| France marks 1 year since Paris attacks, wary and watched Posted: 13 Nov 2016 03:07 PM PST  PARIS (AP) — Less insouciant, more policed — France is a changed place since Islamic State extremists killed 130 people in the country's deadliest attacks a year ago. Fearing it's becoming more divided, too, survivors and victims' families marked Sunday's anniversary of the violence by pleading for national unity instead.
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| Factbox: Trump taps Priebus as chief of staff, weighs other major hires Posted: 13 Nov 2016 03:02 PM PST By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump chose Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus as White House chief of staff and named Stephen Bannon, former head of the conservative web site Breitbart News, as his chief strategist and senior counselor. Trump, who will take office on Jan. 20 and succeed Democratic President Barack Obama, will also look to fill other top administration jobs in the coming weeks. Below are people mentioned as contenders for senior roles. ... |
| Gasps, tears as Iraqis return to IS-destroyed parish Posted: 13 Nov 2016 02:06 PM PST  KARAMLIS, Iraq (AP) — There were gasps, followed by tears at a small church in northern Iraq as a group of Christians returned to their parish Sunday to find that everything had been destroyed, including the statue of the Virgin Mary, which Islamic State militants had decapitated before they left.
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| Iraqi troops say recapture Nimrud, site of Assyrian city Posted: 13 Nov 2016 01:38 PM PST By Dominic Evans and Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi soldiers recaptured the town of Nimrud on Sunday and the nearby ruins of the 3,000-year-old Assyrian city which was overrun and bulldozed two years ago by Islamic State militants. Nimrud, once the capital of an empire stretching across the ancient Middle East, is one of several historic sites looted and ransacked by the militants when they seized large parts of northern Iraq two years ago. The militant group, whose ultra-hardline doctrine deems the country's pre-Islamic religious heritage idolatrous, released video footage last year showing its fighters bulldozing, drilling and blowing up murals and statues at Nimrud. |
| Sorrowful France marks first anniversary of Paris massacre Posted: 13 Nov 2016 01:37 PM PST  France on Sunday marked the first anniversary of the Paris attacks with sombre ceremonies and painful memories for the relatives of the 130 people killed. The day of sorrow began under grey morning skies as President Francois Hollande led commemorations at the sites where jihadist killers unleashed a bloodbath. Hollande's first duty was to unveil a plaque outside the Stade de France, to commemorate Manuel Dias, 63, killed by a suicide bomber outside the national stadium as France played Germany at football that fateful evening.
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| Mosul area retaken, but still danger of IS attack Posted: 13 Nov 2016 01:28 PM PST  A black Humvee speeds down a dusty road in eastern Mosul carrying two boys: one is dead, and the other's leg has been torn open by the same mortar strike. "Save me, save me!" yells 12-year-old Mohammed, his legs covered in blood, as two men carry him from the armoured vehicle to a green canvas cot at a dusty, open air field hospital. It is too late for Shafiq, 15, who was standing with Mohammed when the mortar rounds struck.
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| Iraqi forces say recapture ancient city of Nimrud Posted: 13 Nov 2016 12:11 PM PST  Iraqi forces said on Sunday they had recaptured the site of an ancient Assyrian city blown up by the Islamic State group, as they battled the jihadists south of Mosul. The troops pushed towards Nimrud last week as they pressed an offensive begun on October 17 to recapture Iraq's second city, which the jihadists seized along with swathes of Iraq and Syria in mid-2014. A Kurdish-Arab alliance is pursuing a twin offensive against the other major city still under IS control, Raqa in Syria, and a US-led coalition is backing both assaults with air strikes.
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| Moviegoers rush to 'Doctor Strange,' 'Arrival' post-election Posted: 13 Nov 2016 12:09 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — Moviegoers drained by the drama of the presidential election sought refuge at the movies over the weekend, where ticket sales were robust for just about everything.
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| Bahraini politician faces charges after AP interview Posted: 13 Nov 2016 11:48 AM PST NEW YORK (AP) — A secular political leader in Bahrain was charged Sunday with "inciting hatred" against the island's rulers after giving an interview to The Associated Press during a recent visit by Britain's Prince Charles, an activist and his party said. |
| Migrants stopped at Serbia's border with Croatia Posted: 13 Nov 2016 11:29 AM PST  A group of migrants who had marched for two days from the Serbian capital Belgrade were stopped on Sunday at the border with Croatia, a European Union member which said would not allow illegal crossings. Some 150 migrants, reported as being mostly from Afghanistan and Pakistan, left Belgrade on Friday to walk about 125 km (80 miles) to the Croatian border, demanding free and secure passage to Western Europe.
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| Arrest is 1 of several Ohio extremism cases in recent years Posted: 13 Nov 2016 10:55 AM PST  COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The arrest last week of an Ohio man on charges of trying to fly to Libya to join the Islamic State group is one of several terrorism cases in the state in the past couple of years. Nationally, FBI Director James Comey has said, preventing extremist attacks remains the agency's top priority.
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| Trump's views appeal to Americans looking for 'common sense' Posted: 13 Nov 2016 10:42 AM PST  CHICAGO (AP) — The voters who made possible Donald Trump's victory included people who consider themselves moderates and came around to Trump after supporting other candidates.
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| Iraqi troops enter town of famed ancient ruins near Mosul Posted: 13 Nov 2016 10:08 AM PST  Iraqi troops entered a town south of Mosul on Sunday where Islamic State militants destroyed artefacts at a nearby ancient Assyrian archaeological site, while special forces fended off suicide bombers ...
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| Iraqi civilians stranded north of Mosul grow desperate Posted: 13 Nov 2016 09:29 AM PST By Stephen Kalin BAYBUKH, Iraq (Reuters) - Hundreds of civilians who fled fighting near Islamic State-controlled Mosul last week are stranded without basic humanitarian assistance, underlining the challenges of the largest military operation in Iraq in over a decade. Families have been living for up to six days in abandoned homes and a school building in the village of Baybukh, about 6 km (4 miles) from the frontline at Mosul's northern border. The army is fighting within sight of city neighborhoods, but advances have been slowed by the presence of civilians who officers say are being used by the militants as human shields. |
| Box Office: 'Doctor Strange' stays on top With $43 million, 'Arrival' impresses Posted: 13 Nov 2016 08:35 AM PST  By Brent Lang LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) - Alien invasion thriller "Arrival" capitalized on strong reviews to score an impressive debut, while Marvel's "Doctor Strange" topped the box office for the second consecutive weekend. DreamWorks Animation's "Trolls," another holdover, came in second, earning $35 million to bring its stateside haul to $94 million after two weeks of release. "Arrival" took third, easily outpacing pre-release tracking with a debut of $24 million.
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| In Iraq village, children reclaim their school after IS Posted: 13 Nov 2016 08:23 AM PST  Two bullets!" This is how the children of the small Iraqi village of Jaraf were taught mathematics during two years of jihadist rule. On Saturday, a neighbour opened the gate of their school for the first time since the Islamic State (IS) group was forced out by Iraqi forces last week. The children took over the building and were soon playing football with soldiers in the main hall and jubilantly ripping up their IS textbooks.
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| Iraq troops aim to tighten noose on Islamic State in Mosul Posted: 13 Nov 2016 08:16 AM PST  By Stephen Kalin BAWIZA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi soldiers fighting just north of Mosul, within sight of city neighborhoods, said on Sunday they were ready to tighten the noose around Islamic State militants waging a brutal defense of their Iraqi stronghold. Four weeks into the campaign to crush Islamic State in Mosul, the city is almost surrounded but the jihadists' defenses have so far been breached only to the east, where they have battled elite troops for control of around a dozen districts. The battle for Mosul, the biggest city held by the ultra-hardline Sunni Islamist group in Iraq and Syria, is the largest military operation in Iraq in a decade of turmoil unleashed by the 2003 U.S. invasion which toppled Saddam Hussein.
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| Trump's election leaves American Muslims reeling and scared Posted: 13 Nov 2016 07:05 AM PST  On the morning after the election, Alia Ali had a sickening feeling as she headed to her job as a secretary at a New York City public school, her hijab in place as usual. Ali is a Muslim who lives and works in one of the most diverse places in the U.S., and yet the ascension of Donald Trump to the White House left her wondering how other Americans really viewed her.
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| City of Nimrud, jewel of ancient Iraq Posted: 13 Nov 2016 05:15 AM PST The Assyrian city of Nimrud, located in an area Iraqi forces said was recaptured during the operation to retake jihadist-held Mosul, is one of the region's most important archaeological sites. Built in the 13th century BC, the city on the Tigris river about 30 kilometres (18 miles) southeast of Mosul once served as capital of the Assyrian empire. In the video, militants with sledgehammers and power tools broke artefacts before rigging the site with large barrels of what appeared to be explosives. |
| Iraqi Kurds' destruction of Arab villages could be war crime: HRW Posted: 13 Nov 2016 03:53 AM PST  Iraqi Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State in northern Iraq unlawfully destroyed Arab homes in scores of towns and villages in what may amount to a war crime, U.S.-based rights group Human Rights Watch said on Sunday. The Kurdish peshmerga and Iraqi armed forces have faced a common enemy in Islamic State since the militants took over large parts of Iraq in 2014.
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| Detained Russia suspects plotted 'Paris-style' attacks: reports Posted: 13 Nov 2016 03:37 AM PST  Suspects detained by Russian authorities were plotting simultaneous "Paris-style" attacks on Moscow and Saint Petersburg, local media reported on Sunday, the first anniversary of the massacre in the French capital. The FSB security service, the KGB's successor, announced Saturday it had detained 10 citizens of Central Asian states who planned "high-profile acts of sabotage and terror" in the two Russian cities. Saint Petersburg's Fontanka.ru news site reported Sunday that the seven people taken into custody in the city were suspected of planning attacks on two large shopping centres, citing official sources.
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| The Latest: Iraqi forces drive IS from Nimrud Posted: 13 Nov 2016 03:06 AM PST  MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — The Latest on the Iraqi offensive to retake Mosul (all times local):
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| Islamic State's Pakistan attack highlights changing tactics Posted: 13 Nov 2016 03:02 AM PST  By Asad Hashim and Gul Yousafzai ISLAMABAD/QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - The second deadly attack in Pakistan claimed by Islamic State's leadership in a month shows a swift rise of the movement by partnering with local sectarian groups, analysts say, even as an official on Sunday denied IS has a Pakistan presence. Islamic State's Arabic-language news service in the Middle East claimed responsibility for the bombing of a Muslim shrine on Saturday, which killed 52 people and wounded scores more in the southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan. "Right now, in Pakistan, and especially in the cities, wherever there are attacks taking place, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Al Alami is cooperating with them either directly or indirectly," spokesman Ali bin Sufyan told Reuters via instant messaging.
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| Fragile army gains in Mosul leave residents exposed Posted: 13 Nov 2016 01:25 AM PST  The fierce ebb and flow of battle in Mosul's eastern districts is leaving residents feeling in constant threat, even after army advances in their neighborhoods, as counter-attacks by Islamic State jihadists often put them straight back on the front line. Special forces and a tank division fighting to expand their foothold in the east of the city for nearly two weeks have faced determined opposition from the militants who have launched waves of suicide bombers, sniper attacks and ambushes against them. The army has said it controls or has advanced in nearly a dozen districts in Mosul.
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| AP EXPLAINS: How Paris was attacked a year ago, what changed Posted: 12 Nov 2016 11:15 PM PST  PARIS (AP) — A year ago the Islamic State group brought its extremist war to Paris, seeding terror with attacks on a rock concert, the national stadium and bustling sidewalk cafes. Here is a look at the deadly events on the night of Nov. 13, 2015, and their lasting consequences for the world.
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| Islamic State group flourishes and recruits in Pakistan Posted: 12 Nov 2016 10:24 PM PST  ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Islamic State group is increasing its presence in Pakistan, recruiting Uzbek militants, attracting disgruntled Taliban fighters and partnering with one of Pakistan's most violent sectarian groups, according to police officers, Taliban officials and analysts.
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| Australia, U.S. announce refugee resettlement deal Posted: 12 Nov 2016 07:17 PM PST  By Harry Pearl and Colin Packham SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia has reached a resettlement deal with the United States for refugees being held in Papua New Guinea and Nauru after attempting to reach Australia by boat, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Sunday. Under Australia's tough border security laws, asylum seekers intercepted trying to reach the country by boat are sent for processing at detention camps on Papua New Guinea's Manus island and the tiny South Pacific island nation of Nauru.
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