Iraq and US begin formal talks to end coalition mission formed to fight the Islamic State group
BEIRUT (AP) — The United States and Iraq held a first session of formal talks Saturday in Baghdad aimed at winding down the mission of a U.S.-led military coalition formed to fight in Iraq.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in a statement that he had sponsored “the commencement of the first round of bilateral dialogue between Iraq and the United States of America to end the mission of the Coalition in Iraq.”
A statement released by the coalition said that working groups made up of
Will other states replicate Alabama’s nitrogen execution?
ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s first-ever use of nitrogen gas for an execution could gain traction among other states and change how the death penalty is carried out in the United States, much like lethal injection did more than 40 years ago, according to experts on capital punishment.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said Friday that the , a 58-year-old convicted of a 1988 murder-for-hire, went off as planned and his office is ready to
Man convicted of manslaughter in the killing of former New Orleans Saints star Will Smith
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A man who shot former New Orleans Saints star Will Smith following a traffic crash nearly eight years ago has been convicted of manslaughter.
The jury deliberated for more than four hours and reached its verdict in the just after midnight Saturday, news outlets reported. He faces up to 40 years in prison.
The jury acquitted Hayes of attempted manslaughter in the shooting and wounding of Smith’s wife during the April 2016 confrontation.
Hayes, 36, had previously been convicted in
Gunmen kill 9 people in Iran near border with Pakistan
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Unknown gunmen on Saturday shot to death nine people in the southeastern part of Iran that borders Pakistan, media reports said.
A report by the semiofficial Mehr news agency said the shooting took place in a home near the town of Saravan, in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province. It added that the victims were not Iranian.
No official news outlet reported the shooting and no group has yet taken responsibility for the attack.
HalVash, an advocacy group for the Baluch people, shared images
Biden and Germany’s Scholz will meet in Washington as US and EU aid for Ukraine hangs in the balance
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will host German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the White House on Feb. 9 as the West struggles to provide new aid for Ukraine in the war against Russia.
“The two leaders will reaffirm their resolute support for Ukraine’s defense of its land and its people against Russia’s war of aggression,” the White House said in a statement Saturday.
The United States is out of money for Ukraine, unable to send the ammunition and missiles that the government in Kyiv needs to
Crew extinguish fire on tanker hit by Houthi missile off Yemen after US targets rebels in airstrike
JERUSALEM (AP) — The crew aboard a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker hit by a missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels extinguished an hourslong fire onboard the stricken vessel Saturday sparked by the strike, authorities said.
The attack on the Marlin Luanda further complicated the Red Sea crisis caused by the Iranian-backed rebels’ attacks over . The tanker carried Russian-produced naphtha, a flammable oil, drawing Moscow further into a conflict that so far it had blamed on the U.S.
Early Saturday, U.
Three people seriously injured in single-car crash in Etobicoke
Three people have been seriously injured following a single-car crash in Etobicoke.
Police say the car slammed into a concrete barrier on Eglinton Avenue West between Scarlett Road and Royal York Road just after 2:30 a.m. Saturday.
A 2012 Honda Civic was travelling at a high rate of speed westbound on Eglinton Avenue West in the left lane, as the right lane was under construction.
The driver lost control of the vehicle and collided into the concrete barrier of the construction zone. Police say
Airstrike kills 3 Palestinians in southern Gaza as Israel presses on with its war against Hamas
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday pushed back after an International Court of Justice ruling to limit death and destruction in the military’s Gaza offensive, declaring that “we decide and act according to what is required for our security” and vowing to press on until complete victory.
Witnesses said three Palestinians were killed earlier Saturday in an airstrike that Israel’s military said was targeting a Hamas commander in southern Gaza.
Israel’s military is under increasing scrutiny now that the top United Nations court has asked Israel for a
French farmers vow to continue protesting despite the government’s offer of concessions
PARIS (AP) — Angry French farmers Saturday threatened to converge on Paris in the coming days as traffic barricades were only partially lifted on the country’s major roads. The developments came a day after the government announced a the farmers said do not fully address their demands.
The , seeking better remuneration for their produce, less red tape and protection against cheap imports has spread in recent days across the country, with protesters using their tractors to shut down long stretches of road and slow traffic. They’ve also dumped
Remembering the horrors of Auschwitz, German chancellor warns of antisemitism, threats to democracy
BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday called on all citizens to defend Germany’s democracy and fight antisemitism as the country marked the of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau during World War II.
Since 1996, Germany has marked January 27 as a day to remember the horrors of the Holocaust.
“’Never again’ is every day,” Scholz said in his weekly video podcast. “January 27 calls out to us: Stay visible! Stay audible! Against antisemitism,