| Annan ends Syria visit with no clear progress Posted:  BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan has ended talks with President Bashar al-Assad and left Syria with little sign of progress on halting the country's growing political bloodshed. "I am optimistic for several reasons," Annan said in Damascus on Sunday. "The situation is so bad and so dangerous that all of us cannot afford to fail." There was no clear response from Assad to Annan's "concrete proposals" for a ceasefire, dialogue and humanitarian aid. Assad told Annan opposition "terrorists" were blocking any political solution. U.S. ...
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| Egypt MPs move to withdraw confidence from government Posted:  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's parliament voted on Sunday to begin steps to withdraw confidence from the military-appointed government, a move that will pile pressure on the ruling generals to appoint a new cabinet led by the Muslim Brotherhood. A vote of no-confidence would take Egypt into new political waters and could set the stage for a confrontation if the generals, who assumed power after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak last year, refuse to yield to the will of a parliament elected in the country's most democratic vote in six decades. ...
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| Jewish settlers agree to evacuate West Bank outpost Posted:  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Jewish settlers signed an agreement with the Israeli government on Sunday to leave the biggest illegal outpost in the occupied West Bank and move to a nearby site after months of negotiations to avoid their forced removal. The 50 families from the Migron settlement welcomed the deal with coalition government, comprised mainly of pro-settler parties, saying it would avoid the unpleasant scenes seen in past evictions. ...
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| UK's Hague faces suit over Pakistan drone strikes Posted:  LONDON (Reuters) - Lawyers for the family of a man killed in a U.S. drone attack in Pakistan said they would begin legal action against Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague on Monday, accusing him of complicity in strikes they say broke international laws. London law firm Leigh Day & Co said it had "credible, unchallenged" evidence that Hague oversaw a policy of passing British intelligence to U.S. forces planning attacks against militants in Pakistan. ...
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| Greek finance minister Venizelos set to be Socialist leader Posted:  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos will run unopposed for the leadership of the Socialists, party officials said on Sunday, as the political focus shifts towards a parliamentary election now that Athens has secured a bond swap deal. Venizelos, 55, won the backing of all the Socialist PASOK party's heavy hitters and looks a certainty to become leader in an internal ballot on March 18. ...
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| Japan mourns tsunami dead; grapples with aftermath Posted:  OFUNATO, Japan (Reuters) - With a moment of silence, prayers and anti-nuclear rallies, Japan marked on Sunday one year since an earthquake and tsunami killed thousands and set off a radiation crisis that shattered public trust in atomic power and the nation's leaders. The magnitude 9.0 earthquake unleashed a wall of water that hit Japan's northeast coast, killing nearly 16,000 and leaving nearly 3,300 unaccounted for. The country is still grappling with the human, economic and political costs. ...
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| Russian protesters face challenge after Putin win Posted:  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian opposition leaders on Sunday called for a clear agenda and a grassroots focus on local elections to re-energize a protest movement running out of steam after Vladimir Putin convincingly won a six-year presidential term. After the crowd at a rally in central Moscow on Saturday fell well short of expectations, activists who have mounted the biggest protests of Putin's 12-year rule said supporters should dig in for a long fight for political change. "Remember, friends: We are running a marathon," one opposition leader, Ilya Yashin, said in his blog. ...
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| Airstrike kills 3 militants in south Yemen: witnesses Posted: ADEN (Reuters) - Air strikes on a factory seized by al Qaeda-linked Islamists in southern Yemen killed at least three of their fighters on Sunday, the militants and residents said. Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia said the attack was carried out by U.S. drones, which Washington has repeatedly used to target militants in the strife-torn nation. Residents said planes bombarded the mountainous area of Jebel Khanfar overlooking the town of Jaar, which al Qaeda-linked militants snatched last year while anti-government protests paralyzed the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state. ... |
| Sudan investment conference called off as U.S. pulls out Posted:  KHARTOUM (Reuters) - An international conference to drum up investment in Sudan has been called off after the United States and other powers signaled they would not attend in protest over Sudan's crackdown on rebels, diplomats and officials said on Sunday. Sudan needs a financial lifeline after its economy was thrown into turmoil when South Sudan declared independence in July under a 2005 peace deal, taking with it three-quarters of the oil production -- the driving force of both economies. ...
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| Egypt army court acquits doctor over virginity test Posted:  CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian army court acquitted an army doctor on Sunday of forcing a virginity test on a pro-democracy protester, setting back hopes of reining in a military establishment that has cracked down on the movement that toppled Hosni Mubarak. The case of Samira Ibrahim, who defied taboos in the conservative Muslim country to challenge the military over her treatment in detention, was seen as a test by activists of the army's pledge to investigate abuses and prosecute culprits. ...
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| American opens fire on Afghan villagers, kills 16 Posted:  Moving from house to house, a U.S. Army soldier opened fire Sunday on Afghan villagers as they slept, killing 16 people — mostly women and children — in an attack that reignited fury at the U.S. presence following a wave of deadly protests over Americans burning Qurans.
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| Yemen officials: US airstrikes hit al-Qaida area Posted:  Yemeni military officials said Sunday that U.S. aircraft carried out four airstrikes in a southern province where al-Qaida-linked militants control several key towns.
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| Egypt parliament to consider cutting off US aid Posted:  Egypt's parliament moved Sunday toward a vote to order an end to more than $1 billion in U.S. aid, a reflection of tensions with Washington over the case of Americans charged with illegal activity by their pro-democracy groups.
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| Remains found in Mexico came from ancient cemetery Posted:  A representative of Mexico's main anthropology agency says the remains of 167 people found in a cave in the country's south were part of a pre-Hispanic cemetery dating back some 1,300 years.
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| International push to end Syria crisis stalls Posted:  An international push to end Syria's conflict stalled Sunday as U.N. envoy Kofi Annan left Damascus without a cease-fire and President Bashar Assad's forces pounded opposition areas and clashed with rebels throughout the country.
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| 3 killed in 3rd day of Gaza-Israel violence Posted:  Cross-border fighting between Gaza and Israel, touched off by Israel's killing of a top militant leader, showed no signs of letting up on its third day Sunday. Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets at Israeli towns, hitting an empty school, and Israeli airstrikes killed three Gazans, including a boy and a farm guard.
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| Over 100 buried in Congo mass funeral Posted:  Women wearing masks against the odor of death threw themselves over the graves of their dead children, while men had to be restrained to stop them from hurting themselves as more than 100 victims of last week's arms depot explosion were laid to rest in a mass funeral Sunday.
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| Egypt acquits 'virginity test' military doctor Posted:  An Egyptian military tribunal on Sunday acquitted an army doctor of a charge of public obscenity filed by a protester who claimed she was forced to undergo a virginity test while in detention.
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| Sarkozy threatens French pullout of visa-free zone Posted:  President Nicolas Sarkozy threatened Sunday to pull France out of the European Union's coveted visa-free Schengen zone unless the bloc makes progress on protecting EU borders from illegal immigration.
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