SOFTWARE HOUSE

The school on the outskirts of Istanbul is a rare place where Uighur child refugees from China can study their language and culture. Having fled a worsening crackdown on Uighur Muslims in northwest China, some of their parents thought it was still safe to return occasionally for business and to visit family, only to disappear into a shadowy network of re-education camps from which no communication is permitted. Nine-year-old Fatima has only vague memories of her homeland -- and now, of her father, too. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2SI5wKG

The Pentagon thinks so. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2tjUv7w

The union organizing comes as Google is facing a wave of internal activism from its own employees protesting the company's treatment of workers. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2tg5bnY

An Iran-backed militia vowed on Monday to retaliate for US military strikes in Iraq and Syria which killed 25 of its fighters and wounded dozens. "Our battle with America and its mercenaries is now open to all possibilities," Kataib Hizbollah said in a statement. "We have no alternative today other than confrontation and there is nothing that will prevent us from responding to this crime."   Iraq described the attacks on Kataib Hizbollah as a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty, and Iran said the airstrikes were “an obvious case of terrorism”. Moqtada al-Sadr, the notorious Iraqi Shia cleric, said on Monday that he was willing to work with Iran-backed militia groups - his political rivals - to end the United States military presence in Iraq through political and legal means. If that does not work, he will "take other actions" in cooperation with his rivals to kick out US troops. Sadr's militia fought US troops for years following Washington's i

A St. Petersburg court on Monday ordered the detention of two Russian men who were arrested on a tip provided by the U.S. and are suspected of plotting unspecified terrorist attacks in the city during the New Year holidays. The Dzerzhinsky District Court ruled that the suspects identified as Nikita Semyonov and Georgy Chernyshev should remain in custody pending their trial. The FSB didn't elaborate on their alleged motives or targets, but Russia's state television reported that the suspects had recorded a video swearing their allegiance to the Islamic State group. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/39ng9Zg

A Bosnian war crimes prosecutor on Tuesday indicted a Bosnian Serb former army general for taking part in the 1995 massacre of about 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, an atrocity described as genocide by two international courts. Milomir Savcic, 60, is accused of commanding the Bosnian Serb Army headquarters 65 Protection Motorised Regiment, which included a military police battalion, to capture, kill and bury adult Muslim Bosniaks from the U.N.-protected eastern enclave of Srebrenica in July 1995. Bosnian Serb forces led by General Ratko Mladic attacked Srebrenica on July 11, 1995, separated men from women and children, and killed about 8,000 Muslims, who were then buried in mass graves. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2tihGiH

Al-Qosh (Irak) (AFP) - In the glow of the nine-candled menorah, with kippa skullcaps on their heads and tallit prayer shawls around their shoulders, a small association is working to revive Hanukkah in Iraq. The country has been nearly emptied of its Jewish community amid regional conflict and violence within its borders, but this year, the town of Al-Qosh hosted its first Hanukkah celebrations. Al-Qosh is a majority Christian town around 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Mosul, the former self-proclaimed "capital" of the Islamic State group (IS) in Iraq. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/36ddnDM

New research suggests most people still want to book package holidays despite what happened after the collapse of Thomas Cook. from BBC News - Business https://ift.tt/2rIc40I

The swarm appears to be practicing a search for ... something. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2SE3zyY

The Republican-controlled Senate is due to weigh these charges in a trial in January. In the unlikely event he is found guilty, Trump would be removed from office. Trump and his Republican allies have attacked the impeachment effort as illegitimate, invoking concepts like "due process" and "hearsay" that are commonly associated with criminal cases. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2F4R6fI

MSC Cruises' new ship experienced a collision on Monday morning. MSC Grandiosa collided with the dock in Palermo, Sicily, a spokesperson confirmed. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2F8sL8H

Wildfires burning across Australia's two most populous states Tuesday trapped residents of a seaside town in apocalyptic conditions and killed at least two people while more property along the country's east coast fell victim to a devastating fire season. About 4,000 residents in the southeastern town of Mallacoota in Victoria state fled toward the water Tuesday morning as winds pushed an emergency-level wildfire toward their homes. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2QvVbPn

(Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren assailed the clout in Washington of billionaires and large corporations that have lined up to fight her calls for a wealth tax and Medicare for All.“Many corporate executives and career politicians and billionaires on both sides of the aisle want to keep their influence and their wealth,” Warren, a U.S. senator from Massachusetts, said in a speech in Boston Tuesday. “And they are already deep in the fight to do so.”Warren said that industry interests were lining up to stifle many of the more ambitious initiatives of her campaign, including the swift creation of a government-run health-care system that would cover all Americans and eliminate private insurance -- a proposal also offered by her rival for the party’s nomination, Bernie Sanders.“Americans overwhelmingly believe that health care is a basic human right,” Warren said. “But the private health insurance industry is dumping millions of dollars in false TV ads to sc

A Sri Lankan Court on Monday granted bail to a Swiss Embassy employee who was detained pending charges that she made statements to create disaffection toward the government and fabricated evidence. Before her arrest, the employee, a Sri Lankan national, had reportedly said she was abducted, held for hours, sexually assaulted and threatened by captors who demanded that she disclose embassy-related information. Sri Lankan authorities have said they investigated her complaint but found no evidence to file charges against anyone. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2F5rTSj

(Bloomberg) -- A trade deal between the U.S. and Japan that cuts tariffs on some agricultural products and industrial goods took effect Wednesday, with little indication the two sides would meet a pledge to soon start a new round of talks broadening the pact.Under the deal, Japan reduced tariffs on beef, pork and additional U.S. agricultural products to the same levels it grants other trading partners in the Trans-Pacific Partnership regional trade agreement. Japan failed to secure its goal of reduced tariffs on the cars and auto parts it exports to America.President Donald Trump had threatened the close U.S. ally with punitive tariffs on a $50 billion-a-year sector that is a cornerstone of its economy. While there has been no written pledge from Trump to halt extra tariffs on autos, Japan’s government has said U.S. officials -- including the president -- gave assurances that they would not be introduced. In one concession to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan’s politically sensitive ric

Indonesia said on Monday it had protested to Beijing over the presence of a Chinese coastguard vessel in its territorial waters near the disputed South China Sea, saying it marked a "violation of sovereignty". from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/37uzNRv

"The wreckage is in pretty tough shape. Between impact damage and fire damage, there's not a lot to work with," an aviation official said. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2ZC8Bxu

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for active “diplomatic and military countermeasures” to preserve the country’s security in a lengthy speech at a key political conference possibly meant to legitimize major changes to his nuclear diplomacy with the United States. Kim spoke for seven hours during the ruling Workers’ Party meeting that continued for the third day on Monday. The Korean Central News Agency said the plenary meeting of the party’s Central Committee will extend to the fourth day on Tuesday, a day before Kim is expected to use his annual New Year’s address to announce major changes to his economic and security policies. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/35cCNAh

CBN News has learned a massive sold-out event is happening New Year's Day at East Rutherford, New Jersey's MetLife Stadium where the reading of the entire Jewish Talmud will be concluded after 7 and 1/3 years. from CBNNews.com https://ift.tt/2ua9txB

CBN News has learned a massive sold-out event is happening New Year's Day at East Rutherford, New Jersey's MetLife Stadium where the reading of the entire Jewish Talmud will be concluded after 7 and 1/3 years. from CBNNews.com https://ift.tt/2ua9txB

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday he hoped North Korea would choose peace over war, a response to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un saying would introduce a "new strategic weapon" in the near future. from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2SG2o1W

Protesters angry about U.S. air strikes on Iraq hurled stones and torched a security post at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, setting off a confrontation with guards and posing a new challenge for U.S. President Donald Trump. from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/36fVtQS

Protesters angry about U.S. air strikes on Iraq hurled stones and torched a security post at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, setting off a confrontation with guards and posing a new challenge for U.S. President Donald Trump. from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/36fVtQS

Michael Moore has warned Donald Trump could lose the popular vote by 5 million but still win the 2020 election, given the Electoral College system.In 2016, Mr Trump won almost 3 million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton but comfortably won the election by winning key states. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/36a0fzv

A plane crashed Saturday in Lafayette, Louisiana, killing five people. One person on board survived. Passersby pulled person from flaming wreckage. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Sxz8KI

A man charged with federal hate crimes Monday in a bloody attack on a Hanukkah celebration had handwritten journals containing anti-Semitic references and had recently used his phone to look up information on Hitler and the location of synagogues, authorities said. Grafton Thomas, 37, was held without bail after appearing in federal court in White Plains on five counts of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs by attempting to kill with a dangerous weapon. Five people were stabbed and slashed in the Saturday attack north of New York City. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2tgtz8G

In their BBC interview, Thunberg called Attenborough "inspiring," and he praised her for having "achieved things that many of us ... have failed to." from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Qvwanf

(Bloomberg) -- Bernie Sanders helped light a menorah at a “Chanukah on Ice” event at an Iowa ice skating rink Sunday night, and condemned a rise in anti-semitism in America and “all over the world.”It’s rare to see the U.S. senator from Vermont, who is a secular Jew, in a religious setting while running for the Democratic presidential nomination.The annual Hanukkah event, organized by Des Moines Rabbi Yossi Jacobson, came less than 24 hours after an intruder stabbed five people at a rabbi’s home in the New York City suburb of Monsey Saturday night.“What we’re seeing right now -- we’re seeing it in America, we’re seeing it all over the world -- is a rise in anti-semitism. We’re seeing a rise in hate crimes,” Sanders said.“We’re seeing somebody run into a kid here in Des Moines because that child was a Latino. We’re seeing people being stabbed yesterday in New York City because they were Jewish. We are seeing people being assaulted because they are Muslim,” he told an audience of about 9

It was a year of unrest and upheaval, with protests in Hong Kong, and US-China trade tensions. from BBC News - Business https://ift.tt/2F9pN3T

The Link network should raise the fee it pays cash machine operators, say convenience store owners. from BBC News - Business https://ift.tt/2MErOZW

(Bloomberg) -- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called a multiple stabbing during Hanukkah celebrations on Saturday night “an act of domestic terrorism,” and President Donald Trump urged the nation to unite against antisemitism. The attack, which Cuomo said was one of about 13 antisemitic incidents in the past few weeks, took place in Monsey, a suburban hamlet in Rockland County, north of New York City.“I believe the situation has gotten so bad, frankly, that we need to increase our legal enforcement,” Cuomo said Sunday during a televised press briefing.A man reportedly entered the home of a Hasidic rabbi during Hanukkah celebrations Saturday evening and stabbed people gathered there with a large knife, injuring five people. Five CountsThe Ramapo Police Department said in a statement Sunday that 37-year-old Grafton Thomas had been arraigned on five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary. Thomas was transported to Rockland County Jail, according to the police department.Earl

A court in Cyprus on Monday found a British woman guilty of falsely claiming she was gang-raped by a group of Israeli tourists in the holiday resort of Ayia Napa. "The statements you have given were false," the judge told the defendant in remarks translated by the court interpreter. The Israelis, aged 15 to 18, were released without charge the same month after the woman was arrested on suspicion of making a false statement. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2ZBd6bh

Pope Francis on Sunday urged people to talk to each other at mealtimes instead of using their mobile phones, citing Jesus, Mary and Joseph as an example for families to follow. "I ask myself if you, in your family, know how to communicate or are you like those kids at mealtables where everyone is chatting on their mobile phone ... where there is silence like at a Mass but they don't communicate," the pope said. "We have to get back to communicating in our families," Francis said in his unscripted remarks. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/359XOLU

The DNC said that commissioning primary polls would break with its tradition of independent polling. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2tfa8NO

(Bloomberg) -- A Saudi Arabian court sentenced a Yemeni man to death for stabbing three performers at a theater show in the capital last month in an attack ordered by al-Qaeda, state-run TV reported.Another defendant was jailed for 12 1/2 years, Al Ekhbariya channel reported, citing the criminal court. The attack, in which three people were injured, was ordered by al-Qaeda in neighboring Yemen, the broadcaster said. It didn’t specify where it got the information.The mid-November attack in Riyadh came as the conservative kingdom undergoes a drastic overhaul of its social norms spearheaded by its young crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. Saudis have been granted freedoms that include the loosening of rules on women’s attire and travel as well as the mixing of genders in conjunction with a plan to wean the economy off oil.The court rulings were preliminary and both defendants can file appeals.\--With assistance from Sarah Algethami.To contact the reporter on this story: Reema Alothman in R

KIEV/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the east completed a large-scale prisoner swap on Sunday after bussing scores of detainees in the five-year conflict to an exchange point in the breakaway Donbass region. The swap should help build confidence between the two sides, who are wrangling over how to implement a peace deal after the loss of more than 13,000 lives, but major disagreements remain and full normalization is far off. Ukraine said 76 pro-government detainees were handed over, while separatists said they took 120 of their prisoners during the swap at a checkpoint near the industrial town of Horlivka. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2MGKecG

A court in Shenzhen, China, sentenced a Chinese scientist and two researchers Monday for creating the world's first genetically edited babies last year, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported. The lead scientist, He Jiankui, was handed three years in prison and a fine of 3 million yuan ($430,000) on charges of falsifying ethical review documents, practicing medicine without a license, and other infractions. The two researchers who helped He got lesser sentences: Zhang Renli was handed two years in prison and a 1 million yuan fine, and Qin Jinzhou received 18 months in jail, but with a two-year reprieve, and a 500,000 yuan fine."The three accused did not have the proper certification to practice medicine, and in seeking fame and wealth, deliberately violated national regulations in scientific research and medical treatment," Xinhua reported, citing the court's ruling. "They've crossed the bottom line of ethics in scientific research and medical ethic

* Swedish activist and president attended UN climate summit * ‘He’s not listening to experts … why would he listen to me?’Greta Thunberg has said she wouldn’t have wasted her time talking to Donald Trump about climate change at the UN climate change summit in New York earlier this year – the same event she was pictured glaring at the one of the world’s leading climate-change deniers.The Swedish climate activist made the comment during an interview on BBC Radio 4 on Monday morning, where she had been invited to guest-edit the programme.Thunberg, 16, was asked what she would have said to the leader who pulled the US – one of the world’s leading carbon emitters – out of the Paris climate accord, and who has taken radical steps to undo decades-old US pollution standards.She said: “Honestly, I don’t think I would have said anything. Because obviously he’s not listening to scientists and experts, so why would he listen to me?”She added: “So I probably wouldn’t have said anything, I wouldn’t

Worshippers in the US state of Texas shot dead a gunman who opened fire during a livestreamed Sunday service, ending an attack that killed two parishioners, authorities said. The latest US shooting at a house of worship took place in the suburban Fort Worth community of White Settlement on Sunday morning when the gunman entered West Freeway Church of Christ, officials said. "A couple of members of the church returned fire, striking the suspect who died at the scene," White Settlement Police Chief J.P. Bevering told reporters. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/36a24fE

An Iran-backed militia vowed on Monday to retaliate for US military strikes in Iraq and Syria which killed 25 of its fighters and wounded dozens. "Our battle with America and its mercenaries is now open to all possibilities," Kataib Hizbollah said in a statement. "We have no alternative today other than confrontation and there is nothing that will prevent us from responding to this crime."   Iraq described the attacks on Kataib Hizbollah as a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty, and Iran said the airstrikes were “an obvious case of terrorism”. Moqtada al-Sadr, the notorious Iraqi Shia cleric, said on Monday that he was willing to work with Iran-backed militia groups - his political rivals - to end the United States military presence in Iraq through political and legal means. If that does not work, he will "take other actions" in cooperation with his rivals to kick out US troops. Sadr's militia fought US troops for years following Washington's i

Bushfires have decimated Australia's koalas. One hospital in New South Wales is doing all it can to save them. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Zyv4LL

A Sri Lankan Court on Monday granted bail to a Swiss Embassy employee who was detained pending charges that she made statements to create disaffection toward the government and fabricated evidence. Before her arrest, the employee, a Sri Lankan national, had reportedly said she was abducted, held for hours, sexually assaulted and threatened by captors who demanded that she disclose embassy-related information. Sri Lankan authorities have said they investigated her complaint but found no evidence to file charges against anyone. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2F5rTSj

(Bloomberg) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte continued his attacks on a local television network he’s accused in the past of bias, and urged owners of ABS-CBN Corp. to sell before its franchise expires in March.In a televised speech delivered in the local language at Davao City on Monday, Duterte suggested the media firm’s franchise renewal is uncertain. He had earlier threatened to block the network’s bid to extend the franchise for 25 years.“Your contract is expiring. I’m not sure what will happen if you renew,” he said. “If I were you, I would just sell.”Duterte has accused ABS-CBN as well as privately-owned Philippine Daily Inquirer of unfair reporting, allegations that the media companies have denied. The president’s criticisms of ABS-CBN pushed its share price to a decade low earlier this month. The stock ended 2019 with a 21% loss compared with the local benchmark index’s 4.7% gain for the year.Duterte also resumed his criticism of water utilities for alleged corruption,

Greece's Prime Minister said in remarks published on Sunday that if Athens and Ankara cannot solve their dispute about maritime zones in the Mediterranean they should turn to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague to settle the disagreement. Turkey signed an accord with Libya's internationally recognized government last month that seeks to create an exclusive economic zone from Turkey's southern Mediterranean shore to Libya's northeast coast. Greece and Cyprus, which have long had maritime and territorial disputes with Turkey, say the accord is void and violates the international law of the sea. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Q6shWP

The government says it will boost pay by more than four times the rate of inflation. from BBC News - Business https://ift.tt/2SIsGR5

Some Republicans and President Trump have floated subpoenaing Joe and Hunter Biden to appear before the Senate. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/37iBtNO

The U.S. launched strike against Iranian military targets in Syria following a Friday attach in Iraq that killed one American. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2F7q1Iw