Authorities in Myanmar have filed criminal charges against 69 student activists and their supporters who were arrested two weeks ago when police cracked down on peaceful protests against a new education law.
	Protesters remained defiant as they sang songs and waved at family and supporters when they were brought in prison vans from Tharyarwaddy prison to Letpadan court today morning.
	The charges filed against them involve five different counts ranging from hurting a public servant, which carries a maximum penalty of 3 years, to being a member of an unlawful assembly, which carries a 6-month prison sentence.
	"The government is using the old method to quash any dissenting voice by charging protesters with unfair laws," said Robert San Aung, a prominent activist lawyer who will represent the students.
	Police had detained 127 people altogether, but about 60 people including 28 students and 10 Buddhist monks were freed earlier, including enrolled students who had to sit for exams. The ..

Myanmar files charges against 69 education law protesters

PTI Automatic

American officials say Washington has been in discussions with the Iraqi government on the possibility of US airstrikes to support the Iraqi ground offensive against a dug-in Islamic State group in Tikrit.
	The talks raise the highly sensitive issue of US air support for an offensive spearheaded by Iranian-backed Iraqi Shiite militias. The Pentagon on Tuesday said the Iraqi offensive had "stalled."
	The US has said it is not coordinating any military actions with the Iranians.
	Two US officials confirmed the talks about possible US airstrikes. They were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly on the record and so were granted anonymity.
	On Tuesday, other officials said that at Baghdad's request the US-led coalition had begun aerial surveillance over Tikrit and is sharing the collected intelligence with the Iraqi government.

US has discussed possible Tikrit airstrikes with Iraq

The Islamic State group's affiliate in Libya said it played a role in a string of suicide car bombings that killed 12 people today in the eastern city of Benghazi. Meanwhile, its militants carried out an attack on a rival militia in the central coastal city of Sirte, leaving five dead.
	A Libyan security official said the three suicide bombings, which also wounded 25, were targeting forces of Libya's elected government and allied fighters. Two of the bombings were carried by militants affiliated to the umbrella group known as The Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries.
	The Islamic State affiliate claimed responsibility for the other bombing in a post on an Internet bulletin board known to be used by the group and its sympathizers. The claim included a picture of an alleged Tunisian suicide bomber it said was involved in the attack.
	The attacks came in retaliation for the killing of Mohammed al-Aribi, a top commander under the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries who fought ..

Islamic State group car bomb, clashes leave 17 dead in Libya

Hundreds of civilians, including many children, have been kidnapped and are being used as human shields by Boko Haram extremists, a top Nigerian official confirmed today.
	Several hundred people were abducted by the Islamic militants as they retreated earlier this month from Damasak in northeastern Nigeria, Mike Omeri, the Nigerian spokesman for the fight against Boko Haram, told The Associated Press. He said he could not specify how many were kidnapped but local reports say as many as 500 people were taken.
	The Islamic rebels went to Damasak's primary schools and rounded up students and teachers and then retreated, said Omeri.
	Troops from Chad and Niger recaptured Damasak, near the border with Niger, from Boko Haram on March 16. The mass kidnapping happened as the extremists were fleeing the advancing troops and information about the abductions has only been confirmed now.
	The soldiers who recaptured Damasak found the town largely deserted. Damasak had been held for months by Boko 

Official: Boko Haram kidnaps hundreds of Nigerian civilians

Italy's high court took up the appeal of Amanda Knox's murder conviction today, considering the fate of the "very worried" American and her Italian former boyfriend in the brutal 2007 murder of Knox's British roommate.
	So many journalists and trial-watchers were on hand for the final arguments in the murder of Meredith Kercher that the judges moved the hearing into the largest available courtroom in the Court of Cassation.
	A decision had been expected as early as today, but with a full caseload and other court matters tomorrow, the presiding judge said a ruling may not come down until Friday.
	The judges could decide to confirm the convictions and 28½-year sentence for Knox and 25-year sentence for her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, which would then raise extradition questions for Knox since she is free in the US.
	The court could decide to throw out the convictions and order a third appeal trial. Less likely, it could overturn the convictions without ordering a retrial, ...

Italy high court deciding fate of 'very worried' Amanda Knox

Usain Bolt will run in New York for the first time since he set the world record in the 100 meters in 2008.
     Organizers say the six-time Olympic champion will run at the Diamond League meet at Icahn Stadium on June 13. That is where the Jamaican set his first world record in the 100, running 9.72 on May 31.
     A few months later, Bolt set another world record of 9.69 in the 100 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He lowered it yet again to 9.58 seconds at the 2009 world championships in Berlin.
     Bolt says "no one could ever forget their first world record, and I will never forget the crowd in New York that night."
     Bolt also holds the world record in the 200 meters.
     Organizers did not specify whether he would run the 100 or 200 in New York.

Usain Bolt to run at Diamond League meet in New York

Executives, pilots and employees of German airline Lufthansa held a moment of silence today for the 150 people who died aboard Flight 9525, operated by the company's low-cost unit Germanwings.
	The Airbus A320 crashed yesterday in the Alps in southern France on its way from Barcelona, Spain, to Duesseldorf, Germany.
	Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr, himself a pilot, observed the ceremony at the company's main base, saying it was "a very emotional moment, to stand there with so many colleagues in uniform."
	Dressed in a black suit, Spohr addressed workers in the lobby of the company's glass-fronted headquarters next to Frankfurt's international airport as airplanes took off overheard.
	He said the company's first priority was helping the relatives of those who had died. He said it was "inexplicable for us, how an airplane in good mechanical condition, with two experienced, Lufthansa-trained pilots, could encounter such a tragedy from cruising altitude."
	Employees lined up to sign a book ..

Lufthansa holds moment of silence for France crash victims

Three generations of one family, a schoolgirl, her mother and grandmother were on the Germanwings plane that crashed, according to a town outside Barcelona.
	A statement from Sant Cugat del Valles town hall didn't provide their names.
	The girl was a student of a middle school for children aged 10 to 11 at Santa Isabel school in Sant Cugat.
	"The students are very affected. The teachers are trying to help them any way they can," said a woman who answered the phone at the school.
	She refused to give her name or comment further.

The Latest: 3 generations of a family die in plane crash

French investigators cracked open the mangled black box of a German jetliner today and sealed off the rugged Alpine crash site where 150 people died when their plane slammed into a mountain.
	The dented, twisted and scarred cockpit voice recorder was being mined by investigators for clues into what sent the Germanwings Airbus 320 into a mid-flight dive yesterday after pilots lost radio contact over the southern French Alps during a routine flight from Barcelona to Duesseldorf. Germany's top security official said today there was no evidence of foul play.
	Helicopters surveying the scattered debris lifted off at daybreak to eye the craggy ravine. Emergency crews, meanwhile, traveled slowly over the steep, rocky terrain to the remote high-altitude crash site through fresh snow and rain. Bereaved families and the French, German and Spanish leaders were expected later today.
	"The black box is damaged and must be reconstituted in the coming hours in order to be useable," French Interior ..

France cracks open plane's black box, seals off crash site

Yemen's embattled president fled his palace in Aden for an undisclosed location today as Shiite rebels offered cash bounty for his capture and arrested his defense minister.
	President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi left just hours after the rebels' own television station said they seized an air base where US troops and Europeans advised the country in its fight against al-Qaida militants.
	That air base is only 60 kilometers away from Aden, the port city where Hadi had established a temporary capital.
	The advance of the Shiite rebels, empowered by backing of the ousted Yemeni autocrat Ali Abdullah Saleh's loyalists, threatens to plunge the Arab world's poorest country into a civil war that could draw in its Gulf neighbours. Already, Hadi has asked the United Nations to authorise a foreign military intervention in the country.
	Witnesses said they saw a convoy of presidential vehicles today leaving Hadi's palace, located at the top of a hill in Aden overlooking the Arabian ...

Yemen's president flees his house in Aden as rebels advance

The percentage of women on the boards of the country's top companies is on track to meet a target of 25 percent by the end of the year, a study tracking female achievement said today.
	The report from the Cranfield International Center for Women Leaders said that 23.5 per cent of boards of the companies listed on the UK's main stock index, the FTSE 100, are now comprised of women, up from 20.7 percent last year.
	Some 263 directorships are held by women.
	Though a paltry 8.6 per cent of women are in executive directorships, that figure represents an all-time high.
	"This is a critical time for British businesses, not just to meet the 25 per cent target, but also to continue to diversify their boards and organisations beyond the 2015 target," said report co-author Ruth Sealy. The 25 per cent target is a voluntary goal set up by a British government steering group.
	The progress is important because of the symbolic significance placed on the board level and the message it sends to other 

UK study: women to make up 25 pct of boards by end of 2015

The Islamic State group's affiliate in Libya has claimed responsibility for a series of car bombings that killed 12 people in the country's eastern city of Benghazi.
	The Islamic State affiliate claimed responsibility for yesterday's bombings in a post on an Internet bulletin board site known to be used by the group and its sympathizers. The claim included a picture of an alleged Tunisian suicide bomber it said was involved in the attack.
	A Libyan security official said Wednesday that the bombings targeted forces of Libya's elected government and allied fighters in Benghazi. He said the blasts killed 12 people and wounded 25.
	He spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized to brief journalists.

Islamic State affiliate claims Libya bombings that killed 12

A Wisconsin state trooper was shot and killed in an exchange of gunfire with a person who matched the description of a bank robbery suspect, authorities said.
	Police said the suspect also was killed.
	Fond du Lac Police Chief William Lamb said at a brief news conference late yesterday that the Wisconsin State Patrol trooper was following the suspect's vehicle about 5:30 PM (local time) yesterday when the incident occurred.
	"Both the trooper and the suspect were killed in the exchange of gunfire," Lamb said. He said no other suspects were being sought. No details were available about the trooper or the suspect.
	The state Department of Justice said its Division of Criminal Investigation was investigating several crimes that occurred yesterday in Marinette County and in Fond du Lac, including the death of the trooper.
	"We cannot confirm at this time definitively how these crimes fit together but investigators are working to provide an accurate timeline of events," the department said 

Police: Wisconsin state trooper shot and killed

Yemen's embattled president fled his palace in Aden for an undisclosed location today as Shiite rebels neared his last refugee, officials said.
	President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi left just hours after the rebels' own television station said they seized an air base where US troops and Europeans advised the country in its fight against al-Qaida militants.
	That air base is only 60 kilometres away from Aden, the port city where Hadi had established a temporary capital.
	The five officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity as they weren't authorised to brief journalists.
	Witnesses said they saw a convoy of presidential vehicles today leaving Hadi's palace, located at the top of a hill in Aden overlooking the Arabian Sea.
	Forces loyal to Hadi had no immediate comment. US and European advisers fled the captured air base days ago after al-Qaida fighters briefly seized a nearby city.
	The advance of the Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, threatens to plunge the Arab ...

Officials say Yemen president flees Aden home as rebels near

Iraq's oil exports for last month were below planned levels, the country's Oil Ministry said today, depriving the nation of badly needed funds for its battle against the Islamic state group.
	Crude exports in February averaged 2.596 million barrels a day -- almost a million barrels less than planned.
	The exports grossed about USD 3.402 billion, based on an average price of USD 46.795 per barrel, said the ministry's spokesman, Assem Jihad.
	January's daily exports averaged 2.535 million barrels, bringing that month's revenues to USD 3.258 billion.
	Iraq's 2015 budget is based on an expected price of USD56 per barrel with a daily export capacity of 3.3 million. The nearly 119.6 trillion Iraqi dinars budget (about USD102.5 billion) runs with a deficit of 25 trillion dinars (about USD21.4 billion).
	Since the Islamic State group launched its blitz last year in the Sunni heartland in northern and western Iraq, seizing a third of the country along with a large chunk of land in neighbouring 

Iraq's February oil exports below planned level for IS fight

Led by unexpected praise from the nation's outspoken sports minister, South Africa went easy on its cricket team after another painful loss at the World Cup.
     A long history of failure at the tournament has often put the Proteas at the sharp end of stinging criticism from the demanding media and fans back home.
     But sports minister Fikile Mbalula said he was still proud of the team after its nail-biting loss to New Zealand in the semifinals on Tuesday.
     Mbalula is famous for launching a scathing attack on South Africa's soccer team after a loss in a tournament last year, calling them "a bunch of losers" and "useless, unbearable individuals."
     He was kinder to the cricketers.
     "You made us proud as a nation as you fought until the last minute," Mbalula said. "You are winners in my eyes and I'm sure the whole nation agrees."
     Wednesday's newspapers reflected the players' bitter disappointment -- with some in tears after the elimination -- but there was no mention 

No choke this time: South Africa goes easy on cricket team

Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko dismissed the billionaire governor of an eastern region today following a rancorous dispute pitting the tycoon against the government.
	Poroshenko's office said in a statement that Ihor Kolomoysky had asked to be released from his duties as governor of Dnipropetrovsk.
	The government last week followed through on its plans to dilute the power of Ukraine's ultra-rich business elite by pushing a law through parliament that led, in effect, to control over an oil and gas company being wrested from Kolomoysky.
	Kolomoysky reacted by ordering armed groups of men to seize the offices of two energy companies in the capital, Kiev.
	The episode has threatened to spark renewed political instability in Ukraine, which is battling Russian-backed separatists in eastern regions neighboring Dnipropetrovsk, as well as a sinking economy.
	Kolomoysky is a contentious figure in Ukraine unafraid to use heavy-handed tactics in his business activities but also strongly ...

Ukraine's president dismisses powerful regional governor

A Northern California police officer was shot to death after responding to a call about a man threatening to commit suicide.
	The San Jose Police Department said responding officers were met with gunfire yesterday as they approached an apartment building and that a veteran officer was struck and pronounced dead at the scene. The officer was not identified.
	Officers closed off several streets in East San Jose as they searched for the shooter.
	Dozens of officers swarmed the area to find the gunman, and nearby homes were evacuated. Officers and equipment, including armoured vehicles and a helicopter, were summoned from neighbouring police agencies, the San Jose Mercury News reported.
	Residents were advised to stay inside as the search intensified, but dozens of people still gathered near the scene, watching as police helicopters circled overhead.
	Condolences from police departments throughout California began pouring in on Twitter late yesterday.
	The last San Jose police officer ...

Northern California police officer shot to death

Twenty-five years ago, what was then the biggest mass murder in US history turned a New York City dance club into a smoky, flame-filled inferno that left dozens of people dead, some with drinks still clutched in their hands.
	That night, a Cuban refugee named Julio Gonzalez tried to win back the woman who had spurned him.
	Gonzalez entered the Happy Land social club in the Bronx, which was humming with mostly Latin immigrants partying and dancing. His former live-in girlfriend, Lydia Feliciano, was checking coats and they had a violent argument. Gonzalez was thrown out.
	In a rage, he returned just after 3 am, splashing gasoline on Happy Land's only exit and lighting two matches. Then he pulled down the metal front gate.
	Within minutes, 87 people were dead.
	That tragedy in March 1990 will be commemorated this evening when a Roman Catholic Mass is held, followed by a procession from the church to a granite memorial near the club, where a candlelight vigil will take place.
	The fire ..

NY marks 25th anniversary of social club fire that killed 87

A television station run by Yemen's Shiite rebels says Houthi fighters and their allies have seized an air base where US troops and Europeans advised the country in its fight against al-Qaida.
	The satellite Al-Masirah news channel reported today that the fighters had "secured" the al-Annad air base. It claimed the base had been looted by both al-Qaida fighters and troops loyal to embattled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
	Officials loyal to Hadi had no immediate comment.
	The US recently evacuated some 100 soldiers, including Special Forces commandos, from the base after al-Qaida seized a nearby town. Britain also evacuated soldiers.
	The base was crucial in the US drone campaign against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which America considers to be the most dangerous branch of the terror group.

Rebels seize Yemen air base used in al-Qaida fight: Report

Counterterrorism squads have prevented 230 suspected jihadis from departing Australian airports for the Middle East this month, including at least three teenage boys, officials said today.
	Officials had previously announced that two Sydney-born brothers, aged 16 and 17, were intercepted at Sydney International Airport on March 8 attempting to board a flight for Turkey without their parents' knowledge.
	The siblings were returned to their families and were to be charged.
	Within a week, a 17-year-old boy was intercepted at the same airport on suspicion that he was headed for a Middle Eastern battle, Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton said today.
	The boy was also returned to his family, but remains under investigation, Dutton said.
	Since counterterrorism units were attached to eight Australian airports in August, 86,000 travelers have been questioned and 230 people prevented from flying on suspicion that they were headed for the battlefields of Iraq and Syria to fight with ...

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