December 20, 2016

Video of Canadian-American couple in captivity in Afghanistan shows 2 children

Source: CBC News (Canada)

Thomson Reuters Posted: Dec 20, 2016 1:41 AM ET Last Updated: Dec 20, 2016 5:36 AM ET

Senior Taliban figures confirmed on Tuesday they had released a new video showing a kidnapped American-Canadian family, including two young boys born in captivity while held by the feared Haqqani network.

The video showed for the first time the two sons of Canadian Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman, a U.S. citizen. Coleman, 31, was pregnant when the couple were abducted in 2012 inside Afghanistan while on a backpacking trip.

A Canadian spokesman said the government was reviewing the video, while U.S. officials would not immediately comment.

In the video, Coleman begs for an end to their "Kafkaesque nightmare," referring to poor treatment at the hands of their captors, and is critical of both the American and Canadian governments.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/hostage-video-boyle-coleman-1.3899530

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See, this is why I always scan foreign news services: I'd never even heard of this couple or their kids!

December 20, 2016

After 2 years, experts say MH370 likely north of search area

Source: AP

By KRISTEN GELINEAU
Dec. 20, 2016 6:04 AM EST

SYDNEY (AP) — For two years, a handful of ships have diligently combed a remote patch of the Indian Ocean west of Australia in a $160 million bid to find Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. On Tuesday, investigators made what was surely a painful admission: They have probably been looking in the wrong place.

The latest analysis by a team of international investigators concluded the vanished Boeing 777 is highly unlikely to be in the current search zone and may instead be in a region farther north. But though crews are expected to finish their deep-sea sonar hunt of the current search area next month, the possibility of extending the search to the north appeared doubtful, with Australia's transport minister suggesting the analysis wasn't specific enough to justify continuing the hunt.

The latest twist in the search for Flight 370 highlights the extraordinary difficulty officials have faced in their attempts to find the aircraft based on the faintest scraps of data. All along, officials have said they are not simply looking for a needle in a haystack — they are looking for the haystack.

On Tuesday, the haystack was poised to shift again, with the release of a report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is leading the search for the plane. The report is the result of a November meeting of international and Australian experts who re-examined all the data used to define the search area for the aircraft, which vanished during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board.


Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/2de041d39bad4274ae80efa6b151e83a

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Oops...

December 19, 2016

Gov-elect: North Carolina will repeal LGBT law on Tuesday

Source: AP

By JONATHAN DREW
Dec. 19, 2016 10:50 AM EST

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina legislators will repeal the contentious HB2 law that limited protections for LGBT people and led to an economic backlash, the state's incoming governor said Monday.

Gov.-elect Roy Cooper made the announcement shortly after the Charlotte City Council voted to repeal its own local ordinance enacted in early 2016. It was that ordinance that Republicans blamed for the statewide law.

"Senate Leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore assured me that as a result of Charlotte's vote, a special session will be called for Tuesday to repeal HB 2 in full. I hope they will keep their word to me and with the help of Democrats in the legislature, HB2 will be repealed in full," the Democrat said in a statement.

The repeal would be a remarkable sign of cooperation for the incoming governor and the GOP-controlled legislature. Just last week, lawmakers called a special session and stripped Cooper of some of his authority when he takes office next month.

Spokesmen for Gov. Pat McCrory didn't immediately return phone and email messages seeking comment. Media representatives for the state's Republican legislative leaders also didn't immediately respond.


Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/71945fb539b9445b8a0f0fca12121a39/incoming-governor-says-north-carolina-will-repeal-lgbt-law

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Maybe they're hiding in their closets.

December 19, 2016

Danish woman who fought against Isis faces jail sentence

Source: The Guardian

Lara Whyte
Monday 19 December 2016 07.00 GMT


Joanna Palani has been outspoken in her support for the Kurdish groups with whom she has fought

A Danish woman who fought for the Kurds in Iraq and Syria against Islamic State has been taken into custody in Copenhagen, prompting accusations of hypocrisy over her treatment compared with returning Isis fighters.

Joanna Palani, 23, who fought with both the Kurdish peshmerga in Iraq and the YPG militia in Syria, faces a potential jail sentence.

A 12-month travel ban was imposed on her to prevent her from travelling back to the conflict in September 2015, but in a closed court hearing last week she admitted travelling as far as Doha, Qatar, on 6 June this year and was taken into custody. She has another hearing on Tuesday.

Her lawyer, Erbil Kaya, noted the irony of seeking to prosecute someone who fought on the same side as Danish troops and other coalition forces while the government seeks to rehabilitate returning Isis fighters.


Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/19/danish-woman-who-fought-against-isis-faces-jail-sentence

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Hmph, if I didn't know better, I might start thinking that Glorious Western Democracies like Denmark (or even us!) don't accord women the same deference and respect given automatically to us guys. But that's just plain silly, of course!

December 18, 2016

Head of U.N. nuclear watchdog says Iran showing commitment to deal

Source: Reuters

Sun Dec 18, 2016 | 3:58am EST

Iran has shown commitment to the deal on its nuclear program agreed with world powers, the head of the United Nations atomic energy watchdog said on Sunday, following complaints by Tehran over what it calls a U.S. violation of the accord.

The White House said on Thursday that a bill extending U.S. sanctions against Iran for 10 years would become law without President Barack Obama's signature, adding this would not affect overall implementation of the nuclear agreement.

"We are satisfied with the implementation of the (agreement) and hope that this process will continue," IAEA director general Yukiya Amano was quoted as telling reporters in Tehran by the IRNA news agency.

"Iran has been committed to its engagement so far and this is important," Amano was quoted as saying after meeting Iran's nuclear energy chief, Ali Akbar Salehi.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-amano-idUSKBN147083

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In other words, screw you,



!!!