CA-NEWS Summary

U.S. says agrees with China on peaceful North Korea solution

BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States said on Saturday that China had agreed to help rid North Korea of its nuclear capability by peaceful means, but Beijing made no specific commitment in public to pressure its long-time ally to change its ways. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met China's top leaders in a bid to persuade them to push reclusive North Korea, whose main diplomatic supporter is Beijing, to scale back its belligerence and, eventually, return to nuclear talks.

Thatcher death "party" in London draws hundreds

LONDON (Reuters) - Several hundred people turned up for a "party" in central London on Saturday to celebrate the death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as a mass protest predicted by some failed to materialize. The British capital's mayor had warned of potential rioting as organizers promised thousands of opponents of Thatcher, who died aged 87 on Monday, would descend on London's Trafalgar Square to mark the passing of a leader who was loved and loathed in equal measure.

Embattled Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad quits

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad quit on Saturday after months of tension with President Mahmoud Abbas, leaving the administration in disarray just as the United States tries to revive peace talks with Israel. Abbas, who has been unhappy with Fayyad's handling of the cash-strapped government, accepted the resignation and asked Fayyad to stay on as caretaker until a new government is formed, according to official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Russia bars 18 Americans in retaliation for Magnitsky List

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow said on Saturday that Washington had dealt a severe blow to relations by barring 18 Russians from the United States over alleged human rights abuses, and in retaliation it banned 18 Americans from entering Russia. U.S. President Barack Obama's administration had on Friday issued a list of 18 people subject to visa bans and asset freezes in the United States under the Magnitsky Act legislation passed by Congress late last year.

Pro-Chavez Venezuelans mark coup anniversary on eve of election

CARACAS (Reuters) - Hugo Chavez loyalists celebrated on Saturday a milestone in the late leader's socialist revolution ahead of Venezuela's presidential election, irking the opposition that complained of a campaign tipped in favor of the government. Saturday marked the 11th anniversary of Chavez's dramatic return to power after a two-day coup tacitly backed by the United States. The event galvanized support for the former paratrooper and prompted him to push ahead with increasingly radical policies that further polarized Venezuela.

Frustration as retrial of Egypt's Mubarak aborted

CAIRO (Reuters) - The retrial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was aborted on Saturday when the presiding judge withdrew from the case and referred it to another court, causing an indefinite delay that sparked anger in the courtroom. Lawyers said that while the transfer would give prosecutors more time to draw on new evidence in an unpublished fact-finding commission's report into the repression, it could delay the case by months, increasing the risk that Mubarak, 84, may never be finally convicted and sentenced.

Coup leader elected president in Central African Republic

BANGUI (Reuters) - The rebel leader who seized power in Central African Republic, Michel Djotodia, was elected president on Saturday by an acting parliament. Djotodia led thousands of rebel fighters from the Seleka coalition into the riverside capital of the mineral-rich country on March 24, toppling President Francois Bozize.

Libya coastguard rescues 89 migrants from drifting boat

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's coastguard has rescued 89 sub-Saharan African migrants who had been drifting in a boat for five days and had to dump the bodies of five people who died on the journey overboard, the state news agency said on Saturday. The Libyan authorities were alerted by a fisherman that the boat was adrift off the western port of Zawiyah, naval official Colonel Ayub Omar Gacem was quoted as saying by the Libyan news agency LANA.

Italy's Berlusconi says he would be PM candidate if new vote held

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's four-time Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Saturday he would stand to lead the country for a fifth time if a snap vote is called after center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani again rejected forming a government with his rival. The February election left parliament split between three hostile blocs, none of which can govern alone, making an early return to the polls a growing possibility.

Guards, prisoners face off in Guantanamo cell sweep

MIAMI (Reuters) - Guards swept through communal cellblocks at the Guantanamo detention camp on Saturday and moved the prisoners into one-man cells in an attempt to end a hunger strike that began in February, a U.S. military spokesman said. "Some detainees resisted with improvised weapons, and in response, four less-than-lethal rounds were fired. There were no serious injuries to guards or detainees," Navy Captain Robert Durand said in a news release.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-001316516.html

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