WorldNews

A coalition of Islamist rebels said they seized a Syrian army base in northwestern Idlib province at dawn on Monday after a suicide bomber from al Qaeda's Nusra Front drove a truck packed with explosives inside and set it off. It would allow the rebels to tighten their siege on the major Mastouma army base nearby which has seen heavy fighting in recent weeks. "A truck with two tonnes of explosives penetrated one of the entrances of the camp that made it easier to take over the camp," Sheikh Husam Abu Bakr, a rebel commander from Ahrar al Sham said via Skype. Insurgents have been trying to push the army out of the few remaining government areas in the province, bringing them closer to Latakia, the ancestral home of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20950[/attach] Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev extended his quarter-century rule over the oil-rich, ex-Soviet republic with a crushing 97.7 percent of ballots in an election where opposition parties did not field a candidate, officials said Monday. Nazarbayev, who has run the huge Central Asian country since before the Soviet breakup in 1991, will start a fifth term. The Central Election Commission claimed a record turnout of 95.22 percent in Sunday's polls. Speaking in the capital Astana shortly after exit polls pointed to nearly total voter support, Nazarbayev said he had a mandate for his plans to make Kazakhstan one of the thirty most developed countries in the world. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20949[/attach] BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand seized 3 tons of ivory hidden in tea leaf sacks from Kenya in the second-biggest bust in the country's history, one week after the biggest seizure, customs officials said Monday. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20948[/attach] By Jane Wardell and Randy Fabi SYDNEY/JAKARTA (Reuters) - Australia made a last-minute plea on Monday for a stay in the imminent execution of two Australian drug traffickers in Indonesia, saying reports that their trial had been tainted by corruption needed to be investigated. The call from Foreign Minister Julie Bishop almost immediately deepened a diplomatic row with Jakarta. Indonesia's foreign ministry hit back, saying Australia needed to show proof of alleged corruption and questioned why concerns were being raised only now instead of 10 years ago. Armanatha Nasir, spokesman for Indonesia's foreign ministry, said Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan had been given all the legal avenues to challenge their death sentences. Continue reading...

Rebels from north Mali told mediators they will initial a long-delayed U.N.-brokered peace proposal on the future of Mali's north next month, a spokesman for the lead northern separatist group said late on Sunday. The southern Bamako government and another coalition of pro-government armed groups accepted the proposal in early March, but the Tuareg coalition refused after consultations with its supporters in northern Mali. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20947[/attach] AVONDALE, La. (AP) — Whatever derailed Justin Rose's game appears long gone now. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20946[/attach] LONDON (AP) — There is still time to save lives — that's why governments and aid agencies Sunday rushed doctors, volunteers and equipment to Nepal without waiting for the dust to settle. Continue reading...

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian leaders on Monday continued to lobby Indonesia to spare the lives of two Australians on death row despite 10 prisoners being given formal notice that they could die within days. Continue reading...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder thinks Wladimir Klitschko is "losing the juice," but he's still awaiting a chance to prove it. Continue reading...

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's military said Sunday it launched an airstrike on its border with Syria after spotting militants carrying a bomb in the Israeli-held Golan Heights. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20937[/attach] LONDON (AP) — The family of Amy Winehouse has criticized a documentary about the late singer that is due to have its premiere at next month's Cannes Film Festival. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20936[/attach] Ten people drowned on Sunday after their canoe capsized in Mali, a police source told AFP, the first major river accident in the impoverished west African nation in 18 months. The source said the dugout canoe appeared to have encountered difficulties after being hit by "a violent wind" on the Niger river, which bisects the town of around 5,000 in southwestern Mali. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20935[/attach] Israeli armed forces on Sunday killed four people when they tried to plant bombs near the Golan Heights on the country's border with war-torn Syria, a security source said. The army said on its official Twitter account that the operation targeted "terrorists" armed with explosives who "were en route to imminent attack on our forces. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement praised "the vigilance" of Israeli troops. "Every attempt to attack Israeli soldiers or civilians will be met with a decisive response like this operation which thwarted an attack," the statement from his office said. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20934[/attach] Aid groups and governments worldwide intensified efforts Sunday to help earthquake-hit Nepal, but blocked roads, downed power lines and overcrowded hospitals posed formidable challenges in an already poor country. As the death toll in the Himalayan nation surpassed 2,500, the US together with European and Asian nations sent emergency crews to reinforce those scrambling to find survivors in the devastated capital Kathmandu and in cut-off rural areas. "Tragically, more bodies are being pulled from collapsed buildings every hour," the Australian Red Cross said in a statement. Mike Bruce, regional communications manager for the Plan International aid organisation, said many areas -- both rural and in some of the larger towns -- had suffered landslides and roads were blocked. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20927[/attach] Serbia signed a $3-billion (2.7-billion euro) deal Sunday with an Abu Dhabi-based developer to transform a popular area of Belgrade into an upscale housing and shopping complex, a project opponents have labelled "a scam". The project with developer Eagle Hills, dubbed Belgrade Waterfront, is to turn arts and nightlife district Savamala near the city centre into a two-million square metre (21.5-million square foot) commercial, business and apartment development. According to the agreement signed by Serbia's Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic and Eagle Hills board member Mohamed Alabbar, the project should be completed over 30 years, while at least 50 percent of it must be finished in the next two decades. Eagle Hills will invest 300 million euros in the development, Serbian authorities said in a statement. Continue reading...

MADRID (AP) — Greenpeace has called on Spain's government to dedicate more resources to cleaning up an oil spill rising up from a sunken fishing trawler off the Canary Islands after spotting a five-kilometer (3-mile) slick. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20926[/attach] Two Swedish men held hostage by Syrian jihadists have been reunited with their families in Sweden, the country's foreign ministry said on Sunday. The hostages, named in the Swedish media as Thomas Olsson, 50, and Martin Reen, 33, were freed with the help of Palestinian and Jordanian authorities, said the ministry. According to the Christian newspaper Dagen, the men were taken hostage in November 2013 when they crossed the border into Syria while doing missionary work in Jordan. Sweden's Foreign Minister Margot Wallstroem on Saturday thanked the Palestinians and Jordan for helping secure the men's release. Continue reading...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.-led forces targeted Islamic State militants in Syria with three air strikes from Saturday to Sunday morning and conducted 17 strikes against the group in Iraq, the U.S. military said. In Syria, the air strikes hit Islamic State positions near Al Hasakah, Dayr Az Zawr and Kobani, according to a U.S. military statement on Sunday. In Iraq, five strikes hit Islamic State positions near Fallujah. The strikes also hit Islamic State positions near Al Hawayjah, Bayji, Mosul and Ramadi, the statement said. (Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Leslie Adler) Continue reading...

[attach=full]20925[/attach] LONDON (AP) — Chelsea's pursuit of the Premier League trophy will go into May after the runaway leaders drew 0-0 at Arsenal on Sunday with a cautious, ultra-defensive display. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20923[/attach] SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition battling Shiite rebels in Yemen struck targets in several cities on Sunday, including the capital, security officials said, as fighting raged across the country. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20922[/attach] ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) — Voters in oil-rich Kazakhstan turned out in abundance Sunday for a carefully choreographed presidential election intended to cement the rule of the incumbent, who has ruled over the former Soviet republic for more than 25 years. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20921[/attach] Louis van Gaal and his Manchester United side need to discover a late-season improvement in form if they are to secure a top-four finish following a lacklustre 3-0 loss away to Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday. James McCarthy, John Stones, with his first-ever Everton goal, and Kevin Mirallas were on the mark for the Merseyside club in a fixture that marked the end of David Moyes's disastrous reign as United manager a little over a year ago. Although the Reds have shown great improvement under his Dutch successor, consecutive defeats for United have left them fourth in the Premier League table, seven points clear of fifth-placed Liverpool but having played a game more, ensuring an anxious end to the campaign. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20920[/attach] German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will travel on May 7 to the Russian city of Volgograd - formerly known as Stalingrad - to commemorate the end of World War Two, a ministry spokeswoman said on Sunday. The visit to the site where Soviet forces defeated Nazi troops in one of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare comes amid strained ties between Russia and Germany over the Ukraine crisis. It was not clear if Steinmeier would attend that event. Germany will exclude Russia from a summit of leaders of industrial powers in Bavaria in June. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20919[/attach] The death toll climbed and aftershocks continued a day after a powerful earthquake struck the Nepal region, triggering an avalanche on Mount Everest and setting off an urgent aid response. Continue reading...

KIEV (Reuters) - One Ukrainian serviceman was killed and seven servicemen were wounded in attacks by pro-Russian separatists in the past 24 hours in eastern Ukraine, Ukraine's military said on Sunday. Spokeman Oleksander Motuzyanyk said the separatists had stepped up their attacks against government forces in violation of a February ceasefire and were using large-caliber artillery which both sides are committed to pulling back from the conflict area. (Reporting by Natalia Zinets; Writing By Richard Balmforth; Editing by Gareth Jones) Continue reading...