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• Putin foe Berezovsky dead, circumstances "unexplained"
• Italy's Berlusconi says primed for snap vote if no deal clinched
• Kurdish rebels declare formal ceasefire with Turkey
• Syria rebels seize southern base, border area
• Central African Republic rebels in capital, France sends troops
• France confirms death of al Qaeda's Abou Zeid in Mali
• Malian army repels Islamist attack on northern town of Gao
• Clashes in Lebanon as PM Mikati's resignation accepted
• Three police among five shot dead in southwestern Mexico
• Hundreds of rebels attack Congo mining hub, 15 killed
• Obama ends Mideast trip with tour of ancient Petra
• Cyprus locked in tough talks as deadline looms
• Pope Francis tells Benedict: 'We're brothers'
• France confirms death of Al-Qaida chief Abou Zeid
• UK police: Russian tycoon Berezovsky found dead
• Clashes near Syria-Israel frontier add to concerns
• Pakistani cricket star is election wildcard
• Rebels enter C. African Republic capital
• Ex-Pakistani strongman vows return ahead of vote
• US aids Honduran police despite death squad fears
• Cyprus still locked in negotiations in last-ditch effort to avoid bankruptcy
• Obama's last Middle East stop: Petra
• Russian tycoon found dead in Britain: Is it suicide?
• Lebanese president accepts prime minister's resignation

Putin foe Berezovsky dead, circumstances "unexplained" Posted: 23 Mar 2013 03:49 PM PDT By Guy Faulconbridge and Maria Golovnina LONDON (Reuters) - Boris Berezovsky, the Russian oligarch who helped broker Vladimir Putin's rise to the Kremlin's top job only to become his sworn enemy, has been found dead at his home in Britain in unclear circumstances. He was 67. Police in Britain, where the tycoon fled in 2000 after falling foul of the Kremlin under Putin, said on Saturday the death was unexplained and they had started an investigation. ...

Italy's Berlusconi says primed for snap vote if no deal clinched Posted: 23 Mar 2013 01:32 PM PDT By Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - Silvio Berlusconi, the 76-year-old leader of Italy's center-right bloc, told thousands of supporters gathered in central Rome he was ready for a snap vote as his rival began talks to try to form a government. "We are all ready for another election campaign and this time we will win big!" the former prime minister shouted from a stage at the start of an hour-long speech. The flag-waving crowd responded with a roar. ...

Kurdish rebels declare formal ceasefire with Turkey Posted: 23 Mar 2013 11:02 AM PDT ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group declared a "formal and clear ceasefire" with Turkey on Saturday after the rebels' jailed leader this week ordered a halt to the decades-long armed campaign for autonomy. "Since March 21 and from now on, we as a movement, as the PKK ... officially and clearly declare a ceasefire," said Murat Karayilan, the PKK's field commander, in a video message apparently taped at a rebel holdout in northern Iraq. His comments were translated from Kurdish in the video posted on Firat News, a website with links to the militants. ...

Syria rebels seize southern base, border area Posted: 23 Mar 2013 11:41 AM PDT By Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - Rebels seized an air defense base near Syria's strategic southern international highway on Saturday, activists said, bolstering access to supply routes to the capital Damascus. The rebels on Saturday also seized several military sites along the Jordanian-Syrian border, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of informants across the country. The developments give fighters control of about 25 km (15. ...

Central African Republic rebels in capital, France sends troops Posted: 23 Mar 2013 02:24 PM PDT By Paul-Marin Ngoupana BANGUI (Reuters) - Central African Republic rebels clashed with government forces inside the capital on Saturday as they sought to topple President Francois Bozize, prompting France to send in more troops to secure the international airport. The Seleka rebel coalition resumed hostilities this week in the mineral-rich former French colony, vowing to oust Bozize whom it accuses of breaking a January peace agreement to integrate its fighters into the army. ...

France confirms death of al Qaeda's Abou Zeid in Mali Posted: 23 Mar 2013 10:03 AM PDT By Lionel Laurent and Elizabeth Pineau PARIS (Reuters) - France confirmed "with certainty" on Saturday that Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, one of al Qaeda's most feared commanders in Africa, had been killed in Mali last month in a French-led offensive. The death of Abou Zeid, who raised millions of dollars kidnapping Western hostages, marks a heavy blow to al Qaeda's North African wing AQIM and to Islamist rebels battling French-led forces in northern Mali's Adrar des Ifoghas mountains. ...

Malian army repels Islamist attack on northern town of Gao Posted: 23 Mar 2013 04:58 PM PDT BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's army repulsed an attack by a group of Islamist rebels who had slipped past army checkpoints to enter the northern Malian town of Gao, a military official said on Saturday. The Malian army official said government forces had defeated the Islamists after more than two hours of intense fighting. The clashes took place after Gao residents reported a group of Islamists entering their neighborhood. No death toll was immediately available. ...

Clashes in Lebanon as PM Mikati's resignation accepted Posted: 23 Mar 2013 02:16 PM PDT By Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - Fighting intensified in northern Lebanon on Saturday as outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati called for a "salvation" caretaker government to take over, a day after he resigned due to a political standoff with the Hezbollah movement. Local media reported that President Michel Suleiman had accepted Mikati's resignation, which could plunge Lebanon into further turmoil and uncertainty three months before a planned parliamentary election. ...

Three police among five shot dead in southwestern Mexico Posted: 23 Mar 2013 04:44 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Five people, including three off-duty federal police officers, were shot dead on Friday night in the city of Altamirano, in Mexico's southwestern Guerrero state. The officers were pursued by gunmen while walking to a local bank, and were killed after seeking refuge in a nearby hotel, an official with the federal police said. Police initially told Reuters the shooting took place early on Saturday, but later corrected the account. On Saturday, the bodies of seven unidentified men were discovered in the city of Uruapan, in Michoacan state, just north of Guerrero state. ...

Hundreds of rebels attack Congo mining hub, 15 killed Posted: 23 Mar 2013 01:24 PM PDT By Bienvenu Bakumanya KINSHASA (Reuters) - Hundreds of rebels armed with bows and arrows and machetes attacked a military camp and the provincial governor's office in Democratic Republic of Congo's southern mining hub of Lubumbashi on Saturday before being repelled by soldiers, authorities said. The attack by pro-independence Mai Mai militia fighters on the capital of the central African nation's copper and cobalt-rich Katanga province began around 1 p.m., sending the city's residents fleeing home. ...

Obama ends Mideast trip with tour of ancient Petra Posted: 23 Mar 2013 01:41 PM PDT PETRA, Jordan (AP) — President Barack Obama set aside the Middle East's tricky politics Saturday to marvel at the beauty of one of the region's most stunning sites, the fabled ancient city of Petra.

Cyprus locked in tough talks as deadline looms Posted: 23 Mar 2013 02:36 PM PDT NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus officials and international representatives were caught up in tortuous negotiations late into the night Saturday as they sought to forge a plan to raise the money the island nation needs to qualify for a bailout package. Failure would mean Cyprus could declare bankruptcy in just three days and possibly have to exit the eurozone.

Pope Francis tells Benedict: 'We're brothers' Posted: 23 Mar 2013 10:35 AM PDT CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (AP) — The two men in white embraced and showed one another the deference owed a pope in ways that surely turned Vatican protocol upside down: A reigning pope telling a retired one, "We are brothers," and insisting that they pray side-by-side during a date to discuss the future of the Catholic Church.

France confirms death of Al-Qaida chief Abou Zeid Posted: 23 Mar 2013 01:46 PM PDT PARIS (AP) — The death of a top al-Qaida-linked warlord in combat with French-led troops represents a victory in the battle against jihadists who had a stranglehold on northern Mali. But it is far from the defining blow against a wily enemy that can go underground and regroup to renew itself. Even the fearsome Abou Zeid is replaceable.

UK police: Russian tycoon Berezovsky found dead Posted: 23 Mar 2013 04:00 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — Boris Berezovsky, a self-exiled and outspoken Russian tycoon who had a bitter falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead in southeast England on Saturday. He was 67.

Clashes near Syria-Israel frontier add to concerns Posted: 23 Mar 2013 01:18 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian regime forces routed rebels in fighting on the edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights last week, leaving at least 35 dead, activists said Saturday, as the country's civil war reached the doorstep of the strategic plateau.

Pakistani cricket star is election wildcard Posted: 23 Mar 2013 11:24 AM PDT LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — As Pakistan looks ahead to a national election later this spring, the biggest wildcard is shaping up to be cricket legend Imran Khan, who rallied at least 150,000 flag-waving supporters in the eastern city of Lahore on Saturday.

Rebels enter C. African Republic capital Posted: 23 Mar 2013 04:03 PM PDT BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Hundreds of rebels penetrated the capital of Central African Republic on Saturday, posing the gravest threat to President Francois Bozize's government in a decade. In at least one part of the city, the insurgents faced resistance and were battling their way through, a group monitoring the situation said.

Ex-Pakistani strongman vows return ahead of vote Posted: 23 Mar 2013 01:16 PM PDT KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf said he doesn't fear arrest despite facing criminal charges as he vowed Saturday to return to his homeland and contest upcoming elections after more than four years in exile.

US aids Honduran police despite death squad fears Posted: 23 Mar 2013 12:40 PM PDT TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — The U.S. State Department, which spends millions of taxpayer dollars a year on the Honduran National Police, has assured Congress that money only goes to specially vetted and trained units that don't operate under the direct supervision of a police chief once accused of extrajudicial killings and "social cleansing."

Cyprus still locked in negotiations in last-ditch effort to avoid bankruptcy Posted: 23 Mar 2013 02:58 PM PDT Cyprus officials and international representatives were caught up in tortuous negotiations late into the night Saturday as they sought to forge a plan to raise the money the island nation needs to qualify for a bailout package. Failure would mean Cyprus could declare bankruptcy in just three days and possibly have to exit the eurozone.

Obama's last Middle East stop: Petra Posted: 23 Mar 2013 01:25 PM PDT President Barack Obama set aside the Middle East's tricky politics Saturday to marvel at the beauty of one of the region's most stunning sites, the fabled ancient city of Petra.

Russian tycoon found dead in Britain: Is it suicide? Posted: 23 Mar 2013 01:24 PM PDT Boris Berezovsky, once a wealthy Russian oligarch, was found dead in his home in Surrey, England.

Lebanese president accepts prime minister's resignation Posted: 23 Mar 2013 11:16 AM PDT Lebanon's president on Saturday asked the outgoing prime minister to stay on in a caretaking role, opening the way for what is expected to be prolonged political jockeying as parliamentary blocs try to build a majority coalition to form a new government.

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