News: World/Asia

Erdogan and Putin vow closer cooperation on Syria at Moscow talks

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-23 19:33:23Z

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday vowed to coordinate their actions more closely in Syria. "Cooperation between Russia and Turkey is a touchstone for Syrian peace and stability," Erdogan said in translated comments at a joint press conference after their talks, which lasted around three hours. "We agreed how we'll coordinate our work in the near future," Putin said, calling the talks which included the countries' defence ministers "effective".

Venezuela's Guaido Says Opposition Seeks Financing, Debt Relief

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-22 22:49:31Z

Since becoming head of the legislature this month, Guaido has been aggressively pushing the Venezuelan military and foreign governments to recognize him rather than the authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro as the legitimate head of state. In a Jan. 11 statement, a group of Venezuelan bond investors said they'd recognize the National Assembly as "the only legitimately elected body" and wouldn't negotiate with Maduro over unpaid debt.

NBC raises eyebrows over $400 million relationship with BuzzFeed

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-22 20:19:24Z

NBCUniversal invested $400 million in BuzzFeed, raising eyebrows about why the Peacock Network isn't more transparent when covering the controversial website. A search of transcripts from both MSNBC and NBC News didn't turn up any mention of the investment when the news organization covered BuzzFeed's now-debunked report claiming President Trump directed his former attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress.

Mexico probes negligence in pipeline blast that killed 91

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-22 00:18:03Z

Mexico has opened an investigation into what caused a deadly pipeline explosion, including possible negligence by authorities, the attorney general said Monday, as the death toll rose to 91 people. It is still unclear exactly how events unfolded leading up to the Friday blast, which occurred as hundreds of people rushed to collect fuel in buckets and jerrycans from a geyser of gasoline that was spouting from an illegal pipeline tap near the town of Tlahuelilpan, in the central state of Hidalgo. Attorney General Alejandro Gertz said investigators were trying to determine who tapped the pipeline -- whether locals acting alone or one of the criminal gangs that have turned fuel theft into a...

Macron ex-security aide: Diplomatic passports given back

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-21 18:19:46Z

PARIS (AP) - French President Emmanuel Macron's former security aide, at the heart of a damaging political scandal, told a Senate commission Monday that he turned in his two diplomatic passports after being fired last summer but they were returned to him two months later.

Have Democrats lost the shutdown showdown high ground after largely rejecting Trump's compromise proposal?

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-21 16:53:06Z

President Trump offers DACA protections in exchange for border wall funding in bid to end government shutdown; reaction and analysis from Katrina Pierson, senior adviser to the Trump 2020 campaign, Bill Bennett, Fox News contributor and former secretary of education, and Kennedy, host of 'Kennedy' on Fox Business Network.

Ireland Rules Out Time-Limited Backstop: Brexit Update

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-21 13:20:45Z

The International Monetary Fund renewed its warning about the economic risks of a no-deal Brexit to the U.K. It held its 2019 growth forecast at 1.5 percent, saying fiscal stimulus in the last budget would offset the dampening effect of Brexit, but warned "substantial uncertainty" surrounds the estimate. "This baseline projection assumes that a Brexit deal is reached in 2019 and that the U.K. transitions gradually to the new regime," the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook Update on Monday.

Different Races, Same Boat

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-21 11:30:37Z

Toward the end of his life, Martin Luther King Jr. turned his attention from an exclusive focus on racial justice to unequal opportunity more generally. Too many of King's - and, now, Carlson's - critics point to America's free(-ish) market economy and declare that opportunity was and remains wide open to anyone willing to work for it.

China's population growth slows despite two-child policy

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-21 10:06:48Z

China's population grew at a slower rate last year despite the abolition of the one-child policy, official data showed Monday, raising fears an ageing society will pile further pressure on an already slowing economy. China's government raised the limit to two children in 2016 to rejuvenate the world's most populous country, which has nearly 1.4 billion people, and experts say it may remove the cap next year. "Decades-long social and economic transformations have prepared an entirely new generation in China, for whom marriage and childbearing no longer have the importance as they once did for their parents generation," said Wang Feng, a sociology professor at University of California,...

Stealth Shocker: China Claims It Can Track Air Force F-22 Raptors

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-21 04:00:00Z

No more stealth?

Toddler mimics dad and puts hands up during shoplifting arrest in Florida

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-20 22:31:25Z

Police are reviewing body cam info after a toddler walked towards armed officers with her hands up.

The Latest: Amtrak plans to be back to full schedule Monday

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-20 20:14:42Z

BOSTON (AP) - The Latest on the winter storm moving across the country (all times local):

Kentucky Teens Wearing 'MAGA' Hats Taunt Indigenous Peoples March Participants in Viral Video

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-20 20:02:20Z

A video of Kentucky Catholic high school students wearing 'MAGA' hats and yelling over Native American marchers has gone viral after people called the teenagers' behavior disrespectful.

Prince Philip crash: Woman who broke wrist 'considering personal injury claim'

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-20 19:25:59Z

A mother who broke her wrist in a car crash with the Duke of Edinburgh is considering a personal injury claim, it has emerged, as she calls for the 97-year-old to stop driving. Emma Fairweather, who was the passenger of a Kia Carens car which collided with the Duke's Land Rover, said she felt "ignored and rejected" by the Royal Family after the accident. Admitting she had hoped for an apology from the Duke and "a card and a bunch of flowers" from the Queen, she claimed the injury had affected her independence and may require surgery. Ms Fairweather was one of two women in the Kia, which was left on a verge after colliding with the Duke of Edinburgh's car. Her 28-year-old friend, who was...

A Top House Democrat Offers a Path to a Deal Ending Shutdown Fight

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-20 18:27:31Z

"Let's go back and forth on this and see where we can find common ground," House Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina said on "Fox News Sunday." He spoke a day after Trump made his offer, which was rejected even before he presented it by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats.

Trump Discussed Russia Tower Deal Into Late 2016, Giuliani Says

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-20 16:55:20Z

Guiliani said it's his understanding that conversations between Trump and Michael Cohen continued as late as October or November of that year. Cohen admitted in a guilty plea in late 2018 that he spoke with Trump and Russian officials about the potential deal as late as June 2016, after Cohen earlier told Congress it had ended much earlier. "It's our understanding that it, that they went on throughout 2016," Giuliani said of the discussions on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday.

Pundits dismiss Trump compromise

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-20 16:36:11Z

He offers 'dreamers' deal for wall funding.

Video shows students in confrontation with Native American

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-20 15:41:53Z

A video was posted online showing students of the Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky, in confrontation with a Native American.

US diocese sorry after students mock elderly Native American

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-20 07:13:13Z

A US diocese has apologized and vowed to take action after videos emerged showing boys from a Catholic private school mocking an elderly Native American man at a rally in the capital Washington, triggering widespread criticism. The incident occurred on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Friday when the annual anti-abortion March for Life coincided with a rally by indigenous communities calling for their rights to be respected. In footage captured on multiple phone camera videos that swept social media on Saturday, a student from Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky wearing a Make America Great Again hat is seen smirking as he stands extremely close to Nathan Phillips, a Native...

Woman fabricates attempted kidnapping story to Long Island police to cover up how baby was injured

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-20 03:35:03Z

Police on Long Island said a woman fabricated a story about an attempted kidnapping in order to cover up how her 1-year-old son was injured.

Israel, Chad renew diplomatic relations: Netanyahu

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-20 00:53:27Z

Israel and Chad have renewed diplomatic ties decades after they were ruptured, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday during a visit to the African state. Netanyahu and Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno have "announced the renewal of diplomatic relations between Chad and Israel", a statement from the Israeli premier's office said. Ties between Israel and the Muslim majority nation were broken in 1972.

Mexico fuel pipeline blast kills 71, witnesses describe horror

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-20 00:48:31Z

At least 71 people were killed after a pipeline ruptured by suspected fuel thieves exploded in central Mexico, authorities said on Saturday.

AP FACT CHECK: Trump pitches wall as magic bullet for drugs

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-19 23:18:55Z

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump made an untenable case Saturday that a Mexican border wall would be a magic bullet for America's drug problem.

How long would a wall along the southern border take to build?

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-19 19:57:52Z

Former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff Chad Sweet says that after a deal is made there are still more challenges that will have to be faced before construction can begin on a wall.

Opinion writer for BuzzFeed disagrees with their decision to publish an article about the Mueller probe

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-19 19:54:37Z

Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright says that until an official report from Robert Mueller about the Russia probe has been published no premature judgements should be made.

Russia agrees for Germany, France to monitor Kerch Strait: Lavrov

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-18 19:17:23Z

Russia on Friday said it had agreed for France and Germany to monitor shipping traffic in the Kerch Strait following a naval confrontation between Moscow and Kiev last year. Russian ships fired on and seized three Ukrainian navy vessels in the narrow strait -- shared between Russia and Ukraine -- as the boats tried to pass from the Black Sea to the Azov Sea on November 25. President Vladimir Putin had "immediately agreed" to Berlin's request to send observers to the area, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference with his German counterpart Heiko Maas.

Friday TSA status: Long lines in Seattle, Atlanta as holiday weekend kicks off

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-18 17:42:03Z

The TSA said it expects a busy travel weekend due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

Germany, China pledge deeper financial cooperation

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-18 16:54:05Z

Germany and China on Friday signed agreements to strengthen coordination in banking, finance and capital markets, and pledged to further open market access and deepen cooperation to broaden economic ties. Laura Frykberg reports.

Women's March Leader Refuses to Acknowledge Israel's Right to Exist

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-18 16:31:06Z

Embattled Women's March co-chairwoman Tamika Mallory refused to acknowledge the state of Israel's right to exist during a recent interview on PBS's The Firing Line and seemed to suggest that, unlike Palestinians, Israelis were not "native" to the region. Mallory, who has been forced in recent days to confront questions about her association with notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan, acknowledged during the interview that "all people have the right to exist" but would not address the legitimacy of the Israeli state. The Women's March lost the support of the Democratic National Committee and a host of other prominent liberal groups this week after Mallory defend her past praise for...

REPORT: Trump Told Cohen to Lie to Congress About Moscow Trump Tower Plans

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-18 13:07:12Z

President Donald Trump instructed his longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow in order to conceal his own involvement in those discussions, Buzzfeed News reported Thursday night, citing two federal law enforcement officials familiar with the matter. Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress about when discussions regarding the Moscow development concluded.

Kenya police detain nine in connection with deadly hotel attack

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-18 10:32:22Z

Kenyan detectives have arrested nine suspects in connection with a Somali militant attack on a Nairobi hotel and office complex that killed 21 people, police said on Friday, indicating the search for possible accomplices in the raid is gathering pace. President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Wednesday evening that a 20-hour siege had ended with security forces killing five militants who had stormed the hotel complex, forcing hundreds of people into terrifying escapes. "The detectives are looking for a woman suspected to have ferried weapons from Kiunga through the port city of Mombasa to Nairobi," a police official who did not wish to be named said, referring to a region near the Somali border.

Mnuchin Seeks China Tariff Relief, WSJ Says; Treasury Denies It

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-18 06:09:31Z

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is a proponent of easing up on tariffs, while U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has reservations about the idea, the newspaper reported Thursday, citing unnamed people close to the discussions. The Treasury Department disputed that reporting. Neither Mnuchin nor Lighthizer has made any recommendations with respect to tariffs or other parts of the negotiations with China, according to a Treasury spokesperson working with the administration's trade team who characterized the talks as an ongoing process.

Was there collusion? Trump lawyer walks back earlier remarks

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-18 05:46:03Z

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Thursday walked back comments from the night before in which he maintained that he had "never said there was no collusion" between Russia and members of Trump's 2016 White House campaign.

The Latest: Storms improve California drought situation

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-17 21:08:13Z

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The Latest on California storms (all times local):

Break in Pacific storms for California to aid mudslide, damage cleanup

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-17 18:11:24Z

A much-needed break from the storms touting inches of rain and feet of snow will begin in some areas on Friday and expand to much of the Pacific coast by next week.

Michigan State names new interim president

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-17 18:07:45Z

Michigan State University's board says interim president John Engler's resignation is effective immediately. The board acted a day after Engler announced his resignation amid fallout from the case of convicted sexual abuser Larry Nassar (Jan. 17)

Lampert wins Sears bankruptcy auction with $5.2 billion bid

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-17 17:15:28Z

Sears Holdings Corp Chairman Eddie Lampert won a bankruptcy auction to buy the once iconic U.S. retailer after presenting an improved offer of $5.2 billion, Sears said on Thursday, allowing it to keep its more than 400 stores running. Sears picked Lampert's hedge fund ESL Investments Inc as the winner at a bankruptcy court-supervised auction after his latest bid topped an earlier $5 billion proposal following weeks of talks. The deal would preserve up to 45,000 jobs and ESL would acquire substantially all of the company, including its "Go Forward Stores" on a going-concern basis, Sears said.

Giuliani Can't Say No One Colluded, Only That Trump Didn't

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-17 15:59:34Z

"I never said there was no collusion between the campaign, or people in the campaign," Giuliani said during an interview on CNN's "Cuomo Prime Time" show Wednesday night. "I said the president of the United States. There is not a single bit of evidence the president of the United States committed the only crime you can commit here, conspiring with the Russians to hack the DNC," he added, referring to the Democratic National Committee.

'We're going to electrify the F-Series,' Ford exec says

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-17 15:19:59Z

Ford F-150 and Super Duty surprises are in the works as Ford executives lay out plans for strengthening the company.

Severe storm slams West Coast

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-17 10:20:35Z

Rain, strong winds and severe snow conditions caused mayhem for residents. ABC News' Kenneth Moton reports.

China's moon cotton experiment ends in freezing lunar night

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-17 08:22:00Z

A cotton seedling that sprouted on the moon has been left to die as China's historic lunar lander continues a freezing night-time nap that will last as long as two earth weeks, scientists said. The Chinese space agency announced earlier this week that the seed had germinated inside a special canister aboard the Chang'e-4 probe, after the spacecraft on January 3 made the first-ever landing on the far side of the moon. The mini biosphere -- which operated for over 212 hours -- was shut down as planned on Saturday, said Chongqing University, which designed the experiment.

Group of 247 immigrants arrested at US border

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-17 08:04:54Z

U.S. Border Patrol agents in New Mexico say a group of nearly 250 immigrants are in custody after turning themselves in to authorities at the Antelope Wells Port of Entry. (Jan. 17)

After Americans killed, Trump's Syria plan prompts questions

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-17 05:17:01Z

WASHINGTON (AP) - A suicide bombing claimed by Islamic State militants killed at least 16 people, including two U.S. service members and two American civilians, in northern Syria on Wednesday, just a month after President Donald Trump declared that IS had been defeated and he was pulling out U.S. forces.

Mudslide forces closure of southbound lanes of Highway 17 in the Santa Cruz Mountains

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-17 02:21:46Z

STORM IMPACTS: A mudslide temporarily forced both southbound lanes of Highway 17 to close during a powerful storm Wednesday evening.

Manchin Calls Pelosi's Request for SOTU Postponement the 'Wrong Approach'

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-16 22:57:42Z

Democratic senator Joe Manchin said Wednesday that he thinks House speaker Nancy Pelosi made the wrong move in asking President Trump to postpone his State of the Union address until the government is reopened, or give the address from the Oval Office instead of the capitol. "I'm not sure what her intentions are," Manchin said on NBC. "I have the utmost respect for Speaker Pelosi. Pelosi cited security concerns in a letter to Trump on Wednesday asking that  he postpone the State of the Union address to Congress until the government reopens, or deliver it from the Oval Office instead.

10 Throw Pillows That Look More Like Soft Sculptures

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-16 22:08:48Z

Three quarters of Facebook users unaware of how much it knows about them

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-16 18:45:12Z

Most Facebook users don't realise how much Facebook knows about them and are uncomfortable with it when they find out, research suggests. A study by the Pew Research Centre in Washington DC found that 74 per cent of American users did not know about a key privacy page which shows them how Facebook has categorised them based on their data. When shown this information, 51 per cent of those surveyed said they were "not very comfortable" or "not comfortable at all" with its existence. The research casts doubt on how well Facebook is fulfilling its self-declared "privacy principles", which include "helping people understand how their data is used" and...

Pence urges US diplomats to promote legal immigration

• World/Asia
• 2019-01-16 18:02:43Z

Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday urged US diplomats to emphasize that the United States still welcomes legal immigrants, amid unrelenting pressure from President Donald Trump to seal off Mexico with a wall. "I urge you to assure our allies this administration will continue to stand for legal immigration, even while we address the humanitarian and security crisis on our southern border," Pence told 180 US ambassadors and chiefs of mission abroad who were back at the State Department for an annual meeting.