| U.S. accuses Russian agents of stirring eastern Ukraine unrest Posted: 08 Apr 2014 10:43 AM PDT  By Arshad Mohammed and Thomas Grove WASHINGTON/LUHANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accused Russian agents and special forces on Tuesday of stirring separatist unrest in eastern Ukraine, saying Moscow could be trying to prepare for military action as it had in Crimea. Ukraine's security service said separatists occupying the security headquarters in Luhansk had planted bombs in the building and were holding as many as 60 hostages. Kerry said he feared Moscow might repeat its Crimean operation. "It is clear that Russian special forces and agents have been the catalyst behind the chaos of the last 24 hours," he said in Washington, and this "could potentially be a contrived pretext for military intervention just as we saw in Crimea".
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| NATO to triple Baltic air patrol from next month Posted: 08 Apr 2014 12:50 PM PDT  By Adrian Croft BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO will triple its usual number of fighter jets patrolling over the Baltics next month to beef up its eastern European defenses due to tension with Russia over Ukraine, a NATO military official said on Tuesday. Four NATO fighters are usually based in the Baltics but the United States, which currently has responsibility for patrolling the skies there, increased that to 10 F-15s to reassure those states following Russia's occupation of Ukraine's Crimea region. The number of fighters assigned to the Baltic "air policing" mission is now set to increase further to 12, three times the normal complement, when the next four-month period starts in May, the NATO military official said. The strengthening of air patrols over the Baltics is part of a plan of air, land and sea reinforcements for central and eastern European allies that NATO's top military commander, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, is drawing up by April 15.
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| Kerry suggests Israeli housing announcement triggered impasse Posted: 08 Apr 2014 03:32 PM PDT  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry suggested on Tuesday that Israel's announcement of plans to build about 700 housing units in East Jerusalem was the proximate cause for the near collapse of its peace talks with the Palestinians. However, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Kerry was not seeking to blame Israel for the impasse in the talks, which appear close to breaking down ahead of the April 29 date by which Kerry had hoped to reach a peace agreement. Any hint that the United States was blaming Israel was likely to upset Israeli officials. Among the steps were Israel's failure to release a fourth batch of Palestinian prisoners as promised, its announcement of tenders to build 708 new housing units in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as the capital of a Palestinian state, and the Palestinians signing 15 international agreements, including the Geneva Conventions on the conduct of war, last week.
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| Britain tightens rules to deter welfare-seeking foreign migrants Posted: 08 Apr 2014 02:34 PM PDT  By William James LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Tuesday it was stepping up restrictions on foreign job seekers' access to welfare payments as Prime Minister David Cameron strives to cut immigration ahead of a national election next year. Polls show voters are concerned about immigration levels, a trend reflected in the rising popularity of the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) which opposes "open door immigration" and has drawn support away from Cameron's Conservatives. UKIP is expected to come first or second in elections for the European Parliament next month, pushing the Conservatives into third place. In response, Cameron has sought to appear tough on the issue by tightening visa rules for migrants from outside the European Union and by restricting access to welfare benefits for EU nationals.
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| As Japan weighs energy options, costs mount for idled reactors Posted: 08 Apr 2014 02:29 PM PDT  By Aaron Sheldrick and Osamu Tsukimori TOKYO (Reuters) - Since March 2011, Japan's government has focused on the cost of cleaning up after Fukushima, the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl. Now, the bill is coming due for another unbudgeted consequence of that disaster - shutting down the nation's 48 remaining nuclear reactors for costly safety reviews that could see many of them mothballed. While their reactors have been idled, Japan's nuclear plant operators have had to spend around $87 billion to burn replacement fossil fuels. Last week, Kyushu Electric Power Co was confirmed to be seeking a near $1 billion bailout in the form of equity financing from the government-affiliated Development Bank of Japan because of the cost of idling its reactors, joining Hokkaido Electric Power Co which has also asked the bank for financial backing.
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| Afghanistan's surprises Posted: 08 Apr 2014 01:57 PM PDT  In a nation more associated with calamity than consensus, the initial results of Saturday's Afghan presidential election are startling. Despite Taliban threats to attack polling stations nationwide, the same percentage of Afghans turned out to vote - roughly 58 percent - as did Americans in the 2012 U.S. presidential race. And a leading candidate to replace Hamid Karzai is Ashraf Ghani, a former World Bank technocrat who has a PhD in cultural anthropology from Columbia University, a Lebanese Christian wife, and an acclaimed book and TED talk entitled "Fixing Failed States." "Relative to what we were expecting, it's very hard to not conclude that this was a real defeat for the Taliban," Andrew Wilder, an American expert on Afghanistan, said in a telephone interview from Kabul on Monday "And a very good day for the Afghan people." Two forces that have long destabilized the country - its political elite and its neighbors - could easily squander the initial success.
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| U.S. defense chief gets earful as China visit exposes tensions Posted: 08 Apr 2014 04:24 PM PDT  By Phil Stewart BEIJING (Reuters) - Tensions between China and the United States were on full display on Tuesday as Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel faced questions in Beijing about America's position in bitter territorial disputes with regional U.S. allies. Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan, standing side-by-side with Hagel, called on the United States to restrain ally Japan and chided another U.S. ally, the Philippines. Then, Hagel was sharply questioned by Chinese officers at the National Defense University. One of them told Hagel he was concerned that the United States was stirring up trouble in the East and South China Sea because it feared someday "China will be too big a challenge for the United States to cope with." "Therefore you are using such issues ... to make trouble to hamper (China's) development," the officer said.
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| US pastor convicted in NYC fake Hirst art case Posted: 08 Apr 2014 04:21 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — A Miami pastor was convicted Tuesday of trying to cash in on counterfeit artworks that mimicked valuable pieces by British art luminary Damien Hirst.
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| Queen hosts Irish president on 1st UK state visit Posted: 08 Apr 2014 04:17 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — Amid regal pomp at Queen Elizabeth II's Windsor Castle home, the Irish president and the British monarch have begun Ireland's first state visit to Britain with expressions of mutual affection and respect — and a shared determination to consign national hatreds to a sorrow-tinged past.
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| Passwords vulnerable after security flaw found Posted: 08 Apr 2014 04:10 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — Passwords, credit cards and other sensitive data are at risk after security researchers discovered a problem with an encryption technology used to securely transmit email, e-commerce transactions, social networking posts and other Web traffic. |
| Real Madrid reaches Champs League semifinals Posted: 08 Apr 2014 04:08 PM PDT  DORTMUND, Germany (AP) — Real Madrid failed to score without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo and only just hung on to advance to its fourth straight Champions League semifinal after losing 2-0 at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.
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| Mexico: Sect had kids from 2008 disappearance Posted: 08 Apr 2014 04:07 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities have confirmed that members of a tiny, mysterious evangelical sect had "adopted" about a dozen children who vanished from a Mexico City children's shelter in 2008. |
| Brazil election jitters may hit investments in 2014: source Posted: 08 Apr 2014 04:06 PM PDT  By Alonso Soto and Luciana Otoni BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's presidential vote will likely delay some investment decisions this year but spending on infrastructure is expected to remain strong, a senior government official told Reuters. Although President Dilma Rousseff is the favorite to win the October 5 general election, many investors could withhold funds until the next government outlines its plans for the following four years, which could hamper the country's already slow economic growth. "But investment in infrastructure will not be affected because a lot of that construction is already under contract." The official, who is involved in economic policy decisions, said the government expects investment commitments of about 100 billion reais ($45.48 billion) between 2014 and 2015 in roads, ports, airports, power generation and distribution projects. Rousseff, a left-leaning technocrat, launched a multibillion dollar infrastructure package in 2012 precisely to bolster investment, which is one of the main bottlenecks holding back the economy of the once-booming emerging-market star.
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| Nobel laureate Garcia Marquez leaves hospital Posted: 08 Apr 2014 03:43 PM PDT  MEXICO CITY (AP) — A medical official says Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez has left the hospital where he was treated for eight days for pneumonia and related problems.
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| "Cuban Twitter" -- overtly political, poking Castros Posted: 08 Apr 2014 03:39 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Draft messages produced for a Twitter-like network that the U.S. government secretly built in Cuba were overtly political and poked fun at the Castro brothers, documents obtained by The Associated Press show. The messages conflict with claims by the Obama administration that the program had no U.S.-generated political content and was never intended to stir unrest on the island.
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| Civil rights summit opens with immigration talk Posted: 08 Apr 2014 03:35 PM PDT  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A civil rights summit headlined by four of the five living U.S. presidents has started with a top Republican and Democrat finding common ground on ideas for immigration reform.
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| Haiti police investigating 4 deaths Posted: 08 Apr 2014 03:33 PM PDT  PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Police detectives in Haiti are investigating the deaths of four people in a rough neighborhood west of the capital.
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| Clinton praises Pussy Riot as 'strong and brave' Posted: 08 Apr 2014 03:32 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Clinton is praising the Russian punk band Pussy Riot as "strong and brave young women" who "refuse to let their voices be silenced."
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| Iran sends Syria 30,000 tons of food supplies Posted: 08 Apr 2014 03:26 PM PDT  BEIRUT (AP) — Iran delivered 30,000 tons of food supplies to Syria on Tuesday to help the government deal with shortages due to the civil war, state media said.
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| US will cut deployed nuke missile force by 50 Posted: 08 Apr 2014 03:23 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. will keep its current force of 450 land-based nuclear missiles but remove 50 from their launch silos as part of a plan to bring the U.S. into compliance with a 2011 U.S.-Russia arms control treaty, the Pentagon said Tuesday. |
| Spanish parliament rejects Catalonia independence bid Posted: 08 Apr 2014 03:23 PM PDT  Spain's parliament on Tuesday shot down a Catalan petition to call a referendum on secession, setting the stage for a bitter sovereignty struggle between the government and the country's economic engine. "I defend that Catalonia should remain in Spain because I can't conceive of Spain without Catalonia nor of Catalonia outside of Spain and Europe," Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy told the assembly before the vote. After a seven-hour debate, 299 members of parliament voted against the request by the Catalonia region to be granted the right to call a referendum while 47 supported the petition and one abstained. The northeastern region, which has its own language and a long history of fighting for greater autonomy from Spain, had sought permission from the Spanish parliament to hold a referendum on November 9.
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| Spanish Parliament rejects Catalonia bid Posted: 08 Apr 2014 03:17 PM PDT MADRID (AP) — Spain's Parliament on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a petition by the powerful northeastern Catalonia region to allow an independence referendum, a decision that is likely to increase the divide between both sides. |
| Lawmaker Yee pleads not guilty to federal charges Posted: 08 Apr 2014 03:13 PM PDT  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Suspended state Sen. Leland Yee pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to bribery and gun charges two weeks after he was arrested as part of an FBI sting targeting political corruption and an alleged organized crime syndicate based in San Francisco's Chinatown.
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| Scott goes for No. 1 at scene of greatest triumph Posted: 08 Apr 2014 03:10 PM PDT  AUGUSTA, Georgia (AP) — Adam Scott is relishing every part of being Masters champion.
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| Top Nigerian Islamic body accuses military over Muslim deaths Posted: 08 Apr 2014 03:07 PM PDT  A leading Nigerian Islamic group has accused the country's military of summarily executing Muslims in the name of counter-terrorism, prompting a swift and strongly-worded denial on Tuesday from top brass. The Jama'atu Nasril Islam (JNI) umbrella group of Muslim organisations said followers of the faith had "become endangered species, murdered and maimed indiscriminately in the guise of fighting terrorism". "The dimension of extra-judicial killing of Muslims by the military on a mere whim of unsubstantiated suspicion leaves much to be desired," it said in a statement signed by its secretary-general, Khalid Aliyu. The JNI's accusation, which follows claims that troops summarily executing hundreds of suspected Islamist fighters, came after a military operation in Nigeria's central Nasarawa state last Thursday.
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| Austrian far-right politicians quit EU parliament campaign Posted: 08 Apr 2014 03:06 PM PDT The co-lead candidate for the anti-immigrant Freedom Party said he had lost his party's trust after making racist comments, while the daughter of late Austrian right-wing populist leader Joerg Haider gave up on re-energizing her father's BZO party. But the comments by the Freedom Party's Andreas Moelzer that the European Union's aggressive regulation made Nazi Germany look liberal by comparison and his warning the bloc could become a "conglomerate of negroes" risked alienating potential voters. The Freedom Party (FPO) is scoring around 27 percent in Austrian national opinion polls, ahead of the governing Social Democrats and conservative People's Party. Moelzer told the Austria Press Agency he was not prompted to quit by pressure from other political parties, the media or other external critics. |
| Chelsea beats PSG to reach CL semifinals Posted: 08 Apr 2014 03:03 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — Chelsea overturned a two-goal deficit against Paris Saint-Germain to squeeze into the Champions League semifinals on Tuesday, with Demba Ba scoring against his hometown club in a 2-0 victory that sent his side through on away goals.
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| Jury convicts woman in Texas stiletto shoe killing Posted: 08 Apr 2014 04:28 PM PDT HOUSTON (AP) — A Houston woman was convicted of murder Tuesday for fatally stabbing her boyfriend with the 5½-inch stiletto heel of her shoe, hitting him at least 25 times in the face. |
| Top Asian News at 10:00 p.m. GMT Posted: 08 Apr 2014 03:02 PM PDT PERTH, Australia (AP) — Search crews in the Indian Ocean failed to pick up more of the faint underwater sounds that may have been from the missing Malaysian jetliner's black boxes whose batteries are at the end of their life. The signals first heard late Saturday and early Sunday had sparked hopes of a breakthrough in the search for Flight 370, but Angus Houston, the retired Australian air chief marshal leading the search far off western Australia, said listening equipment on the Ocean Shield ship has picked up no trace of the sounds since then. |
| Libya not in full control of re-opened eastern port Posted: 08 Apr 2014 02:56 PM PDT By Julia Payne TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's oil protection force is not in full control of the Zueitina port as some militiamen are still at the facility following a deal to end their blockade of eastern oil terminals, a Petroleum Facilities Guard spokesman said late on Tuesday. The port, along with the country's two largest, Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, has been under the control of an eastern federalist group led by former guard member Ibrahim al-Jathran, who recruited men from within his ranks. A deal was brokered over the weekend to reopen two of the small blocked ports, and while workers have been allowed entry, the former Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) members that followed Jathran are still there, hoping to rejoin the force that they deserted. |
| Struggling Canucks fire GM Gillis Posted: 08 Apr 2014 02:51 PM PDT  The Vancouver Canucks fired president and GM Mike Gillis on Tuesday, after the National Hockey League club missed the playoffs for the first time in six years. Gillis has been heavily criticized this season for the hiring of bombastic head coach John Tortorella who was suspended for 15 days earlier this season after he tried to start a fight with Calgary Flames coach Bob Hartley. The firing of the 55-year-old Gillis leaves many wondering if first-year Canuck coach Tortorella is the next to be shown the door? Francesco Aquilini, chairman of Canucks Sports & Entertainment, thanked Gillis for his service but said they couldn't go on without making a major change at the top.
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| Texas mulls adding Mexican-American studies course Posted: 08 Apr 2014 02:51 PM PDT  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Board of Education considered a long-shot proposal Tuesday that would add a Mexican-American studies course as a statewide high school elective, listening to dozens of supporters who said such a class is the only way to truly understand a state where Hispanics make up 51 percent of public school students and which was once part of Mexico.
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| Ian Thorpe battling infection in Sydney hospital Posted: 08 Apr 2014 02:36 PM PDT SYDNEY (AP) — The agent for five-time Olympic gold medalist Ian Thorpe says the 31-year-old will never swim again after contracting two potentially-deadly infections while undergoing shoulder surgery. |
| U.S., Russia, Ukraine and EU to meet on Ukraine crisis Posted: 08 Apr 2014 02:35 PM PDT By Barbara Lewis BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States, the European Union, Russia and Ukraine will meet at ministerial level next week to discuss the Ukraine crisis, the EU said on Tuesday, offering a glimpse of possible diplomatic progress in the conflict. The meeting will involve U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia, the EU said. |
| Palestinian urges boycott of Israeli settlements Posted: 08 Apr 2014 02:32 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Palestinian U.N. envoy urged the world Tuesday to boycott products from "illegal" Israeli settlements as part of a stepped up campaign to help Palestine become independent. |
| Top Asian News at 9:30 p.m. GMT Posted: 08 Apr 2014 02:32 PM PDT PERTH, Australia (AP) — Search crews in the Indian Ocean failed to pick up more of the faint underwater sounds that may have been from the missing Malaysian jetliner's black boxes whose batteries are at the end of their life. The signals first heard late Saturday and early Sunday had sparked hopes of a breakthrough in the search for Flight 370, but Angus Houston, the retired Australian air chief marshal leading the search far off western Australia, said listening equipment on the Ocean Shield ship has picked up no trace of the sounds since then. |
