| | |
| China's Xi urges political solution to Ukraine crisis Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 08:55 PM PDT BEIJING/BERLIN (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine and for all parties to exercise calm and restraint, during separate telephone calls with U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "The situation in Ukraine is extremely complex, and what is most urgent is for all sides to remain calm and exercise restraint to avoid an escalation in tensions," China's foreign ministry on Monday cited Xi as telling Obama. China has an "open attitude" towards any suggestions or proposals which can ameliorate the situation, and is willing to remain in touch with all parties including the United States, he said. Full Story | Top |
| Ex-rebel, right-wing rival in El Salvador election cliffhanger Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 08:16 PM PDT  By Nelson Renteria and Michael O'Boyle SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - A former Marxist guerrilla leader and his conservative rival were locked in an unexpectedly tight race in El Salvador's presidential election run-off on Sunday with the contest too close to call. Polls ahead of the run-off showed Salvador Sanchez Ceren of the ruling Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), the rebel group in the country's 1980-1992 civil war, the favorite to win with about 55 percent support. But he had only a razor-thin lead over his conservative challenger Norman Quijano, the former mayor of San Salvador, with returns in from 98.8 percent of polling stations. Sanchez Ceren had 50.08 percent support against 49.92 percent for Quijano. Full Story | Top |
| El Salvador opposition candidate cries foul, claims election win Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 08:00 PM PDT SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - El Salvador's opposition presidential candidate Norman Quijano on Sunday cried foul in a cliffhanger election that showed him only slightly behind his leftist rival, claiming victory and calling the country's election tribunal corrupt. Former rebel leader Salvador Sanchez Ceren of the ruling Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) had a wafer-thin lead over Quijano, the former mayor of San Salvador, with returns in from 98.4 percent of polling stations. Sanchez Ceren had 50.09 percent support against 49. ... Full Story | Top |
| Search planes scour sea for missing Malaysian jetliner Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 07:54 PM PDT  By Niluksi Koswanage and Nguyen Phuong Linh KUALA LUMPUR/PHU QUOC ISLAND, Vietnam (Reuters) - Search and rescue planes scoured waters off the southern tip of Vietnam on Monday, searching for any trace of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner 48 hours after it vanished from radar screens with 239 people on board. Questions mounted over possible security lapses and whether a bomb or hijacking could have brought down the Beijing-bound plane, after Interpol confirmed at least two passengers used stolen passports and said it was checking whether others aboard had used false identity documents. Flight MH370 disappeared in the early hours of Saturday, about an hour into its flight from Kuala Lumpur, after climbing to a cruising altitude of 35,000 ft. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said on its website late on Sunday that a Vietnamese navy plane had spotted an object in the sea suspected of being part of the Boeing 777-200ER, but that it was too dark to be certain. "We are sending more planes there this morning." Shares in Malaysia Airlines fell as much as 18 percent to a record low on Monday morning. Full Story | Top |
| Cyclone brushes eastern Australia before heading back to sea Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 07:47 PM PDT Meteorologists were on Monday monitoring a slow-moving cyclone that has intensified off the east coast of Australia, but said it was unlikely to affect a key mining and commodity export district. Cyclone Hadi was moving in an east-southeaster direction at about 4 km per hour (2.5 miles) at 0200 GMT and should develop a northeasterly track during the day, remaining well off the coast, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. Strong winds had eased along the coastline, where ports handle much of the 150 million tonnes (1 tonne = 1.102 metric tons) of coal mined annually in the Bowen Basin, as well as cargoes of base metals, livestock and agricultural goods, the bureau said. A second cyclone, named Gillian, was located 95 kms (60 miles) southwest of the northeastern tip of Australia -- some 1,000 km from the Bowen Basin and a major bauxite mining region -- and moving parallel to the coastline, according to the bureau. Full Story | Top |
| Merkel and Xi agree Ukraine crisis needs to be solved via dialogue Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 07:46 PM PDT German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed during a telephone conversation on Sunday that the crisis in Ukraine needed to be solved via diplomacy. "The chancellor explained the situation in Ukraine and efforts to come to a political solution of the conflict," German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a written statement. Xi said the Ukraine situation is "very complicated and highly sensitive" and needs to be weighed carefully, according to a statement from China's foreign ministry. China supports mediation efforts and constructive actions by the international community, he said, adding that the German side should continue communicating with all sides in a constructive manner. Full Story | Top |
| Mexico says kills drug kingpin reported dead years ago Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 07:10 PM PDT Nazario Moreno led a powerful criminal gang that has ravaged the western state of Michoacan, and was known as "El Mas Loco," or "The Craziest One." He had been reported killed by the government in a firefight in December 2010, but his body was never recovered and he was widely believed to be still alive. Government security spokesman Alejandro Rubido said after security forces discovered Moreno was still alive, he was tracked down and found to be the undisputed leader of the main drug cartel operating in the area, The Knights Templar. Officials said the identity of Moreno, who was killed near Tumbiscatio, a village about 50 km (30 miles) north of the port of Lazaro Cardenas, was confirmed via fingerprints. SURVIVOR Moreno led a drug cartel known as La Familia, which fractured after his reported demise in 2010. Full Story | Top |
| El Salvador election rivals in dead heat at halfway count Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 06:11 PM PDT SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Former Marxist rebel Salvador Sanchez Ceren was running neck and neck with his right-wing rival Norman Quijano in El Salvador's presidential election after 50 percent of polling stations had reported on Sunday. Both candidates had 50 percent of the vote, according to partial results on the country's electoral tribunal's website. (Reporting by Michael O'Boyle; Editing by Eric Walsh) Full Story | Top |
| Timeline: Malaysia Airlines flight to Beijing missing in Asia Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 06:11 PM PDT Here is a timeline of events in the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner which vanished from radar screens on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing early on Saturday: SATURDAY, MARCH 8 - Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 Flight departs at 12:21 a.m. (12.21 p.m. ET Friday), and is due to land in Beijing at 6:30 a.m. (6.30 p.m. ET) the same day - On board the Boeing 777-200ER are 227 passengers and 12 crew. - Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) says plane failed to check in as scheduled at 1721 GMT while flying over sea between Malaysia and Ho Chi Minh City. - Flight tracking website flightaware.com shows plane flew northeast over Malaysia after takeoff and climbed to altitude of 35,000 feet. - Malaysia and Vietnam conduct joint search and rescue operation. Full Story | Top |
| Magnitude 6.0 quake hits in Oaxaca, Mexico: USGS Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 06:06 PM PDT (Reuters) - A magnitude 6.0 quake hit in Oaxaca state in southwestern Mexico, the U.S. Geological Survey said on Sunday. The quake was centered 10 miles northwest of Pinotepa Nacional, Oaxaca, at a depth of 13.7 miles, the USGS said. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. (Reporting by Peter Cooney in Washington; Editing by Eric Walsh) Full Story | Top |
| Nuns held by rebels in Syria are freed, arrive at border: witnesses Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 06:00 PM PDT  By Firas Makdesi and Alexander Dziadosz JDAIDAT YABBOUS, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) - About a dozen nuns held by rebels in Syria for more than three months were released on Sunday and arrived back in Syria after traveling through Lebanon, officials and witnesses said. Witnesses at the Syrian border with Lebanon said the nuns arrived at the crossing late on Sunday night and headed toward Damascus in a minibus. Full Story | Top |
| Ex-rebel, right-wing rival in tight El Salvador election Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 05:51 PM PDT SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - A former Marxist guerrilla leader and his conservative rival were in an unexpectedly tight race on Sunday in El Salvador's presidential election run-off with the race too close to call after results came in from over one-third of polling stations. Polls ahead of the run-off showed Salvador Sanchez Ceren of the ruling Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), the rebel group in the country's 1980-92 civil war, with about 55 percent support. However, his conservative rival Norman Quijano, the former mayor of San Salvador, had 50. ... Full Story | Top |
| The children of Japan's Fukushima battle an invisible enemy Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 05:46 PM PDT  By Toru Hanai and Elaine Lies KORIYAMA, Japan (Reuters) - Some of the smallest children in Koriyama, a short drive from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, barely know what it's like to play outside -- fear of radiation has kept them in doors for much of their short lives. Though the strict safety limits for outdoor activity set after multiple meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in 2011 have now been eased, parental worries and ingrained habit mean many children still stay inside. And the impact is now starting to show, with children experiencing falling strength, lack of coordination, some cannot even ride a bicycle, and emotional issues like shorter tempers, officials and educators say. "There are children who are very fearful. Full Story | Top |
| Maldives court sacks elections officials for disobedience Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 05:25 PM PDT The Maldives Supreme Court on Sunday dismissed the country's top elections officials for failing to follow its guidelines during last year's presidential polls and for disbanding eight political parties ahead of a parliamentary election this month. The court ordered the head of the commission, Fuwad Thowfeek, and his deputy, Ahmed Fayaz, removed from their posts and asked the parliament to appoint replacements within six days. The election commission came under the seven-member court's scrutiny last year when it went ahead with a presidential run-off after three previous attempts were annulled or postponed by the court. Mohamed Nasheed, the country's first democratically elected president who was ousted in February 2012, narrowly lost a November 16 run-off to the current president, Abdulla Yameen. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Malaysia plane probe narrows on mid-air disintegration - source Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 05:23 PM PDT  Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished after climbing to a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing in the early hours of Saturday. "The fact that we are unable to find any debris so far appears to indicate that the aircraft is likely to have disintegrated at around 35,000 feet," said the source, who is involved in the preliminary investigations in Malaysia. Full Story | Top |
| Mexico kills drug kingpin reported dead years ago: official Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 04:49 PM PDT A Mexican drug lord who had been reported dead more than three years ago was killed in a shootout with federal forces in western Mexico early on Sunday, a government official said. Nazario Moreno, a leader of a powerful criminal gang that has ravaged the western state of Michoacan, had been reported killed by the government in a firefight in December 2010. The death of Moreno, who was known as "El Mas Loco," or "The Craziest One," marks another major victory for President Enrique Peña Nieto's government in its campaign to bring Mexico's powerful drug gangs to heel. Full Story | Top |
| Arab League, Abbas reject recognizing Israel as 'Jewish state' Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 04:46 PM PDT  The Arab League on Sunday endorsed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's rejection of Israel's demand for recognition as a Jewish state, as U.S.-backed peace talks approach a deadline next month. The United States want Abbas to make the concession as part of efforts to reach a "framework agreement" and extend the talks aimed at settling the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "The council of the Arab League confirms its support for the Palestinian leadership in its effort to end the Israeli occupation over Palestinian lands, and emphasizes its rejection of recognizing Israel as a 'Jewish state'," Arab foreign ministers said in a statement in Cairo. Full Story | Top |
| FBI not in on Malaysia crash probe; other U.S. agencies to arrive on Monday Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 04:21 PM PDT The FBI has not sent agents to Kuala Lumpur to assist in the investigation of a Malaysian Airlines plane that went missing on Saturday, according to a senior U.S. law-enforcement official, though representatives from other U.S. agencies and plane-maker Boeing are expected to arrive on Monday. So far, Malaysia has not asked for help from the FBI or the Department of Homeland Security, and the agencies have not sent investigators, a second official said. The FBI and other U.S. law-enforcement agencies have offered to help, the second official said, and they have forensic and analytic tools and criminal investigation expertise that likely could help the probe. Full Story | Top |
| National hero Shevchenko fails to unite Ukrainians and Russians Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 04:09 PM PDT By Natalia Zinets and Timothy Heritage KIEV (Reuters) - When President Vladimir Putin visited Ukraine a decade ago, he recited four lines of verse by national poet Taras Shevchenko to show his love of Russia's fellow Slavs and neighbors. Two years ago, Putin announced with great fanfare after talks with Ukraine's president that their two countries would celebrate the 200th anniversary of Shevchenko's birth together. As recently as December, Putin said preparations for the anniversary were in full swing and declared: "Taras Shevchenko was such a seer, who foresaw and bequeathed us so much." On Sunday, the anniversary passed, without any sign that Putin noticed. Celebrations of the poet, artist and writer - as revered in Ukraine as William Shakespeare is in Britain - were cast into the shadows by events further down the Black Sea Coast - in Crimea, where Russian forces have seized control from Ukraine. Full Story | Top |
| Japan, U.S. differ on China in talks on 'grey zone' military threats Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 03:43 PM PDT  By Nobuhiro Kubo, Linda Sieg and Phil Stewart TOKYO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As Japan and the United States start talks on how to respond to armed incidents that fall short of a full-scale attack on Japan, officials in Tokyo worry that their ally is reluctant to send China a strong message of deterrence. Tokyo hopes to zero in on specific perceived threats, notably China's claims to Japanese-held islands in the East China Sea, while Washington is emphasizing broader discussions, officials on both sides say. Washington takes no position on the sovereignty of the islands, called the Senkaku by Japan and the Diaoyu by China, but recognizes that Japan administers them and says they fall under the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, which obligates America to come to Japan's defense. Full Story | Top |
| Save the Children describes healthcare disaster in Syria Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 03:41 PM PDT  Newborns freezing to death in hospital incubators, doctors cutting off limbs to stop patients from bleeding to death, surging cases of polio: a new report published on Monday paints a dire picture of Syria's collapsing healthcare system. The report, issued by charity Save the Children, said some 60 percent of Syria's hospitals have been damaged or destroyed since the start of the three-year-old conflict and nearly half of its doctors have fled the country. Over 140,000 people have died in the war, which started as a peaceful protest movement against President Bashar al-Assad and degenerated into civil conflict fuelled by regional and international rivalries. In its report, Save the Children described the fallout from the collapse of the medical system as "horrific," as remaining hospitals and medical staff struggle to treat hundreds of thousands of people wounded by the fighting. Full Story | Top |
| Nuns yet to reach Syria after reported release by rebels Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 03:09 PM PDT By Alexander Dziadosz BEIRUT (Reuters) - An operation to release about a dozen nuns held by rebels in Syria for more than three months began on Sunday, security sources and church officials said, but hit an unexplained delay. A Lebanese security source had said the nuns had been taken to the Lebanese town of Arsal earlier in the week and would head to Damascus on Sunday accompanied by the head of a Lebanese security agency and a Qatari intelligence official. By late Sunday, however, they had not arrived at the Syrian border. Full Story | Top |
| Orthodox patriarchs urge peace in Ukraine, agree on council Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 02:57 PM PDT By Dasha Afanasieva and Tom Heneghan ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Patriarchs of the world's 250 million Orthodox Christians ended a rare summit in Istanbul on Sunday calling for a peaceful end to the crisis in Ukraine and denouncing violence driving Christians out of the Middle East. Twelve heads of autonomous Orthodox churches, the second-largest family of Christian churches, also agreed to hold a summit of bishops, or ecumenical council, in 2016, which will be the first in over 1,200 years. The Istanbul talks were called to decide on the council, which the Orthodox have been preparing on and off since the 1960s, but the Ukraine crisis overshadowed their talks at the office of spiritual leader Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Full Story | Top |
| Qatar-backed bloc says to rejoin Syrian opposition coalition Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 02:44 PM PDT By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - A large Qatar-backed bloc that left Syria's opposition National Coalition has reversed its decision and wants to rejoin, setting the scene for a clash with the group's Saudi-backed president, opposition sources said on Sunday. The 40-member bloc, which quit the 120-member coalition before Syrian peace talks began in Geneva in January, said it had returned to confront what it saw as its unfair exclusion from decision-making. Infighting within the opposition coalition has undermined rebel efforts to take on forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and has also played into the hands of rival, more hardline Islamist outfits which include foreign militants. Addressing Arab foreign ministers at an Arab League meeting in Cairo on Sunday, Jarba said the Geneva talks had suffered a "setback" and called for advanced weapons to be supplied to moderate rebel brigades. Full Story | Top |
| Loss of employees on Malaysia flight a blow, U.S. chipmaker says Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 02:42 PM PDT By Noel Randewich SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Employees of Freescale Semiconductor who were on a Malaysia Airlines flight presumed to have crashed were doing sophisticated work at the U.S. chipmaker, a company spokesman said on Sunday. The 20 Freescale employees, among 239 people on flight MH370, were mostly engineers and other experts working to make the company's chip facilities in Tianjin, China, and Kuala Lumpur more efficient, said Mitch Haws, vice president, global communications and investor relations. "It's definitely a loss for the company." None of Austin, Texas-based Freescale's most senior executives were on board the Boeing Co 777-200ER airliner that vanished from radar screens about an hour after it took off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on Saturday. The employees who were on board, 12 from Malaysia and eight from China, came from a range of disciplines and they were part of a broad push by Chief Executive Officer Gregg Lowe to make Freescale more efficient and cost effective, Haws said. Full Story | Top |
| Missing Malaysian jet may have disintegrated in mid-air: source Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 02:28 PM PDT  By Siva Govindasamy and Nguyen Phuong Linh KUALA LUMPUR/PHU QUOC ISLAND, Vietnam (Reuters) - Officials investigating the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner with 239 people on board suspect it may have disintegrated in mid-flight, a senior source said on Sunday, as Vietnam reported a possible sighting of wreckage from the plane. International police agency Interpol confirmed that two passengers on the flight had used stolen Austrian and Italian passports, raising suspicions of foul play. An Interpol spokeswoman said a check of all documents used to board the plane had revealed more "suspect passports" that were being further investigated. Malaysia's state news agency quoted Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as saying the passengers using the stolen European passports were of Asian appearance, and criticizing border officials who let them through. Full Story | Top |
| Bahrain says foreign 'terrorists' behind blast that killed three police Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 01:58 PM PDT Questioning of four men detained in connection with a bomb blast that killed three policemen in Bahrain last week showed they had been guided by "terrorists" abroad, public prosecutors said on Sunday. The Interior Ministry has said the blast occurred as police were trying to disperse protesters who were blocking roads in the village of Daih, west of the capital Manama. A statement from public prosecutors named four suspects who had been arrested, saying they had confessed to carrying out the bombing along with others. Bahrain accused Shi'ite Iran on Thursday of fomenting bloodshed in the kingdom, and an Iranian official accused the Sunni-ruled island state of torturing and jailing its critics. Full Story | Top |
| 'Dead' Mexican drug kingpin likely killed in shootout: official Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 01:40 PM PDT A Mexican drug lord who had been reported dead more than three years ago was likely killed in a shootout with federal forces in western Mexico early on Sunday, a government official said. Nazario Moreno, a leader of a powerful criminal gang that has ravaged the western state of Michoacan, was reported killed by the government in a firefight in December 2010. Authorities were checking on reports that Moreno was shot dead early on Sunday during a gunfight in Michoacan, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. If confirmed, the death of Moreno would be another victory for President Enrique Pena Nieto's government in its campaign to bring Mexico's powerful drug gangs to heel. Full Story | Top |
| Libyan rebels warn of 'war' if navy attacks oil tanker Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 01:22 PM PDT By Ulf Laessing and Ayman al-Warfalli TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Armed protesters in eastern Libya traded threats with the government on Sunday in a tense stand-off over the unauthorized sale of oil from a rebel-held port. A North Korean-flagged tanker, the Morning Glory, docked on Saturday at the port of Es Sider and local daily al-Wasat said it had loaded $36 million of crude oil. Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has said the military will bomb the 37,000-tonne vessel if it tries to leave. The rebels said any attack on the tanker would be "a declaration of war." The escalating conflict over the country's oil wealth is a sign of mounting chaos in Libya, where the government has failed to rein in fighters who helped oust veteran ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and who now defy state authority. Full Story | Top |
| Merkel raps Putin as Russian forces tighten grip on Crimea Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 12:56 PM PDT By Andrew Osborn SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) - Germany's Angela Merkel delivered a rebuke to President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, telling him that a planned Moscow-backed referendum on whether Crimea should join Russia was illegal and violated Ukraine's constitution. Putin defended breakaway moves by pro-Russian leaders in Crimea, where Russian forces tightened their grip on the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula by seizing another border post and a military airfield. As thousands staged rival rallies in Crimea, street violence flared in Sevastopol, when pro-Russian activists and Cossacks attacked a group of Ukrainians. Full Story | Top |
| Armed men seize another military airport in Ukraine's Crimea Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 11:55 AM PDT An armed pro-Russian force wearing military uniforms bearing no designated markings sealed off another military airport in Ukraine's Crimea on Sunday, a defense ministry spokesman on the peninsula said. The 80 or so-strong group, who were supporting 50 civilians, blocked off the entrance to the airport near the village of Saki and established machine-gun posts along the landing strip, the spokesman, Vladislav Seleznyov, told Reuters by telephone. Russian forces have taken control of strategic points in Crimea, including Belbek military airport and the main civilian airport in Simferopol, without bloodshed following the overthrow of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich on February 21 after a three-month revolt against his rule. There have been several standoffs with Ukrainian forces at military installations but the Ukrainians have not put up armed resistance. Full Story | Top |
| French accident board offers help recovering missing jet Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 11:54 AM PDT France's air accident board, which led a three-year investigation into the 2009 loss of an Air France jet in the Atlantic, has offered to help Malaysia and Vietnam with the recovery of a missing Malaysia Airlines plane. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has also offered to help with the recovery of the Boeing 777, which vanished en route to China with 239 people on board and is presumed to have crashed. Air France Flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris vanished in a storm on June 1, 2009, triggering an international hunt for wreckage and black boxes, in a case that bears similarities to the disappearance of the Malaysian jet. Full Story | Top |
| Putin defends Crimea's decision to hold referendum Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 11:50 AM PDT MOSCOW/BERLIN (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin defended breakaway moves by the pro-Russian leaders of Crimea on Sunday in a phone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron, according to the Kremlin. The three leaders spoke amid tensions on the Black Sea peninsula since the Moscow-backed regional parliament declared the Ukrainian region part of Russia and announced a March 16 referendum to confirm this. "Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin underlined in particular that the steps taken by Crimea's legitimate authorities are based on international law and aimed at guaranteeing the legitimate interests of the peninsula's population," the Kremlin said. Merkel, however, told Putin the referendum violated Ukraine's constitution and was against international law, a statement from the German government said. Full Story | Top |
| Libyan rebels say navy attack on tanker would be 'declaration of war' Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 11:36 AM PDT An armed movement which has seized oil ports in eastern Libya said on Sunday any attempt by government forces to attack a North Korea-flagged tanker loading crude at a terminal under its control would be "like a declaration of war". Abb-Rabbo al-Barassi, self-declared prime minister of the movement, warned Libya's navy not to "harm" the tanker docked at Es Sider, according to a statement. "Such a move would be a declaration of war," said the statement, sent to Reuters by a spokesman. Full Story | Top |
| Colombians vote for congress ahead of FARC peace accord Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 11:22 AM PDT  By Helen Murphy and Luis Jaime Acosta BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombians voted on Sunday for a new congress that will tackle legislation for the next president and play a historic role in creating laws to end five decades of conflict if peace is reached with Marxist FARC rebels. The ballot is likely to consolidate President Juan Manuel Santos as the frontrunner for a second straight term in a presidential vote on May 25, allowing him to continue talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) that could end the war and transform Colombia's political makeup. One of the Senate seats is being sought by Santos' right-wing predecessor, Alvaro Uribe, a fierce critic of the government who believes the FARC should be beaten on the battlefield. The still-popular Uribe is expected to win the Senate seat easily, raising the temperature in congress as he may seek to block legislation that could enable FARC rebels to enter the political system without serving considerable jail time. Full Story | Top |
| Ex-guerrilla favorite to win El Salvador's presidential election Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 10:35 AM PDT By Nelson Renteria and Michael O'Boyle SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - A former Marxist guerrilla leader is expected to win El Salvador's presidency on Sunday after promising to expand social programs for the poor and fending off his opponent's claims that he will impose radical policies. Recent polls showed Salvador Sanchez Ceren of the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), the rebel group in the country's 1980-92 civil war, with about 55 percent support heading into the second round run-off vote on Sunday. One of the wartime leaders of the FMLN, Sanchez Ceren faces conservative rival Norman Quijano, the former mayor of the capital, San Salvador, who trailed in polls with about 45 percent support as voting got under way. A Sanchez Ceren win would give the FMLN a second consecutive term and the affable, media-shy 69-year-old has vowed to build on its social programs, which include a glass of milk a day for children and free school uniforms, shoes and supplies. Full Story | Top |
| Putin foe Khodorkovsky says Russia is lying about Ukraine Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 10:34 AM PDT By Timothy Heritage KIEV (Reuters) - Former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, addressing thousands of people at the cradle of the uprising against Ukraine's Moscow-backed leader, accused Russia on Sunday of being complicit in police violence against protesters. To chants of "Russia, rise up", Khodorkovsky, who was jailed for a decade under President Vladimir Putin, told the crowd the Kremlin was lying to its own people by portraying the protesters as "neo-fascists" bent on violence. They did this in agreement with the Russian authorities - more than 100 dead, more than 5,000 wounded," Khodorkovsky told the crowd, who waved back with Ukrainian flags. The 50-year-old former executive, who fell out with Putin more than a decade ago, said it was clear that the Kremlin leader's portrayal of the protesters as dangerous extremists, drummed home by Russia's state-controlled media, was false. Full Story | Top |
| Scotland complains over British handling of nuclear leak Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 10:20 AM PDT By William James LONDON (Reuters) - A Scottish nationalist leader accused Britain on Sunday of disrespecting the Scottish parliament over its handling of a problem with a Scotland-based nuclear reactor, stoking tension between London and Edinburgh before an independence referendum. Alex Salmond, the leader of Scotland's devolved parliament, demanded an apology from Prime Minister David Cameron after not being told that an internal leak was found in 2012 at the Dounreay site in Scotland where a test reactor identical to those on Britain's nuclear submarine fleet is housed. Full Story | Top |
| Interpol probes more suspect passports from missing flight Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 10:11 AM PDT By Naomi O'Leary ROME (Reuters) - Interpol is investigating more suspect passports used to board a missing Malaysia Airlines flight, in addition to two European ones that were falsely used by unidentified passengers, the global police agency said on Sunday. An Italian man and an Austrian man were falsely listed as passengers on Beijing-bound flight MH370, which disappeared after takeoff from Kuala Lumpur early on Saturday with 239 people aboard. Authorities later confirmed the two men - Austrian Christian Kozel and Italian Luigi Maraldi - were not on the plane, and their passports had been stolen in Thailand within the last two years. An Interpol spokeswoman said a check of all documents used to board the plane had revealed more "suspect passports" that were being further investigated. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. won't recognize Crimea annexation: security official Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 09:45 AM PDT The United States will not recognize the annexation of Crimea by Russia if residents of the region vote to leave Ukraine in a referendum next week, U.S. national security official Tony Blinken said on Sunday. Crimean officials have called a vote for next Sunday to confirm that the region, which has an ethnic Russian majority, is a part of Russia in the wake of the ouster of Ukraine's Moscow-allied president last month. Blinken, U.S. President Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser, said on CNN's "State of the Union" program that Russia would come under increased international pressure as a result of the referendum in Crimea. Full Story | Top |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment