Analysis: Success of Annan peace plan for Syria hinges on Russia

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• Analysis: Success of Annan peace plan for Syria hinges on Russia
• French police swoop on more suspected Islamists
• Japan, Britain set to agree on joint development of arms: paper
• U.S., Afghanistan near deal on night raids: official
• First Marines in Australia as U.S. ramps up Asia-Pacific focus
• India army units' unusual movements spooked government: paper
• Former Turkish president on trial for 1980 coup
• Addicts embody cocaine boom in Brazil's "cracklands"
• Iraq says Iran proposes Baghdad as nuclear talks venue
• China keen on free trade pact with U.S.: Greenberg
• Europe's central bank looks in vain for growth
• Mali Coup leader stays put, despite sanctions
• Sculptor Elizabeth Catlett dies in Mexico
• APNewsBreak: Syrian troops start pullout
• Clashes in rival towns kill 22 in western Libya
• AP Interview: Pakistani dismisses US $10 million
• Argentina condemns Cameron's remarks on Falklands
• Sports, art, streetlights: A new life in Mogadishu
• Titanomania: Museum charts obsession with Titanic
• Pit bulls in Philippine dog fights to be put down

Analysis: Success of Annan peace plan for Syria hinges on Russia Posted: UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The success or failure of Kofi Annan's peace plan for Syria will depend largely on how willing Russia is to keep sustained pressure on a government that Moscow is determined to protect from Western calls for "regime change." Even if, as expected, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fails to comply fully with an April 10 deadline to halt military operations and pull its army out of population centers, U.N. diplomats say Annan will keep pushing Russia and China to help him pressure Damascus to end the year-long conflict. The former U.N. ...

French police swoop on more suspected Islamists Posted: PARIS (Reuters) - Elite police arrested 10 suspected Islamists in early morning raids across France on Wednesday in a clampdown ordered by President Nicolas Sarkozy after seven people were killed by an al Qaeda-inspired gunman last month. The DCRI domestic intelligence service, supported by elite police commandos, carried out arrests in the southern cities of Marseille and Valence, two towns in the southwest and in the northeastern town of Roubaix, a police source said. ...

Japan, Britain set to agree on joint development of arms: paper Posted: TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan and Britain are set to agree to begin joint development of arms following Tokyo's easing of its ban on exports of military equipment late last year, the Mainichi daily reported on Wednesday. It will mark the first time that Japan has worked with a country other than the United States on military equipment after making an exception for the U.S. missile defense program. Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his British counterpart David Cameron are expected to formally agree to begin talks when they meet on April 10 in Tokyo, the paper said. ...

U.S., Afghanistan near deal on night raids: official Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and Afghan officials are close to a deal to change the way night raids are conducted in Afghanistan, giving Afghan security forces the lead role and providing judicial oversight of a practice hated by Afghans but seen as effective by American forces, a U.S. defense official said on Tuesday. The deal is expected to help clear the way for a broader strategic partnership agreement that will govern the U.S. presence in Afghanistan once Afghan forces take full responsibility for security by the end of 2014. The U.S. ...

First Marines in Australia as U.S. ramps up Asia-Pacific focus Posted: (Reuters) - About 200 U.S. Marines began a six month deployment in Australia on Wednesday, in the first wave of a buildup of 2,500 troops due eventually to rotate through a de facto base in Darwin, as the U.S. deepens its military presence in the Asia-Pacific. The deployment of Marines to northern Australia has sparked concern in China, where officials have questioned whether it is part of a larger U.S. strategy aimed at encircling it and thwarting the country's rise as a global power. ...

India army units' unusual movements spooked government: paper Posted: NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Two Indian army units that moved towards New Delhi on a January night without notifying the government raised an alarm in the capital, the Indian Express newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing several unidentified sources. The newspaper report said the infantry unit of the 33rd Armored Division based 150 km (90 miles) from Delhi and a unit of the airborne 50 Para brigade based in Agra to the south reached the outskirts of Delhi before being ordered back. ...

Former Turkish president on trial for 1980 coup Posted: ANKARA (Reuters) - Retired General Kenan Evren, symbol of an era when the military dominated Turkish politics, goes on trial on Wednesday for his role leading a 1980 coup that shaped the country for three decades until reforms cut back the power of the "Pashas". Fifty people were executed, half a million arrested, hundreds died in jail, and many more disappeared in three years of military rule following the September 12, 1980 coup, Turkey's third in 20 years. ...

Addicts embody cocaine boom in Brazil's "cracklands" Posted: SAO PAULO (Reuters) - When night falls, street crack marketplaces open for business. The gritty transactions of the drug trade take over in city neighborhoods that hum with legitimate commerce by day. Throngs of stupefied buyers crowd around dealers before skulking away behind the telltale glow of cigarette lighters. These are not the images that Brazil wants to project. ...

Iraq says Iran proposes Baghdad as nuclear talks venue Posted: BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iran has proposed holding the next round of talks with six world powers over its disputed nuclear program next week in Iraq instead of Turkey, Iraq's foreign minister said on Wednesday. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Saturday the April 13-14 negotiations with Iran would be held in Istanbul, the first such meeting since January 2011 when the two sides failed even to agree on an agenda. ...

China keen on free trade pact with U.S.: Greenberg Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China is eager to begin talks on a free trade pact with the United States and key leaders seem willing to step away from the state capitalism Beijing has been pursuing, a senior U.S. executive with access to China's leadership said on Tuesday. Maurice Greenberg, chairman of Starr International Company Inc and former AIG chief, met with Premier Wen Jiabao, Wen's expected successor Li Keqiang and other top official's during a two-week visit to China. ...

Europe's central bank looks in vain for growth Posted: Europe is searching for something to get growth going again and pull the eurozone's heavily indebted countries out of their troubles — but with little luck.

Mali Coup leader stays put, despite sanctions Posted: The day after an embargo was placed on Mali, the soldier who led a recent coup said Tuesday that he agrees with restoring constitutional order, but first Mali's ills need to be addressed by holding a national convention which will decide on the best way forward.

Sculptor Elizabeth Catlett dies in Mexico Posted: Sculptor and printmaker Elizabeth Catlett, a U.S. expatriate renowned for her dignified portrayals of African-American and Mexican women and who was barred from her home country for political activism during the McCarthy era, has died. She was 96.

APNewsBreak: Syrian troops start pullout Posted: Syrian troops began pulling out Tuesday from some calm cities and headed back to their bases a week ahead of a deadline to implement an international cease-fire plan, a government official said.

Clashes in rival towns kill 22 in western Libya Posted: Militias from rival towns in western Libya battled each other with tanks and artillery on Tuesday in fierce fighting that killed at least 22 people, local officials said.

AP Interview: Pakistani dismisses US $10 million Posted: A Pakistani militant accused of directing deadly attacks in neighboring India on Tuesday dismissed a U.S. decision to put a bounty of $10 million on his head as misdirected.

Argentina condemns Cameron's remarks on Falklands Posted: Argentina's government on Tuesday condemned remarks by British Prime Minister David Cameron, who said that Britain played a role in "righting a profound wrong" in its 1982 war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands.

Sports, art, streetlights: A new life in Mogadishu Posted: The crowd — both men and women — cheered wildly as two Mogadishu basketball teams entered an old stadium that once bore the bloodstains of war.

Titanomania: Museum charts obsession with Titanic Posted: Somewhere between the black Titanic teddy bears and the pale Iceberg beer, the Titanic Barbie doll and the "Tubtanic" bath plug, the global obsession with the story of the doomed ocean liner began to border on the absurd.

Pit bulls in Philippine dog fights to be put down Posted: Sixteen pit bulls rescued from a dogfighting ring in the Philippines were euthanized Tuesday for lack of facilities to rehabilitate them and prevent them from reappearing in underground arenas.

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