CA-NEWS Summary

Preliminary tests show letter to Obama contains poison ricin

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A letter addressed to President Barack Obama contained a substance that preliminarily tested positive for the deadly poison ricin, authorities said on Wednesday. News that the letter to Obama was being investigated came as a flurry of other reports of suspicious letters and a package caused the evacuation of parts of two Senate buildings and set nerves in Washington on edge.

Boston bomb probe focuses on bags and pressure cooker

BOSTON (Reuters) - The investigation of the Boston Marathon bombing is focusing on a suspect or suspects believed to have carried heavy bags or backpacks, but entered a third day on Wednesday without any arrests or word on who was responsible. Investigators appeared to have gathered enough evidence at the crime scene on Tuesday to slightly narrow their search, but it was also not known whether the perpetrators were domestic or foreign, U.S. officials said.

Britain bids farewell to Iron Lady Thatcher at grand funeral

LONDON (Reuters) - Royalty, dignitaries and admirers from all walks of life paid their final respects to Margaret Thatcher on Wednesday in the grandest funeral for a British leader in half a century - although a few boos from the London crowd were a reminder of her divisive rule. The right-wing former prime minister whom the Soviet Union christened the "Iron Lady" was bid farewell with military honors, patriotic hymns, cheers and tears.

No poultry contact in some China bird flu cases: WHO

GENEVA/BEIJING (Reuters) - The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that a number of people who have tested positive for a new strain of bird flu in China have had no history of contact with poultry, adding to the mystery about a virus that has killed 16 people to date. Chinese authorities have slaughtered thousands of birds and closed some live poultry markets to try and stem the rate of human infection, but many questions remain unsolved, including whether the H7N9 strain is being transmitted between people.

Rockets hit southern Israeli resort of Eilat

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Two rockets fired from Egypt's Sinai peninsula struck Israel's Red Sea resort of Eilat on Wednesday, causing no casualties or damage, the Israeli military said, in an attack claimed by Islamist militants. The incident was likely to fuel Israeli concerns about lawlessness in neighboring Sinai, where militant groups have stepped up their activities since Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's downfall in 2011.

In jail eight months, Gaddafi spy chief hasn't seen lawyer: HRW

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi's former intelligence chief, jailed in Libya for eight months, has not seen a lawyer or been told what charges he faces, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday, underscoring concerns about weak rule of law under transitional rule. Abdullah al-Senussi, once among the most feared members of the Gaddafi regime, is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). But Libyan authorities who evolved out of the rebel movement that overthrew Gaddafi in 2011 are resisting an order to hand him over, saying their courts are capable of trying him.

Sudan pardons officers jailed for alleged coup bid

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir pardoned nine army officers on Wednesday, days after they were jailed for their role in an alleged coup attempt, state news agency SUNA reported. The brief report did not say why Bashir had ordered their release - and the pardon did not include other senior officials the government said were caught up in the plot, including the country's former head of intelligence.

Putin foe Navalny defiant as trial opens in Russia

KIROV, Russia (Reuters) - Protest leader Alexei Navalny accused Russian authorities of fabricating charges against him at the start of a trial on Wednesday that he says is intended to crush opposition to Vladimir Putin. The anti-corruption blogger, 36, was calm and defiant during a 40-minute appearance in court in the provincial city of Kirov before Judge Sergei Blinov adjourned proceedings until April 24 to give the defense more time to prepare its case.

Medvedev says Russia won't break fiscal rule to shore up economy

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will resist spending more oil and gas revenues than its fiscal rule allows but will consider more stimulus as falling commodity prices risk pushing the economy into recession, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said. Medvedev, in an annual speech to the lower house of parliament on Wednesday, gave no details of possible stimulus measures.

Venezuela opposition fears crackdown, U.S. wavers on Maduro

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's opposition leaders feared persecution over post-election protests while the U.S. government backed their calls for a recount and said on Wednesday it was still deciding if it would recognize President-elect Nicolas Maduro. The razor-thin victory by Maduro in Sunday's presidential vote has been rejected by his rival, Henrique Capriles, who is alleging thousands of irregularities at polling centers and wants a full audit of the ballots.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-000739406.html

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