| Yemen foes square off as fears of war, Saudi-Iran rivalry grow Posted: 23 Mar 2015 07:12 AM PDT  By Angus McDowall and Noah Browning RIYADH/DUBAI (Reuters) - Yemen's top factions are squaring off for battle after months of skirmishes, turning respectively to neighboring Saudi Arabia and its regional rival Iran for help in what may become all-out war. With President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi seeking a comeback from the port city of Aden while the Shi'ite Houthi movement controls the capital Sanaa, rival administrations are trading bellicose rhetoric as fighting intensifies and factions commandeer airfields for the next stage of the struggle. Somewhat on the sidelines, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Islamic State are waiting to exploit what some fear could become Yemen's worst conflict since a 1994 civil war. "For years Yemen has defied all the odds and proved wrong those who said it was on the brink of civil war and about to collapse," Farea al-Muslimi, a researcher with the Carnegie Middle East Center said.
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| Tsipras, Merkel display goodwill, little sign of debt progress Posted: 23 Mar 2015 12:12 PM PDT  By Renee Maltezou and Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and German Chancellor Angela Merkel put on a public display of mutual goodwill on Monday, appealing to Greeks and Germans to set aside recrimination and national stereotypes and work for a better European future. Yet despite warm words on the new leftist premier's first official visit to Berlin, it was unclear if they had narrowed differences on economic reforms Greece must implement to win urgently needed fresh cash from its creditors. Tsipras insisted he was not in Germany to solve Greece's pressing liquidity problems but to find common ground to move forward in the euro zone. "Please, let's leave these shadows of the past behind us," Tsipras said, stressing that the European Union was a force for stability in a troubled region.
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| U.S., allies conduct 14 air strikes against Islamic State: task force Posted: 23 Mar 2015 11:54 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its coalition allies have staged eight air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria and six in Iraq since early on Sunday, the Combined Joint Task Force overseeing the operations said in a statement on Monday. All eight air strikes in Syria targeted Islamic State fighting positions, tactical units and a vehicle near Kobani. In Iraq, strikes hit targets near Mosul, Ramadi and Sinjar, among other locations, the statement said. (Reporting by Emily Stephenson; Editing by Sandra Maler) |
| U.S. to fund Afghan forces at peak level through 2017: officials Posted: 23 Mar 2015 01:26 PM PDT  The United States will keep funding Afghan security forces at the targeted peak personnel level of 352,000 at least through the 2017 fiscal year, extending a financial commitment that has cost about $4 billion annually, U.S. officials said on Monday. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a news conference at Camp David, the U.S. presidential retreat, where Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has been meeting with senior U.S. officials ahead of talks at the White House on Tuesday. At the news conference on Monday, officials were expected to announce the resumption of regular high-level diplomatic and defense talks between Afghanistan and the United States.
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| Eight killed in air strike as Libya government aims to recapture capital Posted: 23 Mar 2015 02:16 PM PDT By Ahmed Elumami and Ayman al-Warfalli TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI (Reuters) - Eight civilians were killed in an air strike near Tripoli on Monday, the U.S. ambassador said, as Libya's internationally recognized government pressed on with an assault to recapture the capital it abandoned to a rival faction last year. Four years after NATO warplanes helped dislodge dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has descended into chaos, with two rival governments fighting for control, both fielding armies of former rebel fighters and air forces that bomb rival territory. The internationally recognized government has been based in the country's east since being driven out of the capital last August by an alliance of armed groups called Libya's Dawn, which has set up its own rival government and parliament. On Friday, the eastern-based government announced an assault to recapture Tripoli, even as the sides are both attending U.N.-hosted peace talks in Morocco. |
| Israel's Steinitz says world powers, Iran likely to agree bad nuclear deal Posted: 23 Mar 2015 01:31 PM PDT  By John Irish PARIS (Reuters) - Israel said on Monday it was probable that world powers and Iran would agree a "bad deal" on Tehran's nuclear program and it would do all it could to toughen any accord before talks resume this week. "We think it's going to be a bad, insufficient deal," Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz told Reuters in an interview before meeting French officials in Paris. "It seems quite probable it will happen, unfortunately." France, the United States and four other powers suspended talks with Iran in Switzerland on Friday and will reconvene this week to try to break the deadlock over Tehran's atomic research program and the lifting of sanctions before a March 31 deadline for a framework deal. White House chief of staff Denis McDonough said the United States would not accept a "bad deal" with Iran but was seeking a realistic long term solution.
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| Israel's Netanyahu apologizes to country's Arab minority Posted: 23 Mar 2015 04:50 PM PDT  JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to Israel's Arab citizens on Monday for remarks he made during last week's parliament election that offended members of the community.
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| WHO denies politics swayed Ebola emergency declaration Posted: 23 Mar 2015 04:47 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization denied Monday that politics swayed the decision to declare an international emergency over the spread of the Ebola virus last year, despite evidence senior staffers repeatedly discussed the diplomatic and economic fallout of such a move.
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| Guatemala, Honduras tackle crime, migration after US talks Posted: 23 Mar 2015 04:43 PM PDT GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala and Honduras have set up a joint border task force to fight criminal gangs and tackle other causes of migration as part of an attempt to reduce the number of people headed north to the United States, officials said Monday. |
| Barbados planning to replace queen as head of state Posted: 23 Mar 2015 04:40 PM PDT BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AP) — Barbados plans to remove Queen Elizabeth II as titular head of state and replace her with a ceremonial president from the Caribbean island, a former British territory once known as "Little England" for its colonial trappings. |
| Sao Paulo decision to come after release of Olympic schedule Posted: 23 Mar 2015 04:40 PM PDT  SAO PAULO (AP) — Sao Paulo will not be able to guarantee its participation in the Olympic football tournament by the time the match schedule must be completed next week, local officials said Monday.
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| Judge, citing US state secrets, throws out lawsuit over Iran Posted: 23 Mar 2015 04:27 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. judge, citing national security concerns, on Monday threw out a defamation lawsuit a wealthy Greek shipping magnate brought against a nonprofit organization seeking to prevent Iran's efforts to obtain nuclear weapons. |
| World's first academy to train local aid workers launched in London Posted: 23 Mar 2015 04:24 PM PDT  The world's first academy to train local aid workers and volunteers as first responders to disasters that occur in their own countries was launched in London on Monday. The Humanitarian Leadership Academy aims to set up 10 centres to train 100,000 aid workers, health professionals and volunteers from 50 countries, particularly in areas prone to disaster and conflict. The project could "revolutionise the entire humanitarian sector", according to Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council and chair of the Humanitarian Leadership Academy's board. "Investment in a new and better trained generation of humanitarian workers closer to where we find the greatest needs will bring development and sustainability to many of the world's most fragile communities," Egeland said.
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| Sweden's far-right leader to return to work after burnout Posted: 23 Mar 2015 04:16 PM PDT  The leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats party will return to work in April after a five-month sick leave for burnout, he said in a television interview on Monday. "I'll be coming back to work after March 31," Jimmie Aakesson said during the taping of a television talk show to be aired Friday on Swedish public broadcaster SVT, excerpts of which were published on SVT's website. Aakesson has lifted Sweden's far-right party from obscurity to a serious parliamentary force, with the dapper 35-year-old seeking to position himself as a kinder, gentler sort of anti-immigration leader. The Sweden Democrats more than doubled their support to 13 percent in Sweden's general elections in September, becoming the third-biggest party in parliament.
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| House passes resolution urging Obama to send arms to Ukraine Posted: 23 Mar 2015 04:16 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved a resolution urging President Barack Obama to send lethal weapons to Ukraine to protect its sovereignty in its fight against Russian-backed rebels. |
| More secrets may lurk at suspected Nazi hideout in Argentina Posted: 23 Mar 2015 04:03 PM PDT  An Argentine archaeologist who discovered what he thinks was a hideout built for German Nazis to flee to after World War II said Monday more dark secrets may be buried there. Daniel Schavelzon grabbed headlines and revived uncomfortable memories for Argentina, a notorious refuge for Nazi war criminals, when he went public at the weekend with his discovery of mysterious ruins deep in the jungle that he suspects were planned as a Nazi hideout.
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| One of most wanted ETA separatists held in France Posted: 23 Mar 2015 03:58 PM PDT  One of the most wanted members of the armed Basque separatist group ETA was arrested Monday in southwestern France, officials said. Sabin Mendizabal Plazaola, 34, who had been on the run for six years, was held in Saint-Palais in the foothills of the Pyrenees on an international arrest warrant for allegedly injuring a Spanish police officer who had been chasing him, Madrid said. Its interior ministry said he was "on the most wanted list of ETA members" for giving support to one of the group's most active units, "commando Donosti", which operated in the San Sebastian region. He disappeared in 2009 after a Spanish court sentenced him to prison for throwing an explosive device at the headquarters of Spain's ruling Popular Party in the Basque town of Ermua.
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| Top Obama aide: US can't ignore Netanyahu's comments Posted: 23 Mar 2015 03:58 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's chief of staff rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's attempts to distance himself from his comments rejecting Palestinian statehood, telling an Israel advocacy group Monday that the U.S. can't just overlook what Netanyahu said on the eve of his re-election. |
| Pentagon notifying 100 U.S. troops threatened by Islamic State Posted: 23 Mar 2015 03:55 PM PDT The Pentagon said on Monday it was notifying 100 U.S. troops that a group claiming ties to Islamic State militants had posted their names, addresses and photos on the Internet and was calling for American sympathizers to kill them. Asked about the kill list, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the Pentagon took "the safety of our people very seriously" and that the posting of the list on social media was the sort of "vile" behavior that caused the United States to be determined to defeat Islamic State militants in the first place. Carter, speaking at Camp David after a meeting with Afghan leaders, rejected claims that the group, which identified itself as the Islamic State Hacking Division, had stolen the information by breaking into U.S. military servers, databases and emails. It wasn't stolen from any DoD (Defense Department) websites or any confidential databases," Carter said, referring to the group by an acronym. |
| Assange demands rape case files before Sweden questions him Posted: 23 Mar 2015 03:53 PM PDT  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will agree to be questioned by Swedish prosecutors in London over rape allegations, but only if he is given access to the investigation files, his defence said Monday. "We need to be provided access to the entirety of the proceedings, which for four and half years has been in the hands of the Swedish prosecution and not in the hands of the defence," said Baltasar Garzon, a former Spanish judge who is Assange's lawyer. Swedish prosecutors offered earlier this month to drop their previous demand that Assange come to Sweden for questioning about the 2010 allegations, marking a significant U-turn in the case that has been deadlocked for nearly five years. Sweden issued an arrest warrant for Assange in 2010 following allegations from two women in Sweden, one who claimed rape and another who alleged sexual assault.
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| Burkina Faso recalls 10 ambassadors linked to ousted leader Posted: 23 Mar 2015 03:42 PM PDT  Burkina Faso's interim leader Michel Kafando has recalled 10 ambassadors who were appointed by his ousted predecessor and were seen as having close ties to the old regime, the transitional authorities said Monday. Most of the recalled diplomats had served as ministers or senior officials under former president Blaise Compaore, who stepped down last October over mass protests against his bid to extend his 27-year grip on power. Among the recalled ambassadors is Burkina Faso's envoy to the United Nations, a post that was once held by Kafando himself. The impoverished west African country has a total of 34 ambassadors stationed abroad.
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| US and Afghanistan hail 'revitalized' partnership Posted: 23 Mar 2015 03:40 PM PDT  The United States and Afghanistan sought to turn the page on years of distrust Monday, hailing "revitalized" ties as they seek to forge a path towards a more secure future. Earlier, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had warmly thanked US troops for more than a decade of sacrifice since the 2001 overthrow of Taliban rule by a US-led invasion. "We do not now ask what the United States can do for us. We want to say what Afghanistan will do for itself and for the world" said Ghani, on his first official trip to the United States as Afghan president, turning around a famous phrase of former US leader John F. Kennedy.
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| Thousands of Britons pay last respects to Richard III Posted: 23 Mar 2015 03:31 PM PDT  Thousands queued up on Monday to pay their respects to King Richard III of England, whose remains were found in a car park over 500 years after his death and will be reburied this week. Vilified by William Shakespeare and generations of Britons since being killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, Richard's reputation is now being rehabilitated. Visitors queued for up to four hours to see his coffin at Leicester Cathedral in central England. "People are giving him a wonderful, warm reception, I think they've learned more about who he was as opposed to the parody," Wendy Duldig, a distant relative of Richard III, said.
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| Argentine archeologists investigate possible Nazi hideout Posted: 23 Mar 2015 03:30 PM PDT  BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Abandoned buildings found in a remote Argentine nature reserve may have been planned as a potential hideout for top Nazi officers, archaeologists said.
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| US, Afghan leaders lay groundwork for postwar relations Posted: 23 Mar 2015 03:29 PM PDT  CAMP DAVID, Maryland (AP) — In a show of unity, U.S. and Afghan officials laid the groundwork for new relations between the two countries on Monday, including plans to seek American funding to maintain an Afghan security force of 352,000 and long-term counterterrorism efforts. Discussions over future U.S. troop levels continue as the war winds down.
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| Okinawa orders halt to work related to US base relocation Posted: 23 Mar 2015 03:29 PM PDT  TOKYO (AP) — The governor of the southern Japanese island of Okinawa ordered a Defense Ministry branch to suspend all work in the area where a key U.S. military air base is to be relocated, in a growing confrontation between the island and the central government.
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| Ex-Guantanamo detainee in Uruguay wants to discuss future Posted: 23 Mar 2015 03:28 PM PDT  MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — A former Guantanamo Bay detainee who led hunger strikes as a prisoner and was resettled in Uruguay along with five other ex-inmates said Monday he had requested a meeting with the foreign minister to talk about the men's future in the South American country.
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| For business, more women in charge means bigger profits Posted: 23 Mar 2015 03:25 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — When Rohini Anand took over diversity programs at multinational catering company Sodexo in 2002, she had one goal: To prove that it pays for a company to have equal numbers of male and female managers.
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| UN nuclear agency regrets slow pace of Iran cooperation Posted: 23 Mar 2015 03:24 PM PDT  The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency voiced regret Monday that little progress had been made in recent months on Iranian cooperation over any possible military dimension of its nuclear program. "It is true that we have had some engagement from Iran on issues with possible military dimension. His remarks come as US Secretary of State John Kerry is to return to Switzerland for talks Thursday with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on a deal to restrain Tehran's nuclear program, Kerry's office said. The complex deal on the table would likely involve Iran reducing its nuclear activities, allowing tight inspections, and limiting development of new nuclear machinery.
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| Jamaica: High levels of benzene in air from dump fire Posted: 23 Mar 2015 03:11 PM PDT KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Jamaican health officials says air quality tests done in the wake of a massive dump fire show such high levels of a known carcinogen that they now consider it a significant public health issue. |
| Egypt signs up to Ethiopian Nile dam, citing trust Posted: 23 Mar 2015 03:09 PM PDT  Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan Monday agreed a preliminary deal on a controversial dam project that Cairo feared would reduce its share of vital waters from the Nile. The leaders of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan all gathered in Khartoum to sign the agreement of principles on Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam project.
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| BP drops out of conservative ALEC policy group Posted: 23 Mar 2015 03:09 PM PDT  Oil company BP said on Monday it has stopped supporting conservative political group ALEC, becoming the latest corporation to end its membership in a group critics say works to deny the existence of climate change. "We have determined that we can effectively pursue policy matters of current interest to BP without renewing our membership in ALEC," a spokesman said. BP was the second large oil company to drop support of the group after Occidental Petroleum cut ties last year. Companies have come under pressure from environmental and civic groups to end their associations with the American Legislative Exchange Council, a coalition of about 2,000 state lawmakers and corporations that promotes free trade and limited government intervention.
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| Pakistan: Short-range nukes needed to deter India Posted: 23 Mar 2015 03:06 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Pakistan needs short-range "tactical" nuclear weapons to deter arch-rival India, a top adviser to its government said Monday, dismissing concerns it could increase the risk of a nuclear war. |
| Son of Senegal ex-president sentenced to six years for graft Posted: 23 Mar 2015 03:04 PM PDT  Karim Wade, the son of former Senegal president Abdoulaye Wade bidding to follow his father to the top office, was sentenced to six years in prison on Monday in a deeply divisive graft case. He was however cleared of the main corruption charge -- initially said to involve one billion euros but later whittled down to 105 million euros -- by a special anti-corruption court in Dakar.
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| Bulgarian prison conditions prompt German extradition refusals Posted: 23 Mar 2015 03:01 PM PDT  German courts have declined to hand over inmates to Bulgaria due to concerns over dire prison conditions in the European Union's poorest country, authorities said Monday. "We have several such cases where courts have refused to extradite Bulgarian nationals to serve out their sentences in prisons in Bulgaria," prison directorate chief Rosen Zhelyazkov told BNT public television. The Regional Court in Oldenburg and the Higher Regional Court in Bremen -- both in Germany -- last week refused to transfer three convicted Bulgarians to serve out their sentences in Bulgaria's second city Varna, citing the inhumane conditions there.
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| Brazil court accepts charges in corruption case Posted: 23 Mar 2015 02:51 PM PDT RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A Brazilian judge on Monday accepted federal prosecutors' corruption charges against the treasurer of the ruling Workers' Party in connection to a sprawling graft scheme at state-run oil company Petrobras. |
| Huge unexploded WWII bomb found in London Posted: 23 Mar 2015 02:46 PM PDT  Builders uncovered a huge unexploded German World War II bomb in London on Monday, prompting the evacuation of two schools and hundreds of homes. "Seems our OAPs (old age pensioners) are hard as nails, drinking tea on top of a 1000lb bomb for 70 years," Lucas Green, a councillor in the riverside London borough of Southwark, wrote on Twitter. "It's a World War II-era German bomb," a spokeswoman for the Defence Ministry said, adding that bomb disposal experts were expected to continue working into Tuesday to make the area safe again. The discovery of unexploded bombs is not uncommon in London, which was heavily bombarded by German forces between 1940 and 1941 in the campaign known as "the Blitz", which killed tens of thousands of Londoners.
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| NFL considers foreign sites for Pro Bowl Posted: 23 Mar 2015 02:43 PM PDT PHOENIX (AP) — The NFL is considering foreign sites for the Pro Bowl. |
| Carter: Troop data in online kill list was not stolen Posted: 23 Mar 2015 02:39 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The names, photos and addresses of 100 U.S. military members posted online by a group calling itself the Islamic State Hacking Division were not stolen from confidential government files, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Monday. |
