| Trump names Haley, a foreign policy novice, as envoy to U.N. Posted: 23 Nov 2016 03:48 PM PST  By Roberta Rampton and Doina Chiacu WEST PALM BEACH, Fla./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump on Wednesday named South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, a former critic with little foreign policy experience, to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations at a time of uncertainty over America's international role under his presidency. Haley, one of two women chosen so far for a job in Trump's Cabinet, is "a proven dealmaker, and we look to be making plenty of deals. The 44-year-old daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley represents what some Republicans hope could be the new face of their party: a younger, more diverse generation of leaders.
|
| A look at the last 4 US ambassadors to the United Nations Posted: 23 Nov 2016 01:02 PM PST  President-elect Donald Trump's choice for United Nations ambassador, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, has limited foreign policy experience. That's in contrast to other U.N. ambassadors who had deep roots in international affairs at the time of their nominations.
|
| Factbox: Trump picks women for U.N. ambassador, education secretary Posted: 23 Nov 2016 12:34 PM PST (Reuters) - Republican U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday named the first women to his team of top officials: South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley for U.N. ambassador, and school choice advocate Betsy DeVos for education secretary. All but the national security adviser post require U.S. Senate confirmation: U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: GOVERNOR NIKKI HALEY Haley, a 44-year-old Republican and the daughter of Indian immigrants, has been governor of South Carolina since 2011 and has little experience in foreign policy or the federal government. EDUCATION SECRETARY: BETSY DEVOS DeVos, 58, is a billionaire Republican donor, a former chair of the Michigan Republican Party and an advocate for the privatization of education. |
| Trumps picks women, including a critic, for cabinet Posted: 23 Nov 2016 12:30 PM PST  Donald Trump began to broaden the base of his future cabinet Wednesday, nominating two conservative women, including a critic, after his earlier picks rewarded campaign loyalists. Trump's nomination of South Carolina's 44-year-old governor, Nikki Haley, as US ambassador to the United Nations will be seen as a sign he is ready to forgive some foes to raise a bigger tent. Trump's one-time presidential rival, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, appeared to be next in line for the nod -- reportedly as housing secretary -- after he posted on social media that an announcement was imminent.
|
| Memoir of slain soldier's father Khizr Khan to be published Posted: 23 Nov 2016 12:20 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — Random House says it plans to publish a memoir by Khizr Khan, the immigrant from Pakistan who spoke at the Democratic National Convention about his Army captain son's combat death in Iraq and criticized the anti-Muslim rhetoric of then-Republican nominee Donald Trump.
|
| Contenders, picks for key jobs in Trump's administration Posted: 23 Nov 2016 12:10 PM PST (Reuters) - Donald Trump on Wednesday picked South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as his U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and wealthy Republican donor Betsy DeVos as education secretary. It was the latest move from the Republican president-elect as he works to fill administration positions before his Jan. 20 inauguration. His transition team said he might have another Cabinet-level announcement later in the day. Below are people mentioned as contenders for senior roles. See end of list for posts already filled. ... |
| Trump picks wealthy activist for education secretary Posted: 23 Nov 2016 11:28 AM PST  US President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he intends to nominate Betsy DeVos, a wealthy Republican campaigner for alternatives to public schools, as his education secretary. DeVos is the second woman Trump has tapped to fill a cabinet position. DeVos is a Republican megadonor from Michigan who has been active in promoting school choice, a movement that advocates the use of tax credits and vouchers to allow parents to opt out of the public school system.
|
| Scenes of panic as hundreds of Iraqis flee Mosul Posted: 23 Nov 2016 11:02 AM PST  MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — They came by the hundreds — men, women and children fleeing the battle for Mosul, some bloodied and crying out for help. So large was the crowd on the road that Iraqi troops initially ordered them back, worried that an Islamic State suicide bomber could be hiding among them.
|
| US Navy serves up turkey alongside sorties on Thanksgiving Posted: 23 Nov 2016 10:59 AM PST  ABOARD THE USS EISENHOWER (AP) — While millions of Americans celebrate Thanksgiving with family and home-cooked meals, the 5,200 sailors aboard the USS Eisenhower are busy launching fighter jets to strike Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria.
|
| High-profile French police site among terrorist suspects' targets: sources Posted: 23 Nov 2016 10:28 AM PST  A high-profile police site was among the potential targets in a foiled terrorist plot, according to a person arrested in France in connection with the plot, two sources close to the investigation said on Wednesday. France has been under a state of emergency since a wave of Islamist attacks last year, giving police wider powers, and the arrests come at a sensitive time ahead of next spring's presidential elections in which security will be a major theme. The sources said the information, for the moment highly tentative, came from one of five people still in custody after simultaneous police swoops in southern port city of Marseille and Strasbourg in northeast France last Saturday night.
|
| Civilians flee as Shi'ite fighters near flashpoint town near Mosul Posted: 23 Nov 2016 09:18 AM PST  By Isabel Coles and Saif Hameed ERBIL/BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - Thousands of Iraqi civilians have fled Tal Afar as Shi'ite paramilitary groups close in around the Islamic State-held town on the road between Mosul and Raqqa, the main cities of the militant group's self-styled caliphate in Iraq and Syria. The exodus from Tal Afar, 60 km (40 miles) west of Mosul, is worrying humanitarian organizations as some of the civilians are heading into insurgent territory, where aid cannot be sent to them, provincial officials said. Popular Mobilisation units, a coalition of mostly Iranian-backed militias, are trying to encircle Tal Afar, a largely ethnic Turkmen town, as part of the offensive to capture Mosul, Islamic State's last major stronghold in Iraq.
|
| Ex-legionnaire named by US as key figure in Paris attacks Posted: 23 Nov 2016 09:01 AM PST PARIS (AP) — A former French Legionnaire who rose through the ranks of the Islamic State extremist group has been named by the United States as a key figure in the Nov. 13, 2015, attacks in Paris and the leader of a 300-strong brigade of foreign jihadis. |
| US helps Kosovo in the fight against violent extremism Posted: 23 Nov 2016 08:48 AM PST PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The United States and Kosovo have agreed to cooperate in the fight against violent extremism. |
| Petraeus says willing to serve if Trump asks Posted: 23 Nov 2016 08:22 AM PST  David Petraeus, the retired general who led the CIA until his resignation under a cloud in 2012, said Wednesday he would serve in President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet if asked. "The only response can be: 'yes, Mr President,'" he told BBC Radio 4's Today program. A celebrated general, he led the US surge in Iraq from 2006 to 2008, and was later pulled from his post as head of US Central Command to lead the NATO force in Afghanistan in 2010.
|
| Trump set to redefine presidency's relationship with the press Posted: 23 Nov 2016 08:21 AM PST One probable outcome of the Donald Trump administration already seems clear: It's likely to redefine the relationship between the press and the US presidency. Tweet by tweet, candidate and President-elect Trump has been building his own direct connection to the nation's voters. To Trump, reporters are both a conduit and a prop. |
| Pleading innocence, wanted general says Turkey's purge ruining military Posted: 23 Nov 2016 08:13 AM PST  By Robin Emmott BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A sacked Turkish general, wanted in connection with a failed coup attempt in July, has told Reuters in an interview that the government's purge of top commanders and pilots is inflicting deep long-term damage on the second-biggest army in NATO. Mehmet Yalinalp, who was head of NATO's air command strategy in Germany at the time of the coup attempt, said he was fired a week later. "The impact is disastrous," Yalinalp said of the crackdown since the July 15 putsch, in which he denies involvement.
|
| Iraq forces cut off IS-held Mosul from Syria Posted: 23 Nov 2016 08:10 AM PST  Forces battling the Islamic State group in northern Iraq cut off the jihadists' last supply line from Mosul to Syria Wednesday, trapping them in the city for a bloody last stand. A day after the last major bridge over the Tigris in Mosul was bombed by the US-led coalition against IS, elite forces fighting in the east of the city also reported significant progress. To the west of Mosul, Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitary forces made a push to cut the road between two towns on the route heading to Syria, security officials said.
|
| Iraq willing to cut oil output in OPEC's plan to boost prices - minister Posted: 23 Nov 2016 07:48 AM PST BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq is willing to cut its crude oil output as part of OPEC's plan to reduce global supply and boost crude prices, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told reporters on Wednesday in Baghdad. |
| Egypt's Sisi expresses support for Syrian military Posted: 23 Nov 2016 07:27 AM PST  Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said he supports the Syrian military, a position at odds with his country's Gulf benefactors like Saudi Arabia. The former army chief, who has overseen a warming of ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's main backer Russia, made the comments during an interview aired Tuesday with Portuguese broadcaster RTP. The same with Syria and Iraq," he said, responding to a question on whether Egypt would contemplate a UN peacekeeping role in Syria.
|
| Arrest warrants for Iraq journalists over false report Posted: 23 Nov 2016 07:21 AM PST  A Baghdad court has issued arrest warrants for two correspondents with a Saudi newspaper over a false news report accusing Iranian pilgrims of sexually harassing Iraqi women. A senior source in Iraq's judiciary told AFP Wednesday that the warrants, based on the penal code's article 372 on religious hate crimes, were issued against the Asharq al-Awsat daily's two Baghdad-based Iraqi journalists. The article, published on Sunday in the London-based pan-Arab newspaper, caused an uproar in Iraq, where the prime minister and several other prominent figures issued public condemnations.
|
| FIFA suspensions caused by political interference Posted: 23 Nov 2016 06:32 AM PST Malaysia said on Wednesday it was considering pulling out of a soccer tournament co-hosted by Myanmar to protest its crackdown on ethnic Rohingya Muslims, risking a possible global ban by the sport's governing body, FIFA. The following are some cases where national football federations have been suspended after falling foul of FIFA statutes which ban, among other things, discrimination or interference by national governments. * Guatemala and Kuwait are both currently suspended by FIFA. |
| Human Guardians Warns State Sponsors of Global Terrorism: End Support Now or Face Consumer Boycott Posted: 23 Nov 2016 06:06 AM PST AMSTERDAM, Nov. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Human Guardians (http://humanguardians.com/), a new international organization committed to stopping terrorism in all its forms, has sent an open letter to the leaders of Middle Eastern nations known to provide material support to regional terror groups. The Human Guardians requests that each of these nations and their citizens end their financial and moral support of terrorism immediately – or face an international consumer boycott. "We, the Human Guardians, want to stop the deadly terrorism and destructive wars now ongoing in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East and Africa," says Founder Ton Jacobs. |
| As civilians flee Mosul, Iraq implores Kurds to open safe passage Posted: 23 Nov 2016 05:55 AM PST As the attacks on Mosul and nearby Iraqi towns intensify, civilians are fleeing the area, leaving the government and humanitarian organizations looking for ways to protect them. Some 3,000 families have left Tal Afar, a town on the road between the cities of Mosul and Raqqa, which are held by the self-proclaimed militant caliphate known as Islamic State. About half are heading toward Syria and the other half toward Kurdish territory in northern Iraq. |
| Adam McKay directing upcoming Dick Cheney biopic Posted: 23 Nov 2016 05:51 AM PST  The director of "The Big Short" is working on a biopic of the former US Vice President, according to The Hollywood Reporter. After heading to Wall Street for the financial drama "The Big Short," Adam McKay is taking moviegoers to the White House with his upcoming picture. As the US gears up for a change of president, the filmmaker is looking back at the career of one enigmatic Republican, Dick Cheney.
|
| Islamic State could launch gas attacks beyond Syria: OPCW official Posted: 23 Nov 2016 05:24 AM PST  Islamic State militants returning from Syria could carry out mustard gas attacks after learning how to use the toxic substance in battle zones, a senior official from the global chemical weapons watchdog warned on Wednesday. An inquiry by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) concluded in October that Syrian government forces were responsible for chlorine gas attacks and that Islamic State militants had used mustard gas. "It seems that one of the dangers that we need to face and have a response for - since Islamic State has learnt how to make mustard gas - is that sadly one of the people who learnt how to do it comes back to one of our countries and helps carry out an attack like this," Philippe Denier, director at the verification division of the OPCW told a defense conference in Paris.
|
| Norwegian court allows extradition of Islamist militant suspect to Italy Posted: 23 Nov 2016 03:59 AM PST  Norway's Supreme Court on Wednesday approved the extradition to Italy of an Islamist suspected of plotting attacks, leaving the final decision to the government on whether to hand him over. Mullah Krekar, the one-time leader of the Ansar al-Islam militant group, was arrested in November last year as part of a series of arrests across Europe, and Italian prosecutors later asked for his extradition. Italian authorities said at the time that at least 15 suspected members of a militant Islamist group were arrested in six European countries, accused of planning attacks in Europe and the Middle East.
|
| Norway: Radical cleric's appeal of Italy extradition fails Posted: 23 Nov 2016 03:52 AM PST  STOCKHOLM (AP) — Norway's Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by a radical Iraqi-born cleric who is trying to fight extradition to Italy, which suspects him of enticing recruits to fight in Iraq and Syria.
|
| Under fire, ICC prosecutor says to uphold fight against atrocities Posted: 23 Nov 2016 03:43 AM PST  By Anthony Deutsch THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court's prosecutor said her investigations into alleged war crimes would not be impacted by the plans of three African countries to withdraw from the court and she would keep going after the perpetrators of atrocities. Fatou Bensouda said her office would press ahead with the preliminary investigation in Burundi and her work had the support of more than 120 other member states. Gambia, South Africa and Burundi notified the United Nations in October and November of their plans to withdraw from the ICC.
|
| Planes launched off US carrier in Gulf pound IS militants Posted: 23 Nov 2016 01:41 AM PST  ABOARD THE USS EISENHOWER (AP) — One after another, fighter jets catapult from the flight deck of the USS Eisenhower, a thousand-foot (305-meter) American aircraft carrier, afterburners glowing amber above the blue Persian Gulf, on their way northwest to join the fight in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State group.
|
| Ex-CIA boss Petraeus indicates would serve Trump if asked Posted: 23 Nov 2016 12:06 AM PST  Retired U.S. general David Petraeus indicated on Wednesday that he would serve in President-elect Donald Trump's administration if he was offered a job, according to an interview on Britain's BBC radio. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Petraeus, who resigned as CIA chief in 2012 after an extra-marital affair was revealed, was under consideration for the post of defense secretary. Asked if he would agree to serve in the Trump administration, Petraeus said: "I've been in a position before where a president has turned to me in the Oval Office in a difficult moment and .... said 'I'm asking you as your president and commander-in-chief to take command of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan'.
|
| Prayers return to Iraqi monastery ravaged by IS Posted: 22 Nov 2016 11:36 PM PST  Father Charbel Issu stands before a shattered altar, spreads out his hands and begins leading a group of Kalashnikov-wielding militia fighters in prayer. On the wall in front of them, graffiti scrawled in black spray paint reads "Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest)". Iraqi fighters battling to oust the Islamic State group from Mosul recaptured the Catholic Mar Behnam monastery on Sunday, allowing its priests to return.
|
| In German schools, steep learning curve for refugees and teachers Posted: 22 Nov 2016 07:58 PM PST  For 15-year-old Mustafa, the trickiest part about learning German is knowing when to use the articles der, die or das. "And the umlaut," his classmate Majd reminds him, sending both Syrian teens groaning in mock frustration at the vowel alteration, one of the quirks of German grammar. Mustafa, Majd and their families were among the nearly 900,000 migrants who streamed into Germany last year.
|
| The Atlantic Daily: Times of Change Posted: 22 Nov 2016 04:32 PM PST  What We're Following Decisions, Decisions: President-elect Donald Trump met with The New York Times today, after initially tweeting that he'd canceled the meeting when the Times changed the terms. The terms had not been changed, however, and the meeting was back on once the misunderstanding was cleared up. What did change was Trump's mind: In the meeting he walked back the claims he'd made on the campaign trail that torturing terrorism suspects is necessary, and followed up on an earlier announcement from his campaign manager Kellyanne Conway that he did not plan to pursue another investigation of Hillary Clinton. Meanwhile, his views on climate change—which he's denied in the past—remained up in the air.
|
