“We’re called conspiracy theorists because we see this cabal right in front of us,” said Gaetz. “We aggregate these data points and show what was really going on.”
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2nmRvlb
World News - Find latest world news and headlines today based on politics, crime, entertainment, sports, lifestyle, technology and many
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Qatar have reached a deal to resolve a years-old quarrel over alleged airline subsidies, seven individuals familiar with the deal said Monday, as Qatar's government works to defuse tensions with the Trump administration.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2Ep2QIQ
A Russian-organised peace conference aimed at ending the war in Syria had a shambolic start on Tuesday, after dozens of opposition delegates refused to leave the airport in Sochi and others backed out at the last minute. Moscow, a staunch Assad ally, is hosting what it has called a Syrian Congress of National Dialogue in the Black Sea resort that it hopes will launch negotiations on drafting a new constitution for Syria after almost seven years of war. But the conference, which is running in parallel to the United Nations-negotiated talks, looked in jeopardy after more than 70 rebel delegates refused to leave the airport until all logos and emblems representing the government were removed. A rebel source told the Telegraph Russia had promised to change or remove the symbol of the congress, which read “Peace to the People of Syria” but only featured the regime flag, only to be greeted by them at the arrivals gate. Sochi conference logo (w/only regime flag) causing problems. Apparently a group of opposition members refused to board one of the buses with it at the airport. They sat at the terminal until other transport was arranged. pic.twitter.com/hjSVlH0uR1— Neil Hauer (@NeilPHauer) January 30, 2018 The Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC), the country's main opposition group, meanwhile said following two days of UN-led talks in Vienna last week that it would not attend the Sochi congress. Turkey, which backs the opposition and is co-sponsoring the talks with Iran, which supports Bashar al-Assad’s government, said it would represent the rebels. Lt. Col. Ahmad al-Saud of Idlib's Free Syrian Army claimed the opposition delegation was mistreated by Russian authorities at the airport, where he was detained for several hours Credit: Twitter/CombatChris1 Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, was heckled during his opening statement, with several delegates accusing Moscow of killing civilians in Syria with its air strikes. “In Russia, it's polite to say ‘please’ first,” Mr Lavrov responded, saying they would have a chance to speak later. The conference was initially billed as a two-day event but was cut down to one. Observers noted that much of Tuesday’s programme was taken up with a long lunch and dinner, leaving little time for discussion. Attendees shout slogans prior to a plenary session at the Congress of Syrian National Dialogue in Sochi Credit: AFP Britain, the US and France did not send any official delegates because of what they say is the government's refusal to properly engage. Western powers support the UN process, which is now in its ninth round but has so far failed to make any major headway. The conference was also also boycotted by Kurdish delegates over Turkey’s offensive on the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia in Afrin, a northern Syrian enclave on the border with Turkey. A few Kurdish officials attended in a personal capacity and reportedly met in private with Russian counterparts on the sidelines of the conference. The main aim of the Sochi talks is to establish a committee to create a post-war constitution for Syria with UN backing, according to a draft statement. However, any deal agreed without he Kurds, which control some 25 per cent of territory in Syria, will unlikely succeed. The poor start is a blow to Russia, which has been positioning itself a Middle East peace broker and trying to consolidate influence in the region as the US increasingly takes a step back from the Syrian crisis under President Donald Trump. "The whole point of the congress was to have a serious negotiation with the Kurds, or at least the Higher Negotiating Committee (the most relevant opposition body)," Neil Hauer, s security analyst focused on Russia-Syria relations, told the Telegraph from Sochi. "Neither of them are here, and as such there's not much that can be discussed. Nor will anything announced here have much legitimacy. It will be very difficult for the Russians to spin this as a win." The opposition has accused Russia of not being an honest broker after failing to uphold a deal made in previous round of talks in Kazakhstan. Both sides agreed to so-called de-escalation zones across Syria, which government forces have since violated. Hours before the the congress got underway, nearly a dozen civilians were killed in a pro-government air strike on the largest market in rebel-held Idlib province. The government is now focused on the northwestern province of Idlib, which is dominated by al-Qaeda-linked militants and home to more than 2.6 million people, nearly half of whom have fled from other areas. It appears to have stepped up its bombing campaign in Idlib in recent days. The Observatory reported 90 airstrikes in Idlib on Monday alone.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2GupW14
By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - China and the African Union dismissed on Monday a report in French newspaper Le Monde that Beijing had bugged the regional bloc's headquarters in the Ethiopian capital. An article published Friday in Le Monde, quoting anonymous AU sources, reported that data from computers in the Chinese-built building had been transferred nightly to Chinese servers for five years. After the massive hack was discovered a year ago, the building's IT system including servers was changed, according to Le Monde.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2Emivs9
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — More than $50 million worth of gold bars, coins and dust that's been described as the greatest lost treasure in U.S. history is about to make its public debut in California after sitting at the bottom of the ocean for more than 150 years.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2DLRjpN
North Korea has stepped up its executions, the top commander of US troops on the Korean Peninsula said on Monday, amid increasing strain on the its military from international economic sanctions. “We’re seeing some increase in executions, mostly against political officers who are in military units, for corruption,” General Vincent K Brooks, the top US commander in South Korea told the Wall Street Journal. He added that the actions “are really about trying to clamp down on as much as possible on something that might be deteriorating and keeping it from deteriorating too quickly.” In recent months the South Korean press has reported the possible execution of Park In-young, the official in charge of Pyongyang’s nuclear test facilities, and former military chief, General Hwang Pyong-so, who was accused of allegedly taking bribes. General Brooks also noted a recent shift in the pattern of defections from the North. “We’re seeing defections happening in areas where we don’t generally see them, for example crossing the DMZ (Demilitarised Zone on the border),” he said. Meanwhile, North Korea has been cutting back on its winter military drills as harsh sanctions over its nuclear and weapons programme begin to bite, say analysts. The military exercises, which usually run from December to March, got started late and aren’t as extensive as before, the Journal reported. The United Nations has placed major restrictions on imports of oil and refined petroleum products to North Korea, which may have led to a reduction in military activities to save fuel. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visiting the State Academy of Sciences at an undisclosed location Credit: AFP “Where this will have an effect in on ground-force readiness,” Joseph Bermudez, a military analyst for 38 North, a website run by Johns Hopkins University’s US-Korea Institute, told the paper. “Military units have to train to maintain their proficiency.” North Korean workers overseas, previously a big source of foreign currency for the regime, are also now being sent home from their host countries after strict new sanctions imposed by the UN in August, following Pyongyang’s test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. On Tuesday it emerged that Angola was the latest country to terminate all of its contracts with North Korean construction company, Mansudae, and had asked its employees to leave.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2nsbf5Y
The future is looking bright for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which is set for massive growth as the program finally reaches maturity and enters into full rate production. “Our F-35 program, during the fourth quarter we met our joint government and industry commitment by delivering the 66 aircraft in 2017,” Marillyn Hewson, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin, told investors. Lockheed Martin expects that the program will continue to expand in 2018.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2DOd1cK
The United States warned Tuesday that it may soon impose new sanctions on Russian figures, after Vladimir Putin laughed off the release of a US target list of his closest and richest allies. The world was braced for a US sanctions onslaught on Monday when a new law came into effect 180 days after President Donald Trump, still hopeful for warmer ties, begrudgingly signed it.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2nsdmXF
An Air Force sergeant is under investigation after a profanity-laced Facebook tirade in which she denigrated “black females” who are of lower rank than her. Tech Sgt Geraldine Lovely has been “removed from her supervisory role” after the Facebook post went viral over the weekend, officials at Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas have said. “It pisses me the f*** off that they have no respect and constantly have attitude,” Ms Lovely says in the video.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2DKMuZH
|