| Major powers fail to agree new date for Syria peace talks Posted: 17 May 2016 11:09 AM PDT  By Lesley Wroughton and Lisa Barrington VIENNA/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Major power foreign ministers failed to agree a new date to resume Syrian peace talks at a meeting on Tuesday, and the opposition said it would not come back to Geneva negotiations unless conditions improved on the ground. A pessimistic atmosphere pervaded the meeting in Vienna between countries that support President Bashar al-Assad and his enemies, all of which have committed to reviving a ceasefire and peace process that have been unraveling since last month. In a joint statement after the meeting attended by the United States, European and Middle East powers that oppose Assad as well as Russia and Iran which support him, the powers called for a full cessation of hostilities and access for aid.
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| Iraq's Shi'ite rivalries risk turning violent, weakening war on Islamic State Posted: 17 May 2016 10:11 AM PDT  By Ahmed Rasheed and Stephen Kalin BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A power struggle within Iraq's Shi'ite Muslim majority has intensified as attempts to form a new government flounder, threatening to turn violent and ruin U.S.-led efforts to defeat Islamic State. For the first time since the U.S. withdrawal at the end of 2011, Shi'ite factions came close to taking arms against each another last month, when followers of powerful cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stormed the parliament in Baghdad's Green Zone. Rival Shi'ite militiamen took up positions nearby, raising the specter of intra-Shi'ite fighting similar to events in the southern city of Basra in 2008, in which hundreds of people were killed.
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| After bombings in Baghdad kill 77, Sadr's forces deploy in some areas Posted: 17 May 2016 11:57 AM PDT  By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 77 people were killed and more than 140 wounded by three bombings in Baghdad on Tuesday, extending the deadliest spate of attacks in the Iraqi capital so far this year and driving Shi'ite fighters into the streets to defend some areas. Powerful cleric Moqtada al-Sadr blamed the government for failing to provide security and hundreds of militiamen loyal to him deployed in Sadr City and five other mainly Shi'ite areas where the worst of the recent violence has been centered. Islamic State claimed a suicide bombing which killed 41 people and wounded more than 70 in the northern district of al-Shaab as well as a car bomb in nearby Sadr City that left at least 30 dead and 57 wounded, police and medical sources said.
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| Combat power, allies best way to deter North Korea: U.S. military official Posted: 17 May 2016 03:04 PM PDT  By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea is on a quest to develop nuclear-armed ballistic missiles that can strike the United States, and the best way to counter Pyongyang is with combat power and strong alliances, the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific said on Tuesday. Admiral Harry Harris, the head of U.S. Pacific Command, told a South Korea support group in Washington that no threat in the region was "more dangerous than North Korea" and its leader Kim Jong-un. "He recently threatened pre-emptive nuclear strikes against the United States and other countries in the region," Harris said.
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| Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and supporters attacked Posted: 17 May 2016 07:04 AM PDT  By Andrew Osborn MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and fellow anti-corruption activists were attacked, thrown to the ground and kicked by a group of men at an airport in southern Russia on Tuesday, according to video posted on social media. Dmitry Slaboda, one of the Cossacks, said the original plan had been just to throw milk at Navalny and his supporters and to hurl insults at them, but that things had turned violent after one of them had elbowed an old cossack to the ground. "We just wanted to show them that there is no room here for Navalny who lives on American money." One of the activists could be seen lying prone on the ground after being kicked in the head.
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| Yemeni government suspends participation in peace talks, demands guarantees Posted: 17 May 2016 12:55 PM PDT  The Yemeni government on Tuesday suspended its participation in U.N.-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait and said it would only return if its opponents, the Houthis, committed to withdraw from cities they have seized since 2014 and hand over weapons. A wide gap still separates the Iran-allied Houthis and the Western-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after nearly a month of peace talks in Kuwait intended to end a year of war that has killed more than 6,200 people, half of them civilians. The talks center on government demands for the Houthis to hand over their weapons and quit cities captured since 2014 and the formation of a new government that would include the Houthis.
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| Van Gaal upbeat on future despite Man Utd boos Posted: 17 May 2016 04:51 PM PDT  Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal expressed confidence that he will still be at Old Trafford next season despite his team crawling to an underwhelming fifth-place finish in the Premier League. United beat Bournemouth 3-1 in their final fixture on Tuesday -- a game held over from Sunday due to a bomb scare -- but it was not enough to take them into the Champions League places as they finished below fourth-place Manchester City on goal difference.
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| Mexico leader seeks to legalize gay marriage nationwide Posted: 17 May 2016 04:47 PM PDT  President Enrique Pena Nieto on Tuesday proposed a constitutional reform that would legalize same-sex marriage across Mexico, making it join a handful of Latin American countries allowing such unions. Pena Nieto said he would send the landmark initiative to Congress after the Supreme Court last year declared it unconstitutional for states to ban same-sex marriage. "This way, equal marriage will be clear in our constitution," Pena Nieto said earlier at an event marking the national day against homophobia.
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| Kentucky too close to call as Clinton, Sanders duel Posted: 17 May 2016 04:42 PM PDT  Hillary Clinton sought to halt the momentum of Democratic presidential rival Bernie Sanders on Tuesday in two key primaries, but the race in Kentucky was too close to call shortly after polls closed. A pair of victories Tuesday would halt her slide and help reverse the narrative that her campaign is showing significant weakness ahead of an almost certain November showdown between Clinton and Donald Trump, the Republican Party's presumptive nominee.
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| Alaphilippe climbs to Stage 3 win in Tour of California Posted: 17 May 2016 04:38 PM PDT SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — Julian Alaphilippe no doubt remembered how close he was to winning the Tour of California a year ago. |
| Australian capsize survivor says he threw tools at crocs Posted: 17 May 2016 04:33 PM PDT DARWIN, Australia (AP) — A 72-year-old man told rescuers he threw spanners and spark plugs to keep crocodiles at bay after a crocodile capsized his boat in a northern Australian creek and his friend drowned, an official said. |
| Venezuela lawmakers reject Maduro's emergency decree Posted: 17 May 2016 04:15 PM PDT  Venezuela's opposition-controlled National Assembly on Tuesday rejected the state of emergency decreed by President Nicolas Maduro, deepening the crisis in the oil-rich South American country. The lawmakers, who voted by a show of hands, said the move "deepens the severe disruption of constitutional and democratic order that Venezuela is suffering through," and that Maduro had ignored the country's constitution in issuing the decree. The vote comes just a day before opposition-led marches are expected to demand that electoral officials proceed with a referendum on ousting the president, and as the country's opposition urges the public to defy the state of emergency.
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| Mexican president proposes legalizing gay marriage Posted: 17 May 2016 04:15 PM PDT  MEXICO CITY (AP) — President Enrique Pena Nieto proposed to legalize same-sex marriage in Mexico on Tuesday, a move that would enshrine on a national level a Supreme Court ruling last year that it was unconstitutional for states to bar such couples from wedding.
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| Bank economist picked for Brazil central bank governor Posted: 17 May 2016 04:10 PM PDT  RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Ilan Goldfajn, the chief economist at the Itau Unibanco bank, was named to head Brazil's central bank Tuesday amid the country's worst economic crisis in decades.
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| Venezuela opposition rejects Maduro's state of emergency Posted: 17 May 2016 04:06 PM PDT  CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leaders are rejecting a 60-day state of emergency declared by President Nicolas Maduro.
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| Plains All American Pipeline indicted in Santa Barbara oil spill Posted: 17 May 2016 03:48 PM PDT  By Steve Gorman and Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Houston-based pipeline company has been indicted in California on 46 criminal charges stemming from a major oil spill last year that forced beach closures and fouled miles of shoreline near Santa Barbara, prosecutors said on Tuesday. The indictment returned by a Santa Barbara County grand jury on Monday accuses Plains All American Pipeline LP of four felonies, including knowingly discharging a pollutant into state waters, county District Attorney Joyce Dudley told a news conference. The bulk of the remaining 42 misdemeanor counts contained in the indictment relate to wildlife losses blamed on the May 19, 2015, rupture of an oil pipeline that federal inspectors have found was badly worn by corrosion, officials said.
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| Morocco slams US human rights report as a list of lies Posted: 17 May 2016 03:39 PM PDT RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Morocco slammed the U.S. State Department's report on human rights in the North African kingdom as a list of inventions and even lies. |
| Exclusive: Skeptical Trump says would renegotiate global climate deal Posted: 17 May 2016 03:38 PM PDT  By Emily Flitter and Steve Holland NEW YORK (Reuters) - Republican presidential contender Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would renegotiate America's role in the U.N. global climate accord, spelling potential doom for an agreement many view as a last chance to turn the tide on global warming. A pull-out by the world's second biggest carbon-emitting country would hobble the deal reached in Paris last December by 177 nations, who for the first time in more than two decades found a common vision for curbing greenhouse gas emissions. "But those agreements are one-sided agreements and they are bad for the United States." Trump said he did not believe China, the world's top emitter of the carbon dioxide gas that many scientists believe is contributing to global climate change, would adhere to its pledge under the Paris deal.
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| Nervy Hull reaches playoff final for place in EPL Posted: 17 May 2016 03:27 PM PDT HULL, England (AP) — Hull will play Sheffield Wednesday for a place in the English Premier League next season after surviving a fightback by Derby in their League Championship playoff semifinal on Tuesday. |
| United beats Bournemouth 3-1, finishes 5th in EPL Posted: 17 May 2016 03:26 PM PDT  MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United's absence from the Champions League for the second time in three years was confirmed on Tuesday after a 3-1 win over Bournemouth in an English Premier League game hastily rearranged because of a bomb scare.
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| Suncor buys rare North Sea crude as Canadian fire roils supplies Posted: 17 May 2016 03:09 PM PDT Suncor Energy has bought a rare cargo of North Sea crude, Reuters data shows, sparking talk among traders that the Canadian company has been forced to import oil to feed its nearby refinery as fires across Alberta disrupt supplies. Suncor is importing nearly 1 million barrels of Ekofisk Blend crude on the Aspen Spirit, a Suezmax which is set to load around May 21 from Teesport in Northern England, according to shipping sources and Reuters Eikon data. While it's not clear where the crude was headed, Portland is the starting point of the Portland-Maine pipeline, which transports crude to Suncor's refinery in Montreal, Quebec in Canada. |
| UN warns that 7.6 million Yemenis are "one step" from famine Posted: 17 May 2016 02:59 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The director of U.N. humanitarian operations warned Tuesday that 7.6 million people in conflict-torn Yemen face severe food shortages and are "one step" from famine. |
| Donors promise $15 billion to Ivory Coast Posted: 17 May 2016 02:51 PM PDT  International donors and partner countries of the Ivory Coast meeting in Paris Tuesday promised more than $15 billion (13 billion euros) by 2020 to help finance the country's development. The Ivory Coast consultative group is meeting for two days of talks to seek financial aid for an ambitious 2016-2020 "national development plan" for the world's top cocoa producer. "This is in appreciation of the work already accomplished by the government of (President) Alassane Ouattara," Duncan told reporters, thanking the country's donors.
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| Northern Ireland arms seizure 'most significant' in years Posted: 17 May 2016 02:49 PM PDT  A "terrorist hide" discovered in Northern Ireland containing land mines, pipe-bombs and other weaponry is "one of the most significant seizures in recent years", police in the British-ruled province said Tuesday. The cache, which is believed to have been assembled by dissident republicans dedicated to creating a united Ireland by force, was discovered on Saturday evening by two people walking in Capanagh Forest near the port of Larne, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Belfast. In a statement Detective Superintendent Kevin Geddes of the Serious Crime Branch said the find had undoubtedly saved lives as a number of the devices were ready for deployment.
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| Libyan unity government forces retake checkpoint south of Misrata: spokesman Posted: 17 May 2016 02:44 PM PDT  Libyan military forces said on Tuesday they recaptured one of the main checkpoints south of the city of Misrata from Islamic State, reversing some of the gains the militant group made earlier this month. Seven members of the armed forces were killed and 19 were wounded, including three who died in a mine explosion as they took control of the checkpoint of Abu Grain, Misrata hospital spokesman Aziz Issa said. Islamic State fighters had overrun the Abu Grain checkpoint, town and several nearby villages after carrying out coordinated suicide bomb attacks on May 5.
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| French parliament adopts bill to ratify Paris climate agreement Posted: 17 May 2016 02:41 PM PDT  French parliamentarians in a near unanimous vote on Tuesday adopted a bill authorizing the government to ratify the landmark climate agreement reached by 195 nations in Paris in December. France, which is chairing the COP21 climate talks until the end of the year, is the first European Union member state to move ahead with the ratification of the agreement which aims to curb global warming. Environment Minister Segolene Royal, who presented the bill in parliament on Tuesday, told journalists earlier that she expected other EU member states to at least adopt the bill at ministerial level by end-June.
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| Thunder's Steven Adams apologizes for 'monkeys' comment Posted: 17 May 2016 02:37 PM PDT  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oklahoma City center Steven Adams understands that he has to live with the fallout of using a derogatory term to describe Golden State's guards.
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| Top Asian News 9:36 p.m. GMT Posted: 17 May 2016 02:37 PM PDT MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Nine years ago Father Amado Picardal helped bury a teenager from a slum family who was gunned down by motorcycle-riding assassins in the southern Philippine city of Davao. The death was among hundreds in the large port city blamed on an anti-crime purge some believed was secretly run by its mayor, Rodrigo Duterte. Memories of that violence flashed back in the Roman Catholic priest's mind when the tough-talking mayor triumphed in last week's presidential election on a pledge to replicate his Davao crime-busting style in the rest of the Philippines. "I felt sad and depressed," Picardal said of Duterte's rise. |
| Most Texas quakes likely caused by oil, gas activities: study Posted: 17 May 2016 02:35 PM PDT  Oil and gas activities may have caused nearly nine in 10 of the earthquakes Texas has experienced in the past 40 years, and the quakes have become more frequent as oilfield activity has picked up in the past decade, according to a forthcoming study. Of the 162 Texas earthquakes of magnitude 3 or greater between 1975 and 2015, a quarter were "almost certainly" induced by oil and gas activities, while 33 percent were "probably induced and 28 percent were "possibly induced," researchers led by University of Texas-Austin geoscientist Cliff Frohlich wrote. A sharp uptick in oil-linked earthquakes has caused popular uproar and regulatory scrutiny in northern neighbor Oklahoma.
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| Turkey parliament backs hotly-contested immunity bill Posted: 17 May 2016 02:34 PM PDT  The Turkish parliament on Tuesday approved, in a preliminary vote, a controversial bill that would strip dozens of deputies of their parliamentary immunity and which pro-Kurdish lawmakers say is directly aimed at driving them out of the legislature. Under current Turkish law, members of parliament have the right to full immunity from prosecution. HDP lawmakers are particularly vulnerable to prosecution on allegations of links or even verbal support for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is fighting a renewed insurgency against the Turkish state.
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| Van Gaal booed as Man Utd sign off in fifth Posted: 17 May 2016 02:28 PM PDT  Louis van Gaal was booed by his club's own fans after Manchester United ended their Premier League campaign by beating Bournemouth 3-1 in Tuesday's re-arranged Old Trafford fixture. In a game carried over from Sunday following a postponement caused by the discovery of a fake bomb accidentally left behind during a terror training exercise, United needed a 19-goal victory in order to steal past Manchester City into the fourth and final Champions League qualifying berth.
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| Chile to request US extradite 3 in killing of UN diplomat Posted: 17 May 2016 02:26 PM PDT SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The Chilean Supreme Court said Tuesday that it will ask the United States to extradite three former secret police agents accused of the 1976 kidnapping, torture and murder of a U.N. official in Chile. |
| Venezuela must defy state of emergency: opposition Posted: 17 May 2016 02:22 PM PDT  Venezuela's opposition on Tuesday urged the public to defy a state of emergency President Nicolas Maduro has decreed over a nation sapped by food shortages and a collapsing economy. Opposition leader Henrique Capriles also said the army must decide whether it is "with the constitution or with Maduro," a day before nationwide protests demanding the president's ouster through a referendum. Maduro said he called the state of emergency, which came into force on Monday for a renewable 60-day period, to see off threats to the country.
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| Senate approves Sept. 11 legislation despite Saudi threats Posted: 17 May 2016 02:20 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would allow families of Sept. 11 victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia, rejecting the fierce objections of a U.S. ally and setting Congress on a collision course with the Obama administration.
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| Mexico's president proposes allowing same sex marriage nationally Posted: 17 May 2016 02:15 PM PDT  Mexico's president on Tuesday proposed allowing same sex marriage nationally, the latest in a series of progressive policies in a traditionally conservative country. The presidency said on Twitter that President Enrique Pena Nieto had "announced the signing of a reform initiative which includes the recognition of the right to get married without any form of discrimination." Same sex marriage is currently permitted in Mexico City, as well as in several states, including Coahuila, Quintana Roo, Jalisco, Nayarit, Chihuahua and Sonora. Mexico's Supreme Court said last year that laws restricting marriage to a man and woman were unconstitutional and a Supreme Court judge urged states to legalize gay marriage.
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| How the Dow Jones industrial average fared on Tuesday Posted: 17 May 2016 02:11 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell across industries on Tuesday, erasing gains from a rally a day earlier, as investors sifted through economic reports for clues as to when the era of low interest rates may end. Nine of 10 sectors of the Standard and Poor's 500 closed lower. Consumer goods companies and utilities fell the most. |
| Brazil names new central bank head, eyes reforms Posted: 17 May 2016 02:11 PM PDT  Brasília (AFP) - Brazil's interim government on Tuesday named economist Ilan Goldfajn as the new head of the central bank, a key post in the fight to coax the giant economy out of recession. Israeli-born Goldfajn, 50, will be a lynchpin in efforts to revitalize the country after Michel Temer assumed the presidency in place of Dilma Rousseff, suspended last week to face an impeachment trial that she says amounts to a coup. The Senate must confirm the banker's nomination.
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| Tokyo beats Shanghai 2-1, Melbourne and Jeonbuk draw in ACL Posted: 17 May 2016 02:08 PM PDT TOKYO (AP) — Kota Mizunuma scored twice as FC Tokyo opened the round of 16 in the Asian Champions League by beating Shanghai SIPG 2-1 on Tuesday. |
| Maldives cuts diplomatic ties with Iran Posted: 17 May 2016 02:08 PM PDT COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The government of the Maldives said Tuesday it has decided to sever 40-year-old diplomatic ties with Iran, saying the country's policies in the Middle East are detrimental to peace and security in the region. |
| U.N. says $1.8 billion Yemen humanitarian appeal only 16 percent funded Posted: 17 May 2016 02:06 PM PDT The United Nations said on Tuesday its humanitarian aid appeal for $1.8 billion for Yemen was only 16 percent funded and some 7.6 million people were on the verge of famine in the war-torn impoverished Arabian Peninsula state. A Saudi-led coalition began a military campaign in Yemen in March last year with the aim of preventing Iran-allied Houthi rebels and forces loyal to Yemen's ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh from taking control of the country. U.N. aid operations director John Ging told reporters in New York that more than 10 million people rely on international support for basic medical services. |
