| Officials: 90 percent of luggage returned after shooting Posted: 13 Jan 2017 04:09 PM PST FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Officials at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport say they've returned to their rightful owners about 90 percent of the luggage and other items abandoned by travelers during last week's shooting. |
| Africa, France battling same threat, Hollande says in Mali Posted: 13 Jan 2017 02:14 PM PST  French President Francois Hollande said Friday that those battling jihad in Africa and the Middle East were like France part of "the same fight" against extremism. Hollande spoke ahead of a summit with African leaders in Mali with the fight against extremists, the struggle to improve governance and the migrant crisis high on the agenda. Mali had called on France four years ago to help force jihadist fighters out of key northern cities.
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| Today in History Posted: 13 Jan 2017 11:59 AM PST Today in History |
| Anti-IS fight going as fast as possible: Pentagon official Posted: 13 Jan 2017 11:48 AM PST  The US-led coalition attacking the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria would struggle to dramatically quicken the campaign, a top Pentagon official said Friday, amid mounting pressure to accelerate the fight. President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to "bomb the shit" out of IS, and on Thursday his pick for defense secretary, James Mattis, said operations could be intensified -- especially in the push toward the jihadists' stronghold of Raqa in Syria.
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| Iraqi forces in IS battle raise flag over Mosul University Posted: 13 Jan 2017 11:47 AM PST  MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi special forces raised the Iraqi flag above buildings within the Mosul University complex Friday as they battled Islamic State militants for control of the city, according to senior Iraqi officers and the U.S.-led coalition.
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| Big security risks in Trump feud with spy agencies, officials say Posted: 13 Jan 2017 11:34 AM PST  By Warren Strobel and John Walcott WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An unprecedented pre-presidential inauguration feud between Donald Trump and intelligence agencies that soon will be under his command could harm U.S. security if not quickly defused, current and former government officials said. In the last few months, Trump has expressed his willingness to deal with Putin and denigrated the work of the intelligence agencies.
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| Exclusive: Assad linked to Syrian chemical attacks for first time Posted: 13 Jan 2017 11:08 AM PST  International investigators have said for the first time that they suspect President Bashar al-Assad and his brother are responsible for the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict, according to a document seen by Reuters. A joint inquiry for the United Nations and global watchdog the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) had previously identified only military units and did not name any commanders or officials. Now a list has been produced of individuals whom the investigators have linked to a series of chlorine bomb attacks in 2014-15 - including Assad, his younger brother Maher and other high-ranking figures - indicating the decision to use toxic weapons came from the very top, according to a source familiar with the inquiry.
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| Iraqi forces make rapid gains against Islamic State in Mosul Posted: 13 Jan 2017 10:57 AM PST  By Isabel Coles and John Davison MOSUL, Iraq/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi special forces stormed a sprawling university complex in northeast Mosul on Friday and pushed Islamic State back in nearby areas to reach two more bridges across the Tigris River, the military said. The militants were fighting back at Mosul University, which they seized when they took over the city in 2014. Iraqi forces have now recaptured most districts in eastern Mosul, nearly three months into a U.S.-backed offensive, which accelerated at the turn of the year with new tactics and better coordination.
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| Trump taps country stars for inauguration Posted: 13 Jan 2017 10:49 AM PST  President-elect Donald Trump, who has struggled to recruit prominent artists for his inauguration, on Friday tapped country stars known for their patriotic anthems. Trump's inaugural committee announced that country stars Toby Keith and Lee Greenwood as well as Broadway singer Jennifer Holliday would perform at the Lincoln Memorial. The event, where Trump will speak, will be free to the public and take place on Thursday on the eve of the real estate tycoon's inauguration as the 45th president.
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| OPEC chief confident in commitment, enthusiasm for output cut deal Posted: 13 Jan 2017 10:12 AM PST  By Rania El Gamal ABU DHABI (Reuters) - OPEC's Secretary-General has confidence in the commitment of oil producers who agreed to an output cut deal last month to ease a global glut that has depressed crude prices and hurt exporting countries' revenues. "I remain confident... with the level of commitment and enthusiasm that I have seen among the 24 participating countries whom I am in regular contact with that this historic and landmark decision will be implemented fully," Mohammed Barkindo told Reuters in an interview in Abu Dhabi.
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| Trump's war on offshoring jobs easier said than done Posted: 13 Jan 2017 08:41 AM PST  In his high-profile battle against offshoring US jobs, President-elect Donald Trump has threatened Mexico, China and multinational corporations with punitive tariffs and retaliation. Swept into the White House in part on a promise of bringing jobs back to the United States, the president-elect this week reiterated his vow to slap a "major border tax" on companies that use cheap Mexican labor to export to the US market. The US Constitution gives Congress the authority to impose taxes and regulate foreign commerce but it grants the president the power to negotiate international trade pacts, which still are subject to approval by lawmakers.
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| Burqa ban splits Morocco Posted: 13 Jan 2017 06:09 AM PST  Morocco's ban on the sale and production of burqa full-face Muslim veils beloved of Salafists has sharply divided opinions in the North African country. Slimani, in an opinion piece on news website Le360, said the burqa ban signalled that Morocco was moving "towards greater equality between the sexes". Another vocal supporter, Nouzha Skalli, a lawmaker and former family and social development minister, said the ban constituted "an important step in the battle against religious extremism".
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| Iran's Revolutionary Guards position for power Posted: 13 Jan 2017 04:25 AM PST  By Babak Dehghanpisheh BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran's Revolutionary Guards look set to entrench their power and shift the country to more hardline, isolationist policies for years to come following the death of influential powerbroker Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Former president Rafsanjani long had a contentious relationship with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is both the strongest military force in Iran and also has vast economic interests worth billions of dollars. With a presidential election in May and a question mark over the health of Iran's most powerful figure, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, analysts say the Guards will soon have opportunities to tighten their grip on the levers of power.
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| Dutch terror suspect arrested after Bulgaria extradition Posted: 13 Jan 2017 03:56 AM PST AMSTERDAM (AP) — Military police in the Netherlands have detained a 33-year-old Dutch woman who is suspected of attempting to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State group. |
| Europe wants more protection against antiquities trafficking Posted: 13 Jan 2017 03:44 AM PST PARIS (AP) — Europe's top human rights organization is pressing for broader protection against antiquities trafficking, saying the Islamic State group's plundering of some of the world's most historic sites is an attack against human history. |
| AP PHOTOS: Cold, filth take toll on migrant moms in Greece Posted: 13 Jan 2017 02:32 AM PST  RITSONA, Greece (AP) — The squalid conditions and subfreezing temperatures in Greece's migrant camps this winter are taking their toll on everyone living in them.
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| Surge in targeted killings of al-Qaida operatives in Syria Posted: 12 Jan 2017 10:06 PM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — The convoy of vehicles was driving on a dirt road in northwestern Syria when the aerial attack by the U.S.-led coalition struck, turning the vehicles into balls of fire and the people inside into unrecognizable charred corpses.
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| Today in History Posted: 12 Jan 2017 09:01 PM PST Today in History |
