Yahoo! News: World News

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• Malaysia air probe finds scant evidence of attack: sources
• Confrontation in Ukraine as diplomacy stalls
• Chilean is first foreign fatality in Venezuela unrest
• Libya orders military force to 'liberate' rebel-held ports
• Syria among 'most dangerous places on Earth' for children: UNICEF
• Swedish leader condemns violence linked to far right
• Freed nuns reach Damascus as prisoner exchange continues
• Shoe-bomb witness testifies from UK at NY trial
• Fatah endorses refusal to recognise Israel as Jewish state
• Snowden: NSA leaks fueled needed debate on spying
• Japan beat Sweden late to reach Algarve final
• Migrants seek to enter US in San Diego protest
• Israel PM blasts world 'hypocrisy over Iran arms ship'
• Russia preparing counterproposals over Ukraine
• Razor thin margin in El Salvador presidential vote
• Fans report problems at new World Cup stadium
• U.S. Senate Democrats pulling all-nighter on climate change
• New Zealand plans vote on changing national flag
• Mexico cartel leader thrived by playing dead
• Mexico probes soccer team in Citigroup fraud case
• Sociedad's 4th-place hopes hit by 3-2 loss to Rayo
• With eye on Crimea, U.S. starts military drills on Russia's doorstep
• Britain: Russia faces growing pressure over Crimea
• Extreme-right activities in Austria on the rise
• Tanker seized at Libyan rebel port not yet in government harbor: PM
• Am. Samoa passes first anti-human trafficking law
• El Salvador ex-rebel's lead 'irreversible,' rival wants recount
• NATO sending surveillance planes to Ukraine border
• Top Asian News at 10:00 p.m. GMT
• Report: Syrian health care on brink of collapse
• Roofing structure replaced at World Cup stadium
• Venezuelan govt forces target protest barricades
• Libya says its forces seize disputed oil tanker
• George Saunders wins Folio Prize for literature
• Italy lawmakers wrangle but set to pass Renzi electoral law

Malaysia air probe finds scant evidence of attack: sources Posted: 10 Mar 2014 04:43 PM PDT By Eveline Danubrata and Mark Hosenball KUALA LUMPUR/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Investigators in Malaysia are voicing skepticism that the airliner that disappeared early Saturday with 239 people on board was the target of an attack, U.S. and European government sources close to the probe said. The fate of the Malaysian airliner that vanished about an hour into a flight to Beijing remained a mystery, as a massive air and sea search, now in its third day, failed to turn up any trace of the Boeing 777 plane. Neither Malaysia's Special Branch, the agency leading the investigation locally, nor spy agencies in the United States and Europe have ruled out the possibility that militants may have been involved in downing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. "There is no evidence to suggest an act of terror," said a European security source, who added that there was also "no explanation what's happened to it or where it is." Meanwhile, dozens of ships and aircraft from 10 countries were still scouring the seas around Malaysia and south of Vietnam as questions mounted over possible security lapses that could have led to a downing of the Boeing 777-200ER after it climbed to an altitude of 35,000 feet.

Confrontation in Ukraine as diplomacy stalls Posted: 10 Mar 2014 02:41 PM PDT By Andrew Osborn and Natalia Zinets SEVASTOPOL/KIEV (Reuters) - A pro-Russian force opened fire in seizing a Ukrainian military base in Crimea on Monday and NATO announced reconnaissance flights along its eastern frontiers as confrontation around the Black Sea peninsula showed no sign of easing. Ukrainian activists trying to cross into Crimea to show solidarity with opponents of last week's Russian military takeover there said they were halted by men in uniforms of the now outlawed riot police. With diplomacy at a standstill, Russia said the United States had spurned an invitation to hold new talks on resolving the crisis, the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War - though Washington later said a meeting of foreign ministers was possible this week, if Moscow shows it is ready to "engage". The U.S.-led NATO defense alliance said AWACS early warning aircraft, once designed to counter feared Soviet nuclear missile strikes, will start reconnaissance flights on Tuesday over Poland and Romania to monitor the situation in Ukraine, flying from bases in Germany and Britain.

Chilean is first foreign fatality in Venezuela unrest Posted: 10 Mar 2014 04:46 PM PDT By Andrew Cawthorne and Diego Ore CARACAS (Reuters) - A Chilean woman was shot dead while clearing a barricade put up by anti-government protesters, the first foreign fatality during a month of civil unrest in Venezuela, authorities said on Monday. The death of Gisela Rubilar, 47, who was studying in the western Venezuelan city of Merida, brought to at least 21 the total number of fatalities in five weeks of demonstrations against President Nicolas Maduro's government. "She was ambushed by extreme right-wing groups ... ...

Libya orders military force to 'liberate' rebel-held ports Posted: 10 Mar 2014 12:01 PM PDT By Ulf Laessing and Feras Bosalum TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's parliament has ordered a special force to be sent within one week to "liberate" all rebel-held ports in the volatile east, officials said on Monday, raising the stakes over a blockage that has cut off vital oil revenue. The conflict over oil wealth is increasing fears that Libya may slide deeper into chaos or even splinter as the fragile government fails to rein in dozens of militias that helped oust Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 but now defy state authority. The rebels, who have seized three ports and partly control a fourth in the OPEC member country, said they had dispatched forces to central Libya to deal with any government attack. The North Korea-flagged tanker was undamaged and being escorted to western Libya, culture minister and government spokesman Habib al Amin told Reuters.

Syria among 'most dangerous places on Earth' for children: UNICEF Posted: 10 Mar 2014 03:56 PM PDT The number of children affected by the civil war in Syria has more than doubled over the past year, with hundreds of thousands of young Syrians trapped in besieged parts of the country, the United Nations Children's Fund said on Monday. "After three years of conflict and turmoil, Syria is now one of the most dangerous places on earth to be a child," said the UNICEF report. "In their thousands, children have lost lives and limbs, along with virtually every aspect of their childhood." "They have lost classrooms and teachers, brothers and sisters, friends, caregivers, homes and stability," it said. "Instead of learning and playing, many have been forced into the workplace, are being recruited to fight, or subjected to enforced idleness." UNICEF said the child casualty rates were the highest recorded in any recent conflict in the region.

Swedish leader condemns violence linked to far right Posted: 10 Mar 2014 02:24 PM PDT The Swedish government has condemned an attack over the weekend in which four people were wounded, saying violence by far-right groups was hurting the country's image. Four people were beaten and cut in a fight in the early hours of Sunday in the city of Malmo after a march to celebrate International Women's Day, police said. Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said in a statement: "Incidences of nazism and racism besmirch much of what people think is good about Sweden. "You can't exclude the possibility that there is a Swedish Anders Breivik among these groups and it is SAPO's duty to investigate them," he told Sweden's national news agency, referring to the Norwegian who killed 77 people in a bomb and gun attack in 2011.

Freed nuns reach Damascus as prisoner exchange continues Posted: 10 Mar 2014 04:52 PM PDT By Marwan Makdesi and Khaled Yacoub Oweis DAMASCUS/AMMAN (Reuters) - Thirteen Greek Orthodox nuns arrived in Damascus on Monday after al Qaeda fighters who held them for more than three months freed them in a deal providing for the release of women prisoners held by President Bashar al-Assad's government. Activists said at least 15 were released from Adra prison north of Damascus, just a fraction of the 153 which some officials had said would be included in the exchange. The mostly elderly nuns and three other women from their convent seemed in good health as they sat in a room in Damascus with several other Christian clerics. "All of Syria is happy today (for their return)," Bishop Luka al Khoury told Reuters.

Shoe-bomb witness testifies from UK at NY trial Posted: 10 Mar 2014 04:50 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — Jurors at the terrorism trial of Osama bin Laden's son-in-law watched him threaten that there would be no end to the "storm of airplanes" on videotapes made in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks Monday just before a British man testified by video from London that he trained to blow up a plane in late 2001 with a shoe bomb.

Fatah endorses refusal to recognise Israel as Jewish state Posted: 10 Mar 2014 04:47 PM PDT Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - The Revolutionary Council of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Monday unanimously endorsed his rejection of demands to recognise Israel as a Jewish state, officials at the meeting told AFP. "President Abbas has reaffirmed his refusal to recognise the Jewishness of the State of Israel and council members stood up to hail this decision," a senior Fatah official said from the meeting in Ramallah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made recognising Israel as a Jewish state a central issue of peace negotiations, calling it the root of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. Palestinians reject that claim, underlining that they already recognised Israel in 1993 and saying that enshrining it as a "Jewish state" would jeopardise Palestinian refugees' right to return home.

Snowden: NSA leaks fueled needed debate on spying Posted: 10 Mar 2014 04:47 PM PDT Former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden said Monday he has no regrets over his leaks about mass surveillance programs, saying they sparked a needed public debate on spying and data collection. Snowden, who spoke via video link from Russia to the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, said he revealed the programs of the US National Security Agency and other such services to foster "a better civic understanding" about what had been secret programs. Snowden, a former NSA contractor who has been in hiding in Russia and has been charged in the United States with espionage, maintained that "every society in the world has benefited" from the debate on surveillance. "Regardless of what happens to me, this is something we have a right to know," he said on the link with members of the American Civil Liberties Union, who noted that the hookup was routed through seven proxy servers to keep his location secure.

Japan beat Sweden late to reach Algarve final Posted: 10 Mar 2014 04:43 PM PDT FARO, Portugal (AP) — Aya Miyama scored a last-minute penalty on Monday as Japan beat Sweden 2-1 to advance to the Algarve Cup final.

Migrants seek to enter US in San Diego protest Posted: 10 Mar 2014 04:43 PM PDT SAN DIEGO (AP) — Dozens of young migrants trying to cross from Mexico presented themselves to U.S. border inspectors without legal documents Monday, expressing frustration with the pace of efforts to overhaul U.S. immigration laws and protesting a growing number of deportations under President Barack Obama's watch.

Israel PM blasts world 'hypocrisy over Iran arms ship' Posted: 10 Mar 2014 04:42 PM PDT Eilat (Israel) (AFP) - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the world of "hypocrisy" over Iran on Monday as he unveiled a shipment of arms allegedly dispatched to Gaza by Tehran. Standing in front of a vast display of weapons seized last week from a vessel in the Red Sea, Netanyahu launched a blistering attack on the West over its apparent disregard for Iran's alleged attempts to supply longer-range rockets to Palestinian militants. In a highly-publicised speech from Eilat port, where the weapons had been unloaded, Netanyahu said he had only heard a handful of "softly-worded condemnations of Iran" over its "murderous delivery" which came to light just days before EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton made a landmark visit to Tehran. "We have been witness to the smiles and the handshakes between representatives of the West and the heads of the Iranian regime in Tehran, even as these missiles were being unloaded here in Eilat," he said.

Russia preparing counterproposals over Ukraine Posted: 10 Mar 2014 04:41 PM PDT KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia said Monday it is drafting counterproposals to a U.S. plan for a negotiated solution to the Ukraine crisis, denouncing the new Western-backed government as an unacceptable "fait accompli" and claiming that Russian-leaning parts of the country have been plunged into lawlessness.

Razor thin margin in El Salvador presidential vote Posted: 10 Mar 2014 04:40 PM PDT SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Authorities in El Salvador began the final count of votes Monday in a presidential runoff whose razor-close margin led the conservative challenger to announce his party is on "a war footing" to challenge alleged fraud.

Fans report problems at new World Cup stadium Posted: 10 Mar 2014 04:37 PM PDT SAO PAULO (AP) — Fans attending the inaugural match at the new stadium in the jungle city of Manaus were not completely satisfied and reported a lot of unfinished work at the venue, which is set to host its first World Cup match in about three months.

U.S. Senate Democrats pulling all-nighter on climate change Posted: 10 Mar 2014 04:37 PM PDT By Thomas Ferraro and Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than two dozen U.S. Senate Democrats joined forces to speak through the night on Monday, hoping to "wake up" Congress to what is seen as the threat of climate change. "Despite overwhelming scientific evidence and overwhelming public opinion, climate change deniers still exist," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said. "They exist in this country and in this Congress." The Nevada Democrat made the comments in kicking off the marathon gabfest at 6:27 p.m. on Monday. Thirty of the Senate's 53 Democrats, plus the two independents who caucus with them, have signed up to participate.

New Zealand plans vote on changing national flag Posted: 10 Mar 2014 04:52 PM PDT WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has announced plans for a referendum on whether to change the national flag.

Mexico cartel leader thrived by playing dead Posted: 10 Mar 2014 04:28 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (AP) — Cartel kingpin Nazario Moreno Gonzalez played dead for more than three years, putting on one of the greatest performances in drug-trafficking history.

Mexico probes soccer team in Citigroup fraud case Posted: 10 Mar 2014 04:19 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities are investigating whether the owner of a Mexican oil services company that allegedly defrauded Citigroup used his professional soccer team to launder money.

Sociedad's 4th-place hopes hit by 3-2 loss to Rayo Posted: 10 Mar 2014 04:08 PM PDT MADRID (AP) — Real Sociedad's hopes of returning to the Champions League next season took a hit on Monday after it fell 3-2 at home to bottom-table Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish league.

With eye on Crimea, U.S. starts military drills on Russia's doorstep Posted: 10 Mar 2014 04:06 PM PDT By Marcin Goettig WARSAW (Reuters) - The United States will signal its resolve to protect its NATO allies near Russia's borders on Tuesday with the start of the first joint military training exercises in the region since the Kremlin intervened in Ukraine. In the Black Sea, across the water from the Crimean Peninsula where Russian military groups have seized control from Ukrainian authorities, a U.S. navy destroyer will take part in maneuvers with Romanian and Bulgarian warships. To the north in Poland, U.S. fighter jets are arriving at the central Lask air base to take part in joint exercises, with Poland's president expected to review the maneuvers.

Britain: Russia faces growing pressure over Crimea Posted: 10 Mar 2014 03:54 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia is facing growing isolation and increasing pressure to stop a referendum in Ukraine's strategic Crimea Peninsula though it has shown no sign of softening its position and is still blocking Security Council action, Britain's U.N. ambassador said Monday.

Extreme-right activities in Austria on the rise Posted: 10 Mar 2014 03:25 PM PDT VIENNA (AP) — An official says the number of extreme-right acts reported to authorities in Austria in 2013 rose by more than 10 percent over those in the previous year.

Tanker seized at Libyan rebel port not yet in government harbor: PM Posted: 10 Mar 2014 03:19 PM PDT A tanker that loaded oil from a rebel-held port in eastern Libya has been halted by government forces but it has not yet reached a port controlled by government forces, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan told Reuters on Monday. Oil officials said earlier navy forces had seized the North Korea-flagged tanker outside the rebel-held Es Sider port to escort it to a government-controlled port in western Libya. Giving the first details of the operation, Prime Minister Zeidan said the tanker was not yet in western Libya. Tomorrow it will move." Authorities would unload the crude from the tanker once it reached a western port and then launch legal measures against the potential buyers.

Am. Samoa passes first anti-human trafficking law Posted: 10 Mar 2014 03:17 PM PDT PAGO PAGO, American Samoa (AP) — Legislators in American Samoa have approved the territory's first anti-human trafficking law after several unsuccessful attempts over more than a decade.

El Salvador ex-rebel's lead 'irreversible,' rival wants recount Posted: 10 Mar 2014 03:15 PM PDT By Nelson Renteria and Michael O'Boyle SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - A former Marxist rebel commander's tiny lead in El Salvador's presidential election is irreversible, the country's electoral tribunal said on Monday, but his right-wing challenger demanded a full recount, insisting he was the real winner. Salvador Sanchez Ceren of the ruling Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), which as a rebel group fought a string of U.S.-backed governments in the 1980-1992 civil war, claimed victory on Sunday after preliminary results showed he had won 50.11 percent support. Challenger Norman Quijano, a former mayor of San Salvador and candidate of the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (Arena) party, had 49.89 percent support.

NATO sending surveillance planes to Ukraine border Posted: 10 Mar 2014 03:07 PM PDT BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO says it is dispatching surveillance aircraft to fly over Poland and Romania to monitor the crisis unfolding in neighboring Ukraine.

Top Asian News at 10:00 p.m. GMT Posted: 10 Mar 2014 03:02 PM PDT PATTAYA, Thailand (AP) — Authorities questioned travel agents Monday at a beach resort in Thailand about two men who boarded the vanished Malaysia Airlines plane with stolen passports, part of a growing international investigation into what they were doing on the flight. Nearly three days after the Boeing 777 with 239 people on board disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, no debris has been seen in Southeast Asian waters.

Report: Syrian health care on brink of collapse Posted: 10 Mar 2014 03:01 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's health care system is on the brink of collapse, with medics forced to engage in "brutal medical practices" in order to save lives: knocking out patients with metal bars because of lack of anesthesia, or amputating infants' limbs for lack of other ways to treat their injuries, an international charity organization said in a report published on Monday.

Roofing structure replaced at World Cup stadium Posted: 10 Mar 2014 02:49 PM PDT SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian constructors say they have installed the giant roofing structure that collapsed after a crane failure at the stadium hosting the World Cup's opening match in three months.

Venezuelan govt forces target protest barricades Posted: 10 Mar 2014 02:49 PM PDT CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The opposition mayor of San Cristobal said Monday that Venezuelan government forces attacked and dismantled barricades raised by protesters at key intersections in his city and fired tear gas and plastic buckshot in residential neighborhoods.

Libya says its forces seize disputed oil tanker Posted: 10 Mar 2014 02:47 PM PDT TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Libyan officials said that government forces on Monday took over a North Korean-flagged oil tanker docked at a terminal held by a regional militia, where it had been attempting to load oil. The militia, however, denied the government had taken the ship.

George Saunders wins Folio Prize for literature Posted: 10 Mar 2014 02:44 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — American writer George Saunders won the 40,000 pound ($67,000) Folio Prize for literature on Monday with his humorous and disturbing short-story collection "Tenth of December."

Italy lawmakers wrangle but set to pass Renzi electoral law Posted: 10 Mar 2014 02:43 PM PDT By Roberto Landucci ROME (Reuters) - Italian lawmakers rejected a bid on Monday to set minimum quotas for women in parliament under a new electoral law but are expected to pass the package as a whole, advancing Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's quest for wider economic reforms. Reforming the system blamed for leaving Italy with a deadlocked parliament has been a top priority for Renzi since he took over leadership of the main center-left Democratic Party (PD) last year. It is seen as a big test of the 39-year-old prime minister's ability to pass the kind of broad structural reforms considered necessary to revive Italy's stricken economy and repair its sagging public finances. Renzi defied party critics to reach broad agreement on a new law with veteran center-right leader Silvio Berlusconi but final approval has been delayed by wrangling in parliament, as well as the upheaval in which he ousted his predecessor Enrico Letta as prime minister last month.

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