World

Istanbul police detain 136 courthouse staff in coup probe

Published on Mon, 08/15/2016 - 1:19pm
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ISTANBUL— Police teams on Monday apprehended 136 personnel in operations conducted at three Istanbul courthouses as part of an investigation into the July 15 abortive coup.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency said the Istanbul chief public prosecutor's office had issued detention orders for 173 personnel working at Istanbul's Caglayan, Bakirkoy and Gaziosmanpasa courthouses. Of those, 136 were detained in Monday's raids.

Turkey says failed coup was decades in the making

Published on Mon, 08/15/2016 - 1:17pm
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ISTANBUL— Turkish investigators call it the ultimate long game.

In 1986, the Turkish military expelled dozens of cadets suspected of loyalty to a young Muslim cleric named Fethullah Gulen, seen as a potential threat to the country's strict secular rule. Officials, a magazine reported at the time, said an alleged recruiter had told the students to work their way through the ranks and wait for instructions that would come in a few decades.

Syrian troops repel rebels southwest of Aleppo

Published on Mon, 08/15/2016 - 1:15pm
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BEIRUT— Syrian troops repelled a rebel advance near Aleppo on Monday, forcing opposition forces to retreat from positions they seized a day earlier as heavy fighting continued in the country's largest city.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu meanwhile said Moscow and Washington, which back opposite sides in the civil war, are edging closer to an agreement to defuse the fighting in the contested city.

Bombings in Thailand target tourist cities, killing 4 people

Published on Fri, 08/12/2016 - 3:59pm
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HUA HIN, Thailand — Attackers struck a series of tourist resort towns across southern Thailand with homemade explosives and firebombs in some of the worst violence to hit the country since a military coup two years ago. Police said at least four people were killed and dozens wounded, including 11 foreigners.

It was not clear who was behind the attacks Thursday and Friday, which followed a successful referendum held last weekend on a new constitution that critics say will bolster the military's power for years to come.

UN approves robust South Sudan peace force

Published on Fri, 08/12/2016 - 3:54pm
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UNITED NATIONS — United Nations peacekeepers in South Sudan have a robust new mandate and thousands of additional troops despite government opposition to the move, raising the possibility of clashes between blue helmets and the country's armed forces.

Russia strikes IS-held city in Syria amid Aleppo fight

Published on Thu, 08/11/2016 - 5:02pm

BEIRUT — The Russian military sent long-range bombers to strike a series of Islamic State targets in the group's de facto capital of Raqqa on Thursday — a fresh round of airstrikes that Syrian activists said killed at least 20 civilians and came amid Turkish calls for greater cooperation with Moscow against the extremist group.

The offer by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to coordinate with Russia on operations against IS followed a meeting between the Russian and Turkish leaders earlier this week in which they agreed to mend ties.

Uproar over Egypt's policy of state-dictated Friday sermons

Published on Thu, 08/11/2016 - 4:57pm
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CAIRO — Inside a large mosque in the Nile Delta, an Egyptian cleric looked over his congregation as he climbed the pulpit clutching a piece of paper and began to speak — delivering a 13-minute discourse on the virtues of personal hygiene.

For the first time in his career, the young imam found himself forced to read a Friday sermon printed from the official website of the Religious Endowments Ministry.

Minutes after he ended the unusually short sermon, uproar spread through the congregation.

Twice lucky: Dubai crash-landing survivor wins $1 million

Published on Wed, 08/10/2016 - 4:52pm
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — After he escaped unharmed from the burning wreckage of an Emirates airplane that had crash-landed in Dubai, Mohamed Basheer already considered himself lucky.

Then came the call telling him he had won $1 million.

"I said, 'Don't joke!'" the 62-year-old Indian recounted, laughing inside the auto-body repair shop where he works in Dubai. "They said, 'Yes, you are the winner!' I said, 'No!'"

Putin, Erdogan agree on steps to mend relations

Published on Tue, 08/09/2016 - 2:45pm
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ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Turkey's president cozied up to his "dear friend" Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in a visit intended to send a message to his allies in the West, whom he blames for what he considers a lack of support after a failed coup.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pressed the United States to extradite the man he claims was behind the failed insurrection, and has sought more funds and visa-free travel from the European Union, but it's unclear what leverage improved ties with Russia could give him.

Some Delta systems haven't recovered fully from outage

Published on Tue, 08/09/2016 - 2:41pm

DALLAS (AP) — Delta Air Lines says some computer systems are still working slowly more than a day after an outage crippled the airline and led to more than 1,500 cancelled flights.

Chief Operating Officer Gil West says that the airline is seeing slowness in a system used to check in and board passengers and dispatch planes.