| Clinton calls for sanctions on Iran after more missile tests Posted: 09 Mar 2016 12:58 PM PST  By Sam Wilkin and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin DUBAI (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton on Wednesday called for sanctions against Iran after the Islamic Republic brushed off U.S. concerns and test-fired two ballistic missiles that it said were designed to be able to hit Israel. Iranian state television showed footage of two Qadr missiles being launched from northern Iran, which the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said hit targets 1,400 km (870 miles) away. Iranian agencies said the missiles were stamped with the Hebrew words, "Israel should be wiped from the pages of history," though the inscription could not be seen on any photographs.
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| North Korea fires two short-range missiles into sea: South Korea Posted: 09 Mar 2016 03:12 PM PST  North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast city of Wonsan early on Thursday, flying approximately 500 km (300 miles), South Korea's military said. North Korea has a large stockpile of short-range missiles and is developing long-range and intercontinental missiles. Reports of the missiles being fired coincide with already heightened tension on the Korean peninsula after the North conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and launched a long-range rocket last month, leading to new U.N. Security Council and bilateral U.S. sanctions.
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| U.S. warns Mosul dam collapse would be catastrophic Posted: 09 Mar 2016 04:05 PM PST  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States and Iraq on Wednesday hosted a meeting of senior diplomats and U.N. officials to discuss the possible collapse of the Mosul hydro-electric dam, which U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said would create a catastrophe of "epic proportions." Mosul dam has sustained structural flaws since its construction in the 1980s. Wednesday's meeting at the United Nations included Power and her Iraqi counterpart, Mohamed Ali Alhakim, experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, officials from the U.N. Development Program and Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and other senior diplomats.
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| Venezuela withdraws top diplomat in United States Posted: 09 Mar 2016 04:45 PM PST  Venezuela's top diplomat in Washington was called back to Caracas on Wednesday after U.S. President Barack Obama renewed a decree imposing sanctions on several top Venezuelan officials. Maximilien Arvelaiz acted as Venezuela's charge d'affaires in Washington and had been waiting for months to be allowed to act as ambassador to the United States. The United States imposed the sanctions and declared Venezuela a national security threat 12 months ago.
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| No Obama meeting with Fidel Castro, dissident talks on track: White House Posted: 09 Mar 2016 04:08 PM PST  By Jeff Mason and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House has ruled out an encounter between President Barack Obama and revolutionary leader Fidel Castro in Cuba this month and is confident the Cuban government will not create obstacles to a meeting between Obama and dissidents in Havana, a top adviser said on Wednesday. Despite the goal of improving ties between former Cold War foes, deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said Obama would not use his trip to meet Cuba's demands that he shutter Radio and TV Marti, U.S. broadcasters created to transmit anti-communist programing to the island nation.
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| U.S. hopes to preserve two-state outcome for Israel, Palestinians Posted: 09 Mar 2016 03:23 PM PST  By Arshad Mohammed and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Having twice failed to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace, the Obama administration is discussing ways to help preserve the prospect of an increasingly threatened two-state solution, U.S. officials said. One possibility under discussion is to issue an outline of a deal to end the nearly 70-year-old conflict on such matters as borders, security, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees. Such an outline could range from a brief description of core tradeoffs the two sides might need to make to a detailed set of "parameters" like those that former U.S. President Bill Clinton laid out for the parties in late 2000.
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| UN council clashes over tackling peacekeeper sex abuse Posted: 09 Mar 2016 04:46 PM PST  A US push for action over a surge in troubling allegations of sex abuse by UN peacekeepers has run into resistance from Russia, Egypt and some African countries at the UN Security Council, diplomats said. The United States presented a draft resolution on Friday that backs a new UN policy of repatriating peacekeepers if no move is made by their country to investigate the serious allegations. The move followed a report by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that showed a hike in the number of allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeepers, from 52 in 2014 to 69 last year.
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| 'Radicalised' Frenchman flew to Morocco with machete, knives Posted: 09 Mar 2016 04:41 PM PST  A Frenchman described as "radicalised" was arrested in Morocco after arriving on a flight with a machete, knives and a gas bottle in his luggage, French authorities said Wednesday. The 31-year-old man, who had previously been under house arrest in France, was held upon arrival in Fez on Sunday, where authorities discovered the items, as well as a black balaclava, in his luggage. Local government officials identified him as convert Manuel Broustail, a former soldier who was expelled from the army in 2014 following a report that he had been radicalised during a mission in Djibouti.
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| Oregon protesters face new charges over occupation of refuge Posted: 09 Mar 2016 04:39 PM PST  Participants in a six-week armed occupation at a U.S. wildlife refuge in Oregon have been indicted on additional charges, including the carrying of firearms in federal facilities and damaging government property. The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury on Tuesday and unsealed on Wednesday as the anti-government protesters appeared in federal court in Portland, superseded an earlier indictment in the case. It added charges against protest leader Ammon Bundy and other sympathizers indicted last month for conspiring to impede federal officers policing the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge during a long-simmering dispute over land rights.
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| Fukushima's ground zero: No place for man or robot Posted: 09 Mar 2016 04:31 PM PST  Five years ago, one of the worst earthquakes in history triggered a 10-metre high tsunami that crashed into the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station causing multiple meltdowns. Today, the radiation at the Fukushima plant is still so powerful it has proven impossible to get into its bowels to find and remove the extremely dangerous blobs of melted fuel rods.
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| Venezuela pulls top diplomat from US over 'threat' decree Posted: 09 Mar 2016 04:29 PM PST  Caracas (AFP) - President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday recalled Venezuela's top diplomat from the United States in protest at the renewal of a year-old US decree calling his country a security threat.
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| Japan lodged protest to North Korea over missile launch: Kyodo Posted: 09 Mar 2016 04:25 PM PST TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese government has lodged a protest to North Korea via its embassy in Beijing over the reclusive state's latest missile launch, Kyodo news agency reported on Thursday. North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast city of Wonsan early on Thursday, flying approximately 500 km (300 miles), South Korea's military said. (Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim) |
| India to launch heat wave programs in vulnerable cities Posted: 09 Mar 2016 04:22 PM PST  NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian officials are launching a program to protect people from extreme heat in two high-risk regions, after a devastating heat wave killed at least 2,500 people across the country last year.
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| Panama aims at end June for much-delayed canal expansion Posted: 09 Mar 2016 04:17 PM PST  Panama is aiming to inaugurate its newly expanded canal at the end of June, the head of the state canal authority said Wednesday, nearly two years behind schedule and $2 billion over budget. Completion of the massive, multibillion-dollar project had originally been set for October 2014 but has been successively pushed back because of construction and labor problems, legal issues and the discovery last year of fissures in one of the widened locks. "In around 10 days at most we should be well-placed to effectively say that we will be able to let through commercial traffic at the end of June," the Canal Authority's CEO, Jorge Quijano, told reporters.
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| France and England tie 0-0 in SheBelieves Cup Posted: 09 Mar 2016 04:15 PM PST  BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — France and England played to a 0-0 tie Wednesday in the SheBelieves Cup women's tournament at FAU Stadium.
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| Cleveland Clinic says first uterus transplant in US fails Posted: 09 Mar 2016 04:13 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's first uterus transplant has failed, the Cleveland Clinic announced Wednesday, saying doctors had removed the organ.
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| 3-time champ Lee Chong Wei falls in All England 1st round Posted: 09 Mar 2016 04:03 PM PST BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Three-time champion Lee Chong Wei was upset in the first round of the badminton All England Championships on Wednesday. |
| Morocco accuses U.N.'s Ban of dropping neutrality over West Sahara Posted: 09 Mar 2016 04:03 PM PST  By Aziz El Yaakoubi and Louis Charbonneau RABAT/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Morocco's government has accused U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of dropping his neutrality in the Western Sahara conflict by using the word "occupation" to describe Morocco's presence in the region. The United Nations responded by dismissing the suggestion that Ban was anything but neutral in the long-running dispute over the desert region in the northwest corner of Africa that has festered since Morocco took control over most of it in 1975 following former colonial power Spain's withdrawal.
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| Brazil prosecutor requests formal probe of Lula Posted: 09 Mar 2016 04:02 PM PST  Prosecutors in Brazil asked Wednesday that powerful ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was questioned this week in a huge corruption probe, be placed under formal investigation. The press service of the Sao Paulo state prosecutors' office said precise details of the request were not yet known and that a news conference would be held Thursday. Brazilian media reported that prosecutors want Lula probed for alleged money laundering and hiding assets in connection with a posh seaside home.
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| Myanmar on edge as long wait for new president ends Posted: 09 Mar 2016 03:58 PM PST  By Timothy Mclaughlin NAYPYITAW (Reuters) - Four months after Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won a crushing electoral victory over a government made up of former generals, Myanmar's citizens should finally find out who their new president will be on Thursday. It won't be Suu Kyi. The NLD leader and Nobel peace prize laureate is barred from holding the office under a junta-drafted 2008 constitution because her children are not Myanmar citizens.
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| Brazil expects Olympics without protests despite tensions Posted: 09 Mar 2016 03:58 PM PST SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil's Defense Minister Aldo Rebelo has played down the risks of massive protests during the Olympic Games, despite the country's economy and political crisis and a mushrooming scandal at state-run oil giant Petrobras. |
| London rugby club pushes for American fans with clinic Posted: 09 Mar 2016 03:56 PM PST JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — A London rugby club preparing for a regular season game this week in New Jersey is spending some of its time in the United States trying to attract Americans to the sport. |
| Names of 22,000 IS members leaked to news channel: report Posted: 09 Mar 2016 03:52 PM PST  Tens of thousands of documents containing the names, addresses, phone numbers and family contacts of jihadis who joined the Islamic State group have been given to Sky News, the broadcaster said Wednesday. Sky reported that a disillusioned former member had handed over the documents on a memory stick that had been stolen from the head of the group's internal security police. "Sky News has informed the authorities about the haul," the news channel wrote on its website.
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| China, South Korea step up sanctions on North Korea Posted: 09 Mar 2016 03:46 PM PST  (This version of the story corrects paragraph 20 to data instead of Eikon and adds the dropped word "there") By Ju-min Park and Ruby Lian SEOUL/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China has barred a North Korean freighter from one of its ports and South Korea announced a crackdown on individuals and companies linked to Pyongyang's weapons program, stepping up sanctions against the isolated state. North Korean general cargo ship Grand Karo arrived at Rizhao port in northeastern China a few days ago, but the port did not allow the ship to berth, said a person at the Rizhao Maritime Authority, declining to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The ship is among 31 vessels blacklisted by China's Ministry of Transport after they were covered by harsher sanctions on North Korea that were approved by the U.N. Security Council last week.
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| Sanders rattles Clinton, as US race heads to Florida Posted: 09 Mar 2016 03:37 PM PST  Hillary Clinton's path to the Democratic nomination has been anything but smooth, but after Bernie Sanders pulled off a political stunner by defeating her in Michigan, she aims to right the ship heading into their Wednesday debate. Clinton passed the half-way point in the race to the 2,383 delegates needed to win the party's presidential nomination on Tuesday, after she handily defeated Sanders in the southern Gulf state of Mississippi. Sanders exulted in a "fantastic night in Michigan," where his broad ground game and higher ad spending helped him capture 49.9 percent of the vote compared to Clinton's 48.2 percent -- confounding poll predictions.
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| Mexican former president: A Trump presidency risks trade war Posted: 09 Mar 2016 03:22 PM PST  SAN FRANCISCO DEL RINCON, Mexico (AP) — Former President Vicente Fox said Wednesday that a Donald Trump presidency could lead Mexico and the United States to "serious" diplomatic problems and a trade war that would hurt both countries.
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| Air Force vet guilty of trying to join Islamic State group Posted: 09 Mar 2016 03:20 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. Air Force veteran was convicted Wednesday of terrorism charges for attempting to join the Islamic State group and die a martyr, the first verdict from more than 70 cases the government has brought against Americans accused of trying to support the militant group. |
| Ibrahimovic sends PSG in Champs League QFs with Chelsea win Posted: 09 Mar 2016 03:10 PM PST  LONDON (AP) — Zlatan Ibrahimovic demonstrated his enduring attacking threat Wednesday by steering Paris Saint-Germain into the Champions League quarterfinals with a goal and an assist in a 2-1 victory at Chelsea.
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| Costa, Hazard injured as Chelsea go out Posted: 09 Mar 2016 03:08 PM PST  Diego Costa and Eden Hazard both sustained injuries as Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, interim manager Guus Hiddink confirmed after the game. Costa, Chelsea's goal-scorer, hobbled off shortly before Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored in the 67th minute to give PSG a 2-1 win on the night and complete a 4-2 aggregate victory.
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| IS commander 'Omar the Chechen' survived US strike: monitor Posted: 09 Mar 2016 02:56 PM PST  Top Islamic State commander leader Omar al-Shishani, known as Omar the Chechen, was "seriously injured" in a recent US strike in northeastern Syria but not killed, a monitoring group said Wednesday, after a US official said the militant had "likely died" in the assault. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that according to its sources the March 4 strike had indeed targeted the jihadist's convoy, killing his bodyguards, while he himself "was seriously injured". "He's not dead," the Observatory's director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
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| Stormers, Sharks in clash of unbeaten teams in Super Rugby Posted: 09 Mar 2016 02:56 PM PST WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The Stormers and Sharks meet Saturday in an all-South African encounter which will likely ensure that fewer than four teams remain unbeaten after three rounds of Super Rugby. |
| Avenging Ibrahimovic fires PSG past Chelsea Posted: 09 Mar 2016 02:53 PM PST  Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored one and created another as Paris Saint-Germain won 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday to eliminate Chelsea from the Champions League for the second season running. Leading 2-1 from the first leg of the last 16 tie, PSG stretched their lead when Ibrahimovic crossed for Adrien Rabiot to tap in and although Diego Costa's slick finish gave Chelsea hope, Ibrahimovic volleyed home in the 67th minute to complete a 4-2 aggregate success.
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| Brazilian percussionist Nana Vasconcelos dies at age 71 Posted: 09 Mar 2016 02:53 PM PST SAO PAULO (AP) — Acclaimed Brazilian percussionist Nana Vasconcelos has died at age 71. |
| Jean Arnault of France to head new UN mission in Colombia Posted: 09 Mar 2016 02:46 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed veteran U.N. envoy Jean Arnault of France to head the new U.N. political mission in Colombia that will monitor and verify a future cease-fire between the government and the country's largest rebel group. |
| Residents of Olympic slum fear more evictions Posted: 09 Mar 2016 02:43 PM PST  RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — As the bulldozers went to work yet again, tearing down another home in a contested slum on the edge of Rio de Janeiro's main Olympic Park, a huge cloud of dust enveloped the crumbling cinderblock shack next door.
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| Somali forces kill 10 extremists in Somalia: Officials Posted: 09 Mar 2016 02:36 PM PST  MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Hoping to capture a high-profile target, Somali forces hopped off helicopters a couple of miles (kilometers) from an al-Shabab-controlled town, slipped through the dark and got into a fierce firefight that reportedly killed more than 10 Islamic extremists, US and Somali officials said.
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| 18 killed in road accident in Egypt's Sinai Posted: 09 Mar 2016 02:34 PM PST CAIRO (AP) — A medical official in Egypt's southern Sinai says 18 people have been killed in a road collision between a truck and a minibus that was heading to the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. |
| Leaked phone chat embarrasses scandal-hit Spanish royals Posted: 09 Mar 2016 02:32 PM PST  A leaked phone conversation between Spain's Queen Letizia and a businessman embroiled in a bank scandal set Twitter ablaze Wednesday, just as King Felipe VI attempts to revive the scandal-hit monarchy. In the text conversation, the queen pledges her support for Javier Lopez Madrid -- a close friend of the king -- and calls him her "yoga mate". The iMessage conversation, revealed by the online daily eldiario.es, dates back to October 2014.
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| New ways of fighting Zika needed after dengue problems Posted: 09 Mar 2016 02:32 PM PST  GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization says that traditional insecticide spraying has had no significant impact in slowing dengue, raising major questions about how officials might stop the spread of the Zika virus, also spread by mosquitoes.
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