| Rebels attack Somalia presidential palace Posted: 21 Feb 2014 09:24 AM PST  Fierce gun battle with al-Qaida-linked militants leaves officials and guards dead.
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| Tornadoes, strong thunderstorms threaten East Coast Posted: 21 Feb 2014 09:35 AM PST  Just a week after being buried by snow and ice, a number of states along the East Coast are dealing with the threat of thunderstorms and tornadoes on Friday.
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| Ugandan president: I don't even dare kiss my wife in public Posted: 21 Feb 2014 10:09 AM PST  Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has made an impassioned defence of his decision to crack down on gays, saying his tough stance on immorality meant he would not even dare kiss his wife in public. The statement from the president, carried by local media on Friday, was widely seen as swipe against US President Barack Obama, who has been fiercly critical of Uganda's anti-gay law and who celebrated his own re-election win with a public embrace of his wife Michelle. "If I kissed my wife of 41 years in public, I would lose elections in Uganda," said Museveni, who has led Uganda since 1986 and has been seeking support for another term in office. However, he said that advice from scientists in Uganda's Department of Genetics, School of Medicine and the Ministry of Health showed a "unanimous conclusion.. that homosexuality, contrary to my earlier thinking, was behavioural and not genetic" -- and therefore it should be punished.
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| Teen U.S. slalom skier displays nerves of steel in big Olympic run Posted: 21 Feb 2014 10:18 AM PST  Rosa Khutor (Russia) (AFP) - American teenager Mikaela Shiffrin showed nerves of steel to add Olympic gold to her world slalom title under floodlights at Rosa Khutor on Friday. The 18-year-old, in pole position after the first run, clocked a combined total of 1min 44.54sec over two runs to finish 0.53sec ahead of Marlies Schild of Austria, who won her fourth Olympic medal in three different Games. Another Austrian, Kathrin Zettel, claimed bronze at 0.81sec, denying fourth-placed German Maria Hoefl-Riesch another podium finish in her Olympic swansong. "This has been a dream of mine for a very long time," said Shiffrin, who at the age of 18 years and 345 days became the youngest Olympic slalom champion.
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| Ukrainian parliament approves new charter Posted: 21 Feb 2014 07:39 AM PST  An ambitious agreement could be a major breakthrough in the crisis over Ukraine's future.
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| Detroit plans to cut pensions in bankrupty debt plan Posted: 21 Feb 2014 10:13 AM PST  DETROIT (AP) — Detroit's emergency financial manager filed a plan Friday that would bring the city out of bankruptcy, providing for the first time a detailed look at what the Motor City would look like when it finally sheds its financial burdens.
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| Obama offers 'strong support' for Tibet rights in Dalai talks Posted: 21 Feb 2014 10:45 AM PST  US President Barack Obama on Friday offered "strong support" for Tibetans' human rights in a meeting with the region's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama that defied China. "The president reiterated his strong support for the preservation of Tibet's unique religious, cultural, and linguistic traditions and the protection of human rights for Tibetans in the People's Republic of China," a White House statement said. The White House said that Obama supported the Dalai Lama's "Middle Way" path of peaceful dialogue and encouraged China to resume long-stalled talks with the exiled leader or his representatives.
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| Internet a crucial Venezuela battleground Posted: 21 Feb 2014 10:05 AM PST  SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela (AP) — The battle for Venezuela is being fought as vigorously online as in the streets, with authorities cutting off Internet service to a strife-torn university city and blocking selected websites and a "walkie-talkie" service widely used by protesters.
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| Canada beats US 1-0 to reach gold-medal game Posted: 21 Feb 2014 11:14 AM PST  SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Jamie Benn scored in the second period, Carey Price made 31 saves, and Canada beat the United States 1-0 Friday night in the semifinals of the Olympic men's hockey tournament.
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| US teen Mikaela Shiffrin wins Olympic slalom gold Posted: 21 Feb 2014 11:13 AM PST  KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) — Invoking the sort of recovery skills that Bode Miller made famous, American teenager Mikaela Shiffrin made Alpine skiing history Friday as the youngest ever winner of an Olympic slalom gold medal.
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| Police: Tribal shooting suspect killed 3 relatives Posted: 21 Feb 2014 10:52 AM PST  ALTURAS, Calif. (AP) — A woman who opened fire at the headquarters of a Northern California Indian tribe killed her brother, nephew and niece, police said Friday.
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| Renzi forms Italy's latest coalition Posted: 21 Feb 2014 11:14 AM PST  ROME (AP) — Democratic Party leader Matteo Renzi formed Italy's new government on Friday and said his broad coalition is aiming to give the economically-stagnant country some "hope."
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| How Ukraine's economic decay fueled protests Posted: 21 Feb 2014 09:42 AM PST  The battle in Kiev is, in large part, a fight for the country's economic future — for better jobs and prosperity.
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| Obama meets with Dalai Lama; visit rankles China Posted: 21 Feb 2014 10:59 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama met with the Dalai Lama at the White House Friday over the stern objection of China, which warned the meeting would "inflict grave damages" on the U.S. relationship with the Asian nation.
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| Renzi forms new Italian government Posted: 21 Feb 2014 10:29 AM PST ROME (AP) — Democratic Party leader Matteo Renzi has formed Italy's new government, saying the broad coalition aims to give the economically-strapped country "hope." |
| Political changes come fast, furious in Ukraine Posted: 21 Feb 2014 10:29 AM PST  KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — In a fast-moving day that aimed to reshape Ukraine's political destiny, opposition leaders reached a deal Friday with the country's beleaguered president to form a new government and hold an early election, while parliament slashed his powers and voted to free his rival, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, from prison.
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| In Yemen, a woman's life entangled with al-Qaida Posted: 21 Feb 2014 10:18 AM PST  SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Abeer al-Hassani's ex-husband was famed for his beautiful voice. He used it, she says, singing poetic hymns to martyrdom and jihad to try to draw youth from their neighborhood of the Yemeni capital into joining al-Qaida. He sang at weddings of fellow members of the terror group, and held discussions with young men at local mosques.
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| German biathlete, Italian bobsledder test positive Posted: 21 Feb 2014 10:06 AM PST  SOCHI, Russia (AP) — A top German biathlete and an Italian bobsledder were kicked out of the Sochi Olympics on Friday in the first doping cases of the Winter Games.
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| Political changes come fast and furious in Ukraine Posted: 21 Feb 2014 08:58 AM PST  KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — In a fast-moving day that could significantly shift Ukraine's political destiny, opposition leaders signed a deal Friday with the country's beleaguered president that calls for an early election, a new constitution and a new unity government.
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| Colorado, Utah move to hike smoking age to 21 Posted: 21 Feb 2014 10:52 AM PST  DENVER (AP) — Two Western states with some of the nation's lowest smoking rates are considering cracking down even more by raising the tobacco age to 21.
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| Zimbabwe orders deportation of former U.S. congressman Posted: 21 Feb 2014 07:34 AM PST  By MacDonald Dzirutwe HARARE (Reuters) - A Zimbabwean court dismissed pornography charges against former congressman Mel Reynolds on Friday but ordered his deportation after he pleaded guilty to staying in the southern African country on an expired visa. Harare magistrate Tendai Mahwe agreed with Reynolds' lawyer, Arthur Gurira, that state prosecutors had not sought written authority from the prosecutor general to put the former Illinois congressman on trial. Reynolds will still be held in prison while immigration authorities process his deportation papers.
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| 4 dead, 2 injured in shooting at Calif. tribal office Posted: 21 Feb 2014 12:58 AM PST  ALTURAS, Calif. (AP) — An eviction hearing at an American Indian headquarters in Northern California turned deadly as a woman who once served as a tribal leader allegedly opened fire, killing four people and critically wounding two others in a gun and knife attack, authorities said.
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