World News Headlines of April 3

As many as 1,000 killed in Ivory Coast town, Red Cross says

Reporting from Johannesburg, South Africa— As forces loyal to rival presidents fought pitched battles in the country’s biggest city, the reported an ominous development in the increasingly brutal struggle for control: the massacre of up to 1,000 civilians in a western town. The killings in Duekoue reportedly came over the course of three days…

Japan Nuclear Plant: 2 Missing Fukushima Workers Found Dead

TOKYO — A massive tsunami that crippled a nuclear power plant also killed two workers there, the Japanese operator announced Sunday, confirming the first deaths at the complex. The two workers – a 21-year-old and a 24-year-old – had been missing since a massive March 11 earthquake spawned the wave, but their bodies were discovered…

State Officials: Koran-Burning Led To 20 Deaths

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.  — WPBF.com State officials said that Pastor Terry Jones’s act of burning the Koran in March 20 fanned the flames of anti-American sentiment and led to dozens of deaths as Muslims attacked a United Nations headquarters in Afghanistan. Seven months after Jones bowed to public pressure and vowed to never burn the…

Battle for Abidjan rages, ‘carnage in west’

The fierce standoff between fighters loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, the incumbent president of Cote d’Ivoire, and Alassane Ouattara, the country”s internationally recognised leader, intensified on Saturday. Gbagbo’s force retook the bridge leading to his presidential palace on Saturday, after the opposition had appeared poised to topple the..

Libya: Coalition air strike near Brega kills rebels

At least 12 people are reported to have been killed when a coalition plane enforcing the no-fly zone fired on a rebel convoy between Brega and Ajdabiya late on Friday night.

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World News Headlines of April 2

Red Cross: 800 killed in Ivory Coast town

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — The International Committee of the Red Cross says that more than 800 people were killed in intercommunal violence in a town in western Ivory Coast. The town was the first of many in Ivory Coast to fall earlier this week to an armed group vying to install the country’s democratically elected leader, Alassane Ouattara.

Mob kills 8 U.N. workers in Afghanistan

Officials say a crowd of up to 1,000 people attacked the United Nations compound in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif, killing eight guards believed to be from the Philippines. The attack was sparked by a mosque sermon describing the burning of the Koran by an American pastor….

Showdown for Ivory Coast rivals

Troops supporting the UN-recognised president of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, appear poised for a final push to oust his rival, Laurent Gbagbo, who refuses to give up the presidency. In the main city, Abidjan, pro-Ouattara forces have launched an assault on the fortified presidential residence.

Battles rage in Libya amid defections of key Gadhafi allies

Libyan opposition leaders emerge Are you in Libya? Send your pictures, video to iReport. Tripoli, Libya (CNN) — As Moammar Gadhafi’s inner circle showed possible signs of cracking Friday, heavily armed forces loyal to the Libyan leader continued pounding cities that were once some of the country’s most prosperous places.

Grim search for dead three weeks after Japan quake

Tokyo: Thousands of Japanese and US troops launched an intensive air and sea operation on Friday to recover bodies of those killed in the huge earthquake and tsunami that ravaged northeast Japan three weeks ago. The grim search came as the government revealed that radiation from a nuclear power plant crippled by the twin disaster had been found in…

Ivory Coast fighters descend on main city

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast-Fighters trying to install Ivory Coast’s democratically elected president descended Thursday on its largest city and seat of power, poised for a final push to unseat the entrenched ruler. Forces backing Alassane Ouattara have overrun nearly 80 percent of the country as soldiers fled and towns fell in quick succession.

Rebels cheer cracks in Gaddafi rule

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Rebels cheered the defection of a Libyan minister as a sign that Muammar Gaddafi’s rule was crumbling, but U.S. officials warned he was far from beaten and made clear they feared entanglement in another painful war. After former Libyan foreign minister Moussa Koussa arrived in Britain, London urged others around…

Libya: Nato insists Alliance will enforce arms embargo

Nato has slapped down Barack Obama and David Cameron by insisting that the Alliance will enforce an arms embargo on all of Libya, including rebel held territory. Rebels have pleaded for more arms and ammunition to supplement dwindling stocks taken from government depots at the start of the conflict

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World News Headlines of April 1

Grim search for dead three weeks after Japan quake

Tokyo: Thousands of Japanese and US troops launched an intensive air and sea operation on Friday to recover bodies of those killed in the huge earthquake and tsunami that ravaged northeast Japan three weeks ago. The grim search came as the government revealed that radiation from a nuclear power plant crippled by the twin disaster had been found in…

Ivory Coast fighters descend on main city

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast-Fighters trying to install Ivory Coast’s democratically elected president descended Thursday on its largest city and seat of power, poised for a final push to unseat the entrenched ruler. Forces backing Alassane Ouattara have overrun nearly 80 percent of the country as soldiers fled and towns fell in quick succession.

Rebels cheer cracks in Gaddafi rule

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Rebels cheered the defection of a Libyan minister as a sign that Muammar Gaddafi’s rule was crumbling, but U.S. officials warned he was far from beaten and made clear they feared entanglement in another painful war. After former Libyan foreign minister Moussa Koussa arrived in Britain, London urged others around…

Libya: Nato insists Alliance will enforce arms embargo

Nato has slapped down Barack Obama and David Cameron by insisting that the Alliance will enforce an arms embargo on all of Libya, including rebel held territory. Rebels have pleaded for more arms and ammunition to supplement dwindling stocks taken from government depots at the start of the conflict Photo: AFP/GETTY By Bruno Waterfield, Brussels…

Japan Told To Consider Widening Evacuation Zone Around Nuclear Plant

March 31, 2011 6:30:27 AM By Chizu Nomiyama and Chisa Fujioka TOKYO, March 31 (Reuters) – Pressure mounted on Japan on Thursday to expand the evacuation zone around its stricken nuclear power plant while officials said radiation may be flowing continuously into the nearby sea, where contamination was now 4,000 times the legal limit.

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• Gaddafi’s forces battle rebels for Brega Al Jazeera

World News Headlines of March 30

World mulls arming Libyan rebels on the run

AJDABIYA, Libya (AFP) – Moamer Kadhafi’s forces were pushing rebels further back in east Libya on Wednesday after routing them outside the key city of Sirte as world powers mulled arming the rag-tag band of fighters. Correspondents said Kadhafi’s troops were closing in on the oil refinery town of Ras Lanuf, 370 kilometres (230 miles)…

Radiation levels soar in Japan sea water

Radiation levels in sea water near Japan’s damaged Fukushima nuclear plant have reached more than 3,000 times the legal limit, officials said, as efforts continue to bring the country’s nuclear crisis under control. Japan’s nuclear safety agency said on Wednesday that water near the crippled plant’s No. 1 reactor contained radioactive iodine at…

Arms to Libya rebels ‘not ruled out’

US President Barack Obama has said he does not rule out arming the rebels seeking to overthrow Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. He said in an interview that Col Gaddafi had been greatly weakened and would ultimately step down. Pro-Gaddafi forces have driven the rebels back tens of kilometres over ground they took in recent days after…

Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh loses grip on several provinces

A tribal insurgency in the north and Islamic militants in the south capitalize on turmoil to make territorial gains. Share Related Stories By Garrett Therolf, Los Angeles Times…

Ivory Coast: Laurent Gbagbo calls for ceasefire

Ivorian incumbent Laurent Gbagbo has appealed for an immediate ceasefire after advances by forces loyal to President-elect Alassane Ouattara. A spokesman for Mr Gbagbo said the army had adopted a strategy of tactical…

Virginia Tech Fined $55K for Response to Shootings

The Associated Press By DENA POTTER Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. March 29, 2011 (AP) Mario Tama/Getty Images Mourners hug during Virginia Tech’s Day of Remembrance honoring the 32 people killed by Cho… Mourners hug during Virginia Tech’s Day of Remembrance honoring the 32 people killed by Cho Seung-Hui April 16, 2008 in Blacksburg, Virginia….

Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi should go, say world powers as rebels advance

WORLD powers have vowed to continue military action until Muammar Gaddafi stops his “murderous attacks” on Libyan civilians, as loud blasts rocked his stronghold in Tripoli. At a meeting of more than 35 nations in London, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and British Prime Minister David Cameron said that allied air strikes would go…

Syria Cabinet Resigns Amid Unrest

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s Cabinet resigned Tuesday to help quell a wave of popular fury that erupted more than a week ago and is now threatening President Bashar Assad’s 11-year rule in one of the most authoritarian and closed-off nations in the Middle East. Assad, whose family has controlled Syria for four decades, is trying to calm the…

The influence of unions worldwide

COMING TO A BANK NEAR YOU? Although it was not covered much by the media, over 400,000 people recently demonstrated in central London, decrying the government cuts in its budget. UK newspapers report that although some were there to peacefully demonstrate, unions used 600 coaches and 9 trains to take union members to the scene, where they created…

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World News Headlines of March 28

YSR’s brother slaps MLA during Andhra assembly session

HYDERABAD: In perhaps the first time in the history of Indian legislature, a minister in the AP government slapped an opposition MLA right in the assembly minutes after the house met for the day. The minister in question is Y S Vivekananda Reddy, the brother of former…

Shot man an earthquake refugee

Did you see the shooting? A man shot dead in an armed stand-off with police was an only child who had moved to Napier to escape the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake. Lachan Kelly-Tumarae, 19, of Flaxmere in Hastings, was shot by an officer with a standard issue Glock pistol in Fernhill, about 15km from Napier, around 1.30am and died in hospital about 3am. Police said Mr Kelly-Tumarae had presented a shotgun at police officers in both Maraenui and at Fernhill. Early reports were that he had fired his weapon before he was shot, eastern district commander Superintendent Sam Hoyle said. James Tumarae, the uncle of Mr Kelly-Tumarae, said…

Bomb in Sunday newspaper injures Vacaville man

VACAVILLE — An elderly Vacaville man retrieving his newspaper this morning was severely injured when explosives packed inside the paper blew up in his hands, city officials said….

One by one, the milestones on the road to Tripoli are falling

The last time the rebels made it as far west as Bin Jawad, it ended in disaster: their fighters ran into a murderous ambush, lost 70 men, and were forced into a terrifying retreat that nearly ended their campaign. But yesterday, after a stunning sweep across the territory for which they have fought so hard and for so long, they were back. This time, with Western air power destroying almost all that is left of the regime’s armour and artillery, the mood was very different. The rebels’ eyes were cast towards Sirte, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s birthplace and the centre of loyalist resistance.

Turkey offers to broker Libya ceasefire as rebels advance on Sirte

Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan challenges western direct action and says prolonged conflict could lead to a ‘second Iraq’ Libyan rebels outside Ras Lanouf: The Turkish prime minister urged that ‘we have to bring an end’ to the civil war. Photograph: Anja Niedringhaus/AP The Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signalled that Turkey is ready to act as a mediator to broker an early ceasefire in Libya, as he warned that a drawn-out conflict risked turning the country into a “second Iraq” or “another Afghanistan” with devastating repercussions both for Libya and the Nato states leading the intervention….

Libya revolt: Advancing rebels capture oil town Brega

Libyan rebels have recaptured two more towns after re-taking the port of Ajdabiya from Muammar Gaddafi’s forces. They have seized the eastern coastal towns of Brega and Ujala without a fight and say they are moving towards the heartland of Col Gaddafi’s support. Rebel fighters also say they now control the key oil town of Ras Lanuf, but this has not been…

Crash in Boston’s Sumner Tunnel kills 1 person

BOSTON – A vehicle crash in a Boston tunnel has left one person dead. Massachusetts state police say the one-vehicle crash happened…

Western air strikes turn tide back in rebel favour

RUADH N Mac CORMAIC in Paris LIBYA:LIBYAN REBELS regained the initiative over Muammar Gadafy’s forces yesterday, pushing further west with the help of western air strikes and recapturing towns abandoned by retreating government soldiers. Opposition forces were in control of all the main oil terminals in the eastern half of Libya last night. They had retaken Ajdabiya, Brega and Ben Jawwad, the westernmost point the rebels had reached in early March before they were pushed back by Col Gadafy’s better-equipped forces to their stronghold of Benghazi.

 

World News Headlines of March 25

Deal set for NATO to lead Libya ‘no-fly ‘ mission

WASHINGTON – NATO will assume leadership from the United States of patrolling the skies over Libya, but the military alliance remains divided over who will command aggressive coalition airstrikes on Moammar Khadafy’s ground troops, NATO and US officials said yesterday. After a day of confusion and conflicting reports out of NATO headquarters in…

Egypt’s revolutionaries say abusive treatment persists

Egypt: Revolution in doubt? Cairo, Egypt (CNN) — “Where is the revolution going, the revolution that began in Tahrir Square?” asked a short brunette holding a microphone. “What happened to the revolution we created?” Human rights lawyer Ragia Omran repeated the question before a crowd of activists, concerned citizens and politicians from parties…

Video shows police in Manaus, Brazil, shooting teenage boy

FIVE police officers have been detained after Brazilian television released amateur video that shows officers repeatedly shooting a 14-year-old boy. The boy survived but was seriously…

BP’s deal with Rosneft on the verge of collapse

BP’s controversial $16bn share swap and arctic exploration deal with Russia’s Rosneft was thrown into disarray last night, with an independent arbitration panel ruling it could not go ahead. The ruling dealt a potentially fatal blow to BP’s most ambitious attempt to move beyond the crisis of its Gulf of Mexico oil spill last year.

NATO countries to enforce Libya no-fly zone

NATO countries have agreed to enforce a no-fly zone in Libya “to protect civilians” against Muammar Gaddafi’s forces, Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters. He said the military alliance’s mandate did not go beyond the no-fly zone but NATO could also act in self-defence.

Syria: President offers freedoms after forces kill 37

Deraa: President Bashar al-Assad made an unprecedented pledge of greater freedom and more prosperity to Syrians Thursday as anger mounted following a crackdown on protesters that left at least 37 dead. As an aide to Assad in Damascus read out a list of decrees, which included a possible end to 48 years of emergency rule, a human rights group said a…

Ex-Ukraine President Charged

Associated Press KIEV, Ukraine—Former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said he has been charged in the brutal slaying of an…

Portugal, Ireland woes dominate EU summit

BRUSSELS (AP) — Portugal’s political crisis and uncertainty over the true scale of problems at Irish banks dominated a summit of European Union leaders that was designed to finally put an end to the region’s crippling debt crisis. The summit was going to be the day for EU leaders to give their final approval to the overhaul of their crisis…

Workers suffer radiation poisoning

TWO emergency workers at Japan’s crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have been admitted to hospital suffering from radiation injuries….

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World News Headlines of March 24

NATO still split on taking over Libya operation

BRUSSELS – NATO failed again to agree on Wednesday on taking over command of military operations against Muammar Gaddafi’s forces in Libya from the United States, chiefly due to Turkish reservations. After ambassadors of the 28-nation NATO alliance ended a third day of wrangling in Brussels without a deal, one senior NATO diplomat said: “No…

Yemeni president offers early elections

Yemen’s president has offered to hold parliamentary and presidential elections before the end of the year, in his latest attempt to appease protesters calling on him to step down. “At this historic moment Yemen needs wisdom to avoid slipping into violence … that would destroy gains and leave the country facing a dangerous fate,” Ali Abdullah…

Dissidents’ release draws line under Cuba crackdown

The Cuban government has freed the last two political prisoners detained during a major crackdown on opposition activists in 2003. Felix Navarro, 57, was a teacher and political activist; 40-year-old Jose Ferrer a fisherman and member of one of the opposition movements. They were serving 25-year jail terms and considered prisoners of conscience by…

Syria crackdown on protests continues; 15 killed

Security forces raided a mosque in the city of Dara where demonstrators had sought shelter, witnesses say. The government says it stepped in only after a doctor and two others were killed by armed groups….

Portugal PM resigns after parliament rejected new austerity plan

PORTUGAL’S Prime Minister Jose Socrates tendered his resignation today after parliament rejected a new government austerity plan, greatly…

Jerusalem bomb: Benjamin Netanyahu in security pledge

Israel’s prime minister has pledged to act “aggressively and responsibly” to restore security after a bomb exploded at a bus stop in central Jerusalem. One person was killed and more than 30 others were injured after the blast at a crowded bus stop in Jerusalem….

Gates visits Egypt to take stock of democratic transition

Following US Secretary Clinton’s visit to Egypt last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived unannounced in Egypt today to hold talks with Egypt’s interim Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, as well as meet with his counterpart, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi. Upon arrival, Secretary Gates was greeted by Egyptian Maj. Gen. Hassan al-Roueini,…

Blast Strikes Outside Jerusalem’s Central Bus Station

JERUSALEM — A small device exploded outside Jerusalem’s central bus station on Wednesday, leaving at least 12 injured, according to Israeli emergency services. The Israeli daily Haaretz reported that the bomb was strapped to a telephone poll near the stop, located outside the International Convention Center and across from the central…

West will end in ‘dustbin of history’, Gaddafi says

Western powers attacking Libya will end up in the dustbin of history, Muammar Gaddafi said as his troops held back poorly equipped rebel forces despite four nights of coalition air strikes. While Western air power has grounded Gaddafi’s warplanes and pushed back his forces from the brink of rebel stronghold Benghazi, disorganised and poorly…

Portugal bail-out looms as government nears collapse

Portugal’s opposition parties have withdrawn their support for austerity policies that may lead to the Lisbon government’s collapse on Wednesday. The government’s expected defeat in a parliamentary vote is likely to trigger an international financial rescue.

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