World
Rose misses Knicks game for 'family situation'
Derrick Rose was AWOL from tonight's Knicks game verse the New Orleans Pelicans. Rose was seen at the team's training facility in Greenburgh, N.Y. LeBron James was tops that season at 27.3. Teammates appeared rattled that Rose would leave without alerting anyone. There has been no indication when - or if - that will happen as of now. [Full Article...]
Canada swears in first female foreign affairs minister in 24 years
Replacing Freeland as global trade minister is Francois-Philippe Champagne, a member of Canada's House of Commons who had served as parliamentary secretary in the Finance Ministry. Ahmed D. Hussen becomes Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. The MP and former minister was first elected in 1996 - recruited by then-Prime Minister Jean Chrétien after he heard Dion say - in the after... [Full Article...]
Bomb attack injures UAE ambassador to Afghanistan in day of violence
The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack; the group aims to overthrow the country's Western backed government. Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said that first, a suicide bomber carried out an attack, followed by a second explosion, caused by vehicle bomb parked near the site. [Full Article...]
Germany's Green Party just suggested sex prescriptions for the disabled
But disregarding party politics and budget constraints for a moment, the suggestion does frame sex as a medical right, not a luxury, for German citizens, and that's an interesting concept. The German Patient Protection Foundation said people who have to fight for help on basic matters such as washing and eating have other concerns. "In Germany in recent years we have seen the advent of sexual co... [Full Article...]
US Navy ship fired warning shots at Iranian ships
USS Mahan requested that the Iranian vessels slowed down, and when they did not respond the Navy destroyer fired three warning shots. Sunday's incident adds to a series of brushes in the region between US and Iranian military vessels that appeared to amplify last summer and has continued to flare on occasion. [Full Article...]
Saudi Arabia to UAE complying with Opec output cuts: Kuwait
Currently, West Texas Intermediate is trading at $53 per barrel down by 1.83% while Brent crude is trading at $56.03 per barrel down by 1.87%. The amount of Iran's oil held on tankers at sea has dropped to 16.4 million barrels from 29.6 at the beginning of October. [Full Article...]
China Dec forex reserves fall for 6th month, near $3 trillion level
China's economy has recently experienced significant turmoil, with growth rates at record lows, an increasingly volatile stock market and the yuan sliding against other currencies. Just before the currency hit the key psychological seven level against the dollar, Chinese policymakers engineered what can only be described as a massive short squeeze, sending the offshore spot rate surging to a high ... [Full Article...]
Attack in Northern Sinai Peninsula Leaves 8 Egyptian Policemen Dead
In a statement, the ministry said that "20 armed persons attempted storming Al-Matafy checkpoint in Arish using RPGs and a auto bomb". The officials spoke, on the condition of anonymity, that the garbage truck had been stolen days earlier from the municipality of el-Arish. [Full Article...]
South Korea: Monk sets himself on fire calling for President Park's removal
While time will tell how South Korea will react to the strong signal sent by Japan by recalling its ambassador over the statue issue, Tokyo's step underlines an early criticism of the deal: that despite assurances by both governments that it would be a "a final and irreversible resolution" to the issue, that could not be without public opinion buy-in in both countries. [Full Article...]
UK's May Denies Her Government 'Muddled' About EU Exit
It fell 1.1 percent against the euro too, hitting 86.65 pence per euro, the lowest since mid-November. EU officials say Britain can not have access to its single market of 500 million consumers without accepting the principle of free movement and have repeatedly warned May against trying to "cherry pick" the profitable parts of their union. [Full Article...]
Mc Guinness could resign over RHI controversy
Earlier this week, Mrs Foster alluded to Mr McGuinness's health troubles in an interview, where she referred to "jockeying for position" within Sinn Féin. Ms Foster's DUP colleague Jonathan Bell broke party ranks to speak out against her, telling local media that she told officials to alter documents related to the scheme to minimise her appearance of responsibility. [Full Article...]
Iraqi forces advance against Islamic State in Mosul night raid: spokesman
A spokesman for the counter-terrorism forces said they had reached the eastern side of the river at one of the bridges damaged by IS. "We used special equipment and had the element of surprise - the enemy did not expect us to mount a night offensive because all previous offensives were during the day", he said. [Full Article...]
Two Saudi terrorism suspects shot dead in Riyadh
Authorities in Saudi Arabia say police have shot and killed two suspected Islamic State extremists in the capital, Riyadh. He was wearing a suicide vest and carrying a machine gun when he was killed. Taie bin Salem bin Yaslam Al-Saya'ari was "dangerous" and already on a wanted list, and was reportedly an expert in making explosive jackets, recruiting suicide bombers and training them, MOI spokes... [Full Article...]
Search for MH370 in "final lap": Malaysian official
Malaysia's Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said the search of a 120,000-square-kilometre area, where experts believe the plane went down, would be completed but the hunt would then end in the absence of any "credible clue". But Australia's Transport Minister Darren Chester said the "information in the ATSB report, however, does not give a specific location of the missing aircraft". [Full Article...]
Hashemi Rafsanjani, Former Iranian President, Dies at Age 82
The following year he delivered crucial support for the eventual victor, Hassan Rouhani, a moderate with whom he had a warm rapport. He served as the fourth President of Iran between 1989 and 1997. Rafsanjani was said to be still an influential figure in Iran. Following the news of Rafsanjani's death, a crowd gathered outside the hospital in Tehran's Tajrish neighbourhood where he had been taken... [Full Article...]
Israel apologizes over embassy worker's vow to 'take down' United Kingdom minister
The Labour party has called on the government to immediately launch an inquiry into "improper interference in our democratic politics" after the disclosure that an Israeli embassy official had plotted to "take down" UK MPs regarded as hostile . [Full Article...]
Obama Says Americans' Skepticism Gave Campaign Hacks a Foothold
In tweets this week, Trump ridiculed the Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation conclusions, which are supported by outgoing President Barack Obama, that hackers working at the bidding of the Russian government stole embarrassing Democratic Party documents from the party's computers and leaked the via WikiLeaks to undermine the presidential campaign of Trump rival Hillary ... [Full Article...]
Car-Bomb Blast Rocks Eastern Baghdad
According to local sources, the attacker is believed to have driven the auto through a gate into the market and detonated the bomb after security forces fired on the vehicle. In fact, Sadr City was targeted with another suicide bombing just days ago. ISIS, an extremist Sunni sect, views Shiites as infidels. "Iraqi special forces and their Shia militia allies have been trying to drive IS from i... [Full Article...]
Grigor Dimitrov wins Brisbane International with three-set success over Kei Nishikori
But he hasn't won a title since his success in Brisbane past year. "I'm on that right track - I feel like if I can avoid that hiccup, I can have a very, very good time in Melbourne". The No. 2-seeded Wawrinka broke back immediately, but dropped his serve again in the next game. However, their most recent meeting encounter in the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup in Toronto required three sets wi... [Full Article...]
Ivory Coast troops revolt over wages
Ivory Coast - French-speaking West Africa's largest economy - has emerged from a 2002-11 political crisis as one of the continent's rising economic stars. But authorities and a lawmaker later blamed soldiers on active duty. The government confirmed that they were ready to listen to the grievances of the soldiers. [Full Article...]