World

Iraq launches new push in southeast Mosul

Published on Tue, 12/06/2016 - 2:44pm

MOSUL, Iraq — After weeks of unchanging front lines, the Iraqi army rolled Tuesday into a southeastern Mosul neighborhood held by Islamic State militants, taking a hospital before meeting stiff resistance, the military said.

The push began just after 6 a.m. with a barrage of airstrikes that kicked up dark clouds of smoke in the modest al-Salam residential neighborhood. The bombardment by Iraqi air support and the U.S.-led coalition appeared heavier than previous operations in the area.

Trump speaks with Taiwan's president, risking China tensions

Published on Fri, 12/02/2016 - 4:56pm

NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump spoke Friday with the president of Taiwan, a move that will be sure to anger China.

It is highly unusual, probably unprecedented, for a U.S. president or president-elect to speak directly with a leader of Taiwan, a self-governing island the U.S. broke diplomatic ties with in 1979.

Russia's Putin warns artists against offending believers

Published on Fri, 12/02/2016 - 1:36pm

MOSCOW — Top Russian cultural figures urged President Vladimir Putin on Friday to protect the freedom of artistic expression — something the Russian leader pledged to do, even as he warned artists to be careful not to offend religious believers.

Putin also firmly rejected a plea to release an imprisoned Ukrainian filmmaker, saying that a Russian court had found him guilty.

Putin's comments at a meeting with Russian creative figures came amid increasing attempts by officials and conservative vigilantes to meddle in the arts sphere.

Russia: Space ship malfunctions, breaks up over Siberia

Published on Thu, 12/01/2016 - 4:36pm

MOSCOW — An unmanned Russian cargo spaceship heading to the International Space Station broke up in the atmosphere over Siberia on Thursday due to an unspecified malfunction, the Russian space agency said.

The Progress MS-04 cargo craft broke up at an altitude of 190 kilometers (118 miles) over the remote Russian Tuva region in Siberia that borders Mongolia, Roscosmos said in a statement. It said most of spaceship's debris burnt up as it entered the atmosphere but some fell to Earth over what it called an uninhabited area.

Mexican billionaire Slim says Trump could be good for Mexico

Published on Thu, 12/01/2016 - 4:31pm

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim says a Donald Trump presidency could be good news for Mexico.

At a forum with former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Thursday, Slim discarded the pessimistic narrative about how Trump's hard-line views on immigration and free trade could shake Mexico.

Cubans line streets as Fidel Castro's ashes begin journey

Published on Wed, 11/30/2016 - 2:33pm

HAVANA — Surrounded by white roses and drawn by a green military jeep, Fidel Castro's ashes began a more than 500-mile (800-kilometer) journey on Wednesday across the country he ruled for nearly 50 years.

Syrians fleeing government advances in Aleppo shelled

Published on Wed, 11/30/2016 - 2:25pm

BEIRUT — A series of artillery rounds lobbed Wednesday on Syria's eastern Aleppo district killed 26 civilians, including seven children, as they fled a government ground offensive in the besieged enclave.

It was the second time the Jub al-Quba neighborhood, in the historic district of the rebel-held eastern side of the city, was struck in as many days.

In drawn-out battle of Mosul, limits of Iraqi military show

Published on Mon, 11/28/2016 - 4:37pm

BAGHDAD — When Iraq's top generals finalized the plan to retake Mosul from the Islamic State group, they gave themselves six months to finish the job.

"It was the maximum time cap," Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said last week. "We had to plan for the worst, so we don't get surprised."

Wave of Mexico violence reveals hidden graves, severed heads

Published on Fri, 11/25/2016 - 2:12pm

ACAPULCO, Mexico — Soldiers and police fanned out Friday across the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, chasing a wounded gang leader and trying to quell a wave of violence that included the discovery of hidden graves holding dozens of bodies and a camp where gunmen stored the severed heads of nine rivals in a cooler.

Tsunami warning issued after quake off Fukushima in Japan

Published on Mon, 11/21/2016 - 4:59pm

TOKYO (AP) — Coastal residents in Japan were ordered to flee to higher ground on Tuesday after a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 struck off the coast of Fukushima prefecture.