| Syrian opposition supports idea of two-week ceasefire Posted: 24 Feb 2016 04:52 PM PST  By John Davison and Jeff Mason BEIRUT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Syria's opposition indicated on Wednesday it was ready for a two-week truce in Syria, saying it was a chance to test the seriousness of the other side's commitment to a U.S.-Russian plan for a cessation of hostilities. Combatants are required to say whether they will agree to the "cessation of hostilities" in the five-year war by noon on Friday (1000 GMT), and to halt fighting on Saturday. The United Nations hopes the planned halt will provide a breathing space for Syrian peace talks to resume.
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| Ahead of election, Iran's leader warns of Western 'plot' Posted: 24 Feb 2016 01:24 PM PST  By Samia Nakhoul TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's top leader warned voters on Wednesday the West was plotting to influence elections pitting centrists close to President Hassan Rouhani against conservative hardliners in a contest that could shape the Islamic Republic for years to come. In remarks reflecting an abiding mistrust of Rouhani's rapprochement with the West, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he was confident Iranians would vote in favor of keeping Iran's anti-Western stance on Friday in the first elections since last year's nuclear accord with world powers. Rouhani's allies, who hope the deal will hasten Iran's opening up to the world after years of sanctions, have come under increasing pressure in the election campaign from hardliners who accuse them of links to Western powers including the United States and Britain.
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| U.S., China agree draft North Korea sanctions resolution at U.N.: envoys Posted: 24 Feb 2016 02:09 PM PST  By Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States and China have agreed on a draft resolution that would expand U.N. Security Council sanctions against North Korea over its latest nuclear test and hope to put it to a vote in the coming days, council diplomats said on Wednesday. Speaking on condition of anonymity, two council diplomats said Beijing and Washington reached a deal on the draft, which could go to the full 15-member council soon. The two veto powers had been negotiating on a draft resolution for the past seven weeks following Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6.
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| Signs grow of new Western urgency to stop Islamic State in Libya Posted: 24 Feb 2016 03:00 PM PST  Sirte is its stronghold. "They're getting stronger because no one is fighting them," said Misrata forces commander Mahmoud Gazwan at the Wadi Bey checkpoint, a dusty outpost serving as a mobile base for his brigade of fighters. There are signs of a growing Western urgency to stop Islamic State (ISIS), and Libyan commanders say Western weapons and air strikes will make a vital difference in the coming battle against their better-armed enemy.
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| Islamic State bomb supply chain includes firms in 20 countries: report Posted: 24 Feb 2016 04:09 PM PST  By Dasha Afanasieva ANKARA (Reuters) - Companies from 20 countries are involved in the supply chain of components that end up in Islamic State explosives, a study found on Thursday, suggesting governments and firms need to do more to track the flow of cables, chemicals and other equipment. The European Union-mandated study showed that 51 companies from countries including Turkey, Brazil, and the United States produced, sold or received the more than 700 components used by Islamic State to build improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Islamic State controls large swathes of Iraq and Syria.
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| Iran arrests elderly father of jailed U.S. citizen: family Posted: 24 Feb 2016 01:36 PM PST  By Yeganeh Torbati WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iranian authorities this week arrested the elderly father of an American jailed in Iran since October, the man's family said on Wednesday. Siamak Namazi, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen, was detained by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in October while in Iran visiting family. Officials have yet to announce charges against him. Baquer Namazi, Siamak's father, was arrested late on Monday in Tehran, his wife Effie Namazi said in a Facebook post on Wednesday. Asked at a Senate hearing about the elder Namazi's arrest, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said: "I am very familiar with this and I am engaged on it specifically, but I am not permitted due to privacy reasons to go into details here." Baquer Namazi has a serious heart and other conditions which require special medication, Effie Namazi wrote in her post.
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| Storm kills three in Virginia day after Gulf Coast tornadoes Posted: 24 Feb 2016 05:01 PM PST  By Gary Robertson RICHMOND, Va. (Reuters) - Violent thunderstorms and tornadoes lashed the U.S. Southeast and mid-Atlantic region on Wednesday, killing at least three people in Virginia a day after twisters claimed three lives along the Gulf Coast, authorities said. Three people were confirmed dead in Waverly, Virginia, a town of some 2,300 residents about 45 miles southeast of Richmond, where at least three structures sustained heavy damage in a mid-afternoon storm, state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said. State police later said the three victims - two men, aged 50 and 26, and a 2-year-old boy, were killed when their mobile home was demolished in the storm.
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| McGregor, Diaz trade verbal shots before UFC 196 showdown Posted: 24 Feb 2016 04:54 PM PST  TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) — Conor McGregor has turned fight promotion into an art during his ferocious rise to the top of the UFC. In Nate Diaz, McGregor has an opponent with an abrasive personality to match his — and the brawling tendencies to turn their UFC 196 showdown into something worth talking about.
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| U.N. air drops aid to Syria's Deir al-Zor; success uncertain Posted: 24 Feb 2016 04:51 PM PST The United Nations carried out its first airdrop of humanitarian aid to the Syrian city of Deir al-Zor on Wednesday, U.N. aid chief Stephen O'Brien said, delivering 21 tons of relief to civilians besieged by Islamic State militants. "Earlier this morning a WFP (World Food Programme) plane dropped the first cargo of 21 (metric) tons of items into Deir al-Zor," O'Brien told the U.N. Security Council. |
| South Africa pulls out of UN-AU mission in Sudan's Darfur Posted: 24 Feb 2016 04:46 PM PST  South Africa has told the United Nations it is withdrawing its troops from the joint UN-African Union mission in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur, a UN official said. "The government of South Africa decided to withdraw its troops from the mission," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Relations between Sudan and the United Nations have been tense over Khartoum's demands that the 17,000-strong UNAMID peacekeeping mission shut down.
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| Aussie drubbing puts pressure on key New Zealanders Posted: 24 Feb 2016 04:41 PM PST  Three of New Zealand's senior players -- Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Martin Guptill -- were under pressure Thursday as coach Mike Hesson reviews what went wrong in the 2-0 series hiding by Australia. Australia won the second Test on Wednesday by seven wickets to go with their innings and 52-run win in the first Test. In a telling summer for New Zealand, they lost four and drew one in home and away series against Australia -- now the top-ranked side in the world -- while they won a home series against the lower ranked Sri Lanka 2-0.
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| Man not guilty by reason of insanity for airplane assault Posted: 24 Feb 2016 04:40 PM PST HONOLULU (AP) — A man who tried to rape a woman in the bathroom of a Japan Airlines flight is not guilty by reason of insanity, a judge ruled at a brief trial Wednesday. |
| UN diplomats consider resolution to back Syria ceasefire Posted: 24 Feb 2016 04:31 PM PST  UN Security Council diplomats are discussing a draft resolution that would endorse the deal on cessation of hostilities in Syria, diplomats said Wednesday. Russia and the United States, which negotiated the ceasefire deal, are working on a text that could be adopted on Friday, a council diplomat said.
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| FIFA reduces bans for Blatter, Platini from 8 to 6 years Posted: 24 Feb 2016 04:29 PM PST  ZURICH (AP) — Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini had their bans from soccer reduced from eight years to six by FIFA's appeal body on Wednesday, two days before the sport's ruling body tries to turn the page on years of scandals by electing a new president.
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| Mexico leader in first visit to city of mass disappearance Posted: 24 Feb 2016 04:11 PM PST  Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto visited Iguala on Wednesday for the first time since 43 students vanished from the southern city in 2014 and defended his government's much-maligned investigation. Pena Nieto came for the national Flag Day celebration, but the tragic story of the students has overshadowed Iguala's significance as the birthplace of the nation's colors 195 years ago. "Iguala is a symbolic town in our national history.
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| Tsipras says won't allow Greece to become human 'warehouse' Posted: 24 Feb 2016 04:11 PM PST  Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday threatened not to cooperate with future EU agreements on the migrant crisis if the burden was not fairly shared among member states, as he vowed not to let his country become a human "warehouse". The warning comes as Athens is seething over a series of border restrictions along the migrant trail to northern and western Europe that has caused a bottleneck in Greece, notably leaving thousands of Afghans stranded on its soil after Macedonia denied them entry. "Greece will no longer agree to any deal if the burdens and responsibilities are not shared proportionally," Tsipras told parliament.
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| Lawyer: 15-year dispute with Argentina near $5B settlement Posted: 24 Feb 2016 04:10 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — A lawyer for U.S. hedge funds owning Argentine bonds says in New York his clients have nearly settled on a $5 billion deal with Argentina to end a 15-year-old dispute. |
| Report: Most IS bombs made with civilian components Posted: 24 Feb 2016 04:07 PM PST IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — The Islamic State group relies on commercially available components for most of its bombs, with some parts coming from as far away as the United States and Japan, according to a report released Wednesday by a London-based arms research group. |
| Bolivia's Morales vows to forge on despite referendum loss Posted: 24 Feb 2016 04:01 PM PST  Bolivia's President Evo Morales vowed Wednesday to pursue his Socialist "struggle" despite a stinging defeat in a referendum to extend his rule that confirmed strong headwinds across Latin America for leftist leaders. The referendum defeat was Morales' first direct election loss since taking office a decade ago. Morales is already Bolivia's longest-serving leader since independence from Spain in 1825.
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| Snowstorm in U.S. Midwest wreaks havoc on travel, schools Posted: 24 Feb 2016 03:58 PM PST By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - A major wind and snow storm downed power lines, closed highways and schools and grounded hundreds of flights over a wide swath of the U.S. Midwest on Wednesday. Blizzard and winter storm warnings were in effect until Thursday morning for parts of Indiana, Michigan and Illinois as the National Weather Service (NWS) predicted as much as 13 inches (33 cm) of snow and winds of up to 50 miles per hour (80 km per hour). "That's creating a lot of blowing and drifting snow and creating very hazardous travel conditions," said Chuck Schaffer, a meteorologist with the NWS in Illinois. |
| Syria opposition says supports two-week truce to test other side's commitment Posted: 24 Feb 2016 03:56 PM PST By John Davison and Tom Miles BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) - Syria's opposition indicated on Wednesday it was ready for a two-week truce to test the seriousness of the other side's commitment to a U.S.-Russian plan for a cessation of hostilities. A statement obtained by Reuters from the Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee said it "views a temporary two-week truce as a chance to establish how serious the other side is in committing to the points of the agreement." The United States and Russia this week announced a plan to halt fighting, giving combatants until noon on Friday (1000 GMT) to say whether they would agree to the "cessation of hostilities", which would begin on Saturday. The HNC welcomed the plan, but outlined a detailed list of criticisms it said must be addressed before any truce could work. |
| Britain at UN registers EU deal to avoid 'Brexit' Posted: 24 Feb 2016 03:49 PM PST  Britain on Wednesday registered at the United Nations the special status deal it negotiated with the European Union ahead of the June 23 referendum on membership in the EU bloc. The special status deal will go into effect on June 23 if British voters decide in the referendum to remain in the European Union.
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| US Navy to sail more in contested parts of South China Sea Posted: 24 Feb 2016 03:47 PM PST  The US Navy plans to increase "freedom of navigation" operations in the South China Sea as Beijing continues its military buildup in the contested waterway, a US admiral said Wednesday. The sailings involve a US warship coming within 12 nautical miles of islets claimed by China as a way of rebutting Beijing's assertions of sovereignty. Since October, the Navy has carried out two such freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea, saying the missions are an important way of upholding international law.
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| Zika crisis to get 'worse before it gets better:' WHO Posted: 24 Feb 2016 03:44 PM PST  The Zika virus, believed to be linked to the serious birth defect microcephaly, presents a "formidable" challenge that will be hard to stamp out, World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan warned Wednesday. Calling mosquito-borne Zika a "bigger menace" than any other recent major health scare in terms of its geographical spread, Chan said tough times lie ahead. The situation "could get worse before it gets better," she said in Rio de Janeiro after a fact-finding mission to Brazil, the epicenter of the Zika outbreak.
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| Newcomers hold interest in Super Rugby's 1st round Posted: 24 Feb 2016 03:31 PM PST WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Super Rugby returns this weekend with the competition's three new teams set to generate more interest than Friday's opening match between Auckland's Blues, the first title winners, and Otago's Highlanders, the reigning champions. |
| FIFA asks for details of victory speeches ahead of election Posted: 24 Feb 2016 03:26 PM PST  ZURICH (AP) — FIFA asked presidential candidates to provide details of their intended victory speeches ahead of Friday's election in a bid to keep them on message while the governing body tries to repair its scandal-tarnished image.
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| German government expects arrival of 3.6 million refugees by 2020: media Posted: 24 Feb 2016 03:20 PM PST  The German government expects a total influx of 3.6 million refugees by 2020, with an average of half a million people arriving each year, German media reported on Thursday, in a country that took in a record 1.1 million migrants last year. The calculations are based on internal estimates by the Economy Ministry in coordination with other ministries, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung said. In order to project economic development, the Economy Ministry created "an internal, purely technical estimate on migration in coordination with other government departments".
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| Award from outer space for Adele as Brits honour Bowie Posted: 24 Feb 2016 03:18 PM PST  Astronaut Tim Peake presented Adele with a Brit Award from space on Wednesday, as the singer swept the board at the annual British music awards rendered sober this year by the death of David Bowie. "We're all huge fans up here," Peake said in a recorded message from the International Space Station, adding that the superstar singer had "taken the world by storm".
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| Storm kills 3 in Virginia day after Gulf Coast tornadoes Posted: 24 Feb 2016 03:10 PM PST Violent thunderstorms and damaging winds lashed the U.S. Southeast and mid-Atlantic region on Wednesday, killing at least three people in Virginia a day after tornadoes claimed three lives along the Gulf Coast, authorities said. Three people were confirmed dead in Waverly, Virginia, a town of some 2,300 residents about 45 miles southeast of Richmond, where at least three structures sustained heavy damage in a mid-afternoon storm, state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said. Two highways leading into the town, U.S. Route 460 and State Route 40, were left impassable by heavy debris from the storm, state police said. |
| France seeks end to painful recent record in Wales Posted: 24 Feb 2016 03:03 PM PST Trips to Cardiff held good memories for France's rugby team early this century. There was the run of five straight wins away to Wales from 2000-07, and the seismic Rugby World Cup victory there against the All Blacks in '07. |
| Islamic State militants kill 17 in Libya's Sabratha: officials Posted: 24 Feb 2016 03:01 PM PST  By Ahmed Elumami TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Islamic State militants briefly entered the center of the western Libyan city of Sabratha, beheading 11 members of local security forces and killing another six in overnight clashes before retreating, local authorities said on Wednesday. Islamist militants have taken advantage of political chaos and a lack of central authority to establish a presence in Libya, with fighters loyal to Islamic State seizing control in Sirte and staging attacks in several other cities. The fighting in Sabratha started when local brigades - formerly among the many rebel groups that joined in an uprising that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 - attacked suspected Islamic State hideouts 15 km (9 miles) south of the city, Sabratha's municipal council said in a statement.
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| U.S.'s Kerry says Libya will be failed state if factions cannot unite Posted: 24 Feb 2016 03:00 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Libya will become a failed state if the country's factions cannot unite, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday. "We have been working really hard for the last months, particularly, to bring together a government in Tripoli," Kerry told U.S. lawmakers. "If they cannot get themselves together, yes it will be a failed state." (Reporting By Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Mohammad Zargham) |
| French special forces waging 'secret war' in Libya: report Posted: 24 Feb 2016 03:00 PM PST  French special forces and intelligence commandos are engaged in covert operations against Islamic State militants in Libya in conjunction with the United States and Britain, the French newspaper Le Monde reported on Wednesday. It said President Francois Hollande had authorized "unofficial military action" by both an elite armed forces unit and the covert action service of the DGSE intelligence agency in the conflict-ridden North African state, which has two rival governments and largely ungoverned desert spaces. What Le Monde called "France's secret war in Libya" involved occasional targeted strikes against leaders of the ultra-radical Islamist group, prepared by discreet action on the ground, to try to slow its growth in Libya.
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| WHO's Chan praises Brazilian government response to Zika Posted: 24 Feb 2016 02:55 PM PST  RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday that she has been impressed by the Brazilian government's handling of the Zika virus outbreak.
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| Study says climate change pushes fish toward poles, threatening food source for poor Posted: 24 Feb 2016 02:53 PM PST  By Chris Arsenault TORONTO (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Climate change is pushing fish toward the planet's North and South poles, robbing traditionally poorer countries closer to the Equator of crucial natural resources, U.S. biologists said in a study published on Wednesday. Key species of fish are migrating away from temperate zones and toward the poles as global temperatures rise, according to a research team from Rutgers University, Princeton University, Yale University and Arizona State University. "Natural resources like fish are being pushed around by climate change, and that changes who gets access to them," said Malin Pinsky, one of the study's authors and a marine biologist, in a statement.
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| Australian icebreaker runs aground in Antarctica Posted: 24 Feb 2016 02:50 PM PST  (Reuters) - Australian icebreaker Aurora Australis has run aground in Antarctica while on a mission to resupply Mawson Station. None of the 67 expeditioners and crew on board on the ship, owned by P&O Maritime Services, were injured. Winds of up to 130 kilometers per hour (80 miles per hour) were recorded by the automatic weather station at Mawson Station during the blizzard.
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| Man City powers to 3-1 win over tenacious Dynamo Kiev Posted: 24 Feb 2016 02:49 PM PST  KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Sergio Aguero scored one goal and helped create another as Manchester City powered to a 3-1 first-leg win over Dynamo Kiev in the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday.
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| Brazil court authorizes probes of former Rousseff top aide, Sao Paulo mayor Posted: 24 Feb 2016 02:42 PM PST  Brazil's Supreme Court on Wednesday authorized formal investigations into potential corruption involving President Dilma Rousseff's former chief of staff, as well as the mayor of the country's largest city and an opposition senator. Supreme Court Justice Celso de Mello said federal prosecutors could investigate Rousseff's former chief of staff, Aloizio Mercadante, who now serves as education minister, Sao Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad and Senator Aloysio Nunes of the opposition PSDB party.
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