| Russian Church: under attack after backing Putin Posted:  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Orthodox Church said on Tuesday it was under attack from unspecified "anti-Russian forces" seeking to erode its authority after it threw its weight behind Vladimir Putin before last month's presidential election. The unusually strongly-worded statement listed a recent protest performance by an all-girl punk band in Moscow's main cathedral as well as media allegations against Patriarch Kirill as examples of such attacks. ...
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| UK snooping row casts doubt on Cameron leadership Posted:  LONDON (Reuters) - Plans to boost digital surveillance powers have pushed Britain's government into a row it can ill afford, after a week of gaffes that have raised questions over Prime Minister David Cameron's leadership. The plan involves monitoring all phone calls, texts, emails and online activities to help tackle crime and militant attacks, a move condemned even by some within Cameron's Conservative Party and labeled by critics as a "snooper's charter". ...
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| First Marines in Australia under new security deal Posted:  (Reuters) - Some 200 U.S. Marines arrived in Australia late on Tuesday for a six-month deployment, the first of 2,500 troops expected to rotate through a de facto base in Darwin as part of plans to deepen the U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific. The deployment of Marines to northern Australia has sparked concern in China, where officials have questioned whether it is part of a larger U.S. strategy aimed at encircling it and thwarting the country's rise as a global power. ...
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| U.S., Afghanistan near deal on night raids: official Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and Afghan officials are close to a deal to change the way night raids are conducted in Afghanistan, giving Afghan security forces the lead role and providing judicial oversight of a practice hated by Afghans but seen as effective by American forces, a U.S. defense official said on Tuesday. The deal is expected to help clear the way for a broader strategic partnership agreement that will govern the U.S. presence in Afghanistan once Afghan forces take full responsibility for security by the end of 2014. The U.S. ...
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| China keen on free trade pact with U.S.: Greenberg Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China is eager to begin talks on a free trade pact with the United States and key leaders seem willing to step away from the state capitalism Beijing has been pursuing, a senior U.S. executive with access to China's leadership said on Tuesday. Maurice Greenberg, chairman of Starr International Company Inc and former AIG chief, met with Premier Wen Jiabao, Wen's expected successor Li Keqiang and other top official's during a two-week visit to China. ...
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| Czech PM tells coalition partner to stop threats Posted:  PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas on Tuesday warned a rebellious coalition partner to stop playing political games, saying he was unafraid of a fresh election if the Public Affairs party made good on its threat to leave his government. Responding to an ultimatum issued by his junior coalition partner, which said its ministers may resign as early as Wednesday unless he met their demands, Necas warned Public Affairs to weigh their next step carefully. "The moment their ministers hand in resignations, any room for talks ... ...
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| Mali junta defies deadline for handing over power Posted:  BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's junta ignored a demand by neighbors for an immediate exit from power on Tuesday, instead simply repeating its offer to hold open-ended talks on a future transition to civilian rule. Malians rushed to stock up on petrol and cash after the 15-state ECOWAS West African bloc launched trade and diplomatic sanctions aimed at forcing the leaders of last month's coup to stand down. ...
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| Russia says kills five Islamists in Caucasus Posted: MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian security forces killed five Islamist rebels suspected of plotting suicide attacks in the capital of the republic of Ingushetia on Tuesday, Russia's anti-terrorism committee (NAK) said in a statement. The Kremlin is struggling to contain an Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus and President Dmitry Medvedev has called the North Caucasus separatist movement Russia's top domestic security problem. The NAK statement said the rebels opened fire on security forces after they attempted to stop their car. It said all five were killed in the shooting. ... |
| Violence continues as Syria ceasefire nears Posted:  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Opposition activists accused Syrian troops of shelling two cities on Tuesday in a campaign to weaken forces fighting President Bashar al-Assad's government before a ceasefire deadline next week. Rebel fighters also kept up their attacks, killing three soldiers in separate actions in northern Syria, activists said. Assad has agreed to a ceasefire negotiated by international peace envoy Kofi Annan from April 10, the latest effort to end a year of bloodshed stemming from an uprising against his rule. An advance team from the U.N. ...
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| Peru leader sends brother to solitary confinement Posted:  LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's president sent his loquacious brother to solitary confinement this week to end his embarrassing spectacles - only to have him show up in court on Tuesday and say he was beaten and bruised by prison guards. Antauro Humala, the cowboy hat-wearing younger brother of President Ollanta Humala, is serving a 19-year prison sentence for leading an attempted 2005 coup against former President Alejandro Toledo in which killed four police officers were killed. ...
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| Mali Coup leader stays put, despite sanctions Posted:  The day after an embargo was placed on Mali, the soldier who led a recent coup said Tuesday that he agrees with restoring constitutional order, but first Mali's ills need to be addressed by holding a national convention which will decide on the best way forward.
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| APNewsBreak: Syrian troops start pullout Posted:  Syrian troops began pulling out Tuesday from some calm cities and headed back to their bases a week ahead of a deadline to implement an international cease-fire plan, a government official said.
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| Clashes in rival towns kill 22 in western Libya Posted: Militias from rival towns in western Libya battled each other with tanks and artillery on Tuesday in fierce fighting that killed at least 22 people, local officials said. |
| AP Interview: Pakistani dismisses US $10 million Posted:  A Pakistani militant accused of directing deadly attacks in neighboring India on Tuesday dismissed a U.S. decision to put a bounty of $10 million on his head as misdirected.
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| Argentina condemns Cameron's remarks on Falklands Posted: Argentina's government on Tuesday condemned remarks by British Prime Minister David Cameron, who said that Britain played a role in "righting a profound wrong" in its 1982 war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands. |
| Sports, art, streetlights: A new life in Mogadishu Posted:  The crowd — both men and women — cheered wildly as two Mogadishu basketball teams entered an old stadium that once bore the bloodstains of war.
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| Europe's central bank looks in vain for growth Posted:  Europe is searching for something to get growth going again and pull the eurozone's heavily indebted countries out of their troubles — but with little luck.
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| Titanomania: Museum charts obsession with Titanic Posted:  Somewhere between the black Titanic teddy bears and the pale Iceberg beer, the Titanic Barbie doll and the "Tubtanic" bath plug, the global obsession with the story of the doomed ocean liner began to border on the absurd.
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| Pit bulls in Philippine dog fights to be put down Posted:  At least nine pit bulls rescued from a dogfighting ring in the Philippines were euthanized Tuesday and dozens more are likely to be because there are no facilities to rehabilitate them and prevent them from reappearing in underground arenas.
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| James Murdoch steps down as BSkyB chairman Posted:  Once his father's heir apparent, James Murdoch stepped down Tuesday as chairman of British Sky Broadcasting, surrendering one of the biggest jobs in the Murdoch media empire in a bid to distance the broadcaster from a deepening phone hacking scandal.
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