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US Envoy Hails 'Significant Progress' In Taliban Talks

January 28, 2019

The details of the draft were given to Reuters by Taliban sources at the end of six days of talks with U.S. special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in Qatar aimed at ending the war, more than 17 years since American-led forces invaded Afghanistan .

Taliban talks offer glimmer of hope for peace

January 28, 2019

Apart from the ceasefire, the Taliban did not discuss the need for talks with the Afghan government to reach a durable political settlement, the USA official said. That has made peace an even more pressing issue. Khalilzad met with the Taliban on a number of occasions in recent months - most recently last week in Qatar where the Taliban have a political office - in the latest bid to end America's longest war.

Kamala Harris officially kicks off presidential run with Oakland rally

January 28, 2019

Throughout the address, she turned her broader attention to this moment in time, which she called an "inflection point in the history of our nation". To each other. Harris, so far the only Californian in the race, could gain an early advantage with long-ignored voters there by making them central to her campaign.

US college official who told Chinese students to speak English quits

January 28, 2019

This incident apparently did not sit well with many social media users, complaining about the way the university is handling this matter. They wrote, "we are disheartened... A school official confirmed to The Chronicle the authenticity of her email, which was sent to first- and second-year students on Friday. "To be clear: there is absolutely no restriction or limitation on the language you use to converse or communicate with each other".

Philippines vows to 'crush' attackers after fatal church bombings

January 28, 2019

A second deadly blast went off in the parking lot. Civilians bore the brunt of the attack, which also killed at least seven soldiers. No one has claimed responsibility , but outlawed Abu Sayyaf militants have carried out a campaign of bombings, kidnappings and beheadings on the island for many years.

Howard Schultz: Ex-Starbucks CEO considers presidential run

January 28, 2019

The majority view of the 50 delegations, not actual control of the House, would determine the outcome of any such vote. "I look at both parties, we see extremes on both sides", he said. Bush to become president. But Schultz argued that a majority of the electorate is "exhausted" with politics. Julian Castro, a former USA housing official who launched a bid for the Democratic nomination earlier this month, told CNN he was anxious an Independent run by Schultz "would provide Donald Trump ...

China Police Probe Mystery Explosions at Office High-Rise

January 28, 2019

Videos circulated on Chinese social media show people fleeing away from the Wanda Plaza building as loud blasts ring out from the foot of the structure as well as on a higher floor. Violent crime has been on the rise in China as the nation's economy has boomed in recent decades and the gap between rich and poor has widened rapidly.

Heavy snow moves in making for trecherous conditions

January 28, 2019

Monday morning with periods of 1 to 1.5 inches of snow per hour, especially over far northern IL. Forecasters predict a widespread 6-10 inches of snow across southern Wisconsin, but the heaviest snow totals - 9 to 13 inches - will fall over an area of eastern Wisconsin that includes Fond du Lac and Sheboygan counties.

U.S. Midwest braces for record-breaking cold blast

January 28, 2019

Chicago suburbs will be getting anywhere from two to nine inches of snow on Monday, and that will be followed by wind chills that might break records. "This occurs fairly regularly during wintertime and is often associated with large outbreaks of Arctic air in the United States". Feels like temperatures for the Southeast will be approaching single digits (see Fig.

United Kingdom has martial law option in case of no-deal Brexit: minister

January 28, 2019

But in an article (paywall ) for the Sunday Times , Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the Commons and one of the cabinet's leading Brexiters, dismissed the Cooper plan as "a thinly veiled attempt to stop Brexit " and said it "conveniently overlooks the simple fact that no deal is the legal default".

India celebrates 70th Republic Day with special tribute to Mahatma Gandhi

January 28, 2019

India is this year celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi, who had a special connection with South Africa. - The first Republic Day parade was held at Rajpath in New Delhi in 1995. - At least 17 tableaus with theme Gandhi took part in this year's parade. Women power was on full display during the 70th Republic Day parade on Rajpath on Saturday with several Navy and Army contingents being led by them and a woman officer exhibiting stunts on bike.

Russia Demonstrates Missile Claiming No Violation of INF - Only to Prove Opposite

January 28, 2019

Without a breakthrough, the United States is set to start the six-month process of pulling out of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) on February 2. Just under two weeks, the United States want to stretch the Treaty on the elimination of nuclear systems (INF) with Russian Federation, and terminate.

Survivors Mark Holocaust Remembrance Day On 74th Anniversary Of Auschwitz Liberation

January 28, 2019

Organizers of a ceremony in London say the event also acknowledges the 25th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda and 40 years since the end of genocide in Cambodia. Rybak accuses the government of remembering only Jews and not murdered Poles in yearly observances at the memorial site. The Auschwitz observances are inclusive and ecumenical, paying homage to all of the camp's victims.

Winter Storm On The Way, Here’s What To Expect

January 28, 2019

There's a lot of information to unpack around the expected wintry weather, so let's break it down by the timing and potential impacts. We expect rain to be possible from 10PM-2AM from western Alabama to Eastern Alabama. The bulk of the precipitation ends in the morning hours on Monday, from northwest to southeast. Temperatures will be cold though, in the low 20s for the high.

Mulvaney: Trump Will Secure the Border 'With or Without Congress'

January 27, 2019

After he announced his decision, a NY newspaper headline dubbed him "CAVE MAN". Even though Democrats are off their planned message, they're benefiting in at least one way from the shutdown: voters are blaming Trump. Mulvaney specifically named Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin and Rep. James Clyburn, the Number Three Democrat in the House, as one says they would support a border wall.

Europe will not ratify deal without backstop - Coveney

January 27, 2019

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has warned that soldiers may return to the border if Brexit goes "very wrong". "People living on the border are genuinely concerned about what that frontier will look like in the future". "The UK wanted a review clause in the backstop and we agreed to that, the UK wanted a UK-wide element, so why is it the country that is being victimised is the one that's always asked to give?" These are potentially useful to May because, if passed by a clear majority, they would ...

Paul Manafort to appear in court after 3-month absence

January 27, 2019

She then scheduled another hearing for February 4, to be held in a sealed courtroom, and said she would release as much of the transcript as she could after the proceeding. The special counsel said in a memo describing Manafort's alleged wrongdoing in December that Manafort's lies to federal investigators were not simply "memory lapses".

'Hyper pacifist' seriously wounded during 11th week of yellow vest protests

January 27, 2019

Marches were mostly peaceful but there were incidents in several towns, including in the capital, where an eye injury to a well-known "yellow vest" activist added to recent controversy over police violence. Protestors have been joined by extremists from the far Right and the ultra-Left, as well as anarchists intent on causing as much damage as possible.

Trump caves, signs bill to reopen United States government

January 27, 2019

Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney spent Sunday morning trying to argue that Donald Trump's big defeat on the government shutdown was actually caused by the fact that Trump was "winning" on the issue of building a border wall or fence or barrier or slat-art installation .

Russian Federation probe nets Trump ally Roger Stone

January 27, 2019

He faces one count of obstruction of proceedings, one count of witness tampering, and five counts of false statements. After WikiLeaks released its first batch of the Podesta emails on October 7, an associate of a senior Trump campaign official sent a text message to Stone that read "well done", according to the indictment .

United Nations to assess 'governments' steps' on Khashoggi case

January 27, 2019

The U.N. special rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard, will head to Turkey next week to look into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi , her office said on Thursday. The investigation comes as Saudi Arabia tries to restore its reputation in the global community. Callamard's findings are expected to be reported to the UN Human Rights Council in June this year.

Trump Says Deal Reached to Briefly Reopen Government

January 27, 2019

After Trump's announcement of the government reopening, Pelosi told reporters that a date would be worked out for the president's address. The Trump administration asked federal department heads to reopen offices in a "prompt and orderly manner", saying that furloughed employees could return to work.

Weather warning for snow, possible heavy, across Nottinghamshire

January 27, 2019

The Met Office's yellow warning also applies to Suffolk. Wales is set to be hit by strong winds over the weekend, with gusts of up to 65 miles per hour expected in some places. However, cloud will increase from the southwest with a spell of persistent rain affecting the west and southwest by dawn. Temperatures will jump to 10 degrees on Thursday but it will not last.

Hundreds feared dead in wave of sludge as Brazilian dam collapses

January 27, 2019

At least 34 people are dead and up to 300 people have been reported missing after a dam collapsed in Brazil on Friday. Local firefighters also said the number of missing in the area could be as many as 300. However, a United Nations report found that the waste from the 2015 disaster "contained high levels of toxic heavy metals". Another woman, Suely de Olivera Costa, desperately trying to find her husband who worked at the mine, accused Vale of "destroying Brumadinho and nobody is doing ...

Bomb attacks at church kill many in southern Philippines

January 27, 2019

Today's explosion comes two days after the Commission on Elections declared that the creation of a new Muslim autonomous entity in the southern region of Mindanao was ratified in a plebiscite to be held last week. Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana called the attack a "dastardly act" and urged the local population to cooperate and "deny terrorism any victory".

President Trump signs bill to temporarily open government, ending shutdown

January 27, 2019

While some of his backers rallied around the president, stalwart Trump allies joined in the criticism. On Friday, reporters used the word "cave" to describe Trump's actions in over a dozen headlines, so often that Merriam-Webster reports a 1500% increase in searches for the word - presumably, for its function as a verb.

'Great for Canada' if United States drops extradition request for Huawei CFO

January 27, 2019

But Trudeau said it wouldn't do anything to help two Canadians arrested by China. Trudeau said he asked for McCallum's resignation Friday night after the ambassador to China told The Toronto Star earlier that day that it would be "great" if the US dropped its extradition request for Wanzhou.

Covington Bishop Apologizes To School Boys

January 27, 2019

Diocese workers reported that they received a handful of packages that they had not ordered and suspected they could be from some of the hundreds of detractors who issued credible threats of violence to Covington Catholic High School , the Covington Diocese itself, Covington students and their families, and to faculty and administration.

Jared Kushner 'granted top-level security clearance against advice of White House specialists'

January 27, 2019

It will also look into why the White House is "defying federal law" by failing to provide Congress information about its security clearance process, the letter states. Last February, The Washington Post reported that officials in Israel and three other countries discussed ways they could manipulate Kushner by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements, financial difficulties and lack of foreign policy experience.

Five dead as plane and helicopter collide over Italian Alps

January 27, 2019

The rescue mission for a midair collision between a small tourist plane and a helicopter over the Italian Alps concluded on Saturday after the bodies of the last two victims were found. The Rutor glacier covers nine square kilometers (3 ½ square miles) and is the second-largest in the Val d'Aosta region, which borders France. Two helicopters carrying medical personnel and technicians have been dispatched to the site.

John McCallum out as ambassador to China over Huawei comments

January 27, 2019

McCallum made the remark to the Toronto Star on Friday. The following day he issued a statement saying that he "misspoke", and "regrets" that his comments "have created confusion". The investigation comes amid a broad push by the Trump administration to aggressively pursue claims of intellectual property theft and technology transfer by Chinese companies, the Journal said.

Louisiana shootings leave 5 dead; manhunt underway for suspect

January 27, 2019

Webre said they were not relatives of the suspect but appeared to know him. Webre said they believe the suspect is heading east and that there was no reason to think he was now targeting someone else but warned that because he's armed and unsafe: "Anybody he comes into contact with could be a target".

Europe Gives Maduro A Timeline For New Elections

January 27, 2019

Also on Friday, the US Treasury Department announced it would not be freezing all Venezuelan government assets, but instead ensure that "commercial transactions by the Venezuelan government, including those involving its state-owned enterprises and global reserves, are consistent" with Washington's recognition of Guaido as the legitimate president.

Bitter wind chills today! Additional snow chances on the way this weekend!

January 27, 2019

The actual wind chill advisory was only in effect until noon CST Friday for southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa, and southwest into central Wisconsin but that didn't mean it was going to suddenly warm up in those areas. Temperatures will rise into the 30s on Saturday and Sunday , with a slight chance of snow each day. Afternoon highs will only reach the upper teens, roughly 20° below the seasonal averages.

YouTube to Stop Recommending Conspiracy Videos (Again)

January 26, 2019

Some of the videos affected by the algorithm changes include "videos promoting a phony miracle cure for a serious illness, claiming the earth is flat, or making blatantly false claims about historic events like 9/11". Several years ago, it modified the system to downplay videos with misleading descriptions meant to bait people into clicking such as "You won't believe what happens next".

Trump threatens new shutdown if Congress won't fund wall

January 26, 2019

This was in no way a concession. "A lot of people want this to happen". Trump's deal with Democrats does not include funding for any type of barrier along the southern border. "We really have no choice but to build a powerful wall or steel barrier", Trump said. Five minutes later, sticking with his theme, Mr Trump then referred to the so-called migrant caravan, the subject of enormous coverage in the run-up to the 2018 mid-term elections in November.

Louis officer charged after deadly game with revolver

January 26, 2019

Alix was off-duty when she met with Hendren and his police partner at Hendren's apartment in the 700 block of Dover shortly before one o'clock Thursday morning. The circuit attorney's office routinely conducts investigations following officer-involved shootings in the City of St. Louis . According to FOX 2 Now in St.

Brexit: People's Vote drops plan to put referendum to Commons vote

January 26, 2019

The hard Brexiteers are determined to prevent their Remain opponents from being able to control future events in such a manner, with Rees-Mogg calling on May to prorogue (suspend) Parliament if the Cooper/Boles amendment passes. "He has been willing to sit down with Hamas, Hezbollah and the IRA without preconditions, yet he will not meet me to talk about Brexit", she said. The main unions articulate the interests of the dominant sections of British capital, who fear the dire consequences of ...

Civil Guard releases video of miners working to reach Julen

January 26, 2019

The borehole where Julen was trapped was 100m deep and just 25cm wide. "Unfortunately at 1:25 am the rescue team reached the spot where they were looking for Julen and found the lifeless body of the little one", the central government's representative in the southwestern region of Andalusia, Alfonso Rodriguez Gomez de Celis, wrote on Twitter .

Quick facts about acting Chief Justice of Nigeria Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed

January 26, 2019

President Muhammadu Buhari , who was a military ruler in the 1980s and was voted into office in 2015, will seek a second term in an election scheduled to take place on February 16. "We consider the indefinite postponement of the statutory meeting of the Nigerian Judicial Council NJC by Justice Onnoghen as one of those unbridled manipulation of the judicial process".

Dis-invited by Pelosi, Trump plans 'alternative' for State of the Union

January 26, 2019

Pelosi had asked Trump to delay the speech until after the shutdown, but the White House tried to ignore the request, announcing Trump would move forward with the January 29 date. The California Democrat told Trump in a letter Wednesday the Democratic-controlled House won't pass the required measure for him to give the nationally televised speech from the House floor.

The shutdown is temporarily over. When will federal workers get paid?

January 26, 2019

Friday's pact "comes as a great relief to our clients, who were severely impacted by the loss of an entire month's income, that they will be getting paid for their time and devotion to their jobs", said Michael Kator, a lawyer representing four federal employees who sued for agency permission to stay home without being declared "AWOL" or pursue paying side gigs.

Speaker denies Donald Trump House stage for State Of The Union speech

January 26, 2019

But there is no precedent for a State of the Union invitation being rescinded. "I am writing to inform you that the House of Representatives will not consider a concurrent resolution authorizing the President's State of the Union address in the House Chamber until the government has opened", Pelosi wrote in a letter to the president.

Greek parliament ratifies accord to rename Macedonia

January 26, 2019

Tsipras' leftist Syriza party secured the vote with the support of several independent MPs. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras , who hammered out the deal with his Macedonian counterpart past year, secured enough votes to scrape the vote through a deeply-divided parliament on the third day of a debate fraught with emotion, anger and cries of betrayal.

Two arrests in Kingston, Ont., related to national security investigation

January 26, 2019

The RCMP said both accused are Kingston residents and are friends who travelled together. "The primary focus of Canada's defence policy is to keep Canadians safe, and we study different aspects of how Parliament can be engaged in making sure that happens", Gerretsen said.

Beijing dismisses George Soros' anti-China remarks as 'meaningless'

January 26, 2019

He appealed to the USA administration to take more effective steps to address the Chinese threat, including cracking down on telecom equipment providers ZTE and Huawei , which he said could present an unacceptable security risk for the rest of the world .

Florida secretary of state resigns over blackface photos, 'Katrina victim' t-shirt

January 26, 2019

The Tallahassee Democrat , a newspaper based in Florida's capital, obtained photos of Ertel, who is white, in blackface and wearing lipstick, earrings, a bandana and a T-shirt that had "Katrina Victim" written on it during a private Halloween event 13 years ago.

Woman bitten on bum by snake while part-way through using toilet

January 26, 2019

Realising it couldn't have been a frog, Richards said she then thought it looked like a long-necked turtle. A few days on from the weird ordeal, Helen Richards said she was able to look back on it and laugh, but she also wanted to warn people to "look before you leak".

Get ready for the coldest chills in more than a year

January 26, 2019

Northwest winds gusting well over 30 miles per hour along with frigid temperatures falling below zero will set the stage for unsafe wind chills here. A flow of Arctic air from the northwest is forecast to arrive Wednesday, keeping daytime highs only in the mid-20s and overnight lows in the teens or single digits for the second half of the week.

Isro’s PSLV C-44 successfully places military satellite Microsat-R in orbit

January 26, 2019

In its first mission of 2019, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) today successfully launched a students' satellite Kalamsat and an imaging satellite Microsat-R from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota , Andhra Pradesh.

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