Yahoo! News: World News

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• IMF aims for 'immediate' stabilization with latest Ukraine bailout deal
• Iraqi forces push into Tikrit, bombers hit Ramadi
• Islamic State ransacks Assyrian capital as Iraq appeals for help
• Mind your manners, Venezuela tells U.S. official Jacobson
• Exclusive: U.S. asks Vietnam to stop helping Russian bomber flights
• Aid groups say U.N. Security Council failed Syria, 2014 worst year yet
• Texas executes gang hit man for killing woman over drug tax
• Mafia thrives on Italy's legalized gambling addiction
• Jazz musician Marsalis cancels Venezuela show amid tensions
• PSG ousts Chelsea on away goals with 10 men to reach QFs
• Briton diagnosed with Ebola in Sierra Leone
• Thiago Silva and 10-man PSG claim Chelsea revenge
• Top Asian News at 12:00 a.m. GMT
• Mayoral candidate found slain in southern Mexico state
• Witness IDs Tsarnaev as man near slain MIT officer's cruiser
• Five men summonsed over Paris Metro football racism
• Rock band Muse announce new album and tour
• Nets say Karasev is out for remainder of season
• Jordan keen on IPL stint
• Bayern routs Shakhtar 7-0 in Champions League
• U.N. peacekeepers barred seven Congolese officers over rights records
• UN black-lists seven DR Congo officers
• A good course trumps a bad spot on the calendar
• Future of BBC's 'Top Gear' uncertain after host suspended
• Fourteen pro-Gbagbo soldiers face trial in I.Coast
• Crew was filming when helicopters crashed in Argentina
• Endo Intl. tops Valeant's offer for fellow drugmaker Salix
• Rights group blames Syria government forces for majority of doctor deaths
• Chilean right-wing leader quits amid corruption scandal
• Mayweather, Pacquiao begin countdown to their big fight
• UN report: War plunged 80 percent of Syrians into poverty
• Anti-IS fighter faces charges in Switzerland
• Egypt investor meet to showcase Sisi's political clout
• Gayle's fitness a worry for Windies ahead of WCup decider
• IMF sees Ukraine returning to growth next year
• France wins battle of Waterloo, as coin is tossed
• Greek cup quarterfinal abandoned after crowd violence

IMF aims for 'immediate' stabilization with latest Ukraine bailout deal Posted: 11 Mar 2015 03:05 PM PDT By Howard Schneider WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund has agreed to pump $10 billion into Ukraine's troubled economy over the next year, providing swift assistance for the country's struggling finances as part of a larger four-year bailout. The IMF board on Wednesday approved a loan of $17.5 billion, with the bulk of the money heading out the door fast: $5 billion likely by the end of this week and another $5 billion in coming months, IMF officials said. The program "is very strongly front-loaded during the first year," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in Berlin. "Ukraine has satisfied all the prior actions that were expected and required of it in order to start running the program.

Iraqi forces push into Tikrit, bombers hit Ramadi Posted: 11 Mar 2015 12:40 PM PDT By Ahmed Rasheed and Dominic Evans BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces and militias fought their way into Saddam Hussein's home city of Tikrit on Wednesday, advancing on two fronts in their biggest counter-offensive so far against Islamic State militants. In a possible response to the fighting north of Baghdad, militants in the Islamic State stronghold of Anbar west of the capital launched 13 suicide car bomb attacks on army and security positions in the provincial capital of Ramadi. Army and militia fighters captured part of Tikrit's northern Qadisiya district, the provincial governor said, while in the south of the Tigris river city a security officer said another force made a rapid push toward the center.

Islamic State ransacks Assyrian capital as Iraq appeals for help Posted: 11 Mar 2015 01:51 PM PDT By Dominic Evans BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State militants have desecrated another ancient Iraqi capital, the government said on Wednesday, razing parts of the 2,700-year-old city of Khorsabad famed for its colossal statues of human-headed winged bulls. Officials have said for several days they were checking reports of damage at Khorsabad following attacks on the cities of Nineveh, Nimrud and Hatra by the Islamist radicals who control much of northern Iraq. On Wednesday the head of Iraq's antiquities board and the country's antiquities minister both confirmed that damage had been inflicted in recent days at Khorsabad, although neither was able to give details. "The city walls were razed, and some elements of the temples, but we don't know the exact extent (of the damage)," antiquities director Qais Rasheed told Reuters.

Mind your manners, Venezuela tells U.S. official Jacobson Posted: 11 Mar 2015 04:08 PM PDT By Diego Ore and Andrew Cawthorne CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's top diplomat called a senior U.S. official "petulant" and ill-mannered on Wednesday in response to her contention that sanctions were intended to change the government, not topple it. Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez was responding to State Department Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson's comments explaining a U.S. declaration that Venezuela is a security threat and its sanctioning of seven officials earlier this week. "In a rude and petulant manner, Mrs. Jacobson tells us what to do," Rodriguez told local TV. You need manners to deal with people and with countries." The moves by President Barack Obama's administration have infuriated President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government, which has accused Washington of planning military attacks and wider Cuba-style trade sanctions.

Exclusive: U.S. asks Vietnam to stop helping Russian bomber flights Posted: 11 Mar 2015 07:55 AM PDT By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has asked Vietnam to stop letting Russia use a former U.S. base to refuel nuclear-capable bombers engaged in shows of strength over the Asia-Pacific region, exposing strains in Washington's steadily warming relations with Hanoi. The request, described to Reuters by a State Department official, comes as U.S. officials say Russian bombers have stepped up flights in a region already rife with tensions between China, U.S.-ally Japan and Southeast Asian nations.

Aid groups say U.N. Security Council failed Syria, 2014 worst year yet Posted: 11 Mar 2015 05:04 PM PDT By Oliver Holmes BEIRUT (Reuters) - Aid agencies said on Thursday that 2014 was the worst year of the Syrian conflict so far and that three United Nations Security Council resolutions aimed at alleviating the suffering had failed. Syria's crisis started in March 2011 with protests against the government and descended into a civil war that has killed more than 200,000 people. The U.N. resolutions passed last year demanded an end to arbitrary killing and torture, and the removal of barriers to aid access imposed by the Syrian government and insurgents. "There have been more killings, more bombings, a massive increase in displacement and a huge increase in the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance," said Daniel Gorevan, a Syria policy advisor at British charity Oxfam.

Texas executes gang hit man for killing woman over drug tax Posted: 11 Mar 2015 04:52 PM PDT HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Mexican Mafia hit man convicted of beating and strangling a San Antonio woman because she didn't pay the gang's 10 percent tax on her illegal drug sales was executed Wednesday evening.

Mafia thrives on Italy's legalized gambling addiction Posted: 11 Mar 2015 04:48 PM PDT By Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - Legalizing gambling in Italy was supposed to help curb the mafia. About half of that is poured into 400,000 video slot machines, twice as many as in U.S. gambling capital Nevada, which have become ubiquitous in the espresso bars where Italians stop several times a day for coffee, sandwiches and cocktails. "Criminal clans earn a robust profit" from their "very diffuse" investments in legal gambling, says Diana De Martino, a magistrate at the national anti-mafia prosecutors' office. The national reach of slot machines also helps the mafia spread from traditional strongholds in Italy's poor south to the richer north, causing wider damage to an economy that has been stagnant for 15 years and is now in recession.

Jazz musician Marsalis cancels Venezuela show amid tensions Posted: 11 Mar 2015 04:46 PM PDT BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — American jazz legend Wynton Marsalis is cancelling a concert in Venezuela at a time of rising tensions that are making it harder for U.S. citizens to travel to the South American country.

PSG ousts Chelsea on away goals with 10 men to reach QFs Posted: 11 Mar 2015 04:43 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — Thiago Silva sent 10-man Paris Saint-Germain into the Champions League quarterfinals on away goals after a 2-2 draw at Chelsea in extra time of a fiery and ill-disciplined game on Wednesday.

Briton diagnosed with Ebola in Sierra Leone Posted: 11 Mar 2015 04:40 PM PDT A female British healthcare worker has been diagnosed with Ebola in Sierra Leone, authorities in London said Wednesday, and a military plane has been sent to evacuate her if needed. "We can confirm that a UK military healthcare worker in Sierra Leone has tested positive for Ebola," said a spokesman for Public Health England (PHE), a government agency. The health worker is being treated in a specialist Ebola centre in Kerry Town in Western Sierra Leone.

Thiago Silva and 10-man PSG claim Chelsea revenge Posted: 11 Mar 2015 04:34 PM PDT Thiago Silva scored a sensational extra-time header as 10-man Paris Saint-Germain knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League after an electrifying 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday. PSG had talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic sent off in the first half and fell behind to a Gary Cahill goal with nine minutes remaining, only for Chelsea old boy David Luiz to take the tie to extra time with an emphatic 86th-minute header. Silva appeared to have gifted Chelsea a place in the last eight after conceding a penalty for handball that Eden Hazard converted, but the PSG captain scored with six minutes of the game remaining to send Laurent Blanc's side through on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate draw.

Top Asian News at 12:00 a.m. GMT Posted: 11 Mar 2015 05:02 PM PDT TOKYO (AP) — Small clusters of survivors, bundled up against a chilly wind, gathered along Japan's northeast coast Wednesday to remember the nearly 19,000 lives lost in the March 11, 2011, tsunami. Four years later, the region is still struggling to recover. Associated Press photographer Eugene Hoshiko returned to the devastated town of Rikuzentakata last week for the first time since the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

Mayoral candidate found slain in southern Mexico state Posted: 11 Mar 2015 04:25 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities said Wednesday that they found a missing mayoral candidate slain in the southern state of Guerrero, scene of the disappearance of 43 students from a teachers college last fall.

Witness IDs Tsarnaev as man near slain MIT officer's cruiser Posted: 11 Mar 2015 04:24 PM PDT BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate student on Wednesday identified Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev as the man he saw leaning in to the police cruiser of an MIT officer who was fatally shot three days after the bombings.

Five men summonsed over Paris Metro football racism Posted: 11 Mar 2015 04:15 PM PDT Five men will appear in court over the racist abuse of a black man prior to a Champions League game in Paris last month, British police announced on Wednesday. Chelsea fans were filmed preventing the man from boarding a Metro train and singing racist songs before their Champions League last 16 first-leg match against Paris Saint-Germain. The victim, known as Souleymane S., said the incident had "destroyed" him and made him afraid to take public transport. "The Chelsea supporters have destroyed me.

Rock band Muse announce new album and tour Posted: 11 Mar 2015 04:12 PM PDT British rock band Muse announced the release of a new album called "Drones" and a tour on Wednesday, keeping up with previous themes of science fiction and political unease. Lead singer Matt Bellamy said the band's seventh studio album will be released on June 8, after months of hinting that new work was on the way. The band is to play a series of live shows across Britain in March, followed by a tour that will pass through countries including Germany, Russia and France.

Nets say Karasev is out for remainder of season Posted: 11 Mar 2015 04:10 PM PDT MIAMI (AP) — Sergey Karasev of the Brooklyn Nets will have season-ending surgery Thursday to repair his injured right knee.

Jordan keen on IPL stint Posted: 11 Mar 2015 04:06 PM PDT England all-rounder Chris Jordan has said he would like to experience the glamour of the Indian Premier League. Joining Morgan at the Sunrisers will be all-rounder Ravi Bopara, also a member of England's World Cup squad, and Kevin Pietersen. England exile Pietersen had been among those saying the ECB's opposition to the IPL has harmed the development of one-day, as well as Twenty20, national side.

Bayern routs Shakhtar 7-0 in Champions League Posted: 11 Mar 2015 03:55 PM PDT MUNICH (AP) — Bayern Munich cruised into the quarterfinals of the Champions League after a 7-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk with the visitors losing a defender to the fastest red card in the competition's history.

U.N. peacekeepers barred seven Congolese officers over rights records Posted: 11 Mar 2015 03:54 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo barred seven Congolese army and police officers from receiving support after ruling there was a "real risk" they could commit human rights abuses, according to a U.N. report. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that in the past 10 weeks the mission, known as MONUSCO, had screened the human rights records of 116 Congolese army officers and eight police officers after receiving requests from them for U.N. support.

UN black-lists seven DR Congo officers Posted: 11 Mar 2015 03:53 PM PDT The United Nations has blacklisted seven officers in the Democratic Republic of Congo who pose a "real risk" of committing grave rights violations, a report said Wednesday. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon reported to the Security Council that the UN mission to the country had screened 124 military and police commanders and found seven officers who did not measure up to UN human rights policy. The officers and the units they command will be cut off from receiving support from the 20,000-strong MONUSCO force, such as transport, fuel, rations and training, according to the official report obtained by AFP.

A good course trumps a bad spot on the calendar Posted: 11 Mar 2015 03:47 PM PDT PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) — The Valspar Championship wouldn't seem to have a lot going for it.

Future of BBC's 'Top Gear' uncertain after host suspended Posted: 11 Mar 2015 03:46 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — An off-set altercation has imperiled the internationally known TV car show "Top Gear," one of the BBC's most lucrative productions.

Fourteen pro-Gbagbo soldiers face trial in I.Coast Posted: 11 Mar 2015 03:28 PM PDT Fourteen members of ex-president Laurent Gbagbo's security detail will stand trial in the Ivory Coast on Thursday over post-election violence that killed some 3,000 people. The military trial comes after a civilian court in Abidjan on Tuesday sentenced former first lady Simone Gbagbo to a 20-year prison term on charges of undermining state security during the 2010-2011 crisis. Those facing Thursday's military trial include Gbagbo's military doctor, prosecutor Ange Kessi told reporters Wednesday. Kessi said that they were being charged with disobeying orders and violating state security.

Crew was filming when helicopters crashed in Argentina Posted: 11 Mar 2015 03:25 PM PDT VILLA CASTELLI, Argentina (AP) — A former French Olympic skater who was participating in a reality show in Argentina said Wednesday that the crew was filming when their two helicopters collided and crashed, killing all 10 on board.

Endo Intl. tops Valeant's offer for fellow drugmaker Salix Posted: 11 Mar 2015 03:24 PM PDT TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Specialty drugmaker Endo International PLC is trying to lure Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. with an offer Endo said is worth 11 percent more than the $10 billion Salix has agreed to accept from serial acquirer Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.

Rights group blames Syria government forces for majority of doctor deaths Posted: 11 Mar 2015 03:18 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.S.-based Physicians for Human Rights on Wednesday blamed Syrian government forces for 88 percent of its recorded attacks on hospitals and almost all recorded killings of medical workers during the country's four-year conflict. As the war enters its fifth year, the group said that Islamic State militants, who have captured swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq, have executed four health professionals and six attacks on medical facilities in the past 17 months. "To be clear, that these numbers are significantly lower than those by the government does not make these acts less criminal. Each execution of a doctor and each attack on a health facility is a war crime," Widney Brown, Physicians for Human Rights' director of programs, told a news conference.

Chilean right-wing leader quits amid corruption scandal Posted: 11 Mar 2015 03:18 PM PDT SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The president of Chile's right-wing Democratic Union party is quitting the party over a campaign financing scandal.

Mayweather, Pacquiao begin countdown to their big fight Posted: 11 Mar 2015 03:05 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (AP) — Manny Pacquiao was out walking the red carpet by the time Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived, fashionably late for their first appearance together to promote a fight that really needs no promoting.

UN report: War plunged 80 percent of Syrians into poverty Posted: 11 Mar 2015 03:01 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The war in Syria has plunged 80 percent of its people into poverty, reduced life expectancy by 20 years, and led to massive economic losses estimated at over $200 billion since the conflict began in 2010, according to a U.N.-backed report circulated Wednesday.

Anti-IS fighter faces charges in Switzerland Posted: 11 Mar 2015 03:00 PM PDT A Swiss man of Syrian Christian origin who battled the Islamic State group faces charges after returning home, raising the issue of how Europe handles citizens fighting IS. European governments already face the headache of dealing with citizens who have gone to Syria to join the ultra-violent Islamist IS group. Police said that 33-year-old Johan Cosar, a native of the ancient Syriac Christian community, was arrested in the city of Basel but was released after questioning over his decision to join anti-IS fighters. He faces prosecution by Swiss military justice for joining a foreign army without official authorisation and risks up to three years behind bars if convicted.

Egypt investor meet to showcase Sisi's political clout Posted: 11 Mar 2015 02:57 PM PDT Egypt hosts a foreign investor conference Friday it hopes will jump-start its battered economy while showcasing international support for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as he battles increasingly radical Islamist opponents. Sisi, a former army chief voted into office after toppling his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsi, has positioned himself as a frontline ally in the regional fight against Islamist militants, arguing that his country deserves more international support. "The international economic conference is a reflection of the determination of Egypt and the Egyptians," he told Fox News in an interview broadcast on Monday. "If Egypt is stable -- a country of 90 million people -- this will represent the strongest bedrock of stability in this region," he said, according to an English translation of his comments.

Gayle's fitness a worry for Windies ahead of WCup decider Posted: 11 Mar 2015 02:50 PM PDT NAPIER, New Zealand (AP) — West Indies batsman Chris Gayle is "struggling" with a back injury ahead of his team's World Cup match against the United Arab Emirates on Sunday which will determine whether it qualifies for the quarterfinals.

IMF sees Ukraine returning to growth next year Posted: 11 Mar 2015 02:50 PM PDT The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday that Ukraine's economy should return to growth in 2016 after a deep contraction this year. In a news release providing details of its $17.5 billion loan to Ukraine, the IMF said the economy would likely shrink by about 5.5 percent this year, before rebounding with growth of 2 percent in 2016 and 4 percent annually in the medium term. It said inflation should subside to around 27 percent by the end of this year after a spike led by a sharp drop in the value of Ukraine's currency and gas and heating tariff increases.

France wins battle of Waterloo, as coin is tossed Posted: 11 Mar 2015 02:49 PM PDT By Jan Strupczewski and Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Two hundred years after Napoleon's ambitions to rule Europe died at Waterloo, France won a small battle on Wednesday to prevent the minting of a euro coin commemorating an event that shaped today's continent. Belgium withdrew a proposal to strike a special 2-euro piece in honor of the Anglo-Dutch-German victory outside Brussels on June 18, 1815, an EU official said, averting an EU ministerial vote after Paris objected on the grounds that glorifying a time of conflict ran counter to efforts to foster European unity. There was no immediate comment from France, which last year struck a commemorative 2-euro coin marking the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings that helped end Nazi German hegemony. Belgium, which as a state emerged from Dutch rule a decade after Napoleon's death, is preparing to celebrate Waterloo with a weekend of festivities and re-enactments of one of history's decisive combats and expects many more visitors to the battlefield near Brussels, where facilities are being renovated.

Greek cup quarterfinal abandoned after crowd violence Posted: 11 Mar 2015 02:45 PM PDT ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A Greek cup quarterfinal between league leaders Olympiakos and second division AEK has been abandoned after a last-minute Olympiakos goal sparked crowd violence.

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