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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. lawmakers see no evidence of terrorism in Malaysia jet crash Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 12:26 PM PDT Senior U.S. lawmakers on Sunday said investigators had found no evidence thus far pointing to terrorism in the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 three weeks ago, and that it was critical to find the plane to understand what happened on board. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers and Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein, speaking on Sunday talk shows, said they had seen no evidence of foul play. 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| After Crimea, Moldova too fears "unwanted" events on road to EU Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 07:49 AM PDT By Matt Robinson and Alexander Tanas COMRAT, Moldova (Reuters) - Russia has just offered a lifeline for the winemakers of Gagauzia, an autonomous region of Moldova whose leaders do not agree with the country's push to join the European Union. Moscow banned wines from Moldova last year, depriving the industry of its biggest market - worth over $100 million annually - in what was widely seen as punishment for the former Soviet republic's drive to join the EU. But Mihail Formuzal, governor of Gagauzia, home to a 150,000 ethnic Turkic minority whose leaders oppose Moldova's EU course because of their Orthodox beliefs and history of close ties with Russia, has won an exclusive reprieve. The pro-Western Moldovan government is pushing ahead with an EU trade deal despite increasing divisions about whether to integrate with Europe or stick with former Soviet master Russia that echo those in neighboring Ukraine. 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 02:50 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. But that failed, and when the tanker reached international waters Libya's parliament fired Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, who fled to Europe. 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. 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 |
| 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 |
| North Korea condemns U.N., threatens a 'new form' of nuclear test Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 01:00 AM PDT  North Korea threatened on Sunday to conduct what it called "a new form of nuclear test", raising the level of rhetoric after members of the United Nations Security Council condemned the North's recent ballistic missile launch. "It is absolutely intolerable that the U.N. Security Council, turning a blind eye to the U.S. madcap nuclear war exercises, 'denounced' the Korean People's Army (KPA)'s self-defensive rocket launching drills and called them a 'violation of resolutions' and a 'threat to international peace and security' and is set to take an 'appropriate step'," the North's foreign ministry said in a statement on the official KCNA news agency. "We would not rule out a new form of nuclear test for bolstering up our nuclear deterrence," the North's statement said, without giving any indication of what that might entail. Full Story | Top |
| Thais vote for Senate ahead of crucial deadline for PM Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 11:32 PM PDT  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thais voted on Sunday for half of the country's 150-seat Senate in a key test for Yingluck Shinawatra's troubled government, a day before the prime minister is due to defend herself against negligence charges over a disastrous rice subsidy scheme. Anti-government protesters are in their fifth month of a campaign to force Yingluck out and set in motion political and electoral reforms before a new general election takes place. A Senate dominated by anti-government politicians could hasten her exit. Thailand's 150-seat Senate is made up of 77 elected senators. Full Story | Top |
| Tibetan Communist who urged reconciliation with Dalai Lama dies Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 11:07 PM PDT  By Benjamin Kang Lim and David Stanway BEIJING (Reuters) - Phuntso Wangye, a veteran Tibetan Communist leader who became an outspoken critic of Beijing's hardline policies towards the Himalayan region, died on Sunday, his son said. "Before his death, he was a Communist Party member. After his death, we have invited lamas to pray (for his soul) according to traditional Tibetan culture." Phuntso, who was in a Beijing hospital since July, recently developed lung problems. Born in 1922 in the Tibetan county of Batang, now part of China's Sichuan province, Phuntso founded the Tibetan Communist Party and launched a series of guerrilla uprisings against Nationalist Chinese rule until joining forces with the Chinese Communist Party in 1949. Full Story | Top |
| Political newcomer Kiska trounces PM Fico in Slovak presidential election Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 09:29 PM PDT  By Jiri Skacel and Jan Lopatka BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Philanthropist and former businessman Andrej Kiska trounced Prime Minister Robert Fico in Slovakia's presidential election on Saturday as voters feared Fico and his center-left party would amass too much power. Results from over 99 percent of voting districts showed the politically unaffiliated Kiska leading the center-left prime minister by 59.4 percent to 40.6 percent. Kiska, 51, rode a wave of anti-Fico sentiment among right-wing voters as well as distrust in mainstream political parties because of graft scandals and persistently high unemployment. Full Story | Top |
| Slovak PM Fico concedes defeat in presidential election Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 09:29 PM PDT BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Slovak centre-left Prime Minister Robert Fico conceded defeat to independent Andrej Kiska in the central European country's presidential election on Saturday. "I would like to congratulate (Kiska), although not all the votes have been counted yet," Fico, who keeps his post as prime minister, told reporters. Results from 72 percent of voting stations showed Kiska leading by 59.2 to 40.8 percent. (Reporting by Jan Lopatka and Jiri Skacel; Editing by David Gregorio) Full Story | Top |
| Australia taps former defence chief to coordinate MH370 search support Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 07:54 PM PDT Australia has appointed a former chief of its defense forces to coordinate the country's support for the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Sunday. Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston will lead a new Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) based in Perth, from where the search for the missing plane was being carried out in the Indian Ocean. The new JACC, headed by Houston, will aim to maintain clear lines of communication between all international partners as well as with the families of passengers, many of whom are expected to travel to Perth. Malaysia holds overall responsibility for the search for MH370, which vanished from civilian radar screens on March 8, less than one hour into its flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Full Story | Top |
| Iran plans to replace U.N. ambassador in New York Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 06:59 PM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has selected a new ambassador to represent Tehran at the United Nations, Hamid Abutalebi, a veteran diplomat who has held key European postings in the past, Iranian sources said. Abutalebi, who has served as Iran's ambassador to Italy, Belgium and Australia, was chosen to replace Iran's outgoing ambassador, Mohammad Khazaee, sources said. A spokesman for Iran's U.N. mission declined to comment. Abutalebi began working for the Islamic Republic's foreign ministry in the early 1980s, not long after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Full Story | Top |
| Number of missing in Washington state mudslide drops to 30 from 90 Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 06:44 PM PDT (Reuters) - The tally of those missing in a Washington state mudslide has dropped to 30 from 90, while the official death toll went up by one to 18, officials said Saturday. Another body located in the muddy pile has not yet been identified and is not part of the official death toll, but brings the presumed death toll to 28. Full Story | Top |
| French set to punish Hollande in mayoral runoffs Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 06:03 PM PDT  By Michel Rose PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande's Socialists braced for losses in hundreds of towns and villages in mayoral elections on Sunday, with far-right National Front candidates seen winning a handful of cities for the first time since 1995. The runoff round of voting comes at the end of a week that saw French unemployment surge to a new record, making a reverse of first round losses unlikely and a cabinet reshuffle by Hollande possible as soon as Monday. Some 80 percent of the French want him to dismiss Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, according to a recent Harris Interactive poll, and ambitious and tough-talking Interior Minister Manuel Valls comes top of their favorites for the job. "I can't see how (Ayrault) could stay, unless we save about thirty towns, something nobody really believes," a Socialist Party source said. Full Story | Top |
| If Modi wins election, neighbours can expect a more muscular India Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 06:01 PM PDT  By Sanjeev Miglani NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will get tougher on territorial disputes with China and in its old rivalry with Pakistan if opposition leader Narendra Modi becomes the prime minister in May after a general election, two of his aides said. On the campaign trail, he has warned Beijing to shed its "mindset of expansionism" and in the past he has railed against Pakistan, an Islamic state, for attacks by Muslim militants in India. "I swear in the name of the soil that I will protect this country," Modi said at a rally in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh last month, a region claimed by China. India, China and Pakistan are all nuclear powers. Full Story | Top |
| China's Xi turns to panda diplomacy to seek EU trade deal Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 05:26 PM PDT  By Robin Emmott BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping will use two pandas to break the ice and soften European opposition to a free-trade deal with China during a visit to Belgium which starts on Sunday. As the first Chinese leader to visit the European Union's headquarters since Brussels established ties with Beijing four decades ago, Xi will also seek to send a message that China is a less confrontational partner, ready to resolve trade disputes. "Our common interests far outweigh our differences," said China's ambassador to the EU, Yang Yanyi. "We need to explore ways to deepen our partnership." Xi will say hello to China's two ursine envoys Xing Hui and Hao Hao, loaned to Belgium last month, at a wildlife park near Brussels - part of a Chinese tradition of using pandas to foster better relations around the world. Full Story | Top |
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