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Monday, April 2, 2012 12:07 AM PDT

Today's Reuters World News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Russian plane crashes, kills at least 29: agency Insight: Bank stampede keeps Spanish real estate on the ropes Mexico presidential favorite eyes border tax break Myanmar opposition claims by-election win for Suu Kyi For Suu Kyi, a new role and heavier burden Florida teenager's hometown turns out in Miami protest Mali sanction deadline expires, rebels seize north Britain set for sweeping Internet, phone monitoring Syria "friends" warn Assad time is short to end bloodshed Iraqi Kurdistan halts oil exports over pay dispute Florida teenager's home town turns out in Miami protest Sudan, South Sudan accuse each other of attacks, talks delayed Libyan PM visits scene of tribal clashes in desert Romney predicts victory in Wisconsin primary Mali junta backs down as rebels seize Timbuktu U.S. to probe Wrangler, Cruze on engine fire reports Malta delists Iranian tanker breaching Syria sanctions Swiss spy charge signals German tax deal trouble Falklands row could hit UK's South American ambitions Brotherhood presidency bid turns up heat in Egypt race Al Qaeda is exploiting Yemen military split: minister Brotherhood presidency bid turns up heat in Egypt race Israel kills Gaza gunman along tense border Myanmar opposition claims by-election win for Suu Kyi Former Mexican President Miguel de la Madrid dies Somaliland troops and separatists clash, five killed Mali junta pledges to cede power, rebels advance Israel exiles former Palestinian detainee to Gaza Russia shuts Red Square, detains dozens of activists Russia shuts Red Square, detains dozens of activists Mali rebels plant flag in Timbuktu: MP, resident Anti-capitalist battles injure 15 police in Frankfurt Clinton warns Assad no more time for delays implementing peace plan Kenya casts suspicion on al Shabaab for blasts Cruise ship limps into Malaysian port after fire Syria's "friends" urge Annan to set timeline Argentina warns banks off Falklands oil links: report Insight: Lifting the veil on Afghanistan's female addicts Fugitive Iraq VP leaves Kurdish zone for Qatar Turkey: will not let Syria's Assad misuse another opportunity Russian plane crashes, kills at least 29: agency Sun,1 Apr 2012 10:15 PM PDT Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - At least 29 people were killed and 14 were rescued alive from a plane crash in Siberia, Russia's state-run Itar-Tass news agency said on Monday, citing a regional Emergency Situations Ministry official. The ATR 72, a twin-engine, turbo-prop plane, with 43 people aboard, crashed some 30-35 km (18-22 miles) from the western Siberian city of Tyumen, Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Irina Andrianova said. The mid-range plane belonging to Russian airline UTair crashed after taking off from Tyumen on a flight to Surgut, an oil town further north in Siberia. ... Full Story Top Insight: Bank stampede keeps Spanish real estate on the ropes Sun,1 Apr 2012 10:11 PM PDT Reuters - MADRID (Reuters) - When Jose Morales travelled up from Granada in southern Spain in February to look at a new apartment in the Madrid satellite town of Sesena, he was greeted by long queues of mostly young people outside the sales office. "When the door opened, there was a stampede to get in, like a department store sale, and some were even injured in the dash," said Morales. The apartments were selling so fast, unseen by the buyers in many cases, that he missed out on the one he wanted. ... Full Story Top Mexico presidential favorite eyes border tax break Sun,1 Apr 2012 07:31 PM PDT Reuters - CIUDAD JUAREZ (Reuters) - The front-runner in Mexico's presidential election campaign said on Sunday he would create tax incentives to revive economic life along the U.S. border that has been depressed by drug violence. "To strengthen the market and the export power of Ciudad Juarez, we need to provide emergency treatment through the tax system," Enrique Pena Nieto, favorite to win the July election, told supporters in this industrial city on the U.S. border. ... Full Story Top Myanmar opposition claims by-election win for Suu Kyi Sun,1 Apr 2012 07:26 PM PDT Reuters - YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi won a seat in parliament on Sunday, her party said, after an historic by-election that is testing the country's nascent reform credentials and could persuade the West to end sanctions. ... Full Story Top For Suu Kyi, a new role and heavier burden Sun,1 Apr 2012 07:26 PM PDT Reuters - YANGON (Reuters) - Soe Thein is a pious man. Every evening he kneels before a Buddhist shrine in his Yangon home to pray for the only woman he believes can lead Myanmar to a brighter future. "I pray for Aung San Suu Kyi's health and long life," says Soe Thein, formerly a political prisoner and senior member of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD). "Who could replace her?" Suu Kyi's role in a reforming Myanmar will be no less essential after sweeping the board in Sunday's historic by-elections. ... Full Story Top Florida teenager's hometown turns out in Miami protest Sun,1 Apr 2012 06:01 PM PDT Reuters - MIAMI (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters gathered in a downtown bayfront park on Sunday demanding the arrest of the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin, in central Florida a month ago. Civil rights leaders were joined by local politicians, pastors and Martin's parents, who made their first major public appearance in their hometown since last month. Sunday's protest came a day after one of the largest demonstrations in Sanford, the central Florida town where Martin was killed. ... Full Story Top Mali sanction deadline expires, rebels seize north Sun,1 Apr 2012 06:00 PM PDT Reuters - BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali braced for possible sanctions on Monday after its military rulers pledged to start returning power to civilians but no concrete moves were taken and it was not clear if neighbors would lift threats of isolation. A 72-hour deadline, set by West African bloc ECOWAS, for soldiers to start returning to barracks expired as northern separatist rebels said they had completed a lightning push south, seizing three regional capitals in as many days as Mali's army units retreated. ... Full Story Top Britain set for sweeping Internet, phone monitoring Sun,1 Apr 2012 04:49 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is to allow one of its intelligence agencies to monitor all phone calls, texts, emails and online activities in the country to help tackle crime and militant attacks, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday. "It is vital that police and security services are able to obtain communications data in certain circumstances to investigate serious crime and terrorism and to protect the public," a Home Office spokesman said. The proposed law already has drawn strong criticism, from within the ruling Conservative Party's own ranks, as an invasion of privacy and personal rights. ... Full Story Top Syria "friends" warn Assad time is short to end bloodshed Sun,1 Apr 2012 03:27 PM PDT Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - Western and Arab nations warned President Bashar al-Assad not to delay adopting a plan to end a year of bloodshed in Syria and called on peace envoy Kofi Annan to set a timetable for action if the violence continues. Annan is due to brief the U.N. Security Council on Monday about whether he has seen any progress towards implementing his proposals, which Damascus has accepted but not yet carried out. ... Full Story Top Iraqi Kurdistan halts oil exports over pay dispute Sun,1 Apr 2012 02:48 PM PDT Reuters - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region halted its oil exports on Sunday, accusing the central government in Baghdad of failing to make payments to companies working there in the latest clash in their long-running dispute over oil rights. The disagreement heightens tensions in a broader dispute between Iraqi Arabs and ethnic Kurds over contested land, political autonomy and oil that has become a potential flashpoint for Iraq since the last U.S. troops left in December. ... Full Story Top Florida teenager's home town turns out in Miami protest Sun,1 Apr 2012 02:36 PM PDT Reuters - MIAMI (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters gathered in a downtown bayfront park on Sunday demanding the arrest of the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin, in central Florida a month ago. Civil rights leaders were joined by Martin's parents who were making their first major public appearance in the family's home city since a news conference on the steps of the Baptist Church where the funeral for their son was held last month. ... Full Story Top Sudan, South Sudan accuse each other of attacks, talks delayed Sun,1 Apr 2012 02:19 PM PDT Reuters - ADDIS ABABA/KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan and South Sudan on Sunday accused each other of launching attacks in the oil-producing area straddling their border after talks aimed at ending the worst hostilities since Juba declared its independence were delayed. The United Nations and the United States fear the border clashes, which broke out on Monday, could escalate and re-ignite a civil war between the mainly Muslim north and the South where most adhere to Christian and animist beliefs. ... Full Story Top Libyan PM visits scene of tribal clashes in desert Sun,1 Apr 2012 02:00 PM PDT Reuters - SABHA, Libya (Reuters) - Libya's prime minister flew to a desert oasis city on Sunday to try to patch up a tribal dispute that has killed about 150 people over the past week and underscored the ethnic faultlines threatening Libya's stability. A Reuters team that flew with the prime minister to Sabha, about 750 km south (450 miles) of the Libyan capital, said a ceasefire appeared to be holding between the Tibu ethnic group and the Sabha militias with which they had been clashing. ... Full Story Top Romney predicts victory in Wisconsin primary Sun,1 Apr 2012 01:58 PM PDT Reuters - FITCHBURG, Wisconsin (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Saturday predicted a victory in Wisconsin's upcoming primary contest and said he believed it could help put him on a path to clinching the nomination. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, has come from behind in the polls in Wisconsin to take the lead over chief rival Rick Santorum. The state will vote on Tuesday along with Maryland and Washington, D.C. "This was an uphill battle for me if you looked back three or four weeks ago. ... Full Story Top Mali junta backs down as rebels seize Timbuktu Sun,1 Apr 2012 01:52 PM PDT Reuters - BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's junta yielded to the threat of sanctions on Sunday, pledging to start handing power back to civilians before a midnight deadline, while in the north, separatist rebels seized the ancient trading post of Timbuktu. Amadou Sanogo, an army captain who led a March 21 coup, pledged to reinstate the constitution and all state institutions before transferring power back to civilians via elections. His promise followed last week's threat by West African regional bloc ECOWAS to impose sanctions, including the potentially crippling closure of borders around the land-locked ... Full Story Top U.S. to probe Wrangler, Cruze on engine fire reports Sun,1 Apr 2012 01:45 PM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. safety regulators have opened two separate investigations into vehicles made by General Motors Co and Chrysler Group LLC due to reports of engine fires that in many cases completely engulfed the vehicles in flames. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last week began probing the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze compact car and 2010 Jeep Wrangler SUVs. NHTSA received two complaints about the 2011 Cruze and eight reports about the 2010 Wrangler. The fires in the two Cruze cars began while the vehicles were on the road. ... Full Story Top Malta delists Iranian tanker breaching Syria sanctions Sun,1 Apr 2012 12:46 PM PDT Reuters - VALLETTA (Reuters) - The Maltese Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that it was delisting a Maltese-flagged, Iranian-owned tanker which was carrying Syrian crude oil in breach of international sanctions. Reuters reported on Friday that the M.T.Tour, owned by ISIM Tour Ltd, identified by the U.S. Treasury Department as a sanctions-evading company set up by Iran, was shipping a cargo of Syrian crude to a state-run Chinese company. The M.T. ... Full Story Top Swiss spy charge signals German tax deal trouble Sun,1 Apr 2012 12:25 PM PDT Reuters - ZURICH (Reuters) - A Swiss decision to pursue German tax inspectors for industrial espionage is a sign of growing tension that could make it hard for both sides to secure parliamentary ratification of a deal preventing Germans dodging tax on their Swiss deposits. While Berlin is trying to tax an estimated 150 billion Swiss francs ($166 billion) hidden by Germans in Swiss accounts, Berne wants to avoid revealing the identities of wealthy customers who are a mainstay of its offshore financial services industry. ... Full Story Top Falklands row could hit UK's South American ambitions Sun,1 Apr 2012 11:49 AM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Thirty years after Britain and Argentina went to war over the Falklands, relations are at their chilliest in years as Buenos Aires launches a multi-pronged diplomatic offensive to assert its claim to sovereignty over the South Atlantic islands. While a new military conflict is seen as highly unlikely, the dispute could jeopardize Britain's drive for closer economic and trade ties with emerging Latin America powers such as Brazil that it hopes will kickstart the stagnating British economy. ... Full Story Top Brotherhood presidency bid turns up heat in Egypt race Sun,1 Apr 2012 11:46 AM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - A deft businessman and politician tempered by years in Hosni Mubarak's prisons, Khairat al-Shater is aiming to bring Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood to the pinnacle of power for the first time in its 84-year history. But his candidacy for the presidency has exposed rifts in the Islamist group's ranks, worried liberals and could turn up the heat in a row with Egypt's ruling army. ... Full Story Top Al Qaeda is exploiting Yemen military split: minister Sun,1 Apr 2012 11:09 AM PDT Reuters - ADEN/SANAA (Reuters) - Al Qaeda is successfully exploiting splits within Yemen's armed forces, Defense Minister Mohammad Naser Ahmed warned on Sunday as suspected Islamist militants killed seven soldiers in the second such attack in two days. The Yemeni military split last year during protests against the 33-year rule of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, with some forces remaining loyal and others joining the opposition. ... Full Story Top Brotherhood presidency bid turns up heat in Egypt race Sun,1 Apr 2012 11:07 AM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - A deft businessman and politician tempered by years in Hosni Mubarak's prisons, Khairat al-Shater is aiming to bring Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood to the pinnacle of power for the first time in its 84-year history. But his candidacy for the presidency has exposed rifts in the Islamist group's ranks, worried liberals and could turn up the heat in a row with Egypt's ruling army. ... Full Story Top Israel kills Gaza gunman along tense border Sun,1 Apr 2012 10:31 AM PDT Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian gunman suspected of trying to plant explosives beneath a fence at the border with Gaza, the Israeli military said on Sunday. Soldiers on Sunday recovered the remains of the gunman alongside an assault rifle, a statement from the Israeli military spokesman said. None of the militant groups in the Hamas Islamist-ruled Gaza Strip claimed responsibility for the incident, which Israel said occurred after dark on Saturday. ... Full Story Top Myanmar opposition claims by-election win for Suu Kyi Sun,1 Apr 2012 10:04 AM PDT Reuters - YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi won a seat in parliament on Sunday, her party said, after an historic by-election that is testing the country's nascent reform credentials and could persuade the West to end sanctions. ... Full Story Top Former Mexican President Miguel de la Madrid dies Sun,1 Apr 2012 09:59 AM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Former Mexican President Miguel de la Madrid, who struggled to overcome one of the country's worst economic crises and a devastating earthquake in the 1980s, died on Sunday at the age of 77. A stalwart of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Mexico's ruling party for most of the 20th century, de la Madrid broke with PRI orthodoxy by backing market-friendly reforms but still proved unable to tame surging unemployment and triple-digit inflation during his six-year term from 1982 to 1988. ... Full Story Top Somaliland troops and separatists clash, five killed Sun,1 Apr 2012 09:22 AM PDT Reuters - HARGEISA (Reuters) - At least four Somaliland troops and one rebel fighter loyal to the breakaway enclave's secessionists were killed during clashes on Sunday, both sides said. The fighting first erupted in January after the leaders of the northern regions of Sool, Sanaag and Cayn decided to band together into a new state called Khaatumo and declared they wanted to be an independent region within Somalia. Somaliland's troops have since clashed with militia fighters loyal to Khaatumo, with reports of dozens of casualties. ... Full Story Top Mali junta pledges to cede power, rebels advance Sun,1 Apr 2012 09:21 AM PDT Reuters - BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's junta leader promised to reinstate the constitution from Sunday, hours before a deadline set by West African neighbors to start handing over power, as northern rebels entered the ancient trading post of Timbuktu. Amadou Sanogo, who led a military coup on March 22, also pledged to re-establish all state institutions before organizing a transfer of power back to civilians through democratic elections. ... Full Story Top Israel exiles former Palestinian detainee to Gaza Sun,1 Apr 2012 09:04 AM PDT Reuters - GAZA (Reuters) - A Palestinian woman held by Israel without charge was deported to the Gaza Strip on Sunday under a deal that ended her 44-day hunger strike. Hana Shalabi of the Islamic Jihad militant group was put into so-called "administrative detention" on February 16. An Israeli military official said that in return for her release from jail, she had agreed to three years' exile in the Gaza Strip. A resident of the occupied West Bank, Shalabi went on hunger strike the day she was arrested, in protest at being held without trial. ... Full Story Top Russia shuts Red Square, detains dozens of activists Sun,1 Apr 2012 08:36 AM PDT Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian authorities closed Moscow's Red Square on Sunday and detained dozens of people trying to hold a silent anti-government protest there, prompting opposition charges that they were denying Russians their right to free assembly. Several hundred people responded to calls on the Internet to gather in Red Square outside the Kremlin wearing white ribbons or clothing as a symbol of protest, but found the iron gates to the sprawling square closed. ... Full Story Top Russia shuts Red Square, detains dozens of activists Sun,1 Apr 2012 08:35 AM PDT Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian authorities closed Moscow's Red Square on Sunday and detained dozens of people trying to hold a silent anti-government protest there, prompting opposition charges that they were denying Russians their right to free assembly. Several hundred people responded to calls on the Internet to gather in Red Square outside the Kremlin wearing white ribbons or clothing as a symbol of protest, but found the iron gates to the sprawling square closed. ... Full Story Top Mali rebels plant flag in Timbuktu: MP, resident Sun,1 Apr 2012 08:11 AM PDT Reuters - BAMAKO (Reuters) - Malian rebels have planted their flag in the northern town of Timbuktu after government forces fled the ancient trading post, a local lawmaker and a resident told Reuters. "They have arrived in the town. They are planting their flag," El Hadj Baba Haidara, member of parliament for Timbuktu, told Reuters by telephone. A resident said the MNLA rebels had planted their flag at the governor's office, the mayor's office and the main military camp. Both sources said the town was mainly quiet, except for sporadic gunfire. ... Full Story Top Anti-capitalist battles injure 15 police in Frankfurt Sun,1 Apr 2012 08:09 AM PDT Reuters - FRANKFURT (Reuters) - At least 15 German police officers were injured, one seriously, during rioting that lasted into Sunday morning, following an anti-capitalist protest in Frankfurt, police said. Demonstrators threw paint bombs at the European Central Bank and attacked emergency vehicles on Saturday in violence which escalated after police tried to arrest several protesters in the heart of Germany's financial capital. Battles stretched through the night and one officer was taken to intensive care after being singled out by a handful of demonstrators. ... Full Story Top Clinton warns Assad no more time for delays implementing peace plan Sun,1 Apr 2012 07:46 AM PDT Reuters - ISTANBUL (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday that no time remained for delay or excuses in implementing a UN-Arab League peace proposal. Speaking after a meeting in Istanbul of Western and Arab officials and members of the Syrian opposition, Clinton also said that the United States would welcome a decision by Iran that nuclear weapons were un-Islamic, so long as Tehran observed that principle. ... Full Story Top Kenya casts suspicion on al Shabaab for blasts Sun,1 Apr 2012 07:44 AM PDT Reuters - MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) - Kenya promised on Sunday to hunt down Somalia-based al Shabaab rebels following two blasts which killed one person and injured 31 in the coastal city of Mombasa, but stopped short of blaming the Islamist militant group outright. Al Shabaab has staged attacks in Kenya since Nairobi sent troops into Somalia last October to pursue the group. However, Saturday's blasts were the first to target Mombasa, one of Kenya's top tourist destinations, and were staged just before the busy Easter tourist season in the coming week. ... Full Story Top Cruise ship limps into Malaysian port after fire Sun,1 Apr 2012 07:42 AM PDT Reuters - SANDAKAN, Malaysia (Reuters) - A stricken luxury cruise ship with over a thousand people on board arrived at a Malaysian port in Borneo island late on Sunday after spending more than a day in waters prowled by pirates. Escorted by two Malaysian patrol vessels, the brightly lit Azamara Quest made its way into Sandakan port in Malaysia's Sabah state after 8.30 pm (1230 GMT) with passengers seen standing on the decks, Reuters witnesses said. ... Full Story Top Syria's "friends" urge Annan to set timeline Sun,1 Apr 2012 07:36 AM PDT Reuters - ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Western and Arab nations urged peace envoy Kofi Annan on Sunday to set a timeline for next steps, including a return to the U.N. Security Council, if President Bashar al-Assad fails to halt bloodshed in Syria. The "Friends of Syria" said, in a final communique obtained by Reuters, that Assad did not have an open-ended opportunity to meet his commitments to Annan, who is mediating on behalf of the United Nations and Arab League. "The regime will be judged by its deeds rather than its promises," the group of 83 nations said. ... Full Story Top Argentina warns banks off Falklands oil links: report Sun,1 Apr 2012 07:34 AM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - The Argentine government has threatened British and American banks with legal action over giving advice or even writing research reports about companies involved in the Falkland Islands' nascent oil industry, the Sunday Telegraph reported. As many as 15 banks have been sent warning letters in Spanish by the Argentine embassy in London, the newspaper said. The letters are aimed at cutting financial support for the five London-listed exploration companies looking for oil in the region, including Rockhopper Exploration, Borders & Southern and Falkland Oil & Gas. ... Full Story Top Insight: Lifting the veil on Afghanistan's female addicts Sun,1 Apr 2012 07:31 AM PDT Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - Anita lifted the sky-blue burqa from her face, revealing glazed eyes and cracked lips from years of smoking opium, and touched her saggy belly, still round from giving birth to her seventh child a month ago. "I can't give breast milk to my baby," said the 32-year-old Anita, who like other women interviewed for this story, declined to give her full name. "I'm scared he'll get addicted She was huddled with other women at the U.N. ... Full Story Top Fugitive Iraq VP leaves Kurdish zone for Qatar Sun,1 Apr 2012 07:18 AM PDT Reuters - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's fugitive Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, at the centre of a political row that has jeopardized Iraq's sectarian balance, left the autonomous northern Kurdish region for Qatar on Sunday, a statement from his office said. Hashemi, one of the top politicians from the Sunni minority, is accused by Baghdad's Shi'ite-led government of running death squads, a charge he denies. He has been holed up in the Kurdish zone since Baghdad issued an arrest warrant for him in December. ... Full Story Top Turkey: will not let Syria's Assad misuse another opportunity Sun,1 Apr 2012 06:54 AM PDT Reuters - ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Sunday the international community would not allow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to "misuse another opportunity", saying current efforts to end the conflict there represented a last chance. Speaking after the "Friends of Syria" conference in Istanbul, Davutoglu told a news conference the international community had been too slow in responding to the Bosnian conflict in the 1990s and it should now act decisively and without delay. (Reporting by Seda Sezer and Tulay Karadeniz; Writing by Daren Butler) Full Story Top

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