| Italy hopes Expo 2015 launch will lift doubts, avoid trouble Posted: 30 Apr 2015 05:04 PM PDT  By James Mackenzie MILAN (Reuters) - Italy opens the Milan Expo on Friday, torn between hopes that the showcase of global culture and technology will cheer up a gloomy national mood and fears that it will be overshadowed by scandal, delays and street protests. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who is counting on the Expo to reinforce fragile signs of economic recovery, says the event will be a litmus test for the future of Italy after years of stagnation and recession. Planned demonstrations by anti-Expo campaigners and fears of security incidents following a gun attack in a Milan courthouse last month have also dampened the mood.
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| Exclusive - Britain told U.N. monitors of active Iran nuclear procurement: panel Posted: 30 Apr 2015 02:28 PM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Britain has informed a United Nations sanctions panel of an active Iranian nuclear procurement network linked to two blacklisted firms, according to a confidential report by the panel seen by Reuters. The existence of such a network could add to Western concerns over whether Tehran can be trusted to adhere to a nuclear deal due by June 30 in which it would agree to restrict sensitive nuclear work in exchange for sanctions relief. Talks between six major powers and Tehran are approaching the final stages after they hammered out a preliminary agreement on April 2, with Iran committing to reduce the number of centrifuges it operates and to other long-term nuclear limitations. "The UK government informed the Panel on 20 April 2015 that it 'is aware of an active Iranian nuclear procurement network which has been associated with Iran's Centrifuge Technology Company (TESA) and Kalay Electric Company (KEC)'," the Panel of Experts said in its annual report.
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| U.S. senator and Iran foreign minister face off on Twitter Posted: 30 Apr 2015 12:30 PM PDT  By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Amid heated debate over Iran policy in the U.S. Senate, one of the leading congressional critics of the international negotiations with Tehran squared off with the country's foreign minister on Twitter. U.S. Senator Tom Cotton used the social media service to challenge Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to come to Washington for a debate on Iran's "record of tyranny, treachery and terror" after Zarif mentioned Cotton in remarks at New York Univesity on Wednesday. Zarif said sanctions would be lifted if there is an international agreement on Iran's nuclear program "whether Sen. Cotton likes it or not." Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, also upped the ante with a jab at the Iranian, saying that Zarif "hid" in the United States during his country's war with Iraq in the 1980s.
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| Russia may be readying for new Ukraine offensive: NATO commander Posted: 30 Apr 2015 11:43 AM PDT  Russia's military may be taking advantage of a recent lull in fighting in eastern Ukraine to lay the groundwork for a new military offensive, NATO's top commander told the U.S. Congress on Thursday. U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, the NATO supreme allied commander, said Russian forces had been seeking to "reset and reposition" while protecting battlefield gains, despite a fragile ceasefire agreed in February. "Many of their actions are consistent with preparations for another offensive," Breedlove said. Pressed during the hearing, Breedlove acknowledged he could not predict Moscow's next move but characterized its ongoing actions as "preparing, training and equipping to have the capacity to again take an offensive." "In the past they have not wasted their effort," Breedlove told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
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| Dangerous conditions at Djibouti base threatens U.S. military pilots: Washington Post Posted: 30 Apr 2015 04:11 PM PDT Conditions at an African base used by U.S. military pilots flying missions over Yemen and Somalia have become chronically dangerous, with fliers relying on local air-traffic controllers who sleep on the job and commit frequent errors, the Washington Post reported on Thursday. Conditions at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti are so bad that U.S. warplanes and civilian airliners alike are routinely placed in jeopardy, according to federal aviation experts and documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, the Post said. U.S. officials told the Post the Obama administration has been pressing Djibouti in high-level talks to bolster aviation safety. Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to travel to Djibouti on Saturday. |
| Boy, woman rescued in Kathmandu rubble, aid reaches some remote areas Posted: 30 Apr 2015 10:29 AM PDT  By Gopal Sharma and Rupam Jain Nair KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Hundreds cheered as rescuers toiling amid rubble left by Nepal's earthquake pulled a boy and a woman to safety on Thursday after they had been trapped for five days. A 23-year-old maid, Krishna Devi Khadka, was found lying along with the bodies of three other people, police said. Away from the capital, aid was finally reaching some of Nepal's remote towns and villages nestled among mountains and foothills, where the extent of the damage and loss of life has yet to be properly assessed. From an army helicopter flying from Chautara, northeast of Kathmandu, toward the Tibet border, a Reuters witness estimated 70 to 80 percent of buildings had been severely damaged.
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| U.S. government to pay New Mexico $73 million over radiation leak Posted: 30 Apr 2015 05:10 PM PDT The U.S. Energy Department will pay New Mexico $73 million in road and other infrastructure projects for violations by an underground nuclear waste dump and nuclear research lab that led to a radiation leak last year, officials said on Thursday. The deal struck between the department and New Mexico forgoes fines and instead applies funds to upgrades to federal nuclear facilities and surrounding communities in the state, according to settlement documents. Projects include construction of a $5 million emergency operations center in Carlsbad, near where the nuclear waste dump leaked radiation in February 2014. The leak at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, or WIPP, exposed 22 workers to radiation in amounts not expected to threaten their health, and indefinitely suspended key operations at the site, the Energy Department's only permanent underground disposal facility for certain types of radiological waste from U.S. nuclear labs. |
| Fowler wins Thursday to secure spot Saturday in Match Play Posted: 30 Apr 2015 05:07 PM PDT  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Rickie Fowler escaped with three big putts and beat Shane Lowry of Ireland on Thursday to secure his spot in the round of 16 at the Match Play Championship.
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| Moments of joy in Nepal as 2 are rescued 5 days after quake Posted: 30 Apr 2015 05:07 PM PDT  KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The 15-year-old boy had been buried alive under the rubble of this quake-stricken capital for five days, listening to bulldozers clearing mountains of debris, fearful the incessant aftershocks might finally collapse the darkened crevice he was trapped in.
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| Residents: French soldiers raped African children in camp Posted: 30 Apr 2015 05:04 PM PDT BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Residents of a squalid refugee camp said Thursday that French soldiers tasked with protecting civilians had sexually abused boys as young as 9 years old, luring the children with army rations and small change when their families had nothing to feed them. |
| Top Asian News at 12:00 a.m. GMT Posted: 30 Apr 2015 05:02 PM PDT KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The 15-year-old boy had been buried alive under the rubble of this quake-stricken capital for five days, listening to bulldozers clearing mountains of debris, fearful the incessant aftershocks might finally collapse the darkened crevice he was trapped in. And then, "all of the sudden I saw light," Pempa Tamang said, recounting the moment Thursday he was pulled from a hole at the bottom of what was once a seven-story building in Kathmandu. |
| Church of England to sell dirty fuel over climate change Posted: 30 Apr 2015 05:01 PM PDT  One of the world's wealthiest religious institutions, the Church of England is to sell off investments in coal and tar sands to try and help curb climate change, it announced on Thursday. "Climate change is the most pressing moral issue in our world," said Bishop Nick Holtam, the lead bishop on the environment at the Church of England, the mother church of the world's 80 million Anglicans. The move follows divestment by various church dioceses worldwide, the University of Glasgow and Stanford University, in a grassroots movement modelled on 1980s opposition to apartheid in South Africa. "The Church has a moral responsibility to speak and act on both environmental stewardship and justice for the world's poor who are most vulnerable to climate change," said Richard Burridge, deputy chair of the Church's Ethical Investment Advisory Group.
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| McIlroy on track, Thongchai stuns Furyk Posted: 30 Apr 2015 04:55 PM PDT  World number one Rory McIlroy maintained his perfect start to the WGC-Championship Match Play on Thursday to stay on course for a place in the last 16 with victory over Brandt Snedeker. The Northern Irishman, an easy winner in his opening group game on Wednesday, defeated Snedeker by two up at San Francisco's Harding Park to make it two victories out of two in the lucrative $9.25 million event. The 25-year-old superstar will now face his 2007 Walker Cup rival Billy Horschel on Friday with a place in the knockout rounds on offer. Horschel joined McIlroy at the top of Group 1 after notching his second win of the tournament, beating Jason Dufner 3&2.
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| France's Hollande vows no mercy to soldiers if African child abuse proven Posted: 30 Apr 2015 04:50 PM PDT  By Chine Labbé and Louis Charbonneau PARIS/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - President Francois Hollande vowed on Thursday to make an example of any French troops found guilty of child sex abuse in Central African Republic as an internal U.N. report suggested that French, Chadian and Equatorial Guinea troops were implicated. The allegations, which came to light this week due to an internal U.N. report summarizing interviews with victims, risks damaging the reputation of France's peacekeeping operations in Africa. Reuters obtained the U.N. report on Thursday, though the Guardian newspaper was the first to report on the charges. The report suggests that at least 13 French soldiers, two soldiers from Equatorial Guinea and three Chadian troops had been involved in alleged abuse between December 2013 and June 2014.
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| Chile's Calbuco volcano sends out new blasts of ash Posted: 30 Apr 2015 04:43 PM PDT  SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The Calbuco volcano erupted again Thursday, sending dark bursts of ash and hot rock billowing 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) into the air and prompting Chilean officials to order a new evacuation of nearby residents.
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| Woman bitten to death by shark off Maui swam every day, brother says Posted: 30 Apr 2015 04:43 PM PDT By Malia Mattoch McManus HONOLULU (Reuters) - A 65-year-old woman bitten to death by a shark while snorkeling off the Hawaiian island of Maui loved the ocean and went swimming every day, her brother said on Thursday. Maui County police said in a statement Margaret Cruse of the local community of Kihei was found floating in the waters of Ahihi Kinau Bay on Wednesday morning and had injuries consistent with a shark attack. It was the first fatal shark attack in Hawaii since 2013. Cruse, who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, had lived for the past dozen years in Maui where she had many friends, her brother, Bill Cruse, said in a phone interview from Redding, California. |
| Saudi king merges new heir's administration with royal court Posted: 30 Apr 2015 04:39 PM PDT  Saudi Arabia's ageing King Salman late Thursday merged the royal court with that of his new heir, further streamlining administration a day after a shake-up in the line of succession. Based on a proposal from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who was appointed on Wednesday, Salman, 79, issued an order "joining the crown prince's court with the royal court," the official Saudi Press Agency said. Mohammed bin Nayef, the powerful 55-year-old interior minister, replaced Prince Moqren bin Abdul Aziz bin Saud, 69, the last son of the kingdom's founder Abdul Aziz bin Saud in line for the throne.
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| Pacquiao has grand design for Mayweather Posted: 30 Apr 2015 04:34 PM PDT  Freddie Roach said Thursday he has devised an elaborate strategy that will deliver a decisive victory for Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao in his 'Fight of the Century' against Floyd Mayweather. Pacquiao set up his training camp for the richest fight in boxing history in a private facility built underneath Roach's Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles. They gutted the old laundromat that was there and replaced it with a de facto war room where Roach and Pacquiao have been crafting the plan they believe will end Mayweather's unbeaten record.
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| Yemen rebels attack Saudi border, dozens dead Posted: 30 Apr 2015 04:33 PM PDT  Saudi Arabia said its forces on Thursday killed dozens of Iran-backed rebels from Yemen who launched their first major attack on the kingdom since Saudi-led air strikes began last month. Gulf foreign ministers on Thursday meanwhile rejected a proposal to hold talks on neutral ground between rival Yemeni political forces, while an expert report said Iran has been shipping weapons to the Huthis since at least 2009. The United Nations is trying to bring an end to the weeks-long air campaign and return to peace talks. After a meeting in Riyadh, the Gulf ministers insisted that talks between Yemen's political factions be held in Saudi Arabia, which leads an Arab coalition that has been bombing the Shiite rebels since late March.
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| Puerto Rico in economic limbo as legislators reject tax plan Posted: 30 Apr 2015 04:32 PM PDT  SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla pledged Thursday to negotiate with legislators after they voted down an overhaul of Puerto Rico's tax system, raising concerns about the U.S. territory's economic future. But he warned he would act independently if needed to rectify the government's financial problems.
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| British leaders grilled in final pre-election TV event Posted: 30 Apr 2015 04:08 PM PDT  A feisty audience grilled Britain's political leaders on Thursday over what deals and compromises could be in store after an election expected to produce a hung parliament next week. The final leaders' television event before the May 7 vote saw Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, Labour party leader Ed Miliband, and Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg questioned by ordinary Britons in Leeds in northern England. Holding a referendum on whether Britain should remain a member of the European Union would be his "red line" if he had to negotiate with other parties to form a government, Cameron said. Cameron insisted that the centre-left Labour party could not be trusted to run Britain's economy, and brandished a letter left in the Treasury from the outgoing Labour government in 2010 reading "I'm afraid there is no money.
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| Jamaican police officer says country trying to stop scammers Posted: 30 Apr 2015 04:02 PM PDT BISMARCK, North Dakota (AP) — A top Jamaican law enforcement officer testifying in a U.S. trial said Thursday his country is making progress in disrupting lottery scams but that many children still want to grow up to be fraudsters. |
| Garcia-Lopez beats 2nd-seeded Kevin Anderson in Estoril Open Posted: 30 Apr 2015 03:57 PM PDT ESTORIL, Portugal (AP) — Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain upset second-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 in the second round of the Estoril Open on Thursday. |
| Agony grows among Nepalis in US as quake death toll rises Posted: 30 Apr 2015 03:57 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — As the days trickle by after the devastating earthquake in Nepal, the silence has brought agony for Nepali-Americans still waiting to hear the fate of their loved ones.
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| Britain tells UN Iran trying to buy nuclear technology Posted: 30 Apr 2015 03:56 PM PDT  Iran is actively trying to buy nuclear technology through blacklisted companies, according to a confidential UN report, citing information from the British government. The claims -- which if true would violate UN sanctions -- were made to a UN panel of experts just weeks after world powers reached a framework deal with Iran on curbing its nuclear program. "The UK government informed the panel on the 20 April 2015 that it 'is aware of an active Iranian nuclear procurement network which has been associated with Iran's Centrifuge Technology Company (TESA) and Kalay Electric Company (KEC)'," the report, seen by AFP, said.
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| World No 1 Novak Djokovic withdraws from Madrid Open Posted: 30 Apr 2015 03:51 PM PDT MADRID (AP) — The ATP says world No. 1 and former champion Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from next week's Madrid Open without elaborating, and will return to competition the following week in Rome, where he is the defending champion. |
| Mayweather-Pacquiao by the numbers Posted: 30 Apr 2015 03:41 PM PDT LAS VEGAS (AP) — The richest fight in history is full of numbers. Here are some of them: |
| Fuel shortages threaten Yemen relief efforts: UN Posted: 30 Apr 2015 03:24 PM PDT  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Thursday that dire fuel shortages in Yemen were threatening to bring all relief operations to a halt "within days" and said deliveries must resume immediately. "Humanitarian operations will end within days unless fuel supplies are restored," Ban said in a statement. The World Food Programme (WFP) said earlier that it was halting its food distribution in Yemen due to the severe fuel shortage.
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| Valencia held to 1-1 by Rayo Vallecano in Spanish league Posted: 30 Apr 2015 03:24 PM PDT MADRID (AP) — A goalkeeping error allowed Rayo Vallecano to score and hold Valencia to 1-1 in the Spanish league on Thursday. |
| Roach confident in referee Bayless, 3 judges for big fight Posted: 30 Apr 2015 03:23 PM PDT  LAS VEGAS (AP) — The third man in the ring on Saturday night has been in more big fights than Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao put together.
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| The Sun endorses Cameron but Scottish edition backs SNP Posted: 30 Apr 2015 03:22 PM PDT  The Sun newspaper on Thursday urged readers to vote for the Conservative party of British Prime Minister David Cameron in next week's election but its Scottish edition backed rival nationalists. In a front page that riffed on the arrival of the royal baby, Britain's biggest-selling paper put "It's a Tory" as its headline above an image of Cameron swaddled in a blanket. In a contrast that was widely mocked on social media, the Scottish edition of the same paper instead endorsed the pro-independence Scottish National Party. "We believe the Nats will fight harder for Scotland's interests at Westminster, offering a new hope for our country," the front page of the Scottish Sun read.
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| Austria turns down US extradition request for Ukrainian Posted: 30 Apr 2015 03:17 PM PDT  VIENNA (AP) — An Austrian court on Thursday ruled against a U.S. extradition request for a Ukrainian oligarch suspected of paying millions of dollars in bribes to Indian officials, saying the U.S. move was at least partially politically motivated and not supported by sufficient evidence.
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| End 'hair-trigger' alert for US, Russian nukes: study Posted: 30 Apr 2015 03:12 PM PDT  Former US and Russian commanders have urged their rival governments to scrap "hair-trigger" alerts on nuclear weapons to avoid a potential atomic disaster -- especially in an age of cyber attacks. Retired military officers from the United States, Russia and other nuclear powers issued a report on Thursday warning of the dangers of the short fuses that allow hundreds of atomic weapons to be launched within minutes. The high alert status is a legacy of outdated Cold War doctrine, when US and Soviet leaders feared a devastating first strike that could "decapitate" an entire nuclear force, according to the report, sponsored by the disarmament group Global Zero. The growing threat of cyber assault also exacerbates the risks of the alert status, opening the way for false alarms or even a hijacking of the control systems for the weapons, it said.
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| Will fight live up to hype? History provides a clue Posted: 30 Apr 2015 03:09 PM PDT  LAS VEGAS (AP) — It's the richest fight ever, with staggering paydays and ticket prices to match. For one night, at least, boxing will be back center stage, with the world waiting to see what unfolds.
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| Scores more women, girls freed in Nigeria from Boko Haram Posted: 30 Apr 2015 02:48 PM PDT  MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Scores more women and children have been rescued from Islamic extremists in the remote Sambisa Forest, Nigeria's military said amid reports that some of the women fought their rescuers fiercely.
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| California water plan has less money for environmental restoration Posted: 30 Apr 2015 02:47 PM PDT  By Sharon Bernstein OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) - A controversial plan to divert water from above a key California watershed, pushed hard by Governor Jerry Brown as a vital new anchor for the state's drought-parched water system, would involve far less environmental restoration than initially proposed under changes announced on Thursday. The 70 percent cutback in proposed restoration work for the fragile San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta comes amid acknowledgement by the state that federal environmental officials would not approve California's request for 50 years of guaranteed water removal of water from just above the watershed in the Sacramento River. "We're taking it step by step." Under the version of the proposal announced Thursday, California would still build two massive tunnels to bypass the delta by taking water directly to the California Aqueduct before it is sent to farms and communities in the southern and central part of the state.
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| South Korean company settles Kevlar trade secrets lawsuit Posted: 30 Apr 2015 02:47 PM PDT DOVER, Del. (AP) — A South Korean company accused of stealing trade secrets involving Kevlar technology has pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges and settled separate civil litigation filed by the DuPont Co., officials said Thursday. |
| Napoli loses 4-2 at Empoli as Champions League hopes fade Posted: 30 Apr 2015 02:45 PM PDT  EMPOLI, Italy (AP) — Napoli's recent run of form came to an end at Empoli with a 4-2 defeat in Serie A on Thursday, a severe dent to its hopes of qualifying for next year's Champions League.
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| UK PM Cameron wins last TV contest of election campaign -poll Posted: 30 Apr 2015 02:36 PM PDT  By Kylie MacLellan and William James LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron won the last major TV contest of Britain's election campaign, a snap Guardian/ICM poll showed on Thursday, with 44 percent of viewers saying he had performed best on the night. Conservative Party leader Cameron, up for re-election on Thursday next week, was subjected to 30 minutes of questions from a BBC TV audience. Labour leader Ed Miliband and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg were then - in turn - questioned by the same audience. Britain faces an unusually close national election on May 7 with most polls showing Cameron's party level or narrowly ahead of or behind Labour.
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