Yahoo! News: World News

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• Ukraine separatists seize second provincial capital, fire on police
• Chemical watchdog to investigate Syria chlorine gas claims
• U.S. offers $5 million for Chinese businessman accused of Iran dealings
• Firm says finds plane debris in Bay of Bengal: CNN
• Israel, Palestinians at U.N. accuse each other of sabotaging peace
• U.N. renews Western Sahara mission, but without rights monitors
• Apple versus Samsung case goes to California jury
• Senator presses Kerry on safety of journalists
• Ecuador's president warns indigenous community
• Biden offers reassurance to Latvian prime minister
• Patton Boggs' latest case vs Chevron over pollution award tossed
• EPA's U.S. Supreme Court win a boost for pending carbon rules
• Plotter recalls al-Qaida brainstorming targets
• Birmingham on brink after latest defeat
• Brazil police and suspected traffickers clash
• U.N. chief urges South Sudan's Kiir help end violence, anti-U.N. campaign
• Bolivian troops protest against alleged racism
• EU, Cuba in talks years after human rights row
• Pakistan should investigate spy agency over journalist attacks: Amnesty
• Real Madrid reaches Champions League final
• EU edges closer to free movement solution with Switzerland
• US sanctions raise concerns for foreign investors
• Puerto Rico unveils 1st balanced budget in years
• Munich center to document city links to Hitler
• Knox argued with Kercher before Italy murder, court says
• Kohlschreiber knocked out in 1st round at Munich
• Jurors in Apple v. Samsung begin deliberations
• Study finds Fukushima radioactivity in tuna off Oregon, Washington
• Egypt must prove it wants democracy: Kerry
• Kerry: Russia 'accelerating' Ukraine crisis
• Italy court says Knox murdered flatmate over argument, not orgy
• Chinese man charged with avoiding US sanctions
• With Mideast talks over, Palestinians seek unity
• Peruvian police burn 11 tons of seized drugs
• Venezuela to crush cars, bikes to build houses
• Iran's Rouhani suggests critics benefited from sanctions

Ukraine separatists seize second provincial capital, fire on police Posted: 29 Apr 2014 01:50 PM PDT By Vasily Fedosenko LUHANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Hundreds of pro-Moscow separatists stormed government buildings in one of Ukraine's provincial capitals on Tuesday and fired on police holed up in a regional headquarters, a major escalation of their revolt despite new Western sanctions on Russia. Nevertheless, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by threatening to reconsider Western participation in energy deals in Russia, the world's biggest oil producer, where most major U.S. and European oil companies have extensive projects. Demonstrators smashed their way into the provincial government headquarters in Luhansk, Ukraine's easternmost province, which abuts the Russian border, and raised separatist flags over the building, while police did nothing to interfere. "The regional leadership does not control its police force," said Stanislav Rechynsky, an aide to Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, referring to events in Luhansk.

Chemical watchdog to investigate Syria chlorine gas claims Posted: 29 Apr 2014 08:34 AM PDT By Thomas Escritt and Mariam Karouny AMSTERDAM/BEIRUT (Reuters) - The global chemical weapons watchdog overseeing the destruction of Syria's toxic stockpile will send a fact-finding mission to Syria to investigate allegations by rebels and activists of chlorine gas attacks, the organization said on Tuesday. The Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said President Bashar al-Assad's government had agreed to accept the mission and had promised to provide security in areas under its control. "The mission will carry out its work in the most challenging circumstances," the OPCW said, referring to the three-year-old conflict between Assad's forces and rebels. Accusations by rebels and Syrian activist of at least three separate chlorine gas attacks by Assad's forces in the last month have exposed the limits of a deal which Assad agreed last year for the destruction of his chemical arsenal.

U.S. offers $5 million for Chinese businessman accused of Iran dealings Posted: 29 Apr 2014 02:50 PM PDT The United States offered a reward of up to $5 million on Tuesday for a Chinese businessman accused of supplying missile parts to Iran, and targeted companies from China and Dubai for allegedly helping Iran evade weapons and oil sanctions. In a signal Washington will keep pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, the U.S. Treasury Department said it was sanctioning eight of Chinese businessman Li Fangwei's Chinese companies for allegedly procuring missile parts for Iran. The U.S. State Department said it was offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Li, who is also known as Karl Lee. Li has been the target of U.S. sanctions in the past for his alleged role as a principle supplier to Iran's ballistic missile program.

Firm says finds plane debris in Bay of Bengal: CNN Posted: 29 Apr 2014 12:24 PM PDT (Reuters) - A private company said it had found what it believes is wreckage of a plane in the Bay of Bengal that should be investigated as possible debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, CNN reported. The Joint Agency Coordination Center managing the multinational search for the missing plane dismissed the possibility, saying it continued to believe that the plane came down in the southern Indian Ocean off Australia. The Bay of Bengal is located between India and Myanmar, thousands of miles from the current search area.

Israel, Palestinians at U.N. accuse each other of sabotaging peace Posted: 29 Apr 2014 02:34 PM PDT By Mirjam Donath UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Israeli and Palestinian envoys on Tuesday took advantage of a U.N. Security Council meeting on the Middle East to publicly blame each other for the latest breakdown in the fragile peace negotiations as the deadline for a deal expired. Robert Serry, the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the 15-nation Security Council that Israeli and Palestinian leaders should "convince each other anew they are partners for peace." Both Israel's U.N. Ambassador Ron Prosor and Palestinian U.N. observer Riyad Mansour expressed a commitment to peace.

U.N. renews Western Sahara mission, but without rights monitors Posted: 29 Apr 2014 02:25 PM PDT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council renewed a U.N. peacekeeping mission in the disputed North African territory of Western Sahara for another year on Tuesday, and urged all sides to respect human rights, but it did not call for the United Nations to monitor abuses as rights groups have advocated. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, like the rights advocacy groups, has called for the U.N. peacekeeping mission, known as MINURSO, to monitor and report on human rights abuses in the territory, traditionally backed by France, Morocco has long rejected the idea.

Apple versus Samsung case goes to California jury Posted: 29 Apr 2014 04:56 PM PDT SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — It was Apple versus Samsung but Google loomed large Tuesday during closing arguments at the monthlong federal trial involving claims of patent infringement exchanged by the world's two largest smartphone makers.

Senator presses Kerry on safety of journalists Posted: 29 Apr 2014 04:49 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Journalists risk their lives to provide information that shapes U.S. policy, says a Democratic senator who is pressing Secretary of State John Kerry on ensuring the safety of foreign reporters and determining the fate of U.S. freelancers missing and believe kidnapped in Syria.

Ecuador's president warns indigenous community Posted: 29 Apr 2014 04:47 PM PDT QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — President Rafael Correa threatened unspecified consequences Tuesday for a fiercely independent indigenous community in Ecuador's Amazon that is harboring three political opponents who face prison for defaming him.

Biden offers reassurance to Latvian prime minister Posted: 29 Apr 2014 04:47 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden has reassured the prime minister of Latvia that in the face of Russian assertiveness in Ukraine, the United States is committed to the collective defense of NATO allies.

Patton Boggs' latest case vs Chevron over pollution award tossed Posted: 29 Apr 2014 04:39 PM PDT By Casey Sullivan NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Patton Boggs accusing Chevron Corp of "bad faith" litigation tactics while the Washington law firm tried to enforce a multibillion-dollar pollution judgment. In granting Chevron's motion to dismiss the case, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Tuesday agreed with a 2013 recommendation by U.S. Magistrate Judge James Francis that Patton Boggs did not have legal standing to sue. The lawsuit was the most recent of three that Patton Boggs had filed against Chevron in connection with its efforts to enforce an $18 billion judgment obtained in Ecuador in 2011. Plaintiffs lawyers led by Steven Donziger had claimed Chevron polluted Ecuador's rainforest.

EPA's U.S. Supreme Court win a boost for pending carbon rules Posted: 29 Apr 2014 04:35 PM PDT By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Supreme Court decision on Tuesday upholding U.S. rules that curb air pollution that floats across state lines was seen as a boost for the Environmental Protection Agency's upcoming plan to crack down on carbon emissions from power plants. The top court backed a federal regulation requiring 28 Midwestern and Appalachian states that cause smog and soot-forming emissions to limit pollution from their smoke stacks before it wafts downwind, mostly to eastern states. The D.C. Circuit court in 2012 had sided with the industry and certain states that said the EPA exceeded its authority by issuing a national plan. Lawyers said the 6-2 Supreme Court decision to side with the EPA was a timely boost for the agency as it moves to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from the country's power plants using a different section of the Clean Air Act.

Plotter recalls al-Qaida brainstorming targets Posted: 29 Apr 2014 04:33 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — Shoe-bomb plotter Saajid Badat admits he was once in the thick of al-Qaida's plans, winning a hug from Osama bin Laden for his quest to blow up a U.S. plane in midair and brainstorming with the self-professed architect of the Sept. 11 attacks about new English and American targets.

Birmingham on brink after latest defeat Posted: 29 Apr 2014 04:22 PM PDT An early goal by Callum McManaman was enough for Wigan to take all three points at St Andrew's and confirm a place in the Championship promotion play-offs for the Latics with a game to spare. But for Birmingham, three years after they won the League Cup when they beat Arsenal at Wembley before being relegated from the Premier League, they are now staring at League One football next season following an 18th successive Championship home game without a win stretching back to October. Even a win at Bolton Wanderers in the final game of the season on Saturday might not be enough to save them if other results don't go their way.

Brazil police and suspected traffickers clash Posted: 29 Apr 2014 04:18 PM PDT RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A gang of suspected drug traffickers ransacked an outpatient clinic in a Rio de Janeiro slum and torched nine passenger buses during a clash with police, authorities said Tuesday.

U.N. chief urges South Sudan's Kiir help end violence, anti-U.N. campaign Posted: 29 Apr 2014 04:16 PM PDT U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged South Sudan President Salva Kiir on Tuesday to publicly call for an end to a "negative campaign" against U.N. peacekeepers and to bring to justice those responsible for attacks there on civilians and the United Nations. In a phone call with Kiir, the U.N. chief called for "an immediate halt to the vicious fighting and the appalling killing of South Sudanese civilians," according to a statement from Ban's press office. More than 1 million people have fled their homes since fighting erupted in December between troops backing Kiir and soldiers loyal to his sacked deputy, Riek Machar. Thousands of people have been killed and tens of thousands have sought refuge at U.N. bases around South Sudan, the world's youngest country, after the violence spread.

Bolivian troops protest against alleged racism Posted: 29 Apr 2014 04:14 PM PDT La Paz (AFP) - Bolivian non-commissioned officers marched through La Paz again Tuesday, the second such demonstration in less than a week against the military hierarchy over racial grievances.

EU, Cuba in talks years after human rights row Posted: 29 Apr 2014 04:10 PM PDT Cuba and the European Union sat down at the negotiating table Tuesday aiming at deals on political dialogue and economic cooperation. The Americas' only one-party, communist-ruled state is the lone country in Latin America that has no political dialogue with the EU. The Cuban side, led by deputy foreign minister Abelardo Moreno, was meeting in Havana with Christian Leffler, the top EU diplomat for the Americas. Reaching a deal that leads to Havana getting any EU financial help would be rare good news for Cuba: its Soviet-style, top-down government-run economy is in constant crisis and does not have access to traditional sources of funding.

Pakistan should investigate spy agency over journalist attacks: Amnesty Posted: 29 Apr 2014 04:06 PM PDT By Mehreen Zahra-Malik ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities should investigate the country's powerful spy agency for human rights abuses against journalists following a spate of attacks on leading reporters, London-based Amnesty International said in a report published on Wednesday. The report sheds light on the threat it says the country's media faces, including from political parties, Islamist insurgents and its own intelligence agencies. At least 34 journalists have been killed in Pakistan as a direct consequence of their work since 2008 and eight have been killed in the past 11 months since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was elected to power in May 2013, Amnesty said. "A critical step will be for Pakistan to investigate its own military and intelligence agencies and ensure that those responsible for human rights violations against journalists are brought to justice," said David Griffiths, Amnesty's Deputy Asia Pacific Director.

Real Madrid reaches Champions League final Posted: 29 Apr 2014 04:04 PM PDT MUNICH (AP) — Sergio Ramos has his redemption, Cristiano Ronaldo has his goal record and Real Madrid is one win away from the long-awaited "Decima."

EU edges closer to free movement solution with Switzerland Posted: 29 Apr 2014 03:49 PM PDT The European Union edged closer Tuesday to resolving a dispute over Swiss immigration restrictions after Britain was given extra time to review EU proposals, an EU diplomatic source said. Britain "will now go along with the EU position," the diplomatic source assured. A Swiss referendum in February approved the introduction of immigration quotas, putting in doubt a whole range of agreements with the EU based on a commitment to free movement of people. Switzerland said the vote specifically meant it could not conclude a protocol extending an EU-Swiss accord on free movement valid for 27 EU member states to newest member Croatia, which joined in 2013.

US sanctions raise concerns for foreign investors Posted: 29 Apr 2014 03:47 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — U.S. sanctions targeting the president of Russia's largest oil company could complicate the operations of Western oil companies with important investments in Russia, such as BP and Exxon.

Puerto Rico unveils 1st balanced budget in years Posted: 29 Apr 2014 03:44 PM PDT SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico's governor on Tuesday presented the first balanced budget in more than a decade, fulfilling a promise to cut spending at a time when the island's economic problems have spread fear among U.S. investors.

Munich center to document city links to Hitler Posted: 29 Apr 2014 03:42 PM PDT MUNICH (AP) — Soon after Nazi Germany's defeat in 1945, there was talk in Munich about building an education center that would document the city's critical role in Adolf Hitler's climb to power. Berlin and some other cities built similar facilities over the years. But the idea languished in Munich, the city Hitler himself called the "Capital of the (Nazi) Movement."

Knox argued with Kercher before Italy murder, court says Posted: 29 Apr 2014 03:40 PM PDT Rome (AFP) - Amanda Knox and her Italian lover slayed British student Meredith Kercher after an argument spiralled out of control, an Italian court said Tuesday.

Kohlschreiber knocked out in 1st round at Munich Posted: 29 Apr 2014 03:36 PM PDT MUNICH (AP) — Two-time former champion Philipp Kohlschreiber was knocked out in the first round of the BMW Open after losing 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 to Denis Istomin on Tuesday.

Jurors in Apple v. Samsung begin deliberations Posted: 29 Apr 2014 03:26 PM PDT SAN JOSE, California (AP) — Jurors have begun deliberations in a patent infringement lawsuit involving Apple and Samsung over smartphone technology.

Study finds Fukushima radioactivity in tuna off Oregon, Washington Posted: 29 Apr 2014 03:24 PM PDT By Shelby Sebens PORTLAND Ore. (Reuters) - A sample of albacore tuna caught off the shores of Oregon and Washington state have small levels of radioactivity from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, researchers said on Tuesday.  But authors of the Oregon State University study say the levels are so small you would have to consume more than 700,000 pounds of the fish with the highest radioactive level to match the amount of radiation the average person is annually exposed to in everyday life through cosmic rays, the air, the ground, X-rays and other sources.  Still, the findings shed some light about the impact of the meltdown on the Pacific Ocean following the March 2011 tsunami and subsequent power plant disaster, said Delvan Neville, a graduate research assistant at OSU and lead author of the study.  "I think people would rather have an answer on what is there and what isn't there than have a big question mark," Neville said. At the most extreme, radiation levels tripled from fish tested before Fuskushima and fish tested after.

Egypt must prove it wants democracy: Kerry Posted: 29 Apr 2014 03:18 PM PDT Egypt's military-installed leaders must prove they are serious about bringing democracy to the world's largest Arab nation, US Secretary of State John Kerry insisted Tuesday. He delivered the stern warning as he met with Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy -- the highest level visit to Washington by an Egyptian official since the army ousted elected Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi in July, throwing US policy towards Cairo into disarray. "We all know there have been disturbing decisions within the judicial process," Kerry said, highlighting recent mass death sentences against hundreds of alleged supporters of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood. "Clearly Egypt has been going through a very difficult transitional process," Kerry said at the start of the two men's talks in the State Department.

Kerry: Russia 'accelerating' Ukraine crisis Posted: 29 Apr 2014 03:09 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State John Kerry accused Moscow on Tuesday of accelerating the crisis in Ukraine instead of sticking to an agreement to ratchet back tensions, and said NATO partners should step up efforts to lessen Europe's energy dependence on Russian oil.

Italy court says Knox murdered flatmate over argument, not orgy Posted: 29 Apr 2014 03:07 PM PDT By Silvia Ognibene FLORENCE, Italy (Reuters) - The Italian court that found American student Amanda Knox guilty of murder in January, said on Tuesday she had killed her British flatmate because of a domestic argument, rather than during a sex game, and that she herself had wielded the knife. Knox spent four years in an Italian jail after a court found that she and her then boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, had murdered 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher in 2007. Knox and Sollecito both proclaim their innocence. A third person, Ivory Coast-born Rudy Guede, who was tried separately, is serving a 16-year sentence for his part in Kercher's murder at the university town of Perugia.

Chinese man charged with avoiding US sanctions Posted: 29 Apr 2014 03:03 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A Chinese man previously accused of contributing to Iran's ballistic missile program has been charged in the United States with making millions of dollars in illegal financial transactions to avoid economic sanctions, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

With Mideast talks over, Palestinians seek unity Posted: 29 Apr 2014 03:02 PM PDT JERUSALEM (AP) — Tuesday was to have been the day to seal a deal on a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Instead, it became another missed deadline in two decades of negotiating failures. The gaps between Israeli and Palestinian positions remain vast after nine months of talks launched by Secretary of State John Kerry. He hasn't given up, but there's a sense the U.S. may have to change its traditional approach to brokering talks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas now face risky paths that could lead to a new conflagration.

Peruvian police burn 11 tons of seized drugs Posted: 29 Apr 2014 02:55 PM PDT Colonel Carlos Reyes, head of the force's organized crime-fighting unit, said the drugs included 600 kilos (1,323 pounds) of cocaine base stashed in a home in Lima's La Molina neighborhood. He said the drugs had been seized in a string of operations carried out between late 2013 and March 2014.

Venezuela to crush cars, bikes to build houses Posted: 29 Apr 2014 02:55 PM PDT By Diego Ore CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela said on Tuesday it would start crushing abandoned cars and bicycles to provide raw materials for housing construction and supplement drastically reduced amounts of local steel. "We have sent 10,485 automobiles, 9,651 motorbikes and 539 bicycles to the national steel industry," Maria Martinez, a deputy justice minister, said during a visit to an abandoned car deposit outside Caracas. That quantity of steel, she said, could be used for rebars, which reinforce concrete, in the construction of tens of thousands of housing units. In one of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez's most popular policies, the "Great Venezuelan Housing Mission," authorities built or refurbished more than 250,000 housing units in 2012 for low-income families.

Iran's Rouhani suggests critics benefited from sanctions Posted: 29 Apr 2014 02:50 PM PDT By Mehrdad Balali DUBAI (Reuters) - President Hassan Rouhani, in a riposte to hardliners who suggest he is capitulating to the West, accused critics of his government on Tuesday of using lies and exaggeration to oppose his policies, including Iran's nuclear talks with world powers. In an interview on state television, Rouhani suggested his critics were a "tiny minority" who had profited from sanctions and feared losing out if curbs were removed with an eventual resolution of Iran's nuclear dispute with the West. Rouhani and his negotiators have been under strong pressure from Islamic hardliners opposed to the talks with the United States and five other powers seeking curbs on Iran's nuclear program in return for an end to sanctions against Tehran. As the talks move toward a possible deal by late July, the hardliners, many of them hold-outs from the administration of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have stepped up their campaign, accusing Rouhani of sacrificing national pride and revolutionary identity for the sake of an agreement.

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