Kurds seek help from Syrians as US prepares to withdraw

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's military said Friday it had entered the key Kurdish-held town of Manbij in an apparent deal with the Kurds, who are looking for new allies and protection against a threatened Turkish offensive as U.S. troops prepare to leave Syria.

Trump threatens to seal off US-Mexico border 'entirely' if Congress does not agree funding for a wall

Donald Trump, the US president, on Friday threatened to seal off the entire US-Mexico border if Congress does not approve funding for a border wall. His comments came as the federal government shutdown entered its seventh day, with Mr Trump failing to come to a budget agreement with his Democratic opponents. The continued standoff means around a quarter of the US government will likely remain closed well into 2019, when the Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives. The shutdown began on Saturday after Democrats rejected Mr Trump’s demand for $5 billion (£3.93 billion) for a border wall to be included in a funding bill to keep the government open. "We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give us the money to finish the Wall & also change the ridiculous immigration laws that our Country is saddled with," Mr Trump tweeted Friday. Analysts have warned that closing the border would cost hundreds of millions of dollars a day, with an estimated $558 billion in goods being transported across the border in both directions last year. Such a move would also cause chaos for the nearly half a million people who are estimated to enter the US through its southern border each day. An agreement on border funding will be the first big confrontation between Mr Trump and newly empowered Democrats, who won a majority in the House of Representatives in November’s midterm elections. We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give us the money to finish the Wall & also change the ridiculous immigration laws that our Country is saddled with. Hard to believe there was a Congress & President who would approve!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2018 The Democrats are vehemently opposed to the construction of Mr Trump’s proposed wall, suggesting that funding should instead be used on border security. As he doubled down yesterday, Mr Trump also reissued threats to shut off aid to the three Central American countries from which a majority of migrants attempting to enter the US originate. "Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are doing nothing for the United States but taking our money. Word is that a new Caravan is forming in Honduras and they are doing nothing about it. We will be cutting off all aid to these 3 countries - taking advantage of US for years!" he wrote in one of a series of tweets. The president has also signalled he is in no rush to seek a resolution, welcoming the fight as he heads toward his own bid for re-election in 2020. Yesterday Mick Mulvaney, the president’s acting chief of staff, said Mr Trump had cancelled his plans to travel to Florida for a New Year’s Eve celebration. Mr Trump cancelled a planned trip last week to visit his private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, where he usually spends the Christmas period. During an appearance on Fox News, Mr Mulvaney said that Democrats are no longer negotiating with the administration over an earlier offer to accept less than the $5 billion Mr Trump wants for the wall. "There’s not a single Democrat talking to the president of the United States about this deal," he said, admitting that the White House expected the shutdown "to go on for a while". Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House, has vowed to pass legislation to end the shutdown as soon as she takes control of the chamber, which is expected when the new Congress convenes on January 3. "While we await the president’s public proposal, Democrats have made it clear that, under a House Democratic Majority, we will vote swiftly to re-open government on Day One," her spokesman Drew Hammill said yesterday. However passing any legislation will be difficult without a compromise, since the Republican-controlled Senate and Mr Trump’s signature will be needed to turn any bill into law. The shutdown is forcing hundreds of thousands of federal workers and contractors to stay home or work without pay, and many are experiencing mounting stress from the impasse. Washington’s Smithsonian museum complex announced that it would soon have to close all museums, research centres and the National Zoo in the US capital as the reserve funds it has been relying on are running dry.

3 charged in shooting at gender reveal party for woman who wasn't pregnant

Three men were charged in the 2017 deadly gender reveal party shooting for a woman who was not pregnant to begin with.

The Latest: Turkey-backed Syrians brace for key town clash

BEIRUT (AP) — BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on developments related to Syria (all times local):

Trump declares end to US 'policeman' role in surprise Iraq visit

Al-Asad Air Base (Iraq) (AFP) - President Donald Trump used a lightning visit to Iraq -- his first with US troops in a conflict zone since being elected -- to defend the withdrawal from Syria and declare an end to America's role as the global "policeman."

Donald Trump, venting fury over budget fight, threatens to close U.S.-Mexico border

Donald Trump threatened to close the U.S.-Mexico border if Democrats refused to budge on wall funding but he didn't spell out how he would do so.

Winter storms batter large swaths of US

At least three deaths were attributed to severe weather in the US as heavy snow and high winds snarled air and ground transportation during a busy holiday travel period. More than 500 flight cancelations and 5,700 delays were reported Friday as the winter storm blanketed areas from the north central plains and the Midwest with eight to 12 inches (20-30 centimeters) of snow. Another crash involving a snow plow and a car in North Dakota claimed one life.

UK says rising migrant Channel crossings are a 'major incident'

British interior minister Sajid Javid has said the fast-growing number of would-be immigrants crossing the English Channel from France in dinghies is a "major incident." Nearly 70 people have been intercepted in the past three days as they try to reach England by crossing one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Javid is also seeking an urgent call with his French counterpart over the weekend, his ministry said. "He has insisted the Home Office treat the situation as a major incident and has ... asked for daily updates," it said in a statement.

Japan bolts whaling commission, but tensions may ease

Japan has made good on years of threats by bolting the International Whaling Commission, but its decision may also offer a way out of tensions that looked inextricable. Japan, which calls whaling part of its cultural heritage, said Wednesday it would withdraw from the seven-decade-old commission which since 1986 has banned commercial killing of the ocean giants. Australia and New Zealand have been outraged by Japan's incursions into waters they consider a whale sanctuary and activists harassed the whalers in often dangerous chases.

Manhunt underway after suspected gunman kills officer during traffic stop: Police

Newman police officer Ronil Singh was killed during a traffic stop just before 1 a.m. on Dec. 26, 2018.

Shutdown to close DC museums; some basic services provided

WASHINGTON (AP) — Museums and galleries popular with visitors and locals in the nation's capital will close starting midweek if the partial shutdown of the federal government drags on.

On foreign policy, a confident Trump removes his training wheels

In the days preceding last July’s NATO summit in Brussels that President Trump was set to attend, administration officials including Defense Secretary James Mattis worked around the clock with European allies to seal a summit declaration before the alliance leaders’ meeting even began. The rush by Mr. Mattis and others to complete a deal they knew might not sit well with their boss – who had consistently aired his doubts about the benefits of international defense alliances like NATO and his disdain for what he considered to be freeloading allies – was striking. What it displayed was one more example of Mr. Trump’s top national security advisers working around the president’s skepticism and unpredictability toward traditional allies to confirm America’s unaltered global leadership role.

American adventurer completes solo trek across Antarctica

An American adventurer has become the first person to complete a solo trek across Antarctica without assistance of any kind. Colin O'Brady, 33, took 54 days to complete the nearly 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometer) crossing of the frozen continent from coast to coast. In an Instagram post, he explained his journey ended upon crossing the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf: the point where Antarctica's land mass ends.

Abandoned by US, Syrian Kurds request help from Assad regime

Kurdish Syrian forces have asked the Syrian government for protection against a Turkish attack in a flashpoint town, triggered by a shock US decision to withdraw forces from the country which left them exposed. Syrian troops erected the national flag in the outskirts of Manbij - the first time it has flown in the northern town for more than six years. “The aim is to ward off a Turkish offensive,” said Ilham Ahmed, a senior Kurdish official. “If the Turks’ excuse is the (Kurdish militia), they will leave their posts to the government.” A statement released earlier by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) said they had invited government forces to the town, as they are “obliged to protect the same country, nation and borders." Kurdish YPG fighters still based there are part of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance battling Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil). The town has been governed for the last two years by the Manbij Military Council, which is allied to the SDF. A convoy of American Special Forces and Syrian Democratic Forces fighters makes a stop during a patrol near the Turkish border in northern Syria on November 4, 2018. Credit: Sam Tarling for the Telegraph It is the first major concession by the Kurds to the Bashar al-Assad regime since the YPG seized control of vast swathes of north and east Syria and created an area of self-rule and one which analysts called a major turning point. Until last week the YPG had the support of the US, which had helped them stave off a threatened offensive by Turkey and Turkish-backed Syrian rebels and hold territory wanted by the Syrian regime. A number of Syrian troops arrived in the area early Friday morning and deployed between YPG and Turkish-backed forces west of Manbij.  A Syrian army spokesman said in a televised statement that all Syrians must “join efforts to preserve national sovereignty” and “defeat all invaders”, with reference to Turkey. The US-backed coalition had a number of special forces stationed in the city, where they have a base. It is understood they will withdraw in the next few days. Men queue up to buy bread outside a bakery on the outskirts of Qamishli in northern Syria,  Credit: Sam Tarling for the Telegraph It is unclear of local residents will react to regime forces returning to the city. "No one knows what to think as the regime has not yet arrived," one resident of Manbij, who declined to be named, told the Telegraph. "Anyone with any connection to the revolution will probably try to leave soon, maybe for areas controlled by Turkey in the Euphrates Shield." The town of some 100,000 people fell to moderate rebel fighters in the summer of 2012 before it was overrun by Isil jihadists in 2014. It was then captured by SDF in an anti-Isil offensive in 2016. The Kurds have used the cover of the war to carve out an autonomous state in northeastern Syria. However, their project seems increasingly under threat as Assad’s regime looks to reclaim the whole of Syria. Kurdish officials have told The Telegraph they would rather try their luck in negotiations with the regime than risk an all-out assault from neighbouring Turkey, which considers the YPG a terrorist group and has watched Kurdish expansion with growing concern. “The YPG accepts drinking the poison to stop a massacre. Do you prefer your people to be massacred by a brutal dictator like (Turkish president Recep Tayyip) Erdogan or be protected by a brutal dictator like Assad?” tweeted Kamal Chomani, a non-resident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) run across a street in Raqqa during the offensive against Isil Credit: Reuters Russia, which has long called for the withdrawal of US troops “illegally” in Syria, welcomed the news on Friday, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov describing the development as a "positive step" that could help "stabilise the situation." Speaking in frank terms on Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw 2,000 troops from Syria, Jeremy Hunt, Foreign Secretary, today said the US president “makes a speciality of talking in very black and white terms about what's happening in the world.” "We have made massive progress in the war against Daesh (Arabic acronym for Isil), but it's not over and, although they have lost nearly all the territory they held, they still hold some territory and there is still some real risk," Mr Hunt told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. During a visit to Iraq this week, Mr Trump declared an end to the US role of being the world's "policeman". Arab leaders have in recent days taken steps to rehabilitate the brutal Assad regime, with the UAE and Bahrain announcing they are to reopen embassies that had been shut since the beginning of the civil war.

Mega Millions jackpot at $348M for winning numbers drawing tonight

Friday could be a lucky day for someone as the Mega Millions jackpot has climbed to $348 million.

Yemen's Houthis start redeployment in Hodeidah as part of U.N. deal

Yemen's Houthi forces have started to redeploy inside the port city of Hodeidah as part of the U.N.-sponsored peace agreement signed in Sweden earlier this month, a U.N. source and a spokesman for the group said on Saturday.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2GXZAJt

Truffles, Crab and Caviar: Preparing for New Year’s at the Warehouse of Expensive Eats

By COREY KILGANNON from NYT New York https://nyti.ms/2RoJOey

Carlos Ghosn’s Daughters See a Nissan Revolt Behind His Arrest

By AMY CHOZICK from NYT Business https://nyti.ms/2s1zsmm

What’s on TV Saturday: ‘Life of the Party’ and ‘Gilbert’

By SARA ARIDI from NYT Arts https://nyti.ms/2ET2iNs

Chinese Scientist Who Claimed to Make Genetically Edited Babies Is Kept Under Guard

By ELSIE CHEN and PAUL MOZUR from NYT World https://nyti.ms/2RmWfHJ

Suspect Arrested in Shooting Death of California Police Officer

By CHRISTOPHER MELE from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2s1KS9T

Departing House Republicans Try to Keep Investigation Into F.B.I. Alive

By NICHOLAS FANDOS from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2Sslk1k

Fears of Republican Power Grab in Michigan Fade as Governor Vetoes Bill

By MITCH SMITH from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2Ti9zdL

Quotation of the Day: Outsourcing War in Yemen With Child Soldiers

By Unknown Author from NYT Today’s Paper https://nyti.ms/2rXCVTb

From Tree to Ski at the Fischer Family Factory

By JAMES HILL from NYT Sports https://nyti.ms/2ESQBGv

Hornets, Never Trailing, Avenge Overtime Loss

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports https://nyti.ms/2BKVPAZ

Louis Rudd Completes His Trek Across Antarctica 2 Days Behind Colin O’Brady

By ADAM SKOLNICK from NYT Sports https://nyti.ms/2ERthZO

Can Cuba Baseball Still Be Great When Many of Its Stars Have Left?

By ED AUGUSTIN from NYT Sports https://nyti.ms/2EUoxn3

Corrections: December 29, 2018

By Unknown Author from NYT Corrections https://nyti.ms/2QUL8pP

What Are Your Hopes for 2019?

By Unknown Author from NYT Opinion https://nyti.ms/2LGwJI7

When Fiction Most Becomes Trump

By BRET STEPHENS from NYT Opinion https://nyti.ms/2GHBN00

The President’s Field Trip to the Forever War

By MATT GALLAGHER from NYT Opinion https://nyti.ms/2Af2qUv

The Kernel of Human (or Rodent) Kindness

By HENRY JAMES GARRETT from NYT Opinion https://nyti.ms/2rWkDl6

Liza Redfield, Who Broke a Broadway Barrier, Is Dead at 94

By NEIL GENZLINGER from NYT Obituaries https://nyti.ms/2Q8ocyr

Young Inmates Say They Were Shipped Upstate, Held in Isolation and Beaten

By JAN RANSOM from NYT New York https://nyti.ms/2ERqJec

Full of Twists

By CAITLIN LOVINGER from NYT Crosswords & Games https://nyti.ms/2AkeTGe

UAE reopens Damascus embassy after seven years

The United Arab Emirates reopened its embassy in Damascus Thursday, the latest sign of efforts to bring the Syrian government back into the Arab fold. The UAE broke ties with Syria in February 2012, as the repression of nationwide protests demanding regime change was escalating into a devastating war. An acting charge d'affaires has already started working, an Emirati statement said, stressing that the UAE was "keen to put relations back on their normal track".

Flood concerns to mount in eastern US as soaking rain, storms continue into Friday night

A slow-moving batch of rain and locally gusty thunderstorms will enhance the risk of flash flooding from the Southeast to the mid-Atlantic into Friday night.

Russia Says Syria's Assad Is Popular, Likely to Win New Vote

“He’s fairly popular, if he wasn’t, the results of the last few years would have been different,” President Vladimir Putin’s envoy to the Middle East, Mikhail Bogdanov, said in an interview in Moscow this week. “Of course, I think so,” he added, when asked whether the Syrian leader can triumph in the next presidential vote. Work is scheduled to start early next year on a new constitution for Syria ahead of UN-supervised elections.

NASA turns lights back on for New Horizons mission to Ultima Thule

NASA announced it would turn the lights on and broadcast New Horizon's New Year's Day flyby of Ultima Thule.

Rudy Giuliani says the time has come for special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation to be investigated

President Trump's defense lawyer Rudy Giuliani says Mueller should be probed to see if he helped destroy evidence after thousands of text messages between Peter Strzok and Lisa Page went missing; reaction from Francey Hakes, former federal prosecutor.

Trump threatens to seal off US-Mexico border 'entirely' if Congress does not agree funding for a wall

Donald Trump, the US president, on Friday threatened to seal off the entire US-Mexico border if Congress does not approve funding for a border wall. His comments came as the federal government shutdown entered its seventh day, with Mr Trump failing to come to a budget agreement with his Democratic opponents. The continued standoff means around a quarter of the US government will likely remain closed well into 2019, when the Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives. The shutdown began on Saturday after Democrats rejected Mr Trump’s demand for $5 billion (£3.93 billion) for a border wall to be included in a funding bill to keep the government open. "We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give us the money to finish the Wall & also change the ridiculous immigration laws that our Country is saddled with," Mr Trump tweeted Friday. Analysts have warned that closing the border would cost hundreds of millions of dollars a day, with an estimated $558 billion in goods being transported across the border in both directions last year. Such a move would also cause chaos for the nearly half a million people who are estimated to enter the US through its southern border each day. An agreement on border funding will be the first big confrontation between Mr Trump and newly empowered Democrats, who won a majority in the House of Representatives in November’s midterm elections. We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give us the money to finish the Wall & also change the ridiculous immigration laws that our Country is saddled with. Hard to believe there was a Congress & President who would approve!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2018 The Democrats are vehemently opposed to the construction of Mr Trump’s proposed wall, suggesting that funding should instead be used on border security. As he doubled down yesterday, Mr Trump also reissued threats to shut off aid to the three Central American countries from which a majority of migrants attempting to enter the US originate. "Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are doing nothing for the United States but taking our money. Word is that a new Caravan is forming in Honduras and they are doing nothing about it. We will be cutting off all aid to these 3 countries - taking advantage of US for years!" he wrote in one of a series of tweets. The president has also signalled he is in no rush to seek a resolution, welcoming the fight as he heads toward his own bid for re-election in 2020. Yesterday Mick Mulvaney, the president’s acting chief of staff, said Mr Trump had cancelled his plans to travel to Florida for a New Year’s Eve celebration. Mr Trump cancelled a planned trip last week to visit his private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, where he usually spends the Christmas period. During an appearance on Fox News, Mr Mulvaney said that Democrats are no longer negotiating with the administration over an earlier offer to accept less than the $5 billion Mr Trump wants for the wall. "There’s not a single Democrat talking to the president of the United States about this deal," he said, admitting that the White House expected the shutdown "to go on for a while". Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House, has vowed to pass legislation to end the shutdown as soon as she takes control of the chamber, which is expected when the new Congress convenes on January 3. "While we await the president’s public proposal, Democrats have made it clear that, under a House Democratic Majority, we will vote swiftly to re-open government on Day One," her spokesman Drew Hammill said yesterday. However passing any legislation will be difficult without a compromise, since the Republican-controlled Senate and Mr Trump’s signature will be needed to turn any bill into law. The shutdown is forcing hundreds of thousands of federal workers and contractors to stay home or work without pay, and many are experiencing mounting stress from the impasse. Washington’s Smithsonian museum complex announced that it would soon have to close all museums, research centres and the National Zoo in the US capital as the reserve funds it has been relying on are running dry.

Spike in illegal Channel crossings 'concerning': UK minister

Britain's Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes said Thursday that a spike in migrants crossing the Channel by boat was "deeply concerning", after dozens of people were rescued overnight. British border officials found 23 Iranians in three locations in Kent on England's southeast coast early Thursday, hours after French maritime authorities intercepted 11 migrants in a small boat near Sangatte. Nine Iranians, including three children, were the first to be found early Thursday on a beach near the Kent port town of Folkstone, after sailing from northern France in a 13-foot (four-metre) inflatable boat.

The Latest Photos of the 2020 Land Rover Defender (Which is Coming to America!)

Government shutdown, Day 7: With no movement in House, Senate until next week, standoff expected to slide into new year

The partial government shutdown ends its first week with little hope of breaking a stalemate as both sides dig in over whether to fund a border wall.

Trump declares end to US 'policeman' role in surprise Iraq visit

Al-Asad Air Base (Iraq) (AFP) - President Donald Trump used a lightning visit to Iraq -- his first with US troops in a conflict zone since being elected -- to defend the withdrawal from Syria and declare an end to America's role as the global "policeman."

Syrian army deploys to Manbij area after Kurdish calls to deter Turkey

Manbij, which U.S.-backed forces captured from Islamic State in 2016, has emerged as a focal point of new tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. forces whose presence has effectively deterred Turkey. After a Syrian army announcement declaring government troops had entered Manbij, Turkey-backed Syrian rebels stationed in nearby territory said they had begun moving together with Turkish forces toward the town in readiness for "the start of military operations to liberate" it. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said the Syrian government forces had entered a strip of territory at the edge of Manbij, not inside the town itself, creating a barrier with Turkey-backed fighters nearby.