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| Russia not intending to publish new blacklists: report Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 12:10 PM PDT Russia does not intend to publish new blacklists of Western citizens who may be targeted in sanctions as result of the Ukraine crisis, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Saturday, according to Interfax. Moscow said on Friday that Russia has retaliated against expanded sanctions imposed by Western countries over its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region but it did not name any U.S. or European Union officials affected. Ryabkov said on Saturday that Russia did not intend to copy Western counterparts and would not publish lists, Interfax said. Full Story | Top |
| Washington community grieves growing toll in U.S. mudslide Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 11:57 AM PDT  By Jonathan Kaminsky DARRINGTON, Washington (Reuters) - The grim task of combing through debris from a mudslide that obliterated dozens of homes on the outskirts of a rural Washington town came to a standstill briefly on Saturday for a moment of silence. It's hard to grasp," said volunteer Bob Michajla, 66, who has been helping to search part of the debris field that covers a square-mile (2.6 square-km). Everybody knows everybody in this valley." One more body was found on Friday in the muck and rubble left after the rain-soaked hillside above the north fork of the Stillaguamish River collapsed without warning on the outskirts of Oso, northeast of Seattle, a Snohomish County official said. Full Story | Top |
| Fuel cache blows up in Egypt, killing 10 Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 11:56 AM PDT Ten people were killed on Saturday in Egypt when an explosion ripped through a house where a man had been hoarding state-subsidized fuel to sell in the black market. A further 37 people were wounded by the explosion in the village of Shotora in the southern province of Sohag, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Fuels including gasoline and diesel are sold at a fraction of their real price in Egypt thanks to long-standing government subsidies that soak up a fifth of the state budget and have given rise to black markets and smuggling. Full Story | Top |
| Senegal shuts land border with Guinea to prevent Ebola spreading Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 11:54 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 what would be 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 it had closed the land border with Guinea in the southern region of Kolda and the southeastern region of Kedougou. Full Story | Top |
| Car bomb kills three soldiers in attack on Lebanese army checkpoint Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 11:00 AM PDT A suicide bomber killed himself and three soldiers when he detonated a car bomb at a Lebanese army checkpoint in the border town of Arsal on Saturday, Lebanese security sources said. Arsal is home to thousands of Syrian refugees but also Syrian rebels and their Lebanese allies who have fled a Syrian army advance on the Syrian side of the border. Lebanese Sunni militants accuse the Lebanese army of conspiring with forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, which has sent fighters into Syria to support Assad fight a Sunni-led revolt. Full Story | Top |
| Crimean Tatars' want autonomy after Russia's seizure of peninsula Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 09:55 AM PDT By Gabriela Baczynska BAKHCHISARAY, Crimea (Reuters) - The Crimean Tatars' assembly voted on Saturday in favor of seeking "ethnic and territorial autonomy" for the indigenous minority on the Black Sea peninsula annexed from Kiev by Moscow. The 300,000-strong Muslim minority make up less than 15 percent of Crimea's population of 2 million and has so far been overwhelmingly opposed to Russia's annexation of the peninsula. Crimean Tatars' assembly leader Refat Chubarov told more than 200 delegates: "In the life of every nation there comes a time when it must make decisions that will determine its future." "I ask you to approve ... the start of political and legal procedures aimed at creating ethnic and territorial autonomy of the Crimean Tatars of their historic territory of Crimea." The assembly subsequently voted in favor of his proposal, made in the Crimean Tatars historic capital of Bakhchisaray. Full Story | Top |
| Russia sees no need for Ukraine incursion, Lavrov to meet Kerry Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 09:42 AM PDT  By Katya Golubkova MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Saturday it had "no intention" of invading eastern Ukraine, responding to Western warnings over a military buildup on the border following Moscow's annexation of the Crimean peninsula. The comments by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were followed by news that he would meet U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Paris on Sunday, as both sides moved to ease tensions in the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War. Speaking on Russian television, Lavrov reinforced a message from President Vladimir Putin that Russia would settle - at least for now - for control over Crimea despite massing thousands of troops near Ukraine's eastern border. Full Story | Top |
| Hezbollah leader defends Syria intervention Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 09:27 AM PDT Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday called for domestic support for his militants after a year of growing sectarian violence in Lebanon following the Shi'ite militant group's intervention in the Syrian war. "Some in Lebanon say the resistance (Hezbollah) has nothing to do with Syria," Nasrallah told supporters via a television link from a secret location in South Lebanon. He justified sending his forces to a foreign war by saying that Sunni rebel groups would "eliminate everyone in Lebanon" if they won in Syria. "The problem in Lebanon is not that Hezbollah went to Syria, but that we were late in doing so," he said. Full Story | Top |
| Aftershocks rattle California following 5.1 earthquake, 50 displaced Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 09:15 AM PDT More than 100 aftershocks have been reported across Southern California following a 5.1 magnitude earthquake that rattled suburban Los Angeles and at least temporarily displaced about 50 people but caused no serious structural damage, seismologists said on Saturday. No injuries were reported from the Friday quake centered outside La Habra, about 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, but the temblor displaced at least 50 people in Fullerton, about 5 miles from the epicenter, because of minor damage, Fullerton Police Lieutenant Mike Chlebowski said. But the Los Angeles Fire Department said it had called off its "earthquake mode." "Fortunately no significant damage occurred in the 470 square mile (756 square km) jurisdiction," the department said. Full Story | Top |
| U.S., Russian foreign ministers to meet in Paris on Sunday to discuss Ukraine Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 09:14 AM PDT SHANNON, Ireland (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Paris on Sunday to discuss ways to resolve the Ukraine crisis, state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. The meeting follows Russian President Vladimir Putin's call to U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday to discuss a U.S. diplomatic proposal for Ukraine. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton, Editing by Angus MacSwan) Full Story | Top |
| German execs criticize West for allowing tension with Russia to rise Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 09:14 AM PDT By Maria Sheahan FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Several top German executives criticized the strategy of the U.S. and Europe in dealing with Russia after it took control of the Crimea region, fearing the consequences for their businesses. The European Union, United States and other Western nations have imposed sanctions on Russia in response to its seizure of the Crimea region of Ukraine and have threatened broader economic penalties if the crisis escalates, triggering the worst East-West clash since the Cold War. Steelmaker ThyssenKrupp's Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger told daily newspaper Die Welt that the events of the past had shown that great change could be achieved if the West cooperated with Russia rather than being confrontational. "Now we have a situation in which Russia feels that its back is against the wall," he said in an article published on the paper's website on Saturday. Full Story | Top |
| China unveils anti-graft rules for urbanization drive -state media Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 09:06 AM PDT  China has unveiled plans to tackle corruption and abuse of power in the real estate sector, state media said, as it tries to smooth the way for the mass migration of millions of Chinese into cities from the countryside. The anti-graft plans are part of an urbanization program designed to underpin a restructuring of China's economy, the world's second largest, away from exports towards one based mainly on domestic consumer demand. Corruption is rife in China, particularly within the state administration where many officials and their dependants have grown rich by abusing their authority, often in the areas of real estate and land ownership. The rules will strengthen penalties for fraud and illegal use of public housing and specify the responsible governments and departments as well as the conditions for abuse of power, neglect of duty, bribery and fraud, Xinhua said. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt court sentences two Mursi supporters to death Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 08:08 AM PDT An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced two supporters of former president Mohamed Mursi to death for murder during violence that broke out in Alexandria last year after the army deposed the Islamist head of state. The judge ruled that the two men's files be referred to the mufti, the country's highest religious authority to whom death sentences are always sent for review. In a separate case on Monday, an Egyptian court in the southern province of Minya sentenced 529 supporters of Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood to death, drawing strong criticism from Western governments and human rights groups. Full Story | Top |
| Slovak voters turn out for cliffhanger presidential vote Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 07:43 AM PDT  By Jiri Skacel and Jan Lopatka BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Slovak voters turned out in unexpectedly higher numbers on Saturday for the runoff in the country's presidential election where an underdog philanthropist is challenging political heavyweight Prime Minister Robert Fico. Bookmakers are giving the edge to political newcomer Andrej Kiska, a businessman turned philanthropist riding on the wave of anti-Fico sentiment among right-wing voters as well as distrust in mainstream political parties because of graft scandals. Full Story | Top |
| Taliban attack election commission HQ in Kabul ahead of vote Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 07:21 AM PDT  By Mirwais Harooni and Jessica Donati KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban insurgents attacked the Independent Election Commission headquarters in Kabul on Saturday, staff and police said, in the their third big assault on the capital this week aimed at derailing the April 5 presidential election. Afghan security forces battled the militants for about five hours, while frightened IEC staff and eight international United Nations employees took refuge in safe rooms inside the compound, a security source and staff said. Four suicide bombers were involved in the attack and all were killed in gunbattles, according to an Afghan army general on the scene in the eastern part of the capital. An investigation team is in the area," said commander Qadam Shah Shaheem, adding that three security force members had been injured in the operation. Full Story | Top |
| Turkey begins espionage investigation after Syria leak Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 06:22 AM PDT  By Humeyra Pamuk ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey has started an espionage investigation after a discussion between top officials on potential military action in Syria was leaked on YouTube, heralding a possible government crackdown on its political opponents after elections on Sunday. The recording of the meeting between Turkey's intelligence chief, foreign minister and deputy head of the military was by far the most serious breach in weeks of highly sensitive leaks, a scandal which Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has cast as a plot to sabotage the state and topple him. Erdogan and his aides have blamed the Hizmet movement of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former ally whose followers have influence in the police and judiciary, of running a "dirty campaign" of espionage to implicate him in corruption ahead of crucial nationwide municipal elections on Sunday. "Tomorrow we will teach those liars and slanderers a lesson," Erdogan told a jubilant crowd of supporters in Istanbul's working class Kartal district on Saturday, vowing his ruling AK Party would triumph at the polls. Full Story | Top |
| Loyalty to embattled Erdogan lies deep in Turkey's pious heartlands Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 04:56 AM PDT  By Alexandra Hudson KONYA, Turkey (Reuters) - If Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is fighting the toughest battle of his political career as corruption allegations swirl and elections approach, Turkey's conservative Anatolian heartlands appear to have his back. Here, far from dividing his pious core supporters, the graft scandal and bitter power struggle with a U.S.-based cleric have served only to stir more devotion to a man they see as Turkey's greatest modern leader, delivering hospitals and schools and breaking the grip of secular elites over the past decade. One senior official called the crisis "one of the biggest in Turkish history" and the government has responded by blocking Twitter and YouTube, drawing public anger and international condemnation. But in Konya, a conservative city that gave Erdogan's AK Party 70 percent of the vote in a 2011 general election, many see the scandal as the prime minister does: part of a "dirty plot" to unseat him by ruthless and immoral political enemies. Full Story | Top |
| Top U.S. general to visit Israel amid strategy differences Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 04:40 AM PDT  The United States' top military officer will visit Israel next week where he will meet the defense minister who has angered Washington by criticizing its strategies in the Middle East and Ukraine. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, will meet Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon in Jerusalem on Sunday, an Israeli government official said on Saturday. In a statement, the Israeli military said Dempsey and his hosts would discuss "issues of mutual strategic interest, while continuing to build on this important defense relationship". The visit would reflect "the United States' unwavering commitment to Israel's security," it said. Full Story | Top |
| Russia's Lavrov, U.S. Kerry discuss Ukraine, timing of further contact Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 04:27 AM PDT Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry discussed Ukraine in a phone call on Saturday as well as the timing of further contact, Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The ministry said the call was initiated by the United States and followed Russian President Vladimir Putin's call to U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday to discuss a U.S. diplomatic proposal for Ukraine. Full Story | Top |
| Taiwan protest over China trade pact won't deter any Ma-Xi meeting Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 04:26 AM PDT  By Michael Gold TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said on Saturday student protests over a controversial trade pact with mainland China will not affect the potential for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Taiwan's parliament building has been occupied by hundreds of protesters for almost two weeks over the government's decision to agree to a deal that would open 80 of China's service sectors to Taiwan, and 64 Taiwanese sectors to China. Taiwan and China have been ruled separately since the Communists defeated the Nationalists and took power on the mainland in 1949, though relations have warmed considerably since the China-friendly Ma won the presidency in 2008 and secured re-election in 2012. Full Story | Top |
| After days of searching, volunteer pulls sister's body from Washington mudslide Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 04:02 AM PDT By Jonathan Kaminsky DARRINGTON, Washington (Reuters) - Days after risking his own life and defying arrest by joining the search for Washington state mudslide victims in a vast, mucky debris field near Oso, Dayn Brunner retrieved the body of the No. 1 person he had been looking for - his sister. Brunner, 42, recounted the tragic coincidence in an interview with Reuters on Friday, two days after it unfolded on the enormous mound of mud and rubble left by last Saturday's disaster, which has claimed at least 26 lives and left 90 people still missing. Brunner said he was on the mud pile on Wednesday afternoon when other rescue workers found a blue object and called him over to the spot. It was the same color as the car his sister, Summer Raffo, 36, was known to have been driving through the area when the slide struck. Full Story | Top |
| One more victim found in Washington state mudslide debris field Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 04:02 AM PDT (Reuters) - The body of one more person killed in a Washington state mudslide was found on Friday in the debris field where searchers are scouring the muck for about 90 people missing nearly a week after the disaster, a county official said. Snohomish County Executive Director Gary Haakenson said that person was not included in the official death toll of 17, which remained steady. The new remains appeared to bring to 10 the number of victims that authorities have said have been found but not yet identified or added to the official death toll. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Russia threatened countries ahead of U.N. vote on Ukraine: envoys Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 03:28 AM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia threatened several Eastern European and Central Asian states with retaliation if they voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution this week declaring invalid Crimea's referendum on seceding from Ukraine, U.N. diplomats said. The disclosures about Russian threats came after Moscow accused Western countries of using "shameless pressure, up to the point of political blackmail and economic threats," in an attempt to coerce the United Nations' 193 member states to join it in supporting the non-binding resolution on the Ukraine crisis. Full Story | Top |
| China charges 4 surviving suspects of Kunming attack Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 03:26 AM PDT China has laid out the charges against the four surviving suspects in a knife attack in the southwestern city of Kunming this month that left at least 169 dead or injured, the official People's Daily newspaper said on Saturday. The charges against the suspects of the March 1 attack, in which 29 were killed and about 140 injured, include organizing, leading and participating in a terrorist organization and murder, the newspaper said on its microblog. The four surviving suspects are likely to be given the death penalty, judging by the crimes they are accused of. Courts in China are controlled by the ruling Communist Party, which has already clearly apportioned blame. Full Story | Top |
| Syrian forces take two villages near Lebanon Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 03:03 AM PDT Syrian forces took control of two villages near the Lebanese border on Saturday after driving out rebels, state media said, helping President Bashar al-Assad secure the route connecting Damascus with Aleppo and the Mediterranean coast. The fall of Flita and Ras Maara, two of the last rebel bastions in the area, is likely to push militants and refugees over the border into Lebanon, risking further destabilizing the Mediterranean country whose own 15-year civil war ended in 1990. "The Army and Armed Forces restored stability and security to the towns of Ras Maara and Flita ... after getting rid of the fleeing terrorists and destroying their weapons," state news agency SANA said. Assad needs to secure the route to transport chemical agents out of Syria via the coast, part of an agreement with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to remove Syria's chemicals weapons arsenal. Full Story | Top |
| Thai protesters rally against PM ahead of Senate vote Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 02:16 AM PDT  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Thai anti-government protesters rallied across Bangkok on Saturday in their latest bid to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, a day before a crucial vote to elect a new Senate. Waving flags and blowing whistles, protesters marched from Lumpini Park in the business district of Bangkok, where protesters retreated to earlier this month, toward the city's old quarter after a brief hiatus in anti-government rallies. "We expected the crowd to be around 50,000-strong but the number of protesters doesn't look like it will exceed 30,000." A grenade exploded as protesters passed the Foreign Ministry offices, but no one was hurt, police said. Thailand has been in crisis since former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck's brother, was ousted in a 2006 coup. Full Story | Top |
| Chinese ships search new area for Malaysian plane Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 01:28 AM PDT  By Jane Wardell and Matt Siegel SYDNEY/PERTH (Reuters) - Chinese ships trawled a new area in the Indian Ocean for a missing Malaysian passenger jet on Saturday, as the search for Flight MH370 entered its fourth week amid a series of false dawns over sightings of debris. Australian authorities coordinating the operation moved the search 1,100 km (685 miles) north on Friday after new analysis of radar and satellite data concluded the Malaysia Airlines plane travelled faster and for a shorter distance after vanishing from civilian radar screens on March 8. A Chinese military aircraft spotted three suspicious objects on Saturday in the new search area some 1,850 km (1,150 miles) west of Perth, colored white, red and orange respectively, the official Xinhua news agency said. That sighting follows reports of "multiple objects of various colors" by international flight crews on Friday, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). Full Story | Top |
| China aircraft spots three suspicious objects in new Malaysia jet search area: Xinhua Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 12:10 AM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese aircraft spotted three suspicious objects in a new search area for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet off Australia's west coast, the official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday. The items are white, red and orange respectively, Xinhua said. The southern Indian Oceano is now the main focus of the search, where unidentified pieces of debris have been spotted by New Zealand and Australian Air Force Orions. (Reporting by Paul Carsten; Editing by Jeremy Laurence) Full Story | Top |
| Obama seeks to reassure Saudi Arabia over Iran, Syria Friday, Mar 28, 2014 06:09 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland RIYADH (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sought to reassure Saudi King Abdullah on Friday that he would support moderate Syrian rebels and reject a bad nuclear deal with Iran, during a visit designed to allay the kingdom's concerns that its decades-old U.S. alliance had frayed. Flying by helicopter to the king's desert camp, Obama underscored the importance of Washington's relationship with the world's largest oil exporter in a two-hour meeting that focused on the Middle East but did not touch on energy or human rights. Last year senior Saudi officials warned of a "major shift" away from the United States after bitter disagreements over its response to the "Arab spring" uprisings, efforts to negotiate with Iran, and Washington's decision not to intervene militarily in Syria, where Riyadh wants more American support for rebels. Full Story | Top |
| Brazilian plane makes emergency landing with no front wheels Friday, Mar 28, 2014 05:30 PM PDT  An Avianca Airlines passenger jet safely made an emergency landing in Brasilia on Friday after its front landing gear failed to deploy, authorities said. None of the 49 passengers and crew of five on the Fokker 100 jet were injured when the plane landed on its rear wheels before lowering the nose onto the runway, the Brazilian Air Force said. "The plane suffered a hydraulic problem and the front landing gear did not open, so the pilot did a belly landing," an Air Force spokesman said. Full Story | Top |
| Putin calls Obama to discuss U.S. proposal on Ukraine: White House Friday, Mar 28, 2014 05:14 PM PDT  By Steve Holland RIYADH (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin called U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday to discuss a U.S. diplomatic proposal for Ukraine, the White House said, adding that Obama told him that Russia must pull back its troops and not move deeper into Ukraine. The Kremlin also reported on the conversation, saying Putin had suggested "examining possible steps the global community can take to help stabilize the situation," and said the foreign ministers of the two countries would discuss this soon. It was believed to have been the first direct conversation between Obama and Putin since the United States and its European allies began imposing sanctions on Putin's inner circle and threatened to penalize key sectors of Russia's economy. Full Story | Top |
| Slovak underdog has chance to beat PM Fico in presidential vote Friday, Mar 28, 2014 05:03 PM PDT  By Jan Lopatka PRAGUE (Reuters) - Slovakia's political heavyweight Prime Minister Robert Fico faces the threat of his biggest defeat at the ballot box from an underdog philanthropist in presidential election runoff on Saturday. In the second round, bookmakers give an edge to political newcomer Andrej Kiska, a businessman turned philanthropist who is riding on the wave of anti-Fico sentiment among right-wing voters as well as distrust in mainstream political parties suspected of complicity in graft scandals. Full Story | Top |
| Geopolitical games handicap Malaysia jet hunt Friday, Mar 28, 2014 04:43 PM PDT The search for flight MH370, the Malaysian jetliner that vanished over the South China Sea on March 8, has involved more than two dozen countries and 60 aircraft and ships but been bedeviled by regional rivalries. While Malaysia has been accused of a muddled response and poor communications, China has showcased its growing military clout and reach, while some involved in the operation say other countries have dragged their feet on disclosing details that might give away sensitive defense data. That has highlighted growing tensions in a region where the rise of China is fuelling an arms race, and where several countries including China, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines are engaged in territorial disputes, with the control of shipping lanes, fishing and potential hydrocarbon reserves at stake. The Malaysian Airline jet, which disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, was last officially detected hundreds of miles off course on the wrong side of the Malaysian peninsula. Full Story | Top |
| Fresh objects seen in new Malaysia jet search area Friday, Mar 28, 2014 04:43 PM PDT  Australian authorities coordinating the operation dramatically moved the air and sea search 1,100 km (685 miles) north on Friday after new analysis of radar and satellite data concluded Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 travelled faster and for a shorter distance after vanishing from civilian radar screens on March 8. Australia said late on Friday that five international aircraft had spotted "multiple objects of various colors" in the new search area some 1,850 km (1,150 miles) west of Perth. One Chinese navy ship was in the area and would be trying to recover objects on Saturday, while other ships were steaming to the area, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said. Malaysia says the Boeing 777, which vanished less than an hour into a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, was likely diverted deliberately but investigators have turned up no apparent motive or other red flags among the 227 passengers or the 12 crew. Full Story | Top |
| Interpol rejects suggestion its passport database is slow Friday, Mar 28, 2014 04:43 PM PDT The international police agency Interpol on Friday rejected a Malaysian suggestion that Interpol's database for checking passport were too cumbersome. Interpol said that although several other countries used the database millions of times each year, the Malaysian immigration department had not checked plane passengers' passports against its database at all this year prior to the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 on March 8. The agency's statement followed comments made by Malaysia's Interior Minister Zahid Hamidi to parliament on Wednesday that the burdensome nature of the Interpol database slowed down immigration checks. Full Story | Top |
| At edge of Malaysia Airlines search, questions of security and diplomacy Friday, Mar 28, 2014 04:43 PM PDT By Matt Siegel and Jane Wardell PERTH/SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) - The pot-bellied silhouette of a Chinese Il-76 military transport plane appeared in the sky over Perth International Airport just as the U.S. naval officer was explaining how he guards his cutting-edge surveillance plane. Lieutenant Commander Adam Schantz was ticking off the measures, including a round-the-clock guard and armed rapid response team, as he caught sight of the Chinese aircraft coming in to land a few meters from the U.S. P8 Poseidon for which he is responsible. The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is producing strange bedfellows. At least six countries - the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand and Australia - are participating in the search and rescue operation for the flight, which disappeared almost three weeks ago and is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean off Australia's west coast. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. urges end to Syria's 'convoluted' aid restrictions Friday, Mar 28, 2014 04:23 PM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations humanitarian chief Valerie Amos on Friday urged Syria's government to end needless restrictions on access to areas where besieged Syrians are in desperate need of aid after three years of civil war. She also voiced concern about opposition groups, especially those such as al Qaeda-linked extremist al Nusra, which has said it will not allow foreigners to operate in Syria. "The administrative arrangements that have been put in place for clearance for our convoys are quite convoluted," Amos told Reuters in an interview after briefing the U.N. Security Council about how much-needed aid is still not reaching many in Syria. And even when the Syrian government approves deliveries, it can still be difficult to reach besieged areas. Full Story | Top |
| Oil sector withholding info on rail cargoes: U.S. regulator Friday, Mar 28, 2014 04:19 PM PDT By Patrick Rucker WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. transport regulators on Friday scolded the oil industry for not sharing important information on the kinds of rail shipments that have been involved in a number of fiery train derailments. The American Petroleum Institute (API), a trade group that represents oil industry companies, disputed the accusations. In letters to regulators and testimony to lawmakers, leaders of trade groups like the API have said since January that they will share results of their tests on fuel from North Dakota's booming Bakken oil patch, where the derailed trains were loaded. But the Department of Transportation said the industry has dragged its feet in cooperating with regulators who are trying to understand why several recent derailments of freight trains carrying crude oil also resulted in explosions. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Russia threatened countries ahead of UN vote on Ukraine - envoys Friday, Mar 28, 2014 03:19 PM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia threatened several Eastern European and Central Asian states with retaliation if they voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution this week declaring invalid Crimea's referendum on seceding from Ukraine, U.N. diplomats said. The disclosures about Russian threats came after Moscow accused Western countries of using "shameless pressure, up to the point of political blackmail and economic threats," in an attempt to coerce the United Nations' 193 member states to join it in supporting the non-binding resolution on the Ukraine crisis. Full Story | Top |
| Hagel, ahead of China trip, urges military restraint in cyberspace Friday, Mar 28, 2014 02:51 PM PDT  By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, pushing for openness ahead of a trip to China, said on Friday in an unusual live broadcast from a secretive base the Pentagon would exercise restraint in using the military in cyberspace and urged other nations to do so as well. In his first remarks on cyber security since becoming defense secretary last year, Hagel told a retirement ceremony for Cyber Command chief General Keith Alexander that the Pentagon sought to be "open and transparent" about its cyber capabilities and intentions with both allies and competitors. "The United States does not seek to militarize cyberspace," Hagel he told an audience at Fort Meade, Maryland, the home of Cyber Command and the NSA signals spy service. Full Story | Top |
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