| Police hunt suspect after Islamic State kills 30 in Brussels suicide attacks Posted: 22 Mar 2016 03:27 PM PDT  By Philip Blenkinsop and Francesco Guarascio BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Islamic State claimed responsibility for suicide bomb attacks on Brussels airport and a rush-hour metro train in the Belgian capital on Tuesday which killed at least 30 people, with police hunting a suspect who fled the air terminal. Police issued a wanted notice for a young man in a hat who was caught on CCTV pushing a laden luggage trolley at Zaventem airport alongside two others who, investigators said, later blew themselves up in the terminal, killing at least 10 people. Officials said about 20 died on the train close to European Union institutions.
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| Former Toronto mayor Rob Ford dies of cancer at 46 Posted: 22 Mar 2016 08:33 AM PDT  Rob Ford, the former mayor of Toronto who gained global notoriety for admitting to smoking crack cocaine while in office, died from cancer on Tuesday, his office said in a statement. The Toronto city councillor, 46, had been undergoing treatment for an aggressive form of cancer that had recurred despite surgery and several rounds of chemotherapy. During his tumultuous 2010-2014 tenure as mayor of Canada's most populous city, Ford admitted to smoking crack cocaine, buying illegal drugs and driving after drinking alcohol.
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| U.N. envoy turns to U.S., Russia to give impetus to Syria talks Posted: 22 Mar 2016 12:56 PM PDT  By John Irish and Suleiman Al-Khalidi GENEVA (Reuters) - The U.N. special envoy on Syria said he hoped a meeting between the U.S. and Russian foreign ministers on Wednesday would give impetus to peace talks where the divisive issue of a political transition is stalling progress. Syria's government delegation has rejected any discussion of the future of President Bashar al-Assad, who opposition leaders say must go as part of any transition. Damascus has repeated its long-held view that "counter-terrorism" - its reference to rebel foes of Assad - should be the main focus of the process.
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| Brazil's Rousseff says 'will never resign,' Lula meets Senate leader Posted: 22 Mar 2016 03:30 PM PDT  By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - President Dilma Rousseff said on Tuesday she will not resign in Brazil's worst political crisis in two decades, calling an opposition move to impeach her a "coup d'etat" against democratic rule because she had committed no crime. Rousseff urged Brazil's Supreme Court to remain impartial in the crisis that has threatened to topple her government as opponents seek her impeachment in Congress amid a widespread corruption scandal that has reached her inner circle. "I have committed no crime that would warrant shortening my term." The head of the Brazilian Senate echoed Rousseff's position on impeachment after a meeting with her predecessor and political mentor, former President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, as the pair work hand in hand to shore up a crumbling coalition.
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| U.S. strikes al Qaeda training camp in Yemen, killing dozens Posted: 22 Mar 2016 04:39 PM PDT The U.S. military launched an air strike on Tuesday against a training camp run by al Qaeda's branch in Yemen, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), killing dozens of fighters, the Pentagon said. "This strike deals a blow to AQAP's ability to use Yemen as a base for attacks that threaten U.S. persons, and it demonstrates our commitment to defeating al Qaeda and denying it safe haven," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said. |
| Obama challenges Communist-led Cuba with call for democracy Posted: 22 Mar 2016 03:39 PM PDT  By Matt Spetalnick, Jeff Mason and Frank Jack Daniel HAVANA (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama challenged Cuba's Communist government with an impassioned call for democracy and economic reforms on Tuesday, addressing the Cuban people directly in a historic speech broadcast throughout the island. Taking the stage at Havana's Grand Theater with President Raul Castro in attendance, Obama said he was in Cuba to extend a hand of friendship and "bury the last remnant" of the Cold War in the Americas.
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| U.N. expert denounces scores of attacks on people with albinism Posted: 22 Mar 2016 04:16 PM PDT By Sebastien Malo NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - At least forty people with albinism have reportedly been attacked in the last eight months, the United Nations' top expert on albinism said on Tuesday in releasing a report condemning the superstitions behind the violence. All the attacks took place in sub-Saharan Africa, and most victims were likely to have been children, said Ikponwosa Ero, the U.N.'s independent expert on human rights and albinism. People with albinism live in danger in regions of the world where their body parts are valued in witchcraft and can fetch a high price. |
| Belgium soccer team cancels practice after Brussels attacks Posted: 22 Mar 2016 03:59 PM PDT  Belgium's national soccer team called off a practice session in Brussels on Tuesday after the city was hit by bomb attacks.
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| I have fight on my hands to make Euros, admits Jagielka Posted: 22 Mar 2016 03:58 PM PDT  Everton captain Phil Jagielka admits he has a fight on his hands to secure a berth in England's squad for the European championships. Jagielka, 33, said he believed coach Roy Hodgson had already settled on three of his back four. The centre-back's last international appearance was in the Euro 2016 qualifying victory over Lithuania in October, but that was followed by two months on the sidelines with injury that ruled him out of England's two friendlies against France and Spain.
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| Brazil's Rousseff vows to 'never resign' over growing scandal Posted: 22 Mar 2016 03:35 PM PDT  Brasília (AFP) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said Tuesday she had committed no crime and would "never resign" despite corruption allegations, as the scandal threatening her government escalated with dozens of new arrests. Investigators accuse Odebrecht of colluding with competitors to divvy up Petrobras contracts over the course of a decade, paying huge bribes and then inflating the contracts by even larger amounts.
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| Twitter users express support for Brussels with its iconic fountain Posted: 22 Mar 2016 03:27 PM PDT By Meredith McGrath, Foo Yun Chee and Julia Fioretti BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The statue of a cheekily urinating boy that has long drawn tourists to Brussels' city center took on a new role on the Internet on Tuesday after attacks in the city that killed at least 30 people. The cherubic Manneken Pis, belovedly irreverent icon of the Bruxellois, was shown relieving himself on a Kalashnikov in images on Twitter using the colors of the Belgian flag: a red boy and yellow gun against a black background. #mannekenpis The colors also lit up the Eiffel Tower, symbol of Paris, where people shared sympathies linked by November's attacks in the French capital apparently planned by Islamist militants in Brussels. |
| ICC verdict may help end cruelty of rape in war zones Posted: 22 Mar 2016 03:25 PM PDT  Rights activists Tuesday hailed a landmark war crimes verdict that found former Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba guilty for rampant sexual abuses by his troops, saying the ruling could help stop rape as a weapon of war. While many activists were critical that it has taken so long for gender-based and sexual violence to be the main focus of a trial in an international courtroom, they welcomed the verdict delivered at the International Criminal Court on Monday. The judges found Bemba guilty of five war crimes and crimes against humanity -- including two counts of rape -- by his troops in the Central African Republic between 2002 and 2003.
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| Brussels shows vulnerability of airports to terror attacks Posted: 22 Mar 2016 03:14 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — The airport attack in Brussels highlights one of the most vulnerable stages of aviation security: the time travelers spend between the curb and the checkpoint.
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| Huge manhunt after Brussels attacks horror Posted: 22 Mar 2016 03:11 PM PDT  Belgium launched a huge manhunt Tuesday after a series of bombings claimed by the Islamic State group ripped through Brussels airport and a metro train, killing around 35 people in the latest attack to bring carnage to the heart of Europe. Two massive suicide blasts by attackers with bombs in their bags hit the check-in hall at Zaventem Airport, strewing the scene with blood and mangled bodies and sending hundreds of terrified travellers fleeing in terror. Belgian authorities released pictures of two of the suspected attackers pushing trolleys with their bombs through the terminal and said they were "actively searching" for a third whose bomb failed to go off.
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| Cubans speak out on President Barack Obama's speech Posted: 22 Mar 2016 03:09 PM PDT  Comments by Cubans about President Barack Obama's televised address to the island Tuesday encouraging them to pursue democracy for their Communist country and saying "it's time to lift the embargo":
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| In Cuba, Obama calls for burying 'last remnant' of Cold War Posted: 22 Mar 2016 11:17 AM PDT  HAVANA (AP) — President Barack Obama urged Cubans on Tuesday to look toward a hopeful future with the United States, casting his historic visit to the communist nation as a moment to "bury the last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas."
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| China says Philippines fishermen used fire bombs in South China Sea Posted: 22 Mar 2016 03:05 PM PDT  Philippines fishermen threw fire bombs at Chinese law enforcement vessels in the South China Sea, China's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, after Philippines media reported that fishermen had been struck by bottles hurled from China's coast guard ships. The reports said that a clash occurred at Scarborough Shoal, an area China seized control of after a three-month stand-off with the Philippine coast guard in 2012.
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| Timeline of the Brussels attacks Posted: 22 Mar 2016 02:59 PM PDT  Brussels (AFP) - Bombings claimed by the Islamic State group at Brussels airport and on a metro train left around 35 people dead and more than 200 injured in the city that hosts NATO and EU headquarters.
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| Brazil trims anti-violence program due to budget woes Posted: 22 Mar 2016 02:58 PM PDT  RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil's economic woes are forcing officials in Rio de Janeiro to cut back at least one anti-violence program ahead of the Olympic Games in August.
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| U.S. expands 'dolphin safe' tuna rules to end trade dispute Posted: 22 Mar 2016 02:54 PM PDT  By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday announced that tougher rules for labeling Mexican tuna imports as "dolphin-safe" would be expanded to the rest of the world in a bid to end a long-running trade dispute with Mexico. The World Trade Organization last November upheld a ruling that the United States was discriminating against Mexican tuna imports by applying the tougher catch verification and documentation rules to Mexican fishing fleets in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean. Instead of loosening the rules on Mexico, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published new rules that raised the standards for all other countries.
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| Nine Americans injured in Brussels attacks: ABC News Posted: 22 Mar 2016 02:54 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nine Americans were injured in suicide bomb attacks on Brussels airport and a metro train on Tuesday, ABC News reported on Twitter. The ABC News report did not give further details. Three Mormon missionaries from Utah and a U.S. Air Force member and his family were among the Americans hurt in the deadly bomb attacks, government and church officials have said. (Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by Eric Walsh) |
| Belgium bombings raise security alerts at U.S. airports Posted: 22 Mar 2016 03:30 PM PDT  By Barbara Goldberg and Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - Major U.S. transportation hubs were placed on alert on Tuesday, with police out in force, and part of Denver International Airport's main terminal was evacuated in response to a possible security threat after suicide bombings in Brussels killed at least 30 people. Major U.S. airports and other transportation facilities were put on alert following attacks at Brussels Airport and a subway station on Tuesday for which Islamic State, the militant group that has seized large swaths of Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility. Large numbers of uniformed police officers and National Guard members in fatigues and carrying long weapons patrolled New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
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| Obama visit to Argentina stirs up 'Dirty War' past Posted: 22 Mar 2016 02:52 PM PDT  BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — When President Barack Obama's state visit to Buenos Aires was announced early this year, Argentina's new president cast it as a sign that the South American nation was on a U.S.-backed path to investment and modernization that would help it conquer its economic problems.
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| Senegal votes to limit presidential terms to five years Posted: 22 Mar 2016 02:50 PM PDT  Senegal has voted overwhelmingly in favour of limiting presidential terms to five years, the country's interior minister said Tuesday, after a weekend referendum widely seen as a test of the president's popularity. Interior minister Abdoulaye Daouda Diallo said that 62.9 percent voted "Yes" on constitutional reforms while 37.1 per cent voted against it. The official referendum results will be published on Friday by the country's electoral commission and require constitutional court approval.
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| World condemns Brussels bombings as strike on European democracy Posted: 22 Mar 2016 02:49 PM PDT  World leaders united Tuesday in condemning the carnage in Brussels and vowed to combat terrorism after the strike by Islamic State jihadists on the symbolic heart of Europe. As Belgians mourned, several global landmarks including the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin were lit up in the black, yellow and red of the national flag. The European Union vowed to defend democracy and combat terrorism "with all necessary means" after the attacks on Brussels airport and as well as train at a metro station only a short walk from the EU's core institutions.
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| Obama thrills Cubans with call for change Posted: 22 Mar 2016 02:47 PM PDT  US President Barack Obama told Cubans on Tuesday he wants to "bury" decades of Cold War conflict and then joined his counterpart Raul Castro for some baseball diplomacy to wrap up his historic visit to the communist island. Speaking from Havana's ornate Gran Teatro, Obama -- the first US president to visit Cuba in 88 years -- thrilled Cubans with a call for democracy and greater freedom of expression. "I have come here to bury the last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas," Obama said to cheers during his unprecedented speech, carried live on Cuba's tightly controlled state television.
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| El Shorbagy starts British Open squash title defence Posted: 22 Mar 2016 02:46 PM PDT  Mohamed El Shorbagy admits he got exactly what he didnâ t want to begin the defence of his British Open title on Tuesday, but managed to handle the discomfort anyway. The world number one from Egyptâ s well-taken 11-7, 12-10, 11-4 win over Nicolas Mueller, the former top-20 player from Switzerland, suggested he has been developing the knack of keeping the mindset he needs. "I said to my brother (Marwan) that Nicolas Mueller was the one guy I didnâ t want in the first round â and I got him," El Shorbagy admitted.
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| Morocco closes UN military liaison office in W. Sahara Posted: 22 Mar 2016 02:45 PM PDT  The United Nations said Tuesday it has closed its military liaison office in Dakhla, Western Sahara at the request of Morocco and withdrew three military observers posted there. It was the latest twist in a running dispute between the world body and Morocco, which was angered when UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently referred to the "occupation" of the disputed territory. The three observers were transferred Monday to Ausserd in the western part of the Moroccan-controlled territory, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said.
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| Police issue wanted notice for suspect after Brussels attacks Posted: 22 Mar 2016 02:40 PM PDT Police issued a wanted notice for a man suspected of involvement in Tuesday's bomb attacks at Brussels airport that left at least 10 people dead. Calling for information, they issued a photograph of a man, dressed in a white shirt and jacket and wearing a dark hat as he pushed a luggage trolley through the airport. |
| Trump backs waterboarding and 'a lot more' after Brussels attacks Posted: 22 Mar 2016 02:40 PM PDT  By John Whitesides WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States should use waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques when questioning terror suspects, and renewed his call for tougher U.S. border security after the attacks in Brussels. "Waterboarding would be fine. If they can expand the laws, I would do a lot more than waterboarding," Trump said on NBC's "Today" program, adding he believed torture could produce useful leads.
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| Kerry to meet Putin to push peace in Syria, Ukraine Posted: 22 Mar 2016 02:35 PM PDT  US Secretary of State John Kerry heads to Moscow this week for talks with President Vladimir Putin, hoping to build momentum for peace in Syria after a partial Russian withdrawal and to restore a fragmenting ceasefire in Ukraine. Having ensured that he has a seat at the top table of world diplomacy and that his allies in Damascus are in no immediate danger of defeat, Putin has ordered the bulk of his forces out of Syria without suffering great losses. Now, observers say, his separatist proxies in Ukraine are increasing pressure on the ceasefire line there, hoping that Europe's commitment to renew sanctions will waver this summer before Russia's September parliamentary polls.
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| Trudeau takes Canada back into the red to boost growth Posted: 22 Mar 2016 02:23 PM PDT  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government announced Tuesday massive spending to try to force an end to years of stagnant growth recently compounded by the oil rout. The government says it hopes to boost growth by 0.5 percent in 2016-2017, and by 1.0 percent the following fiscal year. Critics, however, say the scheme will create a larger government, not jobs.
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| UN chief Ban condemns 'despicable' Brussels attacks Posted: 22 Mar 2016 02:18 PM PDT  UN chief Ban Ki-moon condemned Tuesday's deadly attacks in Brussels, calling them "despicable" and demanding that those responsible face justice. Around 35 people died and more than 200 were injured when a series of blasts ripped through Brussels airport and a metro train during the morning rush hour in the latest attacks to rock Europe. "The despicable attacks today struck at the heart of Belgium and the center of the European Union," said a statement from Ban's office.
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| First pitch before game in Cuba? Obama leaves it to the pros Posted: 22 Mar 2016 02:11 PM PDT  HAVANA (AP) — President Barack Obama let some actual aces take care of the first pitches in Cuba.
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| Pedestrian strip becomes canvas of support in Brussels Posted: 22 Mar 2016 04:04 PM PDT  BRUSSELS (AP) — A pedestrian strip outside the stock exchange in Brussels became a colorful canvas of support and defiance after Tuesday's deadly bombings as those wanting to show solidarity chalked messages — in French, Flemish, English, Arabic and Cyrillic script and more.
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| Pulisic could join US national team for March 29 qualifier Posted: 22 Mar 2016 02:03 PM PDT CHICAGO (AP) — Teenager Christian Pulisic could join the U.S. national team for next week's World Cup qualifier against Guatemala in Columbus, Ohio. |
| The Latest: Belgium says anti-terror raids taking place now Posted: 22 Mar 2016 10:59 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (AP) — The Latest on explosions at Brussels airport and metro station (all times local):
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| 'Captain' accused in deadly Med migrant shipwreck just a passenger: lawyer Posted: 22 Mar 2016 01:59 PM PDT  The closed-door preliminary hearing in Catania was held to allow the judge to rule on a request from the defence for the black box of a Portuguese freighter, the King Jacob, to be analysed -- a request that was denied. The King Jacob had rushed to the overcrowded trawler's aid in the early hours of April 19, but survivors say the captain of the migrant boat collided with the freighter, sending its passengers over to one side and causing the shipwreck. Tunisian Mohammed Ali Malek was arrested after he was pulled to safety with 27 other men -- the sole survivors -- and charged with multiple manslaughter.
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