World

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – A triumphant Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared yesterday that the coming year would see his forces defeat Islamic State, after his military achieved its first major victory since collapsing in the face of the fighters 18 months ago.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Islamic State has set up departments to handle “war spoils,” including slaves, and the exploitation of natural resources such as oil, creating the trappings of government that enable it to manage large swaths of Syria and Iraq and other areas.

HONOLULU (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will welcome Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for an official visit to Washington on March 10, complete with a rare state dinner and discussions about energy and climate change, the White House said yesterday.

Last rites of veteran Bollywood actress Sadhana Shivdasani were performed on Saturday at a crematorium in suburban Santacruz here where celebrities and family members bid adieu to the departed soul, according to the Times of India.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Russian air strikes like the one that killed a top Syrian rebel leader last week send the wrong message to groups engaged in a political dialogue to end the conflict and complicate efforts to begin negotiations, the US State Department said yesterday.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Around 450 Syrian fighters and their families were evacuated from two besieged areas yesterday under the kind of operation that the United Nations hopes can be a stepping stone toward a wider peace accord in the country’s civil war.

BAGHDAD, (Reuters) – Iraq’s army declared victory over Islamic State fighters in a provincial capital west of Baghdad yesterday, the first major triumph for the U.S.-trained

CHICAGO, (Reuters) – The families of two black Chicagoans killed by police accused officers yesterday of having used excessive force and Mayor Rahm Emanuel of having failed them, piling pressure on a city facing a U.S.

ASUNCION/BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) – With further rain looming, more families abandoned their homes yesterday in Paraguay, the country hardest hit by the worst flooding in decades in the area bordering Uruguay and Argentina, which has already forced more than 100,000 people to evacuate.

DALLAS, (Reuters) – Storms hit the U.S. South, Southwest and Midwest over the Christmas holiday weekend, unleashing floods and tornadoes that killed at least 43 people, flattened buildings and snarled transportation for millions during a busy travel time.

VATICAN CITY, (Reuters) – Pope Francis urged Central American governments yesterday to find an urgent solution to help thousands of U.S.-bound

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Leaders of the church-based Sanctuary Movement vowed on Friday to offer their places of worship as refuge for immigrants facing deportation under an Obama administration crackdown on Central American families who entered the United States illegally.

CONAKRY (Reuters) – Guinea President Alpha Conde named mining executive Mamady Youla as prime minister yesterday as part of a strategy to revive the West African nation’s ailing economy, the government announced.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – A UN-brokered deal to evacuate more than 2,000 Islamic State fighters and other militants from rebel-held suburbs of Damascus yesterday has been delayed after the killing of an insurgent leader, an organisation that monitors the Syrian war said.

(Reuters) – Beijing was anxious to make a good impression at the recent World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, China.

BELGRADE (Reuters) – Serbian police arrested 79 people including a former minister on corruption charges including abuse of office, money laundering and financial crime, the interior minister said.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – More than 100 homes burned down in a leading Australian tourist area in bushfires on Christmas Day and the situation remained dangerous yesterday, as officials predicted more blazes to come later in the hot southern summer.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bagged or boxed, brown or powdered, Americans are buying markedly less sugar this year, a trend nowhere more noticeable than during the holidays when home-baking picks up.

ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise stopover in Pakistan today to meet his counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, the first time an Indian premier has visited the rival nation in over a decade.

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, (Reuters) – The Obama administration yesterday came under fire from Democratic presidential candidates and human rights groups for plans to intensify deportations of Central American migrants by rounding up undocumented families.