Hillary Rodham Clinton has said that if she decides to seek the White House again she would try to encourage Republicans and Democrats to solve problems.
	Clinton, the leading Democratic contender should she run, referred to her likely presidential campaign in hypothetical terms during an interview on stage at a women's conference in Silicon Valley.
	But she said yesterday anyone who mounts a campaign for president in 2016 should make economic growth and restoring rising wages top priorities, along with rebuilding trust and cooperation.
	Clinton has kept a low profile so far this year but is starting to take a more public approach as she heads toward her expected 2016 campaign for president. Polls show her with a commanding lead over other potential Democratic candidates such as Vice President Joe Biden.
	The Republican race is wide open with polls showing the leading potential candidates, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, separated only by a few percentage points.
	Even in the .

Clinton says she would push problem-solving if she runs

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned down an invitation to meet privately with Senate Democrats next week during his visit to Washington, saying the session "could compound the misperception of partisanship" surrounding his trip.
	Angering the White House and Democrats, Netanyahu accepted an invitation from Republican leaders to address a joint meeting of Congress on March 3 and speak about Iran.
	The Republican leaders did not consult with the Obama administration, which the White House called a breach of protocol.
	Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin and Dianne Feinstein on Monday invited Netanyahu to meet in a closed-door session with Democrats during his visit. He declined the invitation on Tuesday and expressed regret about the politically fraught tone of his trip.
	"I regret that the invitation to address the special joint session of Congress has been perceived by some to be political or partisan," Netanyahu wrote.
	"I can assure you that my sole intention in accepting it ..

Netanyahu turns down invite to meet with Senate Democrats

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel failed to capture a majority of the vote in his bid for a second term, an embarrassment for the former White House chief of staff who now faces a runoff.
	The result exposed possible vulnerability for an incumbent who has widespread support from business leaders, national name recognition and millions of dollars in campaign funds. He participated in half a dozen debates and forums often defending his more controversial decision on schools and violence and received a last-minute boost with a hometown visit from President Barack Obama.
	Still, he wasn't able to capture the more than 50 per cent necessary to avoid an April 7 runoff against Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, a former alderman and state senator who got his start as an immigrant rights activist.
	With nearly all the votes counted, Emanuel had 45 per cent, Garcia 34 per cent, and the three other candidates divided the rest.
	"We have come a long way, and we have a little bit further to ..

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel forced into April runoff election

A gunman shot and killed three people Wednesday in and around a South Korean convenience store that he then set on fire before fleeing, police said.
	He was later found dead with a gunshot wound to his head in an apparent suicide.
	A hunting rifle was found on the 50-year-old gunman's body about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the store, located in Sejong City, Lee Ja-ha, head of the Sejong Police Agency, said in a televised briefing. Another rifle was found in his vehicle, which was parked about 100 meters (yards) away from the body, he said.
	The other dead were a father, 74, and son, 50, linked to the family that owned the store, and another man, 52, who'd been living with the elder man's daughter, Lee said. Sejong City is 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of Seoul, the capital, and is home to some of South Korea's government agencies and ministries.
	The daughter told police that she had lived with the gunman before breaking up about a year and a half ago. She had recently quarreled ..

Gunman kills 3 in S Korea's Sejong City, later found dead

An Afghan official says dozens of people are feared dead in an avalanche that buried some 60 homes in the northeastern Panjshir Valley.
	Acting Gov Abdul Rahman Kabiri said at least 30 people were killed and that rescuers were using their bare hands and shovels to try to reach survivors.
	Emergency officials could not immediately be reached to confirm the toll, which is expected to rise.
	Large swathes of Afghanistan have been covered in snow over the past 24 hours as a major storm has interrupted an otherwise mild and dry winter. Avalanches are common in Afghanistan's mountainous north.

Dozens feared dead in Afghanistan avalanche

Human Rights Watch has said it has identified nearly 1,500 sites where the Syrian government has carried out indiscriminate air attacks over the past year using barrel bombs and other improvised weapons that have killed or injured thousands of people.
	The human rights group accused President Bashar Assad of lying when he said his government was not using barrel bombs and said in a new report that the attacks have had "a devastating impact on civilians."
	Human Rights Watch said that by examining satellite imagery it identified some 450 major damage sites in 10 towns and villages held by rebel groups in the Daraa governorate in the south and over 1,000 in war-ravaged Aleppo, Syria's largest city. It also examined video and photographic evidence and interviewed witnesses to document the attacks.
	Nadim Houry, the group's deputy Middle East and North Africa director, told a news conference that the majority of deaths are still caused by the Assad government, and the bombing is the "key .

Rights group says 1,500 sites of Syrian air attacks

Former 20th Century Fox chief Tom Rothman has been named chairman of Sony's Motion Picture Group, replacing Amy Pascal as studio head and effectively concluding Sony's shake-up following the damaging hacking scandal.
	Sony Pictures co-chairman and chief executive Michael Lynton announced Rothman's promotion today. Since late 2013, Rothman has been running TriStar Productions at Sony.
	In more than a decade running Fox Filmed Entertainment, Rothman oversaw the two biggest box-office grossers ever: "Avatar" and "Titanic."
	He is known for both budget-consciousness and a deep knowledge of all facets of the industry. He led Fox to more than USD 40 billion in worldwide box office and more than 150 Academy Award nominations. He also previously founded Fox Searchlight.
	"Tom's creativity, strong talent relationships and track record of enduring films and commercial success are unparallelled in this industry and exactly what we are looking for to grow our film business," Lynton said in a ...

Rothman named co-chair of Sony Pictures, replacing Pascal

A US military official says the Pentagon will be deploying a small number of troops to Ukraine to provide medical training to forces there who have been battling Russian-backed separatists.
	Between five and 10 service members will go to western Ukraine next week for what will be a second round of coaching and mentoring members of the Ukraine military, who will then go on to become trainers.
	The official discussed the deployment on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorised to speak on the record.
	Last year, the US trained about 300 Ukrainian troops on battlefield medicine. US officials are continuing to review the range of instruction and other aid that can be provided to Ukraine.
	A tenuous cease-fire agreement was reached earlier this month, but there have been repeated accusations of violations of the peace plan.

US troops heading to Ukraine to give medical training

People from Arizona to Canada have reported seeing bright lights in the sky as a Chinese rocket burned up in the atmosphere.
	Witnesses described the lights as a group of about three dozen fireballs moving slowly from south to north late yesterday.
	Canadian photographer Neil Zeller says it looked like a cluster of fireballs followed by a long orange tail.
	A NASA official told the Salt Lake Tribune the lights were a Chinese rocket booster that broke apart about 11 pm Mountain Time (0600 GMT).
	Calls to NASA from The Associated Press were directed to US Strategic Command, who could not immediately confirm what it was.
	Mike Hankey with the American Meteor Society says his organisation got more than 150 reports of the event from nine Western states and Canada.

Fireballs spotted over western US as Chinese rocket burns up

A gunman opened fire inside a small-town restaurant in eastern Czech Republic today, killing eight people and seriously wounding a waitress before he fatally shot himself, officials said.
	It was the worst shooting attack in the young country's history.
	The gunman was a local man aged around 60, said Patrik Kuncar, mayor of the southeastern town of Uhersky Brod.
	Czech public radio said the gunman called a local television station before the attack, complaining that police were not solving his problems and threatening that he would "take things into his hands."
	Interior Minister Milan Chovanec, who arrived at the scene, said the man had a gun license. "It was not a terrorist attack" he said.
	The gunman was armed with two pistols and opened fire at the approaching police officers, Chovanec said.
	The Czech Republic became an independent nation in 1993 after the split of Czechoslovakia.
	The attack shocked the town of 17,000 that lies 300 kilometers southeast of Prague, the capital, .

9 dead including gunman in Czech restaurant shooting

Goodyear will pay about USD 16 million to settle federal regulators' charges that it failed to prevent persistent bribery in Kenya and Angola aimed at winning tire sales.
	The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the settlement today with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, one of the world's biggest tire makers.
	The SEC said Goodyear's subsidiaries in the African countries paid more than USD 3.2 million in bribes to employees of government-owned and private companies, and to local officials.
	The agency says that the bribes, paid "routinely" from 2007 through 2011, were hidden in company books by being falsely recorded as legitimate business expenses.
	Goodyear, based in Akron, Ohio, neither admitted nor denied the allegations. The company is turning over about USD 14 million in alleged illicit profits plus USD two million in interest.

Goodyear paying USD 16M to settle bribery-related charges

A series of bombings in Iraq, including twin blasts in a busy street in a Baghdad suburb, killed at least 40 people and wounded dozens today, Iraqi officials said.
	The deadliest of the day's attacks came shortly before sunset, when a bomb exploded in Baghdad's southeastern suburb of Jisr Diyala. Minutes later, a car bomb went off near the site of the first blast as people started gathering to help the victims of the initial explosion.
	The casualty toll in Jisr Diyala rose throughout the evening, and within hours, police and hospital officials said that at least 25 people had been killed and that 50 were wounded, including several students who had just come out of a nearby school after class. The police sealed off the attack area.
	No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings but Iraq sees near-daily attacks, mostly by Sunni insurgents targeting the country's Shiite majority and security forces.
	The attacks are often claimed by the Islamic State group, which seized ..

Bombs in Iraq, including twin blasts on busy street, kill 40

The Egyptian president has issued a law that broadens the state's definition of terrorism to include anyone who threatens public order "by any means," and gives authorities powers to draw up lists of alleged terrorists with little judicial recourse.
	Under the new law, prosecutors can name someone a terrorist, freezing their assets, and barring them from public life or travel, with only simple approval from a panel of judges, and without a trial. The listing is valid for three years and can be renewed.
	The legislation was signed in the form of a decree by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi last week and was distributed to reporters today.
	It is part of the government's stepped-up campaign against an expanding insurgency by militant groups, including one that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group fighting in Iraq and Syria.
	The authorities have also waged a sweeping crackdown on supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, as well as young activists and groups ...

Egyptian president issues new anti-terrorism law

Hillary Rodham Clinton has so far kept a low profile this year, something that's starting to change as she heads toward her expected 2016 campaign for president.
	Clinton was to speak today at a Silicon Valley women's conference, her first US speech of the year. It opens a stretch of public appearances in the next month ahead of an all-but-certain launch of her bid for the Democratic nomination.
	The former secretary of state has steered clear of the spotlight her only two speeches in 2015 came in Canada last month choosing instead to huddle with advisers as a large field of Republican presidential hopefuls compete for attention.
	Clinton was speaking today at the Watermark Silicon Valley Conference for Women in Santa Clara, California, an appearance before 5,000 attendees that will include an on-stage interview with Kara Swisher, the co-executive editor of technology media company Re/code.
	Clinton is likely to face questions about President Barack Obama's proposal to authorise the ..

Clinton beginning to shed low profile before likely 2016 bid

Scientists say they may have solved a centuries-old whodunit: Why did Europe experience outbreaks of bubonic plague over hundreds of years, starting with the Black Death of 1347 to 1353?
	Maybe you can blame gerbils in Asia.
	The disease is caused by a bacterium that lives in rodents. The general thought had been that once the germ arrived from Asia to kick off the Black Death, it settled into European rodents and periodically jumped to humans until it disappeared in the early 1800s.
	But now, scientific sleuths are suggesting that the true source of those periodic outbreaks was Asia. Maritime trade may have inadvertently imported the disease repeatedly from its ultimate reservoir, great gerbils and other small mammals in Asia, they suggest.
	"I don't think there was any sustainable reservoir in Europe," Nils Stenseth of the University of Oslo said today in an email.
	He and co-authors make their case in an article published Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of ...

Asia may have seeded European plague outbreaks, study says

A US church says one of its missionaries has been abducted in central Nigeria.
	The Free Methodist Church says in a statement on its website that it received a report today morning that several people abducted Rev Phyllis Sortor from the Hope Academy compound in Emiworo, Kogi state.
	The message from Bishop David Kendall says the US Embassy has been notified, and the State Department and the FBI are working with local authorities to find and rescue her.
	Kidnappings for ransom are common in Nigeria and almost all victims are returned unharmed.
	The State Department says it's aware that a US citizen has been reported missing in Nigeria. It says it helps local authorities search for those confirmed missing and wouldn't release further information because of privacy concerns.

US church says missionary kidnapped from Nigerian compound

A Philadelphia man has been arrested in the stabbings of two members of rapper Nicki Minaj's tour, one of whom died.
	Authorities say 31-year-old Pierce Boykin was arrested yesterday on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault and related offenses.
	It wasn't immediately clear if investigators were looking for other suspects.
	The double stabbing on Wednesday last week left 29-year-old Devon Pickett dead and a second member of Minaj's tour severely wounded. The 27-year-old man remains in critical condition.
	Police say the stabbing occurred outside a bar after the victims argued with a man inside.
	According to Minaj, the crew members had arrived in Philadelphia only two days earlier to rehearse for a tour.
	Boykin or an attorney for him could not be reached today to comment on the charges.

Arrest made in stabbing of 2 Nicki Minaj tour members

A series of bombings in Iraq, including twin blasts in a busy street in a Baghdad suburb, killed at least 31 people and wounded dozens today, Iraqi officials said.
	The deadliest of the day's attacks came shortly before sunset, when a bomb exploded in Baghdad's southeastern suburb of Jisr Diyala. Minutes later, a car bomb went off near the site of the first blast as people started gathering to help the victims.
	Police and hospital officials put the casualty toll in Jisr Diyala at up to 16 killed and 30 wounded, including several students who had just come out of a nearby school after class.
	No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings but Iraq sees near-daily attacks, mostly by Sunni insurgents targeting the country's Shiite majority and security forces.
	The attacks are often claimed by the Islamic State group, which seized about a third of the country in a blitz last year, along with a swath of territory in neighbouring Syria.
	Earlier today, a parked car bomb went 

Bombs in Iraq, including twin blasts on busy street, kill 31

A rare first edition of William Shakespeare's plays is to go on display in the Bard's spiritual home, just a few hundred yards (meters) from where it was printed in 1623.
	Shakespeare's Globe says a First Folio discovered last year in a library in Saint-Omer, France, will be displayed at the London theatre for two months from July 2016.
	Actor Mark Rylance said yesterday that he's delighted "my favourite book in the world" is coming to the recreated Elizabethan playhouse.
	The theatre lies across the River Thames from the site of London's 17th-century printing houses near St Paul's Cathedral.
	About 750 copies of Shakespeare's collected plays were printed seven years after the playwright died. Some 230 copies are known to survive, including the book found among belongings from a now-defunct Jesuit college in Saint-Omer, near Calais.
	Saint-Omer librarian Remy Cordonnier identified the folio, which was missing its title page and had been misidentified as an 18th-century printing.
	He ..

First Folio found in France to visit Shakespeare' Globe

An 18-month-old boy has died of measles amid an outbreak in Berlin, a hospital in the German capital said today.
	An autopsy on the child, who wasn't inoculated against measles, showed that he had an unspecified other disease as well but that wouldn't have led to his death without the measles infection, the Charite hospital said.
	It is the first known death in an outbreak in which Berlin has recorded more than 570 cases since October.
	Officials believe the outbreak began with a child asylum- seeker from Bosnia. They said it spread to the wider population partly because immunisation rates among over-45s are low, and younger adults also are at risk because many only received one shot instead of two, as is now recommended.
	Although it's rare for measles to be fatal in developed countries, the measles virus kills up to 10 per cent of children infected in developing countries that have high levels of malnutrition and poor health care.
	Most measles deaths are caused by complications ...

Toddler dies of measles in Berlin, 1st death in outbreak

The UN Security Council has extended sanctions on Yemen's former president and two leaders of the powerful Shiite Houthi rebels who control the capital and much of northern Yemen.
	A resolution adopted unanimously by the council today renewed the sanctions it authorised last year until February 26, 2016.
	That means the asset freeze and travel ban remain in place against ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh and Houthi leaders Abd al-Khaliq al-Huthi and Abdullah Yahya al Hakim.
	The crisis in the impoverished country has escalated in the wake of the power grab by the Houthis, who are believed to be backed by Saleh.

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