WorldNews

[attach=full]18135[/attach] The discovery of another bright light on the dwarf planet Ceres has NASA scientists perplexed as the US Dawn probe prepares to enter the orbit of the largest object in the asteroid belt and possibly resolve the mystery. The images taken nearly 29,000 miles (46,000 kilometers) from Ceres show that a bright spot on the planet scientists previously discovered appears next to another slightly darker spot, NASA said in a news release. The light appears in the same basin as the other spot, images released by NASA show. "This may be pointing to a volcano-like origin of the spots, but we will have to wait for better resolution before we can make such geologic interpretations," Chris Russell from the Dawn mission said. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18129[/attach] Thousands of Central African Republic (CAR) refugees are threatened by malnutrition in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo where they have sought refuge, a medical charity said Thursday. CAR is struggling to recover from the coup that ousted president Francois Bozize in March 2013 and triggered a wave of deadly sectarian violence between the country's Christian and Muslim populations. "The majority of the refugees... depend largely on the generosity of the local population," which is itself poverty-stricken, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said in a statement. These precarious living conditions bring problems of malnutrition and water-borne diseases," it added. Continue reading...

NEW YORK (AP) — Authorities say a Pablo Picasso painting worth millions of dollars was stolen in France and smuggled into the U.S. by someone who falsely labeled it as an "art craft" worth about $37 when it was shipped. Continue reading...

NEW YORK (AP) — A Pakistani man on trial in the U.S. for planning to bomb a British shopping center testified Thursday he was exaggerating his prowess with women in online chats and emails he sent mentioning potential wedding dates and a bride, denying the communiques were coded to disguise an al-Qaida plot. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18128[/attach] U.S. stocks drifted to a slightly lower finish on Thursday, weighed down by falling energy stocks as the slump in oil prices deepened. Continue reading...

Peru is seeking the extradition of a Greenpeace activist from Argentina to face charges he damaged the country's iconic Nazca Lines during a widely criticized stunt last year, a court said on Thursday. The Supreme Court's Permanent Criminal Chamber said Peru was on firm legal ground to ask Argentina to extradite Mauro Fernandez, a regional Greenpeace coordinator who illegally entered the Nazca Lines archaeological site to stage a photo in December. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18115[/attach] Mexico's international image is taking a beating these days, even from two worlds that rarely see eye-to-eye: The Holy See and Hollywood. President Enrique Pena Nieto was already struggling with falling approval ratings, relentless drug violence and a conflict of interest scandal when Pope Francis and an Oscar winner chimed in this week. In recent months, Mexico has faced international outrage and regular protests over the disappearance and alleged slaughter of 43 college students at the hands of a police-backed gang in September. Germany's federal commissioner for human rights policy, Christoph Straesser, met with parents of the victims in Guerrero state on Wednesday and said his country suspended arms sales to Mexico because German guns were apparently used in the attack on the students. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18114[/attach] Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf paid emotional tribute to the American people on Thursday as the United States formally wound up its successful five-month mission to combat the west African nation's Ebola outbreak. With Liberia now in recovery from the worst outbreak of the deadly virus in history, the visiting Sirleaf thanked the United States for coming to the region's aid in its hour of need. "America responded, you did not run from Liberia," Sirleaf told US lawmakers in Washington, expressing the "profound gratitude" of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Liberia, once the country worst hit by Ebola, has registered 4,037 of around 9,600 deaths in the epidemic, which began in Guinea in December 2013. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18113[/attach] MILAN (AP) — Shape and color engaged designers on the second day of Milan Fashion Week of womenswear previews for next autumn and winter, featuring shows by Fendi, Max Mara, Just Cavalli and Prada. Continue reading...

Dozens of black-clad protesters clashed with riot police in central Athens on Thursday, smashing shop windows, throwing petrol bombs and burning cars after an anti-government march, the first since the leftist Syriza party took power a month ago. Around 450 far-left protesters took to the streets of Athens against the newly elected left-right coalition government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, which agreed a deal with EU partners last week to extend an aid program to Athens. After the march, about 50 anti-establishment protesters wearing hoods hurled petrol bombs and stones at police in Athens' central Exarchate district, a Bohemian quarter known as a haunt for artists and left-wing intellectuals. A small number of shop windows and bus stops were also smashed or damaged during the violence. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18112[/attach] SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Two stolen Italian books dating to the 17th century that were discovered in California and many other plundered ancient artifacts will be returned to their country of origin, federal officials say. Continue reading...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice will convene a meeting on Thursday with her European counterparts to discuss Russia's actions in Ukraine. Rice will meet with representatives from Italy, France, the UK and Germany to discuss future costs they might impose on Russia, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Thursday. (Reporting by Julia Edwards and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Susan Heavey) Continue reading...

[attach=full]18107[/attach] Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan arrives in Cuba on Thursday to help prod negotiators from the Colombian government and leftist guerrillas to clinch a peace agreement. The 2001 Nobel Peace Prize winner will meet with both delegations, after declaring in Colombia that any peace agreement must be just, and must meet the standards of the international community. "Transitional justice is an issue of concern and controversy in Colombia," Annan said Wednesday, referring to truth-seeking, reparations to victims and accountability for crimes. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18106[/attach] WINTERBERG, Germany (AP) — Elana Meyers Taylor and pushing partner Cherrelle Garrett of the United States held a comfortable lead after the first two women's bobsled heats at the world championships on Thursday. Continue reading...

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is backing efforts by South American nations to re-launch a dialogue between Venezuela's government and opposition following new reports of violence. Continue reading...

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A lawyer says Maldives' former president has denied in court that he ordered the arrest of a top judge three years ago. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18099[/attach] French President Francois Hollande and Philippine leader Benigno Aquino appealed Thursday for urgent global action on climate change, seeking to build momentum for a planned historic accord at a UN summit in Paris. On the first day of Hollande's visit to the Philippines, the leaders offered a show of unity they said could serve as a model for rich and poor nations who have long been divided over how to tackle climate change. "We have a duty to act together and that's why I came here to the Philippines, to launch an appeal, to seal an alliance," Hollande told a business forum ahead of his joint appeal with Aquino. Hollande is due to host the United Nations' summit in December aiming to seal a global pact that would save the world from the catastrophic impacts of climate change. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18098[/attach] JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Carley Petesch, a longtime editor in Africa who has reported from Nigeria and South Africa for The Associated Press, has been named a West Africa correspondent for the news organization. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18097[/attach] Nearly all California voters believe the state's water shortage is a serious problem, though they were split on whether environmental protection should be rolled back in response, according to a Field Poll released on Thursday. Winter storms that dropped up to a foot (30 cm) of rain on parts of California have modestly eased the dry conditions, according to U.S. drought experts, but the relief only put a dent in the drought entering its fourth year. Respondents in northern California, the Central Valley, and the San Francisco Bay Area were more likely than their southern California counterparts to say the problem was extreme. The poll surveyed 1,241 registered voters in California from late January to mid-February by phone. Continue reading...

By Mahmoud Mourad and Omar Fahmy CAIRO (Reuters) - Two Egyptian policemen accused of killing a lawyer in custody were detained on Thursday on the orders of an Egyptian prosecutor, judicial sources said, a rare action against members of the security forces. The officers, a lieutenant colonel and a major, will be held for four days pending investigations in to the death of Karim Hamdy on Tuesday, sources at the prosecutor's office said, and could be charged with murder. They carried pictures of him and chanted "the Interior Ministry are thugs". Hamdy was arrested at his home on charges of taking part in anti-government protests organized by the Muslim Brotherhood, the movement that the army removed from power in mid-2013. Continue reading...

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The African Union chairwoman is "safe and sound," the organization said on Thursday, after leaked intelligence documents revealed a 2012 plot to assassinate her. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18089[/attach] SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has told rival South Korea that it plans to unilaterally raise the minimum wage for North Koreans employed by southern companies at a jointly run industrial park starting in March, officials said Thursday. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18088[/attach] BEIJING (AP) — With his latest political exhortation, President Xi Jinping is asserting his influence and advancing his agenda in a time-honored tradition among Chinese leaders. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18087[/attach] The chief executive of Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered will step down in June, the company said Thursday, following poor results, job cuts and fines for failing to detect possible money-laundering. "Peter Sands will stand down from the Board and as Group Chief Executive in June 2015," the British bank said in a statement, adding that he would be replaced by former JP Morgan co-CEO Bill Winters. The bank's chairman John Peace praised Sands, who became the group's chief executive in 2006, saying that he had presided "over a period of huge change and challenge for the entire industry". The bank, which focuses on emerging markets, was under pressure from shareholders and the move was welcomed on the London stock exchange where its shares jumped 1.36 percent to 938.90 pence at 0900 GMT. Continue reading...

[attach=full]18086[/attach] TOKYO (AP) — Britain's Prince William is having afternoon tea on his first visit to Japan on Thursday, but it's green and served by a master in the Japanese ceremonial art in a traditional tea house. Continue reading...