World

Aleppo evacuation halted as both sides trade blame

Published on Fri, 12/16/2016 - 2:29pm
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BEIRUT — Diplomats sought to salvage the evacuation of eastern Aleppo after it stalled Friday amid recriminations by both sides in Syria's civil war, raising fears the cease-fire could collapse with thousands still desperate to escape the rebel enclave.
 
The Aleppo evacuation was suspended after a report of shooting at a crossing point into the enclave. The Syrian government pulled out its buses that since Thursday had been ferrying out people from the ancient city that has suffered under intense bombardment, fierce battles and a prolonged siege.

Report: Beijing adds weapons to South China Sea islands

Published on Thu, 12/15/2016 - 4:09pm
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BEIJING — China appears to have installed anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapons on its man-made islands in the strategically vital South China Sea, a U.S. security think tank says, upping the stakes in what many see as a potential Asian powder keg.
 
The Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS, said in a report late Wednesday that the anti-aircraft guns and close-in weapons systems designed to guard against missile attack have been placed on all seven of China's newly created islands.
 

Residents of Syria's Aleppo share tormented goodbyes online

Published on Tue, 12/13/2016 - 4:30pm
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BEIRUT — First came the distress calls from doctors in underground shelters and morgues. Then residents under relentless bombardment in the few remaining blocks under rebel control in Aleppo began posting emotional goodbyes on social media and in widely circulated messages.

They wanted to have the final say in the merciless civil war.

"There is a problem with this planet," said Monther Etaky, a 28-year old graphic designer. "This planet doesn't want people to live as free or to live as humans."

A lethal mistake leads to a harrowing ambush in Iraq's Mosul

Published on Thu, 12/08/2016 - 3:32pm
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IRBIL, Iraq — As Iraqi forces advanced toward the al-Salam hospital in Mosul earlier this week, encountering only light resistance from Islamic State fighters, commanders decided to seize the facility instead of sweeping the neighborhoods along the road leading to it.

A few hours later, as the sun set Tuesday evening, the trap was sprung. First came the suicide car bombs, and then the hospital was surrounded by hundreds of militants firing bursts of heavy machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades.

Chechnya's leader says troops would fight happily in Syria

Published on Thu, 12/08/2016 - 3:23pm
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MOSCOW — Chechnya's strongman leader said Thursday that troops in the Russian province would be happy to fight the "scum" in Syria if they receive the Kremlin order.

Is demand for travel to Cuba flattening?

Published on Wed, 12/07/2016 - 4:54pm
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Demand for travel to Cuba may be flattening, with soaring hotel prices on the island, American Airlines cutting some flights, and uncertainty over whether new travel restrictions could be imposed when Donald Trump takes office.

Gregory Geronemus, co-CEO of smarTours, a tour company that's taken 3,000 Americans to Cuba, confirms there has been a softening in demand.

Iraq launches new push in southeast Mosul

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