Trump doubles down on striking cultural sites in Iran

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump insisted Sunday that Iranian cultural sites were fair game for the U.S. military, dismissing concerns within his own administration that doing so could constitute a war crime under international law. He also warned Iraq that he would levy punishing sanctions if it expelled American troops in retaliation for a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad that killed a top Iranian official.

Trump’s comments came amid escalating tensions in the Middle East following the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds force. Iran has vowed to retaliate and Iraq’s parliament responded by voting Sunday to oust U.S. troops based in the country.

Trump first raised the prospect of targeting Iranian cultural sites Saturday in a tweet. Speaking with reporters Sunday as he returned to Washington from his holiday stay in Florida, he doubled down, despite international prohibitions.

“They’re allowed to kill our people. They’re allowed to torture and maim our people. They’re allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And we’re not allowed to touch their cultural sites? It doesn’t work that way,” Trump said.

The targeted killing of Soleimani sparked outrage in the Middle East, including in Iraq, where more than 5,000 American troops are still on the ground 17 years after the U.S. invasion. Iraq’s parliament voted Sunday in favour of a nonbinding resolution calling for the expulsion of the American forces.

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Iran general replacing Soleimani vows revenge for US killing

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An Iranian general who replaced the leader killed by a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad vowed Sunday to take revenge as Tehran abandoned the remaining limits of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers in response to the slaying.

Esmail Ghaani’s threat comes as the blowback over the U.S. killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani mounted Sunday with Iraq’s parliament calling for the expulsion of all American troops from Iraqi soil.

The three developments could bring Iran closer to building an atomic bomb, see an proxy or military attack launched by Tehran against America and enable the Islamic State group to stage a comeback in Iraq, making the Middle East a far more dangerous and unstable place.

Adding to the tensions, President Donald Trump threatened to demand billions of dollars in compensation from Iraq or impose “sanctions like they’ve never seen before” if it goes through with expelling U.S. troops.

Ghaani made his remarks in an interview with Iranian state television aired Monday.

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The Latest: Joaquin Phoenix wins best drama actor Globe

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on on the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards honouring achievements in television and film and being presented Sunday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California (all times local):

7:50 p.m.

Joaquin Phoenix has giggled his way to a Golden Globe.

Phoenix took the Globe for best actor for playing mentally troubled comedian Arthur Fleck as he becomes the fabled title super-villain in director Todd Phillips “Joker.”

It’s the second Golden Globe for Phoenix, who took one home in the same category in 2006 for playing Johnny Cash in the biopic “Walk The Line.”

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2 more missing in Australian wildfires as rain brings relief

SYDNEY (AP) — Two more people are missing in remote parts of New South Wales state as rain and cooler temperatures brought some measure of relief Monday to Australian communities battling wildfires.

But the rain was also making it challenging for fire crews to complete strategic burns as they tried to prepare for higher temperatures that have been forecast for later in the week.

The wildfires have so far scorched an area twice the size of the U.S. state of Maryland. They have killed at least 24 people and destroyed about 2,000 homes.

More than 135 bushfires were still burning across Australia’s most populous state, including almost 70 that were uncontained. The Rural Fire Service is warning the rain won’t put out the largest and most dangerous blazes before conditions deteriorate again this week.

Australia’s capital, Canberra, had the worst air quality of any major city in the world on Monday morning. The Department of Home Affairs, which is responsible for co-ordinating the country’s response to disasters, told all non-critical staff to stay home because of the abysmal air quality.

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5 dead, 60 hospitalized in Pennsylvania Turnpike crash

Five people were killed and about 60 were injured on the Pennsylvania Turnpike early Sunday morning, when a loaded bus went out of control on a hill and rolled over, setting off a chain reaction that involved three tractor-trailers and a passenger car.

The injured victims, ranging from 7 to 67 years old, are all expected to survive, though two patients remain in critical condition, authorities and hospital officials said Sunday afternoon. The crash, which happened at 3:40 a.m. on a mountainous and rural stretch of the interstate about 30 miles (50 kilometres) east of Pittsburgh, shut down the highway in both directions for several hours before it reopened Sunday evening.

Two UPS drivers, Daniel Kepner, 53, and Dennis Kehler, 48, were killed in the crash, company spokeswoman Kristen Petrella said. Both were driving together in a tractor-trailer out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Petrella said.

State police have not identified the other three victims who were killed.

The bus was travelling from Rockaway, New Jersey, to Cincinnati, Ohio, Pennsylvania State Police spokesman Stephen Limani told reporters.

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Trump returns to Washington to face a pair of challenges

WASHINGTON (AP) — His 17-day holiday stay at his Florida resort over, President Donald Trump returned to the White House on Sunday night facing twin challenges: the fallout from the strike he ordered to kill an Iranian general and his looming impeachment trial in the Senate.

The dueling images — one of potential chaos in the Middle East, the other a politicized ritual occurring for only the third time in the nation’s history — will shape a defining month of Trump’s presidency, one that comes just before the first votes of the 2020 campaign are cast.

Even before Air Force One touched down outside the divided nation’s capital, Trump faced growing questions from Democrats fearful that the killing of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani endangered Americans in the region and may have been an effort to distract from the president’s political crisis back home.

“Next week, the president of the United States could be facing an impeachment trial in the Senate. We know he’s deeply upset about that. And I think people are reasonably asking, ‘Why this moment?’” Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat running for president, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“Why does he pick now to take this highly inflammatory, highly dangerous action that moves us closer to war?” the Massachusetts senator said.

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Japan vows to improve border checks, bail after Ghosn flight

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s justice minister vowed Monday to strengthen border departure checks and review bail conditions after Nissan’s former chairman, Carlos Ghosn, fled the country.

Masako Mori told reporters at a news conference the ministry has already acted to prevent a recurrence but declined to give details.

She was asked about reports that Ghosn had hidden in a box and that baggage checks at a regional airport might have been insufficient.

Ghosn skipped bail while awaiting trial on various financial misconduct allegations and later said from Lebanon that he did it to escape injustice.

Mori declined to say who might be held responsible for such a high-profile flight, stressing it was still under investigation.

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Trump’s threats draw Iran’s cultural sites into tensions

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s ancient and rich cultural landscape has become a potential U.S. military target as Washington and Tehran lob threats and take high-stakes steps toward a possible open conflict.

President Donald Trump tweeted Saturday evening that if Iran attacks any American assets to avenge the killing of a top Iranian general, the U.S. has 52 targets across the Islamic Republic that “WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD.”

Some are “important to Iran & Iranian culture,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

That vague comment drew immediate anger across Iran.

“I’m not sure when he says cultural sites, does he for example mean our Persepolis?” said Mehrdad Khadir, a cultural and political analyst in Tehran, referring to the ancient ruins invaded by the Greeks in 330 BC. “Does he want to be seen as the new Alexander (the Great) by Iranians?”

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Extremists attack Kenya military base, 3 Americans killed

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Al-Shabab extremists overran a key military base used by U.S. counterterror forces in Kenya before dawn Sunday, killing three American Department of Defence personnel and destroying several U.S. aircraft and vehicles before they were repelled, U.S. and Kenyan authorities said.

The attack on the Manda Bay Airfield was the al-Qaida-linked group’s first attack against U.S. forces in the East African country, and the military called the security situation “fluid” several hours after the assault.

Five attackers were killed, Kenyan military spokesman Paul Njuguna said.

Al-Shabab, based in neighbouring Somalia, claimed responsibility for the assault.

One U.S. serviceman and two contractors with the U.S. Department of Defence were killed in the fighting, according to a statement issued late Sunday by the U.S. Africa Command, or Africom.

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Wilson leads Seahawks past Eagles 17-9

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jadeveon Clowney knocked out Carson Wentz. Then, Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks knocked off the Philadelphia Eagles.

Wilson threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf, Marshawn Lynch had a rushing score and the Seahawks beat the Eagles 17-9 in the wild-card round of the NFC playoffs on Sunday night.

“To come back here, back East, it’s a long ways, we were able to do it, pull through,” Wilson said. “We’ve been road warriors and it’s exciting. We’ve got a great defence, too.”

Making his first career playoff start, Wentz lasted two series before exiting with a head injury following a helmet-to-helmet hit from Clowney.

Nick Foles wasn’t around to rescue Philadelphia this time.