| Syrian rebels see flaws in U.S.-Russian truce plan Posted: 22 Feb 2016 03:58 PM PST  By Arshad Mohammed and Tom Perry WASHINGTON/BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United States and Russia announced plans for a "cessation of hostilities" in Syria that would take effect on Saturday but exclude groups such as Islamic State and al Qaeda's Nusra Front, a loophole Syrian rebels immediately highlighted as a problem. Monday's agreement, described by a U.N. spokesman as "a first step towards a more durable ceasefire," is the fruit of intensive diplomacy between Washington and Moscow, which back opposing sides in the 5-year-old civil war that has killed more than 250,000 people. Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin discussed the accord by phone, and the Kremlin leader said it could "radically transform the crisis situation in Syria." The White House said it could help advance talks on bringing about political change in Syria.
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| Islamic State rigs currency rates in Mosul to prop up finances Posted: 22 Feb 2016 10:49 AM PST  By Stephen Kalin BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State militants in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul are manipulating the exchange rate between U.S. dollars and Iraqi dinars to squeeze money out of local people as coalition bombers attack the group's finances. The U.S-led coalition has said that in addition to attacking Islamic State's fighters and leaders it will go after financial infrastructure too. Air strikes have reduced Islamic State's ability to extract, refine and transport oil, a major source of revenue that is already suffering from the fall in world prices. Since October the coalition says it has destroyed at least 10 "cash collection points" estimated to contain hundreds of millions of dollars. U.S. military officials say reports of Islamic State cutting fighters' wages by up to half are proof that the coalition is putting pressure on the group.
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| China signals no South China Sea backdown as foreign minister goes to U.S. Posted: 22 Feb 2016 01:12 PM PST  By Ben Blanchard and David Brunnstrom BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China's South China Sea military deployments are no different from U.S. deployments on Hawaii, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday, striking a combative tone ahead of a visit by Foreign Minister Wang Yi to the United States this week. The United States last week accused China of raising tensions in the South China Sea by its apparent deployment of surface-to-air missiles on a disputed island, a move China has neither confirmed nor denied.
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| As pound plunges, UK's Cameron defends EU deal to avert 'Brexit' Posted: 22 Feb 2016 11:11 AM PST  By Kylie MacLellan and Elizabeth Piper LONDON (Reuters) - The pound posted its biggest one-day loss in almost six years on Monday on concerns of a possible British exit from the EU, adding to the pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron as he mounted a defense of his deal to keep the country in the bloc. The fall in the currency, as well as in government bond prices, was triggered by London Mayor Boris Johnson - a senior figure in Cameron's Conservative Party - throwing his support behind the exit campaign. Johnson, one of the country's most popular politicians, gave the "Brexit" camp a much-needed figurehead when he announced his support on Sunday, just days after Cameron struck his deal in Brussels to hand Britain what he called a "special status".
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| Lawyers for Assange ask Swedish court to overturn arrest warrant Posted: 22 Feb 2016 09:06 AM PST  Lawyers for Julian Assange have asked a Swedish court to overturn an arrest warrant for the Wikileaks founder following a ruling by a U.N. panel that his stay in Ecuador's London embassy amounts to arbitrary detention. Assange, 44, took refuge at the embassy in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over allegations, which he denies, that he committed rape in 2010. "We consider that there have arisen a number of new circumstances which mean there is reason to review the earlier decision," Thomas Olsson, one of Assange's lawyers, said on Monday.
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| Brazil police target Rousseff campaign chief in corruption probe Posted: 22 Feb 2016 02:44 PM PST  By Caroline Stauffer and Pedro Fonseca SAO PAULO/RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazilian police said on Monday they obtained an arrest warrant for the architect of President Dilma Rousseff's electoral campaigns, complicating her fight to survive an investigation of her re-election in 2014 and stave off impeachment by Congress. The investigation of campaigner João Santana, known as "the maker of presidents" in Latin America, was part of Brazil's corruption investigation focusing on state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras.
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| Morales facing defeat in key Bolivia vote: partial results Posted: 22 Feb 2016 04:42 PM PST  Partial results Monday indicated Bolivian President Evo Morales faced defeat in a referendum on seeking a fourth term in power, but he sat tight pending results from his rural strongholds. Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous head of state, promised to respect the official results of Sunday's vote on whether he can run for re-election to extend his time in office to 19 years. Morales, 56, wants to run for another five-year term when his current one ends in 2020, to continue a socialist program credited with improving the fortunes of poor indigenous groups.
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| Kerry phones Serbian PM over diplomats killed in Libya strike Posted: 22 Feb 2016 04:31 PM PST  US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday offered his condolences to Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic over the two kidnapped Serbian diplomats believed to have been killed in a US air strike in Libya, Belgrade said. Last week the US targeted a jihadist training camp near the Libyan coastal city of Sabratha, killing dozens of people including an Islamic State group operative the US said was behind the mass murder of tourists on a Tunisian beach.
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| AP Analysis: Echoes of 1991 Gulf War linger on in Mideast Posted: 22 Feb 2016 04:29 PM PST  The 1991 Gulf War saw only 100 hours of ground fighting as U.S. forces entered Kuwait to end the Iraqi occupation, but echoes of that conflict have lingered for decades in the Middle East.
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| Patient Williamson keeps New Zealand alive Posted: 22 Feb 2016 04:27 PM PST  New Zealand captain-in-waiting Kane Williamson led a determined second innings fightback Tuesday to begin setting Australia a target as tempers frayed in the second Test at Christchurch. The morning session on the fourth day ended with Australia visibly animated over an unsuccessful Josh Hazlewood lbw appeal against Williamson. Australian Adam Voges had said before the resumption of play that Williamson's wicket was "huge" in the game and it was the second lbw appeal they had turned down against New Zealand's leading batsman as he neared his 14th Test century.
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| Australia to play Greece in international friendly in June Posted: 22 Feb 2016 04:27 PM PST SYDNEY (AP) — Asian Cup champion Australia will play 2004 European champion Greece in an international friendly at Sydney's Olympic stadium on June 4, the first meeting between the two countries since the Socceroos' 1-0 victory in front of 95,000 fans in Melbourne in 2006. |
| Man U dispatch Shrewsbury 3-0 in FA Cup Posted: 22 Feb 2016 04:24 PM PST  SHREWSBURY, England (AP) — Manchester United beat Shrewsbury by an unexpectedly easy 3-0 in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Monday and gave under-fire manager Louis van Gaal at least three days' breathing space.
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| Morales doesn't concede as 'no' keeps lead in Bolivia count Posted: 22 Feb 2016 04:20 PM PST  LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — President Evo Morales said Monday he was not abandoning hope despite indications Bolivians had rejected by a slim margin amending the constitution so he could run for a fourth straight term in 2019.
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| International anti-corruption panel begins work in Honduras Posted: 22 Feb 2016 04:04 PM PST TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — An international mission aimed at tackling widespread corruption was installed Monday in Honduras, kicking off a four-year mandate that its backers hope will clean up corruption and lead to profound changes. |
| Top Asian News 11:55 p.m. GMT Posted: 22 Feb 2016 03:55 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Monday that North Korea sought to discuss a peace treaty but pulled away after the U.S. insisted denuclearization be part of the discussions. Spokesman Josh Earnest said the U.S. considered a proposal from the North Korea, which has long sought a peace treaty with Washington. The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, and the U.S. retains 28,500 troops in South Korea as a deterrent against the North. The diplomatic discussions took place prior to North Korea's recent nuclear test and rocket launch that have further strained relations. Congress has since passed and President Barack Obama has signed additional sanctions on North Korea. |
| Fiji cyclone death toll reaches 29 after island 'flattened' Posted: 22 Feb 2016 03:55 PM PST  WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — An island in Fiji took a direct hit from a powerful cyclone as the death toll climbed to 29, officials said Tuesday.
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| New Zealand 197-4 vs Australia at lunch on day 4, 2nd test Posted: 22 Feb 2016 03:50 PM PST  CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — Kane Williamson approached his 14th test century and his ninth in the last 12 months as New Zealand fought desperately to save the second cricket test against Australia before lunch on the fourth day Tuesday.
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| US, Russia announce Syria ceasefire from Saturday Posted: 22 Feb 2016 03:49 PM PST  The United States and Russia on Monday announced plans for a landmark "cessation of hostilities" to take effect in war-torn Syria on February 27, excluding the main jihadist factions. The announcement drew a conditional acceptance from the main opposition grouping and came just one day after the deadliest jihadist attack in the nearly five-year war, with 134 people -- mostly civilians -- killed in a series of blasts near Damascus. In a joint statement, Washington and Moscow said the partial truce would begin at midnight Damascus time (2200 GMT Friday) and apply to parties to the conflict that have committed to the deal -- but not to the Islamic State (IS) group or Al-Nusra Front, an Al-Qaeda affiliate.
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| Doctors urge 'compromise' on female genital cutting Posted: 22 Feb 2016 03:45 PM PST  Western states should legally permit immigrant communities to surgically "nick" young girls' vaginas as an alternative to genital mutilation, a pair of US gynaecologists argued in a hotly-challenged paper Tuesday. Such a "compromise" could allow groups to honour cultural or religious prescripts while saving millions of girls from invasive and disfiguring genital slashing practised in some African and Middle Eastern cultures, the two doctors stated in the Journal of Medical Ethics. "We are not arguing that any procedure on the female genitalia is desirable," said Kavita Arora of the Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and Allan Jacobs of Stony Brook University in New York state.
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| Spanish political parties step up talks in race to form government Posted: 22 Feb 2016 03:36 PM PST  By Sarah White MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's left-wing political parties intensified negotiations on Monday to end weeks of wrangling after an inconclusive election, though leaders had yet to make any breakthrough on forming a coalition to avoid another ballot. Spain's Socialist Party, runner-up in the election, is racing to try and strike a deal with rival parties. Leader Pedro Sanchez faces a confidence vote in parliament on March 3 on his plan for a government.
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| Vettel fastest in 1st day of preseason testing in F1 Posted: 22 Feb 2016 03:26 PM PST  BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — In a good early sign for Ferrari in its bid to challenge Mercedes in Formula One, Sebastian Vettel was faster than reigning champion Lewis Hamilton on the first day of preseason testing on Monday.
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| Honduras gets anti-corruption commission Posted: 22 Feb 2016 03:23 PM PST  The Organization of American States on Monday established an ambitious new corruption-fighting commission in Honduras aimed at replicating the success of a similar, UN-backed body in Guatemala that brought down that country's government. The Support Mission Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras, known by its Spanish initials MACCIH, will target graft and organized crime through a corps of judges, prosecutors and police officers. Honduras ranks 112th out of 168 countries on a global corruption index put out by Transparency International, a watchdog.
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| Pittsburgh-area company to plead in Chinese electrodes case Posted: 22 Feb 2016 03:08 PM PST PITTSBURGH (AP) — A company that supplies the steel industry has pleaded guilty to smuggling Chinese-made graphite electrodes into the United States. |
| Italy agrees to let anti-Islamic State drones depart from Sicily Posted: 22 Feb 2016 03:07 PM PST Italy has agreed to let armed drones take off from its soil to defend U.S.-led forces against Islamic State in North Africa, an Italian defense ministry official said on Monday. The agreement covers only defensive missions and not offensive action, such as the attack on a suspected militant training camp in Sabratha, Libya, that killed dozens last week. Italy will decide whether to authorize drone departures from the Sigonella air base in Sicily case by case, and only if each mission's aim is to protect personnel on the ground. |
| CDC team in Brazil to study possible Zika link to defect Posted: 22 Feb 2016 02:59 PM PST  JOAO PESSOA, Brazil (AP) — A 16-member team from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention kicked off work Monday on a study to help determine whether the Zika virus really does cause babies to be born with the devastating birth defect microcephaly, as Brazilian researchers strongly suspect.
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| Slovenia sends army to help manage migrant flow on border Posted: 22 Feb 2016 02:55 PM PST  The Slovenian parliament late Monday authorised the army to help police manage the flow of migrants crossing the Croatian border into Europe's Schengen passport-free zone, which has been rocked by the refugee crisis. The bill authorises the army to manage the flow of migrants across the border for three months, including by temporarily detaining groups of migrants and handing them over to police. The army is also authorised to use force in case of an emergency to "ensure citizens' safety," Cerar said.
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| Colombia hastens search for 28,000 bodies in unmarked graves Posted: 22 Feb 2016 02:54 PM PST BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia is intensifying efforts to identify some 28,000 victims of the country's long-running conflict whose bodies were dumped in unmarked graves. |
| Napoli misses chance to top Serie A after 1-1 with AC Milan Posted: 22 Feb 2016 02:45 PM PST  NAPLES, Italy (AP) — Napoli missed the chance to move back to the top of Serie A after it was held by AC Milan to an entertaining 1-1 draw on Monday.
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| Maryland mom found not responsible in boy's death in swing Posted: 22 Feb 2016 02:34 PM PST Romechia Simms, 25, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Charles County Circuit Court, said Tony Covington, the county prosecutor. Simms was ruled not to be a danger to herself or the community and was freed on a conditional release, Covington said. |
| 2 Chinese nationals charged with defrauding Goodyear Tire Posted: 22 Feb 2016 02:33 PM PST CLEVELAND (AP) — Two Chinese nationals accused of accepting kickback payments while buying natural rubber for Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. have been arrested. |
| United stroll spares van Gaal more misery Posted: 22 Feb 2016 02:31 PM PST  Manchester United cruised into the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 3-0 win at Shrewsbury on Monday that at least temporarily eased the mounting pressure on Louis van Gaal. Chris Smalling, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard netted the goals as United wrapped up a businesslike victory against their third tier hosts to secure a last eight date with West Ham United at Old Trafford.
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| Syria chemical attacks probe plans field visits in March: UN Posted: 22 Feb 2016 02:31 PM PST  A UN team of experts tasked with identifying those responsible for chemical attacks in Syria will begin in-depth investigations on the ground in early March, the head of the panel said Monday. Virginia Gamba told reporters after meeting with the UN Security Council that "security permitting", two teams plan to carry out field visits in the coming weeks. Gamba heads the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) set up in August by the council after reports surfaced of chlorine gas attacks on three villages in Syria that left 13 dead.
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| Cuba sending 9,000 soldiers to fight Zika virus Posted: 22 Feb 2016 02:28 PM PST  HAVANA (AP) — Cuban President Raul Castro announced Monday that he is dispatching 9,000 soldiers to help keep the Zika virus out of Cuba, calling on the entire country to fight the mosquito that carries the disease.
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| Obama visit shows Argentina mending ties: Macri to AFP Posted: 22 Feb 2016 02:27 PM PST  US President Barack Obama's decision to visit Argentina in March shows the country is mending its diplomatic ties after years of tension, Argentine President Mauricio Macri told AFP on Monday. "It signifies a recognition of a change that has taken place in Argentina, towards good relations with the world, relations which must be mature, intelligent and mutually beneficial," Macri said in an interview at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires. The US-educated, pro-business conservative vowed to strengthen Argentina's foreign ties when he became president in December after years of combative relations under his leftist predecessor Cristina Kirchner.
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| Mining giant BHP Billiton posts $5.7 billion half year loss Posted: 22 Feb 2016 02:23 PM PST SYDNEY (AP) — Mining giant BHP Billiton reported on Tuesday a half year net loss of $5.67 billion and warned that the current period of weak commodity prices would be prolonged. |
| 'Indiana Jones' cinematographer Douglas Slocombe dies at 103 Posted: 22 Feb 2016 02:16 PM PST  The British cinematographer who filmed the Nazi invasion of Poland, the adventures of "Indiana Jones" and the madcap farce of Ealing comedies has died. Douglas Slocombe was 103.
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| Greek PM offers olive branch to protesting farmers Posted: 22 Feb 2016 02:12 PM PST  Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Monday announced a string of measures to support the agricultural sector in a bid to end weeks of roadblocks by farmers angry over tax reforms and a pensions overhaul. Vangelis Papayannopoulos, one of several farmers' representatives who met with Tsipras, said the delegation had "a substantive dialogue with the prime minister" but refused to promise to end the protests that have seen major Greek routes intermittently blocked with tractors for more than a month. "The country's recovery must take your position into account, but you must take into account the budgetary requirements," Tsipras told the farmers' representatives.
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