Iraq PM tells Kurdish leaders he does not seek 'hostility' with US

Iraq's caretaker premier told Kurdish leaders on Saturday he did not seek a hostile relationship with the United States, in his first visit to the autonomous region since coming to power in 2018. Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi travelled to Arbil with a delegation of top ministers and his intelligence chief. The trip came at a time of political turmoil for Iraq, after months of anti-government rallies that saw Abdel Mahdi resign and worsening ties with the US as Iraqi lawmakers push for a withdrawal of foreign troops.

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Democratic 2020 candidates vie for unions, Latinos in Nevada

Democratic presidential candidates descended on Nevada on Saturday in an attempt to build relationships with Latino voters and win the coveted endorsement of the powerful casino workers’ Culinary Union. Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg, both running as Midwestern moderates who’ve warned against liberal plans to move the U.S. to a government-run health insurance system, pitched themselves Saturday morning to Culinary Union workers, who prize their robust health plans.

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Four wounded in attack on Iraqi military base housing U.S. forces

Four people were wounded on Sunday in an attack on Balad air base in Iraq, which houses U.S. personnel.

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IS claims Pakistan mosque bombing as death toll rises to 15

Pakistani officials raised the death toll from a mosque bombing in the country's southwest to 15 people on Saturday, as the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. It killed a senior police officer and 13 others. Quetta police chief Abdur Razzaq Cheema said another victim of the mosque bombing died of serious wounds in the city hospital raising the death toll to 15.

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Flights halted, evacuations as Philippine volcano spews ash

Philippine authorities warned Sunday a volcano near the capital Manila could erupt imminently, hours after it sent a massive column of ash skyward that grounded flights and coated towns across the region in fine dust. Thousands of people living near Taal volcano, a popular tourist attraction set in the centre of a picturesque lake, were evacuated from their homes as it spewed ash, rumbled with earthquakes and lightning exploded above its crest. Aviation officials ordered a suspension of flights in to and out of the capital's Ninoy Aquino International Airport, after the ash cloud was reported to have reached 50,000 feet (15,000 metres).

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Canada, under pressure at home over plane crash, warns Iran world is watching

OTTAWA/EDMONTON, Alberta (Reuters) - The Canadian government, under pressure at home to be tougher on Iran over intelligence reports it shot down a passenger jet, on Friday reiterated calls for a full probe into the disaster and warned Tehran that "the world is watching". Friends and families of some of the Canadians killed when a Ukrainian airliner crashed outside Tehran are demanding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau take a harder stance after accusing Iran of downing the plane, albeit probably by mistake. Iran denies the charge.

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Pompeo Plans Dinner With Tech Leaders Including Oracle’s Ellison

(Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Michael Pompeo is planning to attend a private dinner on Monday with tech leaders including Oracle Corp.’s Larry Ellison, according to people familiar with the matter. The dinner, which will be held in San Francisco, comes as tensions between the U.S. and Iran run high, and days after Pompeo announced new sanctions on the country.The hope is to drum up support for the Trump administration in Silicon Valley amid the ongoing conflict with Iran, according to one of the people, all of whom asked not to be identified discussing private information.The dinner guest list includes about 15 people, many of them tech industry leaders, including Sarah Friar, the chief executive officer of Nextdoor.com Inc., Marc Andreessen, the prominent venture capitalist, and Gregory Becker, the CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, the person said.Representatives for Oracle, Nextdoor, Andreessen Horowitz and Silicon Valley Bank didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.The dinner is set to follow appearances earlier Monday for Pompeo in Silicon Valley, including public events at the Commonwealth Club and Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.\--With assistance from Nick Wadhams and Nico Grant.To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Frier in San Francisco at sfrier1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Anne VanderMey, Virginia Van NattaFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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Iranians marched in fiery protests to demand Ayatollah Khamenei's resignation after officials shot down a commercial plane

Angry protestors reportedly chanted "death to the dictator" and "shameless" shortly after the government admitted to shooting down a Ukrainian flight.

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Death Toll in Pakistani Mosque Explosion Increases to 15

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U.S. investigation reportedly to result in expulsion of some Saudi military students

The United States is planning to expel more than a dozen members of Saudi Arabia's military who are training at U.S. military installations, multiple sources told CNN.The decision was reportedly reached after an FBI investigation following a shooting last month at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida, in which a member of the Saudi Royal Air Force killed three U.S. service members on the base. The FBI and Justice Department declined to comment.The Saudis who are expected to be expelled aren't accused of aiding in the shooting, which has been treated by law enforcement as a terrorist incident, but some are reportedly believed to have connections to extremist movements, per CNN. Others were reportedly found to possess child pornography, a defense official said.The Saudi government has reportedly been cooperative and even reportedly helped U.S. investigators link particular social media accounts to individuals. One of the major findings of the investigations appears to be a social media conversation, in which some military members expressed support for extremism. Read more at CNN and The Washington Post.More stories from theweek.com The death of rock's master craftsman Pelosi says delaying articles of impeachment achieved 'very positive' results America dreams of Chinese state capitalism

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Canada prosecutor says essence of Huawei CFO case is fraud

Canada's Department of Justice said Friday the allegation against a top Chinese executive arrested at the United States' request would be a crime in Canada and she should be extradited to the United States on fraud charges. Canada arrested Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei's founder, in Dec. 2018 in a case that sparked a diplomatic furor among the three countries and complicated high-stakes U.S.-China trade talks. China detained two Canadians in apparent retaliation for the arrest Meng.

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Another massive 6.0 earthquake shook Puerto Rico, and the island hasn't recovered from the last major earthquake less than a week ago

An already fragile Puerto Rico has been devastated by ongoing earthquakes, including another massive 6.0-magnitude one after a 6.4 quake days earlier.

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Hong Kong Protesters Rehearse for ‘Anti-Communist March’

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Friends and foes gather in Oman to mourn Qaboos

World and regional leaders, many at odds with one another, met Oman's new ruler on Sunday to offer condolences for the death of Sultan Qaboos whose quiet diplomacy during five decades in power helped calm regional turbulence. The rulers of Qatar and the United Arab Emirate, which are locked in a protracted dispute, were among those who visited the royal palace in Muscat as was the foreign minister of Iran, which is an arch-foe of U.S.-allied Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

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More than 1,100 Chicago flights canceled due to winter weather

More than 1,100 flights have been canceled in and out of Chicago according to the flight tracking service FlightAware.

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Ukraine demands punishment for Iran downing plane

Ukraine on Saturday demanded that Iran punish those who downed Flight PS752 and compensate victims while praising Tehran for cooperating with an "objective" investigation.

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7 bombs struck an Iraqi joint military base housing US soldiers, wounding 4

The attack comes just days after two military bases in Iraq that house US forces were targeted by Iran as tensions between the countries escalated.

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India blows up luxury high-rises over environmental violations

Two luxury waterfront high-rises in southern India were reduced to rubble in controlled explosions Saturday in a rare example of authorities getting tough on builders who break environmental rules. The 19-floor H2O Holy Faith complex of 90 flats -- overlooking Kerala state's famous lush backwaters -- was the first to go down, collapsing in just a matter of few seconds. A thick grey cloud of dust and debris cascaded down after officials detonated explosives drilled into the walls of the building, which had been occupied for several years until the Supreme Court ruled last May that it was constructed in violation of coastal regulations.

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Pentagon chief says no specific evidence Iran was plotting to attack four U.S. embassies

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday said he did not see specific evidence from intelligence officials that Iran was planning to attack four U.S. embassies, an assertion made by President Donald Trump in justifying the killing of Iran's top general. While Esper said he agreed with Trump that additional attacks against U.S. embassies were likely, he said on CBS's "Face the Nation" that Trump's remarks to Fox News were not based on specific evidence on an attack on four embassies.

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Trump’s Impeachment Team Takes Shape as Trial Looms

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Schumer, Eyeing Senate’s Top Job, Navigates Tricky Impeachment Terrain

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