| Nemtsov killing exposes cracks in Kremlin unity Posted: 12 Mar 2015 08:51 AM PDT  By Christian Lowe and Jason Bush MOSCOW (Reuters) - The killing of Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov within sight of the Kremlin has exposed rarely seen tensions between different camps inside President Vladimir Putin's system of rule. No outsiders can know with any certainty what is happening behind the red-brick walls of the Kremlin, but some of Nemtsov's associates say his shooting is being used by one faction to send Putin a message that they are unhappy and need to be reckoned with. "Because if you can do that next to the Kremlin, then is it not possible to do it along the route of the (presidential) motorcade?" he told Reuters. Feeding a mood of frenzied speculation in Moscow, Putin this week canceled a planned trip to Kazakhstan without explanation.
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| Exclusive: Major nations hold talks on ending U.N. sanctions on Iran - officials Posted: 12 Mar 2015 03:28 PM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Major world powers have begun talks about a United Nations Security Council resolution to lift U.N. sanctions on Iran if a nuclear agreement is struck with Tehran, a step that could make it harder for the U.S. Congress to undo a deal, Western officials said. The talks between Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — the five permanent members of the Security Council — plus Germany and Iran, are taking place ahead of difficult negotiations that resume next week over constricting Iran's nuclear ability. Some eight U.N. resolutions - four of them imposing sanctions - ban Iran from uranium enrichment and other sensitive atomic work and bar it from buying and selling atomic technology and anything linked to ballistic missiles.
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| Khamenei condemns Republican letter on Iran, bemoans U.S. 'tricks' Posted: 12 Mar 2015 05:25 AM PDT  By Sam Wilkin DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader hit out on Thursday at a letter by U.S. Republican senators threatening to undo any nuclear deal between Washington and Tehran, saying he was worried because the United States was known for "backstabbing", Mehr news agency reported. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the ultimate authority on all Iranian matters of state, added at a meeting with President Hassan Rouhani and senior clerics that whenever negotiators made progress, the Americans became "harsher, tougher and coarser". The letter signed by 47 Republican senators warned Iran that any nuclear deal made with U.S. President Barack Obama, a Democrat, could last only as long as he remained in office - an unusual intervention into U.S. foreign policy-making.
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| Islamic State leader accepts allegiance of Nigeria's Boko Haram Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:59 PM PDT  The leader of the Islamic State militant group that controls tracts of Syria and Iraq has accepted a pledge of allegiance from Nigerian Islamists Boko Haram, his spokesman said, calling on supporters to fight in Africa. Boko Haram, which has killed thousands and kidnapped hundreds during a six-year campaign to carve out an Islamist state in northern Nigeria, pledged its allegiance last week, highlighting increased coordination between jihadi movements across north Africa and the Middle East. "Our caliph, God save him, has accepted the pledge of loyalty of our brothers of Boko Haram so we congratulate Muslims and our jihadi brothers in West Africa," Islamic State spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani said in an audio message, referring to his group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Islamic State, an ultra-hardline offshoot of al Qaeda, has declared a caliphate in captured territory in Iraq and Syria and has gained global notoriety for killing or kidnapping members of ethnic and religious minorities and posting videos of its members killing Arab and Western hostages.
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| Exclusive: Secret meetings in Pakistan expose obstacles to Afghan peace talks Posted: 12 Mar 2015 04:00 PM PDT  By Jibran Ahmad and Mehreen Zahra-Malik ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Days after word leaked that the Afghan Taliban had signaled willingness to enter talks to end Afghanistan's long war, senior representatives of the militant group visited Islamabad for secret discussions on the next step forward. They left with a blunt message from Pakistan: the Taliban must end a rift between two top leaders, or talks might never get off the ground. The warning was a reminder of how tough it will be to get insurgents and the Afghan government around the same table, let alone agree a lasting peace, even with help from Pakistan, the Taliban's erstwhile backer that still wields influence over them. The two senior Taliban figures in question are political leader Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, who favors negotiation, and battlefield commander Abdul Qayum Zakir, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, who opposes talks with Kabul.
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| Iraqi forces slowed by snipers and bombs in Tikrit Posted: 12 Mar 2015 10:40 AM PDT  By Saif Hameed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces and mainly Shi'ite militia fought Islamic State fighters in Tikrit on Thursday, a day after they pushed into Saddam Hussein's home city in their biggest offensive yet against the militants. Three Islamic State insurgents were killed but the army and militias struggled to advance from parts of the city which they took 24 hours earlier. Islamic State fighters stormed into Tikrit last June during a lightning offensive that was halted just outside Baghdad. They have since used the complex of palaces built in Tikrit under Saddam, the executed former president, as their headquarters.
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| British Ebola patient flown home from S. Leone Posted: 12 Mar 2015 04:47 PM PDT  London (AFP) - A female British military healthcare worker who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone arrived in hospital in London on Thursday after she was flown back from the West African country.
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| Haiti announces dates for presidential and legislative elections Posted: 12 Mar 2015 04:43 PM PDT PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Haiti's electoral council announced dates on Thursday for the Caribbean nation's long overdue legislative and municipal elections, as well as the next presidential vote later this year. Haiti has been in the midst of a political crisis for months after the prime minister was forced to resign and parliament was dissolved over the failure to hold municipal and legislative elections. Elections for two-thirds of the Senate will be held Aug. 9 as well as the entire lower chamber of deputies. The presidential election will be held on Oct. ... |
| Brazil police arrest Italian fugitive Cesare Battisti Posted: 12 Mar 2015 04:39 PM PDT  RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil's federal police on Thursday arrested former Italian communist militant Cesare Battisti on a judge's deportation order.
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| Brazil's graft inquiry expands to current, ex-Rio governors Posted: 12 Mar 2015 04:35 PM PDT RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil's top appeals court on Thursday approved a request from federal prosecutors to open an investigation into the former and current governor of Rio de Janeiro state in connection to a kickback scheme at state-run oil company Petrobras. |
| Top Asian News at 11:30 p.m. GMT Posted: 12 Mar 2015 04:32 PM PDT DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — The roof of a five-story cement factory under construction in Bangladesh collapsed Thursday, killing at least four workers and trapping many others, an official said. About 150 workers were on duty when the collapse occurred in Mongla in Bagerhat district, fire official Mizanur Rahman said. |
| Davis chips in to take lead at Valspar Championship Posted: 12 Mar 2015 04:19 PM PDT  PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) — Brian Davis takes pride in his short game, which saved him from a rough finish Thursday and gave him the lead in the Valspar Championship.
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| Dominican police question 16 from US in prostitution raid Posted: 12 Mar 2015 04:13 PM PDT SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Sixteen U.S. citizens were held for questioning in the Dominican Republic following a raid on a home that authorities allege was being used for prostitution near a resort town in the north of the country, police said Thursday. |
| Great Dane shares Tshwane Open lead with Horsey Posted: 12 Mar 2015 04:12 PM PDT  Pretoria (AFP) - A hole-in-one helped Dane Morten Orum Madsen to a seven-under-par 63 Thursday and a share of the Tshwane Open first-round lead with Englishman Dave Horsey.
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| Commerzbank paying $1.45B to settle cases on US sanctions Posted: 12 Mar 2015 04:02 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Germany's Commerzbank AG is paying $1.45 billion in agreements with U.S. and New York authorities for alleged violations of U.S. sanctions against countries including Iran and lapses in prevention of money laundering. |
| US plays Haiti, Panama in CONCACAF Gold Cup Posted: 12 Mar 2015 04:00 PM PDT  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The United States will open the defense of its CONCACAF Gold Cup title on July 7 against Honduras or French Guiana at Frisco, Texas.
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| Italy's cabinet green-lights school reform bill Posted: 12 Mar 2015 04:00 PM PDT  Italy's cabinet on Thursday adopted Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's school reform bill, which he said would see 100,000 substitute teachers given permanent contracts and extra funds designated for teacher development. "The school reform is the most important for the country, we are proud of it," Renzi told journalists, brushing off criticism that he has watered down a project which initially promised to make the system more meritocratic.
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| Europa titleholder Sevilla wins at Villarreal; Roma held 1-1 Posted: 12 Mar 2015 03:48 PM PDT  PARIS (AP) — Defending champion Sevilla took a big step toward the Europa League quarterfinals after winning 3-1 away at fellow Spanish side Villarreal in the first leg of last-16 matches on Thursday.
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| Painful wait for French stars, crew stranded in Argentina Posted: 12 Mar 2015 03:31 PM PDT  Villa Unión (Argentina) (AFP) - The surviving cast and crew of the ill-fated reality show "Dropped" wander aimlessly around their hotel, waiting to testify on the accident that killed their friends and colleagues, then return home to France. The hotel, the Picas Negras, is a star attraction in Villa Union, a small town at the edge of Route 76 in Argentina's remote, mountainous northwest. None are very keen to talk about the twin helicopter crash that killed Olympic champion swimmer Camille Muffat, renowned sailor Florence Arthaud and Olympic boxer Alexis Vastine, as well as five French TV crew members and two Argentine pilots.
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| Evans spit branded 'simply disgusting' Posted: 12 Mar 2015 03:19 PM PDT  Manchester United defender Jonny Evans' decision to spit at Newcastle's Papiss Cisse during a recent Premier League clash was branded "simply disgusting" by an Football Association regulatory commission. The Northern Ireland international and Newcastle's Senegal striker Cisse were both charged after spitting at each other during Manchester United's 1-0 victory at St James' Park on March 4 in an incident missed by referee Anthony Taylor. The three members of the regulatory commission accepted 27-year-old Evans was the only person who could know his intent, but stated: "It is clear that Mr Evans is looking directly and indeed aggressively at Mr Cisse.
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| Iceland says dropping bid for EU membership Posted: 12 Mar 2015 03:10 PM PDT  Iceland on Thursday announced it was dropping its bid to join the European Union in line with pledges made two years ago by its then new eurosceptic government. Iceland first applied for EU membership in 2009 but Foreign Minister Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson said in a statement that the centre-right government had informed current EU president Latvia and the European Commission of its decision to annul the application. "Iceland's interests are better served outside the European Union," the minister wrote on his website. Iceland first applied for EU membership under a leftist government in 2009, when the country was badly shaken by an economic crisis that saw the Icelandic krona lose almost half its value, making eurozone membership an attractive prospect.
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| British author Terry Pratchett dies aged 66 Posted: 12 Mar 2015 03:08 PM PDT  British author Terry Pratchett, creator of the science fantasy Discworld novels, died on Thursday aged 66 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease, his publishers said. Pratchett, who sold over 85 million books worldwide, "passed away in his home with his cat sleeping on his bed, surrounded by his family", said Larry Finlay, managing director at Transworld Publishers. Pratchett won worldwide fame and a cult following with his Discworld novels about a flat world balanced on the back of four elephants which themselves stand on the shell of a giant turtle. A fan of science fiction and conventions from his youth, Pratchett wrote his first Discworld novel to make fun of the rival fantasy genre -- but the target of his satire would come to define his work.
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| Syria war criminals will face justice, U.N. rights boss vows Posted: 12 Mar 2015 03:07 PM PDT  By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Suspected war criminals in Syria will face justice for gross violations against civilians someday as the evidence against all sides grows, the U.N. human rights chief said on Thursday. Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, speaking on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the start of the conflict, denounced the "bloodlust" of Islamic State forces controlling large parts of Syria and Iraq who have beheaded Western hostages and burned alive a Jordanian pilot. "We have a massive amount of evidence, there are lists with people's names on them," Zeid told a Geneva audience in a joint interview with U.N. refugee boss Antonio Guterres by CNN's Christiane Amanpour. A U.N. commission of inquiry led by Paulo Pinheiro has gathered testimony and evidence, compiling five secret lists of suspects whom it says include Syrian government military and security officials and rebel commanders.
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| Officials: US drone strike in Somalia kills Westgate planner Posted: 12 Mar 2015 03:02 PM PDT NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A U.S. drone strike in Somalia on Thursday is believed to have killed a senior member of the al-Shabab extremist group who allegedly helped plan the 2013 Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi, officials said. |
| Snowstorm closes major highway into Mexico City for 8 hours Posted: 12 Mar 2015 03:01 PM PDT  MEXICO CITY (AP) — One of central Mexico's most heavily traveled highways reopened Thursday afternoon following an eight-hour closure forced by a storm that dumped more than 2 inches (50 millimeters) of snow.
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| Greek prime minister promises to keep paying creditors Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:57 PM PDT  PARIS (AP) — Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras insisted Thursday that his government will pay debts that are due soon, even if Athens doesn't get part of a rescue loan that will only get released if current bailout talks are successful.
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| TV regulator relaxes minimum Canadian content rule Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:53 PM PDT  The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) reduced the quota for the the amount of Canadian programs that local television stations must broadcast during the day from 55 percent to zero. Today, about Can$4 billion (US$3.15 billion) is spent annually to produce Canadian television shows, according to CRTC figures.
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| Thousands call on Albanian speaker to quit over murder plot claim Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:48 PM PDT  Several thousand Albanian opposition supporters rallied Thursday in Tirana to call on the speaker of parliament to resign, as he faced accusations of plotting the murder of two lawmakers. Ilir Meta has branded the accusation "pure defamation", while the ruling socialists denounced both the claim and Thursday's rally as bids to "destabilise" the country. "Ilir Meta should go, he is accused of murder!" opposition leader Lulzim Basha told crowds gathered in front of the government headquarters.
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| The yogurt files: French dairy bosses caught colluding Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:46 PM PDT  PARIS (AP) — Frantic text messages between French CEOs about cottage cheese prices. Clandestine smoke breaks in a Left Bank apartment to collude on yogurt strategy.
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| PM Renzi presents reform to boost Italy's sub-standard schools Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:39 PM PDT  By Gavin Jones ROME (Reuters) - Prime Minister Matteo Renzi unveiled long-delayed education reforms on Thursday that he said would raise the quality of sub-standard schools which are often blamed for Italy's weak economic performance The wide-ranging bill aims to increase the powers of head-teachers in staff promotion and management, reduce class sizes and, from 2016, offer pay increases based on merit rather than just seniority. "This is the key reform for our country and we are convinced and proud of it," Renzi told reporters after the cabinet backed the legislation which will now begin its passage through parliament. The Bank of Italy and international bodies say the state of Italy's education system carries much of the blame for more than a decade of growth and labor productivity stagnation. Italy spends less on education as a proportion of national output than all its main peers in the euro zone, according to Eurostat data, and has one of the region's highest school drop-out rates.
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| West Ham's Cole fined over Twitter blast Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:38 PM PDT  London (AFP) - West Ham striker Carlton Cole was fined £20,000 by the English Football Association on Thursday after his foul-mouthed Twitter blast at a Tottenham supporter.
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| West Indies hoping to avoid cyclone at Cricket World Cup Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:37 PM PDT  The West Indies is anxiously watching weather forecasts as it prepares for a pivotal Cricket World Cup match against the United Arab Emirates on Sunday.
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| World Bank halts Yemen activities over security fears Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:36 PM PDT  Washington (AFP) - The World Bank suspended its activities in Yemen on Thursday, citing a sharp decline in the security situation as the country grapples with a Shiite militia uprising.
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| IS readies for Tikrit last stand but 'expands' to Nigeria Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:33 PM PDT  Thousands of Iraqi forces laid siege to jihadists holed up in Tikrit Thursday but the Islamic State group shrugged off setbacks by welcoming Nigeria's Boko Haram group into its "caliphate". After making major gains in and around the city Wednesday, commanders were confident that Baghdad's biggest victory yet against IS was only a matter of time. "Now we are moving to the second phase of our plan," Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi told reporters in Salaheddin province, of which Tikrit is the capital. No one involved has provided casualty figures since the start of this latest and largest operation to retake Tikrit, which has been in IS hands since June.
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| IS accepts Boko Haram allegiance pledge Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:32 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — The spokesman for Islamic State militants said Thursday that the extremist group has accepted the pledge of allegiance by West Africa's Boko Haram group. |
| IS welcomes Boko Haram allegiance: tape Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:22 PM PDT  The Islamic State group welcomed a pledge of allegiance made to it by Boko Haram and vowed to press with its expansion, according to an audiotape Thursday purportedly from its spokesman. "We announce to you to the good news of the expansion of the caliphate to West Africa because the caliph... has accepted the allegiance of our brothers of the Sunni group for preaching and the jihad," IS spokesman Mohammed al-Adnani said in the message, using the Arabic name for Nigeria's Boko Haram extremist group. In the tape of some 30 minutes, Adnani urges Muslims to join militants in West Africa and played down "victories" by the US-led coalition and Iraqi forces against his group.
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| U.S. students losing interest in China as dream jobs prove elusive Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:15 PM PDT By Alexandra Harney SHANGHAI (Reuters) - American students are getting cold feet about studying Chinese in China, with many study abroad programs in the country seeing a substantial drop in enrolment over the last few years. At the University of California Education Abroad Program (UCEAP), student enrolment in programs in China is expected to be less than half the level it was only four years ago. Washington-based CET, another leading study abroad group, says interest in China has been falling since 2013. The apparent waning of interest worries some China watchers. |
| Iceland confirms will not enter EU membership talks Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:14 PM PDT Iceland will not start negotiations with the European Union about joining the bloc, its foreign ministry said, confirming the ruling party's 2013 election promise and formalizing a freeze on accession talks since it came to power. The North Atlantic nation of 325,000 people underwent a financial meltdown in 2008, bringing the country to the verge of bankruptcy after three banks collapsed during the global financial crisis. "The government considers that Iceland is no longer a candidate country and requests the EU to act in accordance with this from now on," the foreign ministry said in a statement after it said it had spoken with EU president Latvia. Iceland had started talks on joining the EU in 2009 but after the election of the current, more EU-sceptic government, popular support has retreated. |
| Inbee Park, Becky Morgan share lead in China Posted: 12 Mar 2015 02:11 PM PDT HAINAN, China (AP) — Defending champion Inbee Park of South Korea and Becky Morgan of Wales shared the first-round lead at 4-under 69 on Thursday in the Ladies European Tour's World Ladies Championship. |
