Korea don't contribute enough for U.S. forces; the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the trade deal forged with 11 Pacific Rim nations, in part to isolate China, should never be ratified. His anger could be palpable. "We can't continue to allow China to rape our country." Trump said in a campaign rally, talking about Washington's trade deficit with Beijing. But he could also shift quickly, noting: "I'm not angry with China ... China's great!" So across Asia, politicians and analysts are wondering what role the Trump White House will play across the continent. |
| Obama asks for $11.6 billion more in supplemental defense budget Posted: 10 Nov 2016 03:44 PM PST  U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday sent a request to Congress for an additional $11.6 billion in supplemental war-related funding, which would include money to fight Islamic State militants and sustain high overseas troop levels. The request, detailed in a letter released by the White House, seeks an additional $5.8 billion for the Pentagon for military operations in Afghanistan and fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and an $5.8 billion for the State Department and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for fiscal 2017. Obama made the request just before Congress returns to Washington for its "lame duck" session before the new Congress starts in January.
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| Obama sends $11.6B anti-terror request to lame-duck Congress Posted: 10 Nov 2016 03:12 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Thursday asked Congress for $11.6 billion in additional war-related funding, including money to fight Islamic State militants, sustain higher overseas troop levels, and modernize the Afghan military's helicopter fleet.
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| California revives talk of secession with #Calexit, but it’s not the only one Posted: 10 Nov 2016 02:18 PM PST Once again, the idea of a California secession emerged on Wednesday as the hashtag #Calexit trended on social media. While some users may have merely used it as a medium to express their frustrations at the election results on Tuesday, the fringe movement calling for independence of California has actually existed for years, drawing support from some Californians who feel that their ideologies have diverged from the rest of the country so much that it has stalled their progress. "In our view, the United States of America represents so many things that conflict with Californian values, and our continued statehood means California will continue subsidizing the other states to our own detriment," wrote Yes California, a grass-roots organization that is hoping to put the issue on the 2019 ballot, in a statement. |
| World Chaos and World Order: Conversations With Henry Kissinger Posted: 10 Nov 2016 01:07 PM PST  What follows is an extended transcript of several conversations on foreign policy I had with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger ahead of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, which formed the basis of a story in the December issue of The Atlantic. That story, along with an interview on Kissinger's reaction to the surprise electoral victory of Donald Trump, can be found here. The transcript below has been condensed and edited.
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| Why the Trump White House may not change much in Syria Posted: 10 Nov 2016 11:53 AM PST Most of the world is nervously mulling the implications of Donald Trump's against-the-odds presidential win on Tuesday. No one really knows what Mr. Trump's Syrian policy is going to be. Trump has been vague about his priorities there, both in terms of the survival of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his approach to fighting the extremist Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIS). |
| Syria Kurd women fighters out for revenge against jihadists Posted: 10 Nov 2016 11:39 AM PST  Headed for the front line near Syria's Raqa, 23-year-old Kurdish fighter Kaziwar has just one thought on her mind: to make her jihadist foes pay for their treatment of women. "Our taking part in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) is revenge for the women who were kidnapped in Sinjar (in Iraq) and sold (as sex slaves) in markets," said the brown-haired woman riding a four-wheel-drive. The YPJ has been fighting alongside male comrades in an offensive launched last Saturday to recapture the city of Raqa which the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group has made its de facto capital.
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| Kurdish-led fighters marching against IS near Syria's Raqqa Posted: 10 Nov 2016 11:21 AM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — A Syrian Kurdish-led force fighting the Islamic State group north of the country is on the verge of surrounding a wide area north of the IS stronghold of Raqqa, a spokeswoman for the group said Thursday.
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| Iraq troops slow Mosul advance as they clear neighborhoods Posted: 10 Nov 2016 11:05 AM PST  BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi troops fired at positions held by the Islamic State group in and around the northern city of Mosul on Thursday but did not advance as they regrouped and cleared neighborhoods once occupied by the extremists, military officials said.
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| Macedonian police say Islamist attacks foiled Posted: 10 Nov 2016 10:32 AM PST  Macedonian police said Thursday that Islamist terror attacks had been foiled in the Balkan country as they announced the arrest of two citizens in a wider regional crackdown. Mitko Cavkov, chief of public security, did not give details of the planned attacks, but his announcement followed reports of another strike planned at an Albanian football stadium this weekend during a match against Israel. Since Saturday, 13 people have been arrested in neighbouring Albania and Kosovo accused of plotting attacks and recruiting for the Islamic State (IS) group.
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| Serbia extradites pregnant jihadi suspect to Netherlands Posted: 10 Nov 2016 09:31 AM PST AMSTERDAM (AP) — Serbian authorities have extradited a pregnant woman to the Netherlands who is suspected of trying to travel to Syria or Iraq to join jihad fighters there. |
| Tycoon as president: Donald Trump's conflicts of interest Posted: 10 Nov 2016 08:49 AM PST  Head of a business empire and now US president: by combining these two roles, billionaire Donald Trump could face conflicts of interest of an scale unprecedented in American political history. The Republican elected to the White House Tuesday made his fortune by building a network of hotels, office towers and luxury apartment buildings as the head of the Trump Organization. The Trump Organization is not publicly traded, so many of its activities are closed to scrutiny.
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| Iraq forces accused of killing, torturing civilians south of Mosul Posted: 10 Nov 2016 08:31 AM PST  Iraqi government forces killed and tortured civilians south of Mosul, rights groups said on Thursday, in the first such reports of alleged abuse in a U.S.-backed campaign to retake the city from Islamic State. Amnesty International said up to six people were found dead last month in the Shura and Qayyara sub-districts who security forces suspected of ties to the ultra-hardline jihadist group which seized a third of Iraqi territory in 2014. "Men in federal police uniform have carried out multiple unlawful killings, apprehending and then deliberately killing in cold blood residents in villages south of Mosul," said Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnesty's Beirut office.
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| Battle for IS-held Mosul nears ancient site Posted: 10 Nov 2016 08:28 AM PST  The battle for Iraq's second city Mosul neared the remains of ancient Nimrud on Thursday, as the offensive against the Islamic State group's Syrian stronghold Raqa was hampered by a sandstorm. Backed by a US-led coalition, Iraqi forces and a Kurdish-Arab militia alliance are advancing on Mosul and Raqa in separate assaults aimed at driving IS from its last major bastions. Launched on October 17, the Iraqi offensive has seen federal forces and Kurdish peshmerga fighters advance on Mosul from the east, south and north, pushing inside the eastern city limits last week.
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| One year after Paris attacks, how has France changed? Posted: 10 Nov 2016 08:24 AM PST  Opposite sits the Petit Cambodge restaurant, another business thriving again after being targeted by the Islamic State (IS) extremists who killed 130 people during their rampage across the French capital. Sarkozy has gone as far as proposing preventative detention for anyone suspected by security forces of being a radical, even if they have not committed a crime.
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| Year-old Paris attack probe sights new suspect, but mastermind elusive Posted: 10 Nov 2016 08:14 AM PST  By Chine Labbé PARIS (Reuters) - French investigators believe they have identified a Belgian militant in Syria as a coordinator of the deadly Islamic State (IS) attack on Paris, but a year on they are still struggling to pinpoint the mastermind. A painstaking investigation led by an exceptionally large team of six judicial magistrates has inched forward in search of the "remote-controllers" - those who pulled the strings from abroad, at IS bases in Iraq and Syria or elsewhere. A source close to the investigation told Reuters this week that a new name had been added to the web of militants involved as coordinators - Oussama Atar, a 32-year-old from a Brussels suburb, now believed to be in Syria.
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| Belgium freezes assets of 15 people linked to terrorism Posted: 10 Nov 2016 07:54 AM PST BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium has frozen the assets of 15 people allegedly linked to terrorism, including a Belgian man identified as being a possible organizer of the deadly attacks on Paris and Brussels. |
| Islamist extremists revel in Trump triumph Posted: 10 Nov 2016 07:38 AM PST  Islamist extremists have responded to Donald Trump's election victory with glee over his reputation as a loose cannon who has been openly hostile to Muslims. The Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, which is being pummelled by a US-led military coalition in Iraq and Syria, had said ahead of the US presidential vote that there was no substantial difference between Trump and Hillary Clinton. "I am optimistic about Trump's victory because he is a stupid, arrogant, hubristic bull who is dumber than (George W) Bush," said another.
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| Iraqi forces preparing advance on south Mosul Posted: 10 Nov 2016 07:26 AM PST  By John Davison and Dominic Evans SOUTH OF MOSUL/BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces are preparing to advance toward Mosul airport on the city's southern edge to increase pressure on Islamic State militants fighting troops who breached their eastern defenses, officers said on Thursday. The rapid response forces, part of a coalition seeking to crush the jihadists in the largest city under their control in Iraq or Syria, took the town of Hammam al-Alil, just over 15 km (10 miles) south of Mosul, on Monday. More than three weeks after the U.S.-backed campaign to retake Mosul was launched, the city is almost surrounded by the coalition of nearly 100,000 fighters.
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| Every Day is Veteran's Day with Special Dogs That Heal Posted: 10 Nov 2016 05:17 AM PST PALMETTO, Fla., Nov. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "My dog saved my life" is a phrase heard every day from veterans. "Our dogs improve the lives of our veterans every day with their unconditional love, acceptance and support," says Kim Hyde, manager of one of the organization's service dog training teams. |
| Japanese journalist denies allegation he is IS sympathizer Posted: 10 Nov 2016 03:11 AM PST  TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese journalist deported from Iraq denied on Thursday allegations by Kurdish officials that he is a sympathizer of the Islamic State extremist group.
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| OPEC pumping oil at record levels ahead of crunch meeting: IEA Posted: 10 Nov 2016 02:55 AM PST  Output by OPEC oil producers has reached record levels, the International Energy Agency said Thursday, raising fears a global oil glut will continue to weigh on markets unless the cartel agrees on a cut. Production by the 14 members of OPEC rose to a record 33.83 million barrels a day in October, the IEA said, just weeks ahead of talks aimed at hammering out a deal to curb production. The accord aims to stabilise prices that have dramatically fallen since 2014, deeply hurting producers across the board, but its details are to be determined at OPEC's meeting on November 30 in Vienna.
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| Global oil output hit new record pending promised OPEC cuts Posted: 10 Nov 2016 02:19 AM PST  PARIS (AP) — The International Energy Agency says global oil production climbed higher in October — even after OPEC pledged to curb output in hopes of driving up prices.
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| Trump triumph deals body blow to US brand Posted: 10 Nov 2016 01:44 AM PST  With his stunning election triumph, Donald Trump has emblazoned his name in golden letters on the brand of the United States. Trump's surprise election could have far-reaching effects for the US image with potential consequences for companies, universities and tourism. Most foreigners presumably can differentiate between politics and people, and America's best-known entertainers overwhelmingly backed rival Hillary Clinton.
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| China state media warns Trump against isolationism, calls for status quo Posted: 09 Nov 2016 11:56 PM PST  Chinese state media has warned the U.S. president-elect against isolationism and interventionism, calling instead for the United States to actively work with China to maintain the international status quo. President-elect Donald Trump threatened to tear up trade deals and pursue a more unilateral foreign policy under his "America First" principle during a tempestuous election campaign.
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| Depleted by coup, Turkish air force seeks to lure back seasoned pilots Posted: 09 Nov 2016 11:08 PM PST  By Humeyra Pamuk ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's air force in September made a public appeal to hundreds of former pilots to return to its depleted ranks to replace more than 350 airmen purged after July's failed coup. The call has largely gone unanswered, according to military officials and former pilots, as the deep divisions exposed by the coup attempt in Turkey's military and other institutions remain unhealed. Six pilots who left the air force over the past decade and would be eligible to return spoke to Reuters. Air force pilots played a major role in the abortive putsch, commandeering jets and helicopters that bombed parliament and threatened the aircraft of President Tayyip Erdogan.
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| 'Crashing waves' of jihadists fray soldiers' nerves in Mosul battle Posted: 09 Nov 2016 10:12 PM PST  By Dominic Evans and Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A week after his tank division punched through Islamic State defenses on the southeast edge of Mosul, an Iraqi army colonel says the fight to drive the militants out of their urban stronghold is turning into a nightmare. Against a well-drilled, mobile and brutally effective enemy, exploiting the cover of built-up neighborhoods and the city's civilian population, his tanks were useless, he said, and his men untrained for the urban warfare they face.
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| Critic's Notebook: 'Atlanta,' 'Better Things' and the Joys of Formula-Free Comedy Posted: 09 Nov 2016 09:00 PM PST The exceedingly rare and precious pleasure of watching the first seasons of FX's 'Atlanta' and 'Better Things' has been in never knowing, from week to week, what the shows might turn out to be. |
| Today in History Posted: 09 Nov 2016 08:01 PM PST Today in History |
| 'Unpredictable' Trump foreign policy leaves world guessing Posted: 09 Nov 2016 07:26 PM PST  Build a wall, make nice with Moscow, tear up free trade deals and force Washington's allies to pay more for their own security. Beyond a few broad isolationist and protectionist strokes, President-elect Donald Trump has not painted a detailed picture of his foreign policy. Now, with just ten weeks until he takes command of the world's sole superpower, Washington's friends and foes are seeking clues to his agenda.
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