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| Victims of Washington mudslide remembered at tearful church services Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 12:36 PM PDT  By Jonathan Kaminsky and Bryan Cohen DARRINGTON, Washington (Reuters) - Local churches offered prayers on Sunday for the victims of last week's devastating mudslide in Washington state and words of solace for grieving families and friends, many of whom are still waiting for news of missing loved ones. The number of missing fell to 30 from 90 as officials were able to account for dozens of people as "safe and well." Heavy rains and flooding made efforts difficult for searchers combing through debris, officials said, after a rain-soaked hillside above the north fork of the Stillaguamish River gave way without warning and sent a wall of mud cascading over dozens of homes near the rural Washington town of Oso. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. House panel: GM, NHTSA documents related to recalls 'unsettling' Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 12:25 PM PDT  Thousands of documents from General Motors and a federal agency on the automaker's faulty ignition switches provide an "unsettling picture," according to a U.S. congressional committee that received the information. The House Energy and Commerce Committee said GM had submitted more than 200,000 documents on the ignition switches that have led to the recall of 2.6 million autos and are linked to 12 deaths. The panel said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration submitted about 6,000 documents. The documents, said Representative Fred Upton, the panel's chairman, "paint an unsettling picture." On Tuesday, the committee will hold its first public hearing on the recalls. Full Story | Top |
| Libyan parliament passes law to organize new elections Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 12:02 PM PDT  Last month, the General National Congress (GNC) assembly agreed to hold early elections, in an apparent effort to assuage ordinary Libyans angry over political chaos in the country nearly three years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi. It is now up to the elections commission to set a date. Full Story | Top |
| Hollande's Socialists set to hold Paris town hall: exit poll Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 11:58 AM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - President Francois Hollande's ruling Socialists looked set to retain control of Paris town hall in local elections on Sunday as their candidate Anne Hidalgo won 54.5 percent of votes, according to a TV exit poll. If confirmed, the victory would be some consolation for Hollande's ruling party, which according to partial tallies and exit polls was on track to lose its grip on dozens of major towns elsewhere across France. (Reporting by Marion Douet; editing by Mark John) Full Story | Top |
| French left loses dozens of towns in local elections: exit poll Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 11:48 AM PDT French President Francois Hollande's ruling Socialists and their allies scored 42 percent of the total vote in local elections on Sunday, trailing opposition conservatives on 49 percent, a TV exit poll by survey group BVA showed. The National Front, which fielded candidates in a minority of municipalities across France, scored a total nine percent of the vote in the second-round run-offs, BVA estimated. Full Story | Top |
| Philippine ship dodges China blockade to reach South China Sea outpost Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 11:43 AM PDT By Erik de Castro and Roli Ng SECOND THOMAS SHOAL, South China Sea (Reuters) -The Philippine government vessel made a dash for shallow waters around the disputed reef in the South China Sea, evading two Chinese coastguard ships trying to block its path to deliver food, water and fresh troops to a military outpost on the shoal. It's also a reminder of how assertive China has become in pressing its claims to disputed territory far from its mainland. "If we didn't change direction, if we didn't change course, then we would have collided with them," Ferdinand Gato, captain of the Philippine vessel, a civilian craft, told Reuters after his boat had anchored on the Second Thomas Shoal under a hot sun. China, which claims 90 percent of the South China Sea, says the shoal is part of its territory. Full Story | Top |
| Erdogan says Turkish vote will bolster him in power struggle Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 11:34 AM PDT  By Ayla Jean Yackley and Humeyra Pamuk ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday's bitterly contested local elections would affirm his legitimacy in battling graft allegations and security leaks he blames on "traitors" within the Turkish state. The municipal elections have become a crisis referendum on Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted AK Party after weeks of scandal he has cast as a "dirty campaign" of espionage to implicate him in corruption and topple him after more than a decade in power. AKP needs to exceed its 2009 result of 38.8 percent to assert Erdogan's authority for a power struggle certain to continue after the polls. Istanbul and Ankara, the two biggest cities, are expected to be particularly close. Full Story | Top |
| France's National Front on track for local election record Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 11:27 AM PDT  By Michel Rose PARIS (Reuters) - France's anti-immigrant National Front was on track to win at least four towns in local elections, exit polls showed on Sunday, beating its previous record amid public dissatisfaction with President Francois Hollande's Socialists. Candidates backed by the National Front (FN) party looked set to secure the southern towns of Beziers and Frejus, the exit polls and partial tallies showed. The party run by Marine Le Pen had already made a breakthrough in last week's first round of voting by winning power in the northern town of Henin-Beaumont. Full Story | Top |
| Chechens offer weary welcome to new Crimean compatriots Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 11:26 AM PDT By Thomas Grove GROZNY, Russia (Reuters) - Days before Crimea voted in a referendum to join Russia from Ukraine, Adam, a Chechen soldier, was ordered to go to the Black Sea peninsula to defend Russia's interests. He and about 200 other soldiers from his special battalion, grouping ethnic Chechens, were mobilized on March 12 and spent two weeks in the Crimean city of Yevpatoria. The mission, which mainly involved guarding buildings, was an illustration of how far the Chechnya region in Russia's North Caucasus is ready to go to show allegiance to Russian President Vladimir Putin, 14 years after he crushed its separatist drive. But many Chechens feel no love for Russia and have a sardonic message for their new Crimean compatriots: welcome to Russia, we hope you like it. Full Story | Top |
| Accused ‘Craigslist killer' says two potential victims escaped death: paper Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 11:15 AM PDT By David DeKok HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - A woman dubbed the so-called Craigslist killer suspect, who is accused of luring a man to his death through the classified ad website, claims two other men responded to her online post but failed to show up to their planned meetings, according to a jailhouse interview published on Sunday. The accused killer, Miranda Barbour, 19, who in an earlier interview said she had killed at least 22 people, named Big Lake, Alaska; "They are looking for full bodies," Barbour told reporter Francis Scarcella in the jailhouse interview. But they will find body parts." Barbour and her husband, 22-year-old Elytte Barbour, have pleaded not guilty to the stabbing and strangling in November of Troy LaFerrara, 42, whose body was found dumped in an alley in Sunbury. Full Story | Top |
| French far-right to win more towns in elections: exit polls Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 11:08 AM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - Candidates backed by France's far-right National Front (FN) party were on track to secure victories in the southern towns of Beziers and Frejus in local elections on Sunday, exit polls and partial tallies showed. Amid broad dissatisfaction with President Francois Hollande's ruling Socialists, the FN already made a breakthrough in last week's first round of voting by winning power in the northern town of Henin-Beaumont. (Reporting by Michel Rose; editing by Mark John) Full Story | Top |
| ECB wrestles with 'danger zone' inflation Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 11:05 AM PDT  By Philip Blenkinsop BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Central Bank's dilemma over barely rising prices seems likely to dominate a week starting with a euro zone inflation estimate and ending with U.S. jobs figures, the monetary policy driver on the other side of the Atlantic. After more than a month of East-West tensions centered on Russia's annexation of Crimea, U.S. President Barack Obama and Russia's Vladimir Putin finally spoke to each other on Friday, suggesting a possible diplomatic path out of crisis. With geopolitical issues calmer, even if not resolved, the financial markets are more likely to be guided more by global economic data and central bank deliberations. The ECB's Governing Council meets on Thursday and, although the vast majority of economists expect it to hold interest rates , it is wrestling with a response to inflation persistently below its target of below but close to 2 percent. Full Story | Top |
| Fans rampage after University of Arizona basketball defeat Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 11:02 AM PDT By David Schwartz PHOENIX, Arizona (Reuters) - Basketball fans went on a rampage, lobbing bottles and firecrackers, outside the University of Arizona after the school's team narrowly lost to the University of Wisconsin in an NCAA tournament game, police said on Sunday. Tucson police in riot gear used pepper spray on the unruly crowd late on Saturday and arrested 15 people on charges of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and unlawful assembly, a police statement said. The Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Arizona Wildcats 64-63 in overtime at the National Collegiate Athletic Association men's tournament game. Full Story | Top |
| Top NATO commander cuts short U.S. visit, eyes on Russian troops Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 10:37 AM PDT  By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has sent America's top general in Europe back early from a trip to Washington in what a spokesman on Sunday called a prudent step given Russia's "lack of transparency" about troop movements across the border with Ukraine. General Philip Breedlove, who is both NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe and the head of the U.S. military's European Command, had been due to testify before Congress this week. "(Hagel) considered Breedlove's early return the prudent thing to do, given the lack of transparency and intent from Russian leadership about their military movements across the border," Rear Admiral John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, told Reuters, which was first to report the decision. "More broadly, he felt it was important for Gen. Breedlove to continue our efforts to consult with NATO allies, and to discuss specific ways to provide additional reassurance for our NATO allies in Eastern Europe." U.S. officials, speaking last week on condition of anonymity, expressed deep concern about the massing of what they estimate are up to 40,000 Russian troops on Ukraine's border. Full Story | Top |
| Ten dead as Chadian troops open fire on Bangui civilians - officials Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 10:26 AM PDT At least 10 people were killed and dozens wounded when Chadian troops opened fire on civilians in Central African Republic's capital Bangui, officials said on Sunday. The troops were driving into the city, scarred by religious conflict over the past year, to escort a convoy of Muslims back to Chad, having earlier crossed the countries' border some 500 km (300 miles) to the north in about 15 army vehicles. People panicked and started running and ducking for cover," said Sebastien Wenezoui, a spokesman for the country's Christian militia, the anti-balaka. Saturday's shooting was the latest in a string of violent incidents involving Chadian troops, who the anti-balaka accuse of siding with Muslims and Seleka rebels and preying upon the local Christian population. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. sends top general back to Europe over Ukraine crisis Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 10:17 AM PDT  By Alexei Anishchuk and Lesley Wroughton MOSCOW/PARIS (Reuters) - America's top general in Europe has been sent back early from a trip to Washington in what the Pentagon on Sunday called a prudent step given Russia's "lack of transparency" about troop movements across the border with Ukraine. General Philip Breedlove, who is both NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe and the head of the U.S. military's European Command, arrived in Europe Saturday evening. The pentagon announcement came as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met in Paris seeking to hammer out the framework of a deal to reduce tensions over Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt to hold May 26-27 presidential election Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 10:11 AM PDT  By Shadia Nasralla CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians will vote on May 26-27 in a presidential election that Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to win easily, meaning the former army chief who deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi could be sworn in as head of state by early June. Widely seen as Egypt's de facto leader since he deposed Mursi after mass protests against his rule, Sisi enjoys backing from supporters who see him as Egypt's saviour. But he is viewed by the Islamist opposition as the mastermind of a coup that ignited the worst internal strife in Egypt's modern history. It will be the second time Egyptians have voted in a presidential election in less than two years. Full Story | Top |
| Iraq electoral commission retracts resignation before vote Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 09:45 AM PDT  Members of Iraq's electoral commission retracted their resignations on Sunday, having threatened to quit en masse in protest against political interference just one month before a nationwide vote. The entire board of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) tendered its resignation last week, further complicating the outlook for polls that have already been clouded by violence across the country. In a statement following a visit by the United Nations' envoy to Iraq, IHEC said: "The decision has been taken to withdraw the resignations and resume our duties in full confidence". IHEC said it had found itself caught between conflicting rulings from parliament and the judiciary regarding the exclusion of certain candidates from the election, due on April 30. Full Story | Top |
| Saudi dynasty moves to forestall succession crisis Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 09:29 AM PDT  By Angus McDowall RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's appointment of Prince Muqrin as deputy crown prince is a first step towards addressing its biggest dynastic challenge for 50 years and forestalling a possible succession crisis in the world's top oil exporter. The ruling al-Saud family is fast approaching the moment when it must decide how to jump down a generation from a line of brothers born to the country's founder King Abdulaziz to their sons and nephews, a process fraught with difficulty. There should be clarity and there should be a correct approach to succession," said Khaled al-Maeena, editor at large of Saudi Gazette, an English-language daily. Although any jostling for power among the 40-odd branches of King Abdulaziz's descendents is kept carefully hidden behind the ornate doors of royal palaces, Saudis with royal connections say some members of the family worry about being sidelined. Full Story | Top |
| Argentina to receive $1 billion loan from Goldman Sachs: newspaper Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 09:26 AM PDT  Argentina is closing in on a deal to receive around $1 billion in loans from investment bank Goldman Sachs and is in talks with other international banks about similar deals, local newspaper Pagina/12 reported on Sunday. The paper, which has close ties with the government of President Cristina Fernandez, said the two-year loan would be announced in the next few days and carry an annual interest rate of 6.5 percent. It would be the first time in more than a decade the country has received a substantial loan from international creditors and comes as the government seeks cash to avoid a further devaluation of the peso. Dollars have been scarce in Argentina due to capital flight, weak exports, and low competitiveness because of high inflation. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine's 'Chocolate King' could edge new-look Yulia for president Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 08:54 AM PDT  By Richard Balmforth KIEV (Reuters) - Gone is the trademark peasant-style hair braid, though the familiar voice and the assured, rapid-fire delivery tell you Yulia Tymoshenko is back as a political force in Ukraine. But instead of the fiery Tymoshenko, it is Petro Poroshenko, a 48-year-old billionaire known as the 'Chocolate King' who is now the front-runner for a May 25 presidential election which the new leadership hopes will unite a divided country amid growing pressure from Russia hostile to its political changes. Poroshenko, whose chain of confectionery shops puts him in Ukraine's top 10 rich list, received a huge boost at the weekend when popular boxer-turned-politician Vitaly Klitschko pulled out of the race and endorsed him for the presidency. Even before Klitschko bowed out on Saturday, Poroshenko, a beefy man with a thick shock of grey hair, was well ahead in ratings on 25 per cent, with Klitschko on 9 percent and Tymoshenko trailing with 8.3 percent. Full Story | Top |
| Over 100,000 protest in Taiwan over China trade deal Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 08:52 AM PDT  By Michael Gold and James Pomfret TAIPEI (Reuters) - More than 100,000 protesters took to the streets of Taiwan's capital on Sunday as a two-week-long campaign against a trade pact with China gathered steam, piling further pressure on the island's leader. The rally in Taipei - where many were dressed in black and some clutched sunflowers to symbolize hope - was one of the largest in recent years in Taiwan, an island that split from China over six decades ago after a civil war. Protesters say the deal to open 80 of China's service sectors to Taiwan and 64 Taiwanese sectors to China was rushed through, and could leave Taiwan increasingly beholden to China's Communist Party leaders. Full Story | Top |
| Long search looms for Malaysia jet, families renew protests Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 08:25 AM PDT  By Matt Siegel and Rujun Shen HMAS STIRLING NAVAL BASE, Australia/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - T he search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 could take years, U.S. Navy officials suggested on Sunday, as search and rescue officials raced to locate the plane's black box recorder days before its batteries are set to die. Ten ships and as many aircraft are searching a massive area in the Indian Ocean west of Perth, trying to find some trace of the aircraft, which went missing more than three weeks ago and is presumed to have crashed. U.S. Navy Captain Mark Matthews, who is in charge of the U.S. Towed Pinger Locator (TPL), told journalists at Stirling Naval Base near Perth that the lack of information about where the plane went down seriously hampers the ability to find it. "Right now the search area is basically the size of the Indian Ocean, which would take an untenable amount of time to search," he said. Full Story | Top |
| Six killed in clashes during municipal elections in Turkey Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 08:20 AM PDT Six people were killed on Sunday in clashes between groups backing rival candidates in Turkey's municipal elections, which turned into a referendum on the rule of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. Security officials said four people were killed in a gun fight between two families in the village of Yuvacik in the eastern province of Sanliurfa, which borders Syria. Such clashes have occurred at previous local elections. Tensions rose in Turkey in the build-up to the elections, with Erdogan trying to fight off graft allegations and stem a stream of damaging security leaks. Full Story | Top |
| Germany mulls military support for NATO's eastern European states Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 08:11 AM PDT  Germany is considering offering military support to some eastern European members of the NATO defense alliance in response to Russia's seizure of Crimea, news magazine Der Spiegel reported at the weekend. Germany, whose diplomatic clout falls far short of its economic might on the world stage, has said it wants to take a more active international role and Chancellor Angela Merkel and her foreign minister have been active in trying to resolve the Ukraine crisis. However, Germany's Nazi past makes military missions overseas a very sensitive subject. Full Story | Top |
| Minister says Egypt energy subsidy bill to rise by 10-12 percent next year Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 08:03 AM PDT  Egypt's Finance Minister said on Sunday spending on energy subsidies next year will be 10-12 percent above the 130 billion Egyptian pounds ($18.66 billion) budgeted for the current fiscal year, unless immediate reforms are made. Successive governments have stressed the importance of reducing energy subsidies, which account for more than 20 percent of state spending, but none have taken concrete steps to do so. Finance Minister Hany Kadry Dimian did not say whether any reforms would be implemented during the next fiscal year that begins in July, according to state news agency MENA. Full Story | Top |
| Merchant ship shot at in Strait of Hormuz Sunday- NATO Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 07:40 AM PDT Unknown assailants in a speedboat shot at a merchant vessel as it sailed through the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman on Sunday, the NATO Shipping Centre (NSC) said. The unidentified merchant ship reported being shot at twice from close range from a speedboat carrying six people armed with machine guns, on Sunday morning. Although suspected Somali pirates commonly attack merchant shipping in the Gulf of Aden and Somali Basin, attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz - a vital oil and gas shipping route - are rare. The attack happened on the Gulf of Oman side of the Strait of Hormuz, about 90 minutes after a different merchant ship was approached by two speedboats with crews wearing military clothing, NATO said. Full Story | Top |
| After years of probes, SEC fraud trial over Texas tycoons to start Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 06:10 AM PDT  By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission faces off against wealthy Texas investor Samuel Wyly and the estate of his late brother, Charles, this week in a trial over long-standing accusations that they engaged in a $550 million fraud. Jury selection is set to begin Monday in a federal court in New York in what is expected to biggest test this year of the SEC's ability to hold individuals accountable at trial, following a recent series of disappointing verdicts in fraud and insider trading cases. The trial is the culmination of years of litigation and investigations by the SEC of the Wylys. The case has continued even after Charles Wyly died in a car crash in August 2011, with his estate substituted for him. Full Story | Top |
| Lavrov plays down impact of Western sanctions on Russia Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 05:41 AM PDT  By Alexei Anishchuk MOSCOW (Reuters) - Western sanctions on Russia have led to some disruption but have not been too painful, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday ahead of talks later in the day with his U.S. counterpart John Kerry. The United States and the European Union have imposed two rounds of sanctions on Russia, including visa bans and asset freezes for some of President Vladimir Putin's inner circle, to punish Moscow for what Western states say is the illegal seizure of Ukraine's Crimea region. Full Story | Top |
| Obamacare hits milestone, but detours ahead for health law Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 05:34 AM PDT  By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's embattled U.S. healthcare law, having survived a rollout marred by technology failures, reaches a milestone on Monday with the end of its first enrollment wave, and with the administration likely to come close to its goal of signing up 7 million people in private health insurance. But as the White House and its allies declare victory, major hurdles remain. And it will take years to determine whether the law will accomplish its mission of creating stable insurance markets that can help a significant number of America's nearly 50 million uninsured gain health coverage, experts say. Republicans are counting on that uncertainty to play into their strategy for the midterm congressional elections in November. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: China seizes $14.5 billion assets from family, associates of ex-security chief: sources Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 05:31 AM PDT  By Benjamin Kang Lim and Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese authorities have seized assets worth at least 90 billion yuan ($14.5 billion) from family members and associates of retired domestic security tsar Zhou Yongkang, who is at the centre of China's biggest corruption scandal in more than six decades, two sources said. The sheer size of the asset seizures and the scale of the investigations into the people around Zhou - both unreported until now - make the corruption probe unprecedented in modern China and would appear to show that President Xi Jinping is tackling graft at the highest levels. But it may also be driven partly by political payback after Zhou angered leaders such as Xi by opposing the ouster of former high-flying politician Bo Xilai, who was jailed for life in September for corruption and abuse of power. He is the most senior Chinese politician to be ensnared in a corruption investigation since the Communist Party swept to power in 1949. Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian soldier killed, 3 police wounded in attack on bus -army Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 05:25 AM PDT An Egyptian soldier was killed on Sunday when militants attacked the bus he was driving in the town of Al-Arish in the Sinai Peninsula, the military said in a statement posted on Facebook. An army source told Reuters the bus was transporting police officers, three of whom were wounded. Sinai-based militants have stepped up violence against the state since the army ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in July, killing more than 400 soldiers and police, according to the Foreign Ministry. The Egyptian army, the biggest in the Arab world, has launched offensives against militants in the Sinai but the operations have failed to reduce the number of attacks on security forces. Full Story | Top |
| Armed militias hold Libya hostage Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 04:34 AM PDT  By Patrick Markey and Ulf Laessing TRIPOLI (Reuters) - When a militia holding Libya's eastern ports loaded a North Korean-flagged tanker with oil earlier this month, the Libyan parliament sacked its own prime minister and turned to U.S. commandos to bring its cargo back. When it sailed off, pro-government militiamen even gave chase on boats carrying jeeps mounted with anti-aircraft and cannons. But that failed, and when the tanker reached international waters Libya's parliament fired Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, who fled to Europe. A few days later, U.S. Navy SEALS boarded the tanker to end the debacle. The Morning Glory affair is one of the starkest symbols yet of how weak Libya's central authority is. Three years after a NATO-supported revolt toppled Muammar Gaddafi, Libya is at the mercy of rival brigades of heavily armed former rebel fighters who openly and regularly defy the new state. Libya's parliament agrees on little, its interim government has no army to enforce security let alone impose its will, and a new constitution meant to forge a sense of nation remains undrafted. In the vacuum, ex-fighters have briefly abducted Zeidan from his Tripoli hotel room, stormed the foreign ministry, and taken over the interior ministry, even before the renegades made their failed attempt to export oil. Lawmakers joke that they may need to use the secret tunnels Gaddafi built under the capital so they can escape the marauding gunmen. "Really there is no army, I thought there was one, but then I realized there really isn't any," ousted premier Zeidan said from Germany where he fled. For many Libyans, the joy of freedom after decades under Gaddafi has given way to confusion. Full Story | Top |
| Small-town Washington state mayor finds new role after mudslide Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 04:12 AM PDT  By Jonathan Kaminsky DARRINGTON, Washington (Reuters) - Days after a Washington state mudslide left dozens dead and missing, Dan Rankin stood in a high school gymnasium and hugged tight a teenage girl reeling from the loss of her sister. Before the March 22 disaster, Rankin's main tasks as mayor of the small logging town of Darrington included overseeing town council meetings and resolving property line disputes in the community of about 1,350 people. But since the mudslide about 10 miles west of town, Rankin's job has been transformed into that of comforting the grieving and articulating their anguish to the outside world. Along with those who lost their homes and relatives, nearly everyone in Darrington is mourning a friend or acquaintance lost in the disaster, and usually more than one. Full Story | Top |
| Two Spanish journalists freed after over six months in Syria Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 02:12 AM PDT Two Spanish journalists held hostage in Syria by an al Qaeda-linked militant group for 194 days have been freed and handed over to the Turkish military in good health, one of the men told his employer El Mundo newspaper. El Mundo Middle East correspondent Javier Espinosa called the newspaper's newsroom late on Saturday to say he and freelance photographer Ricardo Garcia Vilanova had been released and to inform their families. The journalists had been attempting to leave Syria after two weeks covering the conflict when they were taken, the newspaper said. Full Story | Top |
| Obama-Saudi king talks may ease friction but no breakthrough seen Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 02:02 AM PDT  By William Maclean and Angus McDowall DUBAI/RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's leaders hope U.S. President Barack Obama and their King Abdullah understand each other better after talks and can stabilize a close regional security alliance after months of rockiness over Middle East policy, diplomats said. Friday's two-hour exchange at Abdullah's desert camp did not yield a shared statement or any evidence of policy changes, leading some Saudis to question whether differences over Syria's war or Iran's nuclear programme were closer to being resolved. But diplomats said the mere fact Obama made the effort to visit and discuss issues "frankly" - in a U.S. official's words - with the king should reduce the margin for public spats and counter an impression that both sides value the alliance less. Obama visited the world's top oil-exporter and birthplace of Islam aiming to soothe Saudi fears that the United States was retreating from its commitment to the security of Middle East allies and allowing Riyadh's rival Iran more influence. Full Story | Top |
| Cyprus central bank governor: Ukraine crisis threatens return to growth Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 01:43 AM PDT By Michele Kambas NICOSIA (Reuters) - Any escalation in the Ukraine crisis poses a threat to Cyprus's economy, the outgoing governor of the country's central bank said in an interview, noting that he expects the bailed-out euro zone member to return to growth in 2015. Panicos Demetriades, who participated in talks which saved Cyprus from bankruptcy a year ago, said lenders underestimated the resilience of the island's economy, one of the smallest in the 17-member currency zone. Cyprus is receiving 10 billion euros ($14 billion) in aid from a troika of lenders: the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank and the European Commission. In March 2013 it was forced to wind down Laiki, Cyprus's No. 2 lender, and convert a sizeable portion of large deposits into equity at market leader Bank of Cyprus. Full Story | Top |
| Senegal shuts land border with Guinea to prevent Ebola spreading Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 01:24 AM PDT By Daniel Flynn and Saliou Samb DAKAR/CONAKRY (Reuters) - Senegal closed its land border with Guinea on Saturday to try to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus, which Guinean authorities say is suspected of killing 70 people in the deadliest outbreak in seven years. The discovery of 11 people suspected to have died of Ebola in Sierra Leone and Liberia in recent days has stirred concern that one of the most lethal infectious diseases known to man could spread in a poor corner of West Africa, where health systems are ill-equipped to cope. Senegal's Interior Ministry said in a statement it had closed the land border with Guinea in the southern region of Kolda and the southeastern region of Kedougou. Full Story | Top |
| Far-right group seals appeal among discontented Hungarians Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 01:16 AM PDT  By Marton Dunai ESZTERGOM, Hungary (Reuters) - To launch its campaign for Hungary's parliamentary election, the far-right Jobbik party, accused by critics of anti-Semitism, chose as its venue a former synagogue with a plaque on the wall commemorating 500 local Jews killed in the Holocaust. The reaction was unsurprising: opponents turned up outside the synagogue in the city of Esztergom to protest at Jobbik's presence, they heckled party leader Gabor Vona as he arrived, and the confrontation was broadcast on the evening news. It was seen as another publicity coup for Jobbik on its path to entrenching itself on Europe's political landscape, and for not much more than the $50 hourly cost of renting the former synagogue, now a municipal community centre. When Jobbik shocked Europe four years ago by coming third in Hungary's parliamentary election, many of its opponents predicted the party would soon implode. Full Story | Top |
| S.Africa strikes less harmful for economy than before-FinMin Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 01:10 AM PDT  By Tim Cocks ABUJA (Reuters) - Strikes affecting South Africa's platinum mines over the past 10 weeks will cause less economic damage than industrial action in 2012 and have not yet hurt exports, the country's finance minister said on Saturday. Speaking on the sidelines of an economic conference in the Nigerian capital Abuja, Pravin Gordhan said he hoped the two sides would soon resolve their conflict, which has become South Africa's biggest industrial dispute since the end of apartheid 20 years ago and has cut global platinum output by 40 percent. Full Story | Top |
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