| A look at Trump's executive order on refugees, immigration Posted: 27 Jan 2017 05:24 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday making major changes to America's policies on refugees and immigration.
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| Trump orders strict new refugee screening, citing terrorists Posted: 27 Jan 2017 05:17 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Setting a hard-line tone on national security, President Donald Trump on Friday suspended the nation's refugee program for four months, aiming to keep "radical Islamic terrorists" out of the United States.
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| Trump orders 'great rebuilding' of US military Posted: 27 Jan 2017 03:30 PM PST  President Donald Trump signed an order Friday to begin what he called a "great rebuilding" of the US armed services, promising new aircraft, naval ships and more resources for the military. "Our military strength will be questioned by no one, but neither will our dedication to peace. Trump predicted that Congress, which sets the expenditures for the government, will "be very happy to see" the White House's new spending request for the military.
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| Trump vows 'new vetting' to weed out Islamic radicals Posted: 27 Jan 2017 03:27 PM PST  US President Donald Trump signed a sweeping new executive order Friday to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough new controls on travellers from seven Muslim countries. The White House did not immediately make the wording of the decree public, but a draft text had been leaked to US media earlier in the week and was widely reported on.
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| Trump's refugee clampdown stops Iranian path through Austria Posted: 27 Jan 2017 03:25 PM PST VIENNA (AP) — Austria has shut its door to about 300 non-Muslim Iranians hoping to use the country as a way station before establishing new homes in the United States, The Associated Press has learned. The action is an early ripple effect of U.S. President Donald Trump's effort to clamp down on refugee admissions. |
| Sheridan, Huston, Ehrenreich go to war in 'The Yellow Birds' Posted: 27 Jan 2017 03:00 PM PST  PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — The cast and filmmakers behind "The Yellow Birds," an adaption of Iraq vet Kevin Powers' bestseller that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this past week, wanted to show another side of war — that of the lost individual.
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| Trump executive order leaves Malala ‘heartbroken’ Posted: 27 Jan 2017 02:43 PM PST  Malala Yousafzai, the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, on Friday condemned President Trump's executive order establishing new vetting measures for immigrants.
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| Trump's unpredictability already troubles U.S. friends Posted: 27 Jan 2017 02:36 PM PST  By Warren Strobel and Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New U.S. President Donald Trump's "America First" rhetoric and confrontational negotiating style have sparked frantic calls to the White House and Congress from diplomats and lobbyists concerned the United States no longer has their back. When word swirled through Washington on Thursday that Trump might be preparing to ease U.S. sanctions on Russia, worried European diplomats began calling the National Security Council and asking if the rumors were true, said a former U.S. official familiar with the situation. The White House officials could not answer their questions because they, too, have been kept in the dark, said the former official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.Trump's new United Nations ambassador, Nikki Haley, sent another shiver through America's allies on Friday, warning them that if they do not have Washington's back, she is "taking names" and will respond.
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| S and P cuts Turkey debt outlook to negative Posted: 27 Jan 2017 02:24 PM PST  The Standard and Poor's agency on Friday downgraded Turkey's credit rating to "negative" from "stable" because of a slump of the lira while Fitch cut its sovereign debt to junk. The national currency has dropped 18 percent against the dollar since Standard and Poor's latest review of Turkey in November, raising inflationary pressures, endangering corporate balance sheets and hurting economic growth, S and P said.
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| Kurdish filmmaker cancels planned US visit over Trump actions Posted: 27 Jan 2017 12:28 PM PST  Citing President Donald Trump's visa crackdown, Kurdish filmmaker Hussein Hassan has scrapped plans to attend the US premiere of his critically acclaimed film on the Yazidi minority, it was announced Friday. Jaie Laplante, director of the Miami Film Festival, where the Kurdish-Iraqi movie "The Dark Wind" is to be screened in March, said Hassan had decided to withdraw his visa application in protest at Trump's forthcoming executive orders that are set to suspend the US refugee program and restrict visas to citizens of certain countries, including Iraq, Iran, and Syria. "One of Miami Film Festival's core values is to bridge cultural understanding, to provoke thought and discussion, and 'The Dark Wind' is one of the most timely, moving and important films in this year's festival," Laplante said.
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| What's next for Guantanamo Bay under President Trump Posted: 27 Jan 2017 12:03 PM PST  GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) — The U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, appears to be at another turning point.
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| The Latest: Trump says Britain easier to deal with than EU Posted: 27 Jan 2017 10:43 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump's visit with British Prime Minister Theresa May (all times local):
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| UN must strenghten action on human rights: Guterres Posted: 27 Jan 2017 10:19 AM PST  Voicing extreme concern over discrimination, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday said the United Nations must strengthen its work to improve human rights. Guterres told a Holocaust commemoration event that discrimination faced by immigrants and refugees as well as the stereotyping of Muslims were opening the door to even more extreme hatred.
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| Are we safer? One year later, Iran nuclear deal in Trump crosshairs Posted: 27 Jan 2017 10:12 AM PST President Donald Trump has been so virulently opposed to the landmark Iran nuclear agreement – once declaring his "No. 1 priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran" – that on the eve of his inauguration last week, Iran sent a warning. "These are all slogans," said President Hassan Rouhani, about the deal agreed with six world powers in July 2015 that significantly curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Recommended: How much do you know about Iran? |
| Fear in interrogation room, death in the street: Iraq roots out Islamic State Posted: 27 Jan 2017 09:38 AM PST  By Isabel Coles MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - The boy's fear was palpable as Iraqi soldiers brought him blindfolded before an intelligence officer in a house on the northern edge of Mosul. "How long were you with Daesh (Islamic State)?" colonel Amer al-Fatlawi asked the boy in front of him. The boy appeared harmless, but Fatlawi, the head of intelligence for the 16th division of the Iraqi army, suspected he may pose a latent threat after Islamic State's days of ruling over vast swathes of territory come to an end.
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| AJC Statement on Trump Administration Refugee Policy Posted: 27 Jan 2017 09:36 AM PST NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC views with profound concern the Trump Administration's plans to pose unjustified new obstacles in the path of refugees and asylum seekers. "For more than 110 years, AJC has been a consistent voice for a fair, non-discriminatory, and generous U.S. refugee and immigration policy," AJC CEO David Harris said. Refugees from Syria, Iraq and other states in violent upheaval are already laboriously and intrusively vetted by U.S. immigration authorities, assisted by U.S. intelligence agencies, in cooperation with other nations' intelligence services. |
| WFP, short of funds, halves food rations to displaced Iraqis Posted: 27 Jan 2017 09:33 AM PST  By Ayat Basma ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - The World Food Programme said on Friday it had halved the food rations distributed to 1.4 million Iraqis displaced in the war against Islamic State because of delays in payments of funds from donor states. "This year somehow we are receiving commitments from donors a little bit late, we are talking with donors but we don't have enough money as of yet," said Inger Marie Vennize, spokeswoman for the U.N. agency. "We have had to reduce (the rations) as of this month." The WFP is talking to the United States - its biggest donor - Germany, Japan and others to secure funds to restore full rations, she added.
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| Turkey debt outlook cut to 'negative' by Standard and Poor's Posted: 27 Jan 2017 09:27 AM PST  The Standard and Poor's agency said Friday it had cut the outlook for Turkey's credit rating to 'negative' from 'stable' because of a slump of the lira. The national currency has dropped 18 percent against the dollar since the agency's latest review of Turkey in November, raising inflationary pressures, endangering corporate balance sheets and hurting economic growth, S and P said. The agency's actual ratings for Turkey remained intact, but the outlook change indicates that any future move is now more likely to be downwards than upwards.
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| Turkey threatens migrant deal after Greek coup ruling Posted: 27 Jan 2017 09:00 AM PST  Turkey on Friday threatened to abandon a key pillar of a deal with the EU to reduce the migrant flow after Greece blocked the extradition of alleged coup suspects. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara was considering scrapping a "readmission agreement" under which Turkey has been taking in migrants sent back across the Aegean after landing illegally in Greece. "We are now considering what we are going to do," Cavusoglu told state broadcaster TRT Haber a day after the ruling.
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| Trump planning stronger US effort against Islamic State Posted: 27 Jan 2017 08:43 AM PST  US President Donald Trump is expected to order up a new plan for defeating the Islamic State group with expanded US military involvement as he makes his first visit to the Pentagon Friday. Trump, who pledged to eradicate the extremist group during the presidential campaign, is reportedly preparing to direct new Defense Secretary James Mattis to more aggressively attack IS positions with the aim of defeating them more quickly. After his predecessor Barack Obama took a longer term view of the anti-IS fight, with a more cautious commitment of US forces, "President Trump might be looking for something with quicker results, that could put some more options on the table," retired general David Barno told National Public Radio Friday.
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| National Nonprofit, Homes For Our Troops, Inc. Appoints New President Posted: 27 Jan 2017 07:43 AM PST TAUNTON, Mass., Jan. 27, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Homes For Our Troops (HFOT) Board of Directors has announced the appointment of a new President and CEO. Effective January 25, 2017, Brigadier General USA (Ret) Tom Landwermeyer will replace Major General USA (Ret) Timothy McHale as President. McHale will vacate his position of four years at HFOT to assume a leadership role at another nonprofit that provides housing for elderly Veterans and their widows. |
| Morocco arrests seven suspected militants and seizes weapons Posted: 27 Jan 2017 05:32 AM PST Moroccan authorities said on Friday they had arrested seven suspected militants linked to Islamic State and seized weapons and explosive belts. A statement from the interior ministry said the group had ties with commanders of the Sunni Islamist group in Syria, Iraq and Libya and had set up a hideout in the coastal town of El-Jadida. Authorities said they also found two explosive belts in the raids in El-Jadida, Sale and other towns. |
| Turkey detains 3 Iraqis accused of IS bomb-making Posted: 27 Jan 2017 02:45 AM PST ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish authorities have detained three Iraqi brothers who are suspected of making suicide bombs for the Islamic State group. |
| Duterte pleads with Philippine rebels to rebuff Islamic State advances Posted: 27 Jan 2017 02:37 AM PST  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday pleaded with the country's Muslim separatist groups to deny sanctuary to militants with links to Islamic State, warning a war would ensue that would put civilians in danger. Duterte said he could no longer contain the extremist "contamination" and urged two Muslim separatist rebels groups - the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front - to rebuff Islamic State's advances.
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| Turkey's Syria offensive stalls at flashpoint town Posted: 27 Jan 2017 01:47 AM PST  Turkey is enduring the biggest challenge of a five-month military campaign inside Syria as it battles to capture the town of Al-Bab from Islamic State (IS) jihadists, taking heavy casualties and testing an army stretched by post-coup purges. The ambitious "Euphrates Shield" operation -- with Turkish forces backing pro-Ankara Syrian rebels in an unprecedented incursion -- began in spectacular style in August as the army ousted jihadists from a succession of border towns including Jarabulus. At least 48 Turkish soldiers have been killed in the incursion so far, according to an AFP tally, the vast majority in the battle for Al-Bab since the fight for the town began on December 10.
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| Today in History Posted: 26 Jan 2017 09:01 PM PST Today in History |
| Jordan's King Abdullah to visit U.S. from Monday Posted: 26 Jan 2017 06:20 PM PST  Jordan's King Abdullah will begin a visit to the United States on Monday, the Jordanian embassy said on Thursday, the first Arab leader to hold talks with the new administration of President Donald Trump. "HM King Abdullah II will start a working visit to U.S. on Monday during which he will meet w/new administration & Congress," the Jordanian embassy in Washington said on Twitter. It did not say whether a meeting between Abdullah and Trump was scheduled.
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