| Cameron savors shock triumph in British election Posted: 08 May 2015 02:14 PM PDT  By Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron swept to a stunning election victory on Friday, confounding forecasts that the vote would be the closest in decades and winning a clear majority that left his Labour opponents in tatters. The sterling currency, bonds and shares surged on a result that reversed near-universal expectations of an inconclusive "hung parliament", in which Cameron would have had to jockey for power with Labour rival Ed Miliband. Instead, Cameron met Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace to accept a mandate to form the first majority Conservative government since John Major's surprise victory in 1992. Despite the unexpectedly decisive outcome, longer-term uncertainty looms over whether Britain will stay in the European Union - and even hold together as a country.
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| Saudi-led coalition bombs Houthis in north Yemen, offers five-day truce Posted: 08 May 2015 10:46 AM PDT  By Mohammed Ghobari and Mohammed Mukhashaf CAIRO/ADEN (Reuters) - Saudi-led warplanes bombed targets in Yemen's Saada province, a bastion of Iranian-allied Houthi rebels, on Friday and Riyadh then announced a five-day humanitarian ceasefire to begin on May 12, conditioned on Houthis agreeing to the pause. Hours before, Saudi authorities warned all civilians to leave the northwestern Saada region, which borders on Saudi Arabia, by sunset on Friday after threatening a harsh response to Houthi shelling of Saudi frontier towns earlier this week. Saudi state television channel Al Ekhbariya said the whole of the arid, mountainous province would become a military target from Friday evening, hinting at an escalation in the Saudi-led coalition's six-week-old intervention in Yemen's civil war. It aims to reverse the Shi'ite Muslim Houthi militia's cross-country advances -- seen by Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter and arch-regional rival of Iran, as a security threat -- and restore President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in power.
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| EU, U.S. close to data sharing deal for security cases: sources Posted: 08 May 2015 01:33 PM PDT  By Julia Fioretti BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union and the United States are close to completing negotiations on a deal protecting personal data shared for law enforcement purposes such as terrorism investigations, three people familiar with the matter said. The two sides have been negotiating since 2011 over the so-called "umbrella agreement" that would protect personal data exchanged between police and judicial authorities in the course of investigations, as well as between companies and law enforcement authorities. The protection of personal data in the United States has been a sore point in the EU since former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden revealed mass U.S. surveillance programs involving EU citizens.
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| U.S. urges probe of U.N. handling of Central Africa abuse charges Posted: 08 May 2015 02:58 PM PDT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States on Friday described as horrifying accusations of sexual abuse of children by French and African troops in Central African Republic, and called for a separate inquiry into how the United Nations handled the allegations. An internal U.N. report detailed the alleged abuse by troops from France, Chad and Equatorial Guinea between December 2013 and June 2014 at a center for displaced people at M'Poko airport in the Central African Republic capital, Bangui. The accusations came to light in April after the U.N. report summarizing victim interviews was leaked. The soldiers from Equatorial Guinea and Chad were accused of sodomizing children. |
| Greek PM forecasts 'happy end'; Eurogroup chief cites progress in talks Posted: 08 May 2015 08:54 AM PDT  ATHENS/ROME (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras forecast a happy end soon to fraught negotiations with creditors on a cash-for-reform deal, and the chairman of euro zone finance ministers said talks were making progress, though not enough for a deal next Monday. "The organization and structure of the talks has improved, compared to what it was before, but we are still quite some way away from a situation that you could describe as a final agreement being well in sight," a senior euro zone official said. Greece's leftist-led government, which was elected earlier this year on promises to end austerity policies, has dragged its feet on accepting unpopular reforms promised by a previous government under the country's EU/IMF bailout program. The country faces the risk of defaulting on debt repayments and being forced out of the euro zone, but negotiations have moved so slowly that the lenders have ruled out an agreement at next Monday's meeting of euro zone finance ministers.
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| Georgia government survives confidence vote, appoints first female defense minister Posted: 08 May 2015 03:31 PM PDT By Margarita Antidze TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia's government won a confidence vote in parliament on Friday, called after Prime Minister Irakly Garibashvili was forced to reshuffle his cabinet following a series of resignations over the past year. The new cabinet includes the former Soviet republic's first female defense minister, Tina Khidasheli, 41, a former lawmaker from the ruling coalition and the third minister to hold the portfolio since July. President Georgy Margvelashvili, who has warned that Russia poses a threat to regional security, complained last week about too frequent changes of defense ministers. Garibashvili, who has been more reluctant than the president to criticize Russia, told parliament on Friday that the country's pro-Western course was irreversible. |
| US 'concerned' over reported Chinese global censorship tool Posted: 08 May 2015 04:13 PM PDT  The United States expressed concern Friday over reports China has used a powerful censorship tool dubbed "Great Cannon" to attack websites around the world. Researchers reported in April that the "Great Cannon" is an online attack system used to hijack web traffic and enforce the country's broad censorship of information online. "We are concerned by reports that China has used a new cyber capability to interfere with the ability of worldwide internet users to access content hosted outside of China," State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said following a question about the program. "We have asked Chinese authorities to investigate this activity and provide us with the results of their investigation," he said.
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| Chemical inspectors find traces of deadly precursor in Syria Posted: 08 May 2015 04:13 PM PDT  Chemical weapons inspectors have found traces of precursors for the deadly VX and sarin nerve agents at an undeclared site in Syria, according to a European Union document seen Friday. Maris Klisans, Latvia's permanent representative at the Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), told fellow delegates at a closed-door meeting Thursday that the 28-country bloc had a number of "concerns" over Damascus's handling of its chemical weapons issue. "Last but not least, the recent finding of the (OPCW) Declaration Assessment Team, showing traces of precursors of VX and sarin were found on a site where they were not supposed to be, figure high on that list," Klisans told the delegates, delivering the statement on behalf of the EU.
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| Colombia officials say stolen Garcia Marquez book recovered Posted: 08 May 2015 04:11 PM PDT  BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia's National Police force says authorities have recovered a valuable first edition copy of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's masterpiece "One Hundred Years of Solitude."
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| Ex-CEO sentenced for scheme involving Iraq, Afghanistan work Posted: 08 May 2015 04:10 PM PDT TRENTON, New Jersey (AP) — The former CEO of a New Jersey-based engineering consulting company has been sentenced for a scheme in which the U.S. government was overbilled for reconstruction projects for nearly 20 years. |
| Top Asian News at 11:00 p.m. GMT Posted: 08 May 2015 04:02 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — China's rapidly expanding campaign to construct artificial islands, potentially for military use or airstrips, now totals about 2,000 acres (800 hectares) and could far outstrip that amount as the year goes on, a senior defense official said Friday. The new estimate, disclosed for the first time, comes as the Pentagon released its annual report on China's military power. The report warns that while the intent of Beijing's construction in contested islands in the South China Sea intent is unclear, five emerging outposts could be used for surveillance systems, harbors, an airfield and logistical support. |
| Ten-year-old's pregnancy sparks Paraguay abortion debate Posted: 08 May 2015 03:56 PM PDT  A 10-year-old girl who was raped by her stepfather and is now five months pregnant has become the focal point of a wrenching debate over abortion and child abuse in this conservative Catholic country. Both houses of Paraguay's Congress discussed her case this week, with opposition leftist parties calling for the decriminalization of abortion, which is banned except when the mother's life is in danger. The government, the courts, the Catholic Church and other civic groups have been adamant, however, that her pregnancy not be terminated, in part because of its advanced state. "The pregnancy will not be interrupted," said Health Minister Antonio Barrios, the former personal physician of Paraguay's President Horacio Cartes.
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| AP Exclusive: Libya rejects EU migrant plan, says not asked Posted: 08 May 2015 03:33 PM PDT  UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Libya's ambassador to the United Nations is largely rejecting a European Union plan to fight the growing migrant crisis that is centered in his crumbling country, saying his Western-backed government hasn't even been consulted and ruling out EU forces on Libyan soil "at this stage."
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| Tight security in Cannes ahead of film fest Posted: 08 May 2015 03:20 PM PDT  With France still on high alert after January's jihadist attacks in Paris and yet another audacious jewellery heist in recent days, a huge but discreet security detail is planned for next week's Cannes film festival. The festival on France's south coast has often been the target of major thefts and this year has proved no exception.
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| California may require warnings on products containing chemical BPA Posted: 08 May 2015 03:17 PM PDT By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - Plastic drinking bottles, canned goods and other items containing the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) distributed in California might soon be required to carry a label disclosing that the compound can cause reproductive harm to women. Thursday's decision by a board of scientific experts to include BPA on a list of chemicals known to cause harm is the latest in a years-long dispute between state experts and the chemical industry, which says the substance is safe. The decision was welcomed by the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, which called it "an important step forward in protecting public health." But a chemical industry group denounced the decision, saying it highlights the "sheer ridiculousness" of California's law requiring disclosure of chemical compounds known to cause harm. |
| Team Penske stays dominant, puts Will Power on Indy GP pole Posted: 08 May 2015 03:16 PM PDT  INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Team Penske is overpowering the competition in Indianapolis — again.
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| Tropical storm warning expanded for Carolinas as Ana strengthens Posted: 08 May 2015 03:15 PM PDT  By David Adams MIAMI (Reuters) - Meteorologists expanded a tropical storm warning for part of the North Carolina and South Caroline coastline on Friday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Subtropical storm Ana, the first named storm of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season, was on the verge of becoming a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 45 miles per hour (72 km per hour), according to the Miami-based weather agency announced. A warning is now in effect for areas from South Santee River, South Carolina to Cape Lookout, North Carolina, at the southern end of the Outer Banks, it said.
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| Kurds push US to arm them directly Posted: 08 May 2015 02:59 PM PDT  The leader of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region insisted Friday that the United States should arm his forces fighting the Islamic State group directly instead of passing though the federal government in Baghdad. At the end of a week-long visit to Washington to lobby for support, Kurdish leader Massud Barzani thanked President Barack Obama's administration for its support but reiterated his demand that weapons be shipped directly to his troops. Barzani said the central government had not honored a deal struck in 2007 between US, Iraqi and Kurdish commanders that Kurdistan's peshmerga militia receive its share of US military aid from Baghdad.
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| Guatemala says lawyers paid judge to release graft suspects Posted: 08 May 2015 02:52 PM PDT GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemalan authorities on Friday arrested five lawyers who allegedly bribed a judge to free suspects jailed in a multimillion-dollar customs graft scheme. |
| Starbucks moves Ethos water bottling out of drought-hit California Posted: 08 May 2015 02:48 PM PDT  By Lisa Baertlein LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp on Friday said it would stop sourcing water for its Ethos Water brand in California, which is in the fourth year of a serious drought that has prompted the governor to order the state's first-ever mandatory cuts in water use by 25 percent. Beginning in May and over the next six months, Starbucks said it plans to move production to its Pennsylvania supplier. The Seattle-based coffee chain also is looking for a new source and supplier for its West Coast Ethos Water distribution. The announcement comes a week after Mother Jones published a story showing that Starbucks' Ethos Water was sourced in areas deemed to be in "exceptional drought." Starbucks bought privately held Ethos Brands LLC for $8 million in April 2005.
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| Court: Border search of businessman's laptop 'unreasonable' Posted: 08 May 2015 02:48 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. court has ruled that the government's search of a traveling businessman's laptop at the California border was unreasonable and violated his privacy. |
| US opens federal civil rights probe of Baltimore police Posted: 08 May 2015 02:44 PM PDT  The US Department of Justice launched a federal civil rights investigation Friday into whether police in Baltimore have systematically discriminated against residents, after the death of an African-American man in police custody. The death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who succumbed to a serious spinal injury suffered while in the back of a police van last month, sparked violent unrest that led authorities to declare a city-wide curfew and deploy the National Guard. Six police officers have been charged in connection with his arrest and death. "The Department of Justice is opening an investigation into whether the Baltimore Police Department has engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the Constitution or federal law," Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced, in one of her first acts since being sworn in less than two weeks ago as the nation's top law enforcement official.
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| Colombian leader slams rebels over soldier's severed leg Posted: 08 May 2015 02:35 PM PDT  Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos ordered his government on Friday to step up an offensive against the leftist ELN guerrilla movement after the rebels showed off a soldier's severed leg. Santos expressed disgust at reports that the National Liberation Army had placed an anti-personnel mine in a children's park in northwestern Colombia and that the explosion blew off both of the soldier's legs. While the government has held peace talks with the country's biggest rebel group, the FARC, since 2012, it has not launched any dialogue with the ELN. "The ELN is part of this war, part of this conflict, and it would be ideal for us to reach an agreement with both (rebel) groups," he told Mexico's Televisa channel.
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| US stocks jump the most since March following hiring gains Posted: 08 May 2015 02:30 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market had its best day in two months Friday following good news about the job market.
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| US beats Denmark, Czechs blank Austria at ice hockey worlds Posted: 08 May 2015 02:27 PM PDT  PRAGUE (AP) — The United States rebounded from a loss to Belarus with a 1-0 victory over Denmark at the ice hockey world championship on Friday to stay on course for a spot in the quarterfinals.
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| Burkina Faso and Niger to swap towns in border change Posted: 08 May 2015 02:27 PM PDT  Burkina Faso and Niger have announced they will exchange 18 towns in order to settle a long-running border dispute and end years of litigation. Burkina Faso is to gain 14 towns and Niger will receive four between now and the end of 2016 when the drawing of the boundary is complete, Kouara Apiou Kabore, the permanent secretary of the Burkina Faso National Border Commission said this week. Niger and Burkina Faso, which were French colonies prior to independence in 1960, share a frontier of about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles), about a third of which has been mapped out on the ground. The rest of the border, which has been contested by both countries, was redefined in a 2013 decision from the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
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| Argentina criticizes holdout funds for embassy asset freeze Posted: 08 May 2015 02:23 PM PDT BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina is sharply criticizing a group of investment funds in the U.S. for freezing assets in the South American country's embassy in Belgium. |
| AP Exclusive: Chinese banks a haven for web counterfeits Posted: 08 May 2015 02:21 PM PDT  SHANGHAI (AP) — Kim Sbarcea knew exactly what she wanted. She typed "Tiffany Elsa Peretti mesh earrings" into Google and chanced upon a pair of the $450 earrings for — deal of deals! — $32.
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| EU says Ukraine, Georgia progress toward visa-free access Posted: 08 May 2015 02:18 PM PDT  The EU said Friday that Ukraine and Georgia, both embroiled in conflict with Russia, have made progress in gaining visa-free access to Europe, a key pay-off to boosting ties with the 28-nation bloc. Ukraine and Georgia have signed Association Agreements to build a future with the European Union but in doing so they have sparked deep hostility and suspicion in their Soviet-era master Russia. The European Commission said a review of both countries showed distinct progress in meeting the standards required to allow citizens from both countries to enter European Union nations for short stays without needing a visa. "The assessment found that, despite the exceptional circumstances that Ukraine currently faces, the progress achieved ... has been noteworthy," the Commission said in a statement.
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| Burundi president defies critics to files third term bid Posted: 08 May 2015 02:16 PM PDT  Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza filed his candidacy for a third term in office Friday, assuring elections set for June would "go well" despite deadly protests over his bid to extend his 10-year rule. Nkurunziza, a former rebel leader from the Hutu majority who has been in power since 2005, has come under intense international pressure to bow out at next month's election.
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| The Latest: Obama congratulates Cameron Posted: 08 May 2015 02:12 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — 10:17 p.m. (2107 GMT; 5:07 EDT)
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| Guam gay marriage case won't wait for US high court ruling Posted: 08 May 2015 02:11 PM PDT HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — A lawsuit challenging Guam's same-sex marriage ban will move forward later this month after a federal judge decided against postponing it until after the U.S. Supreme Court rules on gay nuptials this summer. |
| Cavani nets 3 as PSG routs Guingamp 6-0 to edge toward title Posted: 08 May 2015 02:07 PM PDT  PARIS (AP) — Edinson Cavani scored a hat trick and Zlatan Ibrahimovic grabbed two as Paris Saint-Germain thrashed Guingamp 6-0 on Friday to move provisionally six points clear of Lyon and take a step toward a third straight French title.
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| US official: China island building now totals 2,000 acres Posted: 08 May 2015 02:06 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — China's rapidly expanding campaign to construct artificial islands, potentially for military use or airstrips, now totals about 2,000 acres (800 hectares) and could far outstrip that amount as the year goes on, a senior defense official said Friday.
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| Mexican politician seeks his double through contest Posted: 08 May 2015 02:05 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Mexican state lawmaker has launched a contest to find a body double that would allow him to be in two places at once and take care of his "many obligations." |
| Saudi announces Yemen humanitarian truce dependent on Huthis Posted: 08 May 2015 02:04 PM PDT  Saudi Arabia Friday announced a humanitarian ceasefire in Yemen starting May 12, even as it stepped up retaliatory air strikes on Shiite Huthi rebels in the north of the country. "We have made a decision that the ceasefire will begin this Tuesday, May 12, at 11:00 pm and will last for five days subject to renewal if it works out," Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said at a meeting of Gulf ministers in Paris. "The ceasefire will end should Huthis or their allies not live up to the agreement -- this is a chance for the Huthis to show that they care about their people and they care about the Yemen people," Jubeir said at a joint news conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry.
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