Looming Over US-Gulf Allies Talks: A Choice of ‘Poison Pills’by webdesk@voanews.com (Jeff Seldin) | ISIS leader calls on Muslims to 'fight for the caliphate'
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Looming Over US-Gulf Allies Talks: A Choice of ‘Poison Pills’by webdesk@voanews.com (Jeff Seldin)
More than two weeks before Saudi Arabia sent two of its princes to meet with President Barack Obama at Thursday's Camp David summit, the kingdom announced the arrests of 93 people, all suspected of belonging to the terror group known as the Islamic State. Current and former U.S. officials agreed the arrests were a sign the Saudis had taken a more active role in combating the Islamic State group. What was far less certain was whether Saudi Arabia and other U.S. allies in the Gulf saw...
Watch How And Why Disney Recycled Some Of Its Animation ...
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This newsreel from 1938 explored the process behind Disney's first full-length feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which was ...
Aberdeen, Scotland, is in a double bind. Not only has the price of oil plummeted, but supplies in the North Sea are running out.
The message is said to be from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (pictured) who has not been heard from since November. Meanwhile ISIS fighters are barely a mile from the Palmyra world heritage site.
Barack Obama wins support from Gulf leaders for nuclear deal with Iran by Dan Roberts at Camp David
Qatar welcomes ‘key factor for stability in region’ and Saudis voice growing acceptance of deal at end of Camp David summit
Barack Obama has secured support from Gulf leaders for his attempt to reach a nuclear deal with Iran as a summit outside Washington concluded on Thursday with the first glimpses of possible rapprochement on an issue that has alarmed many US allies in the region.
We welcome any deal that stops Iran from having a nuclear capability.
Continue reading...Obama Pledges To Stand By Gulf Allies Against Iranby noreply@rferl.org (RFE/RL)
U.S. President Barack Obama pledged May 14 to stand by Persian Gulf allies, defending them against external attacks and helping them deal with "destabilizing activities" by Iran in the region.
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The 1994 painting, showing 280-pound Sue Tilley (right) sitting naked on a sofa, was sold to a London art dealer at Christie's in New York on behalf of an anonymous buyer.
l Qaeda’s branch in Yemen, which seized control over the port of Al Mukalla nearly a month ago, has barred residents from trading or chewing khat.
FBI arrests ex-military translator for lies about Islamic State ties
Reuters WASHINGTON An Iraqi immigrant who has been described as a former U.S. military translator was arrested by federal agents on Thursday for allegedly lying about pledging allegiance to the leader of Islamic State, a court document said. In a criminal ... and more » |
 New York Times |
Eight Amtrak Passengers' Deaths Echo Across the Region and the World
New York Times Boarding the train in Washington, a commercial real estate broker texted her mother: she was safely in her seat, she said, on her way home to Manhattan. A businessman usually flew for work, but for this quick trip the train seemed more convenient. A ... and more » |
Obama Reassures Nervous Gulf Partnersby webdesk@voanews.com (Luis Ramirez)
President Obama has told Gulf Arab partners at a Washington summit that the United States will stand by them against external attacks and will deepen security cooperation against threats that include Iran and violent extremists. VOA White House correspondent Luis Ramirez reports.
Published on May 14, 2015
President Obama has told Gulf Arab partners at a Washington summit that the United States will stand by them against external attacks and will deepen security cooperation against threats that include Iran and violent extremists. VOA White House correspondent Luis Ramirez reports.
Originally published at - http://www.voanews.com/media/video/ob...
Originally published at - http://www.voanews.com/media/video/ob...
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President Obama has told Gulf Arab partners at a Washington summit that the United States will stand by them against external attacks and will deepen security cooperation against threats that include Iran and violent extremists. VOA White House correspondent Luis Ramirez reports.
Originally published at - http://www.voanews.com/media/video/obama-reassures-nervous-gulf-partners/2768462.html
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and Cuban negotiators will meet next week to discuss the reopening of embassies in each other's capitals as part of efforts to restore diplomatic ties, the State Department said on Thursday.
(CAMP DAVID, Md.) — President Barack Obama pledged America’s “ironclad commitment” to anxious Persian Gulf nations Thursday to help protect their security, pointedly mentioning the potential use of military force and offering assurances that a potential nuclear agreement with Iran would not leave them more vulnerable.
At the close of a rare summit at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Obama said the U.S. would join the Gulf Cooperation Council nations “to deter and confront an external threat to any GCC state’s territorial integrity.” The U.S. pledged to bolster its security cooperation with the Gulf on counterterrorism, maritime security, cybersecurity and ballistic missile defense.
“Let me underscore, the United States keeps our commitments,” Obama said at a news conference.
Thursday’s meeting at Obama’s retreat in the Maryland mountains was aimed at quelling the Gulf’s fears of U.S.-led nuclear talks with Iran. Gulf states worry that if Iran wins international sanctions relief, the influx of cash would embolden what they see as Tehran’s aggression in the region.
The president acknowledged those concerns, but said the U.S. believes Iran’s focus would be on shoring up an economy that has struggled under the sanctions pressure.
Obama and top advisers walked the Gulf nations through the work-in-progress nuclear deal in detail during private meetings Thursday. The president said that while the Gulf leaders hadn’t been asked to “sign on the bottom line” to approve the framework, they did agree “that a comprehensive, verifiable solution that fully addresses the regional and international concerns about Iran’s nuclear program is in the security interests of the international community, including our GCC partners.”
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Arab leaders were “assured that the objective is to deny Iran the ability to obtain a nuclear weapon” and that all pathways to such a weapon would be cut off.
He added that it was too early to know if a final nuclear agreement would be acceptable, saying, “We don’t know if the Iranians will accept the terms they need to accept.”
The U.S. and five other nations are working to finalize the nuclear deal ahead of an end of June deadline.
As if to underscore Gulf concerns, an Iranian naval patrol boat fired on a Singapore-flagged commercial ship in the Persian Gulf Thursday. A U.S. official said it was an apparent attempt to disable the ship over a financial dispute involving damage to an Iranian oil platform.
The incident took place a bit south of the island of Abu Musa just inside the Gulf, according to the U.S. official, who was not authorized to discuss details by name. The White House said no Americans were involved in the incident.
Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, said that while the incident did not come up in Thursday’s discussions, it was “exactly the type of challenge” the Gulf nations are focused on.
Al-Jubeir, for his part, said, “The Iranians should not be allowed to get away with it.”
Obama has said he shares the Gulf’s concerns about Iran’s activities in the region. The U.S. has criticized Iran’s support for Hezbollah, as well as attacks carried out by Iran’s Quds Force. In 2011, the Obama administration accused Iran of plotting to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States in Washington.
Thursday’s summit marked an unusual investment by Obama in his relationship with the Gulf. He rarely uses Camp David for personal or official business, but White House aides hoped the more intimate setting would lead to a more candid conversation with the Arab allies.
Just two other heads of state — the emirs of Qatar and Kuwait — joined Obama at Camp David. Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Bahrain all sent lower-level but still influential representatives.
As the leaders gathered around a large table in the Laurel lodge, the most notable absence was Saudi King Salman. On Sunday, Saudi Arabia announced that the king was skipping the summit, two days after the White House said he was coming.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman were representing Saudi Arabia instead.
The White House and Saudi officials insisted the king was not snubbing Obama. But there are indisputable signs of strain in the long relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, driven not only by Obama’s Iran overtures but also by the rise of Islamic State militants and a lessening U.S. dependency on Saudi oil.
Among the other issues discussed at the summit were the U.S-led campaign against the Islamic State, the fighting in Syria, and the intractable conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
The Saudis are also particularly concerned about the situation in Yemen, where Houthi rebels with ties with Iran have ousted the U.S.- and Saudi-backed leader.
For more than a month, a Saudi-led coalition has tried to push back the Houthis with a bombing campaign. A five-day humanitarian cease-fire went into effect Tuesday, though the pause in fighting was at risk amid a series of violent incidents.
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Environmental groups plan days of protests in Seattle where oil company is basing its renewed exploration activities
The first of two Royal Dutch Shell drilling rigs slated for Arctic oil exploration has arrived in Seattle as environmental activists gear up for days of protests over plans to store the equipment at the city’s port.
Shell is planning to use Seattle as a base to store and maintain the rigs and other equipment as it resumes exploration and drilling this summer in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska, where it has not drilled since a mishap-filled 2012 season.
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Head of state Aids centre says ‘conservative’ policies have failed to halt spread of HIV virus and at least two million Russians are likely to have disease in five years
Russia’s top Aids expert has lambasted the Kremlin’s increasingly conservative agenda, saying the HIV-Aids epidemic is worsening and at least two million Russians are likely to be infected in about five years.
Vadim Pokrovsky, head of the country’s state Aids centre, said the Kremlin’s policies promoting traditional family values had failed to halt the spread of the deadly virus.
The last five years of the conservative approach have led to the doubling of HIV-infected people
This is an infection that affects people aged 25-35 – they die when they are around 35
Continue reading... Hindustan Times |
Islamic State issues audio of Baghdadi calling supporters to join him
Hindustan Times An image grab taken from a propaganda video released on July 5, 2014 by al-Furqan Media allegedly shows the leader of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, aka Caliph Ibrahim, adressing Muslim worshippers at a mosque in the ... and more » |
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Prize-winning journalist Elena Milashina May 14 fled Chechnya amid fears for her safety, after writing that a teenage girl was being forced to marry a police commander much older than her.
 New York Times |
Obama Pledges More Military Aid to Reassure Persian Gulf Allies on Iran Deal
New York Times CAMP DAVID, Md. — President Obama on Thursday offered Saudi Arabia and smaller Arab states new support to defend against potential missile strikes, maritime threats and cyberattacks from Iran, calling his commitment to their security “ironclad” in an effort ... Bill Giving Congress Right to Weigh In on Potential Iran Nuclear Deal Heads to ...Wall Street Journal Obama vows to defend Persian Gulf nations, keep up pressure on IranPittsburgh Post-Gazette House Roll Call: Congress to review Iran nuclear dealMiami Herald Huffington Post -TIME -The Seattle Times all 1,007 news articles » |
FBI: Felonious US Police Deaths Up 89 Percent Last Yearby webdesk@voanews.com (Mike Richman)
Law enforcement officers gather on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol in Washington Friday for a memorial service and wreath-laying ceremony in honor of fellow officers killed in the line of duty. The event culminates National Police Week, the annual tribute to law enforcement service and sacrifice. And this year the memorial service may be particularly sobering. Police fatalities in the line of duty are up dramatically. In 2013, 27 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the...
This astonishing debut film, about a prisoner in the concentration camp employed in the industrial processes of body disposal, is a horror movie of extraordinary focus and courage
A season in hell is what this devastating and terrifying film offers – as well as an occasion for meditating on representations of the Holocaust, on Wittgenstein’s dictum about matters whereof we cannot speak, and on whether these unimaginable and unthinkable horrors can or even should be made imaginable and thinkable in a drama. There is an argument that any such work, however serious its moral intentions, risks looking obtuse or diminishing its subject, although this is not a charge that can be levelled at Son of Saul.
By any standards, this would be an outstanding film, but for a debut it is remarkable. Director László Nemes’s film has the power of Elem Klimov’s Come and See – which surely inspired its final sequence – and perhaps of Lajos Koltai’s Fateless. It also has the severity of Béla Tarr, to whomNemes was for two years an assistant, but without Tarr’s glacial pace: Nemes is concerned at some level with exerting a conventional sort of narrative grip which does not interest Tarr.
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Ynetnews |
US House passes bill for Congress to review Iran nuclear deal
Ynetnews Obama expected to sign bill into law after House passes it in 400-25 vote; legislation 'now injects Congress as an important backstop,' says head of House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce. Associated Press ... United States vows to 'stand by' Gulf allies amid concern of Iran threatABC Online Obama vows to 'stand by' Gulf allies amid concern over Iran threatReuters Barack Obama 'committed to' Arab allies in the Gulfeuronews New York Times -Irish Independent -New Zealand Herald all 1,105 news articles » |
Man at the controls of Train 188 appears to have been concerned about Amtrak's safety technologylong before Philadelphia derailment
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BAGHDAD — Six months after the government triumphantly announced that Islamic State militants had retreated from Iraq’s largest refinery, the extremist group is again threatening to overrun the facility.Read full article >>
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NEW DELHI— The remains of a missing U.S. military helicopter that apparently crashed on a humanitarian aid mission after Nepal’s devastating earthquake have been located on a hillside northeast of Kathmandu, Nepal’s army said Friday. Read full article >>
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Hackers have found a way to use the Starbucks smartphone payment app to syphon money from customer accounts.
An official in Nepal’s defense ministry said Friday that Nepalese forces had found wreckage of a U.S. Marine helicopter that went missing this week while flying relief materials to earthquake-stricken villages there.
KATHMANDU (Reuters) - A U.S. Marines helicopter that crashed on a mountainside in Nepal was completely destroyed and there were no survivors among the eight on board, the country's top defense official said on Friday.
The wreckage of a U.S. marine chopper on an aid mission in Nepal that was reported missing hours after the Himalayan nation was hit by a 7.3 magnitude temblor on Tuesday has been found near the country’s border with China,
the U.S. military’s Pacific Command said on Friday.
The wreckage of the UH-1Y Huey helicopter, which was carrying six U.S. marines and two Nepalese soldiers when it was declared missing, was found just before 2 P.M. local time in an area approximately 8 miles north of Charikot, in Nepal’s northeastern Dolakha district. “An assessment of the site is ongoing and a thorough investigation will be conducted,” U.S. Pacific Command spokesman Major David Eastburn said in an emailed statement.
Earlier, Laxmi Prasad Dhakal,
Reuters, meanwhile, quoted Iswori Prasad Paudyal, the top civil servant in Nepal’s defense ministry, as saying that three bodies had been found in the wreckage of the chopper. “The search for others is continuing. As the helicopter has broken into pieces and totally crashed there is no chance of any survivors,” he told the news agency.
The helicopter was on a mission to deliver aid to earthquake victims around 85 miles east of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu when it was declared missing. The U.S. marines were part of a joint task force set up in the aftermath of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake on April 25 that killed over 8,000 people.
The quake, which was centered in a mountainous region to the northwest of Kathmandu, was followed by a series of smaller aftershocks — and then on May 12, by violent tremors triggered by a large 7.3 magnitude rupture with an epicenter to the capital’s northeast, between Kathmandu and Mount Everest.
Dolakaha was among the districts hardest hit by the second quake on Tuesday, with the tremors knocking down buildings and killing more than 100 people in the already devastated South Asian nation.
As news of the missing U.S. chopper emerged shortly after Tuesday’s quake, American and Nepalese air and ground forces fanned out across the region in a massive search effort. Indian forces also assisted in the search, according U.S. Pacific Command.
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People come to emergency departments like mine because they don’t know where else to go but the demand is overwhelming and we are not set up to cope
A&E is no place for a suicidal patient and yet this is where they come, at least one or two cases a day, to the chaos of our busy department. It is hardly conducive to dealing with someone who views life itself as a disease. Staff process patients while forced to meet four-hour targets, and always have one eye on the clock to avoid financial penalty-incurring breaches. Sometimes the irony of the situation cannot be missed: in one cubicle is a patient so sick they are fighting for their life and in the next is another wanting to give up theirs.
The descriptions on our computer screens vary. Overdose, deliberate self-harm and sometimes simply “unable to cope”. If patients have harmed themselves in any way they need to be examined to ensure nothing life-threatening lingers. We make sure their paracetamol levels are not within liver-killing range and call the psychiatry teams. But how can you really ask a patient properly about the reasons they have ended up here, when you have a tsunami of others lined up behind you?
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When photographer George Steinmetz first gazed at Panama’s new canal, he was reminded of Margaret Bourke-White’s pictures of Fort Peck Dam, which graced the cover of LIFE magazine in November of 1936.
In both cases, the imposing structures are robust reminders of the power of human engineering. “When you look at the size of a man next to this massive technology, it’s pretty impressive,” says Steinmetz, who photographed Panama’s new lock and gate systems on the Caribbean and Pacific sides for TIME.
To accommodate larger vessels and increased maritime traffic, Panama has been building a new pair of locks on both sides of the canal. The $5.25 billion expansion project will double the canal’s capacity and open in early 2016.
“I think I was asked to do this because my specialty is to take aerial photographs, and that’s the best way to get an idea of the scale of what’s going on there,” he tells TIME. “I went up with a wonderful pilot there, and we flew three times over the locks. I got lucky, we had some clear weather.”
While the gates are all in place on the Caribbean side, there was still one left to position on the Pacific side. “These gates look like huge books standing on their ends,” Steinmetz says. “They are put on these unusual self-propelled dollies that look like the back of a 18-wheeler truck. Instead, it has 80 wheels on it.”
The dollies are controlled remotely, and “they have a guy with a joystick driving them around,” he adds.
Panama is putting the finishing touches on a very elaborate undertaking. “They’ve been working on this for years, and now they are getting ready to activate the canal, so they have to get all this machinery out,” says Steinmetz. “It’s a huge logistical ballet. It’s very impressive.”
George Steinmetz is an independent photographer and a frequent contributor to National Geographic and GEO.
Olivier Laurent is the editor of TIME LightBox. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @olivierclaurent.
The jihadist advance raises fears for towering colonnades and temples dating to the 1st century AD.
Uzbek President Islam Karimov seemed to have problems articulating his thoughts at his April 10 inauguration ceremony. In the interest of balance, it should now be pointed out that Karimov seemed to have no trouble expressing himself at the May 8 informal CIS summit in Moscow.
Wreckage of US military helicopter found in Nepalby Ishwar Rauniyar in Kathmandu
Helicopter carrying six Americans and two Nepalese was delivering post-quake aid when contact was lost on Tuesday
The wreckage of a US Marine Corps helicopter that went missing in Nepal on Tuesday has been found with six bodies in mountains north-east of Kathmandu.
The helicopter, carrying six US and two Nepali armed forces members, was delivering aid in Dolakha district when contact was lost at about 3pm after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal.
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Members of RMT union vote by huge 80% for strike action and plan to stage 24-hour walkout in a row over pay
Network Rail workers will stage a 24-hour strike in a row over pay on bank holiday Monday at the end of the month, in a move that has brought warnings of “untold misery” for passengers.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union will walk out from 5pm on Monday 25 May. The workers, including signallers and maintenance staff, will also ban overtime for 48 hours on the bank holiday Monday, and Tuesday.
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South China Sea Dispute Likely Focus of Kerry China Visitby webdesk@voanews.com (William Ide)
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Beijing Saturday for a two-day visit with civilian and military leaders. The key focus of the trip is preparing for upcoming high-level talks between leaders and a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the U.S. later this year. But a growing controversy over China’s massive land reclamation effort in disputed waters of the South China Sea could overshadow Kerry's visit. In the run-up to Secretary Kerry’s visit, there has been a steady...
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Foreign Ministry accused the Philippines on Friday of working together with the United States to "exaggerate the China threat" over a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.
 San Francisco Chronicle (subscription) |
San Francisco police under fire for racist texts
San Francisco Chronicle (subscription) FILE - In this Feb. 27, 2014 file photo, San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr speaks during a news conference at the Hall of Justice in San Francisco. The original charges were shocking enough: six San Francisco police officers were accused of stealing from ... and more » |
 Chron.com |
San Francisco police under fire for racist texts
Chron.com SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — jussThe original charges were shocking: Six San Francisco police officers were accused of stealing from drug dealers. Then federal prosecutors released racist and homophobic text messages. Those texts have now turned a ... and more » |
 Fox News |
San Francisco police corruption investigation uncovers racism,
Fox News FILE - In this Feb. 27, 2014 file photo, San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr speaks during a news conference at the Hall of Justice in San Francisco. The original charges were shocking enough: six San Francisco police officers were accused of stealing from ... San Francisco police under fire for racist textsChron.com all 4 news articles » |
U.S. officials say the Pentagon is considering sending U.S. military ships and aircraft to assert freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, in a direct challenge to China as it manufactures artificial islands in the disputed territorial waters. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has more.
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The US President aims to assuage Persian Gulf nation concerns about a resurgent Iran ahead of a deal on its nuclear programme.
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