Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PARIS (AP) — France is joining the U.S. in arming Kurdish forces in Iraq who are fighting Sunni extremists. France says the arms shipment is being coordinated with the Iraqi government. Senior American officials already have said U.S. intelligence agencies are arming the Kurds. And yesterday, 130 U.S. troops arrived in the Kurdish capital of Irbil (ur-BEEL') to assess the scope of the humanitarian crisis facing thousands of Iraqi minorities threatened by the militant group Islamic State.
DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — At least 12 militiamen fighting alongside government troops against pro-Russian separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine have been killed in an ambush. A spokesman for their radical nationalist movement says the fighters were shot dead while traveling on a bus outside the rebel-held city of Donetsk, which is under siege by government troops. He says many others on the bus were wounded and taken captive.
BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Associated Press video journalist and his translator have been killed in an ordnance explosion in the Gaza Strip, together with three members of Gaza police. Simone Camilli died today when Gaza police engineers in the town of Beit Lahiya were neutralizing unexploded ordnance left over from fighting between Israel and Islamic militants. Police say four other people, including an AP photographer, were seriously wounded.
WASHINGTON (AP) — American consumers may not be putting aside their doubts about the economy just yet, despite recent job gains. The government says retail sales were essentially flat last month compared with the previous month. Spending dipped at auto dealers and department stores, but the losses were offset at grocery stores, restaurants and clothing stores. Employers have added more than 200,000 jobs a month for the past six months. But those gains have yet to boost wage growth significantly above inflation.
MIAMI (AP) — The could be a plea deal in the Florida case that saw Justin Bieber charged in what police initially called an illegal street race in Miami Beach. Two people close to the case say the 20-year-old pop star has agreed to plead guilty to lesser charges of careless driving and resisting arrest without violence, instead of an original charge of driving under the influence. A hearing is scheduled for today.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
