Thousands of people crowded an Alabama bridge to commemorate a bloody confrontation 50 years ago between police and peaceful protesters that was a landmark in the civil rights movement and helped bring about the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
	A day after President Barack Obama had walked atop the Edmund Pettus Bridge, many yesterday jammed shoulder to shoulder, many unable to move, as they recalled the civil rights struggle.
	Police said at least 15,000 to 20,000 people had joined the crush on and around the small bridge. Many came from around the country for several events commemorating the event.
	William Baldwin, 69, of Montgomery, Alabama, brought his two grandsons, ages 11 and 15, to the bridge yesterday so they could grasp the importance of the historic march he took part in a half century earlier.
	"They're going to take this struggle on and we have to understand the price that was paid for them to have what they have now," Baldwin said. "It wasn't granted to them, it was earned by ..

Bloody Sunday 50th anniversary: Thousands crowd Selma bridge

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Iraq's government is investigating reports that the ancient archaeological site of Khorsabad in northern Iraq is the latest to be attacked by the Islamic State militant group.
	Adel Shirshab, the country's tourism and antiquities minister, told The Associated Press there are concerns the militants will remove artifacts and damage the site, located 15 kilometers northeast of Mosul. Saeed Mamuzini, a Kurdish official from Mosul, told the AP that the militants had already begun demolishing the Khorsabad site yesterday, citing multiple witnesses.
	On Friday, the group razed 3,000-year old Nimrud and on Saturday, they bulldozed 2,000-year old Hatra both UNESCO world heritage sites.
	UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has called the destruction a "war crime," and a statement by his spokesman yesterday night said Ban was "outraged by the continuing destruction of cultural heritage in Iraq" by the Islamic State group.
	Khorsabad was constructed as a new capital of Assyria by King Sargon II ...

Iraqi minister concerned over IS looting 3rd ancient site

An 18-month-old girl survived a car crash in a frigid Utah river after being strapped in a car seat upside-down for some 14 hours before being found by a fisherman, officers said.
	The condition of Lily Groesbeck was upgraded from critical to stable but critical condition at a Salt Lake City hospital, but her 25-year-old mother, Lynn Groesbeck of Springville, was found dead in the car, police said yesterday.
	"She is doing remarkably well considering the circumstance. The doctors have been hopeful so far," the mother's sister, Jill Sanderson, told KSL-TV of Salt Lake City yesterday. "We would like to express our appreciation to the Spanish Fork rescue team for saving the baby's life."
	The fisherman discovered the car on its top about 12:30 pm Saturday in the Spanish Fork River, about 80 kilometers south of Salt Lake City, police Lieutenant Matt Johnson said.
	Investigators believe the wreck occurred about 10:30 pm Friday when a resident near the accident scene reported hearing a ...

Toddler found alive 14 hours after car crash in Utah river

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not cede territory due to the current climate in the Middle East, appearing to rule out the establishment of a Palestinian state.
	Netanyahu said "any evacuated territory would fall into the hands of Islamic extremism and terror organizations supported by Iran. Therefore, there will be no concessions and no withdrawals. It is simply irrelevant."
	The statement was released by his Likud party yesterday. Netanyahu is seeking to appeal to hard-liners ahead of elections next week.
	Party spokesman Elie Bennett says Netanyahu's 2009 speech calling for a Palestinian state alongside Israel is not currently relevant.
	The international community has long pushed for the creation of a Palestinian state on lands captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war.
	Netanyahu's spokesman declined comment.

Netanyahu says Israel will not cede land to Palestinians

Hillary Clinton, a likely US presidential candidate, is urging the world to take action and address "the great unfinished business of the 21st century" the achievement of equality for women that 189 nations called for at a groundbreaking UN conference 20 years ago.
	Clinton came to the Beijing conference as the US first lady and brought delegates to their feet in a keynote speech that inspired women around the world when she declared: "Human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights."
	In the introduction to a new report on the status of women in 2015, she recalled those words and said the latest data provides evidence that advancing the full participation of women and girls expands global prosperity and stability.
	The report entitled "No Ceilings," to be released Monday, assesses the gains and gaps for women and girls since the 1995 conference and concludes that "there has never been a better time to be born female." But it says change has been far too slow when .

Hillary Clinton urges action to achieve women's equality

Finland's state radio channel YLE is broadcasting readings of the entire Quran in Finnish to improve knowledge of Muslim culture in the Nordic country.
	The 60 half-hour readings are accompanied by comments from the translator of the Islamic holy book and Imam Anas Hajjar of Finland's Islamic Society.
	The chairman of the organization, Mohammad Hussein Omar, today described the readings as a good way to help people understand the religion and Muslim customs better.
	There are an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 Muslims in Finland, which has an overall population of 5.5 million.
	The country has only one building constructed as a mosque, in the early 1940s. Other Muslim prayer rooms or mosques are former schools, cinemas or municipal halls.

Finland's national radio airs readings of complete Quran

President Barack Obama says it was through news reports that he first learned that Hillary Rodham Clinton used a private, nongovernment email account while serving as his secretary of state.
	In an interview yesterday with CBS News, Obama says he's glad that Clinton has instructed that those emails about official business be disclosed. He also maintains that his administration remains the most transparent administration ever.
	Clinton, the leading Democratic contender in the 2016 presidential campaign, has drawn criticism for using a private server during the four years she was the nation's top diplomat.
	Her sidestepping official government email also raises questions about whether all pertinent messages have been preserved as well as turned over for congressional investigations and lawsuits.
	Clinton says that she's turned over all relevant emails for review.

Obama says Clinton's private email account was news to him

Nepal's only international airport reopened four days after a Turkish Airlines jet skidded and blocked the single runway, the aviation authority said today.
	The first planes took off just before midnight as thousands of stranded passengers crowded the airport in hopes of getting on a flight.
	The Turkish Airbus 330, whose front landing gear was broken, was removed from the grass with a flat-bed truck and towed to a parking area. No one was injured when the plane skidded off the wet surface on Wednesday.
	Airlines have said they would bring in extra flights and the airport would be open 24 hours to accommodate the departures. Nepal's government said it will wave visa fees for the stranded passengers.
	March is the beginning of the tourist season, when thousands of foreigners come for trekking and to climb the Himalayan peaks.

Nepal airport reopens after runway cleared

Trading in their combat boots and fatigues for high heels and ball gowns, female rebel fighters who normally fight Ukrainian soldiers took off to take part in a beauty pageant.
	The event was organised yesterday by self-proclaimed authorities in the rebel-held city of Donetsk on the eve of International Women's Day, which is widely celebrated throughout the former Soviet Union.
	Women from three main rebel battalions showed off their dinner dresses before they changed back to fatigues to receive prizes and roses.
	Most of the women were local residents who followed their husbands or boyfriends to the front while one was a Russian, from the Russian western city of Bryansk. Some of the women used to work in pre-schools, while others were in private business.
	"I'm not used to this," said Nataliya, a contestant in a corseted dress who gave her nom de guerre as "Radist." ''There are heels to wear and then the dress is so revealing. We are soldiers after all.

Rebel pageant: Ukrainian fighters trade in boots for heels

Fighters from the Islamic State group attacked an oil field in Libya, killing several members of the security detail at the site and nine foreign workers are missing, European officials have said.
	Austrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Weiss said yesterday that the Friday afternoon attack occurred at the al-Ghani oil field, south of Sirte.
	Security teams retook the site, but nine foreign workers are unaccounted for, including one Austrian, one Czech and seven non-EU citizens.
	No demands have been made by any group or individual for their return.
	The Czech Foreign Ministry confirmed that a Czech national was missing after the attack. Ministry spokeswoman Michaela Lagronova said the ministry is in contact with the family of the missing person and is cooperating with Austria.
	The Czech Foreign Ministry said one of its officials would fly to the region as soon as possible, while Austrian officials said Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz was conferring with high-ranking interior and .

9 foreigners unaccounted for after IS attack on oil field

US and European diplomats said today they are united in their strategy and goal in trying to achieve a nuclear deal with Iran.
	"We are on the same page," US Secretary of State John Kerry said after talks with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. "We know what we are chasing after and we are chasing after the same thing."
	Kerry and Fabius, who met with the British and German foreign ministers after their session, cited progress in the talks, with the last round just wrapping up Wednesday in Switzerland. But they also acknowledged big gaps that must be bridged if the sides are to reach a deal by the end of March deadline set by negotiators.
	"There is progress in certain areas but there are also divergences," Fabius said. He said more work needed to be done on the length of the proposed agreement and on how to verify Iranian compliance.
	"There is still work to do on the duration, we need a guarantee and transparency is necessary," he said.
	Added Kerry: "We have exactly the same ..

US, Europe show solidarity on Iran nuclear negotiations

Tens of thousands of Israelis are gathering at a Tel Aviv square under the banner "Israel wants change" and calling for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be replaced in March 17 national elections.
	Tonight's rally at Rabin Square is the highest profile demonstration yet in the run-up to the election.
	It is organized by a non-profit organization seeking to change Israel's priorities and refocus on health, education, housing and the country's cost of living.
	Though not officially endorsed by any political party, it drew mostly supporters of leftist and centrist parties.
	The rally's keynote speaker is former Mossad chief Meir Dagan who recently slammed Netanyahu's conduct and called him "the person who has caused the greatest strategic damage to Israel.

Tens of thousands attend anti-Netanyahu rally in Tel Aviv

A search is underway for a Taiwanese fishing boat that went missing late last month off southeastern Argentina with 49 crew members, Taiwan's official news agency said today.
	Taiwan's foreign ministry is helping in the search for the boat, which was reported missing on February 26, the Central News Agency reported.
	The boat was carrying two Taiwanese, 11 Chinese, 13 Filipino, 21 Indonesian and two Vietnamese crew members, CNA said, citing the foreign ministry.
	The ministry immediately asked its representative office in Argentina to seek help from Argentina's navy to look for the boat, according to the report.
	Taiwan has also contacted British authorities and the European Union's naval force for help.

Taiwanese fishing boat with 49 crew missing off Argentina

Iraq's minister of tourism and antiquities says the government is investigating reports that the ancient archaeological site of Hatra in northwestern Iraq is being demolished by militants from the Islamic State group.
	Adel Shirshab told The Associated Press that there are concerns the militants are removing artifacts from the UNESCO world heritage site, located 110 kilometers southwest of the city of Mosul, and that they were about to demolish the site.
	The group has already looted artifacts from Nimrud, another ancient archaeological site, yesterday and bulldozed it in a move UNESCO deemed "a war crime."
	Saeed Mamuzini, a Kurdish official from Mosul, told the AP that the militants had begun carrying away artifacts from Hatra as early as Thursday, began to demolish the site.

Iraq investigating IS attack on another ancient site

Islamic State militants attacked a string of predominantly Christian villages in northeastern Syria today, touching off heavy clashes with Kurdish militiamen and their local allies, activists said.
	The attack began around dawn and targeted at least three villages near the town of Tal Tamr along the Khabur River in Hassakeh province.
	The Islamic State group kidnapped more than 220 Christians from the same area last month after overrunning several farming communities on the southern bank of the river.
	The fighting today was focused in villages on the northern bank of the river as the militants press to capture Tal Tamr, a strategic crossroads some 35 kilometres (20 miles) from the city of Hassakeh, said Osama Edwards, director of the Assyrian Network for Human Rights.
	"The battles are now very intensive, very violent," said Edwards, who is based in Sweden. "Tal Tamr is the main goal of the Islamic State, to give them the corridor to the eastern border to Iraq."
	The Britain-based ...

IS attacks more Christian villages in northeastern Syria

A suicide bomber in a tricycle taxi blew himself up outside a busy today fish market and killed at least 10 people in Maiduguri, the biggest city in northeastern Nigeria, according to witnesses and a security officer.
	"I saw many dead bodies lying on the ground, many dead, and several others badly injured," said fish seller Idi Idrisa.
	People are still counting the dead but a security officer said the explosion at Baga fish market was massive. He said he counted at least 10 corpses. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to reporters.
	No one claimed responsibility but the attack bears all the hallmarks of the Boko Haram Islamic extremist group.
	It has increased suicide bombings and village attacks recently as forces from Nigeria and Chad have driven the insurgents from a score of towns along Nigeria's border with Cameroon.
	Boko Haram also has attacked villages in Cameroon and Niger as Nigeria's neighbours are forming a multinational force to ...

Suicide bomber kills 10 in northeastern Nigeria market

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has inaugurated a new session of parliament, praising the country's security forces in his speech.
	Ghani made an address today as parliament reconvened. He said insurgents who tried to take over several Afghan provinces had been defeated by soldiers and police officers.
	Ghani also said that he soon will introduce more Cabinet nominees to the parliament for their approval.
	Some of Ghani's nominees for the 25 Cabinet positions already have been rejected by parliament, some voted down and others because they had dual citizenship or incomplete education documents.
	The lack of ministers has caused problems throughout Ghani's government, slowing its work and upsetting many in the country. Ghani has pledged to resolve the Cabinet impasse soon.

Afghan president inaugurates new session of parliament

At least one masked gunman sprayed bullets in a nightclub popular with foreigners in Mali's capital early today, killing at least five people including a French person and a Belgian national, officials and witnesses said.
	France and Belgium condemned the attack at La Terrasse restaurant and bar in Bamako and their foreign ministers confirmed the deaths of their nationals.
	Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders denounced a "cowardly act of terror" and France's Laurent Fabius said "everything must be done to find those responsible for this crime."
	"This attack was led by at least one masked person who opened fire on clients," said the UN stabilisation mission in Mali in a statement.
	It said nine people were wounded including two experts at the UN mission. The Swiss Defense Ministry said the two were Swiss soldiers.
	Two people who were at the scene are being questioned to determine what happened, said a police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not ...

5 dead, 2 expats, in shooting at restaurant in Mali capital

Gunmen dressed all in black abducted 31 Shiite men today from their home in eastern Baghdad, an attack police described as targeting suspected criminals, Iraqi officials said. Separate attacks in the capital killed six people, authorities said.
	The kidnappings happened early this morning as gunmen stormed houses in the Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City, kidnapping the men, two police officials said.
	The officials said they suspect the kidnapped men were involved in prostitution and criminal activities. Some Shiite militias have been involved in attacks against suspected prostitutes and stores that sell liquor as a part of their campaign to impose Islamic laws.
	Meanwhile, police and hospital officials said three mortar shells landed on houses in Baghdad's southern suburb of Arab Jabour, killing four people and wounding nine. A bomb blast near an outdoor market in northern Baghdad also killed two people and wounded seven, they said.
	All officials spoke on condition of anonymity ...

Officials say gunmen kidnap 31 suspected criminals in Iraq

The head of Russia's federal security service said today that two suspects have been detained in the killing a week ago of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov.
	Alexander Bortnikov made the statement on state television. He said the two suspects were from Russia's North Caucasus region, but no other details were given.
	It was not clear if either of the suspects was believed to have fired the shots that killed Nemtsov as he walked over a bridge with a companion near the Kremlin on February 28.
	Nemtsov's killing shocked Russia's already beleaguered and marginalised opposition supporters.
	Suspicion in the opposition is high that the killing was ordered by the Kremlin in retaliation for Nemtsov's adamant criticism of President Vladimir Putin. The 55-year-old was reportedly working on a report about Russian military involvement in the eastern Ukraine conflict.
	But Russia's top investigative body said it was investigating several possible motives, including that he was killed in an ...

Russia: 2 suspects detained in murder of Boris Nemtsov

An investigation into what prosecutors call the biggest corruption scandal ever uncovered in Brazil won Supreme Court approval to expand to dozens of top politicians for alleged ties to a kickback scheme at the state-run energy company.
	In a significant expansion of the probe, the new phase of the inquiry will focus on a former president, the leaders of the house and senate and 51 other figures but the number is expected to expand as federal prosecutors dig into political ties to the scheme that they say saw at least USD 800 million in bribes and other funds paid by big construction and engineering firms in return for inflated contracts with Petrobras.
	The investigation and any possible trials will take years to play out, but the action throws the young second term of President Dilma Rousseff into further disarray as she faces dueling political and economic crises. She is not being investigated, although she was chairwoman of the Petrobras board for several years as the kickback ...

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