| Air strikes on Aleppo hospital kill doctors and children Posted: 28 Apr 2016 11:48 AM PDT  By Lisa Barrington and Stephanie Nebehay BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) - Air strikes destroyed a hospital and killed dozens of people in rebel-held areas of Aleppo, including children and doctors, in an attack that a U.S. official said appeared to be solely the work of the Syrian government. The city of Aleppo is at the center of a military escalation that has undermined peace talks in Geneva aimed at ending the five-year-old war. U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura appealed to the presidents of the United States and Russia to intervene to salvage a ceasefire that was "barely alive".
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| U.S. military punishes 16 over 2015 Afghan hospital bombing Posted: 28 Apr 2016 02:54 PM PDT  By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military will announce on Friday that has it taken disciplinary action against 16 service members over a deadly Oct. 3 air strike in Afghanistan that destroyed a hospital run by the international medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, U.S. officials told Reuters. Instead, General John Campbell, who was then head of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, described a series of blunders that allowed the American forces to target the hospital, even though it was on a no-strike list. MSF, known as Doctors Without Borders in English, has in the past publicly cast doubt on the idea that the strike could have been a mistake.
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| U.S. military softens claims on drop in Islamic State's foreign fighters Posted: 28 Apr 2016 03:31 PM PDT  By Warren Strobel and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military on Thursday retreated from a top general's claim this week that the number of foreign fighters joining Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has plummeted by as much as 90 percent. Air Force Major General Peter Gersten, deputy commander for operations and intelligence in the U.S.-led coalition battling Islamic State, told reporters on Tuesday that the number of foreign fighters joining the group had fallen to 200 a month from between 1,500 and 2,000. U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Baghdad-based spokesman for the coalition, told Reuters that the official estimate is higher than the one Gersten offered, although he did not provide a precise figure.
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| Biden visits Iraq in show of support amid multiple crises Posted: 28 Apr 2016 03:33 PM PDT  By Roberta Rampton and Stephen Kalin ERBIL, Iraq/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden met Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other top officials in unannounced visits to Baghdad and Erbil on Thursday to show support for a government battling Islamic State amid political and economic crises. It was the first visit for Biden, the White House's point person on Iraq, since U.S. forces withdrew in 2011 after nearly nine years of occupation. Islamic State, also known as ISIL, seized large portions of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014.
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| North Korea test-fires two missiles, both fail: U.S. Posted: 28 Apr 2016 03:24 PM PDT  By Ju-min Park and David Brunnstrom SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea test-fired what appeared to be two intermediate range ballistic missiles on Thursday, but both failed, the U.S. military said, in a setback for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ahead of next week's ruling party congress. The isolated nation has conducted a series of missile launches in violation of U.N. resolutions ahead of the Workers' Party congress which begins on May 6. South Korea also says North is ready to conduct a new nuclear test at any time.
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| Libyan government urges factions to hold off attacking Islamic State in Sirte Posted: 28 Apr 2016 04:50 PM PDT  By Ahmed Elumami TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's U.N.-backed unity government called on Thursday on military factions to hold off from any campaign against the Islamic State-controlled city of Sirte until a unified military command structure is created. The statement came amid signs that factions from both eastern and western Libya could be gearing up for an advance on Sirte, although such operations have repeatedly been announced in recent months without taking place. Islamic State has held Sirte since 2015, taking advantage of a conflict between loose alliances of armed brigades allied to Libya's rival governments to seize a 250-km (155-mile) strip of coastline around the central Mediterranean city, which lies between the eastern and western power bases.
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| Mi Jung Hur tops South Korean-dominated leaderboard Posted: 28 Apr 2016 04:48 PM PDT IRVING, Texas (AP) — Mi Jung Hur topped the South Korean-dominated leaderboard Thursday in the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout, opening with a 5-under 66 in breezy conditions. |
| Mexico investigates top crime fighter over missing 43 students case Posted: 28 Apr 2016 04:47 PM PDT  One of Mexico's top crime fighters is under investigation over a key incident in the probe into the apparent massacre of 43 trainee teachers in 2014, the attorney general's office said on Thursday, adding a twist to a case that has shaken the country. The probe into officials including Tomas Zeron, head of the attorney general's criminal investigation agency, was triggered by a report by a panel of experts questioning the circumstances in which a charred bone fragment was discovered in a river. Zeron came under the spotlight on Sunday when the team of international experts presented video and photographs suggesting he was at the site where the bone was found a day before its official discovery, but made no report of his visit.
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| Brazil's Temer says a new government would focus on growth: TV Posted: 28 Apr 2016 04:42 PM PDT  Brazil's Vice President Michel Temer said on Thursday that the new government that he would lead if President Dilma Rousseff should be impeached would seek to implement immediate measures to spur economic growth. In an interview with TV network SBT, Temer said he believes he would find large support in the Congress for his first proposals and that job creation would be a priority.
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| British cyclist suspected of anti-doping violation Posted: 28 Apr 2016 04:38 PM PDT  An unnamed British cyclist is suspected of violating an anti-doping rule, the governing body of the sport in the UK said in a statement on Thursday. It comes as British Cycling is already in turmoil over the resignation of technical director Shane Sutton amid allegations he used sexist language and made derogatory comments, just months from the Rio Olympics. British Cycling said world governing body the UCI had informed it of a possible violation.
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| Iran calls on UN to help with US court asset award Posted: 28 Apr 2016 04:54 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Iran asked the United Nations on Thursday to intervene with the U.S. government over a Supreme Court ruling that allows nearly $2 billion in frozen Iranian assets to be paid to victims of terrorist attacks for which the Middle Eastern country has been blamed. |
| Missing students' parents demand Mexican prosecutor be fired Posted: 28 Apr 2016 04:32 PM PDT  MEXICO CITY (AP) — Parents of 43 college students who disappeared in 2014 called Thursday for the firing of the head of Mexico's criminal investigation agency, the AIC, for what they called missteps in the investigation.
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| UN says 9,333 killed since Ukraine conflict began Posted: 28 Apr 2016 04:53 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Nearly 10,000 people have been killed and more than 20,000 injured since the Ukraine conflict began in April 2014, a top U.N. official said Thursday. |
| US official visits Haiti to assess progress toward elections Posted: 28 Apr 2016 04:25 PM PDT  PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The U.S. State Department's special coordinator for Haiti arrived in the troubled Caribbean nation Thursday seeking to help resolve a political standoff that has left elections in limbo.
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| Ukraine at UN seeks to shore up ceasefire Posted: 28 Apr 2016 04:19 PM PDT  Ukraine told the UN Security Council on Thursday that a fragile ceasefire must be strengthened before progress can be achieved in political talks on solving the two-year conflict in the country's east. Deputy Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said the Orthodox Easter holiday on Sunday would provide an opportunity to shore up the truce after a surge of violations in recent weeks. The 15-member council held its first meeting on Ukraine since December following a rare pause after a series of marathon talks last year that often led to clashes between Russia and the United States.
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| UN: More aid deliveries in Syria, but people still starving Posted: 28 Apr 2016 04:16 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. humanitarian chief warned Thursday that despite increased aid deliveries in Syria, people are still starving without medical care and said the world should be "ashamed" at the devastating human toll in five years of "senseless" fighting. |
| Top Asian News 11:11 p.m. GMT Posted: 28 Apr 2016 04:12 PM PDT SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea attempted unsuccessfully to launch two suspected powerful intermediate-range missiles on Thursday, South Korean defense officials said, bringing the number of apparent failures in recent weeks to three. The reported failures come ahead of a major North Korean ruling party meeting next week at which leader Kim Jong Un is believed to want to place his stamp more forcefully on a government he inherited after his dictator father's death in late 2011. The launches were believed to be the second and third attempted tests of a Musudan, a new intermediate-range missile that could one day be capable of reaching far-off U.S. |
| Brotherly love: Colombia rebels swap politician for brother Posted: 28 Apr 2016 04:03 PM PDT BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — When leftist rebels in Colombia earlier this month freed a former governor held captive more than two years, President Juan Manuel Santos welcomed the release as a possible sign the National Liberation Army had sworn off kidnapping as peace talks with the group were getting under way. |
| Mexican general gets 52 years for torturing, killing man Posted: 28 Apr 2016 03:56 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (AP) — A judge has sentenced a general in the Mexican army to 52½ years in prison for ordering the torture of a suspect, then having his body burned, Mexico's federal judiciary council said Thursday. |
| Burkina cancels arrest warrant for ousted leader Compaore Posted: 28 Apr 2016 03:53 PM PDT  A top Burkina Faso court on Thursday cancelled an international arrest warrant for ex-president Blaise Compaore who fled the country after a popular uprising in 2014, the prosecutor general in Ouagadougou told AFP. The Court of Cassation also withdrew the arrest warrant for the speaker of parliament in neighbouring Ivory Coast, Guillaume Soro, wanted over a short-lived coup in Burkina last year, Armand Ouedraogo said.
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| Mexico's chief investigator probed over missing case Posted: 28 Apr 2016 03:51 PM PDT  The Mexican attorney general's office has launched a probe of its own chief investigator over his handling of a key crime scene in the much-criticized case of 43 students who disappeared in 2014. The inspector general opened an investigation on Wednesday into officials present at a river in southern Guerrero state on October 28, 2014, the attorney general's office said in a statement on Thursday. Tomas Zeron, the head of the criminal investigations agency, was led that day by a suspect to the San Juan river, in which the burnt remains of students were allegedly tossed by a drug gang.
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| Venezuela congress votes to censure food czar amid Posted: 28 Apr 2016 03:43 PM PDT CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's opposition-controlled congress voted Thursday to censure the country's food minister amid widespread shortages. |
| British Cycling confirm unnamed rider tests positive Posted: 28 Apr 2016 03:42 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — British Cycling says an unnamed rider has tested positive in a race. |
| Transgender civil servants in Brazil can use chosen name Posted: 28 Apr 2016 03:39 PM PDT RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian transgender and transsexual civil servants will now be able to use their chosen names while on the job. |
| British foreign minister visits Cuba in first such trip since 1959 Posted: 28 Apr 2016 03:35 PM PDT  Britain's foreign minister arrived in Cuba on Thursday in the first such visit since 1959, to hold talks on cooperation in "financial services, energy, culture and education", London announced. It follows last month's landmark visit by President Barack Obama to the Caribbean nation as part of a historic rapprochement between Cuba and the United States after 50 years of enmity stemming back to the Cold War. "As the first British Foreign Secretary to visit Cuba since before the Cuban Revolution in 1959, this is an opportunity to hear for myself what Cuba thinks about its present challenges and where it sees its future," Philip Hammond said in a statement.
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| Iran complains to UN about US ruling on assets Posted: 28 Apr 2016 03:18 PM PDT  Iran told the United Nations on Thursday that it reserves the right to take "counter-measures" in response to a US court decision to use Tehran's frozen assets to compensate US victims of terror attacks. "It is in fact the United States that must pay long overdue reparations to the Iranian people for its persistent hostile policies," wrote Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
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| Colombia's high court clears way for gay marriage Posted: 28 Apr 2016 03:16 PM PDT BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia's highest court has cleared the way for same-sex couples to marry in the conservative Roman Catholic nation. |
| Ding storms into snooker semi-final lead Posted: 28 Apr 2016 03:14 PM PDT  Ding Junhui raced into a 6-2 lead over Alan McManus as the Chinese star hit four centuries in the first session of the World Championship semi-finals on Thursday. The 29-year-old has been in brilliant form at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, eliminating Martin Gould and Judd Trump in the first two rounds before winning his quarter-final against Mark Williams 13-3 with a session to spare. Ding began his bid to reach the final in the same blistering form, with breaks of 100, 84 and 131 taking him into a 3-0 lead against the shell-shocked McManus, who at 45 is the oldest man to reach a Crucible semi since Ray Reardon in 1985.
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| Investor network says utilities should face climate change stress tests Posted: 28 Apr 2016 03:10 PM PDT  By Nina Chestney LONDON (Reuters) - Electric utilities should undergo stress tests to show how their business models are in line with limiting global warming, a global network of investors said on Friday. In a guide published on Friday, a network of more than 270 institutional investors with assets worth more than 20 trillion euros ($23 trillion) said they were concerned that utilities' strategies are not consistent with a global target to limit the planet's average temperature rise, compared with pre-industrial times, to below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit). With renewable energy generation expected to increase, and overall demand low due to efficiency improvements and modest economic growth, traditional centralized power generation is being pushed out of the merit order.
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| Liverpool suffers late loss to Villarreal in Europa League Posted: 28 Apr 2016 02:58 PM PDT  MADRID (AP) — Liverpool conceded in injury time in losing to Villarreal 1-0 in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals on Thursday.
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| Villarreal strike late to dent Liverpool Europa hopes Posted: 28 Apr 2016 02:50 PM PDT  Vila-real (Spain) (AFP) - Adrian Lopez's stoppage-time winner put Villarreal on the verge of reaching their first ever Cup final with a 1-0 win over Liverpool in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday. A game of few chances was decided by a brilliant goal at the death as Denis Suarez unselfishly squared for substitute Lopez to tap home from close range. Roberto Firmino fired Liverpool's best chance against the post in the second-half as Jurgen Klopp's men now need another famous European comeback at Anfield to reach the final in Basel on May 18.
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| Scores arrested in violence at French labor law protests Posted: 28 Apr 2016 02:41 PM PDT  By Brian Love PARIS (Reuters) - Violence broke out between police and demonstrators in several French cities on Thursday at protests against planned labor law reforms, days before legislators begin debating the proposals. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said more than 100 protesters had been detained country-wide and 24 police officers and military police injured. Protests took place in cities from Rennes in the north to Marseille on the Mediterranean coast.
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| The Latest: Biden leaves Iraq, next stop Rome Posted: 28 Apr 2016 02:35 PM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — The Latest on Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Iraq (all times local):
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| China imposes controversial controls on foreign NGOs Posted: 28 Apr 2016 02:34 PM PDT  China's Communist-controlled legislature passed a controversial law Thursday imposing new restrictions on foreign non-governmental organisations -- a measure met with "deep concern" in Washington. "The United States is deeply concerned that China's new Law on the Management of Foreign NGO Activities will further narrow space for civil society in China," US National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. "We urge China to respect the rights and freedoms of human rights defenders, journalists, business groups, development professionals, and all others who make up civil society, including by protecting the ability of foreign NGOs to operate in China," he added.
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| Strong earthquake rattles Vanuatu but no threat of tsunami Posted: 28 Apr 2016 02:28 PM PDT WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A strong magnitude-7 earthquake rattled the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu on Friday but authorities said there was no tsunami threat and no immediate reports of damage or injuries. |
| California brothers arrested in parents' shooting deaths Posted: 28 Apr 2016 02:24 PM PDT  SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Two California brothers were arrested Thursday in connection with the shooting deaths of their parents, who were popular fixtures at their mosque for three decades and had helped relatives emigrate from their native Bangladesh.
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| Obama expects U.S. to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees this year Posted: 28 Apr 2016 02:22 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Julia Edwards WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday he expected the United States would meet a goal of admitting 10,000 Syrian refugees before the end of the year despite delays and opposition from critics concerned about security implications. As Europe grappled with Syrians fleeing the country's civil war last autumn, Obama promised to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of fiscal year 2016. "We're going to keep on pushing," Obama said when asked on Thursday whether the goal would be achieved.
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| Amnesty urges probe into Chad troops missing after vote Posted: 28 Apr 2016 02:16 PM PDT  Amnesty International expressed alarm Thursday over the disappearance of more than 20 soldiers and police officers in Chad since this month's presidential election, calling on authorities to open an independent investigation. Amnesty and the Chadian League of Human Rights (LTDH) "are in the position to confirm more than 20 cases of suspected disappearances," the two groups said in a statement. Soldiers had voted on April 9, a day before the April 10 election that saw President Idriss Deby extend his 26 years in power, despite opposition claims that the vote was marred by widespread fraud.
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