| Holed up in Ecuador's embassy, WikiLeaks' Assange to win support from U.N. panel Posted: 04 Feb 2016 04:08 PM PST  By Guy Faulconbridge LONDON (Reuters) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012 to avoid a rape investigation, was detained arbitrarily in contravention of international law, a U.N. panel will rule on Friday. Assange, who enraged the United States by publishing hundreds of thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables, appealed to the panel saying he was a political refugee whose rights had been infringed by being unable to take up asylum in Ecuador. The former computer hacker denies allegations of a 2010 rape in Sweden, saying the charge is a ploy that would eventually take him to the United States where a criminal investigation into the activities of WikiLeaks is still open.
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| Saudi says ready to take part in any U.S.-led ground operations in Syria Posted: 04 Feb 2016 03:55 PM PST Saudi Arabia said on Thursday it was ready to participate in any ground operations in Syria if the U.S.-led alliance decides to start such operations, an adviser to the Saudi defence minister said. "The kingdom is ready to participate in any ground operations that the coalition (against Islamic State) may agree to carry out in Syria," Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, who is also the spokesman for the Saudi-led Arab coalition in Yemen, told the Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV in an interview. Asseri said Saudi Arabia had been an active member of the U.S.-led coalition that had been fighting Islamic State in Syria since 2014, and had carried out more than 190 aerial missions. |
| New U.S. intelligence report says Islamic State weaker Posted: 04 Feb 2016 03:22 PM PST  Islamic State has as many as 25,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq, down from a previous estimate of up to 31,000, according to a U.S. intelligence report revealed by the White House on Thursday. U.S. officials cited factors such as battlefield casualties and desertions to explain the roughly 20 percent decrease in fighters, and said the report showed a U.S.-led campaign to crush Islamic State was making progress. The new intelligence estimate "means they continue to be a substantial threat, but the potential numbers have declined," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.
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| Iran calls on U.S. to reassure European banks over trade with Tehran Posted: 04 Feb 2016 11:55 AM PST  By Guy Faulconbridge LONDON (Reuters) - Iran on Thursday called on the United States to make a clear public pledge that it would not penalize European banks for legitimate trade with the Islamic Republic. Many foreign banks are cautious about resuming trade with Iran following January's nuclear deal because they fear being caught up in ongoing U.S. sanctions. "Rebuilding the confidence of the banks that the United States will not re-intervene in their relations with Iran may require some further assurance from the United States," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said at Chatham House in London.
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| German spy agency got 100 tip-offs about ISIS fighters among refugees: report Posted: 04 Feb 2016 04:04 PM PST  Germany's domestic intelligence agency (BfV) has received more than 100 tip-offs that there are Islamic State fighters among the refugees currently staying in Germany, Berliner Zeitung newspaper cited the agency's chief as saying. The newspaper said on Friday, without citing its sources, that BfV chief Hans-Georg Maassen had recently mentioned this number at a discussion in the Interior Ministry with politicians who focus on domestic policy issues. The domestic intelligence agency was not immediately available to comment when contacted by Reuters.
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| Peace deal in reach, Obama says US to help Colombia rebuild Posted: 04 Feb 2016 04:47 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Nudging Colombia toward a peace deal that's finally within reach, President Barack Obama committed the United States on Thursday to helping the battle-scarred nation rebuild after half a century of guerrilla conflict.
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| Mexican ombudsman accuses marines of torture, assault Posted: 04 Feb 2016 04:45 PM PST Troops from Mexico's marines tortured four people and sexually assaulted three in the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz in 2012, an independent human rights commission said on Thursday. Human rights groups have long alleged a record of murder, rape and torture by the military since it was deployed by former President Felipe Calderon to take on powerful drug gangs in late 2006. The National Commission for Human Rights, or CNDH, found that the marines in 2012 tortured four people, including through electric shock to the genitals and breasts, and sexually violated three people. |
| India may decide on GM food as China makes big leap with Syngenta buy Posted: 04 Feb 2016 04:41 PM PST  By Krishna N. Das and Mayank Bhardwaj NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Officials may decide on Friday whether to allow what could be India's first genetically modified (GM) food crop, mustard, spurred by food security concerns and as China makes a big bet on the technology with a $43 billion bid for seed firm Syngenta. Permitting GM food crops is a big call for a country that spends tens of billions of dollars importing edible oils and other food items every year. Two straight droughts for the first time in three decades have made India a net importer of some food products for the first time in years.
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| UN: At least 200 million females estimated to be circumcised Posted: 04 Feb 2016 04:21 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — At least 200 million girls and women in 30 countries are estimated to have undergone female circumcision — half of them in Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia, the U.N. children's agency said in a report released Thursday night. |
| UN urges missing Sierra Leone people to come for Ebola testing Posted: 04 Feb 2016 04:15 PM PST  United Nations officials in Sierra Leone on Thursday appealed to nearly 50 people wanted for Ebola testing to come forward, as the country seeks to stamp out a fresh outbreak of the virus. Senior UN official Gabriel Rugalema said it was important to find out whether the missing people have developed any symptoms of the tropical virus. The re-emergence of the virus in Sierra Leone came shortly after the UN declared that the Ebola epidemic that ravaged west Africa for two years was over.
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| Brazil minister says no plans to cancel Rio Games Posted: 04 Feb 2016 04:13 PM PST  RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil's sports minister says the possibility of canceling the Rio de Janeiro Olympics because of the outbreak of the Zika virus "is not in discussion."
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| Brazil state says losses from Samarco accident at 1.2 billion reais Posted: 04 Feb 2016 04:05 PM PST  Brazil's Minas Gerais state said on Thursday the November dam burst in an installation operated by miner Samarco caused losses to municipalities estimated at 1.2 billion reais ($308 million), not considering the environmental problems. The state government released a detailed report containing an evaluation of impacts to infrastructure and activities, public and private, in the whole area in Minas Gerais that was affected by the mudslide resulting from the dam breach. The accident in a iron pellets production site run by Samarco, a joint venture between Vale SA and BHP Billiton, killed at least 17 people and led to about 800 losing their homes.
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| Brazil health official confirms Zika spread via transfusion Posted: 04 Feb 2016 03:52 PM PST RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Two people in southeastern Brazil contracted the Zika virus through blood transfusions, a municipal health official said Thursday, presenting a fresh challenge to efforts to contain the virus on top of the disclosure of a case of sexual transmission in the United States. |
| Obama presents $450 mn plan to fund Colombia peace Posted: 04 Feb 2016 03:50 PM PST  US President Barack Obama on Thursday announced a $450 million plan to fund Colombia's nascent peace process, shaking up a vast military aid program that defined relations for 15 years. Hosting President Juan Manuel Santos at the White House, Obama said the winding down of a 50-year conflict between Colombia's government and leftist FARC rebels that killed 225,000 should be met with a shift in US strategy.
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| The Latest: US, Colombia to team up on Zika research Posted: 04 Feb 2016 03:38 PM PST  RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The Latest on the mosquito-born Zika virus, which is suspected of causing brain deformities in babies (all times local):
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| Earthquake shakes Tokyo, no tsunami risk Posted: 04 Feb 2016 03:26 PM PST TOKYO (AP) — An earthquake has struck close to Tokyo, shaking much of the metropolitan region. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, and no tsunami risk. |
| Top Asian News 11:12 p.m. GMT Posted: 04 Feb 2016 03:12 PM PST RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil is not sharing enough samples and disease data to let researchers determine whether the Zika virus is, as feared, linked to the increased number of babies born with abnormally small heads in the South American country, U.N. and U.S. health officials say. Without viruses from Brazil — the epicenter of the ongoing Zika crisis — laboratories in the United States and Europe are being forced to work with samples from previous outbreaks, and is frustrating efforts to develop diagnostic tests, drugs and vaccines. Scientists tell The Associated Press that having so little to work with is hampering their ability to track the virus' evolution. |
| Lawyer: Mexican actress willing to talk about drug capo Posted: 04 Feb 2016 03:12 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (AP) — An attorney for actress Kate del Castillo said Thursday she is willing to talk to Mexican authorities about her encounters with Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and felt "betrayed" by actor Sean Penn, who wrote a lengthy article about his meeting with the drug kingpin after the actress introduced the two men.
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| Spurs star Ginobili out at least a month with groin injury Posted: 04 Feb 2016 03:11 PM PST  SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Spurs guard Manu Ginobili is out for at least a month after surgery Thursday for a testicle injury he suffered during the team's win over New Orleans earlier this week.
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| Mexican marines investigated for torture, abuse of suspects Posted: 04 Feb 2016 03:11 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican Navy says it is investigating several marines for allegedly torturing or sexually abusing six female suspects in 2012 in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz. |
| Rwanda recruiting refugees to oust Burundi president: UN Posted: 04 Feb 2016 03:09 PM PST  Rwanda recruited and trained refugees from Burundi, among them children, whose ultimate goal was to remove President Pierre Nkurunziza from power, UN experts told the Security Council. The panel said in a confidential report obtained by AFP on Thursday that they had spoken to 18 Burundian refugees who provided details of their military training last summer in a Rwandan forest camp. "They reported that their ultimate goal was to remove Burundian President Nkurunziza from power," said the report by the panel of experts for the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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| Timbuktu recovers its mausoleums, risen from ruins Posted: 04 Feb 2016 02:55 PM PST  Mali's fabled city of Timbuktu on Thursday celebrated the recovery of its historic mausoleums, destroyed during an Islamist takeover of northern Mali in 2012 and rebuilt thanks to UN cultural agency UNESCO. Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents wrecked 14 of the city's iconic earthen shrines built during Timbuktu's 15th and 16th century golden age as an economic, intellectual and spiritual centre. "This day celebrates the remarkable and courageous work accomplished to recover your dignity," UNESCO's Lazare Eloundou told the officials, diplomats and religious and traditional dignitaries attending the ceremony.
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| LinkedIn forecasts weak first-quarter profit, shares plunge Posted: 04 Feb 2016 02:47 PM PST  LinkedIn developed the product, Lead Accelerator, from technology it acquired with the purchase of marketing company Bizo in 2014 for $175 million. LinkedIn's revenue from ads on its website rose 20 percent in the fourth quarter, but the growth was the slowest in two years. LinkedIn forecast an adjusted profit of about 55 cents per share for the first quarter, way below the average analyst estimate of 74 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
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| Haiti parliament convenes but doesn't discuss looming crisis Posted: 04 Feb 2016 02:47 PM PST  PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti's new parliament has convened in its first session but there was no public debate about a looming constitutional crisis with the weekend departure of the president.
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| World powers pledge $10 billion in aid for Syria Posted: 04 Feb 2016 02:38 PM PST  World leaders pledged over $10 billion (9.0 billion euros) Thursday to help conflict-hit Syrians at a London conference overshadowed by the breakdown of peace talks in Geneva. The European Union, Germany, Britain and the United States were among the biggest donors to provide food, education and job opportunities for Syrians in their homeland and neighbouring countries where they have fled.
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| Actor Fiennes defends Jackson role in race row Posted: 04 Feb 2016 02:34 PM PST  Joseph Fiennes has defended his decision to play Michael Jackson in an upcoming comedy, despite a furore over the casting of a white British actor in the role of an American black superstar. Fiennes plays Jackson in the upcoming "Elizabeth, Michael and Marlon," a short and surreal comedy produced by British pay-TV channel Sky Arts which imagines Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando taking a road trip together in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on New York. "Sky Arts who are dedicated to half-hour comedies this year have commissioned a series of comedies, one of which surrounds the road-trip of Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando," Fiennes told AFPTV in Rome.
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| England skipper Hartley vows to silence critics Posted: 04 Feb 2016 02:32 PM PST  Dylan Hartley is determined to silence the critics who are waiting for him to fail when he leads England into their Six Nations opener against Scotland this weekend. Hartley was controversially handed the captain's armband by new boss Eddie Jones despite a lengthy disciplinary record comprising of over a year of bans for offences including gouging, biting and swearing at a referee. "I've never prepared for a game so well because I don't want to be shown up," Hartley told reporters on Thursday.
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| Venezuela president vows to resist ouster Posted: 04 Feb 2016 02:31 PM PST  Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro vowed Thursday the opposition's attempts to drive him from power would not prosper "by fair means or foul" in a political crisis gripping the oil-rich nation. Opposition leaders have called for Maduro to be ousted by constitutional means, accusing him of dragging the country close to economic ruin. Despite having lost control of the National Assembly legislature Maduro dug in his heels as he rallied supporters near the Miraflores presidential palace.
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| Venezuela congress debates freeing imprisoned politicians Posted: 04 Feb 2016 02:30 PM PST CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's congress has begun the process of approving a bill that would grant amnesty to imprisoned opposition politicians. |
| Ko shares lead as rain halts Coates Championship Posted: 04 Feb 2016 02:28 PM PST  World number one Lydia Ko is tied for the lead at seven-under par after rain suspended play during the second round of the LPGA Tour's Coates Golf Championship on Thursday. The 18-year-old New Zealander was able to nearly complete her round Thursday and was at four-under after 17 holes when play was halted due to thunderstorms in the region around the Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club course in Ocala, Florida. South Korea's Jang Ha-Na, the 18-hole leader, is tied for the top spot with Ko.
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| AP Source: NFL planning game next season in Mexico Posted: 04 Feb 2016 02:18 PM PST  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The NFL is planning to play a regular-season game in Mexico City this year, with the Raiders hosting the Texans.
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| New France coach backs young guns to impress against Italy Posted: 04 Feb 2016 02:12 PM PST  PARIS (AP) — France is banking on the talent of tomorrow to heal the scars of the recent past.
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| Scotland, England go with continuity to open Six Nations Posted: 04 Feb 2016 02:11 PM PST  The first Six Nations after a Rugby World Cup is usually a time for experimentation, with teams throwing in some fresh faces in a nod to the future.
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| Gameiro scores twice, Sevilla beats Celta 4-0 in Copa semis Posted: 04 Feb 2016 02:10 PM PST MADRID (AP) — French striker Kevin Gameiro scored twice after missing a first-half penalty to help Sevilla beat Celta Vigo 4-0 in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal on Thursday. |
| Skirmishes in Athens as general strike sweeps Greece Posted: 04 Feb 2016 02:09 PM PST  Thousands marched in Greece on Thursday as a crippling general strike against pension reforms swept the country, with hooded youths lobbing firebombs at riot police in scattered skirmishes in Athens. Some 40,000 people joined protests in the Greek capital and another 14,000 demonstrated in Thessaloniki in the 24-hour industrial action, police said, as riot officers in Athens fired tear gas in response to Molotov cocktails. It was the broadest protest since leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras first came to power just over a year ago.
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| Clinton, Sanders fight for New Hampshire in debate Posted: 04 Feb 2016 02:08 PM PST  Clinton won Iowa by a hair but Sanders leads handsomely in the polls in New Hampshire, where Republicans are also swarming to for the crucial February 9 vote, with Donald Trump eager to reclaim the Republican lead after he was beaten in Iowa by arch-conservative Senator Ted Cruz. The billionaire Trump also faces the sudden, dramatic rise of Senator Marco Rubio, who is gaining traction among mainstream Republican voters.
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