| Iran, France concerned at Syria violence with talks set to resume Posted: 12 Apr 2016 09:40 AM PDT  By Tom Perry, John Irish and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin BEIRUT/PARIS/DUBAI (Reuters) - France and Iran voiced concern over escalating violence in Syria on Tuesday, echoing warnings from the United States and Russia as fighting near the city of Aleppo put more pressure on a fragile truce agreement. The already widely violated "cessation of hostilities" agreement brokered by Russia and the United States has been strained to breaking point by an upsurge in fighting between Syrian government forces and rebels near Aleppo.
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| U.S. military says using cyber capabilities against Islamic State Posted: 12 Apr 2016 11:17 AM PDT  The U.S. military is dropping "cyber bombs" on Islamic State for the first time as part of a stepped-up coordinated effort that has put increasing pressure on the militant group, Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work said on Tuesday.
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| Italy passes Renzi's flagship reform, opening way for referendum Posted: 12 Apr 2016 12:47 PM PDT  By Crispian Balmer ROME (Reuters) - The Italian parliament passed Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's flagship constitutional reform on Tuesday, opening the way for a referendum later this year on an overhaul aimed at giving Italy more stable governments. Renzi says the reform will increase political stability and end decades of revolving-door governments that have made it difficult to revive the country's debt-ridden economy. "This is a historic moment for Italy," Renzi said from Iran, where he was drumming up business for Italian companies.
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| Brazil's Rousseff decries conspiracy as impeachment advances Posted: 12 Apr 2016 04:03 PM PDT  By Anthony Boadle and Alonso Soto BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff said on Tuesday her vice president was orchestrating a conspiracy to topple her as efforts to impeach the leftist leader gained momentum in Congress. Aided by her mentor and predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Rousseff scrambled to secure enough support from a dwindling array of allies to block impeachment in a lower house vote due on Sunday that analysts project she will lose. A congressional committee voted on Monday by a larger-than-expected margin to recommended that Rousseff be impeached for breaking budget laws to support her re-election in 2014, a charge Rousseff says was trumped up to remove her from office.
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| U.S. reviewing Sinai peacekeeper mission, may automate jobs Posted: 12 Apr 2016 02:19 PM PDT  The U.S. military said on Tuesday it has formally notified Egypt and Israel that it is reviewing whether to automate aspects of multinational peacekeeping operations in the insurgency-wracked Sinai, potentially allowing a reduction in American troop deployments. U.S. officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said using remote surveillance technology could eventually allow the United States to withdraw hundreds of its roughly 700 peacekeeping troops. Installed to monitor the demilitarization of the Sinai under the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace accord, the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) mission has come under increased scrutiny over the past year, particularly after six peacekeepers were wounded by a roadside bomb in September.
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| Palestinians say push for U.N. rebuke of Israel settlements aimed at peace Posted: 12 Apr 2016 03:36 PM PDT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A renewed Palestinian drive to persuade the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements is aimed at removing the biggest obstacle to peace and boosting French efforts to broker an agreement, the Palestinian U.N. envoy said on Tuesday. Riyad Mansour, permanent Palestinian observer to the United Nations, told a small group of reporters that Arab delegations have received the draft resolution. Mansour said Washington vetoed a similar resolution about Israel's settlements five years ago because of fears it would undermine peace talks. |
| Rio's Zika outbreak matches Asian virus, researchers say Posted: 12 Apr 2016 04:51 PM PDT  The mosquito-borne Zika virus behind last year's outbreak in Rio de Janeiro closely resembles another strain from Asia and may have been introduced by Pacific Island athletes, researchers said Tuesday. The researchers also raised new concerns about the potential for an even worse Zika outbreak during this summer's Olympic Games in Rio, saying many of those studied did not remember being bitten by mosquitoes and that transmission of Zika infection in clusters of people appeared to be commonplace. Zika virus is strongly suspected to be behind a surge in microcephaly, a birth defect in which babies are born with unusually small heads, although a definitive link between microcephaly and Zika has not yet been proven.
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| Military police arrest man at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport Posted: 12 Apr 2016 04:47 PM PDT AMSTERDAM (AP) — Military police arrested a man and were conducting an investigation at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport late Tuesday after a report of a "suspicious situation." |
| FIFA: Gordon flunked integrity check for CONCACAF president Posted: 12 Apr 2016 04:28 PM PDT FIFA says Gordon Derrick, the general secretary of the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association, has failed an integrity check and won't be allowed to run for president of CONCACAF, the sport's regional governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean. |
| Mexican prisons overcrowded, run by inmates Posted: 12 Apr 2016 04:26 PM PDT  Dozens of Mexican prisons are overcrowded and run by inmates, with many sneaking televisions, cellphones and weapons into their cells, a human rights body said Tuesday. The governmental National Human Rights Commission said in a report that 71 state and six federal penitentiaries -- out of more than 150 prisons -- are too crowded. The overpopulation list includes the 836-capacity Altiplano maximum-security prison, which houses the infamous leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel leader, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, along with more than 1,000 other inmates.
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| UN takes historic step to open selection of new UN chief Posted: 12 Apr 2016 04:25 PM PDT  UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations took a historic step Tuesday to open up the usually secret process of selecting the next secretary-general, giving all countries the chance to question candidates on such issues as how they would resist pressure from powerful nations, tackle sex abuse by U.N. peacekeepers, and improve efforts to achieve peace.
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| Brazil's PP party leaves Rousseff's government: party president Posted: 12 Apr 2016 04:20 PM PDT BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's Progressive Party (PP) split from President Dilma Rousseff's government on Tuesday, the president of the party said, in a major blow for Rousseff as she battles against impeachment. Ciro Nogueira told reporters the PP would hand back all ministry roles it holds. (Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello and Leonardo Goy; Writing by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Daniel Flynn) |
| 3 police, 6 alleged gang members killed in El Salvador clash Posted: 12 Apr 2016 04:20 PM PDT SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Three police officers and six alleged gang members were killed Tuesday in a clash outside El Salvador's capital, authorities said. |
| Amsterdam airport partly evacuated in security alert, man detained Posted: 12 Apr 2016 04:17 PM PDT  Heavily-armed military police evacuated part of Amsterdam's busy Schiphol airport late Tuesday, arresting one person when a security alert was sparked, officials told AFP. The incident comes at a time when the Netherlands has been on high alert following the March 22 attack on the Brussels airport and metro in which 32 people were killed. "Police have evacuated part of the airport plaza and the adjacent Sheraton Hotel and arrested one person amid a suspicious situation," airport spokeswoman Danielle Timmer told AFP, adding she had no further information.
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| Sunshine's droppings could shed light on panda diet mystery Posted: 12 Apr 2016 04:08 PM PDT  Britain's only giant pandas, Tian Tian and Yang Guang, are taking part in an experiment to find out whether the famously faddy breed really does only eat shoots and leaves. The Edinburgh zoo pair, whose names mean Sweetie and Sunshine in English, are donating their droppings to enable scientists to discover more about their eating habits and thereby help conserve pandas in the wild. Despite their reputation as picky eaters, previous work has suggested that pandas may enjoy as many as 60 different species of bamboo and could possibly even eat other plant species, fungi and animals, the zoo said in a statement.
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| Organized crime prosecutors search Panama Papers firm office Posted: 12 Apr 2016 04:05 PM PDT  PANAMA CITY (AP) — Organized crime prosecutors on Tuesday searched the offices of the Mossack Fonseca law firm, which has found itself in the eye of an international storm over tax havens it set up for wealthy international clients.
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| UK would face tough choices after a Brexit vote: think tank Posted: 12 Apr 2016 04:02 PM PDT  By William Schomberg LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will need to make choices on trade, labor laws and the environment that could be unpopular with voters if it wants to offset the hit to its economy from any decision to leave the European Union, a think tank said on Wednesday. Britain's economic output would probably be between 0.5 and 1.5 percent smaller than it would otherwise be by 2030 if it decides to quit the bloc in a referendum in June, according to Open Europe, a pro-market research unit. A post-EU Britain might also be tempted to drop the bloc's rules on pay for temporary workers and on the number of hours employees can work, and scrap its environmental rules.
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| Worried IMF cuts world growth forecast, warns over Brexit Posted: 12 Apr 2016 03:56 PM PDT  The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that the global economy faces wide-ranging threats from weak growth and rising protectionism, warning of possible "severe" damage should Britain quit the European Union. It said intensifying financial and political risks around the world, from volatile financial markets to the Syria conflict to global warming, had left the economy "increasingly fragile" and vulnerable to recession. The IMF raised concerns over "fraying" unity in the European Union under pressure from the migration crisis and the "Brexit" possibility.
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| US sees Syria 'slipping' on ceasefire, aid deliveries Posted: 12 Apr 2016 03:40 PM PDT  Syria's commitment to a ceasefire and pledges to allow aid deliveries are slipping, putting the peace process on a more fragile footing, US Ambassador Samantha Power said Tuesday. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura briefed the Security Council during a closed-door meeting, on the eve of a resumption in Geneva of talks aimed at ending the five-year war. "Right now, there are signs that this is slipping and it is a much more delicate environment for De Mistura to convene political talks," said Power.
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| Cuban Americans protest Carnival's Cuban cruises Posted: 12 Apr 2016 03:37 PM PDT MIAMI (AP) — Some Cuban Americans are complaining that Carnival Corporation is unfairly excluding them from sailing with the company when the cruise line heads to Cuba for the first time in decades. |
| Uber launches in Argentine capital despite protests Posted: 12 Apr 2016 03:29 PM PDT  BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Uber launched its service in Argentina's capital Tuesday in defiance of local authorities and despite road blocks set up by protesting taxi drivers that snarled traffic during the evening rush hour.
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| Fear factor boost for Khan ahead of Alvarez boxing showdown Posted: 12 Apr 2016 03:25 PM PDT  British boxer Amir Khan believes the fear factor could help him score a shock victory next month when he steps up in class to face Mexico's World Boxing Council middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas. Khan, 29, raised eyebrows across the boxing world earlier this year after announcing his May 7 fight at the T-Mobile Arena against Alvarez, the hard-hitting 25-year-old from Guadalajara. It represents a risky move for Khan, who has never previously fought above the welterweight limit of 147 pounds (66.7 kilograms).
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| Macedonia crisis deepens as president blocks probe into politicians Posted: 12 Apr 2016 03:21 PM PDT  Macedonia's president on Tuesday blocked all judicial proceedings against top politicians embroiled in a wire-tapping scandal that sparked a major political crisis, a move the European Union said raised "serious concerns". Opposition leader Zoran Zaev blasted the move by President Gjorge Ivanov as illegal, and a few hundred people took to the streets of the capital Skopje in protest. In a televised address to the nation, Ivanov said he was bringing the legal proceedings to a halt "in order to put an end to this political crisis, which will end with democratic elections".
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| US Army grants Sikh enlistees waiver to its beard policy Posted: 12 Apr 2016 03:13 PM PDT  McLEAN, Virginia (AP) — The U.S. Army has ruled that three Sikh enlistees will be allowed to serve while keeping their distinctive beards and turbans.
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| UN holds first-ever hearings to pick world's top diplomat Posted: 12 Apr 2016 03:07 PM PDT  Candidates vying to become the next UN secretary-general fielded questions Tuesday on global crises -- from climate change to Middle East conflict -- during the first-ever hearings to choose the world's top diplomat. The United Nations opened the three days of public hearings in a packed chamber, breaking from the secrecy that has surrounded the choice of the UN chief throughout its 70-year history. Three of the nine contenders made their pitch to the General Assembly's 193 nations, laying out their vision as the successor to Ban Ki-moon, who will hand over on January 1.
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| Senior S. Sudan rebel arrives in capital under peace deal Posted: 12 Apr 2016 02:59 PM PDT  Alfred Ladu Gore, a former general and minister, spoke about peace after flying into the capital's airport having spent more than two years fighting in the bush and in exile. A 1,370-strong force of opposition soldiers and police completed their arrival over the weekend into Juba. Civil war broke out in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Machar of planning a coup, setting off a cycle of retaliatory killings that have split the poverty-stricken, landlocked country along ethnic lines.
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| Belgium charges new suspects over Brussels attacks Posted: 12 Apr 2016 02:58 PM PDT  Belgium has charged two new suspects over last month's Brussels airport and metro bombings and made three fresh arrests in the probe into the November Paris attacks, prosecutors said Tuesday. Investigators have uncovered a tangled web of links between the Paris and Brussels attacks, with many of the same people involved and linked to the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria which claimed both. The two suspects, named as Smail F. and Ibrahim F., were "charged with participation in the activities of a terrorist group, terrorist murders and attempts to commit terrorist murders, as a perpetrator, co-perpetrator or accomplice," a statement from the prosecutors said.
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| IS ranks at lowest level since 2014: US official Posted: 12 Apr 2016 02:51 PM PDT  The Islamic State group's ranks have been pared back by international and local military action in Iraq and Syria to their lowest level since Washington began monitoring the group, a senior official said Tuesday. The comments from deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken came one day before President Barack Obama was due to convene his national security team at CIA headquarters to take stock of the anti-IS fight. "Working by, with and through local partners, we have taken back 40 percent of the territory that Daesh controlled a year ago in Iraq and 10 percent in Syria," Blinken told US lawmakers in prepared testimony.
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| Economic woes, threats from North shadow S. Korea vote Posted: 12 Apr 2016 02:49 PM PDT  South Koreans vote Wednesday in legislative elections clouded by North Korean nuclear threats and the multiple challenges facing Asia's fourth largest economy, as President Park Geun-Hye enters the final stretch of her term in office. Political power in South Korea is firmly concentrated in the presidency and elections to the single-chamber national assembly are traditionally dominated by local issues. Rising unemployment, plunging exports and worryingly high levels of household debt have led to criticisms of Park's handling of the economy and, by extension, of her ruling conservative Saenuri Party.
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| Syria truce strained on eve of fresh peace talks Posted: 12 Apr 2016 02:40 PM PDT  Syria's landmark ceasefire was threatening to fall apart on Tuesday amid a surge of fighting, especially in northern Aleppo province, as peace talks were set to resume in Geneva. Fresh concerns about the ceasefire were voiced by Iran, where the United Nations Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura was holding talks with the key backer of President Bashar al-Assad. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian told De Mistura that the recent increase in fighting was "disturbing and may interfere with the political process".
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| Russia says Sharapova in Olympic plans despite doping case Posted: 12 Apr 2016 02:37 PM PDT  MOSCOW (AP) — Russia says Maria Sharapova is still in its plans for the Olympic tennis tournament in August despite her provisional suspension for failing a drug test.
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| Brazil's Rousseff brands VP a traitor, denounces 'coup' Posted: 12 Apr 2016 02:28 PM PDT  Brasília (AFP) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff took off the gloves Tuesday, branding her vice president a traitor and coup-plotter ahead of an impeachment vote scheduled in Congress for this Sunday.
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| Man City ousts PSG to reach Champs League semis for 1st time Posted: 12 Apr 2016 02:16 PM PDT  MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Kevin de Bruyne sent Manchester City into the Champions League semifinals for the first time Tuesday, securing a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain to build on a 2-2 draw from the first leg.
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| Music producer David Gest dies in London at 62 Posted: 12 Apr 2016 02:16 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — David Gest, a music producer, reality TV star and former husband of Liza Minnelli, was found dead Tuesday at a London hotel. He was 62.
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| Environmental groups file lawsuit over pollution from U.S. aircraft Posted: 12 Apr 2016 02:12 PM PDT  By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday to press for faster action in setting limits on greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. aircraft. Earthjustice, the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth filed the lawsuit to force the agency to complete its "endangerment finding," a step in the EPA rule-making process that would allow the agency to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. aircraft.
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| Madrid reaches Champions League semis with Ronaldo hat trick Posted: 12 Apr 2016 02:05 PM PDT  MADRID (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat trick to lead Real Madrid back to the semifinals of the Champions League with a 3-0 win over Wolfsburg on Tuesday.
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| African Union happy with Chad polls, despite anomalies Posted: 12 Apr 2016 02:05 PM PDT  N'Djamena (AFP) - Chad's presidential election allowed voters to "freely choose their leaders" without fraud, despite certain anomalies, African Union observers said Tuesday, after polls expected to see President Idriss Deby extend his 26-year rule. "Overall, presidential election gave citizens the opportunity to freely choose their leaders .. in a peaceful atmosphere," said the report presented by the head of the AU observer mission in N'Djamena, Dioncounda Traoré of Mali. Thirteen candidates ran for the top job in Sunday's polls including Deby, who is bidding for a fifth term with the support of state institutions and a strong presence on the ground of his party, the Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS).
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| Nagbe has sprained ankle from de Jong, return uncertain Posted: 12 Apr 2016 02:46 PM PDT  PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Timbers midfielder Darlington Nagbe has a sprained left ankle and won't play in Portland's game against Dallas Wednesday night, becoming the latest player to miss time because of a Nigel de Jong challenge.
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