| Big power talks on Ukraine crisis make little progress Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:35 PM PST  By John Irish and Timothy Heritage PARIS/KIEV (Reuters) - High-level diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in Ukraine made little apparent headway at talks in Paris on Wednesday, with Moscow and Washington at odds and Russia's foreign minister refusing to recognize his Ukrainian counterpart. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said discussions would continue in the coming days in an attempt to stabilize the crisis and he expected to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov again in Rome on Thursday. We have a number of ideas on the table," he said after talks with ministers from Ukraine, Russia, Britain and France.
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| U.S. accuses Syria of stonewalling on chemical arms plants Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:38 PM PST  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Syria is stonewalling members of the global chemical weapons watchdog and refusing to seriously negotiate on the destruction of its facilities used to produce poison gas, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations said on Wednesday. The sharp criticism of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad came after the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague said Syria has shipped about a third of its chemical weapons stockpile, including mustard gas, for destruction abroad. "OPCW trying to reach agreement to destroy CW production facilities—#Syria refusing to seriously negotiate & is (about) to miss another deadline," U.S. Ambassador Samantha Powers said on her Twitter feed. Last year Syria had asked the OPCW for permission to convert for peaceful use some of the facilities declared under its weapons program, but Western diplomats said they were loath to accept such a plan as it could leave Syria with a residual chemical weapons capability.
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| China's Xi ramps up military spending in face of worried region Posted: 05 Mar 2014 01:11 PM PST  By Michael Martina and Greg Torode BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) - China announced its biggest rise in military spending in three years on Wednesday, a strong signal from President Xi Jinping that Beijing is not about to back away from its growing assertiveness in Asia, especially in disputed waters. The government said it would increase the defense budget by 12.2 percent this year to 808.23 billion yuan ($131.57 billion), as China seeks to develop more high-tech weapons and to beef up coastal and air defenses. "This is worrying news for China's neighbors, particularly for Japan," said Rory Medcalf, a regional security analyst at the independent Lowy Institute in Sydney. The 2014 defense budget is the first for Xi, a so-called princeling - or a son of a late Communist Party elder - and the increase in spending appears to reflect his desire to build what he calls a strong, rejuvenated China.
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| Israel seizes arms shipment Posted: 05 Mar 2014 11:34 AM PST  By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Israeli navy seized a ship in the Red Sea on Wednesday that was carrying dozens of advanced Iranian-supplied rockets made in Syria and intended for Palestinian guerrillas in the Gaza Strip, the military said. The disclosure came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in the United States to press his case for tougher international action against Iran over its disputed nuclear program and support for Islamist guerrilla groups. The Panamanian-flagged cargo vessel Klos C was boarded in international waters without resistance from its 17-strong crew in a "complex, covert operation," military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner told reporters. Lerner said dozens of M302 rockets were found aboard the Klos C, a weapon which could have struck deep into Israel from Gaza and would have significantly enhanced the firepower of the Palestinian enclave's Hamas rulers and other armed factions.
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| Venezuela's Chavez remembered with pomp and protests Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:27 PM PST  By Andrew Cawthorne and Girish Gupta CARACAS (Reuters) - Followers of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez flooded the streets of Venezuela on Wednesday for the anniversary of his death, an emotional but welcome distraction for his successor from violent protests raging for the last month. A year after Chavez succumbed to cancer, his self-proclaimed "son," President Nicolas Maduro, faces the biggest challenge to his rule from an explosion of anti-government demonstrations that have led to 18 deaths since February. A hard core of students are determined to maintain street barricades and militant opposition leaders organize daily rallies around Venezuela. There's not a single day I don't remember Hugo," Chavez's cousin, Guillermo Frias, 60, said from Los Rastrojos village in rural Barinas state, where the pair used to play baseball as kids.
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| Three Gulf Arab states recall envoys in rift with Qatar Posted: 05 Mar 2014 11:03 AM PST  By Angus McDowall and Amena Bakr RIYADH/DOHA (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar on Wednesday in an unprecedented public split between Gulf Arab allies who have fallen out over the role of Islamists in a region in turmoil. Qatar's cabinet voiced "regret and surprise" at the decision by the fellow-members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, but said Doha would not pull out its own envoys and that it remained committed to GCC security and stability. The Saudi-led trio said they had acted because Qatar failed to honor a GCC agreement signed on November 23 not to back "anyone threatening the security and stability of the GCC whether as groups or individuals - via direct security work or through political influence, and not to support hostile media". Saudi Arabia and the UAE are fuming especially over Qatar's support for the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist movement whose political ideology challenges the principle of dynastic rule.
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| 2 men guilty in sale of trade US secrets to China Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:50 PM PST SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Two men were convicted Wednesday of stealing an American company's secret recipe for making a chemical used to whiten products from cars to the middle of Oreo cookies and selling it to a competitor controlled by the Chinese government. |
| 'El Chapo' denied petition against US extradition Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:47 PM PST  MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Mexican judge has denied drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman an injunction against any extradition to the United States.
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| Belcher to skipper Australian America's Cup team Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:43 PM PST SYDNEY (AP) — Olympic gold medalist Mathew Belcher has been named skipper of the Australian challenge for sailing's America's Cup. |
| Clinton again blasts Putin after her Hitler remark Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:38 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is a tough but thin-skinned leader who is squandering his country's potential, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday, a day after she likened his actions on the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine to those of Adolf Hitler in the 1930s.
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| Zvonareva optimistic despite loss at Indian Wells Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:35 PM PST  INDIAN WELLS, California (AP) — Vera Zvonareva lost to China's Peng Shuai in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday — and found a reason to be optimistic.
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| Ruling party candidate drops out in Costa Rica Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:35 PM PST  SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Costa Rica's governing party candidate Johnny Araya said Wednesday that he is dropping out of a presidential runoff election and will stop campaigning because polls show his rival with an overwhelming lead.
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| LA mayor in Mexico: Obama should cut deportations Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:25 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — The mayor of Los Angeles says U.S. President Barack Obama should cut deportations of migrants and focus resources on the 2 million people in the U.S. who eligible to become U.S. citizens. |
| 2 men guilty in sale of trade secrets to China Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:21 PM PST SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Two men were convicted Wednesday of stealing an American company's secret recipe for making a chemical used to whiten products from cars to the middle of Oreo cookies and selling it to a competitor controlled by the Chinese government. |
| Netanyahu and Gov. Brown sign pro-business pact Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:14 PM PST  MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a swing through the Silicon Valley to meet with high-tech leaders and sign a pro-business agreement with Gov. Jerry Brown.
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| Russia, West try to hammer out Ukraine diplomacy Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:09 PM PST  PARIS (AP) — The United States and Western diplomats failed to bring Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers together Wednesday for face-to-face talks on the confrontation in Crimea, even as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry voiced optimism that an exit strategy was possible. "I'd rather be where we are today than where we were yesterday," he said.
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| World sovereign funds forum switches HQ to London Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:09 PM PST  The International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF) announced on Wednesday that it is switching its headquarters from Washington to London. "The decision further reinforces IFSWF's position as a significant global institution," said the group, which represents the world's top sovereign wealth funds (SWFs). Finance minister George Osborne welcomed the "great news", saying it was a "vote of confidence" for the British economy. The minister said that the decision showed that London "is a leading global financial and professional services centre, and an ideal environment for international organisations."
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| Shell CEO calls on Scots to stay in UK Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:06 PM PST  The chief executive of Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell on Wednesday dealt a blow to the campaign for Scottish independence by saying he would like it to remain part of the UK. Speaking at the company's annual reception in London, Ben van Beurden explained that a vote for independence in the September referendum would introduce greater uncertainty into the North Sea oil industry, a crucial source of income for Scotland and Shell. For similar reasons, he also said that he wanted Britons to vote to stay in the European Union during a possible referendum in 2017. "That's the chief reason we're in favour of the UK maintaining its long-established place at the heart of the European Union: it provides greater investment stability and certainty.
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| Shark lovers try to save Jaws from Trinidad's bite Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:05 PM PST KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Conservationists said Wednesday they have launched a shark-saving campaign in the Caribbean country of Trinidad & Tobago, trying to stop locals and tourists from eating a popular delicacy: deep-fried shark sandwiches. |
| British coalition partners to trade barbs over immigration Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:02 PM PST  By William James LONDON (Reuters) - A deep rift in Britain's two-party coalition government will be laid bare on Thursday when ministers from each party set out their opposing views on whether immigration is good or bad for the country. Speaking at separate events on the same day, Conservative immigration minister James Brokenshire will say immigration is damaging Britain and must be reduced, while Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable will declare himself "intensely relaxed" about migrants working and studying in the country. Both parties are using immigration as an issue to distinguish themselves and appeal to their core voters after nearly four years of co-governance. Opinion polls regularly show immigration to be one of voters' top three concerns.
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| Pedro scores as Spain beats Italy 1-0 in friendly Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:02 PM PST  MADRID (AP) — Pedro Rodriguez stole the spotlight from debutant Diego Costa by scoring Spain's second-half winner in a 1-0 friendly victory over Italy on Wednesday in a rematch of the 2012 European Championship final.
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| U.S. accuses Russia's Putin of making "false claims" about Ukraine Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:00 PM PST By Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department dropped its diplomatic niceties on Wednesday and all but accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of lying about events in Ukraine, publishing a list of what it said were 10 of his "false claims." A "fact sheet" released by the State Department's press office said Putin had ignored or distorted the facts in "justifying Russian aggression in the Ukraine." The publication of the document, entitled "President Putin's Fiction: 10 False Claims about Ukraine," is highly unusual for the State Department, which typically does not issue statements in public that a foreign leader is being untruthful. Russia and the West face their most serious confrontation since the end of the Cold War over influence in Ukraine, a major commodities exporter and strategic link between East and West. |
| Trinidad stops members of Jewish sect from Canada Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:00 PM PST PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) — Immigration officers in Trinidad say they have prevented members of an ultra-orthodox Jewish group from Canada from flying to Guatemala. |
| Brazil warms up in style; Spain, France win Posted: 05 Mar 2014 04:00 PM PST  LONDON (AP) — Brazil showed its national team is in better shape than the country's stadiums with a 5-0 thrashing of South Africa on Wednesday, and defending champion Spain overcame Italy 1-0 in its final big test before the tournament kicks off, as teams prepared for the World Cup in a series of friendly matches.
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| UN envoy cuts short Crimea mission after gunmen incident Posted: 05 Mar 2014 03:59 PM PST  Simferopol (Ukraine) (AFP) - UN special envoy to Crimea Robert Serry said Wednesday he cut short a mission to the disputed region after being threatened by unidentified pro-Russian gunmen and heckled by protesters. Serry, who had been sent to the tense Black Sea peninsula by UN chief Ban Ki-moon, was confronted by armed men after visiting the Ukrainian naval headquarters in Crimea's capital Simferopol, he told CNN television by phone. Prevented from returning to his vehicle, Serry said the men who refused to identify themselves said "they have received orders.... to bring me immediately to the airport" although they declined to say from whom. The self-defence militias in Simferopol have guaranteed his security."
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| Malawi jet sale paid arms debts: finance minister Posted: 05 Mar 2014 03:55 PM PST  Blantyre (Malawi) (AFP) - Malawi used $15 million raised from the sale of its presidential jet to clear debts to an arms group, not to partly buy food for the poor as President Joyce Banda claimed, the finance minister admitted Wednesday. "Actually, no single kwacha came to Malawi," said Maxwell Mkwezalamba, confirming speculation that the central bank had not received the funds. With her administration under a graft scandal cloud, Banda on Tuesday had declared: "It was me who said let's sell the jet and the cabinet agreed three things to benefit Malawi... to buy maize, buy military equipment such as patrol boats and pay for peacekeeping mission in the DRC," the Democratic Republic of Congo. But Mkwezalamba said the funds were used to pay Malawi's debts after the jet was sold to a subsidiary of South African arms firm Paramount Group, Africa's largest private defence firm, on July 29 last year.
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| Obama, Cameron discuss Ukraine, welcome observers Posted: 05 Mar 2014 03:51 PM PST  BOSTON (AP) — The White House says President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron agree that Russia's military presence in Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula is unacceptable and welcome an observer mission in the region by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
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| Palestinians Say Boycott Israel Movement Is a Path to Peace Posted: 05 Mar 2014 03:34 PM PST The visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not appear to do much to enhance the chances for success in struggling peace talks with Palestinians. Then next day, the Israeli premier pushed the onus on his opposite number, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in a stem-winding speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, that divided the world into the forces of light and darkness. "If you look at it from the position of the Palestinians and the Israeli position, we're pulling apart," Xavier Abu Eid, spokesman for the Palestine Liberation Organization's negotiations unit, tells TIME. But that's what most of the Palestinian leadership expected when Secretary of State John Kerry forced the two sides together last July. |
| Sturridge heads England to 1-0 win over Denmark Posted: 05 Mar 2014 03:33 PM PST  LONDON (AP) — Daniel Sturridge's late header gave England a 1-0 victory over Denmark on Wednesday on a largely ineffective night for the World Cup-bound team in its final friendly before the squad is named.
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| US says hopeful on Ukraine crisis after Russia talks Posted: 05 Mar 2014 03:32 PM PST  The United States voiced hope for a "de-escalation" in the Ukraine crisis on Wednesday, as the West offered billions to Kiev's new government and the tensions in Crimea forced a UN envoy to cut short his mission. In a bid to defuse the worst West-versus-Moscow standoff since the Cold War, US Secretary of State John Kerry met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Paris for the first time since the crisis erupted. Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel also spoke on the phone about "possible scenarios for international co-operation" to end a confrontation that has raised fears of all-out conflict. Kerry failed to make Lavrov sit down with Ukraine's interim foreign minister, Andriy Deshchytsya, but played down the refusal telling reporters that he had harboured "zero expectation" of that happening.
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| Inter-conference games lead Super Rugby round 4 Posted: 05 Mar 2014 03:28 PM PST WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — After three rounds made up mostly of derby matches Super Rugby goes inter-continental this weekend as injuries bite and pressure mounts on the tournament's slow starters. |
| Algeria win, I. Coast draw, Cameroon crushed Posted: 05 Mar 2014 03:24 PM PST  Johannesburg (AFP) - Algeria won, Ivory Coast drew and Ghana and Cameroon lost Wednesday as African qualifiers prepared for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with warm-up games.
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| US questions China intentions, amid budget hike Posted: 05 Mar 2014 03:20 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Pacific commander voiced concern Wednesday over China's intentions as the Asian power announced its latest double-digit hike in defense spending. |
| Ukraine crisis: CIA, not Pentagon, forecast Russian move - sources Posted: 05 Mar 2014 03:19 PM PST By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Until recently, collecting intelligence on Ukraine was a low priority for U.S. spy agencies, and as a result their reporting on recent developments was patchy, several current and former U.S. security officials said this week. The Central Intelligence Agency says it was following events closely enough to have outlined scenarios in which upheaval in Ukraine would become so intense that Russia would take military action. Two national security sources said the CIA had specifically warned policymakers, shortly before the Russian military moved into the Crimean peninsula, that such a move could be imminent. The Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency, however, predicted such a move was unlikely, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. |
| Ronaldo sets all-time scoring record for Portugal Posted: 05 Mar 2014 03:15 PM PST  LEIRIA, Portugal (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo became Portugal's all-time leading scorer Wednesday, netting twice as Portugal thrashed Cameroon 5-1 in a warm-up match between teams preparing for the World Cup.
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