| Bin Laden called for Americans to rise up over climate change Posted: 01 Mar 2016 12:22 PM PST  By Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Osama bin Laden wrote a letter calling on the American people to help President Barack Obama fight "catastrophic" climate change and "save humanity", in the latest evidence of his worries about environmental issues, newly released documents show The letter was among materials that were seized in the May 2, 2011, U.S. raid on bin Laden's hideout in Pakistan that killed the al Qaeda chief and which were released on Tuesday by the Obama administration. The undated, unsigned letter "to the American people," which U.S. intelligence officials attributed to bin Laden, appeared to have been written shortly after Obama began his first term in 2009, based on the letter's references to events. Bin Laden's preoccupation with climate change also emerged as a theme in the first tranche of documents from the raid that was declassified in May 2015, as well as in an audio recording released via the al Jazeera network in January 2010.
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| New bin Laden documents show a suspicious, pressured al Qaeda Posted: 01 Mar 2016 06:12 AM PST  Al Qaeda's leaders were increasingly worried about spies in their midst, drones in the air and secret tracking devices reporting their movements as the U.S.-led war against them ground on, documents seized in the 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden's Pakistani hideout and reviewed by Reuters reveal. The cache of 113 documents, translated and declassified by U.S. intelligence agencies, are mostly dated between 2009 and 2011, intelligence officials said. The documents - the second tranche from the raid to have been declassified since May 2015 - depict an al Qaeda that was unwavering in its commitment to global jihad, but with its core leadership in Pakistan and Afghanistan under pressure on multiple fronts.
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| U.N. aims to restart Syria peace talks on March 9 Posted: 01 Mar 2016 12:27 PM PST  By Tom Miles and Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations will delay the next round of Syria peace talks by two days to allow the cessation of hostilities in force since Saturday to take hold, U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said. "We are delaying it to the afternoon of (March) 9th for logistical and technical reasons and also for the ceasefire to better settle down," de Mistura told Reuters on Tuesday. The cessation of hostilities was "a glimmer of hope", Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said, although he accused the opposition of violating the agreement.
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| Europe seen on cusp of new humanitarian crisis at Greece-Macedonia border Posted: 01 Mar 2016 10:55 AM PST  By Stephanie Nebehay and Gabriela Baczynska GENEVA/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The build-up of thousands of migrants and refugees on Greece's northern borders is fast turning into a humanitarian disaster, the United Nations said on Tuesday as the European Union prepared to offer more financial aid. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said clashes at Greece's border with Macedonia on Monday - when migrants battered down a gate and were tear-gassed - simply underlined the urgency with which the EU needed to act on the crisis. Croatia, which is also on what is now the well-trodden migrants route northwards from Greece, said it might deploy its armed forces to help police control flows.
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| U.N. delays vote on tough new North Korea sanctions at Russia's request Posted: 01 Mar 2016 02:52 PM PST  By Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.N. Security Council vote on a resolution to dramatically expand sanctions on North Korea after its recent nuclear test and satellite launch has been delayed to Wednesday after Russia negotiated changes in the U.S.-Chinese drafted text. Last week the United States presented the 15-nation council with the draft resolution that would significantly tighten restrictions after the Jan. 6 nuclear test and Feb. 7 rocket launch, to create what it described as the toughest U.N. sanctions regime in two decades. The U.S. mission to the United Nations said in a statement the vote was rescheduled after "Russia invoked a procedural 24-hour review of the resolution." Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters "it's a resolution which is necessary, which the Security Council needs to adopt because of the certain challenges coming from DPRK (North Korea)." "We did have a few issues to take care of and we discussed them with the U.S. delegation and I think they accommodated some of our concerns," he said.
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| Catholic Church abuse victims call for meeting with Pope Posted: 01 Mar 2016 04:49 PM PST  By Philip Pullella and Jane Wardell ROME/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian victims of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic Church clergy on Tuesday called for a meeting with Pope Francis after watching a high-ranking Vatican official testify that senior clergy lied to him to cover up abuse in the 1970s. Cardinal George Pell, the Vatican's treasurer, has told the inquiry that the church made "enormous mistakes" and "catastrophic" choices by refusing to believe abused children, shuffling abusive priests from parish to parish and over-relying on counseling of priests to solve the problem. Given Pell's high rank within the church, his testimony to Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse over cases that occurred decades ago has taken on wider implications about the accountability of church leaders.
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| Turkish man pleads guilty in $55 million cyberattacks case Posted: 01 Mar 2016 04:55 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — A Turkish man who led three cyberattacks against global financial institutions that caused more than $55 million in losses pleaded guilty Tuesday, prosecutors said. |
| Court orders Costa Rica to allow in-vitro fertilizations Posted: 01 Mar 2016 04:52 PM PST SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is ordering Costa Rica to comply with a four-year-old ruling overturning its ban on in-vitro fertilization. |
| Brazil's No. 2 builder admits illegal Rousseff campaign funding: paper Posted: 01 Mar 2016 04:39 PM PST  Executives from Brazil's second-largest engineering company, Andrade Gutierrez [AGIS.UL], have testified that the company paid suppliers for President Dilma Rousseff's 2010 electoral campaign off the books, newspaper a Folha de S.Paulo reported on Tuesday. The testimony, as part of a plea bargain by 11 executives, would be the first direct link between the widening "Operation Carwash" investigation into bribes and political kickbacks at state-run oil company Petrobras and the election of Rousseff, the paper said. The allegations may bolster the case of the main opposition party PSDB as it seeks to annul Rousseff's 2014 re-election for using illegal funding, though Brazil's top electoral court is unlikely to accept evidence from a previous election.
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| Many indigenous people lack title to land where they live, research shows Posted: 01 Mar 2016 04:24 PM PST By Chris Arsenault TORONTO (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Indigenous people formally own just one-tenth of the world's land, according to research released on Wednesday as part of a campaign that aims to expand legal rights to land globally. Between half and two-thirds of the world's land is held by indigenous people and communities under informal or customary ownership systems, often not legally recognized by governments, said the report by Oxfam, the International Land Coalition and the Rights and Resources Initiative. "People who don't have formal ownership are in a situation of vulnerability," said Gonzalo Oviedo, senior advisor to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, one of several groups lobbying governments to double the amount of property formally owned by indigenous people by 2020. |
| Stuck in limbo, Mauritania's Syrian refugees dream of the West Posted: 01 Mar 2016 04:23 PM PST By Kieran Guilbert NOUAKCHOTT (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Terrified of being dragged out of university and thrown into civil war like many of his fellow students, 23-year-old Amer fled Syria, hoping for a new life free of suffering and strife. Amer escaped to Lebanon in May 2013 - two years into the conflict - before flying to join his father in the West African nation of Mauritania, one of the few Arabic-speaking countries to allow Syrians to enter and move freely. Amer and Tiseer are among the thousands of Syrians to have arrived in Nouakchott since the war in Syria erupted in 2011, most having flown to the country from Lebanon or Turkey. |
| Ethiopian mothers struggle to feed sick children as food aid runs out Posted: 01 Mar 2016 04:18 PM PST  By Katy Migiro SERIEL, Ethiopia (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The worst part of Mulugeta Kassaw's job is not when dangerously thin children arrive at his health center in drought-stricken northern Ethiopia, often at death's door. "The mothers are not willing to go because they don't have anything at home to feed their children," said the public health officer whose clinic is in the Amhara region. "It's heartbreaking ... We try to convince them by telling them there are other children who need treatment here." Following two failed rains, the number of children Kassaw admitted for severe acute malnutrition with complications -- such as being unable to eat or suffering dehydration -- more than quadrupled to 25 in January compared with December.
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| Factbox: Spring rains bring some relief to Ethiopia's hunger crisis Posted: 01 Mar 2016 04:17 PM PST By Katy Migiro ADDIS ABABA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Rain in parts of Ethiopia is bringing some relief to Africa's second most populous nation, which is in the grip of its worst drought in 50 years. More than 1 in 10 Ethiopians will require food aid this year, prompting the Ethiopian government and United Nations to appeal for $1.4 billion to respond to the emergency. "Overall, the crisis is going to worsen up until August or September," said John Graham, country director for Save the Children. |
| British doctors call for school tackling ban Posted: 01 Mar 2016 04:16 PM PST  Over 70 doctors and medical experts sent an open letter to the British government on Wednesday calling for tackling to be banned in school rugby matches. The letter, signed by sport scholars, academics, doctors and public health professionals, said studies show that the risks of injuries for under-18s playing rugby "are high and injuries are often serious".
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| Haiti interim president: Election body to decide if vote deadline viable Posted: 01 Mar 2016 04:14 PM PST  By Joseph Guyler Delva PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Provisional Haiti President Jocelerme Privert said on Tuesday a new election council would determine if a delayed runoff could be held by an April deadline, as concerns grow that a political standoff would again scupper efforts to hold the vote. Privert took office last month for a 120-day term after a botched runoff vote meant former President Michel Martelly left office without a replacement.
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| Yankees closer Chapman agrees to accept 30-game suspension Posted: 01 Mar 2016 04:12 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman agreed to accept a 30-game suspension under Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy, a penalty stemming from an incident with his girlfriend last October.
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| Ecuador defense minister steps down after top brass fired Posted: 01 Mar 2016 04:10 PM PST  Ecuador's Defense Minister Fernando Cordero resigned Tuesday, after top military brass were fired for criticizing military benefit cuts by President Rafael Correa. "Just try to find another country where military officers go around making statements on administrative matters.
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| Australian inquiry hears of gun-toting paedophile priest Posted: 01 Mar 2016 04:08 PM PST  An Australian inquiry Wednesday heard of a gun-toting paedophile priest who made children kneel between his legs during confession as Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell said he regretted not doing more about child abuse. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Sydney was hearing evidence from Pell, via videolink from Rome, for a third day, with the senior Australian official again facing intense questioning about how much he knew. The inquiry is currently focused on the town of Ballarat and the city of Melbourne in the state of Victoria, where Pell grew up and worked, and how the church dealt with complaints, many dating back to the 1970s, against the Catholic clergy.
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| Stenson cites scheduling in not going to Match Play Posted: 01 Mar 2016 04:08 PM PST DORAL, Fla. (AP) — Henrik Stenson says he is not going to the Dell Match Play later this month, mainly because of where it falls on the schedule. |
| Lead still found in some Flint, Michigan, water: governor Posted: 01 Mar 2016 04:03 PM PST  (Reuters) - Five months after Flint, Michigan, changed its water supply due to problems with lead contamination and discolored drinking water, nearly 9 percent of the city's sites tested for lead in the water continue to exceed federally acceptable limits, the governor's office said on Tuesday. Of those, eight sites had lead readings above 100 parts per billion, according to a statement from Governor Rick Snyder's office. Flint's water contamination and officials' months-long delay in addressing the problem has sparked outrage and drawn attention from U.S. presidential candidates.
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| Samarco to pay at least $5 billion in Brazil dam spill deal: source Posted: 01 Mar 2016 03:48 PM PST  By Lisandra Paraguassu BRASILIA (Reuters) - Samarco Mineracao SA [SAMNE.UL] will pay at least 20 billion reais ($5 billion) over 15 years as part of a deal reached with the Brazilian government to settle a lawsuit for damages caused by a deadly dam spill at a mine in November, a government source told Reuters on Tuesday. Samarco, a joint venture between Vale and BHP Billiton, will pay 4.4 billion reais in the three years following the agreement that will be signed on Wednesday, said the official who requested anonymity since the information was not yet public. Regarded as Brazil's worst environmental disaster, the burst dam killed 19 people, forced hundreds to leave their homes and polluted one of the country's main rivers.
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| Match official collapses during EPL game, taken to hospital Posted: 01 Mar 2016 03:44 PM PST BOURNEMOUTH, England (AP) — A match official was taken to hospital after collapsing and banging his face on a dugout during an English Premier League game on Tuesday. |
| Top Asian News 11:43 p.m. GMT Posted: 01 Mar 2016 03:43 PM PST BANGKOK (AP) — Cambodia said Tuesday that five of its citizens were involved in an attack in eastern Thailand where four French tourists were assaulted, including two women who were raped. The attack raises fresh concerns about tourist safety in Thailand, which hosted a record 29 million visitors last year. Cambodia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the men had admitted to the Cambodian ambassador to Thailand that they were involved in the incident. The statement said the men were drunk at the time. Thai police have already had the suspects in the attack on Koh Kut reenact the crime, a standard procedure in Thai justice. |
| UN to vote Wednesday on new North Korea sanctions Posted: 01 Mar 2016 03:43 PM PST  UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A U.N. Security Council vote on the toughest sanctions on North Korea in two decades has been postponed until Wednesday morning at Russia's request, the United States and France said Tuesday.
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| Bolivian court probes fate of president's love child Posted: 01 Mar 2016 03:42 PM PST  The government of Bolivian President Evo Morales has gone to court to establish whether a child he fathered out of wedlock is alive or dead, the latest twist in a high-level scandal gripping the Latin American country. Morales previously acknowledged he had a child with his ex-girlfriend Gabriela Zapata during a two year affair but claims she told him the infant died shortly after birth. Zapata is now at the center of a corruption scandal shaking his administration, and in a plot worthy of a telenovela, her aunt revealed last week that the child was not dead, but alive and well.
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| Russia: Lavrov, Kerry reaffirm need to cooperate on Syrian ceasefire Posted: 01 Mar 2016 03:41 PM PST By Lidia Kelly MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, in a phone call on Tuesday, reaffirmed the need for cooperation to ensure the end of hostilities in Syria, Russia's Foreign Ministry said. "The focus (of the call) was on the implementation of the Russian-American initiative for a cessation of hostilities in Syria and the relevant United Nations Security Council decision," the ministry said on its Facebook page. "The foreign ministers confirmed the crucial importance of coordination between the two countries, especially in the military sphere, to strengthen the ceasefire, which must be respected by the government forces and armed opposition groups not associated with terrorists," it said. |
| Atletico beats Real Sociedad 3-0, moves closer to Barcelona Posted: 01 Mar 2016 03:32 PM PST  MADRID (AP) — Atletico Madrid easily defeated Real Sociedad 3-0 on Tuesday to put some pressure on Spanish league leader Barcelona.
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| Leicester's title bid falters, Chelsea wins again Posted: 01 Mar 2016 03:30 PM PST  MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Leicester's unlikely Premier League title challenge faltered with a 2-2 home draw with West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday, offering Tottenham the chance to go top in another twist to the most unpredictable race for the championship in years.
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| U.S. EPA moves to end use of Bayer, Nichino insecticides Posted: 01 Mar 2016 03:27 PM PST By Karl Plume CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Tuesday it was moving to halt the sale of insecticides from German chemicals company Bayer and Nichino America containing an active ingredient called flubendiamide found to pose risks to the environment. Bayer CropScience, the agricultural arm of Bayer AG, had anticipated the action after rejecting the EPA's request to voluntarily pull the insecticide from the marketplace last month. The company said it expects to request an administrative law hearing from the EPA's Office of General Counsel within the next 30 days to dispute the EPA's conclusion that the pesticide is unsafe. |
| Trump, Clinton eye big boost from Super Tuesday Posted: 01 Mar 2016 03:20 PM PST  Millions of Americans cast ballots Tuesday on the most pivotal day of the presidential primary season, with frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump hoping to wipe out all rivals for their party nominations. If Democrat Clinton and Republican Trump -- an outspoken billionaire who has tapped into a vein of conservative rage at conventional politics -- win big, they will be well on their way to the nominations, spelling doom for their challengers. Steve Slye, who runs an audio-visual company in Arlington, in the swing state's suburbs near Washington, said he voted for Ohio's Republican Governor John Kasich.
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| Cardinal says should have done more to stop Aussie pedophile Posted: 01 Mar 2016 03:14 PM PST CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — One of Pope Francis' top advisers told an Australian inquiry on Wednesday that he should have done more to ensure a suspected pedophile cleric did not continue to abuse children. |
| Jamaican opposition wins one seat margin, new PM seen this week Posted: 01 Mar 2016 03:12 PM PST  A final vote count showed Jamaica's opposition won last week's general election with a one seat margin, electoral authorities said on Tuesday, ending days of uncertainty over the outcome of the close race fought in the shadow of a tough austerity plan. The electoral commission said the Jamaican Labour Party won 32 of 63 seats, just enough to end Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller's bid for a second term and clearing the way for JLP leader Andrew Holness to be sworn in as the heavily indebted nation's next prime minister, as soon as Thursday. The JLP won on promises of tax cuts and job creation, but is set to take the reins of a nation saddled with a debt to GDP ratio of around 125 percent, high unemployment and a sluggish economy.
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| Chelsea scores after 39 seconds, beats Norwich 2-1 Posted: 01 Mar 2016 03:08 PM PST  NORWICH, England (AP) — The quickest goal in the English Premier League this season set Chelsea on its way to a 2-1 win over Norwich on Tuesday.
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| France razes migrant camp as Greece seeks EU aid Posted: 01 Mar 2016 03:05 PM PST  Demolition workers tore down more makeshift shelters in France's grim "Jungle" migrant camp Tuesday, as Greece pleaded for EU aid to help shelter thousands of refugees stuck in misery at its border. The EU lashed out at Macedonian police for tear-gassing desperate refugees who tried to force their way across the border with Greece on Monday, saying it was "not our idea of managing the crisis".
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| Top Vatican cardinal says never raised abuse concerns with superiors Posted: 01 Mar 2016 02:54 PM PST By Philip Pullella and Jane Wardell ROME/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Cardinal George Pell, the highest-ranking Vatican official to testify on systemic sexual abuse of children by clergy in the Roman Catholic Church, on Tuesday said he never notified his superiors in the 1970s about rumors of abuse. The Vatican's treasurer told Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse that he had heard reports of sexual abuse by at least one priest who was moved to another parish, but assumed senior clergy were dealing with the problem. Given Pell's high rank within the church, his testimony to the Australian inquiry into sexual abuse cases that occurred decades ago has taken on wider implications about the accountability of church leaders. |
| North Korea vows to shun U.N. rights forum over political attacks Posted: 01 Mar 2016 02:52 PM PST By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - North Korea will boycott any session of the U.N. Human Rights Council that examines its record and will "never, ever" be bound by any such resolutions, its foreign minister said on Tuesday. The announcement signaled further isolation of North Korea whose leadership has been accused by U.N. investigators of committing crimes against humanity and is poised to be hit with fresh U.N. sanctions for its nuclear program. Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong also accused the United States, Japan and South Korea of sending agents into his country to recruit criminals to become "so-called North Korean defectors". |
| Socialist chief faces hostile lawmakers in bid to lead Spain Posted: 01 Mar 2016 02:40 PM PST  Spain's Socialist chief Pedro Sanchez ventured into hostile parliamentary territory Tuesday to plead with lawmakers to vote him through as prime minister and allow the country to finally get a government, knowing his chances are slim. Designated by the king as prime ministerial candidate after conservative acting leader Mariano Rajoy pulled out, Sanchez has raced to put together a coalition government before the session, which will spill into Wednesday when the vote of confidence takes place. "We have before us the possibility to create a government of change," he said as he pleaded for lawmakers' support.
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| Irish PM seeks to form new government, will talk to nearest rival Posted: 01 Mar 2016 02:35 PM PST  By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - The leading party after Ireland's election last week will try to form a government with other parties, including its nearest rival, after its outgoing coalition was rejected by voters, senior Fine Gael members said on Wednesday. Punished last week by voters angry at the patchiness of Ireland's recovery, Prime Minister Enda Kenny's center-right party is set to fall about 30 seats short of the 80 needed to form a majority in parliament, with two seats yet to be filled. With the second- and third-largest parties, Fianna Fail, and Sinn Fein, ruling out a coalition with Fine Gael, analysts say Kenny will not reach a majority without eventually striking some sort of agreement with Fianna Fail.
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| French prosecutors investigate Rio, Tokyo bids for 2016, 2020 Olympics Posted: 01 Mar 2016 02:33 PM PST  French prosecutors are investigating suspicions of corruption surrounding bidding for this year's Rio Olympics and the 2020 Games in Tokyo, a judicial source told AFP on Tuesday. The source, who revealed the inquiry began in December, was confirming a report in Britain's Guardian newspaper. The inquiry is part of the wider investigation into Lamine Diack, former president of the world athletics body the IAAF, and his son Papa Massata Diack.
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| AC Milan routs Alessandria 5-0 to reach Italian Cup final Posted: 01 Mar 2016 02:33 PM PST  MILAN (AP) — AC Milan cruised into the Italian Cup final following a 5-0 rout of third-division Alessandria on Tuesday.
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