| Palestinian U.N. moves designed to avoid U.S. retaliation Posted: 03 Apr 2014 06:38 AM PDT  By Noah Browning RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - When Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed onto 15 international conventions on Tuesday, he shocked the U.S. sponsors of troubled Middle East peace talks. Abbas's action may have been designed more as a symbolic act of defiance to shore up his tenuous standing among Palestinians frustrated at the diplomatic impasse with Israel over their goal of statehood than a knife in the heart of peacemaking. As a non-member state in the United Nations, Palestinians can join 63 international agencies and accords. However, by only signing conventions dealing with social and human rights instead of seeking full membership in U.N. bodies, the Palestinians' foreign minister said they would not provoke U.S. sanctions.
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| Israel scraps Palestinian prisoner release, seeks review of talks Posted: 03 Apr 2014 01:04 PM PDT  By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has called off a planned release of Palestinian prisoners meant to advance the U.S.-sponsored peace process and called for a review of how the troubled negotiations can make progress, an official briefed on the talks said on Thursday. The official, who declined to be identified, said Israeli negotiators had informed their Palestinian counterparts of the decision in a Wednesday night meeting held at Washington's behest in an effort to avert a collapse of the talks. The crisis surfaced at the weekend when Israel refused to release a group of Palestinian prisoners under the terms of a previous accord unless it received assurances the Palestinian leadership would continue with negotiations beyond an initial end-April deadline set by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Kerry flew to Jerusalem on Monday and was trying to put the talks back on track.
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| U.S. warns China not to attempt Crimea-style action in Asia Posted: 03 Apr 2014 04:57 PM PDT  By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China should not doubt the U.S. commitment to defend its Asian allies and the prospect of economic retaliation should also discourage Beijing from using force to pursue territorial claims in Asia in the way Russia has in Crimea, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday. Daniel Russel, President Barack Obama's diplomatic point man for East Asia, said it was difficult to determine what China's intentions might be, but Russia's annexation of Crimea had heightened concerns among U.S. allies in the region about the possibility of China using force to pursue its claims.
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| Mongolian-flagged cargo ship with North Korean crew sinks off South Korea Posted: 03 Apr 2014 04:24 PM PDT A Mongolian-flagged cargo ship with 16 North Korean crew members has sunk off the southern coast of South Korea, a South Korean coast guard official said on Friday. The ship was sailing from the Chongjin region on North Korea's east coast and was headed for a Chinese port carrying iron ore, the official said, requesting anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media. |
| Ukraine accuses ex-president over sniper deaths Posted: 03 Apr 2014 09:58 AM PDT  By Pavel Polityuk and Alessandra Prentice KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's prime minister on Thursday blamed ousted President Viktor Yanukovich for the deaths of dozens of anti-government protesters shot by police snipers and urged Russia to hand him over to face charges. Arseny Yatseniuk made his comments to Reuters after Ukraine's security service (SBU) blamed the killing of more than 100 protesters in mid-February on the Berkut riot police but said Yanukovich had been involved in planning the operation. The SBU also said representatives of Russia's FSB security force had been at the SBU headquarters in Kiev - under the previous government - during three months of protests, and that Russia had flown explosives into Ukraine as they worsened.
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| Iran, six powers start expert-level nuclear talks in Vienna Posted: 03 Apr 2014 11:17 AM PDT  Iran and six world powers began an expert-level meeting about Tehran's nuclear program on Thursday, part of efforts to reach an agreement by late July on how to resolve a decade-old dispute that has stirred fears of a Middle East war. The meeting in Vienna of nuclear and other experts from Iran and the United States, France, Germany, Russia, China and Britain was to prepare for a new round of higher-level negotiations next week, also in the Austrian capital. A spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton - whose office is coordinating contacts with Iran on behalf of the big powers - confirmed that the meeting had started but gave no details. The aim is to hammer out a long-term deal by July 20 that would define the permissible scope of Iran's nuclear program in return for a lifting of sanctions that are severely battering its oil-dependent economy.
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| Scientists dismiss claims that Yellowstone volcano about to erupt Posted: 03 Apr 2014 04:57 PM PDT  Yellowstone National Park assured guests and the public on Thursday that a super-volcano under the park was not expected to erupt anytime soon, despite an alarmist video that claimed bison had been seen fleeing to avoid such a calamity. Yellowstone officials, who fielded dozens of calls and emails since the video went viral this week following an earthquake in the park, said the video actually shows bison galloping down a paved road that leads deeper into the park. Contrary to online reports, it's a natural occurrence and not the end of the world," park spokeswoman Amy Bartlett said. Assurances by Yellowstone officials and government geologists that the ancient super-volcano beneath the park is not due to explode for eons have apparently done little to quell fears among the thousands who have viewed recent video postings of the thundering herd.
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| Anadarko Petroleum settles U.S.-wide clean-up case for $5.15 billion Posted: 03 Apr 2014 04:57 PM PDT  Energy company Anadarko Petroleum Corp agreed on Thursday to pay more than $5 billion to clean up areas across the United States polluted by nuclear fuel, wood creosote and rocket fuel waste that caused cancer and other health problems. The agreement resolves a long-running lawsuit against the Kerr-McGee energy and chemical company, which Anadarko bought in 2006. It was also seeking payment for claims from more than 8,000 people who said their exposure to Kerr-McGee's wood treatment plants in Avoca, Pennsylvania and Manville, New Jersey caused cancer, which in some cases led to death. "If you are responsible for 85 years of poisoning the earth, you are responsible for cleaning it up," the U.S. Attorney for Manhattan, Preet Bharara, said at a news conference announcing the settlement.
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| Signs of argument before US base shooting: commander Posted: 03 Apr 2014 04:55 PM PDT  A troubled US soldier who shot dead three people and wounded 16 more at Fort Hood may have argued with one or more colleagues before his rampage, his base commander said Thursday. Lieutenant General Mark Milley told reporters that investigators were combing through the records of the gunman, Army specialist Ivan Lopez, to determine his mental state before Wednesday's incident, which ended when he fatally shot himself. "We're trying to figure out what the trigger event was," Milley told a press conference at the sprawling Texas base, which is home to 70,000 people including more than 40,000 military personnel. The shooting revived memories of an Al-Qaeda inspired gun attack at the base in 2009 by Major Nidal Hasan, who is awaiting execution for killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others.
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| MH370 'black box' ship due in search zone Posted: 03 Apr 2014 04:50 PM PDT  Perth (Australia) (AFP) - Australian navy vessel Ocean Shield, which is fitted with a US-supplied "black box" detector, was Friday expected in the area being scoured for wreckage of Flight MH370 as 14 planes continued the arduous search. Nearly a month after the Malaysia Airlines jet carrying 239 people vanished authorities still have no idea how or why it crashed and warn that unless the black box is found, the mystery may never be solved. But finding the flight data recorder using the towed pinger locator on Ocean Shield appears increasingly remote with officials warning that without a confirmed crash site, hopes of recovering the device are slim in the vast and unpredictable southern Indian Ocean. Ocean Shield left Perth on Monday evening for the three-day voyage to the search zone.
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| White House defends 'Cuban Twitter' to stir unrest Posted: 03 Apr 2014 04:34 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration on Thursday defended its creation of a Twitter-like Cuban communications network to undermine the communist government, declaring the secret program was "invested and debated" by Congress and wasn't a covert operation that required White House approval.
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| Novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 87, hospitalized Posted: 03 Apr 2014 04:27 PM PDT  MEXICO CITY (AP) — Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez has been hospitalized in Mexico City with lung and urinary tract infections that are responding to treatment, federal health officials and the author's son said Thursday.
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| 18 wounded in clash over wildcat mining in Peru Posted: 03 Apr 2014 04:25 PM PDT LIMA, Peru (AP) — Doctors in Peru say at least 15 wildcat gold miners and three police officers suffered gunshot wounds when police moved to reopen the highway that connects Brazil with the Pacific coast. |
| Bimini airport to see first regular night flights Posted: 03 Apr 2014 04:23 PM PDT MIAMI (AP) — A resort company says it has completed an airport upgrade on Bimini that will allow the night flights to the small island chain in the Bahamas. |
| US VP and Greek leader discuss economy and Ukraine Posted: 03 Apr 2014 04:23 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden has discussed Greece's economic future and the situation in Ukraine with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. |
| European rocket launches Earth-observing satellite Posted: 03 Apr 2014 04:19 PM PDT KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — The space consortium Arianespace has successfully launched a rocket that lofted the first Earth-observation satellite for a new European project. |
| Mali reports three suspected Ebola cases Posted: 03 Apr 2014 04:17 PM PDT  Mali said Thursday it had detected three suspected victims of Ebola, the deadly disease that has killed 84 people in Guinea. "Three suspected cases of haemorrhagic fever have been detected in the country. Samples have been taken and sent abroad for analysis," the country's Health Minister Ousmane Kone told AFP. Pending results from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where the samples were sent, the patients were isolated and were receiving appropriate medication.
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| Israel stops Palestinian prisoner release amid talks crisis Posted: 03 Apr 2014 04:11 PM PDT  Israel has called off the planned release of 26 Palestinian prisoners, placing already embattled peace talks in further jeopardy after both sides took steps Washington called "unhelpful". Israel's chief negotiator with the Palestinians has told them that the planned release cannot go ahead, a source close to the embattled talks told AFP on Thursday. A frustrated US Secretary of State John Kerry earlier demanded that recalcitrant Israeli and Palestinian leaders demonstrate leadership in the crisis-hit peace process. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said Justice Minister Tzipi Livni told a meeting with her counterparts on Wednesday that the prisoner release could not happen because the Palestinians had resumed a diplomatic campaign meant to challenge Israel more fully in the international arena.
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| Official: Problems ignored at World Cup stadium Posted: 03 Apr 2014 04:08 PM PDT  SAO PAULO (AP) — Safety problems at the stadium hosting the World Cup opener in Brazil were being ignored so work could finish in time for the tournament, a top labor official said in an interview published on Thursday.
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| U.S. Army names Fort Hood shooter, says had mental illness Posted: 03 Apr 2014 03:53 PM PDT By Lisa Maria Garza FORT HOOD, Texas (Reuters) - The soldier suspected of shooting dead three people before killing himself at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas was identified as Ivan Lopez, a man battling mental illness when he went on a rampage, the base commander said on Thursday. No motive was given for the shooting spree on Wednesday, which also left 16 wounded in what was the second mass killing in five years at one of the largest military bases in the United States, raising questions about security at such installations. "We have very strong evidence that he had a medical history that indicates unstable psychiatric or psychological conditions," Lieutenant General Mark Milley told reporters. Lopez, 34, originally from Puerto Rico, had been treated for depression and anxiety. |
| Malaysia vows: We will give plane families closure Posted: 03 Apr 2014 03:52 PM PDT  PERTH, Australia (AP) — Leaders of the two countries heading multinational efforts to solve the mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 pledged Thursday that no effort would be spared to give the families of those on board the answers they need.
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| Death toll in Washington state mudslide rises to 30 Posted: 03 Apr 2014 03:48 PM PDT  DARRINGTON, Washington (Reuters) - The death toll in a Washington state mudslide that wiped out a rural community last month rose to 30 on Thursday as one more body was extricated from a pile of muck and debris, the Snohomish County medical examiner's office said. A rain-soaked hillside collapsed without warning above the north fork of Stillaguamish River on March 22, unleashing a torrent of mud that roared over the river banks and across state Highway 530, engulfing some three dozen homes on the outskirts of the tiny town of Oso. ...
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| Anti-Assad allies rebuff Syrian presidential election plan Posted: 03 Apr 2014 03:44 PM PDT  International powers who support the Syrian opposition have firmly rebuffed any idea of a presidential election organized by the Syrian government in the midst of a civil war, describing the plans as a "parody of democracy" that would kill peace talks. The Friends of Syria, an alliance of mainly Western and Gulf Arab countries, issued a statement on Thursday in light of recent developments in Syria, where there appears to be no end in sight after more than three years of conflict sparked by protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule. Emboldened by failed peace talks in Geneva, and with the support of his allies Iran and Russia, Assad is looking increasingly likely to stand for a third term in July. "Elections organized by the Assad regime would be a parody of democracy, would reveal the regime's rejection of the basis of the Geneva talks, and would deepen the division of Syria," said the 11-strong group, which includes the United States, France, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
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| Aftershocks rattle Chile as military keeps order Posted: 03 Apr 2014 03:44 PM PDT  IQUIQUE, Chile (AP) — Coastal residents of Chile's far north spent a second sleepless night outside their homes as major aftershocks continued Thursday following a magnitude-8.2 earthquake that damaged several thousand homes and caused six deaths.
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| Bullish Anadarko options bets soar on settlement news Posted: 03 Apr 2014 03:39 PM PDT By Angela Moon NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors who loaded up on bullish options bets in Anadarko Petroleum earlier in the week made some hefty potential profits on Thursday when the global energy company announced a settlement that would end years of litigation over health problems across the United States. Anadarko Petroleum Corp shares hit an all-time high of $100 on Thursday before ending up 14.5 percent at $99.02. The jump in share prices sharply boosted the value of call options that had been trading actively in the last several days ahead of the announcement. "Since the options on Anadarko were not expensive in pure dollar value, for people who have been following the stock and expected some sort of a settlement, the potential reward was worth the potential risk they were putting in," said JJ Kinahan, chief strategist with TD Ameritrade in Chicago. |
| In Jamaica, Vybz Kartel gets life for murder Posted: 03 Apr 2014 03:38 PM PDT KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — A Jamaican judge on Thursday sentenced dancehall reggae star Vybz Kartel and three other men to life in prison for the 2011 murder of an associate. |
| US secretly created 'Cuban Twitter' to stir unrest Posted: 03 Apr 2014 03:33 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — In July 2010, Joe McSpedon, a U.S. government official, flew to Barcelona to put the final touches on a secret plan to build a social media project aimed at undermining Cuba's communist government.
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| Juventus, Basel grab wins in Europa League Posted: 03 Apr 2014 03:29 PM PDT  Juventus scored late to beat Lyon 1-0 and take a big stride toward the Europa League semifinals while Benfica and FC Basel also won to move within sight of a second straight appearance in the last four on Thursday.
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| Costa Rica leftist seen clinching presidency in one-horse race Posted: 03 Apr 2014 03:23 PM PDT  By Zach Dyer SAN JOSE (Reuters) - Costa Rica's center-left presidential candidate Luis Guillermo Solis is expected to cruise to victory in Sunday's run-off election after his ruling party rival quit campaigning in a bizarre twist last month. Solis surprised pollsters by coming in ahead of Johnny Araya of the ruling National Liberation Party (PLN) and the other candidates in the first round of voting in February. "From 1949 to the present, nothing like this has ever happened," said Jose Carlos Chinchilla, a political analyst and a director at the University of Costa Rica, predicting a resounding win for Solis. "The desire for change is absolute." The constitution requires that Araya remain on the ballot and his party continues to campaign so theoretically he could win, but many voters are eager to toss out President Laura Chinchilla's scandal-ridden ruling party and Araya's withdrawal from public events further boosted Solis' chances.
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| Darfur peacekeeping force must improve: Security Council Posted: 03 Apr 2014 03:18 PM PDT  United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN Security Council on Thursday demanded that its peacekeeping mission with the African Union improve its protection of civilians in the strife-torn Sudanese region of Darfur. In a unanimous resolution, the council endorsed "revised strategic priorities" for the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). It added that the Security Council will assess "the initial impact of implementation" before renewing UNAMID's mandate in August.
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| Report: Poor management led to Shell grounding Posted: 03 Apr 2014 03:17 PM PDT ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A Coast Guard report says poor risk assessment and management were factors that led to the grounding of a Shell oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Alaska in 2012. |
| Space station sidesteps space junk again Posted: 03 Apr 2014 03:16 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Space Station had to dodge space junk again — the second time in less than three weeks. |
| Blatter says World Cup will be 'well done' Posted: 03 Apr 2014 03:10 PM PDT SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — FIFA President Sepp Blatter says the World Cup will be "well done," but he criticized Brazilian authorities for starting late on stadium projects and for not providing enough worker safety. |
| GM to take $400m charge for Venezuelan currency Posted: 03 Apr 2014 03:01 PM PDT DETROIT (AP) — General Motors Co. says it will take a charge of $400 million pretax in the first quarter because of a change in the way it values Venezuela's currency. |
