A soft-spoken beagle really raised a ruckus. Wagging her tail a mile a minute, Miss P became America's top dog by winning best in show in a big surprise at the Westminster Kennel Club.
	At 4, Miss P is a grand-niece of Uno in 2008, the immensely popular hound barked and bayed his way to becoming the only previous beagle to win at the most prominent U.S. Dog show.
	Miss P, however, didn't let out a peep in the ring.
	"She is a princess," handler Will Alexander said. A quiet one, too. Not your normal, everyday, vocal beagle, as most owners can attest.
	Instead, it was the packed crowd at Madison Square Garden that seemed to loudly gasp when judge David Merriam picked her in a dog show world shocker.
	Only a half-hour after her win did the 15-inch Miss P, a breed known as "big beagles," start making a noise. And that was only because her people were giving her treats.
	The best-of-seven final ring was full of favorites. Matisse, a Portuguese water dog that's a cousin of President Barack .

Tail-wagging beagle wins best in show at Westminster

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A four-year-old Israeli girl has died two years after being seriously wounded when Palestinians threw rocks at the car she was riding in as it drove through the West Bank.
	Adele Bitton died yesterday soon after she was hospitalised for a lung infection.
	Her mother Adva was driving her home to a West Bank settlement in 2013 when rocks thrown by Palestinians caused her to crash. She said the infection was a result of the child's wounds.
	The Arab medic who treated the family at the scene told the Israeli news website Ynet that he was pained and shocked by her death, calling it "the price of hatred" and calling for coexistence.
	Several Palestinian teenagers were arrested for the rock throwing.

Israeli toddler wounded by Palestinian stone throwing dies

France is tracking hundreds of people believed to belong to possible sleeper cells for terror organizations like al-Qaida or the Islamic State group, the country's top security official said.
	In an interview with The Associated Press, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve laid out what has become an increasingly urgent question for European intelligence services: How to trace the moment when someone transforms from a disgruntled criminal or a disaffected citizen into a terrorist, and how to block those first steps toward radicalization.
	"Four hundred targets have been identified by our intelligence services that are more or less sleeper cells, affiliated or in relation with al-Qaida-type organizations, that can strike like the Kouachi brothers," Cazeneuve said in an interview late Monday.
	Said and Cherif Kouachi were French-born brothers who killed 12 people in Paris on Jan. 7 when they stormed the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. They were shot dead by police in a confrontation ...

France: Tracking 400 believed to be in terror sleeper cells

A Pakistani terrorism suspect on trial in New York was among several young recruits under orders by al-Qaeda to infiltrate Western society and pull off the biggest operation since the September 11, 2001 attacks, a prosecutor said Tuesday in opening statements.
	Assistant US Attorney Celia Cohen told jurors in federal court in Brooklyn that the failed conspiracy in 2009 called for attacks in New York City, England and Denmark.
	She said 28-year-old Abid Naseer, who is acting as his own attorney, headed a cell in Manchester, England, where he attended college as part of his cover and communicated in coded emails with his al-Qaida handler about the cell's plan to attack a shopping mall.
	"That was the whole point of the Western operatives. ... They knew how to blend in and conduct reconnaissance and pick the best target," Cohen said. The goal, she added, was to "repeat the devastation of 9/11."
	The jury will be the first to see evidence seized during the Navy SEAL raid in 2011 that left 

US: Al-Qaeda wanted recruits to pull off attack like 9/11

Popular Mexican soap opera and movie actress Lorena Rojas has died of cancer in at age 44.
	Latin World Entertainment talent agency said in a statement that Rojas died Monday in Miami surrounded by loved ones. She had battled cancer since 2008.
	The Mexico City-born actress began her career in the 1990s with "Alzcanzar una Estrena." She later had roles in "Azul Tequila," El Cuerpo del Deseo," and "Pecados Ajenos." Her most recent project was the series "Demente Criminal."
	Her roles extended beyond soap operas to films such as "Corazones Rotos," ''Papa Soltero," ''Mas que Alcanzar una Estrella" and "El Triste Juego del Amor." In the theater, she acted in "Manos Quietas" and the musical "Aventurera."
	Just months ago she had launched a children's album called "Hijos del Sol.

Popular Mexican actress Lorena Rojas dies of cancer at 44

Movita Castaneda, the dark-haired actress who met Marlon Brando on a movie set and later married him and had two of his children, has died.
	Barbara Sternig, a family friend, says Castaneda died Thursday at a Los Angeles rehabilitation center after being treated for a neck injury.
	The Los Angeles Times says Castaneda was believed to be 98. She came to prominence after appearing in the 1935 classic "Mutiny on the Bounty," a film that would be remade decades later starring Brando.
	Castaneda was also known for roles in "Flying Down to Rio" alongside Fred Astaire, "Paradise Isle" and "Captain Calamity." She married Brando in 1960.
	Previously she was married to Irish prizefighter Jack Doyle. Castaneda is survived by Miko Brando and Rebecca Brando; four grandchildren; and her 102-year-old sister, Petra.

Movita Castaneda, actress who married Marlon Brando, dies

The 16-year-old Kenyan girl found out she was HIV-positive and pregnant at a clinic in the Korogocho slums two years ago.
	She still isn't sure how she contracted the virus her mother died from AIDS-related complications when she was six years old, and she slept with various men after dropping out of school years ago to provide for herself and her two younger sisters.
	"I have no expectations in life. All I want to do is look after my daughter (who is HIV-negative) but death is imminent... And is what I am waiting for," said the girl, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of her age and to avoid stigma in her community.
	Global health organizations said today that AIDS is now the leading cause of death for adolescents in Africa, and the second leading cause of death among adolescents globally.
	Road accidents and injury are the number one killer of adolescents globally, said Michael Hollingdale, a UNAIDS spokesman.
	About 120,000 people aged between 10-19 years died of ...

Health groups say AIDS No. 1 killer of adolescents in Africa

The longtime head of a suburban Chicago Islamic school has been arrested and charged with sexually abusing a 23-year-old woman who worked at the school, police said today.
	Mohammad Abdullah Saleem, 75, was arrested Sunday without incident and is charged with felony criminal sexual abuse, the Elgin Police Department said in a news release.
	The well-known Islamic scholar, or imam, is due to appear court today.
	Police said they started investigating Saleem after the woman contacted authorities in December. She told them the abuse happened while she was working at the Institute of Islamic Education in Elgin in April 2014.
	The school teaches students grades six through 12 and is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Chicago.
	No one answered the phone at the school Tuesday morning. A phone number listed under Saleem's name was disconnected.
	Nadiah Mohajir, director of HEART Women and Girls, which raises awareness about sexual abuse in the Muslim community, said word about ...

Suburban Chicago imam charged with sexually assaulting woman

The White House promised an appeal today after a federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked President Barack Obama's executive action on immigration and gave a coalition of 26 states time to pursue a lawsuit aiming to permanently stop the orders.
	The ruling puts on hold Obama's orders that could spare as many as five million people who are in the US illegally from deportation.
	It came from US District Judge Andrew Hanen, who once accused the Obama administration of participating in criminal conspiracies to smuggle children into the U.S. By helping reunite them with parents who live here illegally.
	The decision does not judge the merits of the case, but it is a blow to a key Obama initiative that infuriated Republicans.
	In a statement, the White House defended the executive orders as within the president's legal authority, saying the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress have said federal officials can establish priorities in enforcing immigration laws.
	"The district court's decision ...

Judge stalls Obama immigration orders; White House to appeal

The UN's special envoy for Syria is briefing the Security Council on Tuesday after angering Syrian opposition leaders last week with his comments that President Bashar Assad remains "part of the solution" in reducing violence in the nearly four-year conflict.
	Staffan de Mistura will brief the council behind closed doors on his meeting last week with Assad about a proposal to freeze hostilities in Aleppo, Syria's largest city, which is divided into a rebel-controlled west and government-held east.
	This is de Mistura's first council briefing since he explained his freeze plan in October, and members want to know what kind of support, if any, it has received from Assad.
	Opposition groups question whether de Mistura's idea is going anywhere. The UN representative of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, Najib Ghadbian, last week told reporters that "if this is not working, we should not waste time."
	The UN estimates the conflict has killed 220,000 people.
	Millions have fled to ...

UN envoy on Syria to brief Security Council on 'freeze' plan

With Israeli elections looming and the region in turmoil, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finds himself once more enmeshed in a gossipy scandal.
	Israel's government watchdog, the state comptroller, is releasing a report today into possible financial malfeasance at the prime minister's residence.
	His wife is also being criticised for pettiness and possible security breaches after a video was aired in which she complained about the shabbiness of the official residence's kitchen.
	The Netanyahus are no strangers to such scrutiny. The prime minister has long been saddled with an image as a cigar-smoking, cognac-drinking socialite, while his wife has come under fire for her own expensive tastes and alleged abusive behaviour toward staff.
	The Netanyahus have accused the Israeli media of a longstanding witch hunt against them.

Israel's Netanyahu facing new scandal over bloated expenses

An American university student who was repeatedly gored and tossed by a fighting bull last weekend is improving but remains shaken after the experience, a spokesman of the Clinic Hospital in the western city of Salamanca said today.
	The spokesman said that University of Mississippi sophomore Benjamin Milley, 20, was not ready to talk publicly but was in contact by telephone with his family. The spokesman said he was accompanied by friends at the hospital.
	The official spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with hospital rules.
	Milley suffered several wounds, including a 40-cm (16-inch) goring in the thigh, when he was caught by a fighting bull during a festival in the nearby town of Ciudad Rodrigo on Saturday.
	Images showed him being repeatedly tossed by the beast and in obvious pain at being gored and pushed along the ground. He was eventually pulled to safety.
	Milley was operated on for nearly three hours before being taken to the Salamanca hospital.
	Fiestas featuring ...

American student gored in Spain recovering, shaken by event

Tens of thousands of refugees from Myanmar's ethnic region of Kokang have fled into the neighbouring Chinese province of Yunnan over the past week amid fighting between militant rebels and government troops.
	Citing government officials, the state-owned news site Yunnan.Cn reported yesterday that there have been 30,000 border crossings by Myanmar nationals, and that Chinese authorities had offered them food and medical care.
	Lin Sen, a volunteer helping refugees in Yunnan, said over phone today that he estimated 30,000 to 50,000 refugees had escaped the conflict region of Kokang over the past week.
	Kokang is dominated by ethnic Han Chinese, and the region has been embroiled in fights since conflicts between the militant rebels led by Phone Kya Shin and government troops intensified on Feb 9.
	The rebel group's general secretary, Htun Myat Lin, told The Associated Press over phone today that the group is seeking autonomy for Kokang and its ethnic Han Chinese people.
	"We want to have 

Tens of thousands of Myanmar ethnic refugees flee to China

At least 20 people on a music group's packed Carnival float in the Haitian capital were killed today when they were electrocuted by a power line, officials said.
	The accident occurred as thousands of people filled the streets of downtown Port-au-Prince for the raucous annual celebration. People at the scene said someone on the float used a pole or stick to move a power line so the float could pass under it.
	At least 20 people were killed and 46 were injured, according to Nadia Lochard, a coordinator for the Department of Civil Protection.
	The float was sponsored by the Haitian hip-hop group Barikad Crew. Some of the victims were instantly electrocuted in a flash of sparks, according to witnesses. Others managed to jump off, causing panic in the crowd.
	"I saw the wire falling and sparks and I started running for my life," said Natacha Saint Fleur, a 22-year-old who was near the float at the time.
	Hundreds of people thronged the General Hospital, where many of the victims were ...

At least 20 dead by electrocution in Haiti Carnival accident

Taliban suicide bombers dressed as police officers attacked a police station today in Afghanistan, killing at least 20 people in the latest assault targeting local security forces, authorities said.
	The attack happened in Pul-i-Alam, the capital of Logar province, some 80 kilometers east of Kabul. There, the first bomber detonated his explosives at the gate of the police headquarters, while a second blew himself up at a security checkpoint inside the compound, said Din Mohammad Darwesh, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
	Then other bombers ran into a dining hall where police officers had gathered to eat lunch, killing many more officers, authorities said.
	Gen Abdul Hakim Esaqzai, the police chief of Logar province, said the bombing killed at least 20 people, including two civilians. He said the blast also wounded eight people.
	The bombers wore police uniforms, allowing them to get inside the compound, said Muhibullha Ghayrat, a member of Logar's provincial council.
	Taliban .

Officials: At least 20 killed in Afghan suicide attack

Iran's supreme leader has criticised the film "American Sniper," saying the movie about a US soldier fighting in Iraq encourages violence against Muslims, a state-run newspaper reported today.
	The comments by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, published in the daily IRAN Farsi newspaper, come amid renewed criticism of the West by the leader as his country negotiates with world powers over its contested nuclear program.
	The newspaper quoted Khamenei as saying he hadn't watched the film directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Bradley Cooper, but had heard about its plot from others. The film focuses on the life of US Navy SEAL marksman Chris Kyle, who with 160 confirmed kills is considered the most lethal sniper in American military history.
	"The movie 'Sniper' that is made by Hollywood encourages a Christian or non-Muslim youngster to harass and offend the Muslims as far as they could," the newspaper quoted Khamenei as saying.
	Khamenei also reportedly discussed neo-Nazis attacking Muslims in .

Report: Iran's supreme leader criticizes 'American Sniper'

Four suicide bombers dressed in police uniforms attacked a police station today in Afghanistan, killing at least 10 officers in the latest assault targeting local security forces, authorities said.
	The attack happened in Pul-i-Alam, the capital of Logar province, some 80 kilometers east of Kabul. There, the first bomber detonated his explosives at the gate of the police headquarters, while a second blew himself up at a security checkpoint inside the compound, said Din Mohammad Darwesh, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
	At least two other bombers blew themselves inside the compound, where police officers had gathered to eat lunch, Darwesh said.
	The bombers wore police uniforms, allowing them to get inside the compound, said Muhibullha Ghayrat, a member of Logar's provincial council.
	No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
	The Taliban have stepped up their attacks on Afghan soldiers and security forces in recent months. US and NATO forces concluded their .

Official: At least 10 killed in Afghan suicide attack

Ukrainian government troops and Russia-backed rebels failed today to start pulling back heavy weaponry from the front line in eastern Ukraine as a deadline passed to do so.
	Under a ceasefire agreement negotiated by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France last week, the warring sides were to begin withdrawing heavy weapons from the front line today. Both sides indicated yesterday, however, that they would begin the pullout only after the other party does so.
	While the fighting either stopped or subsided in other parts of war-torn eastern Ukraine, the situation around the key transportation hub of Debaltseve remained tense today.
	Artillery rounds fired from Ukrainian government positions on the road were seen leading to rebel positions around Debaltseve. Sustained shelling was heard in the area all morning, some coming from Grad rocket launchers.
	Ukrainian military spokesman Anatoliy Stelmakh said in televised comments early today that the separatists continued to attack .

Ukraine army, rebels miss deadline to start weapons pullback

Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry says four crew members were killed when their military helicopter crashed during a night training exercise in an area near the kingdom's border with Iraq and Kuwait.
	A short Defense Ministry statement issued early today and carried by the official Saudi Press Agency did not offer a cause for the crash of the US-made Black Hawk helicopter in the Hafar al-Batin area.
	It said authorities already have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the crash.
	The ministry identified the dead crew members as Lt. Col. Ali al-Arfaj, 1st Lt. Majid al-Fifeefi, 1st Lt. Jadie Qablan and technician Raed al-Jahni.

Saudi military says helicopter crashes, kills 4 crew members

A federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked President Barack Obama's executive action on immigration, giving a coalition of 26 states time to pursue a lawsuit that aims to permanently stop the orders.
	US District Judge Andrew Hanen's decision comes after a hearing in Brownsville, Texas, in January. It puts on hold Obama's orders that could spare as many as five million people who are in the US illegally from deportation.
	The federal government is expected to appeal the ruling to the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. Neither the White House nor the Justice Department had any immediate comment early today.
	The first of Obama's orders to expand a program that protects young immigrants from deportation if they were brought to the US illegally as children was set to start taking effect tomorrow.
	The other major part of Obama's order, which extends deportation protections to parents of US citizens and permanent residents who have been in the country for some years, was ...

Federal judge stalls Obama's executive action on immigration

An arbitration panel ordered Lance Armstrong and Tailwind Sports Corp. To p]y USD 10 million in a fraud dispute with a promotions company for what it called an "unparalleled pageant of international perjury, fraud and conspiracy" that covered up his use of performance-enhancing drugs.
     Dallas-based SCA Promotions announced the 2-1 decision against the former cyclist when its lawyers said Monday they had asked Texas' 116th Civil District Court in Dallas to confirm the arbitration ruling, dated Feb. 4. The panel included a neutral chairman, who ruled in favor of SCA, and one person selected by each side.
     Tim Herman, a lawyer for Armstrong, insisted the ruling is contrary to Texas law and predicted it will be overturned by a judge.
     SCA paid Armstrong and Tailwind, the since-dissolved team management company, about USD 12 million in bonuses during Armstrong's career, when he won seven Tour de France titles. Those victories were stripped after Armstrong and his U.S. Postal ...

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