WorldNews

Warplanes from a Saudi-led coalition struck Houthi targets in and around the Yemeni cities of Aden and Ibb early on Thursday, residents in the area said, after Riyadh indicated its campaign against the Iran-allied movement would be wound down. On Tuesday, the coalition announced an end to its month-old bombing campaign in Yemen but strikes have continued. A Saudi spokesman later said forces would continue to target the Iran-allied Houthi movement as necessary. In Ibb in central Yemen, residents reported an intense series of strikes early on Thursday on Houthi positions and weapon warehouses in the region. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20771[/attach] KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — At the confluence of the Blue Nile and the White Nile near Sudan's capital, Khartoum, 35-year-old Younis Hamad al-Nil sails his wooden boat from sunrise to sunset, searching the wide waters for today's catch. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20770[/attach] A Libyan television journalist involved in coverage of fighting between Islamist militias and pro-government forces in the second city of Benghazi has been assassinated, officials and witnesses said Thursday. Muftah al-Qatrani, director of the private production company Al-Anwar, was killed by a gunshot to the head on Wednesday, an interior ministry official told AFP. A witness, who declined to be named, said the producer's office was in the centre of Benghazi. Libya's descent into chaos since its 2011 uprising has seen the formation of rival parliaments and governments, and allowed the Islamic State extremist group to gain a foothold in the oil-rich North African state. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20762[/attach] GUANAJUATO, Mexico (AP) — A 14-year-old Mexican girl who was taken by authorities and sent screaming to live in the United States was returned home Wednesday after DNA tests showed she is not the daughter of the Houston woman who claimed her. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20761[/attach] A former senior Chinese official and an ally of retired security boss Zhou Yongkang stood trial on Thursday on charges of bribery and abuse of power in central China, the latest in a string of top officials connected to Zhou caught in an anti-graft campaign. The trial began at the Municipal Intermediate People's Court in Xianning City in the central province of Hubei, the court said on its official microblog account. President Xi Jinping's two-year graft crackdown has taken down at least a dozen former associates and protégées of Zhou, the once-powerful domestic security chief and member of the elite Politburo Standing Committee and the most senior person to have been charged with corruption. Li Chuncheng, former deputy party boss of southwestern Sichuan province, was charged last year with bribery and abuse of power. Continue reading...

By Matt Siegel SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian Islamic community center linked to five men arrested for planning an attack at a World War One centenary event said on Thursday that it was closing immediately, citing harassment. Victorian state Premier Daniel Andrews said the men were "associates" of Abdul Numan Haider, an Islamic State sympathizer who was shot dead last year after he stabbed police officers, and who was known to have attended the Al-Furqan Islamic Centre in Melbourne. The run-up to this year's centenary of the landings at Gallipoli - a major holiday in Australia and New Zealand - has been has been marred by concerns that radicals may target the celebrations for a high-profile attack. The Australian newspaper reported that the most senior Australian recruiter for the Islamic State in Syria, Neil Prakash, was also a former member of Al-Furqan. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20760[/attach] Chinese nuclear experts believe North Korea may already have a nuclear arsenal of 20 warheads and the uranium enrichment capacity to double that figure by next year, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The estimate, which the Journal said was relayed to US nuclear specialists in a closed-door meeting in February, is significantly higher than any previously known Chinese assessment. It also exceeds recent estimates by US experts which put the North's current arsenal at between 10 and 16 nuclear weapons. A leading expert on North Korea's nuclear programme, Siegfried Hecker, who attended the February meeting, said a sizeable North Korean stockpile would only compound the challenge the international community faces in persuading Pyongyang to denuclearise. Continue reading...

MOFFETT FIELD, California (AP) — Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Wednesday he is concerned that Iranian ships heading toward Yemen may be carrying advanced weapons for the Houthi rebels, and moving a U.S. aircraft carrier to the region gives the president options. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20758[/attach] New Zealand Rugby chiefs said Thursday they had no plans to emulate Australia and relax eligibility rules so overseas-based players can represent the All Blacks. The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) announced the move on Wednesday in response to a host of top players taking up lucrative club contracts after this year's September-October World Cup in England. Defending world champions New Zealand face a similar post-tournament exodus, with at least 10 All Blacks heading offshore, including Dan Carter, Ma'a Nonu, Conrad Smith and Colin Slade. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20757[/attach] St. George's (Grenada) (AFP) - Alastair Cook closed in on becoming England's highest Test run-maker on Wednesday as his team began their pursuit of West Indies' 299 all out on the second day of the second Test. England skipper Cook and fellow opener Jonathan Trott negotiated 26 overs without real alarm as the visitors reached 74 without loss at the National Cricket Stadium. Cook achieved a milestone during his unbeaten 37, going past former player Alec Stewart as his countryâ s second-highest run-getter in Test history with a tally of 8,484. Only Graham Gooch, the former opening batsman and captain, remains ahead of him in the list of prolific English batsmen with an aggregate of 8,900. Continue reading...

HAVANA (AP) — The NBA is the first U.S. professional league to visit sports-crazy Cuba since the declaration of detente between the Cold War enemies late last year. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20756[/attach] Turkey on Wednesday stopped Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik's plane from flying over its territory, preventing him from attending a ceremony to mark the centenary of the Armenian genocide, his cabinet said. The plane carrying the president of Republika Srpska, a Serb-run entity of Bosnia, returned to his capital Banja Luka after spending four and a half hours at an airport in eastern Bulgaria, waiting in vain for authorisation to fly over Turkish territory, the statement said. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to flock to the towering genocide memorial in Armenia's capital Yerevan on Friday to mark the start of a tragedy that still stirs deep divisions. Ex-Soviet Armenia and the huge Armenian diaspora worldwide have battled for decades to get the World War I massacres at the hands of Ottoman forces between 1915 and 1917 recognised as a targeted genocide. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20755[/attach] AVONDALE, La. (AP) — Marc Leishman fully expects to be rusty this week in the Zurich Classic, not that he's all that concerned. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20746[/attach] EU leaders gathering in Brussels on Thursday will consider launching a military operation against human traffickers in Libya in the biggest effort yet to halt the deadly flow of refugees trying to reach Europe by sea. As survivors laid bare the full horror of last weekend's catastrophic shipwreck near Libya, EU officials were paving the way for the approval of unprecedented action to ease their plight. The EU's top diplomat Federica Mogherini "is invited to immediately begin preparations for a possible security and defence policy operation to this effect, in accordance with international law," the draft added. A diplomatic source said EU members were preparing to approve the statement, reflecting the union's readiness to take bolder action against people smugglers, who pack rickety boats to overflying with people fleeing conflict and hardship in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20745[/attach] Yemeni rebels demanded a Saudi-led coalition completely end its attacks as a condition for UN-sponsored talks, as the alliance launched new air strikes Wednesday a day after declaring its month-long campaign over. "What we need to do is bring all the parties together and find a political arrangement. Continue reading...

SAO PAULO (AP) — Mixed martial arts fighter Anderson Silva will fight for a spot in the Brazilian taekwondo team at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20744[/attach] Saudi Arabia will respond if rebels in Yemen carry out any "aggressive moves," the Saudi ambassador to the United States warned Wednesday, a day after the Gulf kingdom declared an end to its month-long air campaign. "If the Huthis or their allies make any aggressive moves there will be a response," ambassador Adel al-Jubeir told reporters. After Operation Decisive Storm, Jubeir said Saudi Arabia was moving to a second phase in the campaign called Operation Renewal of Hope, and it was hoped that the Huthis would come to negotiations. "We have always said that there is no military solution to the conflict in Yemen. Continue reading...

The Saudi military will continue to use force to stop Houthi militants from making advances in Yemen, the Saudi ambassador in Washington said on Wednesday, despite the announcement on Tuesday of an end to the Saudi-led air campaign. "When the Houthis or their allies make aggressive moves there will be a response. He said Saudi forces, which were reported to have carried out at least 12 air strikes in southern Yemen on Wednesday, were ready to stop any Houthi advance into the port of Aden. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20732[/attach] LONDON (AP) — Don the Sheepdog might want to learn a new trick: applying the brakes. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20731[/attach] NEW YORK (AP) — Wladimir Klitschko looks around the boxing landscape and sees young heavyweights, lots of young heavyweights. At his age, 39, that's hardly unnatural. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20730[/attach] Ronnie O'Sullivan completed a routine 10-3 victory over debutant Craig Steadman at the World Championship on Wednesday, having played part of the first-round match in his socks. O'Sullivan took off his shoes during play on Tuesday after complaining that they were uncomfortable, briefly playing in his socks before being loaned new footwear by tournament director Mike Ganley. The five-time world champion could face a £250 ($377, 350 euros) fine for contravening the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association's dress code, but he laughed off the matter after sinking Steadman. "I've got no fashion sense at all," O'Sullivan told the BBC. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20729[/attach] LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The International Olympic Committee says that Ukraine state President Petro Poroshenko does not support boycotts of sports events. Continue reading...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.-led forces targeted Islamic State militants in Syria with seven air strikes from Tuesday to Wednesday morning and conducted 11 strikes against the group in Iraq, the U.S. military said. Six of the strikes in Syria hit targets near Kobani, destroying Islamic State fighting positions and a vehicle and damaging tactical units, according to a military statement released on Wednesday. In Iraq, the strikes were concentrated near Bayji, where they hit a tactical unit and a command-and-control facility and destroyed a dump truck, motorcycle and armored vehicle. ... Continue reading...

[attach=full]20724[/attach] A British trader accused of contributing to a US stock market crash and fraudulently making $40 million in high-frequency trading from his modest London home was due to appear in court on Wednesday. Navinder Singh Sarao, 36, was arrested by British police on Tuesday on an extradition warrant issued by the US authorities, which accuse him of an elaborate scheme using automated software on the futures market. US justice officials allege that his trades contributed to the May 2010 "Flash Crash", when US stocks plunged 600 points in five minutes. His company, Nav Sarao Futures Ltd, is headquartered in a suburban house in Hounslow, west London, which is reportedly also his family's home. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20723[/attach] Army chiefs from Arab League nations on Wednesday began work on building a region-wide military force aimed at combatting jihadists including the Islamic State group. The regional bloc agreed in March to set up the force, with member states given four months to decide on its composition, precise rules of engagement and required budget. The meeting to discuss such details was overseen by the Egyptian Armed Forces' Chief of Staff Mahmud Hegazy at the League's Cairo headquarters. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has pushed for the creation of the regional force after the Islamic State (IS) organisation executed a group of Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya in February, prompting retaliatory air strikes by Cairo. Continue reading...