The Texas high school football coach suspected of directing his players to blindside an official in a game denied he ordered the hit and told a investigative panel on Thursday he wants to clear his name. John Jay High School secondary coach Mack Breed said he made comments that included profanities in anger about an official’s call in the game last month while on the sidelines but that they were
By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Reversing policy on Afghanistan, President Barack Obama announced on Thursday he will slow the pace of withdrawing U.S. troops, prolonging the 14-year U.S. engagement there and effectively handing off the task of pulling out to his successor. Calling it a “modest but meaningful” adjustment to winding up the American presence in Afghanistan, Obama said the United States will maintain a force of 9,800 through
By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Reversing policy on Afghanistan, President Barack Obama announced on Thursday he will slow the pace of withdrawing U.S. troops, prolonging the 14-year U.S. engagement there and effectively handing off the task of pulling out to his successor. Calling it a “modest but meaningful” adjustment to winding up the American presence in Afghanistan, Obama said the United States will maintain a force of 9,800 through
Scottish and U.S. investigators have identified two Libyan suspects believed to have been involved in the Lockerbie airline bombing almost 27 years ago which killed 270 people, Scottish prosecutors said on Thursday. Pam Am flight 103 was blown up over the Scottish town of Lockerbie on Dec. 21, 1988 en route from London to New York. In 2001, Libyan Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was jailed for life and remains the only
Scottish and U.S. investigators have identified two Libyan suspects believed to have been involved in the Lockerbie airline bombing almost 27 years ago which killed 270 people, Scottish prosecutors said on Thursday. Pam Am flight 103 was blown up over the Scottish town of Lockerbie on Dec. 21, 1988 en route from London to New York. In 2001, Libyan Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was jailed for life and remains the only
By Dominic Evans and Suleiman Al-Khalidi BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian troops and their allies, backed by Russian jets, attacked rebel-held towns north of the city of Homs on Thursday, targeting a long-held and strategic enclave of opposition to President Bashar al-Assad. The offensive that began before dawn builds on over a week of ground attacks launched with Russian air support in areas of western Syria that are crucial to Assad’s
By Dominic Evans and Suleiman Al-Khalidi BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian troops and their allies, backed by Russian jets, attacked rebel-held towns north of the city of Homs on Thursday, targeting a long-held and strategic enclave of opposition to President Bashar al-Assad. The offensive that began before dawn builds on over a week of ground attacks launched with Russian air support in areas of western Syria that are crucial to Assad’s
By Alastair Macdonald and Chine Labbé BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Turkey demanded on Thursday that the European Union start easing restrictions next year on Turks traveling to the European Union if it wants full cooperation to stem the flow of Syrian refugees and other migrants from its territory to Europe. As EU leaders held a summit in Brussels dominated by talk of concessions to Turkey in return for Turkish help on
By Alastair Macdonald and Chine Labbé BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Turkey demanded on Thursday that the European Union start easing restrictions next year on Turks traveling to the European Union if it wants full cooperation to stem the flow of Syrian refugees and other migrants from its territory to Europe. As EU leaders held a summit in Brussels dominated by talk of concessions to Turkey in return for Turkish help on
By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel bristled on Thursday at U.S. suggestions it may have used excessive force to confront Palestinian stabbings, and also published hospital images it said refuted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s allegation a teen suspect had been “executed”. Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon accused Washington of “misreading” the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying shooting knife-wielding Palestinians was self-defense. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan called the U.S. remarks “foolish”.
