CA-NEWS Summary

North Korea halts entry to industrial zone; U.S. to deploy missile system

PAJU, South Korea (Reuters) - North Korea closed access to a joint factory zone with South Korea on Wednesday, officials said, putting at risk $2 billion a year in trade that is vital for an impoverished state with a huge army, nuclear ambitions and a hungry population. The move marked an escalation in a months-long standoff that has seen Pyongyang threaten war against South Korea and its ally Washington. The United States again warned North Korea about saber-rattling and bolstered its military presence in the region.

Afghan Taliban kill 44 in suicide attack on courtroom

HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Nine Taliban suicide bombers killed themselves and 44 others on Wednesday in an attack on a courtroom in western Afghanistan where 10 of their comrades were on trial, a local official said. Causing the biggest death toll in a single attack since 2011, the militants, strapped with explosives, stormed the governor's compound in the capital of Farah province, bordering Iran, where the trial was taking place.

Capriles mocks "skin-deep" socialists before Venezuela vote

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's opposition presidential candidate tore into government leaders on Wednesday as false revolutionaries lining their pockets while professing faith to the late Hugo Chavez's radical socialism. Trailing in opinion polls ahead of the April 14 vote, Henrique Capriles is attacking acting President Nicolas Maduro and other senior officials as a corrupt and incompetent coterie unable to solve Venezuelans' basic problems.

Serbia has days to decide on Kosovo: minister

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia has days to decide whether to accept a "catastrophic" plan to end the ethnic partition of its former Kosovo province or risk losing out on talks on joining the European Union, the country's powerful deputy prime minister said on Wednesday. The warning followed marathon talks between the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo, their eighth encounter in almost as many months as the EU pushes to stabilize relations between the two and set Serbia on the path to membership of the bloc.

North Korea can likely revive reactor in six months, needs years for more bombs

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - North Korea can probably restart a mothballed plutonium-producing reactor in six months if it is determined to do so and the site has suffered no major structural damage, but it may take years to produce significant new atom bomb material. Pyongyang announced on Tuesday that it would revive the aged Yongbyon five-megawatt research reactor that yields bomb-grade plutonium, but stressed it was seeking a deterrent capacity and did not repeat recent threats to attack South Korea and the United States.

Regional leaders refuse to recognize Central African Republic coup leader

N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - African heads of state on Wednesday refused to recognize rebel leader Michel Djotodia's self-appointment as president of Central African Republic, calling instead for the creation of a new transitional body to guide the country to elections. The decision, taken at a summit of leaders from the central African region, further isolates Djotodia, who led thousands of insurgents into the former French colony's crumbling riverside capital Bangui on March 24, ousting President Francois Bozize.

Albanian PM's coalition ally switches sides ahead of polls

TIRANA (Reuters) - The junior partner in Albania's ruling coalition pulled out of government on Wednesday and allied itself with the opposition Socialist Party ahead of parliamentary elections on June 23. Prime Minister Sali Berisha promptly named three ministers to replace those who left his cabinet when their Socialist Integration Movement (SIM) withdrew from government and said he was confident parliament would approve his nominees on Thursday.

Sudden flooding kills at least 46 people in Argentina

LA PLATA, Argentina (Reuters) - Flash floods killed at least 46 people and forced about 1,500 residents to evacuate the Argentine city of La Plata, capital of Buenos Aires province, government officials said on Wednesday. Some people drowned after being trapped in their cars or while walking along city streets when the water rose suddenly on Tuesday night, while others were electrocuted, provincial governor Daniel Scioli told reporters.

Libya investigating Zueitina oil pipeline blast

NEAR ADJABIYAH, Libya (Reuters) - Libya is investigating the cause of an explosion late on Tuesday on oil and condensate pipelines to the eastern port of Zueitina, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said. The blast occurred at 10 p.m. local time on a section of the pipeline linking Field 103, which is operated by Zueitina Oil company, to the export terminal, the state energy company said in a statement on its website.

Portuguese government defeats no confidence motion

LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's government defeated a no confidence motion on Wednesday, yet the move united all the opposition in parliament against austerity policies and rattled the stock market. The vote was largely symbolic as the ruling centre-right coalition holds a comfortable majority, but Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said the motion gave the impression of political instability just when Lisbon needs investor confidence to regain full access to debt markets.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-000458404.html

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