WorldNews

By Caroline Stauffer and Marcelo Teixeira SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Striking truck drivers resumed some roadblocks in Brazil on Monday, disrupting grain and meat shipments to southern ports even as the government cracked down on protesters and promised to give new benefits to the transport sector. By mid-afternoon there were 23 road blockages in three southern states, down from 99 points nationwide a week ago, the federal highway police said. The country's No. 3 soy exporting port of Rio Grande, in Brazil's southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, said 70 percent of its operations were affected. Brazil exported just 869,000 tonnes of soybeans last month, 69 percent less than in February 2014, the data showed. Continue reading...

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Authorities in the Dominican Republic say four people from the U.S. drowned in an incident along the country's eastern coastline. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18312[/attach] BAGHDAD (AP) — Backed by Iranian-supported Shiite militias, Iraqi forces launched a large-scale offensive Monday to retake Saddam Hussein's hometown from the Islamic State group, the first in a series of campaigns to try to reclaim large parts of northern Iraq from the Sunni extremists. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18311[/attach] NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is not planning to march in the nation's biggest and oldest St. Patrick's Day parade unless its organizers change their limitations on displays of gay pride. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18310[/attach] BRUSSELS (AP) — The United Nations is urging donors, organizations and countries fighting Ebola in West Africa not to give in to complacency as the death toll from the virus climbs toward 10,000. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18301[/attach] The US and Russian foreign ministers expressed cautious optimism after holding talks in Geneva Monday to end fighting in Ukraine, where the UN says more than 6,000 people have died in less than a year. The meeting between John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov in Geneva was just one of several attempts at mediation on the conflict Monday, as high-stakes talks to resolve a bitter gas dispute between Kiev and Moscow were also due in Brussels. Speaking separately after their 80-minute meeting, Kerry and Lavrov both cautiously said a February 15 ceasefire was on the right track, despite repeated breaches of the peace deal that have left hundreds dead. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18300[/attach] Swaziland police club Royal Leopards caused a CAF Confederation Cup sensation with the weekend elimination of South Africans club Wits. Clashes between South African and Swazi clubs are traditionally mismatches as there is a gulf in football standards between the neighbouring countries. Unfashionable Johannesburg-based Wits are riding high at home, sharing second place in the league table with Mamelodi Sundowns. The policemen held their nerve in the shootout and when South African Kabelo Paseka fluffed his penalty, Wits were out. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18299[/attach] Eurostar suffered 17 cancellations on Monday after a person was hit by a train and killed on the English side of the cross-Channel service. "Due to a person hit by a train between Ashford International and Ebbsfleet International, the High Speed Line is currently closed," Eurostar, which offers passenger rail services between London, Brussels and Paris, said in a statement. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18298[/attach] WASHINGTON (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted Monday that despite recent differences with the Obama administration over a looming nuclear deal with Iran the alliance between his country and the Unites States was "stronger than ever." Continue reading...

[attach=full]18297[/attach] Syrian regime forces and Kurdish militia fought separate battles with the Islamic State group on Monday in a strategic area near the Iraqi and Turkish borders, a monitoring group said. Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and fighters from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) launched uncoordinated offensives against IS in the northeastern province of Hasakeh, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP that after three days of clashes, regime forces bolstered by fighters from Arab tribes had secured control over 23 villages in the centre of the province from IS. Continue reading...

Across the Middle East this week, the extremist Islamic State group that holds a third of both Iraq and Syria destroyed ancient artifacts and kidnapped more than 200 Christians. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18290[/attach] An overnight drone strike killed three suspected Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen, a country where the United States is the only power operating the unmanned aircraft, a tribal source said Monday. The late Sunday strike in the Markha district of the southern province of Shabwa also wounded another three suspected militants, the source told AFP. On Saturday, a drone strike on a vehicle killed three militants in the village of Bijan. Yemen has descended into chaos since a Shiite militia overran the capital Sanaa last September. Continue reading...

LONDON (AP) — The U.S. Army chief of staff says cuts in British defense spending may undermine the nation's ability to be an effective ally in future military operations. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18289[/attach] ISTANBUL (AP) — Political leaders and fellow writers are among thousands who gathered for the funeral of Yasar Kemal, one of Turkey's best-known novelists. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18288[/attach] GENEVA (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday delivered a vigorous defense of Israel before the U.N. Human Rights Council, urging its members to end what the United States says is its unfair and biased focus on the Jewish State that could undermine its credibility. His remarks came as the Obama administration attempts to blunt complaints that it has not been strong enough in its support for Israel, criticism now centered on its pursuit of a nuclear deal with Iran. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18287[/attach] KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Afghan army is waging its largest-ever solo offensive against the Taliban, hoping to strike a decisive blow ahead of the spring fighting season and prove it can rout the insurgents without the aid of U.S. and NATO combat troops. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18286[/attach] KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Two airplane catastrophes put Malaysia on the map in a bad way in 2014. But they didn't hurt the country's tourism, and the higher visibility may even have helped: visitor numbers had their strongest growth in years. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18285[/attach] Your Top Plays for Today: AP's Sports Guide Continue reading...

[attach=full]18284[/attach] Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers were arrested and then released on Monday over their involvement in mass protests for free elections, the latest step in a widespread investigation that has been accused of seeking to intimidate activists. Albert Ho and Helena Wong, both of the Democratic Party, voluntarily turned themselves in at Wan Chai police headquarters Monday morning on the request of the police. Both were holding small paper yellow umbrellas -- the symbol of the democracy movement -- as they went into the police station while supporters carrying umbrellas and placards shouted "We want universal suffrage". "Today Albert Ho and myself were formally arrested," said Wong after she was released. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18283[/attach] US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Geneva for talks on the Ukraine crisis Monday, less than a week after accusing Moscow of lying to his face over the conflict. High-stakes talks between Kiev and Moscow are also set to get under way Monday aimed at resolving a bitter gas dispute which threatens deliveries to Europe, after Russia began direct supplies to parts of separatist-held eastern Ukraine. As relative quiet held on Ukraine's frontlines, Russia's foreign minister looked set for tense discussions with Kerry, who last week said Moscow officials had engaged in a "propaganda" campaign and lied "to my face" over supplying troops or weapons to rebels. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18277[/attach] LONDON (AP) — With a commanding defensive display and his first-ever cup final goal, evergreen captain John Terry ensured Chelsea would not endure another trophyless season. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18276[/attach] PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Ian Poulter didn't realize he had a three-shot lead in the Honda Classic, only that he was playing well enough to feel like he was in control of his game and the tournament. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18275[/attach] WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday tried to calm tensions with Israel before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's congressional address, yet insisted the Obama administration's diplomatic record with Iran entitles the U.S. to "the benefit of the doubt" as negotiators work toward a long-term nuclear deal. On a mission to warn of the dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran, Netanyahu arrived in Washington for the speech the White House didn't want him to give. Continue reading...

Rockets hit residential areas in Libya's Benghazi on Sunday, killing at least two people and wounding more than 30 others in continued fighting over the city, officials said. Nearly four years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya is caught up in a conflict between two rival governments, one internationally recognized and the other controlling Tripoli since its fighters took over the capital in the summer. The conflict involves loose confederations of rebel brigades who once battled Gaddafi, and Benghazi is a battle between a former Libyan general who declared war on Islamist militants, and an alliance of militants and former rebel fighters. Libyan military official Fadil Hassi said two people were killed and 30 wounded when at least two rockets hit downtown Benghazi. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18274[/attach] LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ronda Rousey won a fight in 16 seconds last summer, falling a second short of the quickest victory in UFC history. At the time, the bantamweight champion figured the speed with which she pummeled Alexis Davis was a fluke. Continue reading...