WorldNews

[attach=full]20590[/attach] Burundi has charged 65 protestors with rebellion after they were arrested during clashes with police while calling for the president not to seek re-election, a prosecutor said. Tensions are high with opposition parties concerned at incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza's expected bid for re-election in June despite the constitutional limit of two terms. Nkurunziza has not yet confirmed whether he intends to try stay in power, but his supporters say he has every right to do so. Police arrested scores of protestors on Friday, and on Saturday charged 65 of them with "participation in an insurrectionary movement", state prosecutor Arcade Nimubona said late Saturday. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20589[/attach] Clashes between Shiite rebels and pro-president forces in southern Yemen overnight left 21 dead, on the fourth week of a Saudi-led air campaign against insurgents, medics and local sources said Sunday. Ten Huthi rebels and four members of the "popular committees" militia fighting on the side of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi were killed in pre-dawn clashes in the southwestern city of Taez, the sources said. The "popular committees" are fighting alongside the military's 35th armoured brigade which remains loyal to the exiled Hadi. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20588[/attach] The knives are already being sharpened for the leaders of political parties, several of whom could see their careers brought to a brutal end if they fail to deliver at the May 7 election. Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, his Liberal Democrat deputy Nick Clegg, leader of the labour party Ed Miliband, Nigel Farage of the UK Independence Party -- all run the risk of being kicked out. "All four are fighting for their political life," said Steven Fielding, professor of political history at Nottingham University. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20587[/attach] The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on Friday dropped cases against nine journalists facing trial for illegally paying police and other public officials for information, while another four were cleared in court. At the same time, the CPS issued new guidelines making clear that journalists should not always be prosecuted for paying for scoops. "It is simply obvious that there are circumstances in which it can be in the public interest for journalists to pay for information," a former head of the CPS, Ken Macdonald, told BBC radio on Saturday. A total of 29 journalists have been prosecuted under the £20-million (28-million-euro, $30-million) police investigation into illegal payments to officials, codenamed Operation Elveden. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20582[/attach] A replica of the 18th century ship that took a French general on his voyage to become a hero of the American war of independence set sail again Saturday, cheered off by thousands of well-wishers and President Francois Hollande. Thousands gathered to wish "bon voyage" to the painstakingly recreated tall ship Hermione, leaving from Ile d'Aix, in southwest France, for the east coast of the United States. The French and American flags were raised on the wooden frigate as it embarked on an Atlantic crossing retracing the voyage 235 years ago of General Lafayette, who won fame for rallying America's rebels fighting for independence from Britain. "The Hermione is a glorious page of our history... thus was sealed one of the finest alliances, a fraternal alliance," Hollande said ahead of the vessel's departure, followed by a rendition of the American national anthem, the "Star Spangled Banner". Continue reading...

[attach=full]20581[/attach] BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lionel Messi set up Luis Suarez's first-minute opener then notched his 400th goal for Barcelona in stoppage time to give the Spanish league leaders a hard-fought 2-0 win over Valencia on Saturday. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20580[/attach] MILAN (AP) — Runaway leader Juventus took another important step towards the Serie A title as it eased to a 2-0 win over second-place Lazio on Saturday. Continue reading...

Torrential rain triggered flooding on the streets of Houston and sent spectators fleeing from a circus south of the Texas city, officials said on Saturday, as the storm system headed east toward Louisiana and neighboring states. The heavy rainfall followed a front that built up along the Gulf Coast, causing moisture to accumulate along it, said Mark Paquette, a meteorologist with AccuWeather.com. Two tornadoes were spotted in rural Yuma County in northeastern Colorado at about 1:30 p.m. local time, according to the weather service. There were no reports of damage, the Yuma County Sheriff's Office said. Continue reading...

It is Greece and not Europe which will be hurt by any problems stemming from the Greek financial situation, because Europe has built buffers to protect itself, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said on Saturday. So Europe is much stronger. Europe has sheltered itself from turbulence. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20577[/attach] PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain showed it can cope with injuries and without top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic as it won 3-1 at Nice on Saturday to pressure Lyon in the close-fought French title race. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20576[/attach] SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Former three-time boxing champion Wilfredo Gomez will not face any charges after police detained him Saturday while investigating allegations of domestic violence, authorities said. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20575[/attach] LONDON (AP) — While rarely ruthless, Chelsea is easing to the English Premier League title. With a 1-0 victory over Manchester United on Saturday, Chelsea surged 10 points clear of Arsenal. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20574[/attach] The UN envoy trying to broker a peace agreement in Libya on Saturday condemned another outbreak of violence and repeated calls for an immediate end to hostilities. A UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) statement said Bernardino Leon "strongly condemned the renewed outbreak of violence in different neighbourhoods of the Libyan capital that caused many casualties and endangered the lives of civilians". Continue reading...

[attach=full]20573[/attach] LONDON (AP) — Eden Hazard propelled Chelsea closer to its first English Premier League title in five years on Saturday by clinching a 1-0 victory over Manchester United that established a 10-point lead. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20569[/attach] Saudi Arabia, which is leading a bombing campaign against Shiite rebels in Yemen, pledged Saturday to cover the entire $274 million in humanitarian aid sought by the United Nations for conflict-torn Yemen. Fighting and air strikes in Yemen over the past two days have left 130 people dead, according to medics, military and tribal sources. Overnight, 52 people were killed, including at least 27 people who died in the southwestern city of Taez from air strikes and in clashes between loyalists and the Iran-backed Huthi rebels. The kingdom "stands with its Yemeni brothers" and hopes for "the restoration of security and stability", the state Saudi Press Agency said. Continue reading...

The defending champion New South Wales Waratahs ended the Hurricanes' seven-match unbeaten start to Super Rugby on Saturday, winning 29-24 to close the gap on the standings leaders. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20568[/attach] Fighting along Saudi Arabia's border with Yemen has killed a soldier from the kingdom, the Saudi-led coalition spokesman said on Saturday. The soldier is the seventh to die since coalition aircraft on March 26 began air strikes in Yemen to stop a southern advance by Iran-backed Huthi rebels. Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri told reporters there was continuous fighting from Friday afternoon until late that night along the frontier in the southwestern Saudi region of Najran. Saudi Arabia has reinforced the border with artillery, tanks and hilltop lookout posts to block the incursion of any Huthis, whose traditional stronghold is just over the border in northern Yemen. Continue reading...

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Authorities say the arrest of the man who headed the once powerful Gulf Cartel sparked the gunfights and blockades of burning vehicles that left at least three people dead near Mexico's border with the United States. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20567[/attach] The marginalised Russian opposition parties of slain Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov and arch Putin foe Alexei Navalny have announced they will form an alliance for legislative polls in 2016. Nemtsov's RPR-Parnas and Navalny's Party of Progress said Friday they are joining forces to put forward joint candidates at local elections this year and parliamentary polls next year. In a statement the two parties accused officials of having established an authoritarian system under President Vladimir Putin that had wiped out opposition, wrecked the economy and plunged the country into a conflict in Ukraine. They said they expected other opposition parties to join their platform. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20562[/attach] TURIN, Italy (AP) — Turin's archbishop says interest in the Shroud of Turin is so keen that many pilgrims who already saw the burial cloth some believe covered Jesus are returning to see the linen again when it goes back on display starting Sunday. Continue reading...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A former Puerto Rico police officer has been sentenced to one year in prison after pleading guilty to making a false statement to the FBI in a fatal beating case. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20561[/attach] Unidentified assailants opened fire early Saturday on Turkey's main Kurdish party headquarters in the capital Ankara, raising tensions ahead of legislative elections in June, but with no casualties reported. "The attackers fired with rifles at the party headquarters at 4:05 am from a passing car," an official from the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) told AFP on condition of anonymity. HDP lawmaker Sirri Sureyya Onder called the attack a "provocation" in the run up to the June 7 legislative polls. "I condemn the attack targeting the HDP," Davutoglu wrote on Twitter. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20560[/attach] HAVANA (AP) — At least two dissidents made it past a first round of voting and are standing as candidates in municipal elections that will be watched on and off the island Sunday as an unprecedented test of Cuba's single-party system. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20559[/attach] LEICESTER, England (AP) — Leicester boosted its chances of avoiding relegation by beating Swansea 2-0 on Saturday in the Premier League, lifting the team off the bottom of the standings. Continue reading...

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that he has reached an agreement with Israel in which essential tax revenues it collects for the Palestinians will be transferred following a four-month freeze. Continue reading...