WorldNews

[attach=full]17839[/attach] By Laila Kearney NEW YORK (Reuters) - The record-breaking winter weather that has put the U.S. Northeast in a deep freeze this month and brought mountains of snow is making most people miserable but travel agents are learning to love it. Travel brokers from New York, Massachusetts and surrounding states have enjoyed a surge in business from weary residents looking to get out of town. Business is brisk, they say, as people scramble to book last-minute winter holidays to toasty locales such as the Bahamas, Mexico and other places far away from the chill. "People are tired of it," said Sam Erenfeld, owner of Bler Travel in the Boston suburb of Brookline. Continue reading...

[attach=full]17833[/attach] The 19 eurozone finance ministers reached the hard-won deal at tense talks pitting Greece against an angry Germany, suspicious that the new radical leftist government in Athens was looking to ditch its austerity obligations. "The meeting was intense because it was about building trust between us," said Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem, after the talks ended with a two-page statement setting out the tough conditions Athens will have to fulfil. Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said the deal marked a new era for Athens and its relationship with the European Union, after two painful bailouts put together at the height of the debt crisis to save the euro. Athens claimed the rescues and the austerity measures it had to follow since its first 2010 bailout had wrecked the Greek economy, making it impossible to manage its mountain of debt. Continue reading...

MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Second-seeded Stan Wawrinka was knocked out of the Open 13 by Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine after a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 loss in the quarterfinals Friday. Continue reading...

[attach=full]17835[/attach] London Fashion Week opened Friday on a sombre note, as Kanye West and Victoria Beckham joined some of the leading lights of the British industry at a memorial to inspirational tutor Louise Wilson. Catwalk shows were put on hold for the morning to remember the straight-talking 52-year-old, who was director of the fashion course at Central Saint Martins (CSM) college for 22 years until her death last May. Wilson had a passion for riding, and a model wearing a black top hat, veil, jacket and trailing skirt by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen stood guard on a horse outside St Paul's Cathedral as 1,300 guests mourned inside. The list of Wilson's alumni is a roll call of London's most talented designers, from the late McQueen to Stella McCartney, and many joined family and friends on Friday in paying tribute. Continue reading...

[attach=full]17834[/attach] BRUSSELS (AP) — Following weeks of recrimination and distrust, Greece and its creditors in the 19-nation eurozone reached an agreement Friday on extending the country's rescue loans, a move that should dramatically ease concerns it was heading for the euro exit as soon as next month. Continue reading...

DEBALTSEVE, Ukraine (AP) — Almost every building was gravely damaged, nearly every window smashed in this Ukrainian town left unrecognizable by months of relentless shelling. Children played in the rubble where their homes once stood, while neighbors boiled water in open fires as temperatures dipped below freezing. Continue reading...

[attach=full]17825[/attach] Hundreds of people on Friday attended the Islamic burial of the gunman who killed two people in twin shootings in Copenhagen last weekend. Omar El-Hussein, 22, was placed in an unmarked grave in the Muslim cemetery in Broendby, on the outskirts of Copenhagen, watched by around 500 people, mostly young men wearing thick black jackets against the cold and rain, an AFP reporter said. El-Hussein, a Danish citizen of Palestinian origin, has been identified by police as the gunman who shot dead two people -- a filmmaker and a volunteer Jewish security guard -- in the Danish capital last weekend. Before the burial, a short ceremony was held at a Copenhagen mosque following Friday prayers. Continue reading...

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — An Ecuadorean satirist whose biting online political humor provoked the ire of President Rafael Correa says he's ceasing and desisting after receiving anonymous death threats. Continue reading...

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, in phone calls with Ukrainian leaders on Friday, strongly condemned an offensive by pro-Russian separatists on the town of Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine, the White House said. In separate calls with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk, Biden discussed options for "effective monitoring" of a ceasefire and withdrawal of heavy weapons from eastern Ukraine, the White House said in a statement. Biden also agreed with the Ukrainian leaders that Russia cannot continue to hide behind "the false claim" that the separatists are acting alone, the White House said. Continue reading...

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Friday that there would be no payout of new funds to Greece before it has successfully completed its bailout program. "As long as the program isn't successfully completed, there will be no pay out," Schaeuble said after euro zone finance ministers agreed to extend Athens' bailout program. (Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; Editing by Alastair Macdonald) Continue reading...

[attach=full]17824[/attach] SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and a delegation of fellow Democrats are meeting with authorities in the Dominican Republic to talk about migrants' human rights. Continue reading...

There is reason for some optimism on finding a solution for continued euro zone financing for Greece in exchange for reforms, the chairman of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem said after a round of initial talks. Dijsselbloem held preparatory meetings with Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and the head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde ahead of a meeting of all euro zone ministers. Continue reading...

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Council President Donald Tusk said on Friday he spoke to the leaders of Greece and Germany, seeking a resolution to disagreements over extending an international bailout loan to Athens. "Discussed poss(ible) common ground acceptable to all euro countries on Greece with Eurogroup President (Jeroen) Dijsselbloem, (Greek) Prime Minister (Alexis) Tsipras and (German) Chancellor (Angela) Merkel," Tusk tweeted. An EU official said Tusk, who chairs summits of EU leaders, had spoken to the three individually by telephone. ... Continue reading...

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras asked European Council President Donald Tusk on Friday to be ready to convene a summit of European leaders on Sunday if euro zone finance ministers fail to agree to extend a bailout for Athens. A Greek government official said that Tsipras spoke to Tusk, who chairs such summits and is responsible for convening them, and said that if the Eurogroup failed to reach a "positive conclusion" at talks going on in Brussels on Friday then Tsipras would request that leaders get involved at a higher level. Earlier, commenting on a Tusk statement that he had spoken to Tsipras, an EU official said there was no plan for a summit yet. EU leaders have made clear they would prefer that the issue was resolved by their finance ministers. Continue reading...

Greece must rebuild trust with euro zone countries to clinch a deal with other countries on further financing in exchange for reforms, the European Commission's Vice President for the euro Valdis Dombrovskis said on Friday. "Unfortunately the changing rhetoric of the Greek authorities have created a certain erosion of trust, so we must build this once again at this Eurogroup meeting and we are hopeful a solution can be found based on the current program," Dombrovskis said. Continue reading...

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Friday said he backed giving Greece more time to pay its debts in exchange for commitments to make structural reforms, as Athens seeks euro zone approval to extend a loan program. Germany has called for "significant improvements" to Greek reform commitments before signing off on an extension on loan payments. Continue reading...

Greece expects to strike a deal with other euro zone countries on Friday that would extend its international bailout by six months during which it would get more financing, its finance minister said on entering talks of the ministers. Asked by reporters if there would be a deal on Friday, Yanis Varoufakis said: "I trust that we are going to have one. The Greek government has not just gone the extra mile but the extra 10 miles and now we are expecting our partners not to meet us half way but a fifth of the way." "I have no doubt there will be a very collegial discussion and hopefully at the end of this we come out with some white smoke," Varoufakis said. Continue reading...

[attach=full]17815[/attach] The Gulf Cooperation Council has backtracked on criticism of Egypt in its row with bloc member Qatar over Libya, in a move a Saudi-owned daily said Friday reflected divisions among member states. GCC secretary general Abdullatif al-Zayani had issued a statement on Thursday rebuking Egypt for accusing Qatar of supporting terrorism in Libya because of reservations it expressed about Egyptian air strikes earlier this week. Continue reading...

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Friday that police evidence showed that a top Russian presidential aide, Vladislav Surkov, had directed "foreign sniper groups" who shot and killed protesters in Kiev a year ago. "Just a few days ago, the head of state security told me that, in questioning, special forces operatives gave evidence that the Russian presidential aide Vladislav Surkov led the organization of groups of foreign snipers on the Maidan," Poroshenko said, according to his website. Poroshenko made his comments during a meeting with relatives of some of the 100 or so people who were shot dead over a three-day period a year ago during protests on Kiev's Independence Square against the Moscow-backed president, Viktor Yanukovich. Continue reading...

BERLIN (Reuters) - European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told a German magazine ahead of negotiations with Athens' new government over a bailout program he expected Greece to stay in the euro. "I see Greece as a permanent member of the euro family," Juncker said in an advanced copy of an interview in WirtschaftsWoche published on Friday. "A Greek exit won't happen." (Reporting by Caroline Copley and Michael Nienaber) Continue reading...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Authorities in Puerto Rico say one person has died and another was injured when their ultralight plane crashed off the island's western coast. Continue reading...

[attach=full]17808[/attach] NEW DELHI (AP) — Officials in India want to make one thing clear: The tree that President Barack Obama planted in New Delhi three weeks ago is not dead. Continue reading...

[attach=full]17807[/attach] Two powerful cyclones pounded Australia Friday, leaving a trail of destruction with houses ripped apart, trees uprooted and electricity cut to thousands of people, but authorities expressed relief there were no fatalities. Tropical Cyclone Marcia, a top-rating category five storm, slammed into the Queensland coast just after 2200 GMT Thursday with its landfall coming just hours after Cyclone Lam hit further north. The category four Lam caused extensive damage to remote Aboriginal communities near Elcho Island, some 500 kilometres (310 miles) east of the Northern Territory capital Darwin, including Milingimbi, Ramingining, and Gapuwiyak. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said while there had been "a lot of structural damage" in the towns of Yeppoon and Rockhampton as the storm passed through, "thankfully to date there is no loss of life". Continue reading...

NEW PLYMOUTH, New Zealand (AP) — Aaron Cruden slotted a penalty goal in the final minute to give the Chiefs a 19-17 win over Australia's ACT Brumbies in Super Rugby on Friday. Continue reading...

[attach=full]17806[/attach] Germany and Greece face off again on Friday in search of a last minute bailout compromise, with Berlin insisting Athens accept continued austerity in return for fresh aid. After days of sharp exchanges, the 19 eurozone finance ministers gather for their third meeting in little over a week to consider a take-it or leave-it proposal by Athens that they extend an EU loan programme which expires this month. Europe's paymaster Germany initially rejected the request out of hand but a lengthy phone call between left-wing Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras and German Chancellor Angela Merkel late Thursday appeared to calm the waters. The call came after a Greek government source released a very unflattering document said to outline Berlin's position at official-level talks Thursday. Continue reading...