| Trump wraps up marathon weekend cabinet search Posted: 20 Nov 2016 05:34 PM PST  US President-elect Donald Trump wrapped up a busy weekend of meetings with cabinet hopefuls at his golf club retreat outside New York, hinting new appointments are imminent. It was not clear if Trump planned to make any announcements late Sunday, either from Bedminster or once he makes the 90-minute drive back to Trump Tower in Manhattan.
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| Canada oil sands Asia export dream faces port bottleneck Posted: 20 Nov 2016 04:34 PM PST  By Catherine Ngai VANCOUVER (Reuters) - The bullish view for Suncor Energy Inc , Cenovus Energy Inc and other Canadian energy producers calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by next month to approve a major pipeline expansion to the west coast, boosting sales of land-locked oil sands crude to Asia. This bottleneck marks one of the more under appreciated hurdles facing Canadian oil sands crude being shipped from its busiest port of Vancouver, these shipping brokers say.
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| Retired general Mattis a top candidate for Pentagon chief Posted: 20 Nov 2016 04:11 PM PST  By Steve Holland BEDMINSTER, N.J. (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday assessed several more contenders for top U.S. posts including Chris Christie and Rudy Giuliani, as blunt-spoken retired Marine Corps General James Mattis emerged as a leading candidate for defense secretary. On Saturday, he conferred with Mattis and Mitt Romney, formerly a fierce Trump critic now under consideration for secretary of state. Summing up two days of talks as he said goodbye to retired U.S. Marines Corps General John Kelly on Sunday evening, Trump said: "We really had some great meetings, and you'll be hearing about them soon." Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said no decisions would be announced on Sunday night.
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| Who is the MEK? Posted: 20 Nov 2016 03:17 PM PST WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Formed in 1965, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the largest and best-organized Iranian opposition movement, is the main component of the coalition, National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which acts as the parliament-in-exile. The MEK has been instrumental in exposing Iran's nuclear weapons program. |
| Trump touts retired general as potential defense secretary Posted: 20 Nov 2016 01:06 PM PST  Trump's recent choices for other key posts -- attorney general, national security adviser and chief White House strategist -- have come under fire on civil rights grounds from Democrats and other critics. "We're going to have a great day.
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| Will Trump's plan to register Muslims make it to The White House? Posted: 20 Nov 2016 12:46 PM PST Many have likened Trump's campaign promise targetting Muslims to the registries used to facilitate the mass murder of Jews during the Holocaust or worried that such lists could lead to a resurrection of World War II internment camps the US created to hold Japanese Americans. "Look I'm not going to rule out anything," Reince Priebus told Meet the Press Sunday morning. Trump has floated policies ranging from temporary bans on all Muslims entering the country to what he called "extreme vetting," citing the perceived danger that refugees from war-torn areas like Syria could pose to national security. |
| Possible Pentagon chief Mattis: a 'Mad Dog' with a big library Posted: 20 Nov 2016 11:48 AM PST  General James "Mad Dog" Mattis, who for years oversaw US war efforts in the Middle East and was touted Sunday by President-elect Donald Trump as a possible defense secretary, did not come by his nickname lightly. Mattis, who is 66, commanded a marine battalion during the First Gulf War and a marine division during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In 2010, the tough-talking native of Washington state was named to head the US Central Command.
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| Box Office: 'Fantastic Beasts' Debuts to Magical $75 Million Posted: 20 Nov 2016 11:04 AM PST  By Brent Lang LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) - "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" dominated the weekend box office, debuting to a boisterous $75 million and launching a new cinematic franchise. It confirms Warner Bros.' high hopes for the property and its decision to back five installments in the fantasy series. "Fantastic Beasts" is a spinoff of the Harry Potter films, but instead of Hogwarts, it unfolds in 1920s New York City and features an entirely new cast of wizards and mythical creatures.
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| Iraqi firefighters battle to tame IS oil well fires Posted: 20 Nov 2016 10:38 AM PST  Clad in red helmets and surgical masks, the firefighters emerged exhausted from the massive column of smoke streaming almost incessantly out of an oil well in northern Iraq. Along with oil engineers and police officers, firefighters have been working around-the-clock to extinguish more than a dozen wells lit by Islamic State group jihadists in August. IS fighters set the fields ablaze to slow government forces advancing on Qayyarah as part of their drive to wrest back Mosul from the clutches of the jihadists.
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| Iraqi forces dig in as Mosul battle rages Posted: 20 Nov 2016 10:37 AM PST  MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi troops on Sunday fortified their positions in Mosul neighborhoods retaken from the Islamic State group as their advance toward the city center was slowed by sniper fire and suicide bombings, as well as concern over the safety of civilians.
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| Mosul escapees tell of human shield ordeal Posted: 20 Nov 2016 09:18 AM PST  Iraqi civilians who escaped from the Islamic State group stronghold of Mosul said jihadists forced them from their villages and drove them "like sheep" to use as human shields. Bashar huddled with his family on the back of an Iraqi security forces pick-up truck after finally fleeing an area of Mosul still held by IS. As government forces earlier this month advanced on the city -- the last major population centre held by IS in Iraq -- the family was herded with residents from outlying villages into Mosul by the retreating jihadists as an insurance against the US-led coalition air strikes and Iraqi shelling.
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| Millions throng Iraq shrine amid huge security deployment Posted: 20 Nov 2016 06:00 AM PST  Millions of Shiite Muslim pilgrims beating their chests in mourning thronged the Iraqi city of Karbala Sunday under the protection of thousands of members of the security forces. The Arbaeen pilgrimage is one of the world's largest religious events and is seen as a major potential target for suicide bombers from the Islamic State jihadist group. The commemoration of Imam Hussein's death in 680 AD will culminate on Monday but millions were already packing the city hosting the shrine of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson.
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| Merkel: from austerity queen to democratic torch-bearer Posted: 20 Nov 2016 05:51 AM PST  A Protestant pastor's daughter who grew up behind the Iron Curtain, Angela Merkel rose to become the "chancellor of Europe" who has outlasted a generation of world leaders. Unlike her one-time partners on the global stage, George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Jacques Chirac and Silvio Berlusconi, Merkel is still in power and running for another four-year term. During her reign, she has taken centre stage in Europe's debt turmoil and refugee crisis, sparred with Russia over Ukraine and now, after Donald Trump's election, is being widely hailed as the torch-bearer of western liberal democracy.
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| Church in northern Iraq reopened after two years under IS control Posted: 20 Nov 2016 02:29 AM PST  By Mohammed al-Ramahi and Azad Lashkari BASHIQA, Iraq (Reuters) - The bells have rung out after two years of silence in the Mar Korkeis church in the town of Bashiqa, some 15 km (10 miles) north of Mosul, Islamic State's last major city stronghold in Iraq. Kurdish Peshmerga fighters retook the town on Nov. 7, ending two years of rule by the hardline Sunni group which persecuted Christians and other minorities in the Nineveh plains, one of the world's oldest centres of Christianity. Women trilled to celebrate the moment when a new crucifix was erected on the church, replacing one that was broken by the Islamic State militants.
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| Meeting Putin, Philippines' Duterte rails at Western 'hypocrisy' Posted: 19 Nov 2016 11:00 PM PST  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte lashed out at Western "bullying" and "hypocrisy" during his first meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and said when it came to alliances, the United States could not be trusted. In talks with Putin during an Asia-Pacific summit in Lima, Duterte held nothing back in his views about major powers like the United States, suggesting he is sticking to his guns on re-aligning foreign policy away from Washington, despite his warm words for incoming U.S. president, Donald Trump. "Historically, I have been identified with the Western world.
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| Top Asian News 3:53 a.m. GMT Posted: 19 Nov 2016 07:53 PM PST SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean prosecutors on Sunday said they believe President Park Geun-hye conspired in criminal activities of a secretive confidante who allegedly manipulated government affairs and exploited her presidential ties to amass an illicit fortune — a damning revelation that may convince opposition parties to push for her impeachment. Prosecutors are planning to soon question Park, who has immunity but can be investigated, said Lee Young-ryeol, chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. Prosecutors on Sunday formally charged Park's longtime friend, Choi Soon-sil, on suspicion of interfering with state affairs and bullying companies into giving tens of millions of dollars to foundations and businesses she controlled. |
| Philippines' Duterte meets 'hero' Putin Posted: 19 Nov 2016 06:33 PM PST  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte met the man he calls his hero, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and unburdened his gripes about US "hypocrisy," "bullying" and foreign wars. Duterte, who has publicly expressed his admiration for the Russian leader, said the Cold War had stood between their two countries as the Philippines, a former US colony, was historically identified with the West. Since taking office in June, the foul-mouthed Duterte has upended the Philippines' historical military alliance with the United States, repeatedly saying he was shifting toward China and Russia as he embarks on an independent foreign policy.
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| The Latest: Philippine leader lambastes US, others in West Posted: 19 Nov 2016 06:05 PM PST  LIMA, Peru (AP) — The latest on the summit of the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru (all times local):
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