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For all of the Trump administration’s insistence that the threat of an “imminent” attack led to the American drone strike on Iran’s top general, U.S. officials behind the scenes say the strike was motivated as much, if not more, by a broader effort to rein in a dangerously emboldened Iran. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General William Barr gave voice to the broader rationale on Monday, saying deterrence was a key component of the strike.
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Dozens of injured koalas arrive at the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park's makeshift animal hospital each day in cat carriers, washing baskets or clinging to wildlife carers. Injured in bushfires that have ravaged the wildlife haven off the coast of South Australia state, there are so many marsupials currently requiring urgent treatment that carers don't have time to give them names -- they are simply referred to by a number.
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Iran announced Tuesday its first arrests over the accidental shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger jet, as protesters vented their anger over the catastrophic blunder for a fourth consecutive day. Nearly two weeks after the US killed a top Iranian commander in Iraq, tensions with the West increased further as EU countries on Tuesday launched an arbitration process charging Tehran with failing to observe commitments in the 2015 nuclear deal, prompting Iran to warn of unspecified "consequences". The Ukraine International Airlines plane was brought down by a missile shortly after takeoff on Wednesday, killing all 176 passengers and crew on board.
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Red-hot lava spewed from a volcano near the Philippine capital of Manila on Monday as tens of thousands of people fled through heavy ash and frightening tremors, and authorities made plans to evacuate hundreds of thousands more for fear of a bigger eruption. Clouds of ash from the Taal volcano reached Manila, 65 kilometers (40 miles) to the north, on Sunday, forcing the shutdown of the country's main airport, with more than 500 flights canceled.
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(Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.Prime Minister Boris Johnson sought to assuage concern in Northern Ireland that his Brexit deal will economically cut off the region from the rest of the U.K.The border between Ireland and Northern Ireland dogged the divorce talks between the U.K. and the European Union for two years before Johnson effectively agreed to keep the region in the EU’s customs union and large parts of its single market. That was opposed by unionist parties, who argued the move risks creating barriers to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and splitting the U.K.“The only circumstances in which you could imagine the need for checks from GB to NI, as I have explained before, is if those goods were going on into Ireland and we had not secured -- which I hope and am confident we will -- a zero tariff, zero quota agreement with our friends and partners in the EU,” Johnson told reporters in Belfast on Monday.Some trade experts say, even if there’s a Free Trade Agreement with the bloc, checks will be needed to ensure goods going to Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K. meet EU standards. Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay told the House of Commons in October that “some information will be needed” on goods going to the region and there would be “targeted interventions” on goods passing in the other direction.Johnson was in Northern Ireland to meet with the leaders of the power-sharing executive, which was restored over the weekend after three years of deadlock. The assembly will regularly have a vote on the Brexit arrangements Johnson negotiated for Northern Ireland, with the first ballot in Belfast set for four years after the end of the transition period.“The arrangements that we have put in place under the Northern Ireland protocol automatically evaporate after 4 years unless the assembly decides that they want to protract them,” Johnson said. “So there are plenty of protections for Northern Irish business, farmers and others.”To contact the reporters on this story: Dara Doyle in Dublin at ddoyle1@bloomberg.net;Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Thomas Penny, Edward EvansFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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U.S. commanders at the Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq do not think that last week's attacks by Iran were only meant to scare people."These were designed and organized to inflict as many casualties as possible," Lt. Col Tim Garland, Commander of Task Force Jazeera, told The Washington Post. Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles, targeting al-Asad and a second base in northern Iraq. The bases house U.S. troops, and were already on high alert after Iran promised to exact revenge for President Trump authorizing an airstrike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani.The base was told late Tuesday that it should expect an attack from Iran, and went into lockdown. Troops moved into underground bunkers and shelters, while some remained outside to man the perimeter, due to fears there could be also be a ground assault. The strikes came in waves, the Post reports, with up to 15 minutes between each one, and troops felt the shock waves in the air. Two soldiers in a tower were thrown through a window, commanders said, and ultimately several dozen troops were treated for concussion.The barrage lasted more than 90 minutes, and when day broke, officials were able to fully assess the damage. Prefabricated buildings were mangled and living quarters and a helicopter launch site were damaged. There were no deaths, and Lt. Col. Staci Coleman told the Post it was "miraculous" that no one was seriously injured. Read more at The Washington Post.More stories from theweek.com Bernie Sanders' appraisal of a woman's 2020 chances isn't shocking. It's conventional wisdom. 10 fake photos of Hurricane Sandy Warren campaign tells supporters to seek 'de-escalation' in feud with Sanders
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo alleged Monday that Iraqi leaders have told him privately they support the US troop presence, despite public appeals for them to leave. The Iraqi parliament last week voted to rescind the invitation to foreign troops after a US strike at the Baghdad airport killed a top general from Iran, which also has wide influence in the country.
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