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Henry Meyer / Bloomberg The latest bid to end five years of war in Syria gathered some momentum as the main opposition group arrived in Geneva for United Nations-sponsored talks, though it refused to lift a threat to boycott the peace process. The Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee, whose delegation landed in the Swiss city on Saturday, said it will have ...

Baghdad / AFP The United Nations launched an appeal on Sunday for $861 million in international humanitarian assistance to help millions of people in Iraq who are suffering from war and displacement. Violence including the devastating war with the IS extremists group has displaced 3.3 million Iraqis in the past two years, while some 250,000 Syrians have fled to Iraq ...

Justin Sink / Bloomberg President Barack Obama will visit a US mosque for the first time in his presidency next week, when he travels to Baltimore Feb. 3 to meet with Muslim community leaders. Obama will hold a round-table with community members and “reiterate the importance of staying true to our core values—welcoming our fellow Americans, speaking out against bigotry, ...

Alan Bjerga / Bloomberg The Pentagon confirmed it sent a ship into waters claimed by China, calling it a “freedom of navigation” operation meant to challenge attempts by that country and others to restrict navigation in the area. The USS Curtis Wilbur got to within 12 nautical miles (22 km) of Triton Island in the South China Sea, Defense Department ...

United States / AFP Months into their campaigns, US presidential candidates were suddenly racing against time in a final frenzied weekend of persuasion politics before Iowa kicks off the nomination process. Democrat Hillary Clinton, fearful of a 2008 repeat when she was beaten to the punch in Iowa by an upstart Barack Obama, was leaving nothing to chance, stumping in ...

Addis Ababa / AFP Ethiopia is struggling from its worst drought for 30 years with millions in dire need of life saving aid, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned on Sunday. At least 10.2 million people need food aid in Ethiopia, a figure the UN has warned could rise sharply, as “forecasts indicate that it could double within months” casting a ...

Thomas Penny / Bloomberg Google Inc. denied it reached a “sweetheart deal” with British tax authorities as a dispute continued over the 130 million-pound ($185 million) settlement, which was called a victory by the UK Treasury and dismissed as “derisory” by opposition lawmakers. UK Business Secretary SajidJavid separately said the agreement “wasn’t a glorious moment” and he shares “the sense ...

Khan Yunis / AFP Azza Al Najjar struggles in vain to keep her two-year-old warm by wrapping him in blankets in her prefabricated metal home as a winter storm lashes the Gaza Strip. “The cold increases the suffering of people here,” the 24-year-old mother says. “My son has breathing problems and with the weather his condition has worsened.” The family ...

Damascus / AFP At least 45 people were killed and 110 wounded on Sunday in three bomb blasts near the revered Shiite shrine of Sayyida Zeinab outside the Syrian capital Damascus, state media said. State news agency SANA said the first blast was caused by a car bomb that detonated at a bus station near the shrine. It said two ...

Geneva / AFP The Syrian peace talks, which got off to a start of sorts this weekend, are meant to be a uniquely Syrian affair. But in reality there is a host of outside interests also at the table, in spirit at least. What began as a popular revolt against the authoritarian rule of President Bashar Al Assad in March ...