Australia's foreign minister today called on the Indonesian government to show the same mercy to two Australian drug traffickers on death row as Indonesia seeks from countries where Indonesian citizens face execution.
	Foreign Minister Julie Bishop moved a motion in Parliament today calling for clemency for Australians Myuran Sukumaran, 33, and Andrew Chan, 31. The opposition party supported the motion, in a show of bipartisan support for saving the heroin smugglers.
	Indonesia said last week it was preparing to execute by firing squad eight drug smugglers, including the two Australians.
	Bishop said the Indonesian government was committed to seeking the release of more than 200 Indonesians currently facing execution overseas.
	According to the Indonesian non-governmental organization Migrant Care, up to 360 Indonesians face the death penalty overseas, including about 230 on drug charges.
	"We urge the Indonesian government to show the same mercy to Andrew and Myuran that it seeks for 

Australia asks Indonesia for mercy for 2 death row prisoners

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The UN Ebola chief says US troops being withdrawn from Liberia have done their job of building desperately needed treatment centers but that more than 10,000 civilians working in West Africa and supported by the United States are still essential to combating the deadly disease.
	Dr David Nabarro warned in an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press that the battle against Ebola is far from over, pointing to a disappointing rise in new cases last week in hardest-hit Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
	He said civilians from the US, Britain, France and elsewhere are still needed to help with tracing Ebola victims' contacts, re-establishing health services and changing behavior in communities.
	The United States announced that only 100 US troops will remain in Liberia after April 30, down from the 2,800 initially deployed.

UN: 10,000 US-supported civilians needed to fight Ebola

Malaysian police have detained a cartoonist and are investigating two lawmakers for sedition over tweets and a cartoon condemning the judiciary for dismissing opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's final appeal against a sodomy conviction.
	Anwar began a 5-year prison sentence yesterday after the country's top court ruled there was overwhelming evidence showing that he sodomized a former male aide.
	The case was widely seen as politically motivated to eliminate any threats to the ruling coalition, whose popularity has been eroding after more than five decades of unquestioned dominance.
	Police detained cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Alhaque, better known as Zunar, at his home late Tuesday over a series of tweets on Anwar's case. A cartoon he posted on Twitter showed Prime Minister Najib Razak as the judge in Anwar's case.
	National police chief Khalid Abu Bakar also directed his men to investigate opposition lawmakers Nga Kor Ming and Rafizi Ramli for sedition. Nga tweeted it was time for the .

Malaysia investigating dissenters over Anwar's jailing

The leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine engaged in crucial peace talks today in the Belarusian capital as fighting still raged in eastern Ukraine.
	The talks, brokered by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, aim to negotiate a deal to end the hostilities between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatists that have killed more 5,300 people since April.
	In a diplomatic blitz that began last week, Merkel and Hollande visited Kiev and Moscow to speak to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin, paving the way for the talks in Minsk.
	"The entire world is waiting to see whether the situation moves toward de-escalation, weapons pullback, cease-fire or ... Spins out of control," Poroshenko said upon arriving. After talking in private for several hours, the four leaders briefly posed for photographers and went into a broader meeting involving senior officials. Putin and Poroshenko shook hands before the ...

Leaders in Minsk for crucial Ukraine peace talks

A strong but deep earthquake has struck northern Argentina, but there are no immediate reports of damage.
	The US Geological Survey says the magnitude-6.7 quake occurred at 3:57 pm and was centered 750 kilometers south-southeast of La Paz, Bolivia. It was centered about 190 kilometers below the surface.

Magnitude-6.7 quake hits northern Argentina

The captain of the shipwrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship was convicted of multiple charges of manslaughter and sentenced to 16 years in jail, Italian court officials said.
	Francesco Schettino was convicted of manslaughter in the deaths of 32 passengers and crew in the Jan. 13, 2012 capsizing as well as of causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship while many of the 4,200 passengers and crew were still on the ship.
	The verdict and sentencing brought an end to a trial that has been running since July 2013. Prosecutors had insisted Schettino was a "reckless idiot" and asked the court to sentence him to 26 years and three months in prison.
	Schettino wasn't present when Judge Giovanni Puliatti read out the verdict Wednesday night in a Grosseto theater, but the former captain told the court earlier he was being "sacrificed" to safeguard the economic interests of his employer. He then broke down in sobs immediately before the panel began deliberating.
	"That's enough," Schettino said, ...

Costa Concordia captain sentenced to 16 years in prison

An explosion on a ship leased by state-run oil company Petrobras left three workers dead and another six missing, according to Brazil's biggest oil industry union.
	The Health Ministry for the state of Espirito Santo, where the explosion took place, said in an emailed statement that so far 10 workers have been treated for injuries two for "grave burns" and another eight for "trauma."
	The Unified Oilworkers Federation said in a statement on its website that the blast was caused by a gas leak in the engine room of the vessel, one of the many floating oil production, storage and offloading units that Petrobras employs in developing Brazil's massive offshore oil fields.
	The union said the other 32 workers were safely evacuated off the ship onto a smaller vessel, and that a fire on the Petrobras ship is under control and "there are no risks of more explosions." It was not clear what the overall condition of the vessel was.
	The government of Espirito Santo state confirmed there was an ...

Explosion on Brazil oil ship; Union says 3 deaths

Kayla Mueller tried to find the good in everything even while being held hostage by Islamic State extremists, according to her family and friends.
	A portrait of the 26-year-old humanitarian aid worker from Prescott, Arizona, came as her death was confirmed by the US government.
	Family members spoke fondly of her free spirit and efforts to ease the suffering of others as a small memorial of flowers and handwritten notes took shape in her hometown near a sign calling on people to "Pray for Kayla."
	Mueller was captured in August 2013 in Syria, but her captivity had largely been kept secret in an effort to save her.
	President Barack Obama said a military operation last summer to recover Mueller and others failed when rescuers arrived only "a day or two" after the group had been moved.
	Few details are known about Mueller's time in captivity and how she died. The Islamic State group claimed Friday that Mueller was killed in a recent Jordanian airstrike targeting the militants.
	The ...

Family, friends mourn American aid worker held by militants

Greece and its partners in the 19-country eurozone dug in for tough talks as the country's finance minister unveiled the new Greek government's first concrete proposals on how to lighten its bailout program.
	The emergency meeting of the single currency zone's finance ministers is the first since the radical-left Syriza party won the general election in Greece last month on a pledge to drastically reduce the burden of the country's bailout and the associated budget austerity measures.
	Popular support for a change of course is strong in Greece, with thousands taking to the streets across the country Wednesday to give their backing to the government. Greek police say about 15,000 people attended a rally in Athens' central Syntagma Square. Another 5,000 gathered in the northern city of Thessaloniki.
	While acknowledging the need to listen to the proposals from Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, top eurozone officials played down expectations of a quick deal.
	Since winning the ...

Eurozone and Greece face off as key bailout talks start

Clashes between Iraqi government forces and militants along with attacks in the capital Baghdad killed at least 31 people and wounded dozens today, officials said.
	Heavy clashes erupted in three areas outside the city of Tikrit, which is controlled by the Islamic State extremist group, killing 12 security forces, Shiite militiamen and civilians, and wounding 37 others, a police official said. He added that three suicide truck bombers attacked security forces during the fighting.
	Militants claimed responsibility for three suicide attacks in a statement posted on a Twitter account frequently used by the extremist group. It said the attacks were carried out by French, Syrian and Qatari fighters, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant forums.
	The IS group controls around a third of both Iraq and neighboring Syria. It captured Tikrit, which is about 130 kilometers north of Baghdad, during its sweep across northern and western Iraq last summer.
	Meanwhile, ...

Iraq: Clashes, attacks kill at least 31 people

Activists from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement launched a campaign in the West Bank, calling on people to boycott products made by six major Israeli food companies.
	They said the campaign was a response to Israel's recent decision to halt the transfer of tax revenues to the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority. Israel took the step after the Palestinian decision to join the International Criminal Court, where the Palestinians have threatened to pursue war crimes charges against Israel.
	Mahmoud Aloul, the Fatah official overseeing the campaign, said shop owners were given two weeks to clear their shelves of the Israeli products.
	"Activists of all Palestinian factions will be touring the territories to confiscate the products after the two-week deadline," Aloul said.
	Abbas' Palestinian Authority, fearful of breaching past agreements with Israel, asked the Fatah-led Palestine
	Liberation Organization to lead the campaign, officials said.
	The campaign targets ...

Palestinians call for boycott of Israeli goods

Russia's Defense Ministry says one of its military jets has crashed while trying to land in southern Russia and the fate of its two crewmembers is unknown.
	The ministry said the Su-24 bomber crashed today as it was approaching its base in the southern Volgograd region on a regular training mission. It said a search mission was underway to locate the crew.
	The Russian air force has temporarily grounded its Su-24 fleet pending an investigation into the crash, according to a Defense Ministry statement carried by Russian news agencies.
	The twin-engine Su-24 has been a mainstay of both the Soviet and Russian air force since the 1970s.

Military jet crashes in southern Russia, 2 crewmen missing

Italy's government is cracking down on foreign fighters in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks, passing a decree that allows police to mount surveillance operations for suspected jihadis and provides stiffer jail terms for recruits.
	The decree passed late Tuesday also targets the so-called "lone wolf" terrorists who train themselves, since current legislation punishes only fighters trained by third parties.
	It creates a new crime, punishing anyone who organizes, finances or promotes trips abroad to commit terrorist attacks with between three and six years in prison.
	The package of measures also addresses access to information about terrorism, allowing law enforcement to order Internet providers to block access to sites that encourage terrorism and beefing up the penalties for anyone who instigates terrorist acts online.

Italy cracks down on foreign fighters after Paris attacks

Syrian troops backed by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters swept south of the capital Damascus today, seizing strategic hills and villages from rebels and a local al-Qaida affiliate near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
	State media and opposition activists said the surprise counteroffensive aims at forcing back rebels who had recently advanced closer to embattled President Bashar Assad's seat of power.
	The region is also important because it is located near Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The area has been tense lately, particularly after a Jan 18 Israeli airstrike in Quneitra on the edge of the Golan that killed six Hezbollah fighters and an Iranian general.
	The Syrian government last year lost large parts of Quneitra province to opposition fighters, many of them from the Nusra Front.
	State television said troops today gained control of the town of Deir al-Adas and the village of Deir Maker, as well as the nearby areas of Tal al-Arous and Tal al-Sarjeh south of the ...

Syrian troops, Hezbollah launch major offensive near Golan

The US military plans in March to start training Ukrainian soldiers who are battling Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, a top U.S. military commander in Europe said today.
	US Army Europe Commander Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges said a battalion of US soldiers would train three battalions of Ukrainians from the Interior Ministry at the Yavariv training center in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.
	Hodges' remarks came amid an intensification of fighting in eastern Ukraine, and as French, German, Ukrainian and Russian leaders are due to meet later today for peace talks in Minsk, Belarus, whose success is far from certain.
	The planned training, Hodges said, will involve Americans teaching the Ukrainians how to better defend themselves against "Russian and rebel artillery and rockets."
	Training will also include securing roads, bridges and other infrastructure, treating and evacuating casualties, and operating in an environment where Russians are jamming communications.
	Hodges ...

US army to start training Ukrainian troops, commander says

Myanmar's president declared today that a system of temporary identification cards for people seeking citizenship will become invalid at the end of March, negating an earlier decision that would have allowed card holders to vote in an upcoming constitutional referendum.
	The announcement of President Thein Sein's action came just hours after hundreds of people demonstrated in Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city, against allowing non-citizens bearing the cards, including many members of the Rohingya ethnic minority, to participate in the referendum.
	Most Muslim Rohingya are not citizens, and prejudice against them is high in the predominantly Buddhist nation. Communal tensions have led to violence in recent years which left at least 280 people dead and 140,000 homeless, mostly Muslims confined to squalid camps in the western state of Rakhine.
	Most of those protesting today were Rakhine Buddhists, and the crowd of about 300 included at least 70 Buddhist monks.
	Thein Sein's move came as a .

Myanmar leader voids temporary ID cards for non-citizens

The United States is challenging China at the World Trade Organization, alleging that the Chinese government unfairly subsidizes exports in seven industries.
	The Office of the US Trade Representative said Wednesday that China designates certain export companies as "demonstration bases" that receive free or discounted services from suppliers. The US says China paid the suppliers almost $1 billion over three years to provide those services.
	Getting help are textile and clothing makers, advanced materials and metals companies, light industrial firms, specialty chemical manufacturers, medical product makers and agricultural firms.
	The US says the subsidies violate WTO rules.
	"If you're a Chinese textile firm designated as a demonstration base, you might get subsidized IT services, subsidized product design services and subsidized training services for their employees, showing them how to use yarn spinning techniques and weaving technologies," US Trade Rep.
	Michael Froman said. "All ..

US alleges that China unfairly helps its exporters

Motorcycle-riding poachers have killed at least 19 elephants over the past month, officials said today, marking a significant blow to a rare grouping that lives in a part of central Mali where al-Qaida and other extremists have been active.
	It is believed there are only 350 to 700 elephants left in Mali, and those that remain are under growing threat not only from humans seeking their ivory but also from climate change and reduced rainfall, conservationists say.
	"We have heard that the poachers are moving about two by two on motorcycles and killing the elephants in Gourma," said Soumana Timbo, assistant director of the government's conservation efforts, who confirmed the toll of at least 19 dead so far this year.
	Timbo said he believed that poachers from elsewhere in the region were being assisted by locals in killing the elephants for their ivory.
	The Gourma population of elephants is the northernmost on the African continent, according to the Wild Foundation. The animals ...

At least 19 Malian elephants killed by poachers

South Africans are marking the anniversary of the release of the country's first black president, Nelson Mandela, who was freed 25 years ago.
	Mandela was released on February 11, 1990, after 27 years in prison.
	South Africa's current President Jacob Zuma, said in a statement that the country would continue to be inspired by Mandela's vision of a non-racial, democratic and prosperous society.
	South Africa's last apartheid president, F W De Klerk, said in a statement that he was sure Mandela would have been proud of the achievements the country had made in the years since his release.
	De Klerk also said that he was sure that Mandela would, however, be disturbed by the continued instances of racism in the country.
	Mandela died in 2013 at the age of 95.

South Africans mark 25th anniversary of Mandela's release

Australia's highest court ordered the government today to allow a Pakistani refugee to make Australia his home, ruling he could not be refused a visa simply because he arrived by boat.
	The unanimous decision of the High Court's six judges was a blow to the government's contentious policy of refusing to allow any asylum seekers who arrive in people smugglers' boats to ever settle in Australia.
	The Pakistani, who cannot be named, arrived at the Australian Indian Ocean territory of Christmas Island in 2012. Australia runs an immigration detention camp on the island for boat arrivals instead of bringing them to the Australian mainland.
	He won a High Court battle last year to force the then Immigration Minister Scott Morrison to reconsider his decision to refuse him a protection visa against the advice of a government tribunal that the man was a genuine refugee.
	Morrison reconsidered his decision, but triggered another court battle by refusing the man's refugee application "in the ...

Australia's highest court rules Pakistani refugee can stay

Clashes between Iraqi government forces and militants along with attacks in the capital Baghdad today killed at least 22 people and wounded dozens, officials said.
	Heavy clashes erupted in three separate areas outside the city of Tikrit, which is controlled by the Islamic State extremist group, killing 12 security forces, Shiite militiamen and civilians, and wounding 37 others, a police official said.
	He added that three suicide truck bombers attacked the security forces during the clashes.
	Militants claimed responsibility for three suicide attacks in a statement posted on a Twitter account frequently used by the extremist group.
	It said the attacks were carried out by French, Syrian and Qatari fighters, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant forums.
	The IS group controls around a third of both Iraq and neighboring Syria, where it has declared an Islamic caliphate and imposed a violent form of Shariah law.
	The group captured Tikrit, which is about 80 ..

AP

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