| Obama to make history, stirs debate with Hiroshima visit Posted: 26 May 2016 04:18 PM PDT  By Minami Funakoshi HIROSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - Barack Obama will on Friday becomes the first U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, site of the world's first atomic bombing, a gesture Washington and Tokyo hope will showcase their alliance and breathe life into stalled efforts to abolish nuclear arms. The two governments hope Obama's tour of Hiroshima, where an atomic bomb dropped on Aug. 6, 1945, killed thousands instantly and some 140,000 by the year's end, will highlight a new level of reconciliation and tighter ties between the former enemies. Aides say Obama's main objective in Hiroshima, where he will lay a wreath at a peace memorial, is to showcase his nuclear disarmament agenda.
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| Pentagon says China aircraft intercept violated 2015 agreement Posted: 26 May 2016 03:48 PM PDT  By Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon has concluded that an intercept of a U.S. military aircraft by Chinese fighter jets last week over the South China Sea violated an agreement the two governments signed last year, a U.S. defense official said on Thursday. The Pentagon findings contradict what the Chinese Defense Ministry said earlier in the day. Last year, the United States and China announced an agreement establishing rules of behavior to govern air-to-air encounters and creating a military hotline.
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| Yemen's warring sides agree prisoner swap before Ramadan Posted: 26 May 2016 11:37 AM PDT  Yemen's warring parties have agreed to a prisoner exchange before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in early June, sources from both delegations told Reuters on Thursday. The decision was a show of goodwill between the Iran-allied Houthis and Yemen's Saudi-backed exile government as peace talks in Kuwait aimed at ending a year-long war dragged into a second month. The sides will submit a list of prisoner requests to U.N. mediators within two days, after which "local committees" would be created to facilitate the exchanges, the Houthi sources said.
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| U.N. envoy tells Security Council no Syria talks for two-three weeks Posted: 26 May 2016 01:03 PM PDT  By Tom Miles and Louis Charbonneau GENEVA/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - There will be no new round of Syria talks for at least two or three weeks, the office of U.N. special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said in a statement on Thursday, after he consulted the U.N. Security Council for about two and a half hours. It said de Mistura wanted to see progress on the ground, particularly relating to the cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access. "Meanwhile, the special envoy will maintain close and continuous contact with the Syrian parties as well as the members of the ISSG before determining the 'appropriate time' to reconvene the parties to Geneva." The ISSG, or International Syria Support Group, is the group of countries led by the United States and Russia that is backing de Mistura's peace efforts.
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| Italy says migrant boat capsized, second in two days Posted: 26 May 2016 11:28 AM PDT  By Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - A migrant boat capsized in the Mediterranean on Thursday and while about 100 passengers were rescued, an unknown number are feared dead, officials said. All told, the Italian coastguard said it had helped save 4,000 migrants today, in 22 operations. Separately, Libya's coastguard said it had stopped six boats carrying more than 750 migrants off the country's western coast, and had recovered four bodies.
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| France sends underwater probes to EgyptAir search zone Posted: 26 May 2016 04:30 PM PDT  By Lin Noueihed and Tim Hepher CAIRO/PARIS (Reuters) - A French naval vessel was en route to the eastern Mediterranean on Thursday to join the hunt for black boxes from a crashed EgyptAir jet, equipped with three specialist probes from a French company recruited to accelerate the search. France's BEA air crash investigation agency said French naval survey vessel Laplace had left Corsica earlier on Thursday and was heading toward the search zone north of the Egyptian port of Alexandria, where it would begin operations within days. A week after the Airbus A320 crashed with 66 people on board, including 30 Egyptians and 15 from France, investigators have no clear picture of its final moments.
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| Clashes as Chile students step up demos Posted: 26 May 2016 04:46 PM PDT  Hooded protesters pelted stones at police who fired tear gas and water cannons in the Chilean capital Thursday, as thousands of students staged fresh street rallies demanding free university education. Students rallied in the center of Santiago, where security forces tried to block their path. Protesters are demanding that President Michelle Bachelet speed up a long-awaited reform to guarantee universal access to free public education in Chile.
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| Panama's top court seeks extradition of ex-president Martinelli from U.S. Posted: 26 May 2016 04:45 PM PDT  Panama's Supreme Court on Thursday called on the Central American country's government to request the extradition of former President Ricardo Martinelli from the United States. The court in December had ordered the detention of Martinelli, who is accused of using public money to spy on more than 150 people illegally. Martinelli left Panama in January last year and is believed to be living in Miami.
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| Three missing journalists being held by Colombia's ELN rebels: government Posted: 26 May 2016 04:38 PM PDT  The Colombian Marxist rebel group, the National Liberation Army, is responsible for the disappearance of three journalists who disappeared in recent days near the border with Venezuela, Colombia's defense minister said on Thursday. The government did not classify the disappearances as kidnappings, but the group has held hundreds captive during more than 50 years of war. Spanish reporter Salud Hernandez, 59, who writes for Spain's El Mundo and local newspapers, was the first of the three reporters to go missing.
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| Rocco Mediate ties course and Senior PGA record with 62 Posted: 26 May 2016 04:35 PM PDT BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Rocco Mediate played the first 13 holes in 9 under and closed with five pars for a 62 to match the Senior PGA Championship and Harbor Shore records Thursday. |
| New US ambassador to Mexico arrives to take up post Posted: 26 May 2016 04:26 PM PDT  MEXICO CITY (AP) — Roberta Jacobson arrived to assume her new role as the United States ambassador to Mexico on Thursday, coming at a time when immigration and Mexican trade have been heated themes in the U.S. presidential campaign.
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| Braves outfielder Hector Olivera suspended through Aug. 1 Posted: 26 May 2016 04:09 PM PDT  ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves' dismal season took another turn for the worse Thursday when outfielder Hector Olivera was suspended through Aug. 1 for his arrest on domestic violence charges.
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| MLB Capsules Posted: 26 May 2016 04:07 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — J.A. Happ pitched seven strong innings and Edwin Encarnacion and Devon Travis had two-out RBIs as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Yankees 3-1 on Thursday to win the three-game series.
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| Chile police say 2 churches burned in Mapuche conflict zone Posted: 26 May 2016 04:06 PM PDT SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Two Roman Catholic churches were burned in a southern region that the Mapuche indigenous group claims as its ancestral territory, police said Thursday. |
| Colombia blames rebels for disappearance of journalists Posted: 26 May 2016 04:01 PM PDT  BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia's government on Thursday blamed the country's second-largest rebel group for the disappearance of three journalists in a lawless border region.
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| Colombia blames guerrillas for missing journalists Posted: 26 May 2016 03:53 PM PDT  The Red Cross said Thursday it will help search for three journalists missing in Colombia whose disappearance the government blamed on a leftist rebel group. The International Committee of the Red Cross is acting at the request of the Colombian government, spokesman Edgar Alfonso said. Colombian Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas said the government is blaming the National Liberation Army (ELN), a leftist rebel group.
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| Clashes as France gripped by fresh wave of strikes Posted: 26 May 2016 03:52 PM PDT  Masked youths clashed with police in Paris and striking workers blockaded refineries and disrupted nuclear power stations on Thursday as an escalating wave of industrial action against labour reforms rocked France. Police fired tear gas at around 100 protesters who broke away from a march through the capital to smash windows of shops and parked cars, an AFP reporter said, in the latest outburst of anger at the controversial legislation. With just two weeks to go before France hosts the Euro 2016 football championship, union activists blocked roads and bridges, and train drivers and air traffic controllers staged walkouts.
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| Clinton: Email controversy won't affect her White House bid Posted: 26 May 2016 03:47 PM PDT  Hillary Clinton defended her use of a private email server for official correspondence while US secretary of state on Thursday, insisting her actions were no different than that of her predecessors. One day after the release of a critical State Department investigation faulting her use of personal email for government business, Clinton vowed that she would not allow the issue to dog her campaign. "There may be reports that come out, but nothing has changed," the Democratic White House frontrunner told CNN.
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| Man accused of plotting to join Islamic State testifies Posted: 26 May 2016 03:46 PM PDT MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man on trial for plotting to go to Syria to join the Islamic State group is testifying in his own defense. |
| Ivory Coast arrests man suspected of link to Grand Bassam hotel attack Posted: 26 May 2016 03:35 PM PDT  Ivory Coast authorities arrested a man on Thursday suspected of transporting weapons for an attack that killed 19 people at the beach resort of Grand Bassam in March, according to national television. Gunmen shot swimmers and sunbathers before storming into several hotels in Grand Bassam, 40 km (25 miles) from the commercial capital, Abidjan, on March 13.
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| Trump would approve Keystone pipeline blocked by Obama Posted: 26 May 2016 03:30 PM PDT  Bismarck (United States) (AFP) - Donald Trump said Thursday that if he is elected US president, he would support the Canadian Keystone oil pipeline project that was blocked by President Barack Obama on environmental grounds.
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| Nigeria minister wants Delta grievances addressed as Chevron attacked Posted: 26 May 2016 03:23 PM PDT  By Ulf Laessing and Tife Owolabi LAGOS/YENAGOA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigeria's government needs to address grievances in the oil-producing Niger Delta, its oil minister said on Thursday, hours after a Chevron source said a militant attack had forced it to shut its onshore operations in the restive region. A militant group called the Niger Delta Avengers, which has told oil firms to leave the Delta before the end of May, said late on Wednesday that it had blown up the Chevron's facility's mains electricity feed. A company source told Reuters that "all activities in Chevron are grounded" onshore while oil industry sources said roughly 90,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Escravos were gone due to the latest attack and another on Chevron's offshore facilities earlier this month.
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| Britain launches review into Sharia courts Posted: 26 May 2016 03:22 PM PDT  The British government on Thursday said it had launched an independent review into possible discriminatory practices against women in informal courts using Sharia law in England and Wales. "A number of women have reportedly been victims of what appear to be discriminatory decisions taken by Sharia councils, and that is a significant concern," interior minister Theresa May said in a statement. The review will be chaired by Islamic studies expert Mona Siddiqui who will lead a panel of academic and religious experts and "will help us better understand whether and the extent to which Sharia law is being misused or exploited and make recommendations to the government on how to address this," May said.
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| DC Commission to WBC: Lucien Bute failed doping test Posted: 26 May 2016 03:21 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Lucien Bute failed a doping test after his super middleweight title bout against Badou Jack, the World Boxing Council said it was notified by the D. C. Boxing and Wrestling Commission. |
| Under high security, Jewish pilgrims gather on Tun Posted: 26 May 2016 03:19 PM PDT  DJERBA, Tunisia (AP) — Under unprecedented security, the Tunisian island of Djerba hosted an annual Jewish pilgrimage amid raised fears of religious violence after deadly Islamic extremist attacks last year scared away visitors.
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| Colombia seeks green light for peace referendum Posted: 26 May 2016 03:18 PM PDT  Colombia's government Thursday urged the courts to authorize a referendum it hopes will seal a peace deal to end a half-century conflict with leftist rebels. The European Union's top foreign relations official meanwhile visited the country to support a deal, which negotiators say could be signed within months. President Juan Manuel Santos urged the constitutional court to pass a law approving the holding of a referendum.
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| France sending search ship to find EgyptAir black box Posted: 26 May 2016 03:17 PM PDT PARIS (AP) — A French naval ship specialized in underwater searches will help search for the black box flight recorders of the EgyptAir flight that crashed in the Mediterranean last week, killing all 66 aboard. |
| Top Asian News 10:16 p.m. GMT Posted: 26 May 2016 03:16 PM PDT SHIMA, Japan (AP) — On the eve of his historic trip to Hiroshima, President Barack Obama is defending the vigor of his efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons. He says he will use his visit to the Japanese memorial site on Friday to underscore "the sense of urgency that we all should have." Obama, who began his administration with an audacious call for a nuclear-free world, acknowledged there still is much to be done. In fact, some critics maintain the world is further away from Obama's goal now than it was at the start of his presidency. But he is holding out last year's Iran nuclear deal as "a big piece of business" and pointing to his administration's negotiation of the New START treaty with the Russians as big steps toward reducing nuclear stockpiles. |
| Tornado warning prompts evacuation of Kansas City airport Posted: 26 May 2016 03:13 PM PDT (Reuters) - The Kansas City International Airport was evacuated briefly on Thursday over a tornado warning, airport officials said, a day after tornadoes destroyed or damaged nearly 30 homes in neighboring Kansas. Airport staff evacuated the Missouri terminals and led travelers into tunnels to the parking garages after the National Weather Service (NWS) issued the tornado warning, airport spokesman Joe McBride said. The incident lasted around 20 minutes, before the all clear was given and people were led back into the terminals at the airport, he said. |
| President of crisis-hit Guinea-Bissau names new PM, triggering protests Posted: 26 May 2016 03:06 PM PDT  Two weeks after sacking his entire government, the president of Guinea-Bissau on Thursday named Baciro Dja as the west African country's new prime minister, in a move that triggered immediate protests from the ruling party. Dja's appointment, announced by presidential decree, was swiftly condemned by the ruling African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), whose supporters set fire to tyres near the presidential palace, an AFP reporter saw. "We will not accept a prime minister chosen by the president," said ex-premier Carlos Correia, who along with a number of former cabinet ministers gathered at the gates of the palace late Thursday where anti-riot police were deployed to provide additional security.
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| Stephen Curry, LeBron James named first-team All-NBA Posted: 26 May 2016 02:48 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — Stephen Curry has knocked down another honor.
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| Deep-water search for EgyptAir black boxes to start 'in coming days': France's BEA Posted: 26 May 2016 02:47 PM PDT  Deep-water search operations to locate the wreckage and black boxes of the EgyptAir jet that plunged into the Mediterranean last week will start in the coming days, France's BEA air safety agency said Thursday. "A deep-water search campaign will begin in the coming days with the arrival in the accident area of the French navy surveillance vessel 'La Place'," said the BEA, which is working alongside the Egyptian authorities to investigate the May 19 crash. Investigators are still searching for the Airbus A320's two black boxes on the seabed as they seek answers as to why the aircraft went down.
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| At least one killed in clashes as opposition protests sweep DR Congo Posted: 26 May 2016 02:42 PM PDT  At least one person was reported killed Thursday as rallies across DR Congo against President Joseph Kabila turned violent, with police firing tear gas in the capital Kinshasa and the eastern city of Goma. Large numbers of riot police were deployed across the country for the rallies called by three opposition groups in defiance of government bans. Tensions have been soaring in the country where Kabila, in power since his father's assassination in 2001, is widely thought to be preparing to remain in office beyond the two terms allowed under the constitution.
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| Some allies of Bolivia's leader cool to him seeking new term Posted: 26 May 2016 02:41 PM PDT  LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — President Evo Morales is finding that some of his biggest allies are cool to the idea of letting him try again to amend Bolivia's constitution so he could run for re-election.
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| Abu Zubaydah called as witness in 9/11 case at Guantanamo Posted: 26 May 2016 02:38 PM PDT  MIAMI (AP) — A Palestinian not seen publicly since his 2002 capture by the CIA launched a brutal interrogation program may soon make his first appearance in a U.S. courtroom.
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| UN climate talks flesh out landmark Paris pact Posted: 26 May 2016 02:34 PM PDT  Climate diplomats wrapped up technical talks Thursday saying they were on the right track but still far from delivering on the promise of the historic pact forged in December. Negotiators from 196 countries worked along three parallel tracks to put flesh on the bone of the Paris Agreement, the fruit of two decades of often contentious wrangling between wealthy and developing nations. The accord -- which could enter into force later this year, far sooner than expected -- sets ambitious goals for capping global warming and funnelling trillions of dollars to poor countries facing an onslaught of climate damage.
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| Trump lays claim to Republican presidential nomination Posted: 26 May 2016 02:28 PM PDT  White House hopeful Donald Trump claimed victory Thursday in the Republican nomination race, while shrugging off criticism from the man he aims to replace, President Barack Obama, who blasted the billionaire's ignorance and arrogant attitude. Trump vaulted past the threshold of 1,237 needed to win the party's primary race when a group of unbound delegates from North Dakota said they would back him. The accomplishment caps an extraordinary rise by a political neophyte whose campaign was widely derided as a distraction and a publicity stunt last June, when Trump announced his candidacy.
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| Equatorial Guinea president's free-spending son faces French graft trial Posted: 26 May 2016 02:21 PM PDT  French prosecutors have called for the son of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea's veteran ruler to be put on trial for embezzlement, corruption and stealing public funds, a judicial source told AFP on Thursday. Teodorin Obiang, one of the country's vice presidents, is accused of looting state coffers to fund his lavish tastes, including the purchase of pop star Michael Jackson's famous white glove, private jets and sprawling properties in some of the world's most expensive areas. If the go-ahead is given "it will be the first time in France, and even in Europe that such a high-ranking official from a country goes in the dock for ill-gotten wealth," Transparency International and Sherpa, a French association fighting economic crimes, said in a joint statement.
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| Obama to make history with Hiroshima journey Posted: 26 May 2016 02:19 PM PDT  President Barack Obama is set make history on Friday as he travels to Hiroshima -- becoming the first sitting US leader to visit the site that ushered in the destructive power of the nuclear age. The trip comes more than seven decades after the world was first shown the potential keys to its own destruction when an American plane, the Enola Gay, dropped its payload, dubbed "Little Boy" over the western Japanese city. Coming in Obama's final year in office, the visit also marks seven years since he used his trademark soaring rhetoric to call for the elimination of atomic arms in a landmark speech in Prague that helped him win the Nobel Peace Prize.
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