Syria, U.N. agree on terms of monitoring mission

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• Syria, U.N. agree on terms of monitoring mission
• U.S. helicopter crashes in Afghanistan, four feared dead
• Lawmakers press UK government over China murder scandal
• Protests rage as Bahrain Grand Prix practice begins
• Exclusive: Murdered Briton in China left meager savings to family; friend
• Suu Kyi Myanmar parliament debut in doubt over oath stalemate
• Bashir says Sudan to teach South "final lesson by force"
• Emerging powers said ready to give IMF billions
• Mexico leftist moves into second place in presidential poll
• Kazakhstan journalist targeted in savage attack
• Fishermen blast premier dive sites off Indonesia
• Syrian troops shell central city of Homs
• Turkey curtails military's clout in politics
• Ousted Malian president, family fly to Senegal
• New Zealand woman's Coca-Cola habit cited in death
• Al-Qaida claims Iraq's worst violence in a month
• Tiny Gulf islands rekindle big Arab-Iran dispute
• Norway killer sharpened aim by playing video game

Syria, U.N. agree on terms of monitoring mission Posted: BEIRUT/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Syria and the United Nations signed an agreement on Thursday on terms for hundreds of observers to monitor a ceasefire, but fierce diplomatic wrangling lies ahead to persuade the West the mission can have the authority and power to ensure peace. A handful of U.N. observers are already in Syria monitoring a week-old truce that has failed to stop bloodshed. The question of whether the mission can expand while violence continues is up in the air. A crowd mobbed the head of the advance party on Thursday, some demanding the death of President Bashar al-Assad. The ...

U.S. helicopter crashes in Afghanistan, four feared dead Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. military helicopter went down in poor weather in Afghanistan on Thursday, the military said, in a crash that officials believed may have killed all four people onboard. A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Black Hawk helicopter crashed in the Regional Command-Southwest area, which includes the traditional Taliban stronghold of Helmand province. Poor weather appeared to have been the cause of the crash. Another official said all four people aboard the helicopter were feared dead. ...

Lawmakers press UK government over China murder scandal Posted: LONDON (Reuters) - Lawmakers asked the British government on Thursday about rumors that a businessman whose murder sparked political upheaval in China may have been a spy and demanded to know why it took so long for ministers to be told of suspicions about his death. Police in China initially attributed the death of Neil Heywood, 41, in a hotel room in the southwest Chinese city of Chongqing last November to cardiac arrest due to over-consumption of alcohol. ...

Protests rage as Bahrain Grand Prix practice begins Posted: MANAMA (Reuters) - Formula One cars took to the track in Bahrain on Friday, with the government hoping for a successful Grand Prix, while activists are promising to mark it with "days of rage" after more than a year of Arab Spring protests. On the eve of Friday's practice session, which began at about 0700 GMT, protests had flared in villages surrounding the capital, far from the circuit where the race will be held. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse demonstrators in clashes that have been building in the week leading to Sunday's round of the World Championship. ...

Exclusive: Murdered Briton in China left meager savings to family; friend Posted: BEIJING (Reuters) - Expatriate British businessman Neil Heywood, whose murder has caused political upheaval in China, left his wife and children in a financially uncertain situation in China, prompting a former business associate to pay for their plane tickets to attend his London funeral, a family friend told Reuters. The account marks the first time that details of Heywood's financial affairs have emerged since he died in southwest China last November. Family friends also revealed more details about the final few days leading up to his death. ...

Suu Kyi Myanmar parliament debut in doubt over oath stalemate Posted: YANGON (Reuters) - The party of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi will seek fresh ways to try to alter an oath to be taken by newly elected members of parliament, a party official said on Friday, making it unlikely the main opposition will make its parliamentary debut next week. The National League for Democracy (NLD) will send letters to upper and lower house speakers, the president and a constitutional tribunal asking for a swearing-in vow to "safeguard the constitution" be changed. ...

Bashir says Sudan to teach South "final lesson by force" Posted: KHARTOUM/JUBA (Reuters) - Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir all but declared war against his newly independent neighbor on Thursday, vowing to teach South Sudan a "final lesson by force" after it occupied a disputed oil field. South Sudan accused Bashir of planning "genocide" and said it would fight to protect its people. Mounting violence since Sudan split into two countries last year has raised the prospect of two sovereign African states waging war against each other openly for the first time since Ethiopia fought newly-independent Eritrea in 1998-2000. ...

Emerging powers said ready to give IMF billions Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Major emerging powers stood ready on Friday to pledge money to bolster the International Monetary Fund's crisis-fighting war chest, though Brazil was holding out for promises that their voting power at the global lender would increase. Russia said that G20 advanced and emerging countries were ready at a meeting on Friday to commit enough new funds to fulfill IMF chief Christine Lagarde's request for at least $400 billion to draw a line under the euro-zone crisis. Russia itself, he said, would offer $10 billion. "Trust me that the G20 will announce the final amount. ...

Mexico leftist moves into second place in presidential poll Posted: MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has moved ahead of the ruling party candidate in Mexico's presidential race, but still badly lags front-runner Enrique Pena Nieto, a new poll showed on Thursday. The survey sponsored by Mexico media company Milenio showed Lopez Obrador with 19.3 percent support, compared with 17.9 percent for Josefina Vazquez Mota from the conservative National Action Party, or PAN. Pena Nieto of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, holds a wide lead, with 39.4 percent support, according to the poll. ...

Kazakhstan journalist targeted in savage attack Posted: A journalist in western Kazakhstan has been stabbed and shot in an attack that his colleagues say may have been motivated by his reporting.

Fishermen blast premier dive sites off Indonesia Posted: Coral gardens that were among Asia's most spectacular, teeming with colorful sea life just a few months ago, have been transformed into desolate gray moonscapes by fishermen who use explosives or cyanide to kill or stun their prey.

Syrian troops shell central city of Homs Posted: An activists group says Syrian troops are intensely shelling a rebel-held neighborhood of the central city of Homs.

Turkey curtails military's clout in politics Posted: Turkey's Islamic-rooted government has scored two victories in its quest to end the military's decades-long influence over politics.

Ousted Malian president, family fly to Senegal Posted: Senegalese state radio reports that Mali's ousted president has left the country and flown to Senegal.

New Zealand woman's Coca-Cola habit cited in death Posted: Experts say a New Zealand woman's 2-gallon-a-day Coca-Cola habit probably contributed to her death, a conclusion that led the soft-drink giant to note that even water can be deadly in excessive amounts.

Al-Qaida claims Iraq's worst violence in a month Posted: Iraq's al-Qaida branch has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks that killed dozens in Baghdad and across the country the day before.

Tiny Gulf islands rekindle big Arab-Iran dispute Posted: There would seem to be enough points of tension to keep Iran and its Gulf Arab rivals fully occupied: Tehran's nuclear program, accusations of Iranian meddling in Bahrain's uprising, Iranian threats to block Gulf oil shipping lanes. But it's all been overshadowed by three contested islands that Iran wants to turn into a tourist draw.

Norway killer sharpened aim by playing video game Posted: Anders Behring Breivik knew it would take practice to be able to slaughter dozens of people before being shot by police. In a chilling account, the far-right fanatic claimed that he sharpened his aim by playing the video game "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" for hours on end.

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