| 'Monstrous' violence in Syria as government excludes Aleppo from truce Posted: 29 Apr 2016 02:27 PM PDT  By Lisa Barrington BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria called local truces near Damascus and in a northern province on Friday but no halt to combat on the main battlefield in Aleppo, after a surge in fighting the United Nations said showed "monstrous disregard" for civilian lives. A new "regime of calm" would begin from 1:00 a.m. on Saturday and last one day in the capital's eastern Ghouta suburb and three days in the northern countryside of the coastal province of Latakia, the army said in a statement. A Syrian military source said Aleppo was excluded from the newly announced truces "because in Aleppo there are terrorists who have not stopped hitting the city and its residents ... There are a large number of martyrs in Aleppo, which is why the situation is different there".
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| Islamic State-linked hackers post target list of New Yorkers Posted: 29 Apr 2016 11:19 AM PDT  By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - A group of hackers linked to Islamic State has posted online a list of thousands of New York residents and urged followers of the militant group to target them, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. Federal agents and New York City police officers have been contacting the individuals on the list to inform them of the posting, but the source said law enforcement does not believe there is any credible threat. In a statement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said, "While our standard practice is to decline comment on specific operational and investigative matters, the FBI routinely notifies individuals and organizations of information collected during the course of an investigation that may be perceived as potentially threatening in nature." The list includes names, home addresses and email addresses.
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| U.S. strike on Afghan hospital in 2015 not a war crime: Pentagon Posted: 29 Apr 2016 12:21 PM PDT  By Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A deadly U.S. air strike in Afghanistan last year that destroyed a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders did not amount to a war crime but was caused by human error, equipment failure and other factors, a U.S. military report released on Friday concluded. Forty-two people were killed and 37 were wounded during an Oct. 3 strike that destroyed the hospital run by the international medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), known as Doctors Without Borders in English. An initial U.S. investigation in November found that U.S. forces had meant to target a different building in the city of Kunduz and were led off-track by a technical error in their aircraft's mapping system.
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| U.S. stands by South Korea defense talks despite China, Russia objections Posted: 29 Apr 2016 12:13 PM PDT  WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - The White House on Friday said talks to install a new anti-missile defense system in South Korea would continue in the wake of nuclear arms and missile tests by North Korea despite calls by China and Russia for the United States to back off. The United States and South Korea have begun talks on possible deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system after North Korea tested its fourth nuclear bomb on Jan. 6 and conducted missile tests.
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| Iran asks U.N. chief to intervene with U.S. after court ruling Posted: 29 Apr 2016 10:51 AM PDT  By Michelle Nichols and Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iran asked U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon on Thursday to convince the United States to stop violating state immunity after the top U.S. court ruled that $2 billion in frozen Iranian assets must be paid to American victims of attacks blamed on Tehran. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote to Ban a week after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, calling on the Secretary-General to use his "good offices in order to induce the U.S. Government to adhere to its international obligations." Zarif's appeal comes amid increasing Iranian frustration at what they say is the failure of the United States to keep its promises regarding sanctions relief agreed under an historic nuclear deal struck last year by Tehran and six world powers.
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| Oil rig helicopter crashes off Norway coast, 13 presumed dead Posted: 29 Apr 2016 04:54 PM PDT  By Stine Jacobsen and Ole Petter Skonnord OSLO (Reuters) - A helicopter ferrying passengers from a Norwegian oil platform crashed in the North Sea on Friday, apparently killing all 13 people on board, rescue officials said. The 11 passengers and two crew on the flight from the Gullfaks B oil platform, operated by Norway's Statoil , were all Norwegian except for one British and one Italian national, according to the Rescue Coordination Centre for Southern Norway. "The helicopter is completely destroyed," it said.
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| Former circus lions begin journey to South African refuge from Lima Posted: 29 Apr 2016 04:45 PM PDT  A blind lion, one that is missing an eye, and 31 others that had worked in circuses began the journey to a South African wildlife sanctuary from Lima, Peru, on Friday in what their rescuers called "the biggest transfer of animals in captivity" ever undertaken. "These lions have endured hell on earth and now they are heading home to paradise. This is the world for which nature intended these animals for," Jan Creamer, president of Animal Defenders International, said in a statement.
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| Home game: Gerina Piller leads in stormy Texas Posted: 29 Apr 2016 04:42 PM PDT IRVING, Texas (AP) — Gerina Piller made herself right at home Friday in the LPGA Tour's Volunteers of America Texas Shootout, shooting a 6-under 65 to take the lead in the suspended second round. |
| Argentines in mass protest against layoffs Posted: 29 Apr 2016 04:31 PM PDT  The demonstration virtually brought central Buenos Aires to a standstill amid a din of drums and chants. Two major labor unions, the CGT and CTA, joined forces in calling the rally against the conservative president's cuts to spending and public jobs. "The whole workers' movement is going to mobilize against layoffs, cuts and poverty, which is deepening under Macri's government," said Jose Rigane, leader of one of the branches of the CTA.
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| China ambassador says North Korean proposal merits study Posted: 29 Apr 2016 04:31 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — China's U.N. ambassador says a North Korea proposal under which Pyongyang would halt its nuclear program if the U.S. and South Korea suspend joint military exercises merits consideration. |
| China rejects Hong Kong port call by US carrier: Pentagon Posted: 29 Apr 2016 04:28 PM PDT  China has denied the US aircraft carrier USS Stennis and accompanying naval vessels permission to make a port call in Hong Kong, a Pentagon spokesman said Friday. It was not immediately known what prompted the Chinese action, but it comes amid growing tension between the two countries over Beijing's moves to assert its claims to much of the South China Sea. "We were recently informed that a request for a port visit by a US carrier strike group, including the USS John C Stennis and accompanying vessels, to Hong Kong was denied," Commander Bill Urban, a Pentagon spokesman, said.
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| UN proposal demands combatants protect hospitals and doctors Posted: 29 Apr 2016 04:23 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A proposed U.N. resolution that supporters hope will be adopted next week demands that all parties to conflicts protect medical workers, hospitals and medical facilities against violence and attacks — and face justice if they don't. |
| Argentina floods swamp soy crop; some must commute by boat Posted: 29 Apr 2016 04:21 PM PDT  VILLA PARANACITO, Argentina (AP) — Water levels in the flooded town of Villa Paranacito have risen so much that the best way for residents to commute is by boat.
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| Blocked African migrants finally move to C.Rica shelter Posted: 29 Apr 2016 04:19 PM PDT  San José (AFP) - Hundreds of US-bound undocumented migrants demanding permission to leave a border town in Costa Rica's south have finally accepted to go to a nearby shelter organized by authorities, officials said on Friday. "After a week of dialogue and a lot of coordination between agencies, more than 600 irregular migrants, most of them from Africa, agreed to be peacefully transported to Campo Ferial in Paso Canoas without it being necessary to use force," the Costa Rican presidency said in a statement. The migrants, many of whom are from the Democratic Republic of Congo, had been holding out in a border no-man's land in the town of Paso Canoas in the hopes of being allowed to continue their planned journey through Central America and Mexico.
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| Batum 'running on adrenaline' in Game 6 after birth of child Posted: 29 Apr 2016 04:18 PM PDT  CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Hornets forward Nicolas Batum said he's "running on adrenaline" as he prepares for Game 6 of Charlotte's first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat following the birth of his son early Friday.
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| 33 lions rescued from South American circuses head to Africa Posted: 29 Apr 2016 04:18 PM PDT  LIMA, Peru (AP) — Thirty-three lions rescued from circuses in Peru and Colombia headed back to their homeland Friday to live out the rest of their lives in a private sanctuary in South Africa.
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| Police: Older son said he killed father in California Posted: 29 Apr 2016 04:15 PM PDT  SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The older of two sons charged with murdering their parents at their home in California said he shot his father multiple times, but he did not shoot his mother, according to police.
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| 33 rescued lions to fly from Peru to S. Africa Posted: 29 Apr 2016 04:09 PM PDT  More than 30 lions rescued from abuse in Peruvian and Colombian circuses will fly Friday for South Africa, in what campaigners are calling the largest-ever airlift of big cats. The 33 lions, with names such as Zeus and Shakira, were freed after the use of wild animals in circuses was outlawed in Peru in 2011 and Colombia in 2013. Saved from the lion tamer's whip, they have been rounded up with the help of authorities by Animal Defenders International (ADI), an animal rights charity.
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| German govt, public workers settle wage dispute Posted: 29 Apr 2016 04:05 PM PDT  Germany's federal and local governments reached agreement on Friday with public sector workers on a pay rise, settling a dispute that grounded hundreds of flights during a warning strike two days earlier, sources said. More than two million workers are to receive a pay increase of 4.75 percent over two years, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said after a third round of talks with Germany's biggest services sector union, Verdi. The union, which had initially demanded a six-per-cent pay rise, hailed the result as "a compromise that clearly increases salaries, boosts purchasing power and helps make the public sector more attractive" to workers.
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| Gov: Puerto Rico braces for lawsuits as major default looms Posted: 29 Apr 2016 04:00 PM PDT SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico's governor said Friday that the U.S. territory is bracing for multiple lawsuits as a major default looms over a $470 million bond payment. |
| Rangers' Yu Darvish ready to make first rehab start Sunday Posted: 29 Apr 2016 03:56 PM PDT ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Texas Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish has a simple goal in his first rehab start on Sunday after last year's Tommy John surgery. |
| UK regulator suspends flights of Super Puma model that crashed in Norway Posted: 29 Apr 2016 03:52 PM PDT OSLO/LONDON (Reuters) - The British civil aviation authority said it was suspending flights of Airbus Super Puma helicopters of the same type that crashed off the west coast of Norway on Friday. "Following the accident, the UK CAA has issued an instruction to stop any commercial passenger flights by UK operators flying the Airbus EC225LP helicopter," a spokesman for the regulator said in an email. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; Writing by Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Andrew Heavens) |
| Red Bulls acquired defender Aurelien Collin from Orlando FC Posted: 29 Apr 2016 03:51 PM PDT HARRISON, N.J. (AP) — The New York Red Bulls have acquired veteran center back Aurelien Collin from Orlando City SC in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft. |
| Six-story building collapses as floods hit Kenyan capital, three dead Posted: 29 Apr 2016 03:47 PM PDT A six-story building collapsed in Kenya's capital late on Friday, killing at least three people, KTN television reported, and trapping many others after days of heavy rains and floods. Three children and one adult were taken to the city's Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenya Red Cross said on its Twitter feed. Privately owned KTN, running live footage from the scene, said 58 people had been rescued from the rubble, including a baby, but "most residents" of the building were trapped inside. |
| UN council discusses move to enforce North Korea sanctions Posted: 29 Apr 2016 03:40 PM PDT  UN Security Council diplomats were negotiating a draft statement on Friday that would push for tough sanctions on North Korea to be enforced worldwide after Pyongyang's latest test-firing of medium-range missiles. The draft statement, obtained by AFP, requests that all UN member-states report no later than May 31 on the "concrete measures" they have taken to implement the sanctions resolution. It directs a UN sanctions committee to "intensify its work to strengthen enforcement of resolution 2270," which was adopted in March after North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test and fired a rocket.
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| Ban on female guards to be lifted in 9/11 case at Guantanamo Posted: 29 Apr 2016 03:40 PM PDT  MIAMI (AP) — The military judge presiding over the Sept. 11 war crimes proceedings at Guantanamo Bay said in a ruling this week that he will eventually lift his order prohibiting female guards from having physical contact with the five defendants while transporting them around the U.S. base in Cuba.
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| Hounded by protests, Trump surges as Cruz scrambles Posted: 29 Apr 2016 03:27 PM PDT  Hundreds of protesters faced off with police on Friday at a California hotel where Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump was giving a speech, as tensions intensified ahead of the next key primaries. The second straight day of tumult could foreshadow what awaits in the run-up to June 7, when California -- the most populous US state -- votes.
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| Study analyzes impact of Washington state coal-export plan Posted: 29 Apr 2016 03:25 PM PDT  SEATTLE (AP) — A coal-export terminal proposed along the Columbia River in southwest Washington state could have unavoidable, significant impacts on greenhouse gases emissions, vessel traffic and rail safety, according to an environmental review released Friday.
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| Ibrahimovic scores 2 as French champion PSG routs Rennes 4-0 Posted: 29 Apr 2016 03:25 PM PDT PARIS (AP) — Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice as French champion Paris Saint-Germain beat Rennes 4-0 on Friday to equal its record points tally for a season with three games remaining. |
| Polish firm cuts contracts with 2 stud farms amid turmoil Posted: 29 Apr 2016 03:13 PM PDT WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A private Polish company said it has ended its contracts with two well-known state-owned stud farms after managers were replaced by the government, highlighting the turmoil surrounding the farms that feature Arabian and other horses. |
| Britain praises Cuba's Castro for embracing realities of modernity Posted: 29 Apr 2016 03:11 PM PDT  By Sarah Marsh HAVANA (Reuters) - Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on Friday praised Cuban President Raul Castro for embracing the realities of the modern world after a meeting with the Communist leader that marked a further step in Cuba's thaw with the West. "I was very struck by the fact that he described the Internet as the reality of our world, spoke positively about the benefits the Internet could bring." Cuba still has one of the world's lowest Internet penetrations with access expensive and restricted. Castro has vowed to "update" Cuba's socialist model but market-style reforms have been implemented haltingly and even reversed in some areas.
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| Chad opposition demands Deby reelection be declared invalid Posted: 29 Apr 2016 03:11 PM PDT  N'Djamena (AFP) - Six of Chadian President Idriss Deby's challengers in recent elections said Friday they had asked the country's Constitutional Council to invalidate his fifth-term win over voting irregularities. "We have sent a request for the invalidation of the April 10 election to the president of the Constitutional Council," one of the failed presidential candidates, former prime minister Joseph Djimrangar Dadnadji, told reporters. Provisional results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission showed Deby winning with 61.56 percent of the vote, compared to 12.80 percent for his nearest rival, Saleh Kebzabo.
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| Crotone promoted to Serie A for 1st time in its history Posted: 29 Apr 2016 03:05 PM PDT MODENA, Italy (AP) — Crotone secured promotion to Italy's top flight for the first time in its history Friday, drawing 1-1 at Modena in Serie B to spark scenes of celebration in the Calabrian city. |
| Augsburg still not safe, held 0-0 by Cologne in Bundesliga Posted: 29 Apr 2016 02:34 PM PDT BERLIN (AP) — Augsburg failed to take a decisive step toward Bundesliga safety as it was held to a goalless draw by already-safe Cologne on Friday. |
| Mozambique police probe reports of mass grave in rebel stronghold Posted: 29 Apr 2016 02:33 PM PDT  Police in Mozambique said Friday they were investigating reports of the discovery of a mass grave containing 120 bodies in a region which has seen clashes between the security forces and rebels. Local media reported Thursday evening that farmers in the central Gorongosa region had found a communal grave containing the bodies of villagers. A representative of Renamo, the rebel group that fought a 16-year war against the state ending in 1992 and later became an opposition party, confirmed the find to AFP.
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| Crashed helicopter had maintenance delayed twice in 2015: report Posted: 29 Apr 2016 02:28 PM PDT  An Airbus Super Puma helicopter that crashed off the Norwegian coast on Friday, killing at least 11 of the 13 people on board, had maintenance servicing delayed twice last year, an official at the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority told Norwegian daily VG. "I can confirm that this specific helicopter had seen its maintenance delayed. It is correct that there was an application for a so-called travel-time extension," a senior legal adviser at the Civil Aviation Authority, Hege Aalstad, told the website of VG.
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| Output at North Sea Gullfaks B platform shut after helicopter crash: Statoil Posted: 29 Apr 2016 02:28 PM PDT Production at the Statoil-operated Gullfaks B platform in the North Sea is shut for an undetermined period following a helicopter crash in which 13 platform staff are presumed dead, a senior company official said. "Production is shut at Gullfaks B so that we can take care of the (platform) staff in the best way possible," Statoil's head of development and production in Norway, Arne Sigve Nylund, told a news conference. |
| Britain's Labour under pressure in anti-Semitism row Posted: 29 Apr 2016 02:22 PM PDT  Britain's Labour opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn on Friday faced intense pressure over alleged anti-Semitism in his party less than a week before his leadership is tested by local elections. Corbyn announced an independent review into racism after senior party member and former London mayor Ken Livingstone was suspended for linking Adolf Hitler to Zionism. "There is no place for anti-Semitism or any form of racism in the Labour Party, or anywhere in society," the veteran socialist said.
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