| Judge says Trump travel ban case can proceed in lower court Posted: 13 Feb 2017 04:53 PM PST SEATTLE (AP) — A lawsuit by Washington state and Minnesota challenging President Donald Trump's travel ban will proceed as an appellate court considers a preliminary injunction in the case, a federal judge ruled Monday in Seattle. |
| Seattle judge set to move forward on Trump immigration case Posted: 13 Feb 2017 04:42 PM PST SEATTLE/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge on Monday rejected a Justice Department request to suspend Seattle courtroom proceedings over President Donald Trump's temporary travel ban from seven Muslim-majority countries until an appeals court has fully reviewed it. The U.S. Justice Department had argued that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should review the suspension of Trump's order before more proceedings take place, including potential discovery into the president's motives for the action. Trump's order, which he called a national security measure meant to head off attacks by Islamist militants, barred people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days, except refugees from Syria, who were banned indefinitely. |
| Justice Department asks Seattle judge to defer action on Trump order Posted: 13 Feb 2017 01:00 PM PST Trump's order, which he called a national security measure meant to head off attacks by Islamist militants, barred people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days, except refugees from Syria, who were banned indefinitely. U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle suspended Trump's order after its legality was challenged by Washington state, eliciting a barrage of angry Twitter messages from Trump against the judge and the court system. |
| Travel ban risks alienating key partners in fight against IS Posted: 13 Feb 2017 11:02 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — American forces were perched high on the top of the Bashiq Mountain, calling in airstrikes that pounded Islamic State militants. Down below, Kurdish forces rolled past to recapture the ancient city of Sinjar.
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| Iraq hits IS commanders, Baghdadi fate unclear: statement Posted: 13 Feb 2017 10:52 AM PST  The Iraqi air force has targeted a meeting of commanders from the Islamic State group that its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may have been attending, a statement said on Monday. It was not clear in the statement sent by the Joint Operations Command coordinating the fight against the jihadists in Iraq whether the world's most wanted terrorist had been hit. An intelligence cell monitored a convoy that the statement said transported Baghdadi from the area of Raqa, the jihadists' main Syrian stronghold, across the border to the Al-Qaim area in western Iraq.
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| Russian video raises alarm: New IS damage in Syria's Palmyra Posted: 13 Feb 2017 10:37 AM PST  MOSCOW (AP) — Russia on Monday released footage from one of its drones in Syria, revealing for the first time the latest destruction to the ruins of historic Palmyra since it was recaptured by Islamic State militants, as Syrian government forces pushed ahead on the ground in a new offensive to take the city back.
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| AP image of Turkish assassin wins World Press Photo award Posted: 13 Feb 2017 09:57 AM PST  As an off-duty policeman who had just assassinated Russia's ambassador to Turkey stood in front of Burhan Ozbilici waving a gun, the veteran Associated Press photographer summoned the composure to stand ...
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| Netanyahu to test Trump policy at Washington talks Posted: 13 Feb 2017 09:32 AM PST  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who warmly welcomed Donald Trump's election as US president, will visit the White House Wednesday to test his supportive campaign pledges against emerging policy. Since taking office, Trump has edged away from unqualified backing for Netanyahu's drive for more Jewish settlement in territory the Palestinians claim for a state, and also from a pledge to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. "The alliance between Israel and America has always been extremely strong.
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| Exclusive: After Islamic State defeat, broken Iraqi farmers weigh heavy losses Posted: 13 Feb 2017 08:23 AM PST  By Michael Georgy and Maha El Dahan QARAQOSH, Iraq/ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Sami Yuhanna was making a decent living as a wheat farmer until a jihadist put a gun to his head and declared his land in Iraq's Nineveh province the property of Islamic State. An army offensive has cleared the militants from the eastern half of the provincial capital, Mosul, and nearby towns and villages like Qaraqosh, home to Yuhanna's fields.
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| Islamic State leadership targeted in air strike, Baghdadi fate unclear: Iraqi military Posted: 13 Feb 2017 08:14 AM PST  The Iraqi airforce carried out a strike on a house where Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was thought to be meeting other commanders, the Iraqi military said on Monday, without making clear whether he had been hit. In a statement, it said Iraqi F-16s had targeted the house in western Iraq on Saturday. It published the names of 13 Islamic State commanders it said had been killed in the air strike, but the list did not include Baghdadi.
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| Some Uighurs fighting and dying in Syria: exiled leader Posted: 13 Feb 2017 08:03 AM PST  An exiled advocate for China's ethnic Uighur minority said Monday that some of the group were fighting and dying in Syria -- including for Islamic State (IS) -- though she claimed they had been duped into doing so. Rebiya Kadeer, who heads the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), said that among the thousands of Uighurs who have fled to Southeast Asia, Turkey and elsewhere in recent years, a small number have ended up in the war-torn Middle Eastern country and have joined militant groups. "Some Uighurs... died after Russian airplanes bombed them, they were killed in Syria," she said at a press conference during a visit to Japan.
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| In the rubble, Aleppo's citizens work to save battered heritage Posted: 13 Feb 2017 07:45 AM PST  By Angus McDowall ALEPPO, Syria (Reuters) - In the rubble-strewn square outside Aleppo's ancient citadel and under the scorched vaults of its covered souk, workmen are starting to mend the destruction of a war that has shattered the Syrian city's priceless historical heritage. About 20 volunteers sorted through the debris in Khan al-Gumruk, one of the souk's great medieval inns, piling up the stones from a fallen archway that can be used in its restoration. About 30 percent of the Old City suffered "catastrophic" damage in the fighting that ended there in December, said Maamoun Abdulkarim, Syria's director general of antiquities.
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| Fresh US drilling capping oil price: OPEC Posted: 13 Feb 2017 07:42 AM PST  Renewed drilling by US oil producers is keeping a ceiling on a global crude price recovery, cutting into the impact of deep reductions by other major producers, OPEC said Monday. In its latest oil market report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said its members last month reduced output by 890,000 barrels per day according to secondary sources. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said last week that the initial rate of compliance with a landmark deal to reduce the global oil glut was 90 percent.
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| Analysis: Baghdad's bloody protests mark resumption of Shi'ite power struggle Posted: 13 Feb 2017 07:21 AM PST  By Maher Chmaytelli BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bloody protests in Baghdad over the weekend by followers of influential cleric Moqtada al-Sadr signal the resumption of a power struggle between Iraq's Shi'ite leaders which had been put on hold to focus on the war against Islamic State. With Iraqi forces all but certain to defeat Islamic State in Mosul this year, Sadr has begun mobilizing his supporters ahead of two elections, for provincial councils in September and the crucial parliamentary vote, by April 2018. The political tussle played out on the streets of central Baghdad on Saturday when five demonstrators and a policeman were killed in clashes between security forces and Sadr followers demanding an overhaul of the state election commission, which the cleric believes favors Maliki.
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| Fresh US drilling capping oil price: OPEC Posted: 13 Feb 2017 06:29 AM PST Renewed drilling by US oil producers is keeping a ceiling on a global crude price recovery, cutting into the impact of deep reductions by other major producers, OPEC said Monday. In its latest oil market report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said its members last month reduced output by 890,000 barrels per day according to secondary sources. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said last week that the initial rate of compliance with a landmark deal to reduce the global oil glut was 90 percent. |
| Iraqi Christians protest in Beirut, demanding resettlement Posted: 13 Feb 2017 06:08 AM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — Dozens of Iraqi Christians have marched outside the U.N. regional headquarters in Beirut, demanding the speeding up of their resettlement process.
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| Iraq forces foil IS attempt to flee to Syria: spokesman Posted: 13 Feb 2017 05:20 AM PST  Iraqi forces have thwarted an attempt by around 200 jihadist fighters to flee their bastion of Tal Afar towards Syria, west of the city of Mosul, a security spokesman said Monday. "The attack by the Daesh (IS) terrorist gangs started at around 7:00 pm (1600 GMT on Sunday), the fighting lasted around six hours," their spokesman Ahmed al-Assadi told AFP. Hashed forces have been deployed in desert areas west of Mosul since federal forces launched a massive operation to retake the city from IS on October 17.
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| Winners of the World Press Photo 2017 Posted: 13 Feb 2017 04:21 AM PST  The full list of the winners of the 2017 World Press Photo contest:
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| Bargain alert: Grab a Valentine’s Day Honor 6X bundle for $250 Posted: 13 Feb 2017 04:10 AM PST  We liked the new Honor 6X so much, we awarded it our best mobile device award at this year's CES technology event. Here's everything you need to know about it, including news of special offers and prices.
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| Another Strike Against National Security Adviser Michael Flynn Posted: 13 Feb 2017 03:15 AM PST  Donald Trump's National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn -- the former Army general, fake news aficionado and now apparently misleader of the vice president – is looking as gone as a wild goose in one of those winters we used to have before climate change came along. On NBC's Meet the Press Sunday morning, uber-prepared Trump adviser and Steve Bannon lieutenant Stephen Miller (who has the look and feel of a young Roy Cohn) declined to speak for the president when moderator Chuck Todd asked about the boss's continued confidence in General Flynn. General Flynn has served his country admirably.
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| 10 Things to Know for Today Posted: 13 Feb 2017 03:02 AM PST  Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
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| Trump moves spark Iraqi anger, calls against future alliance Posted: 12 Feb 2017 11:14 PM PST  BAGHDAD (AP) — Reverberations from President Donald Trump's travel ban and other stances are threatening to undermine future U.S.-Iraqi security cooperation, rattling a key alliance that over the past two years has slowly beaten back the Islamic State group.
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| Today in History Posted: 12 Feb 2017 09:01 PM PST Today in History |
