Yahoo! News: World News

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• Iran fires ballistic missiles, U.S. hints at diplomatic response
• North Korea's Kim says country has miniaturized nuclear warhead
• U.N., rights groups say EU-Turkey migrant deal may be illegal
• Palestinian kills U.S. tourist in stabbing spree on Tel Aviv boardwalk
• Netanyahu's no to Obama no big deal but poorly signaled: White House
• Islamic State's de facto 'minister of war' possibly killed: U.S. officials
• Slovenia, Serbia place new restrictions on migrants' entry
• Chinese man gets 16 years in prison in deadly ricin plot
• Tunisia forces kill five 'terrorists' after deadly IS raid
• Top Asian News 12:40 a.m. GMT
• Australia hopes to return Iranian asylum seekers under deal
• Report Queen Elizabeth 'backs Brexit' denied
• Seattle releases Australian DT Jesse Williams
• Total eclipse of the sun unfolds over Indonesia
• Giannou added to Australia squad for World Cup qualifiers
• Children in besieged Syrian areas live in fear of bombs, air strikes: charity
• Besieged Syrian children run toward bombs for fire wood: aid worker
• WHO advises pregnant women not to travel to Zika outbreak areas
• Amazon tribe in Peru frees hostages after negotiations
• NKorean media: Kim says country has miniaturized warheads
• Report paints grim picture of kids' lives in Syria
• 'Air Cocaine' suspect should be denied bail: Dominican Republic
• Dunga wants Neymar at Rio Olympics rather than Copa America
• Beach volleyball added to program at 2018 Commonwealth Games
• Mexican ex-leader says authorities fear Chapo extradition
• FIFA match agent pleads guilty to corruption charges
• Final week to qualify for Match Play
• IS commander 'likely killed' in Syria air strike: US official
• Kim Jong-Un says N. Korea has miniaturised nuclear warheads
• Errors in investigation into killing of Honduran activist
• Madrid beats Roma 2-0 to reach Champions League quarters
• Cargill says to cut antibiotic use in cattle by 20 percent
• China-made truck used by North Korea in new artillery system
• Row over sandy tracks hits Spain-Saudi rail project
• Home of slum resident fighting Olympic eviction demolished
• Palestinian attacks kill American student, wound 12 Israelis
• Park Service revises prediction for peak of cherry blossoms
• North Korea's Kim says country has miniaturized nuclear warhead: KCNA
• Finnish radioactive spike traced to nuclear agency's neighbour
• Pemex says it has lines of credit to pay 1,300 vendors

Iran fires ballistic missiles, U.S. hints at diplomatic response Posted: 08 Mar 2016 01:14 PM PST By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Doina Chiacu DUBAI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) test-fired several ballistic missiles on Tuesday, state television said, challenging a United Nations resolution and drawing a threat of a diplomatic response from the United States. Two months ago, Washington imposed sanctions against businesses and individuals linked to Iran's missile program over a test of the medium-range Emad missile carried out in October 2015.

North Korea's Kim says country has miniaturized nuclear warhead Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:05 PM PST By Jack Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country has miniaturized nuclear warheads to be mounted on ballistic missiles and ordered improvements in the power and precision of its arsenal, its state media reported on Wednesday. Kim has called for his military to be prepared to mount pre-emptive attacks against the United States and South Korea and stand ready to use nuclear weapons, stepping up belligerent rhetoric after coming under new U.N. and bilateral sanctions. U.S. and South Korean troops began large-scale military drills this week, which the North calls "nuclear war moves" and threatened to respond with an all-out offensive.

U.N., rights groups say EU-Turkey migrant deal may be illegal Posted: 08 Mar 2016 11:14 AM PST By Stephanie Nebehay and Gabriela Baczynska GENEVA/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United Nations and human rights groups warned on Tuesday that a tentative European Union deal to send back all irregular migrants to Turkey in exchange for political and financial rewards could be illegal. "I am deeply concerned about any arrangement that would involve the blanket return of anyone from one country to another without spelling out the refugee protection safeguards under international law," U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Palestinian kills U.S. tourist in stabbing spree on Tel Aviv boardwalk Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:56 PM PST An American tourist was stabbed to death and at least nine other people were wounded by a Palestinian armed with a knife on a popular boardwalk in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, authorities said, while U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was in a meeting a few kilometers (miles) away. "A terrorist, an illegal resident who came from somewhere in the Palestinian territories, came here to Jaffa and embarked on a run ... along the boardwalk. On his way he indiscriminately stabbed people," Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai told Army Radio.

Netanyahu's no to Obama no big deal but poorly signaled: White House Posted: 08 Mar 2016 02:29 PM PST By Timothy Gardner and Rami Amichay WASHINGTON/TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israel would have shown good manners had it informed the United States directly rather than through the news media that it was turning down a proposed summit meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, the White House said on Tuesday. It was the latest episode in a fraught relationship between the right-wing Israeli leader and the Democratic U.S. president that has yet to recover from deep differences over last year's U.S.-led international nuclear deal with Israel's foe Iran. In a stark reminder of the paralysis in peace talks which Obama tried to revive earlier in his tenure, an American tourist was stabbed to death on a boardwalk in Tel Aviv in the most serious of several Palestinian attacks on Tuesday.

Islamic State's de facto 'minister of war' possibly killed: U.S. officials Posted: 08 Mar 2016 12:36 PM PST By Phil Stewart and Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A red-bearded Islamic State commander described by American officials as the group's de facto minister of war may have been killed in an air strike in Syria on Friday by the U.S.-led coalition, several U.S. officials said on Tuesday. Abu Omar al-Shishani, also known as Omar the Chechen, ranked among the most wanted militants under a U.S. reward program that offered up to $5 million for information to help remove him from the battlefield. Born in 1986 in Georgia, which was then still part of the Soviet Union, Shishani had a reputation as a close military adviser to Islamic State's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was said by followers to have relied heavily on him.

Slovenia, Serbia place new restrictions on migrants' entry Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:55 PM PST Slovenia and Serbia said on Tuesday they would place new restrictions on the entry of migrants, putting extra obstacles in the way of those trying to reach the European Union via the Balkans. The decisions to further restrict routes taken by more than a million migrants in the last year were announced hours after EU leaders declared an end to a mass scramble to reach wealthy countries in Europe from war zones. "From midnight, there will be no more migration on the Western Balkan route as it took place so far," the Interior Ministry of EU member Slovenia said in a statement.

Chinese man gets 16 years in prison in deadly ricin plot Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:48 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City student from China who prosecutors say plunged into the dark side of the Internet was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years in prison for trying to acquire ricin so he could sell "simple and easy death pills."

Tunisia forces kill five 'terrorists' after deadly IS raid Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:42 PM PST The swoop by the army and security forces came after 17 suspects were arrested earlier in a manhunt following Monday's dawn attacks in the border town of Ben Guerdane, which left dozens of jihadists dead. "As part of the continuing operation at Ben Guerdane, security forces and the army were able to eliminate five terrorists tonight in the Benniri area," the ministry said in a statement, adding that weapons had been seized. Local media had reported that security forces had surrounded a house where several men were holed up, information that was not confirmed in the brief ministry statement.

Top Asian News 12:40 a.m. GMT Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:40 PM PST TOKYO (AP) — Massive joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises are a spring ritual on the Korean Peninsula guaranteed to draw a lot of threat-laced venom from Pyongyang. This time, not only are the war games the biggest ever, but the troops now massed south of the Demilitarized Zone have reportedly incorporated a new hypothetical into their training: a "beheading mission" against Kim Jong Un himself. It's the kind of option military planners tend to consider but almost never use. Neither the U.S. military nor South Korea's defense ministry has actually said it is part of the Key Resolve-Foal Eagle exercises that began this week and will go on for about two months.

Australia hopes to return Iranian asylum seekers under deal Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:40 PM PST CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian official says Australia hopes to send thousands of Iranian asylum seekers back to their homeland under a new deal with Tehran.

Report Queen Elizabeth 'backs Brexit' denied Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:39 PM PST A report by a British tabloid that Queen Elizabeth II is in favour of the country leaving the European Union was quickly denied on Tuesday by the former deputy prime minister. The Sun, Britain's most-read daily newspaper, put the headline "Queen backs Brexit" on its front page with a photograph of the monarch, with the subtitle "EU going in wrong direction, she says". The tabloid cited an anonymous "senior source" to say that the queen had argued strongly against the pro-European Nick Clegg during a lunch when he was deputy prime minister, prior to the May 2015 election.

Seattle releases Australian DT Jesse Williams Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:37 PM PST RENTON, Washington (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks have waived defensive tackle Jesse Williams after he missed the 2015 regular season following surgery for kidney cancer.

Total eclipse of the sun unfolds over Indonesia Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:33 PM PST PALEMBANG, Indonesia (AP) — People gazed at the sky in wonder and cheered while others knelt in prayer as a total eclipse of the sun unfolded over Indonesia.

Giannou added to Australia squad for World Cup qualifiers Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:24 PM PST SYDNEY (AP) — Greek-born striker Apostolos Giannou has been added to Australia's squad for World Cup qualifiers against Tajikistan on March 23 and Jordan on March 28.

Children in besieged Syrian areas live in fear of bombs, air strikes: charity Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:18 PM PST A quarter of a million of children live in terror in besieged areas of Syria, where barrel bombs, air strikes and shelling are a daily occurrence, charity Save the Children said on Wednesday. Deprived of food, children are forced to eat boiled leaves and animal feed, while living in constant fear of attack, Save the Children said in a report published ahead of peace talks expected to start in Geneva in the coming days. Children now wait for their turn to be killed.

Besieged Syrian children run toward bombs for fire wood: aid worker Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:17 PM PST Instead of fleeing aerial bombings throughout winter, besieged Syrian children ran towards devastated buildings to search for broken furniture that could fuel fires for warmth and cooking, said a Syrian aid worker as the country marks five years of war. The aid worker - who spoke on condition of anonymity because her group was operating without Syrian government approval - said despite the dangers of unexploded devices or further bombs the children still ran toward the sites of attacks. "We've seen a lot of children ... running to collect the furniture," she said as aid group Save the Children launched a report on children under siege in Syria on Tuesday.

WHO advises pregnant women not to travel to Zika outbreak areas Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:16 PM PST The World Health Organization on Tuesday advised pregnant women not to travel to areas affected by the Zika virus outbreak, saying the new advice was issued amid mounting evidence that Zika can cause birth defects. "Pregnant women should be advised not travel to areas of ongoing Zika virus outbreaks," the UN agency said in a statement released after an emergency committee meeting on the rapid spread of the mosquito-borne virus. Previous WHO guidelines issued after the first Zika emergency committee meeting on February 1 called for women to be warned of the risk of travel.

Amazon tribe in Peru frees hostages after negotiations Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:15 PM PST An indigenous village in the Peruvian Amazon freed public officials it had been holding hostage to press for help after a ruptured pipeline spilled 1,000 barrels of crude on its lands, the state-owned energy company Petroperu said. Petroperu, which operates the pipeline, struck a deal with chiefs of the Wampis village of Mayuriaga that includes bringing electrical and telephone coverage to the community and helping develop local businesses, the company said in a statement. Mayuriaga villagers had seized a grounded military helicopter on Sunday and was holding its crew and officials of Petroperu and government agencies to demand inclusion in an emergency response plan.

NKorean media: Kim says country has miniaturized warheads Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:11 PM PST PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — The official North Korean news agency says the communist country's leader Kim Jong Un met his nuclear scientists for a briefing and declared he was greatly pleased that warheads had been miniaturized for use on ballistic missiles.

Report paints grim picture of kids' lives in Syria Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:10 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — An international children's group painted a grim picture of life in Syria's besieged cities, where young people have lost any hope for the future, living in constant fear of aerial bombardment and lacking access to food and proper medical care.

'Air Cocaine' suspect should be denied bail: Dominican Republic Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:09 PM PST A Frenchman suspected in a cocaine smuggling case in the Dominican Republic should not be freed on bail because he poses a serious flight risk, the attorney general said Tuesday. Naudin will now learn on Thursday if he is to be granted bail after the defense requested time to review a file. The case involves a failed attempt to smuggle 680 kilos (1,500 pounds) of cocaine in a private jet bound for France.

Dunga wants Neymar at Rio Olympics rather than Copa America Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:07 PM PST MADRID (AP) — Brazil coach Dunga would prefer to see Barcelona star Neymar at the Rio Olympics in August than in the centennial Copa America in the United States in June.

Beach volleyball added to program at 2018 Commonwealth Games Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:00 PM PST GOLD COAST, Australia (AP) — Organizers of the 2018 Commonwealth Games have taken advantage of the sun, surf and sand which are already attractions on the Gold Coast to add beach volleyball to the sports program.

Mexican ex-leader says authorities fear Chapo extradition Posted: 08 Mar 2016 03:56 PM PST San Francisco del Rincón (Mexico) (AFP) - Former Mexican president Vicente Fox said Tuesday that authorities have yet to extradite drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman because they fear that he could "spill the beans" about corrupt politicians. "If I were president, I would extradite him immediately," Fox, who led the country from 2000 to 2006, told AFP in an interview at his Centro Fox office located at a ranch in central Guanajuato state. President Enrique Pena Nieto's administration refused to extradite Guzman after he was arrested in February 2014 and the Sinaloa drug cartel leader humiliated the authorities by escaping through a tunnel 17 months later.

FIFA match agent pleads guilty to corruption charges Posted: 08 Mar 2016 03:54 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — A Colombian soccer consultant and match agent who was once licensed by FIFA pleaded guilty to money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy in a New York City court Tuesday, admitting that he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to secure media and marketing contracts.

Final week to qualify for Match Play Posted: 08 Mar 2016 03:54 PM PST PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) — Gary Woodland has one week to avoid making the wrong kind of history in the Dell Match Play.

IS commander 'likely killed' in Syria air strike: US official Posted: 08 Mar 2016 03:44 PM PST The Islamic State group's battle-tested equivalent of a defense minister is believed to have been killed in a US air strike in Syria, a US official said Tuesday. The target of the March 4 attack was Omar al-Shishani, a Georgian fighting with the jihadist group in Syria, the Pentagon said in a statement. Al-Shishani is the nom de guerre of Tarkhan Batirashvili, a Georgian with a $5 million US bounty on his head.

Kim Jong-Un says N. Korea has miniaturised nuclear warheads Posted: 08 Mar 2016 03:42 PM PST North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un says his scientists have successfully miniaturised thermo-nuclear warheads to place on a ballistic missile and create a "true" deterrent, state media said Wednesday. While Pyongyang has talked of success in mastering miniaturisation before, this is the first time Kim has so explicitly claimed a breakthrough that experts see as a game-changing step for the North's nuclear capabilities. Kim also stressed that the warheads were "thermo-nuclear" devices, echoing the North's claim that the fourth nuclear test it conducted in January was of a more powerful hydrogen bomb.

Errors in investigation into killing of Honduran activist Posted: 08 Mar 2016 03:35 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — Human rights defender Amnesty International says officials have made mistakes in the investigation into the killing of a Honduran indigenous leader and environmentalist.

Madrid beats Roma 2-0 to reach Champions League quarters Posted: 08 Mar 2016 03:26 PM PST MADRID (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo and James Rodriguez scored second-half goals to help Real Madrid defeat Roma 2-0 and advance to the Champions League quarterfinals for the sixth consecutive season on Tuesday.

Cargill says to cut antibiotic use in cattle by 20 percent Posted: 08 Mar 2016 03:15 PM PST Cargill Inc [CARG.UL], a top U.S. meat processor, is trimming the use of antibiotics in its cattle supply amid concerns among some doctors and consumers about risks to humans from antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The company on Feb. 26 started eliminating 20 percent of antibiotics deemed important for human medicine and farm animals from its four feed yards in Texas, Kansas and Colorado, according to the company. It is making the same reductions at four feed yards operated by Friona Industries, which supplies Cargill with cattle.

China-made truck used by North Korea in new artillery system Posted: 08 Mar 2016 03:14 PM PST By James Pearson SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea is using Chinese-made trucks in a new mobile artillery system showcased five days ago, according to photographic evidence, underlining the difficulty in enforcing U.N. sanctions against the isolated state. North Korea's Multiple Rocket Launcher System (MRLS) may be able to operate outside the range of similar U.S. and South Korean weapons, according to an expert. In photographs published by North Korean state media, the vehicle used in the MRLS artillery battery has the bodywork and markings of a Chinese-made Sinotruk HOWO truck, which is widely available commercially and is used by North Korea in its mining and construction industries.

Row over sandy tracks hits Spain-Saudi rail project Posted: 08 Mar 2016 03:08 PM PST It is the biggest contract Spanish firms have ever undertaken abroad, a high-speed railway linking Islam's holiest cities, Mecca and Medina, in Saudi Arabia -- but sand is covering the tracks and now the building partners are arguing over who should clean it up. Spanish construction and engineering firm OHL, one of the companies behind the project, refuses to remove sand for free in a letter sent to its consortium partners which was published Tuesday by news site El Confidencial. In 2011, Saudi Arabia awarded the contract worth 6.7 billion euros ($7.4 billion) to the consortium of 12 Spanish companies and two Saudi firms for a project which aims to improve transport connections during the annual hajj pilgrimage.

Home of slum resident fighting Olympic eviction demolished Posted: 08 Mar 2016 03:08 PM PST RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Authorities moved in early Tuesday and bulldozed the home of a slum dweller whose fight to stay in her residence near Rio's Olympic Park came to symbolize the fight between the city and residents of the Vila Autodromo shantytown.

Palestinian attacks kill American student, wound 12 Israelis Posted: 08 Mar 2016 03:04 PM PST JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian attackers unleashed a series of shooting and stabbing assaults on Israelis on Tuesday, including a stabbing spree in the ancient Mediterranean port city of Jaffa that killed an American student near where Vice President Joe Biden was meeting with Israel's former president, police said.

Park Service revises prediction for peak of cherry blossoms Posted: 08 Mar 2016 02:57 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Unseasonably warm weather has prompted the National Park Service to revise its prediction for peak blooms for Washington's cherry blossom trees.

North Korea's Kim says country has miniaturized nuclear warhead: KCNA Posted: 08 Mar 2016 02:53 PM PST North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country has miniaturized nuclear warheads to be mounted on ballistic missiles, the North's KCNA news agency reported on Wednesday. "The nuclear warheads have been standardized to be fit for ballistic missiles by miniaturizing them," KCNA quoted him as saying as he inspected the work of nuclear workers, adding "this can be called true nuclear deterrent." The comments were Kim's first direct mention of the claim previously made repeatedly in the country's state media to have successfully miniaturized a nuclear warhead to be mounted on a ballistic missile, which is widely questioned. Kim also inspected the nuclear warheads designed for thermo-nuclear reaction, KCNA said, referring to a hydrogen bomb that the country claimed to have tested in January.

Finnish radioactive spike traced to nuclear agency's neighbour Posted: 08 Mar 2016 02:52 PM PST A "highly exceptional" surge in radioactivity detected over Finland's capital Helsinki was traced Tuesday to a company sharing a building with the headquarters of the nuclear regulator investigating the mystery. In a bizarre twist, nuclear safety regulator STUK said in a statement that caesium-137, a radioactive isotope of caesium, had been tracked to the basement and garage of the very same building where it has its offices. "In the same building there is also a company that deals with low-level radioactive waste," STUK said.

Pemex says it has lines of credit to pay 1,300 vendors Posted: 08 Mar 2016 02:51 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican state-run oil company Petroleos Mexicanos says it has obtained lines of credit allowing it to pay 85 percent of its vendors, more than 1,300 businesses.

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