| Brussels bomber brothers were on U.S. watch lists before attack: sources Posted: 24 Mar 2016 02:50 PM PDT  Two brothers who carried out suicide bombings in Brussels this week were known to U.S. government agencies before the attacks, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The sources said that Khalid El Bakraoui and Brahim El Bakraoui were both on U.S. government counterterrorism watch lists before the March 18 arrest of Salah Abdeslam, a French national whom prosecutors accuse of a key role in the Nov. 13 Paris attacks. Belgian prosecutors have identified Brahim El Bakraoui as one of two suicide bombers who attacked Brussels' Zaventem Airport, while they say Khalid El Bakraoui was the man who carried out a suicide bombing at Brussels' Maelbeek Metro station, near European Union headquarters.
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| France says it foils advanced attack plot: minister Posted: 24 Mar 2016 04:46 PM PDT  A French national suspected of belonging to a militant network planning an attack in France was arrested on Thursday morning, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said. The arrest helped "foil a plot in France that was at an advanced stage," Cazeneuve said on Thursday night in a televised address from his ministry. "The individual questioned, a French national, is suspected of high-level involvement in this plan.
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| Belgian ministers offer to quit over security lapses Posted: 24 Mar 2016 02:42 PM PDT  By Alastair Macdonald, Foo Yun Chee and Ingrid Melander BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium's interior and justice ministers offered to resign on Thursday over a failure to track an Islamic State militant expelled by Turkey as a suspected fighter and who blew himself up at Brussels airport this week. Brahim El Bakraoui was one of three identified suspected suicide bombers who hit the airport and a metro train, killing at least 31 people and wounding some 270 on Tuesday in the worst attack in Belgian history. At least one other man seen with them on airport security cameras is on the run and a fifth suspected bomber filmed in the metro attack may be dead or alive.
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| U.S. frustration simmers over Belgium's struggle with militant threat Posted: 24 Mar 2016 09:25 AM PDT  By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Shortly after last November's attacks on Paris by a Brussels-based Islamic State cell, a top U.S. counter-terrorism official traveling in Europe wanted to visit Brussels to learn more about the investigation. When the official tried to arrange meetings, however, his Belgian counterparts were not welcoming, according to U.S. officials familiar with the events. The Belgians indicated it was a bad time to speak to foreign officials as they were too busy with the investigation, said the officials, who asked not to be identified.
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| Russia's special forces officer killed in Syria: Interfax Posted: 24 Mar 2016 12:36 PM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian special forces officer was killed in a combat operation near Palmyra in Syria, Interfax news agency quoted a Russian military source in Syria as saying on Thursday. "While performing a special task to direct Russian air strikes onto terrorist targets a Russian special forces officer was killed," Interfax cited a source at Russia's Khmeimim air base in Syria's Latakia province. (Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Christian Lowe) |
| Syrian forces fight their way into Palmyra, as Kerry and Putin hail thaw Posted: 24 Mar 2016 01:13 PM PDT  By John Irish, Lesley Wroughton and Lisa Barrington GENEVA/MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian troops backed by Russian air support fought their way into the Islamic State-held city of Palmyra on Thursday, their biggest offensive yet against the jihadist caliphate, as Moscow and Washington discussed how to help to end the civil war. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in an atmosphere that was noticeably more amiable than past meetings, reflecting new diplomacy the two Cold War superpowers have championed in recent weeks. In Geneva, where the first peace talks involving President Bashar al-Assad's government and his foes began this month, the opposing sides were expected to sign on to a U.N. document reflecting some initial common ground.
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| Federer to return from 2-month layoff Friday at Key Biscayne Posted: 24 Mar 2016 04:44 PM PDT  KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) — Roger Federer wasn't playing tennis when he hurt his knee two months ago. He was playing Dad.
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| Belgian officials acknowledge warning signs missed Posted: 24 Mar 2016 04:39 PM PDT  BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium's prime minister refused to accept the resignations of his justice and interior ministers Thursday despite increasing evidence of intelligence and law enforcement failures to prevent this week's suicide bombings by Islamic militants.
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| French national arrested in Paris region over 'advanced terror plot' Posted: 24 Mar 2016 04:32 PM PDT  French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said police had arrested a suspect in the Paris area on Thursday who was in "the advanced stages" of a plot to attack France. While Cazeneuve said the raid in the Argenteuil neighbourhood northwest of Paris had led to a "major arrest", he told reporters there was "no tangible evidence linking the plot to either the attacks in Paris or Brussels". The arrested man, a French national, "is suspected of being involved in the plan at a high level," Cazeneuve said.
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| Egypt says murdered Italian student's bag found with gang Posted: 24 Mar 2016 04:29 PM PDT  By Amina Ismail CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Interior Ministry said on Thursday that security forces had retrieved a bag and passport belonging to murdered Italian student Giulio Regeni that was in the possession of a criminal gang impersonating policemen who had been killed in a shootout. Human rights groups have said torture marks on Regeni's body, which was dumped on the side of the road, indicated he died at the hands of Egyptian security services, an allegation the government has strongly denied. Regeni, 28, disappeared on Jan. 25, the anniversary of the 2011 uprising that ended former president Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule.
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| Karadzic convicted of genocide, gets 40-year sentence Posted: 24 Mar 2016 04:27 PM PDT  SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — A U.N. war crimes court convicted former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic of genocide and nine other charges on Thursday for orchestrating a campaign of terror that left 100,000 people dead during the 1992-95 war in Bosnia, the worst carnage in Europe since World War II.
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| Spurs' Ginobili to play for Argentina again in Olympics Posted: 24 Mar 2016 04:27 PM PDT  SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Manu Ginobili will be available to play for Argentina's basketball team in the Rio Olympics.
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| Egypt says it killed a gang linked to Italian student Posted: 24 Mar 2016 04:21 PM PDT CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Interior Ministry said Thursday it has killed members of a gang suspected of being linked to the killing of an Italian student whose torture and death sparked an international outcry over possible involvement of Egyptian police in his brutal killing. |
| Israel slams U.N. body's call for 'blacklist' of settlement companies Posted: 24 Mar 2016 04:06 PM PDT  Israel on Thursday assailed the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for adopting a measure that calls for the establishment of a database of businesses "involved in activities" in the occupied West Bank. Israel's U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, called the database a "blacklist" and said the UNHRC was behaving "obsessively" against Israel. The Geneva-based council, a 47-member state forum established 10 years ago which Israel and its major U.S. ally accuse of bias against the Jewish state, adopted the motion with 32 votes in favor, none against and 15, mostly European nations, abstaining.
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| The Latest: Prosecutors say 6 arrested in Brussels attacks Posted: 24 Mar 2016 04:06 PM PDT  BRUSSELS (AP) — The Latest on the suicide bombings this week in Brussels (all times local):
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| N. Korea leader watches artillery drill targeting South's president Posted: 24 Mar 2016 04:04 PM PDT  North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un oversaw a live-fire long-range artillery drill, simulating a strike on the official residence of his South Korean counterpart, state media said Friday, as Pyongyang's threats against Seoul turned increasingly personal. "Artillery shells flew like lightning and intensely and fiercely struck targets simulating Cheong Wa Dae and rebel governing bodies in Seoul," the North's official KCNA news agency said. Cheong Wa Dae is the Korean name for the executive office and official residence of the South Korean president, known as the Blue House in English.
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| Egyptian gang killed Italian student: ministry Posted: 24 Mar 2016 04:04 PM PDT  The Egyptian interior ministry said Thursday they had identified the killers of Italian student Giulio Regeni, hours after security forces shot dead members of a criminal gang said to have abducted foreigners by posing as policemen. Regeni's belongings were then found at the home of one of the suspects' sister. The Cambridge University graduate student's mutilated body was found in a ditch on the edge of Cairo in January nine days after he disappeared.
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| Belgian prosecutors say 6 people detained in probe into airport, subway attacks Posted: 24 Mar 2016 03:59 PM PDT BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian prosecutors say 6 people detained in probe into airport, subway attacks. |
| Kerry cites progress on Syria, Ukraine in Moscow talks Posted: 24 Mar 2016 03:59 PM PDT  MOSCOW (AP) — After lengthy meetings with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and the country's foreign minister, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that Washington and Moscow have reached an understanding on how the fragile cease-fire in Syria can be strengthened.
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| Spieth avoids Match Play drama on 18th Posted: 24 Mar 2016 03:51 PM PDT  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Jordan Spieth had another stress-free day in the Dell Match Play, avoiding some of the drama the 18th hole provided Thursday.
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| Spain draws 1-1 with Italy in Euro 2016 warm-up Posted: 24 Mar 2016 03:50 PM PDT  UDINE, Italy (AP) — Two-time defending champion Spain began its preparations for the European Championship with a 1-1 draw against Italy in a friendly on Thursday.
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| Belgian Taekwondo champ condemns 'suicide bomber' brother Posted: 24 Mar 2016 03:45 PM PDT  A Belgian Taekwondo champion who is the younger brother of suspected Brussels airport attacker Najim Laachraoui, on Thursday "firmly" condemned his sibling's involvement in the deadly attacks. Mourad Laachraoui said he had been levelled upon learning his brother was believed to be one of the suicide bombers who had killed 31 people and wounded some 300 in the Belgian capital. Mourad Laachraoui said there had been no contact between the pair since his older brother left Belgium for Syria more than two years ago.
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| Srebrenica widows slam Karadzic sentence Posted: 24 Mar 2016 03:34 PM PDT  Widows of Srebrenica massacre victims on Thursday slammed as inadequate the 40 year sentence handed down to former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, as supporters dismissed the ruling as biased. It is warm, he eats, he even looks good," said Bida Smajlovic who lost her husband and brother in the atrocity. The 63-year-old's husband was one of three brothers who died at Srebrenica.
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| North Korea claims rocket engine success; South on high alert Posted: 24 Mar 2016 03:34 PM PDT  By Jack Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea successfully tested a solid-fuel engine that boosted the power of its ballistic rockets, state media reported on Thursday, as South Korea's president ordered the military to be ready to respond to the North's "reckless provocation." Pyongyang's claim indicates it is continuing to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at a rapid pace in defiance of U.N. sanctions, and amid assessment by the South's officials that it could conduct a new nuclear test at any time. The isolated state has in recent weeks stepped up bellicose rhetoric, threatening pre-emptive nuclear strikes against Washington and Seoul, as well as making claims of advancement in its weapons technology. The Rodong Sinmum, North Korea's ruling party newspaper, carried photos of leader Kim Jong Un on site as a rocket engine laid horizontally on the ground emitted a fiery blast.
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| Obama honors victims of US-backed Argentina dictators Posted: 24 Mar 2016 03:32 PM PDT  President Barack Obama paid homage Thursday to victims of Argentina's former US-backed dictatorship, admitting the United States was "slow to speak out for human rights" in those dark days. Obama became the first US president to formally acknowledge the victims of the 1976-1983 military regime, which declassified documents have revealed was supported by top US officials. "There's been controversy about the policies of the United States early in those dark days, and the United States, when it reflects on what happened here, has to examine its own policies as well, and its own past," Obama said.
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| Major League Baseball opening an office in Mexico City Posted: 24 Mar 2016 03:32 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball is opening an office in Mexico City, joining its existing branches in Beijing, London, Sydney, Tokyo and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. |
| London holds vigil for Brussels terror attack victims Posted: 24 Mar 2016 03:30 PM PDT  Crowds draped in Belgian flags gathered for a vigil in central London on Thursday in solidarity with those affected by the attacks in Brussels. Standing under drizzling rain, men, women and children lit candles and left flowers by a 25-metre (80-foot) flag that stretched over the steps of Trafalgar Square in the centre of the capital. The vigil follows tributes in which London landmarks were lit up in the black, yellow and red of the Belgian flag after the Wednesday attacks on Brussels airport and a metro station, which killed 31 people and injured another 600.
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| US official says Marines expanding combat role in Iraq Posted: 24 Mar 2016 03:28 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The American combat role in Iraq appeared to expand on Thursday as U.S. Marines operating from a small outpost provided targeting assistance and artillery fire to support Iraqi troops inching forward to retake Mosul from Islamic State militants.
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| University of California OKs statement against anti-Semitism Posted: 24 Mar 2016 03:26 PM PDT  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The University of California's governing board adopted a statement condemning anti-Semitic behavior on Thursday, becoming the first public university system to do so since campaigns for academic and economic boycotts of Israel have taken root on many U.S. college campuses.
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| David Beckham, group buy private land for pro soccer stadium Posted: 24 Mar 2016 03:17 PM PDT MIAMI (AP) — David Beckham and his investors say they've purchased the private land needed for a soccer stadium in Miami. |
| Spokesman: Rio 'confident' games untouched by graft scandal Posted: 24 Mar 2016 03:15 PM PDT  RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A spokesman for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics says he's "confident" the sprawling corruption scandal engulfing Brazil won't touch projects connected to South America's first games.
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| Rolling Stones' first Cuba concert: it's not only rock 'n roll Posted: 24 Mar 2016 03:14 PM PDT  When the Rolling Stones rock Havana this Friday in their first ever Cuban concert, the sound system will blast to as many as a million fans. Back in the 1980s, Ricardo Gutierrez listened a little differently: in secret. Then you turned the volume really low," said Gutierrez, 48, a former military officer who gets by as a taxi driver in the Cuban capital.
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| France arrests man in 'advanced stages' of attack plot Posted: 24 Mar 2016 03:02 PM PDT PARIS (AP) — A Frenchman in the "advanced stages" of a plot to attack the country was arrested Thursday northwest of Paris and security forces locked down the area during a major search, France's interior minister said. |
| Rafael Compos shoots 64, leads home Puerto Rico Open Posted: 24 Mar 2016 03:02 PM PDT RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico (AP) — Rafael Compos shot an 8-under 64 in front of his home fans Thursday to take the first-round lead in the PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open. |
| Brussels suicide bomber Laachraoui 'nice, clever,' brother says Posted: 24 Mar 2016 03:01 PM PDT By Ingrid Melander BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Brussels suicide bomber Najim Laachraoui was a nice, intelligent boy, his brother said on Thursday, and gave no warning signs of being radicalised before he left for Syria in 2013 and broke all contact with his family. A veteran Islamist fighter in Syria, he is also suspected of making explosive belts for last November's Paris attacks. No one in the family saw any change in his attitude before the day he called them to say he had left for Syria, his 20-year-old brother Mourad said. |
| Anya hands Scotland win over Czechs in football friendly Posted: 24 Mar 2016 03:00 PM PDT  Ikechi Anya handed Scotland a 1-0 win over the Czech Republic in a friendly in Prague on Thursday, which left the hosts musing about their ideal squad for Euro 2016. Following a minute's silence for the victims of the Brussels attack and the late Johan Cruyff, Anya scored on ten minutes after picking up a neat pass from Ross McCormack in full sprint. The Watford midfielder beat Czech goalkeeper Tomas Koubek with a low left-footer, spoiling the keeper's international debut and leaving the Czech Republic waiting for their first clean sheet after 18 games under coach Pavel Vrba.
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| World Cup qualifying: Redknapp wins first match 8-0 Posted: 24 Mar 2016 02:55 PM PDT  AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp made a successful debut as coach of Jordan with an 8-0 victory over Bangladesh in Asian qualifying for the 2018 World Cup on Thursday.
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| French interior minister: 1 Frenchman arrested in 'advanced stages' of terror plot Posted: 24 Mar 2016 02:44 PM PDT PARIS (AP) — French interior minister: 1 Frenchman arrested in 'advanced stages' of terror plot. |
| Labour reform sparks violent student protests in France Posted: 24 Mar 2016 02:41 PM PDT  Tens of thousands of students protesting labour reforms took to the streets across France on Thursday, torching cars in Paris and clashing with riot police who responded with tear gas and made more than 30 arrests. Fifteen protesters were arrested in Paris, where two policemen were injured, and another 19 students were detained in the western city of Nantes. The reforms, which had been significantly watered down under pressure from an earlier wave of protests, were adopted on Thursday by the cabinet of the increasingly unpopular President Francois Hollande, who hopes to stand for re-election next year.
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