US (MSM)

Condemned Boston Marathon bomber may spend years in prison during appeal

By Elizabeth Barber BOSTON (Reuters) – Condemned to die for his part in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is likely to await his fate over the course of years, if not decades, locked up in grim prisons under extreme conditions while his lawyers appeal his sentence. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons has not yet decided where Tsarnaev will go, but he is likely end up in one of

Boston Marathon bomber Tsarnaev sentenced to death for 2013 attack

By Scott Malone and Elizabeth Barber BOSTON (Reuters) – Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was sentenced to death by a U.S. jury on Friday for helping carry out the 2013 attack that killed three people and wounded 264 others in the crowds at the race’s finish line. After deliberating for 15 hours, the federal jury chose death by lethal injection for Tsarnaev, 21, over its only other option: life in

Philadelphia train may have been hit by projectile before wreck

By Jarrett Renshaw PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – The Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia and a separate commuter train in the vicinity may have been hit by projectiles of some kind shortly before the wreck, a U.S. transportation official said on Friday, after investigators interviewed members of the Amtrak crew. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was called in to examine a remnant of the Amtrak locomotive’s shattered windshield with a

Virginia's all-women Sweet Briar College holding last commencement

By Gary Robertson RICHMOND, Va. (Reuters) – Virginia’s all-women Sweet Briar College holds its final commencement on Saturday, as school supporters battle to stop it from becoming the latest U.S. women-only school to shut down. The 700-student school in southwest Virginia is scheduled to close because of financial woes amid a changing educational landscape that has made U.S. all-women schools a vanishing breed. Commencement speaker Teresa Tomlinson, the mayor of

Mark Everson ran the IRS. Now he wants to be president.

There comes a moment in the career of many government bureaucrats when they sit across the table from a high-ranking elected official — the president, even—and think, You know, I’m just as smart as these guys. “You understand they’re just another person,” says Mark Everson, who served in the Reagan administration and as commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service under George W. Bush. “You ask yourself, Do you like this?

IS seizes government HQ in Iraq's Ramadi

Islamic State fighters seized the government compound in the city of Ramadi on Friday and edged closer to what would be their biggest victory in Iraq this year, officials said. The loss of the capital of Anbar province, which Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had said would be the next target of government forces after wresting back Tikrit last month, would be a major setback for Baghdad. IS has threatened to

IS seizes government HQ in Iraq's Ramadi

Islamic State fighters seized the government compound in the city of Ramadi on Friday and edged closer to what would be their biggest victory in Iraq this year, officials said. The loss of the capital of Anbar province, which Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had said would be the next target of government forces after wresting back Tikrit last month, would be a major setback for Baghdad. IS has threatened to

Philadelphia train crash engineer lays low as scrutiny heats up

By Jarrett Renshaw and Laila Kearney PHILADELPHIA/NEW YORK (Reuters) – A portrait of the engineer at the helm of a speeding Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia began to emerge on Thursday as the man’s lawyer said his client could not remember the crash, and rescuers pulled an eighth body from the wreckage. With the engineer facing intense scrutiny over his role in the accident, Philadelphia police said they launched

Philadelphia train crash engineer lays low as scrutiny heats up

By Jarrett Renshaw and Laila Kearney PHILADELPHIA/NEW YORK (Reuters) – A portrait of the engineer at the helm of a speeding Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia began to emerge on Thursday as the man’s lawyer said his client could not remember the crash, and rescuers pulled an eighth body from the wreckage. With the engineer facing intense scrutiny over his role in the accident, Philadelphia police said they launched

WORLD (MSM)

Iran stresses end-June deadline as nuclear talks press on

Tehran’s top nuclear negotiator said on Tuesday he hoped diplomacy resuming this week will yield results before a self-imposed deadline for a final deal to curtail Iran’s atomic program expires at the end of June. “We hope we can pull together an agreement before July 1,” Abbas Araqchi was quoted as saying by Iran’s Mehr news agency as he met European officials in Vienna. Diplomats are trying to fill gaps

Exclusive: Greece tapped its emergency IMF reserves to pay IMF debt – sources

By Lefteris Papadimas and George Georgiopoulos ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece emptied an emergency IMF holding account to repay 750 million euros ($839 million) due to the international lender, a Greek central bank official said, avoiding default but underscoring the dire state of the country’s finances. With Athens close to running out of cash and a deal with its international creditors still elusive, there had been doubts about whether the leftist-led

Focus on Islamic State and Libya as NATO foreign ministers meet

By Adrian Croft ANTALYA, Turkey (Reuters) – Preoccupied for more than a year by the Ukraine crisis, NATO foreign ministers meeting in Turkey this week will focus on instability on the alliance’s southern flank, ranging from Islamic State in Iraq and Syria to turmoil in Libya. By meeting in Turkey, which shares a 1,200 km (750-mile) border with Iraq and Syria, NATO hopes to show it is responsive to the

Mozambique's economy to grow 7% in 2015: IMF

The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday it expected Mozambique’s economy to grow seven percent this year, thanks to investment in the vast northeastern Rovuma gas fields. “Mozambique’s economic performance remains robust and stronger than most other Sub-Saharan African countries,” said Alex Segura-Ubiergo, who led an IMF team on a two-week trip to Mozambique. Mozambique is on the cusp of becoming the world’s third largest exporter of liquefied natural gas after

King's absence from U.S. summit shows Saudi displeasure over Iran push

By William Maclean and Angus McDowall DUBAI/RIYADH (Reuters) – The Saudi king’s absence from a regional summit to be hosted by President Barack Obama shows how Gulf states, displeased by what they see as U.S. indifference to Iranian meddling in the Arab world, may hesitate to bless any nuclear deal with Tehran. Analysts and diplomats in the Middle East described King Salman’s decision to skip the meeting at Camp David

North Korea seen years from sub-launched missile to threaten the U.S.

By Ju-min Park and James Pearson SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea made a key step in its nuclear weapons program by test-launching a ballistic missile from a submarine, but remains years away from developing a missile system or submarine which could threaten its sworn enemy the United States, experts said. South Korea on Monday called the test “very serious and concerning” and urged Pyongyang to immediately stop developing submarine-launched ballistic

Moroccan F-16 jet from Saudi-led coalition in Yemen goes missing

A Moroccan F-16 warplane that is part of the Saudi-led force carrying out air strikes in Yemen has gone missing, Morocco’s military said on Monday, and Iran-allied Houthi rebels and Saudi forces traded heavy fire across the border. The disappearance of the Moroccan jet and the intense artillery and rocket battles could imperil an agreed five-day humanitarian truce in Yemen’s civil war due to begin on Tuesday. Backed by Washington,

Special Report: Russian soldiers quit over Ukraine

By Maria Tsvetkova MOSCOW/DONETSK (Reuters) – Some Russian soldiers are quitting the army because of the conflict in Ukraine, several soldiers and human rights activists have told Reuters. Their accounts call into question the Kremlin’s continued assertions that no Russian soldiers have been sent to Ukraine, and that any Russians fighting alongside rebels there are volunteers. Evidence for Russians fighting in Ukraine – Russian army equipment found in the country,

Houthis accept five-day truce in Yemen proposed by Saudi Arabia

By Mohammed Ghobari and Mohammed Mukhashaf CAIRO/ADEN (Reuters) – Yemen’s dominant Houthi group accepted on Sunday a five-day humanitarian ceasefire proposed by its adversary Saudi Arabia but said it would respond to any violations of the pause. Neighboring Saudi Arabia had said on Friday that the ceasefire could begin on Tuesday if the Iranian-allied militia agreed to the pause, which would let in badly needed food and medical supplies. Backed

Putin says Ukraine peace 'moving forward' despite problems

By Vladimir Soldatkin MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday that the peace process in eastern Ukraine was progressing despite difficulties. Merkel reaffirmed her support for the peace efforts and repeated her calls to Putin to use his influence with pro-Russian separatists battling Kiev government forces to end a conflict in which more than 6,000 people have been killed since

'Winner takes all' vote system exaggerates Britain's divisions

By Mark Trevelyan LONDON (Reuters) – David Cameron can thank Britain’s winner-takes-all voting system for handing him an outright majority in parliament on just 37 percent of the vote. By Sunday morning, 100,000 people had signed a petition launched by the society and another campaign group, Unlock Democracy, that states: “The 2015 general election has shown once and for all that our voting system is broken beyond repair.” It urges

Swiss gunman kills self, four others in domestic shooting

A gunman killed three relatives and a neighbor in a late-night rampage in a Swiss village before turning his weapon on himself, local police said on Sunday. The presumed killer, a 36-year-old Swiss national who was separated from his wife and the couple’s three children, shot dead his father-in-law, mother-in-law and brother-in-law, police told a news conference.

Gaddafi's son Saadi appears in Libyan court on murder charges

Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saadi who fled abroad during Libya’s 2011 revolution and was extradited from Niger last year appeared in a Tripoli court on Sunday at the start of a trial on murder charges but the judge adjourned his case until July. Saadi, who had a brief career as a soccer player in Italy and had the reputation of a playboy during his father’s long rule, appeared in the Tripoli

Macedonia gun battles leave 22 dead, including eight police

Shooting broke out for a second day between police and gunmen in north Macedonia Sunday as concern mounted in Europe over alleged ethnic-Albanian unrest that has left at least 22 people dead. “Eight police officers were killed and 37 were injured” in gun battles in Kumanovo that began at dawn Saturday, police spokesman Ivo Kotevski told reporters, saying the assailants were from “a particularly dangerous terrorist group” whose members included

S. Africa opposition elects first black leader

South Africa’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, on Sunday elected its first black leader, a major step in its bid to present itself as an alternative to the ruling African National Congress (ANC). Mmusi Maimane, aged just 34, joined the DA in 2009 and was fast-tracked through the ranks by Helen Zille, who stood down as party leader after eight years in office.

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