WorldNews

[attach=full]20722[/attach] JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — South Korea expressed deep regret Wednesday that Japan's leader did not repeat his predecessors' apologies for the country's aggression during World War II. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20721[/attach] By Isla Binnie and Philip Pullella ROME (Reuters) - The European Union must take a collective stand to tackle migrant trafficking at its source in African countries, Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Wednesday ahead of an emergency summit of the bloc's leaders to discuss the crisis. Up to 900 people were feared dead after their boat sank on its way to Europe from Libya at the weekend including many women and children locked below deck, prompting calls for joint action to stop the flow of migrants fleeing war and hardship in Africa. The deaths caused shock in Europe where a decision to scale back naval operations last year seems to have increased the risks for migrants without reducing their numbers. EU officials, worried about encouraging people to make the crossing just as economic troubles in some European countries fan concerns over immigration, have struggled to come up with a response but proposed doubling rescue operations on Monday. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20720[/attach] Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday he did not wish for or expect U.S. President Barack Obama to use the word "genocide" in reference to the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks in 1915 during World War One. "I would not want Obama to use the word 'genocide' and I would not expect such a thing," Erdogan told a joint press conference with Iraqi President Fuad Masum. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20718[/attach] The Afghan Taliban said their annual "spring offensive" will begin on Friday, vowing nationwide attacks in what is expected to be the bloodiest fighting season in a decade as NATO forces pull back from the frontlines. This year's offensive marks the first fighting season in which Afghan security forces will battle the insurgents without the full support of US-led foreign combat forces. The militants have already stepped up attacks on government and foreign targets in recent weeks, taking a heavy toll on civilians and Afghan security forces. "The Islamic Emirate is going to launch the spring operations under the inspirational name of 'Azm' (determination) at 5 am on 24th April 2015," the Taliban said in a statement on Wednesday, using their official name. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20717[/attach] KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban said Wednesday they will start their spring offensive this week, an annual campaign in their war against the Afghan government. Continue reading...

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea said Wednesday that it will likely support a proposed walk across the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas by prominent women including Gloria Steinem in what is planned as a call for the reunification of the two countries. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20716[/attach] LUENEBURG, Germany (AP) — A former Auschwitz guard is taking the stand for a second day Wednesday to answer judges' questions about his role at the death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20715[/attach] HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong's government unveiled election reform proposals Wednesday, setting the stage for possible renewed confrontation with pro-democracy activists and lawmakers opposed to Beijing-mandated restrictions on candidates for the city's top job. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20709[/attach] By Jane Wardell SYDNEY (Reuters) - A cyclonic storm lashing Australia's east coast for a third day was declared a catastrophe on Wednesday after destroying houses, cutting power to more than 200,000 homes and causing millions of dollars of damage in Sydney and other cities. The Bureau of Meteorology warned that a second storm cell was gathering off the coast north of Sydney, with gale force winds of up to 100 km per hour (62 miles per hour) and heavy winds hitting the coast. "We still have some difficult hours ahead of us as this weather pattern continues to move through," New South Wales state premier Mike Baird told reporters. "We're seeing a continuation of the wind, rain, flash flooding." Three people, two men and a woman, were found dead on Wednesday in the town of Dungog, about 200 km (125 miles) north of Sydney. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20708[/attach] Labour urged Prime Minister David Cameron to address low pay on Wednesday after a charity revealed more than one million people were reliant on food banks in the past year. The increasing numbers receiving free food handouts, low pay, and a squeeze on living standards have emerged as central themes in the election campaign ahead of the vote on May 7. The largest food bank network in Britain, The Trussell Trust, said those relying on their food bank supplies rose to one million last year -- almost half of them children. "Despite welcome signs of economic recovery, hunger continues to affect significant numbers of men, women and children in the UK today," said Trussell Trust UK food bank director Adrian Curtis. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20707[/attach] Britain's opposition centre-left Labour urged Prime Minister David Cameron to address low pay on Wednesday after a charity revealed more than one million people were reliant on food banks in the past year. The increasing numbers receiving free food handouts, low pay, and a squeeze on living standards have emerged as central themes in the election campaign ahead of the vote on May 7. The largest food bank network in Britain, The Trussell Trust, said those relying on their food bank supplies rose to one million last year -- almost half of them children. "Despite welcome signs of economic recovery, hunger continues to affect significant numbers of men, women and children in the UK today," said Trussell Trust UK food bank director Adrian Curtis. Continue reading...

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — President Juan Manuel Santos lashed out on Tuesday at opponents he accuses of fueling a wave of booing that has greeted him in the days since a deadly attack by leftist guerrillas dealt a major setback to negotiations with Colombia's biggest rebel movement. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20706[/attach] TOKYO (AP) — More than 100 Japanese lawmakers paid respects Wednesday at a Tokyo shrine that honors Japan's war dead, including World War II leaders, but Cabinet ministers and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did not participate in the spring ritual. Continue reading...

SYDNEY (AP) — Defending champion Western Sydney is on the brink of Asian Champions League elimination after conceding two second-half goals Tuesday in a 2-1 loss to Kashima Antlers, including Mu Kanazaki's stoppage-time winner. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20698[/attach] The UN Security Council is set to push for more intensive negotiations to settle the decades-old dispute over Western Sahara, at the center of tensions between Morocco and African countries. A draft resolution under discussion this week extends the mandate of the MINURSO peace mission for a year and calls for a political solution, diplomats said. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20697[/attach] BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Neymar scored two goals as Barcelona beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 on Tuesday to seal its return to the Champions League semifinals, joining Europe's elite four teams for the seventh time in eight seasons. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20696[/attach] By James Pearson SEOUL (Reuters) - In a country notorious for a lack of electricity, many North Koreans are taking power into their hands by installing cheap household solar panels to charge mobile phones and light up their homes. Apartment blocks in Pyongyang and other cities are increasingly adorned with the panels, hung from balconies and windows, according to recent visitors to the isolated country and photographs obtained by Reuters. "There must be at least a threefold increase in solar panels compared to last year," Simon Cockerell, who visits North Korea regularly as general manager of Beijing-based Koryo Tours, told Reuters from Pyongyang. "Some are domestically made, so that may have driven prices down." North Korea has long suffered from electricity shortages which plunge large parts of the country into darkness, providing a stark contrast in night-time photos taken from space to prosperous and power-thirsty South Korea. Continue reading...

CAIRO (Reuters) - Please be advised that the alert and story slugged YEMEN-SECURITY/HOUTHIS is withdrawn. There will not be a replacement. (Americas Desk) Continue reading...

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A U.S. judge has ordered that a Saudi Arabian man facing rape charges be jailed without bail because authorities believe he's trying to flee the country. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20694[/attach] The Obama administration on Tuesday laid out an agenda under its Quadrennial Energy Review to modernize the country's energy infrastructure and make it more resilient to challenges ranging from extreme weather to the domestic energy boom. Commissioned by President Barack Obama when he announced his Climate Action Plan in June 2013, the QER was more than a year in the making and is the administration's first comprehensive attempt to analyze the country's aging energy systems. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the country's energy infrastructure a nearly failing D+ grade in its 2013 Infrastructure Report Card. The report released on Tuesday recommends over $15 billion in new spending programs or tax credits to carry out a major overhaul of the country's energy infrastructure. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20693[/attach] Nine Kenyan security officials from Garissa have been suspended and could face charges of criminal negligence over the massacre at the town's university earlier this month, the government announced Tuesday. Militants from Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab rebels attacked the university in the northeastern town of Garissa on April 2, lining up non-Muslim students for execution and killing 148 people. Kenya interior minister, Joseph Nkaissery, said a preliminary investigation into the response to the attack signalled that the officials, among them senior police officers, had failed to mobilise ahead of the attack despite intelligence warnings. The Kenyan government and the country's notoriously corrupt security forces have come in for renewed criticism following the massacre, with Kenyan media alleging that warnings were ignored and response times by special forces were slow. Continue reading...

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — A recently elected substitute congressman in El Salvador has been arrested on suspicion of human trafficking. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20692[/attach] Poland said Tuesday it will hold exclusive talks with the US government on a multi-billion-euro Patriot missile contract and test Airbus helicopters in an unprecedented military upgrade amid heightened tensions with neighbouring Russia. President Bronislaw Komorowski said the decision for the massive defence revamp is being made at a time of "deterioration of security due to the Russian-Ukraine conflict". The Eurosam consortium including MBDA France, MBDA Italy and France's Thales Group had been the other party in the running for the deal valued at an estimated 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion). Poland's defence ministry said it wanted to acquire eight missile batteries by 2025, with two of them to be delivered within three years of signing a deal. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20688[/attach] MONACO (AP) — Monaco vice president Vadim Vasilyev says Manchester United will wait until the end of the season to decide whether to use its option to buy loan striker Radamel Falcao. Continue reading...

By Kentaro Hamada and Aaron Sheldrick KAGOSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - A Japanese court will rule on Wednesday on an injunction to block the restart of two more nuclear reactors, a decision that could determine whether a legal drive by citizens to prevent the reopening of the sector on safety grounds will gather steam. A three-judge panel is to rule on the injunction request on the Sendai reactors at 2100 EDT. A court order preventing Kyushu Electric Power Co from operating Sendai would risk tying up the industry in legal battles for months or years. Last week's ruling "certainly sets a precedent and it will cause some of the other governors and other courts to think twice" about nuclear, said Michael Jones, Senior Analyst at consultancy Wood Mackenzie, Local residents who submitted a suit against the restart of the restart of the Sendai reactors argue the utility and regulator has underestimated the risk of nearby volcanoes and operational plans lack credible evacuation measures. Continue reading...