WorldNews

[attach=full]20359[/attach] NORTH SOUND, Antigua (AP) — Ian Bell hit a polished 143 for his 22nd test century to help turn a precarious start for England into a powerful position on the opening day of the first test of the three-match series against West Indies at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Monday. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20358[/attach] WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge sentenced one former Blackwater security guard to life in prison and three others to 30-year terms for their roles in a 2007 shooting that killed 14 Iraqi civilians and wounded 17 others. Continue reading...

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon considers the slaughter of Armenians by Ottoman Turks 100 years ago "atrocity crimes," but he isn't supporting Pope Francis' description of the killings as "the first genocide of the 20th century," the U.N. spokesman said Monday. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20357[/attach] BURNLEY, England (AP) — With chimneys rising from the former cotton mills which nestle between tightly-packed houses, Burnley provides a quintessentially English vista for fans at the town's soccer stadium. Continue reading...

The United States said on Monday it has expressed its concerns to Moscow over a Russian fighter jet's "sloppy" and unsafe intercept of a U.S. spy plane in international airspace, in the latest sign of tensions between the two countries. The incident took place on April 7 over the Baltic Sea, when a Russian SU-27 Flanker intercepted a U.S. RC-135U reconnaissance plane and performed what the Pentagon described as unsafe aerial maneuvers. Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said the Russian aircraft did a roll in front of the U.S. aircraft and showed its belly to the pilot to indicate it was armed. Relations between the West and Russia have soured as a result of Moscow's role in the conflict in Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea, while increased Russian military activity in the Baltics has added to tensions. Continue reading...

VALENCIA, Spain (AP) — Valencia beat crosstown rival Levante 3-0 at Mestalla Stadium on Monday to extend its unbeaten streak to 10 games and stay on track for a return to the Champions League. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20351[/attach] BEIRUT (AP) — A top leader of the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group directed a barrage of criticism at Saudi Arabia on Monday, accusing the kingdom of committing genocide with its airstrike campaign targeting Yemen's Shiite rebels and warning it will "pay a heavy price" for its involvement. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20350[/attach] SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Former Chilean President Ricardo Lagos is joining more than two dozen other ex-leaders in urging greater respect for human rights in Venezuela. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20349[/attach] NEW YORK (AP) — Investors sent stocks slightly lower Monday ahead of a busy week for company earnings. Continue reading...

The U.N. agency responsible for Palestinian refugees said it had provided urgent supplies on Monday to around 500 civilians who have fled fighting in a Damascus camp that Islamic State has been battling to seize from rival insurgents. The mission to help the evacuees from the Yarmouk camp "was made possible following facilitation and dialogue with the Syrian government and local authorities", Pierre Kraehenbuehl, the head of the UNRWA agency, said in a statement. "UNRWA has shown that we can work with the parties on the ground and secure access," he said in Damascus while on a humanitarian mission to address the crisis in Yarmouk, where U.N. officials have warned of a potential massacre. Islamic State militants launched an attack to seize Yarmouk camp from rival insurgents earlier this month. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20340[/attach] The party of Nigeria's president-elect Muhammadu Buhari has won governorship elections in a majority of the country's 36 states, building its strength nationwide after a historic presidential win, official results on Monday showed. The All Progressives Congress (APC) held at least 21 governor's seats following Saturday's regional polls but could add to that tally with results from a handful of states still pending. President Goodluck Jonathan's People's Democratic Party (PDP) had controlled the federal and most state governments since the end of military rule in 1999 but has suffered sweeping losses in the ongoing election cycle. Jonathan's loss to Buhari in the presidential vote two weeks ago was the first ever democratic change of power at the federal level since Nigeria gained independence from Britain in 1960. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20339[/attach] WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration lobbied lawmakers Monday to persuade them not to pass any legislation that could hamper prospects for negotiating a final deal with Iran to curb its nuclear program. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20338[/attach] NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya's athletics federation suspended the agents of marathon world record holder Dennis Kimetto and other top stars on Monday while it investigates the spike in doping among the country's runners. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20337[/attach] LONDON (AP) — Even though the race hasn't officially started, the field for the 2024 Olympics is getting more crowded by the day. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20336[/attach] Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday insisted his country wants a "nuclear-free world," days after Tehran's leadership cast doubt on an outline deal to curb its nuclear programme. Zarif made the comment during a visit to ex-Soviet Kazakhstan as he praised the Central Asian nation for giving up its nuclear weapons after the collapse of the USSR. "Kazakhstan is an important player in this field, as a country firmly committed to a non-proliferation regime and which voluntarily refused nuclear weapons," Zarif said in a meeting with the head of Kazahstan's Senate. Tehran and international powers including Russia made a major breakthrough on April 2 in a 12-year standoff by agreeing an outline deal aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear drive. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20333[/attach] JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The leader of South Africa's largest opposition party announced her decision to step down just four weeks ahead of the party's elective meeting. Continue reading...

By Anna Ercanbrack HELSINKI (Reuters) - For voters bored by politicians spouting over-rehearsed platitudes on televised debates, Finland may have the answer: invite the candidates to take questions in your own home where you can look them in the eye. In the run-up to a national election on Sunday, dozens of Finns have hosted "living room debates", with parliamentary candidates from rival parties gathering at private homes to take questions from voters in the room, and sometimes many more connected live via Twitter. The idea was hatched by Riina Malhotra, a TV journalist in Helsinki who, at the last election four years ago, invited a handful of electoral contenders and a group of friends to her home to debate key issues over appetizers and a glass of wine. "I was familiar with the party slogans and party leaders' opinions but it was hard to find out about anybody else", Malhotra told Reuters. Continue reading...

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's prime minister said Monday his country needs greater support from the international coalition so it can "finish" the Islamic State group. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20332[/attach] Guinean police opened fire on anti-government protesters wounding several during violent clashes in the capital Conakry on Monday, medical and opposition sources told AFP. The opposition had called for demonstrations in all parts of the capital against the ongoing lack of security for which it blames the regime of President Alpha Conde. "There were violent clashes between young protesters and police in Hamdallaye, where security forces shot three young protesters," a hospital doctor said on condition of anonymity. The medic told AFP two of the protesters sustained leg injuries while a third with a serious stomach wound was dragged several metres by police before being abandoned. Continue reading...

BERLIN (AP) — A 65-year-old German mother of 13 is getting ready to give birth again — this time to quadruplets. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20325[/attach] TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran suspended all minor hajj trips to Saudi Arabia on Monday amid growing diplomatic tensions between the two countries, state television reported. Continue reading...

BERLIN (AP) — German Nobel laureate Guenter Grass dies at age 87 according to publisher. Continue reading...

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria's opposition is winning key states from the party of defeated President Goodluck Jonathan, shoring up its victory at weekend gubernatorial elections marred by killings, low turnout and snatching of ballot boxes. Continue reading...

BEIJING (AP) — China's trade contracted in March by an unexpectedly wide margin, adding to expectations that Beijing will launch new stimulus to shore up weakening growth in the world's second-largest economy. Continue reading...

[attach=full]20324[/attach] KFAR HAROEH, Israel (AP) — When David Hershkoviz was a child, he used to wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of his mother screaming in her sleep, knowing that she was reliving the horrors of the Holocaust. Continue reading...