US boosts reward on ISIS leader to $25 mn-25 مليون دولار مكافأة لمن يدلي بمعلومات عن زعيم داعش

IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

The United States on Friday more than doubled the bounty on the head of the shadowy leader of the Islamic State (ISIS) militant group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to $25 million.

The announcement by the State Department "Rewards for Justice Program" came as US-backed local forces close in on the Islamist militant group's main urban strongholds in Iraq and Syria, the cities of Mosul and Raqa.

The cash will be paid to anyone who can offer "information leading to the location, arrest or conviction" of the elusive militant, known to his followers as "Caliph Ibrahim".

"Under al-Baghdadi, ISIL has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians in the Middle East, including the brutal murder of numerous civilian hostages from Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States," the State Department said.

"The group also has conducted chemical weapons attacks in Iraq and Syria in defiance of the longstanding global norm against the use of these appalling weapons, and has enabled or directed terrorist attacks beyond the borders of its self-declared caliphate."

Baghdadi has kept a low profile, despite having declared himself the leader of a renewed Muslim caliphate, but last month released a defiant audio message urging his supporters to defend Mosul.

It is not clear if he is in the besieged city, where he declared his caliphate in 2014 after the ISIS group seized territory covering much of eastern Syria and northern Iraq.

The video, which showed a man with a black and grey beard wearing a black robe and matching turban, is the only one IS has released of Baghdadi to date.

He has been reported wounded in US-led coalition air strikes multiple times, but the claims have never been verified, and his apparent survival has added to his mystique.

According to an official Iraqi government document, Baghdadi was born in Samarra in 1971 and has four children with his first wife -- two boys and two girls born between 2000 and 2008.

An Iraqi intelligence report records that Baghdadi has a PhD in Islamic studies and was a professor at Tikrit University.

Baghdadi apparently joined the insurgency that erupted after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq and spent time in an American military prison.

قالت وزارة الخارجية الأمريكية، اليوم الجمعة، إن الولايات المتحدة زادت قيمة المكافأة المرصودة لمن يدلي بمعلومات تقودها إلى "أبو بكر البغدادي زعيم تنظيم داعش الإرهابي".

وأضافت الخارجية الأمريكية "إنه تم رفع قيمة المكافأة إلى 25 مليون دولار، من مبلغ 10 ملايين دولار الذي تم عرضه لأول مرة عام 2011، عندما أضيف اسم البغدادي إلى قائمة الإرهاب الأمريكية"، منوهة إلى أن التهديد الذي يشكله البغدادي "زاد بشكل كبير".

وقالت وزارة الخارجية إنه "في ظل زعامة البغدادي، أصبح التنظيم الإرهابي مسؤولًا عن مقتل الآلاف من المدنيين في منطقة الشرق الأوسط، ومن بين ذلك عمليات القتل الوحشي للعديد من الرهائن المدنيين من اليابان والمملكة المتحدة والولايات المتحدة".

وأشارت الخارجية الأمريكية أيضا إلى الهجمات بالأسلحة الكيميائية التي شنها التنظيم الإرهابي في كل من سوريا والعراق، في تحد للمعايير الدولية ضد استخدام هذه الأسلحة.

‪#‎German‬ parliament approves military action in ‪#‎Syria‬ against ‪#‎ISIS‬

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, casts her vote whether Germany will join the international alliance in their fight against the Islamic State group (ISIS) militants in Syria at the German Federal Parliament in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Dec.4, 2015

Lawmakers approved Friday plans for Germany to take on a direct role in the battle against the Islamic State group (ISIS) in Syria, answering France's appeal for help after the deadly Paris attacks.

Parliament agreed to the mandate for the deployment of Tornado reconnaissance jets, a frigate and up to 1,200 troops by an overwhelming majority of 445 votes in favor and 146 against.

The green light for the mission that could become Germany's biggest deployment abroad comes three weeks after militants killed 130 people in a series of attacks in Paris.

The atrocities prompted France to invoke a clause requiring EU states to provide military assistance to wipe out the IS group in Iraq and Syria.

Britain joined the US-led bombing campaign over Syria on Thursday, striking an ISIS-held oil field as the momentum to take action against the militant group increases.

After repeatedly ruling out the use of "boots on the ground", US President Barack Obama also agreed to send as many as 100 Special Forces to Iraq, with a mandate to carry out raids inside Syria.

A broad coalition of 60 countries has been battling IS since August 2014, although involvement in Syria has been more limited with some Western nations wary of how military action could actually end up serving President Bashar al-Assad's regime, which they view as no longer legitimate.

But reticence seemed to have melted away following the Paris attacks, and in the Netherlands, which has been bombarding the IS in Iraq, the government too is coming under pressure to widen the aerial campaign to Syria.

Even in Germany, where there has traditionally been reluctance to engage in military missions abroad, the government's decision to take direct action in Syria has been largely met with support.

An opinion poll in Die Welt newspaper Friday showed broad public backing of 58 percent of people surveyed in favor of the military deployment while 37 percent were against.

The support came despite a large majority of 63 percent believing that the risk of a terror attack on German soil will rise as a result of Bundeswehr involvement in Syria.

Meanwhile, France's President Francois Hollande will on Friday visit the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the eastern Mediterranean off Syria where it is being used to conduct air strikes on Islamic State targets.

"He will meet military personnel taking part in operations to intensify the fight against Daesh in Syria and Iraq," a statement from the presidency said, using another name for the militant group that has claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks.

Germany's Justice Minister Heiko Maas said the case for deployment was watertight legally.

"The Germans can be certain that the deployment to Syria neither violates international law nor the constitution," he told on Friday.

"We must stop this terrorist gang of murderers. That will not be achieved with military action alone, but neither would it be achieved without," he said.

The package approved by parliament includes six Tornado aircraft which have no offensive fighter capability and are specialized in air-to-ground reconnaissance.

A German frigate will be deployed to protect the Charles de Gaulle, from which French fighter jets are carrying out bombing runs, and the tanker aircraft could refuel them mid-air to extend their range.

Separately, Germany has also pledged to send 650 soldiers to Mali to provide some relief to French forces battling militants in the West African nation.

But the opposition warned that Germany is being forced to make a weighty decision too hastily.

"We are being made to decide in three days if Germany would once again be dragged into a war. We do not want to be dragged into a war at the speed of a Tornado," the Left party's Petra Sitte told parliament.

But Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen defended the swift action, saying it sends a "signal that we are resolved to fight ISIS".

France's Hollande heads to Russia to press anti-ISIS coalition

French President Francois Hollande walks to his office at the end of the weekly cabinet meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, November 25, 2015

French President Francois Hollande on Thursday will hold talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, as part of his diplomatic marathon to forge a broader coalition against ISIS in the wake of the Paris attacks.

The French president will meet with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Paris in the morning, before heading to Moscow where he will hold talks with the Russian strongman.

Hollande has been on a whirlwind tour seeking to build a coalition to crush ISIS in Iraq and Syria but has seen few concrete pledges so far, and his campaign has been further complicated by a diplomatic spat between Russia and Turkey.

France invoked a clause requiring EU member states to provide military assistance after the November 13 attacks in Paris, when 130 people lost their lives in a wave of killings by suicide bombers and gunmen claimed by ISIS.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday pledged to stand beside France in its fight against the militant group after talks with Hollande, vowing to act "swiftly" to see how Germany can help in the fight against terrorism.

The French and German leaders each laid a pink rose among the tributes of flowers and candles in Place de la Republique, the Paris square that has become a rallying point since the bloodshed.

Hours earlier, Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Germany would send 650 soldiers to Mali to provide some relief to French forces fighting militants there.

Meanwhile in Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron will on Thursday set out the case for his country to extend its air strikes against ISIS from Iraq into Syria ahead of a vote by MPs next week.

The British premier has called ISIS a "direct threat to our security at home and abroad" and on Monday offered to let France use the RAF Akrotiri air base in Cyprus when flying missions against the militants.

Cameron met with Hollande earlier this week and has said he "firmly supported" France's actions, but US President Barack Obama has given the idea of greater cooperation with Russia against ISIS a much cooler reception.

Hollande's diplomatic efforts also suffered a blow after Turkey shot down a Russian jet, sparking a diplomatic incident between the rival powers fighting in Syria that has threatened to escalate into a wider conflict.

Turkey's military said Wednesday it did not know the warplane it shot down was Russian and it was ready for "all kinds of cooperation" with Russia, after Moscow called the incident a "planned provocation".

The sole surviving pilot said he had received no warning and the aircraft did not violate Turkish air space, prompting the Turkish army to release audio recordings it said showed the Russian jet was repeatedly warned to change course.

Moscow has intensified its strikes in Syria after ISIS claimed it brought down a Russian passenger plane over Egypt last month, killing all 224 people on board.

Russia carried out heavy raids in Syria's northern Latakia province on Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said, in the same area where Turkey downed the Russian fighter.

Ankara and Moscow are on opposing sides in the four-year Syrian conflict, with Turkey wanting to see the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad while Russia is one of his last remaining allies.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has backed the French president's proposal to close off the Syria-Turkey border, considered the main crossing point for foreign fighters seeking to join ISIS.

"I think this is a good proposal and tomorrow President Hollande will talk to us in greater detail about it. We would be ready to seriously consider the necessary measures for this," Lavrov said in Moscow.

French jets on Monday launched their first air strikes from the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier in the eastern Mediterranean.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls told the French parliament, which overwhelmingly supported pressing the air campaign against ISIS, that "there is no alternative, we must annihilate Daesh", speaking to the chamber on Wednesday.

#‎Russia‬ says shelling of its embassy in ‪#‎Damascus‬ act of terrorism

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addresses the media during the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations in Manhattan, New York, October 1, 2015

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday Moscow considered the shelling of its embassy in Damascus as a terrorist act, As reported on Tuesday.

"This is an obvious act of terrorism, probably aimed at intimidating supporters of the fight against terrorism," Lavrov was quoted as saying ahead of talks with the United Nations' special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, on Tuesday, .

Two shells were fired at the Russian embassy in Damascus on Tuesday during a demonstration in support of Moscow although there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage to the building.

Lavrov also said Russia was supporting De Mistura's efforts to ensure a political settlement to the Syria crisis and was disappointed by U.S. reluctance to coordinate the efforts of all sides involved in fighting terrorism in Syria.

‪#‎Iran‬ says partisanship damaging US foreign policy

Iran Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham

The fevered partisanship of US politics is damaging the country's foreign policy, Iran said Saturday, hitting out at threats of military action against it should nuclear diplomacy ultimately fail.

The comments in Tehran came after US President Barack Obama said in a letter that all options remain on the table against Iran.

Iran and six world powers led by the US struck a deal last month on Tehran's disputed nuclear programme but it is undergoing a bruising review in Congress and has yet to be implemented.

"Political partisanship and competition have taken US foreign policy hostage," foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said, calling Obama's remarks "repetitive and baseless".

These claims are "showing the uncertainty and depth of confusion of American officials in determining their national interests," Afkham said, according to the official IRNA news agency.

The US president said in a letter to Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat who has announced his support for the deal, that the agreement is good for America, Israel and the Middle East in general.

"We have a wide array of unilateral and multilateral responses that we can employ if Iran fails to meet its commitments," Obama said.

"All of the options available to the United States -- including the military option -- will remain available through the life of the deal and beyond," he added.

Israel, which Iran does not recognise as a state, has been the biggest opponent of the nuclear deal, claiming that it paves the way to Tehran obtaining a nuclear bomb.

Obama has said the deal does precisely the opposite, and Iran denies seeking an atomic weapon.

If Congress chooses to reject the deal, Obama will still be able to veto the move as long as Republicans fail to obtain a two thirds majority against it.

‪#‎Obama‬ to unveil 'biggest step ever' in climate fight

President Barack Obama, walks on the South Lawn as he arrives the White House in Washington, from Camp David, Md Sunday, Aug. 2, 2015 

US President Barack Obama will Monday unveil what he called the "biggest, most important step we've ever taken" to fight climate change, a sensitive issue central to his legacy.

The White House will release the final version of America's Clean Power Plan, a set of environmental rules and regulations that will home in on the pollution from the nation's existing power plants, setting limits on power-plant carbon emissions for the first time.

Plants will have to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.

Laying out how climate change is a threat to the economy, health, wellbeing and security of America, and adding that time was of the essence, Obama said in a video released early Sunday: "Climate change is not a problem for another generation. Not any more."

"Power plants are the single biggest source of harmful carbon pollution that contributes to climate change," added Obama, who made the battle against climate change a core promise of his 2008 election campaign.

"But until now, there have been no federal limits to the amount of that pollution that those plants can dump into the air."

He added that without imposing the unprecedented limits, "existing power plants can still dump unlimited amounts of harmful carbon pollution into the air weekly".

"For the sake of our kids, for the health and safety of all Americans, that's about to change."

Power plants account for some 40 percent of US emissions of carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.

In the coming months, Obama is expected to visit Alaska to highlight the impact of climate change and will host Pope Francis at the White House when they are expected to make a collective call for action.

With the end of his presidency drawing ever nearer, Obama argued that the plans will lead to lower energy bills in the future for everyday Americans, create jobs in the renewable energy sector and ensure more reliable energy services.

Quite simply, he said, the United States and the rest of the world need to act now to save the planet, ahead of a major meeting of world powers in Paris in December tasked with doing just that.

In its initial proposal a year ago, the Obama administration had set the target at 30 percent power plant reductions

The tough 32-percent collective reduction drew fierce opposition from the Republican Party, which described the measures as "overreach," "heavy-handed" and said they would have "devastating consequences for our economy."

Gina McCarthy, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, insisted the rules were "reasonable" and "achievable."

"They can cut carbon pollution in whatever way makes the most sense to them," he said. "No plant has to meet them alone or all at once, they have to meet them as part of the grid and over time."

Climate change is a hot-button issue in American politics, and cuts are politically sensitive because coal, among the dirtiest energy sources, remains a major US industry.

Even as natural gas gains in popularity, hundreds of coal-fired power plants dotted across the country provide about 37 percent of the US electricity supply, ahead of natural gas and nuclear energy.

In the video, Obama said that global warming and the reasons behind it were backed up by scientific data -- some Republican opponents dispute the existence of global warming and others cast doubt on whether humans are to blame for the phenomenon.

Hillary Clinton, the Democrat hoping to take over from Obama after the 2016 election welcomed the announcement as a "significant step forward."

Thousands turn out for first NY Disability Pride Parade

People on wheelchairs with different disabilities take part in the disability pride parade in New York

Thousands of people marched through the streets of New York for the city's first Disability Pride Parade Sunday.

People in wheelchairs and with guide dogs and parents carrying their disabled children marched during a hot day through the center of Manhattan after Mayor Bill de Blasio kicked off the event.

The event, subtitled "Inclusion, Awareness, Visibility" saw people carrying signs asking for better access to public transport and housing.

"Disabled and proud," said a sign carried by a woman in a wheelchair.

A man carried another sign reading: "Just because I can't speak doesn't mean I don't have a lot to say."

Other signs demanded police stop killing disabled people, an issue recently in the spotlight in the country after police arrests ended in disabled peoples' deaths.

De Blasio said July was "disability pride month" in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

The march organized by the city is scheduled to be an annual event.

'No agreement' as Yemen peace talks end in Geneva

Yemen's Foreign Minister Riad Yassin, right, and Yemen's Minister of Human Rights Ezzedine Al-Asbahi, left, attend the Geneva Consultations on Yemen peace talks between Yemen's warring factions, at the European headquarters of the United Nations, UN, in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, June 15, 2015

Yemen peace talks ended in Geneva on Friday with no agreement, but the United Nations said it was still optimistic a ceasefire could be reached "pretty soon."

"I won't beat around the bush. There was no kind of agreement reached," said the UN's special envoy for Yemen, Mauritanian diplomat Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.

But he hailed "certain positive signs" in his negotiations with the warring factions, adding that both sides seemed to agree on the need for a ceasefire.

"We feel that it requires simply some further consultations and that we can achieve it pretty soon," said Ould Cheikh Ahmed, who will now head to New York to brief UN chief Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council on the discussions, before heading to the region to push forward with new peace efforts.

No date has yet been set for a fresh round of talks, but the UN envoy said he hoped a desperately needed humanitarian pause in the fighting could be put in place before future talks are held.

Yemen has been wracked by conflict between Iran-backed Shia rebels and troops loyal to exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who fled to Saudi Arabia in February.

The rebels have overrun much of the Sunni-majority country and, along with their allies among forces loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, have been the target of Saudi-led air strikes since March.

More than 2,600 people have been killed since then.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon launched the high-stakes Geneva negotiations on Monday with an appeal for a two-week humanitarian truce during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

But the belligerents' positions were so far apart that they did even sit down in the same room, forcing Ould Cheikh Ahmed to shuttle between them for separate consultations.

Yemen's exiled foreign minister blamed the lack of progress on the rebel delegation.

"We really came here with a big hope ... but unfortunately the Houthi delegation did not allow us really to reach real progress as we expected," Yassin told reporters.

The government delegation remained optimistic of a peaceful solution for Yemen "under the umbrella of the UN," he added.

A member of the rebel delegation Yehya Doueid meanwhile said the talks had not lasted long enough.

"The necessary time was not provided (by the UN) to allow these talks to end in an agreement," he told .

Ould Cheikh Ahmed however insisted that just getting the two sides to Geneva had been "a great achievement", as he pledged to intensify his push for peace.

"The Geneva consultations are not the end in themselves, but the launch of a long and arduous path" towards finding a peaceful solution, he said.

As the talks wrapped up Friday, the UN launched an appeal for $1.6 billion (1.4 billion euros) to help millions of people in need in the war-ravaged country.

"I am deliberately raising the alarm about the looming humanitarian catastrophe facing Yemen, where over 21 million Yemenis, 80 percent of the countries population, are in need of some form of aid to meet their basic needs or protect their basic rights today," the UN's new humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brian told reporters.

"These numbers are difficult to comprehend," he said, but insisted " we must not grow numb to the suffering of each and every individual who lies behind them."

Friday's funding appeal will cover aid, including food, water and shelter, to 11.7 million of the most vulnerable people in need through the end of the year.

The appeal was revised up from a combined $1.02 billion (0.9 billion euros) requested in December and April for Yemen.

O'Brian described a nightmare situation in the impoverished country.

"People across the country are struggling to feed themselves and their families and basic services are collapsing in all regions of the country," he warned, pointing out that millions of families have no access to clean water, proper sanitation or health care.

Only about $200 million of the needed cash has so far been received, the UN said.