Yahoo! News: World News

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• Obama tells Netanyahu U.S. to 'reassess' policy on Israel, Mideast diplomacy
• European negotiator says framework accord with Iran unlikely soon
• EU agrees Russia sanctions to stay until Ukraine peace terms met
• No Iraq request for coalition air support in Tikrit campaign
• Islamic State says it killed tourists in Tunisia
• U.S. has flown 2,320 strikes against Islamic State at a cost of $1.83 billion: official
• Mexico mining groups says 3 kidnapped miners were slain
• AP Exclusive: Draft agreement cuts Iran's nuclear hardware
• China web freedom group faces online disruption
• Russia offers UN resolution on election talks with Ukraine rebels
• Mohammed cartoons editor honoured in Denmark
• Zimbabwe's small businessmen improvise, steal to get power
• Top Asian News at 12:00 a.m. GMT
• Hundreds of students protest at London School of Economics
• Ontario oil-train wrecks ignite worry over Canada crude flammability
• Bodies of five babies found in house in France: source
• Greece pleads for help from sceptical Europe
• Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser dies aged 84
• Obama to Iranians: Rare opportunity for better relations
• Obama to Iran's people: 'Best opportunity in decades' to pursue different future with U.S.
• Tatar leader urges West to maintain sanctions over Crimea
• Australian premier takes back his 2nd recent Nazi comparison
• Former Australian leader Malcolm Fraser dead at 84
• Obama says US to 're-assess' options after Netanyahu win
• 6N: England looks to get over the line in finale
• EU gears up for propaganda war with Russia
• US woman accused of supplying terrorists appears in court
• EU leaders dampen Greek hopes for bailout relief
• Islamic State claims responsibility for Tunisia attack
• Mexico's Pemex launches ethanol biofuel program to cut emissions
• Obama official: Congress should freeze its Iran penalties
• 6N: Wales need repeat of big 2005 win in Rome to hold hope
• Senators seek U.S. strategy to stop China's South China Sea reclamation
• 6N: Irish staying the course vs Scots to try and keep title
• Hoffman learns grandmother dies, then takes lead at Bay Hill
• Brazil pursues football 'renaissance' after humiliation
• EU links lifting Russia sanctions to peace in Ukraine

Obama tells Netanyahu U.S. to 'reassess' policy on Israel, Mideast diplomacy Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:50 PM PDT By Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama told Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that Washington would "reassess" its options on U.S.-Israel relations and Middle East diplomacy after the Israeli prime minister took a position against Palestinian statehood during his re-election campaign, a White House official said. Obama's telephone call to Netanyahu followed a television interview in which the Israeli leader backed away from his pre-election declaration that there would be no Palestinian state on his watch, an about-face apparently aimed at quelling U.S. criticism triggered by his comments. The White House, unmoved by Netanyahu's effort to backtrack, delivered a fresh rebuke against him on Thursday and signaled that Washington may reconsider its decades-old policy of shielding close ally Israel from international pressure at the United Nations.

European negotiator says framework accord with Iran unlikely soon Posted: 19 Mar 2015 10:35 AM PDT By John Irish and Lesley Wroughton LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Six world powers are unlikely to reach a framework agreement with Iran on its nuclear work in the coming days as the sides are still far apart on key issues, a senior European negotiator said on Thursday, blaming Tehran for failing to compromise. "We are not close to an agreement." Iran and six world powers are seeking a comprehensive agreement to curb Iran's most sensitive nuclear activities for at least 10 years in exchange for a gradual end to sanctions. A senior U.S. State Department official on Thursday denied reports there was a draft nuclear deal in circulation among six world powers and Iran.

EU agrees Russia sanctions to stay until Ukraine peace terms met Posted: 19 Mar 2015 03:59 PM PDT By Adrian Croft and Elizabeth Pineau BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders agreed on Thursday that economic sanctions imposed on Russia will stay in place until a Ukraine peace deal is fully implemented, effectively extending them to the end of the year if need be. The compromise reached at an EU summit in Brussels maintains EU unity on sanctions against Moscow over its role in the Ukraine conflict. EU governments were divided on whether to act now to renew economic sanctions on Russia which expire in July or to wait several months before taking a decision to see if the Ukraine ceasefire holds.

No Iraq request for coalition air support in Tikrit campaign Posted: 19 Mar 2015 02:34 PM PDT Iraq has not requested air support from the U.S.-led coalition for its campaign to retake Tikrit from Islamic State insurgents, a senior military official in the coalition said on Thursday, as the assault on the city remained on pause for nearly a week. Some Iraqi officials this week said more air strikes are needed to dislodge the militants, who are holed up in a complex of palaces built when Saddam Hussein was in power and have turned the city into a labyrinth of homemade bombs and booby-traps. A Pentagon spokesman said Iraqi forces essentially had Tikrit encircled but did not appear to have progressed as far in their operation to retake the city as initially suggested in early reporting. The coalition has been conspicuously absent from the campaign, the largest to be undertaken by Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shi'ite Muslim militia groups since Islamic State overran a third of the country last year.

Islamic State says it killed tourists in Tunisia Posted: 19 Mar 2015 05:08 PM PDT By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia said it would deploy the army to major cities and arrested nine people on Thursday after 20 foreign tourists were shot dead in an attack on a museum which Islamic State militants called "the first drop of the rain". Officials did not confirm the militants' claim of responsibility, but said they had identified two gunmen shot dead by security forces after the shootings, which targeted tourist buses visiting the Bardo museum on Wednesday. The two gunmen were trained at a jihadist camp in Libya, the Tunisian government said. Interior ministry official Rafik Chelli said the two men had been recruited at mosques in Tunisia and traveled to Libya in September.

U.S. has flown 2,320 strikes against Islamic State at a cost of $1.83 billion: official Posted: 19 Mar 2015 12:45 PM PDT By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military has flown 2,320 air strikes against Islamic State militants since Aug. 8 at a cost of $1.83 billion, hitting thousands of targets including tanks, oil infrastructure and fighting positions, the Pentagon said on Thursday. The strikes by U.S. forces amounted to about 80 percent of the total number carried out by a multinational coalition. In all, the partners have flown 2,893 air strikes, with 1,631 in Iraq and 1,262 in Syria, hitting 5,314 targets. More than 60 countries are in the coalition against Islamic State.

Mexico mining groups says 3 kidnapped miners were slain Posted: 19 Mar 2015 05:11 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Mexican mining industry group says three miners were killed earlier this month in the southern state of Guerrero.

AP Exclusive: Draft agreement cuts Iran's nuclear hardware Posted: 19 Mar 2015 05:11 PM PDT LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The United States and Iran are drafting elements of a nuclear deal that commits Tehran to a 40 percent cut in the number of machines it could use to make an atomic bomb, officials told The Associated Press on Thursday. In return, the Iranians would get quick relief from some crippling economic sanctions and a partial lift of a U.N. embargo on conventional arms.

China web freedom group faces online disruption Posted: 19 Mar 2015 05:10 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S.-subsidized advocacy group that helps Internet users inside China bypass blockages on censored content says it is suffering a mysterious denial-of-service attack disrupting its operations.

Russia offers UN resolution on election talks with Ukraine rebels Posted: 19 Mar 2015 05:08 PM PDT Russia proposed a UN Security Council draft resolution Thursday asking Kiev to "immediately start consultations" with pro-Russian separatists on elections within their eastern Ukraine strongholds. The Russian proposal comes after Ukraine Tuesday ratified two bills for greater autonomy in its troubled rebel-held east, where 11 months of fighting between the Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian government forces have killed more than 6,000 people. Russia argues that the Ukrainian legislation is not in line with the February peace deal aimed at ending the regional fighting, and objects to Kiev's requirement that before winning autonomy the separatists must hold local elections under Ukrainian law.

Mohammed cartoons editor honoured in Denmark Posted: 19 Mar 2015 05:04 PM PDT The Danish editor who commissioned the caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed that sparked international protests was late Thursday awarded a prize by Denmark's national press club. Flemming Rose was the culture editor of daily Jyllands-Posten in 2005 when he published 12 satirical cartoons of the Islamic prophet, triggering deadly protests in some Muslim countries. The cartoons were also published in French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, where Islamist gunmen killed 12 people in January. The decision by the right-wing Jyllands-Posten to publish the caricatures was controversial in Denmark and many journalists criticised Rose for doing it.

Zimbabwe's small businessmen improvise, steal to get power Posted: 19 Mar 2015 05:03 PM PDT By Madalitso Mwando BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe XX (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Jeffias Moyo kickstarts a generator and waits for its reassuring hum to fill the air at a maize grinding mill in Zimbabwe's second largest city. Operating three mills in one of Bulawayo's many working class townships, Moyo knows all too well the frustrations of trying to run a business without reliable electricity. Frequent power cuts mean resorting to a generator, solar panels and even car batteries to breathe life into machines that strip and pound kernels of corn until they become a fine powder. What should be a thriving business faces unpredictable costs in the southern African country where, like many residents and businessmen, Moyo pays twice for energy - once to the state power authority and again for back-up energy when the electricity fails.

Top Asian News at 12:00 a.m. GMT Posted: 19 Mar 2015 05:02 PM PDT TANNA ISLAND, Vanuatu (AP) — When her roof started collapsing during the cyclone, Christine Iakangem felt she had no choice but to grab her 1-week-old baby Angeline and start running. On another part of the island, Kelson Hosea and his family crammed themselves into a shelter that he had just finished building.

Hundreds of students protest at London School of Economics Posted: 19 Mar 2015 05:00 PM PDT Several hundred students protested against fees Thursday at one of Britain's top universities, the London School of Economics, where a group of activists have occupied an administration room for two days. Chanting "LSE should be free" and "free education now", some 300 students held an unauthorised protest organised by a student group calling itself Occupy LSE which has barricaded itself in one of the buildings. The coalition government led by Prime Minister David Cameron has trebled them to up to £9,000 (12,000 euros, $13,000) per year, breaking a pledge by junior partners the Liberal Democrats.

Ontario oil-train wrecks ignite worry over Canada crude flammability Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:58 PM PDT By Nia Williams CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Two recent oil-train derailments in Canada have opened a new front on the debate over safety, highlighting how even shipments of Alberta's oil sands crude can contain components just as volatile as North Dakota's Bakken. Although Canada is best known for producing viscous bitumen that is not prone to ignite on its own, it is often blended with as much as one-third super-light oil - known as condensate - before it is shipped in rail cars, injecting the same kind of volatile gases that can explode in derailments, industry experts say. In the case of two fiery incidents in northern Ontario in recent weeks, the oil involved was synthetic crude from the Alberta oil sands, which is upgraded from raw bitumen, making it less stable. Both Canadian National Railway trains were heading to a Valero Energy Corp's refinery in Quebec before they came off the tracks and burst into flames.

Bodies of five babies found in house in France: source Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:58 PM PDT Police on Thursday discovered the bodies of five babies in a house in southwestern France, a source close to the case said, in what appears to be the country's worst incident of infanticide in five years. After the body of a newborn was found in a thermal bag earlier in the day, officers "discovered four more bodies of babies during their search" at the house in Louchats, near the city of Bordeaux, the source said, confirming a report by French television channel iTele.

Greece pleads for help from sceptical Europe Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:52 PM PDT Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras urged Germany and France at a summit Thursday to help him tackle a looming cash crunch, despite warnings that Athens must commit to reforms first. The radical left-wing Greek leader sat down for emergency talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Francois Hollande and the EU's top officials on the sidelines of a European summit in Brussels. He said Greece faced a "humanitarian crisis" if its creditors do not unlock the remaining funds in its EU-IMF bailout, with Athens at risk of running out of money by the end of the week.

Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser dies aged 84 Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:52 PM PDT CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Malcolm Fraser, the former Australian prime minister who was notoriously catapulted to power by a constitutional crisis that left the nation bitterly divided, died on Friday his office said. He was 84.

Obama to Iranians: Rare opportunity for better relations Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:49 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is telling Iranians another moment to pursue better relations between Iran and the U.S. may not come again soon.

Obama to Iran's people: 'Best opportunity in decades' to pursue different future with U.S. Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:47 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, in a message to Iran's people and leaders on Thursday, said this year represented the "best opportunity in decades" to pursue a different relationship between their two countries. Obama said nuclear talks with Iran had made progress but that gaps remained. "This moment may not come again soon," Obama said in his message celebrating Nowruz, the Iranian New Year. "I believe that our nations have an historic opportunity to resolve this issue peacefully —an opportunity we should not miss" (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Tatar leader urges West to maintain sanctions over Crimea Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:45 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev on Thursday urged the West to maintain strong sanctions against Russia over last year's annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula to pressure the Russian "aggressors" to leave without using military force.

Australian premier takes back his 2nd recent Nazi comparison Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:45 PM PDT CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia's gaffe-prone prime minister on Friday on publicly apologized for comparing the opposition party leader to German World War II-era propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels — the second Nazi-related comment he has withdrawn in a month.

Former Australian leader Malcolm Fraser dead at 84 Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:38 PM PDT Former conservative Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, who led the country from 1975 to 1983, has died, his office said in a statement on Friday. Fraser died peacefully in the early hours of Friday morning after a brief illness, the statement said without elaborating. His death comes five months after his predecessor and former Labor opponent, Gough Whitlam, died.

Obama says US to 're-assess' options after Netanyahu win Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:30 PM PDT President Barack Obama on Thursday warned Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington will "re-assess" its policies after the prime minister's election win called into question crucial US diplomatic cover for Israel at the UN. Two full days after Netanyahu's shock election victory, the White House said Obama called the Israeli leader to congratulate him -- though the message was decidedly lukewarm. Obama warned that the veteran Israeli leader's last-minute campaign pledge to oppose the creation of a Palestinian state and comments about Israeli Arabs voting in "droves" would force a rethink in Washington.

6N: England looks to get over the line in finale Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:26 PM PDT England captain Chris Robshaw held aloft the Calcutta Cup at Twickenham last weekend, and it might not be the only trophy he lifts at the country's home of rugby this year.

EU gears up for propaganda war with Russia Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:24 PM PDT By Francesco Guarascio BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is set to launch a first operation in a new propaganda war with Russia within days of EU leaders giving formal approval to the campaign at a summit on Thursday. Officials told Reuters that a dozen public relations and communications experts would start work by the end of March in Brussels with a brief to counter what the EU says is deliberate misinformation coordinated by the Kremlin over Moscow's role and aims in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe. It is the first stage of a plan that leaders want EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to finalize by June, which may include efforts to produce and share Russian-language broadcast programming, notably for ethnic Russians in ex-Soviet states. EU leaders, most especially in the Baltic states, have been alarmed at how Moscow has used its media to gain support for its views and policies - with budgets that are still likely to dwarf the few million euros a year that officials said the EU may provide.

US woman accused of supplying terrorists appears in court Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:22 PM PDT ST. LOUIS (AP) — A woman who federal investigators say helped five other Bosnian immigrants funnel money and military supplies to terror groups in Iraq and Syria made her first court appearance Thursday in Missouri after being arrested in Germany.

EU leaders dampen Greek hopes for bailout relief Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:21 PM PDT BRUSSELS (AP) — Exasperated leaders of the European Union pressed the Greek prime minister to speed up plans to improve his country's balance sheet in a meeting that stretched into the early hours Friday.

Islamic State claims responsibility for Tunisia attack Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:20 PM PDT TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — The Islamic State group issued a statement Thursday claiming responsibility for the deadly attack on Tunisia's national museum that killed 23 people, mostly tourists.

Mexico's Pemex launches ethanol biofuel program to cut emissions Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:16 PM PDT Pemex is set to launch its first-ever sales of gasoline mixed with cleaner-burning ethanol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Mexican state-run oil company said on Thursday. Pemex has awarded contracts to be supplied with as much as 123 million liters of ethanol per year, which will be derived from locally-produced sugar cane and sorghum. Over the course of the 10-year contracts, the value of the ethanol purchased would range between $524 and $750 million, Pemex said in a statement. The 5.8 percent ethanol will be mixed with Pemex's top selling Magna gasoline brand and lower emissions by 35 percent.

Obama official: Congress should freeze its Iran penalties Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:12 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Obama administration officials told a House committee on Thursday that if a nuclear deal is struck with Iran, lawmakers should leave congressionally imposed sanctions in place for years.

6N: Wales need repeat of big 2005 win in Rome to hold hope Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:12 PM PDT All the signs point to Wales beating Italy at a sold-out Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.

Senators seek U.S. strategy to stop China's South China Sea reclamation Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:12 PM PDT By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Leading U.S. senators expressed alarm on Thursday at the scale and speed of China's land reclamation in the South China Sea and said a formal U.S. strategy was needed to slow or stop the work. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Republican Senators John McCain and Bob Corker and Democrats Jack Reed and Bob Menendez said that without a comprehensive strategy "long-standing interests of the United States, as well as our allies and partners, stand at considerable risk." They said China's land reclamation and construction in the South China Sea's Spratly archipelago gave it the potential to expand its military reach and was "a direct challenge, not only to the interests of the United States and the region, but to the entire international community."   The letter said Gaven Reef had grown about 28 acres (114,000 square meters) in the past year and previously submerged Johnson Reef was now a 25-acre (100,000-square-meter) "island." Fiery Cross reef increased in size more than 11-fold since August.

6N: Irish staying the course vs Scots to try and keep title Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:08 PM PDT Don't expect Ireland to exhibit a previously hidden wild side when it tries to retain the Six Nations title on Saturday by thwarting England again.

Hoffman learns grandmother dies, then takes lead at Bay Hill Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:08 PM PDT ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Morgan Hoffmann's day began with news that his 97-year-old grandmother died Thursday morning. It ended with his first lead on the PGA Tour.

Brazil pursues football 'renaissance' after humiliation Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:06 PM PDT Brasília (AFP) - The Brazilian government declared Thursday it was making the first decisive move in the "renaissance" of football in the soccer-mad country, where the national side's World Cup humiliation on home soil still rankles eight months on. President Dilma Rousseff presented a bill to restructure the $1.2 billion in debt the country's football clubs owe the state -- the measure would let them renegotiate for repayment periods of up to 20 years. Sports Minister George Hilton said the legislation was meant to address the problems laid bare by Brazil's 7-1 hammering by Germany in the World Cup semi-final last July. The rout was "an eloquent signal that something is wrong in Brazilian football," he said at a ceremony where the bill was unveiled.

EU links lifting Russia sanctions to peace in Ukraine Posted: 19 Mar 2015 04:00 PM PDT BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders said Thursday that they won't lift economic sanctions against Russia until the peace agreement on eastern Ukraine is fully implemented.

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