| Afghan killing spree suspected to occur in two stages Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army sergeant accused of killing 17 Afghan civilians is believed to have carried out the rampage in two stages, returning to base after the first shootings and then going out to kill again, a U.S. official said on Saturday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, did not offer further details about the investigation into the March 11 shooting spree in southern Afghanistan, which has further eroded U.S.-Afghan relations already frayed by a decade of war. ...
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| Syrian tanks enter northern town, Homs pounded again Posted:  Syrian forces pounded the central city of Homs with mortar fire while troops backed by heavy armor stormed rebellious towns across the country on Saturday, leaving six civilians and four soldiers dead, opposition activists said. Ignoring a U.N. Security Council call for an end to hostilities, President Bashar al-Assad's forces clashed with rebel fighters and bombarded several towns and cities, aiming to crush a year-long uprising against the government. ...
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| Chavez flies to Cuba to begin radiation therapy Posted:  CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez flew back to Cuba on Saturday to begin radiation treatment for cancer, but said he was in good shape and would be back home in several days. The socialist leader's latest trip to Havana will heighten anxiety among supporters worried about his health, fan rumors of a power struggle among his top aides, and leave Chavez absent just as his election rival is stepping up a campaign tour. ...
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| Australia's ruling Labor Party crushed in state polls Posted:  PERTH (Reuters) - Australia's ruling Labor Party has suffered a crushing defeat in an election in the state of Queensland, handing the conservative Liberal National coalition the biggest majority in the state's history. While having no direct impact on federal politics, the result is likely to be a worry for Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her Labor Party who hold a knife-edge, one-seat majority in the federal parliament with the backing of the Greens and two independents. ...
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| Mexican priest abuse scandals cast shadow on pope's visit Posted:  LEON, Mexico (Reuters) - Pope Benedict's first full day in Mexico was clouded by fresh allegations the Vatican hid evidence of sex abuse by one of the country's most prominent Roman Catholic leaders for decades. The authors of a new book say a trove of once-secret Vatican documents prove Church officials ignored complaints of drug use and molestation of seminarians by the late Father Marcial Maciel, founder of the Catholic order the Legionaries of Christ. ...
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| Guatemala sets out plans to shake up anti-drug policy Posted:  ANTIGUA, Guatemala (Reuters) - Guatemalan President Otto Perez on Saturday set out a raft of proposals to tackle rampant drug-fuelled violence in Central America, including decriminalization of narcotics or establishing a regional court to try traffickers. "The proposal is decriminalization," Perez said at a regional summit to address security throughout the region. "We are talking about creating a legal framework to regulate the production, transit and consumption of drugs. ...
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| In Myanmar, old soldier fights losing war against Suu Kyi Posted:  YANGON (Reuters) - Soe Min calls himself "the luckiest man in Myanmar." But he'll need more than luck to win a seat in crucial April 1 by-elections. He'll need a miracle. That's because the retired army doctor is running against Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose nationwide political campaign has been cheered by huge crowds in cities and villages across Myanmar. "She went abroad to be educated. I was educated here. ...
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| Canada's NDP elects new leader, urges unity Posted:  TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main opposition party chose heavily favored candidate Thomas Mulcair to replace the late Jack Layton, who died of cancer just three months after leading the leftist party to its strongest ever performance in a federal election. Mulcair, a former Quebec cabinet minister who is a relative newcomer to the New Democratic Party (NDP), took over the reins after four rounds of voting at the leadership convention, held in downtown Toronto on Friday and Saturday. ...
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| Hong Kong notables pick Leung as leader amid protests Posted:  HONG KONG (Reuters) - An election committee of about 1,200 Hong Kong notables picked Beijing-loyalist Leung Chun-ying as the city's next leader on Sunday following a campaign marred by scandal and public discontent at perceived interference by Beijing. Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997, is a freewheeling capitalist hub enjoying a high degree of autonomy and freedom, but Beijing's Communist Party leaders have resisted public pressure for full democracy. Hong Kong's seven million people have no say in who becomes their chief executive. ...
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| Bahrain police battle to control streets in flashpoint town Posted:  SITRA, Bahrain (Reuters) - Bahraini police clashed with anti-government protesters on Saturday at a Shi'ite town where residents tried to demonstrate against the Gulf Arab state's holding of a Formula One race next month. Hundreds of riot police backed by dark blue armored vehicles and jeeps patrolled the streets of Sitra, a poor district southeast of Manama where youths threw petrol bombs and stones at security forces who responded with tear gas canisters, Reuters witnesses said. ...
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| SKorea: NKorea moves rocket to launch site Posted:  North Korea has moved a long-range rocket to its northwestern launch site in preparation for a launch next month, South Korean officials said Sunday, as Pyongyang pushes ahead with plans that Washington says are a cover for testing long-range missile systems.
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| Obama confronts nuke threat on N. Korea front line Posted:  Razor-wire close to the border, President Barack Obama on Sunday paid his first visit to the tense zone separating North and South Korea amid new nuclear tensions. He told American troops stationed nearby they are protectors of "freedom's frontier."
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| Chavez travels to Cuba for radiation treatment Posted:  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez flew to Cuba late Saturday to begin radiation therapy one month after undergoing surgery that removed a cancerous tumor.
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| Amid chaos of uprising, crime wave hits Syria Posted:  Streets of Damascus that were crowded until late at night stand mostly empty after sunset as Syrians stay home, fearing robberies and kidnapping. After a year of chaos, a country that once boasted it was the safest in the Middle East is experiencing a surge in crime.
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| Hong Kong's elite heed Beijing, pick Leung leader Posted:  Hong Kong's elite elected a former government Cabinet member as the southern Chinese financial hub's next leader on Sunday, heeding Beijing's wishes and public opinion following a tumultuous, bitter race that highlighted public discontent.
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| Bomb kills 8 Afghans on patrol in south Posted: A bomb exploded as a foot patrol of Afghan and NATO forces was passing by in the south of the country, killing eight Afghans and one international service member, an Afghan official said Sunday. |
| Say Hello! to Pakistan's glamorous side Posted:  Pakistan is better known for bombs than bombshells, militant compounds than opulent estates. A few enterprising Pakistanis hope to alter that perception with the launch of a local version of the well-known celebrity magazine Hello!.
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| Pope excited by Mass in shadow of Mexican monument Posted:  Pope Benedict XVI urged Mexico's children to be messengers of peace, then prepared for the highlight of his visit to this violence-troubled country: Sunday's open-air Mass in the shadow of the Christ the King monument, one of the most important symbols of Mexican Catholicism.
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| Leading opposition party in Canada elects leader Posted: Canada's opposition New Democratic Party elected Thomas Mulcair as their leader Saturday, months after the country mourned the loss of their previous chief to cancer. |
| NKoreans honor Kim Jong Il as mourning period ends Posted:  North Korea urged its people to rally behind new leader Kim Jong Un as tens of thousands gathered Sunday in a central square to observe the end of a 100-day mourning period following the death of his father, Kim Jong Il.
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