Obama Continues Push For Minimum Wage Hike That CBO Says Will Cost 500K Jobs
President Obama said Saturday that congressional Republicans are out of step with Americans on raising the federal minimum wage. “A clear majority of Americans support raising the minimum wage, because we believe that nobody who works full-time should have to live in poverty,” Mr. Obama said in his weekly address. “About half of all Republicans support raising the minimum wage, too. It’s just too bad they don’t serve in Congress.” The president said GOP lawmakers don’t want to vote on a Democratic proposal to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $10.10. “Some [lawmakers] even want to get rid of it completely — seriously,” Mr. Obama said. Washington Times
VOA VIEW: Higher minimum wages = higher unemployment.

Chris Christie's 2016 Problem Has Nothing To Do With A Bridge
The raucous standing ovation diehard conservatives offered Chris Christie as he walked on stage Thursday at the Gaylord National Resort suggested something of a political miracle: The New Jersey governor had managed to surpass the George Washington Bridge scandal that once threatened to derail his 2016 presidential ambitions. Outside the packed ballroom, attendees of the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference - which kicks off its third and final day Saturday - seemed to confirm that. Save for one devoted "walk-out protester" who assumed a post hours before the fact with a sign reading, "Abuse of Power or Ignorant; Either Way Not Conservative Qualities," most respondents told CBS News that orders by Christie's staff and loyalists last fall for a disastrous traffic jam as political retribution won't ultimately impact their opinions of the beefy deficit hawk. CBS

Russia Warns Sanctions Over Ukraine Would 'Hit US Like Boomerang'
Russia warned the United States on Friday that any sanctions imposed on Moscow over its response to the crisis in Ukraine would "boomerang" back on the United States, as U.S. officials continued to explore ways to resolve the standoff diplomatically. In a telephone conversation with Secretary of State John Kerry, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that U.S. sanctions could "backfire" and urged the U.S. not to take "hasty, poorly thought-out steps that could harm Russian-U.S. relations," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. "Sanctions...would inevitably hit the United States like a boomerang," the statement added, according to a Reuters report. Fox News
VOA VIEW: Threats from Russia would make the U.S. look like a paper tiger.

Gingrich Pans Obama, Cautions GOP To Not Be The 'Anti' Party
The third and final day of the Conservative Political Action Conference – better known by its initials, CPAC – is underway at a major convention center at National Harbor, just south of the nation's capital. The conference is the largest annual gathering of conservative leaders and activists, and when there's no Republican in the White House, it's a must-attend cattle call for Republican presidential hopefuls looking to pass the conference's conservative litmus test. CPAC will close Saturday with the much-anticipated results of the confab's GOP presidential nomination straw poll. CNN

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750 Immigration Detainees On Hunger Strike
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement department has confirmed that 750 detainees at the Northwest Detention Center have refused to eat and say they are on a hunger strike. An immigrant activist says the hunger strike started Friday as a protest of deportations as well as center conditions. The center currently houses nearly 1,300 people, being investigated for possible deportation. ICE spokesman Andrew Munoz says the agency respects the right of people to express their opinions without interference. The detainees are under continuous observation by center staff and medical personnel. Las Vegas Sun

New Chat App Causes Problems In Middle Schools, High Schools
A new smartphone chatting application called Yik Yak is causing problems in middle schools and high schools across the United States, officials say.
The application, which launched less than four months ago, connects nearby users through their phones' Global Positioning System and puts them in anonymous chat rooms, CNN reported. "The app was made for college-age users or above, for college campuses and to act as a virtual bulletin board, so it acts as local Twitter for their campus," said Yik Yak co-founder Brooks Buffington. However, educators in middle schools and high schools say the application is causing disturbances in their classrooms. Yik Yak has been used for cyberbullying at schools in Chicago, officials said. UPI

How Eric Holder Responded To Bobby Jindal’s CPAC Segregationist Swipe
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has a special package coming to him by mail courtesy of Attorney General Eric Holder. A copy of “Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement,” which was written by civil rights leader and Georgia Rep. John Lewis has been sent to Jindal thanks to a red meat line the governor delivered at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday. In his speech, Jindal railed against Holder and President Obama’s Justice Department for initially attempting to blocking a state vouchers program on civil rights grounds, suggesting that they were trying to “stand in the schoolhouse door” to block the voucher program for minority kids. ABC
VOA VIEW: Holder is a black racist like Obama.

China’s Feb. Exports Unexpectedly Decline In Blow To Confidence
China’s exports fell the most since the global financial crisis, dealing another blow to confidence as Communist Party leaders meeting in Beijing assess the risk from the nation’s first onshore bond default. Shipments abroad dropped 18.1 percent from a year earlier, the customs administration said in Beijing yesterday, trailing the median estimate for a 7.5 percent increase in a Bloomberg News survey of 45 economists. Imports rose 10.1 percent, more than projected, leaving a trade deficit of $23 billion, the biggest in two years. Distortions in the data from the Lunar New Year holiday and fake invoicing that inflated numbers last year make it harder to assess the true picture. Bloomberg

Japanese Jet Makes Emergency Landing In Honolulu
A Japan Airlines flight bound for San Francisco carrying more than 170 people made an emergency landing at the Honolulu International Airport. The airport manager's office says that the jetliner landed without incident around 1 p.m. Saturday. Airlines spokesman Yang Jian says the Boeing 787 had cockpit indicators showing engine trouble and made the emergency landing in Honolulu. Jian says none of the 160 passengers and 11 crew members was injured. He says that the cockpit indicators showed that oil pressure was down with an engine. Kansas City Star

Libya Orders Use Of Force Against Oil Tanker
Libya's Defense Ministry has ordered its naval and air forces for a second time to use force against a North Korean-flagged tanker loading oil from terminals seized by militias. The Sunday announcement came a day after Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zidan said that the military didn't execute earlier orders to stop the tanker docked at al-Sidra port. Ali al-Shekhli, spokesman for the chief of staff, said Zidan's Saturday orders weren't executed because of weather. Illegal exports of oil by eastern militiamen are Libya's latest crisis. Zidan's government, parliament and militias compete for authority in the security vacuum that followed the 2011 fall of dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Zidan said his government has been in touch with North Korea, and that the tanker is believed to be owned by a Gulf businessman. Miami Herald

Major Shift: CA Democrats’ Proposed Platform Plank Calls For Full Legalization Of Pot
With proponents arguing that it could put billions into state coffers and provide crucial jobs, California Democrats on Sunday will move to insert a plank in their party platform calling to “support the legalization, regulation and taxation of pot in a manner similar to that of tobacco or alcohol,” the Chronicle has learned. The proposed platform change comes as 3,000 California Democrats met this weekend at a 3-day convention in Los Angeles, where they heard an appeal Saturday by Califonria Lt. Gov Gavin Newsom on the issue. The former San Francisco mayor argued to Democrats that — as with same sex marriage — the state should be leading, and not following, on a key issue which polls show now has gained marked support among Americans. SF Gate

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Republicans Gain Momentum In Close Fight For U.S. Senate
Eight months before the November 4 elections, Republicans have expanded the number of competitive races for U.S. Senate seats and have a growing chance of gaining control of that chamber and stalling Democratic President Barack Obama's second-term agenda. Public dissatisfaction with the president, concerns about his healthcare overhaul and a sluggish economy, and a series of retirements by key Democratic senators in conservative states have made a rugged year for Democrats even more so, analysts and strategists in both parties say. Republicans, who are widely expected to retain control of the U.S. House of Representatives, need a net gain of six seats to take back the 100-member Senate. Recent polling indicates they have big leads in three states - Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia - where longtime Democratic senators have retired or will retire in January. Reuters

Obamacare Supporters Beat The Bushes For Final Sign-Ups
The final deadline to enroll in health insurance under the Affordable Care Act is less than three weeks away, and the White House and its allies are pulling out the stops to get more people signed up after one of the most disastrous debuts ever of a government program. The administration has rounded up every Democrat it can find -- mayors, county executives, state representatives as well as nonprofit groups whose main goal is to support Obamacare -– to spend Saturday pushing Americans to sign up for health insurance in a “Day of Action.” In Atlanta, supporters will be in libraries. In Charleston, S.C, they’re holding a waterfront enrollment fair. And in Houston, Spanish-language ads will urge the uninsured to show up at sign-up events staffed by Spanish speakers. MSNBC

Interpol: Database Not Checked Pre-Malaysia Flight
Interpol says no country checked its database that held information about two stolen passports that were used to board an ill-fated Malaysia Airlines flight with 239 people on board. In a sharply worded criticism of shortcomings of national passport controls, the Lyon, France-based international police body said information about the thefts of an Austrian passport in 2012 and an Italian passport last year was entered into its database after they were stolen in Thailand. The Malaysian Boeing 777 disappeared Saturday less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, bound for Beijing.  Atlanta Journal

Auto Regulators Dismissed Defect Tied To 13 Deaths
Federal safety regulators received more than 260 complaints over the last 11 years about General Motors vehicles that suddenly turned off while being driven, but they declined to investigate the problem, which G.M. now says is linked to 13 deaths and requires the recall of more than 1.6 million cars worldwide. A New York Times analysis of consumer complaints submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that since February 2003 it received an average of two complaints a month about potentially dangerous shutdowns, but it repeatedly responded that there was not enough evidence of a problem to warrant a safety investigation. The complaints — the most recent of which was filed on Thursday — involved six G.M. models that the automaker is now recalling because of defective ignition switches that can shut off engines and power systems and disable air bags. G.M. said the first recall notices were mailed on Friday to the owners of the vehicles. NY Times

Stigma Hinders Efforts To Combat Leprosy In India
Public health centers across the country have launched campaigns describing leprosy as the world's "least contagious communicable disease." Health workers are trying to spread the word that leprosy is not hereditary and does not spread through normal contact. But the deformities that are the hallmark of leprosy contribute to the fear surrounding the disease, a chronic bacterial infection that often lies dormant for years before attacking the body's nerves and slowly causing numbness. Hands and feet eventually claw inward and serious injuries often go unnoticed because no pain is felt. Often fingers and toes are lost due to injuries and sores. Scientists believe it is spread through droplets from coughing or sneezing during prolonged contact with someone infected, but they are still not completely sure. Charlotte Observer

Activists Say 50 Israelis Refuse Army Service
Activists say a group of some 50 Israeli youths have sent Israel's prime minister a petition refusing to enlist for compulsory military service to protest Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, the largest such group of objectors since 2001. Dafna Rothstein Landman, a petitioner, says the objectors are draft age or beginning the conscription process. She said the group was not affiliated with any organization. Shimri Zameret of Yesh Gvul, a group that supports conscientious objectors, said about three objectors are currently in jail and some seven more are set to serve jail time this year. San Diego Union

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Evidence Casts Doubt On Ex-CIA Leaders’ Claims On Benghazi Mortar Attack
If former CIA Director David Petraeus and his ex-deputy Michael Morell are recalled to testify on Benghazi, they can expect hard questions about the mortar attack on the CIA annex which killed two former Navy SEALs. Republican Mike Rogers, chairman of the powerful House Intelligence Committee, is weighing whether to recall one or both of those officials over their Benghazi congressional testimony. Rogers said the evidence suggests a highly skilled team carried out the mortar strike. Fox News has confirmed five rounds were fired in under a minute, with three hitting the annex roof -- a target roughly the size of two convenience stores. Fox News

2 Million Students Missing Out On College Aid
Millions of college students are missing out on financial aid for college because they aren't even applying for it. About 2 million students could have qualified for the need-based Federal Pell Grant during the 2011-12 academic year, but they failed to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) required to receive it, according to new analysis of government data from Mark Kantrowitz, senior vice president at Edvisors Network and author of "Filing the FAFSA." Of that group, 1.3 million would have qualified for a full Pell Grant of $5,645 for the 2013-14 academic year. CNN

Republicans Press Medicare Attack In Congressional Elections
Republicans, looking for ways to turn November's congressional elections into a referendum on President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, are trying to portray Obamacare as a danger to Medicare. The aim is to court one of the biggest and most reliable voting blocs in midterm elections, senior citizens and people near retirement, by depicting Republicans as defenders of the federal healthcare program for 42 million seniors. It's an attempt to turn the tables on Democrats, who in the 2012 presidential election attacked Republican Mitt Romney over Republican proposals to overhaul Medicare. "You'd have to be a blind man in a dark room not to see the political implications of Obamacare in general and now specifically with respect to Medicare," said Brock McCleary, former polling director for the Republican National Committee. Reuters

President Obama Yet To Deliver After Losing Olympic Beer Bet
’s been two weeks since Canada completed its sweep of the U.S. hockey teams at the Sochi Olympics, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper has one question. Where’s my beer? Harper has yet to receive his winnings from U.S. President Barack Obama, who lost a beer bet over which nation’s hockey teams would win their games in Sochi. “In fairness to President Obama, he’s lost bets to me before, and he’s always paid up before,” Harper said to laughter from his interviewers on TSN 1050 Radio, according to Reuters. ” … I’m sure he will (pay up).” A White House spokesman confirmed that a case of beer will be on its way to Harper “soon,” according to Politico. MSNBC

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Bachmann Says Country Will Elect ‘Right’ Female President
Rep. Michelle Bachmann helped open the final day of the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) by lambasting former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton over U.S. foreign policy and the Sept. 11, 2012 terror attacks in Benghazi, Libya, while still predicting that the U.S. will elect the “right” woman president in the near future. Rep. Michelle Bachmann helped open the final day of the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) by predicting that the U.S. will elect the “right” woman president. “We will have a woman for president, just the right one,” Mrs. Bachmann said. “We are the only party to have a [woman] on the presidential ticket this century.” Washington Times

United Says It Is Cracking Down On Carry-On Bag Size
United Airlines says it is responding to passenger complaints about large carry-on bags by strictly enforcing its rules on size limits at U.S. airports. The new enforcement policy began last Saturday, the Chicago Tribune reported. The airline allows passengers to board with one carry-on and one "personal item" like a backpack, laptop bag or shoulder bag. Carry-on bags can be no larger than 14-by-22 inches and personal items no more than 10-by-17 inches, with 9 inches the maximum depth for both. The airline charges most passengers $25 for each checked bag, but Rahsaan Johnson, a spokesman, said United is not trying to squeeze them for revenue. UPI

Interpol: Database Not Checked Pre-Malaysia Flight
Interpol says no country checked its database that held information about two stolen passports that were used to board an ill-fated Malaysia Airlines flight with 239 people on board. In a sharply worded criticism of shortcomings of national passport controls, the Lyon, France-based international police body said information about the thefts of an Austrian passport in 2012 and an Italian passport last year was entered into its database after they were stolen in Thailand. The Malaysian Boeing 777 disappeared Saturday less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, bound for Beijing.  Atlanta Journal

Auto Regulators Dismissed Defect Tied To 13 Deaths
Federal safety regulators received more than 260 complaints over the last 11 years about General Motors vehicles that suddenly turned off while being driven, but they declined to investigate the problem, which G.M. now says is linked to 13 deaths and requires the recall of more than 1.6 million cars worldwide. A New York Times analysis of consumer complaints submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that since February 2003 it received an average of two complaints a month about potentially dangerous shutdowns, but it repeatedly responded that there was not enough evidence of a problem to warrant a safety investigation. The complaints — the most recent of which was filed on Thursday — involved six G.M. models that the automaker is now recalling because of defective ignition switches that can shut off engines and power systems and disable air bags. G.M. said the first recall notices were mailed on Friday to the owners of the vehicles. NY Times

Stigma Hinders Efforts To Combat Leprosy In India
Public health centers across the country have launched campaigns describing leprosy as the world's "least contagious communicable disease." Health workers are trying to spread the word that leprosy is not hereditary and does not spread through normal contact. But the deformities that are the hallmark of leprosy contribute to the fear surrounding the disease, a chronic bacterial infection that often lies dormant for years before attacking the body's nerves and slowly causing numbness. Hands and feet eventually claw inward and serious injuries often go unnoticed because no pain is felt. Often fingers and toes are lost due to injuries and sores. Scientists believe it is spread through droplets from coughing or sneezing during prolonged contact with someone infected, but they are still not completely sure. Charlotte Observer

Activists Say 50 Israelis Refuse Army Service
Activists say a group of some 50 Israeli youths have sent Israel's prime minister a petition refusing to enlist for compulsory military service to protest Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, the largest such group of objectors since 2001. Dafna Rothstein Landman, a petitioner, says the objectors are draft age or beginning the conscription process. She said the group was not affiliated with any organization. Shimri Zameret of Yesh Gvul, a group that supports conscientious objectors, said about three objectors are currently in jail and some seven more are set to serve jail time this year. San Diego Union

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GOP Targets Clinton, Courts Women As Summit Ends
She was not on the speaking program, but Hillary Rodham Clinton had presence at the nation's largest annual gathering of conservative activists on Saturday, as high-profile Republicans launched a dual effort to attack the prospective Democratic presidential candidate and improve the GOP's longstanding struggle with women voters. It was the closing act of a Republican summit that highlighted acute challenges for a party that hasn't won a presidential election in a decade. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich charged that Clinton would be "a prison guard for the past" should she become president. Gingrich, a 2012 presidential hopeful, said that Republicans would recapture the White House if the next election is framed as a fight between the past and the future and predicted that the GOP would then "govern for two generations." ABC

Banamex Said To Snub Citigroup Oversight As Fraud Mounted
Efforts by Citigroup Inc. (C) senior executives to tighten controls in Mexico were rebuffed by managers there for at least five years before the U.S. bank found the local unit had suffered a $400 million loan fraud last month, four people with direct knowledge of the matter said. Employees at Grupo Financiero Banamex SA process some documents by hand instead of using modern information systems that make it easier to detect flawed loans, said another person. The people, who include current and former U.S. executives of Citigroup, requested anonymity because the matter isn’t public. Banamex, Mexico’s second-largest lender, snubbed efforts to integrate systems with its New York-based parent and was slow to improve controls, technology and corporate governance, the four people said. The failures to act on requests from headquarters date from at least 2008 and created an atmosphere that may have allowed fraud to occur, one person said. Bloomberg

E-Cigarettes Ignite Michigan Debate Over Regulation, Sales
Players on both sides of the state’s e-cigarette debate agree that the nicotine-dispensing devices should be kept away from minors, but opinions differ when it comes to regulating the relatively unstudied vaporizers. Tobacco companies support two bipartisan Senate bills prohibiting the sale and use of e-cigarettes and other devices that deliver nicotine if the buyer is younger than 18 years old. Sen. Glenn Anderson, D-Westland, said he is sponsoring the legislation because it’s “outrageous” that a minor can legally buy and use a highly addictive product. The bills unanimously passed the Senate Thursday. Detroit News

Palin Issues Call To Women At Conservative Gathering
She was not on the speaking program, but Hillary Rodham Clinton had a presence at the nation's largest annual gathering of conservative activists on Saturday, as high-profile Republicans launched a dual effort to attack the prospective Democratic presidential candidate and improve the GOP's long-standing struggle with women voters. It was the closing act of a Republican summit that highlighted acute challenges for a party that hasn't won a presidential election in a decade. The GOP's 2008 vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, offered a message to all women, a group that has backed Democrats in every presidential election since 1988: "Women, don't let them use you - unless you choose to be their political pawn, just their piece of accessory on their arm." Philadlephia Inquirer

Russia Sends More Troops To Disputed Crimea
Dozens of military trucks transporting heavily armed soldiers rumbled over Crimea’s rutted roads Saturday as Russia reinforced its armed presence on the disputed peninsula in the Black Sea. Moscow’s foreign minister ruled out any dialogue with Ukraine’s new authorities, whom he dismissed as the puppets of extremists. The Russians have denied their armed forces are active in Crimea, but an Associated Press reporter trailed one military convoy Saturday afternoon from 25 miles west of Feodosia to a military airfield at Gvardeiskoe north of Simferopol, over which a Russian flag flew. NY Post

Safety Agency Dismissed GM Ignition Defects
Federal safety regulators received more than 260 complaints over the past 11 years about General Motors vehicles that suddenly turned off while being driven, but they declined to investigate the problem, which GM now says is linked to 13 deaths and requires the recall of more than 1.6 million cars worldwide. A New York Times analysis of consumer complaints submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that since February 2003 it received an average of two complaints a month about potentially dangerous shutdowns, but it repeatedly responded that there was not enough evidence of a problem to warrant a safety investigation. Seattle Times

Despite Obstacles, The Bull Market Turns 5
Happy 5th birthday, bull market. The current bull run is not the longest, or strongest in history, but it has survived a near default by the U.S. government, a debt crisis in Europe, and a war in Syria. Despite all the obstacles thrown in its way, this bull market is now the fourth-longest since 1945, according to S&P Capital IQ. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 178 percent in the five years since it bottomed out on March 9, 2009. A bull market is a rise of 20 percent or more over a period of at least six months, following a decline of 20 percent or more. The run-up over the past five years has been helped by stimulus from the Federal Reserve, record corporate profits, the economic recovery and companies repurchasing their own stock. Tampa Tribune

Scientists: Test West Coast For Fukushima Radiation
Very low levels of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster likely will reach ocean waters along the U.S. West Coast next month, scientists are reporting. Current models predict that the radiation will be at extremely low levels that won't harm humans or the environment, said Ken Buesseler, a chemical oceanographer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who presented research on the issue last week. But Buesseler and other scientists are calling for more monitoring. No federal agency currently samples Pacific Coast seawater for radiation, he said. "I'm not trying to be alarmist," Buesseler said. "We can make predictions, we can do models. But unless you have results, how will we know it's safe?" The news comes three years after the devastating Japan tsunami and resulting nuclear accident. USA Today

Rand Paul Wins CPAC Presidential Straw Poll
The annual Conservative Political Action Conference came to a raucous and buoyant end Saturday as thousands of tea party activists cheered on former Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, who closed the gathering with a full-throated denunciation of President Barack Obama and urged conservatives to embrace their views more fiercely than ever. But over the course of its three days, the event put on display how factions within the Republican Party are still struggling to find a path out of the wilderness, illuminating the gap between the GOP’s resolutely conservative grass-roots and a party leadership eager for a more moderate approach. Boston Globe

EU's Ashton: No Guaranteed Success In Iran Deal
The European Union's foreign policy chief said Sunday that there is "no guarantee" that Iran and world powers will reach a final deal over the country's nuclear program. Catherine Ashton was in Tehran for meetings with Iranian officials on ongoing negotiations over the country's nuclear program, as well as the civil war in Syria and other issues. She spoke to reporters in a joint briefing with Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Separately, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani advocated pursuing "new relations" with European countries that for years have been at odds, alongside the United States, with Tehran over Iran's disputed nuclear program. "Besides ongoing nuclear talks that should be driven ahead, there are other suitable fields in which both Iran and European Union can consider push relations and cooperation ahead," the president said in remarks quoted by his website. He suggested energy and transportation cooperation. Houston Chronicle

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Netanyahu: Talk Of Peace Deal Premature Given Palestinian Inflexibility
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu promised not to evacuate West Bank settlements even as he acknowledged that some of them would not be within Israel’s permanent borders if a final status agreement was reached with the Palestinians. “There won’t be an evacuation, I don’t intend to do this. I’ve said this,” Netanyahu told Channel 2. It was one of three interview he gave to the Israeli media, including Channels 1 and 10, that were aired on Saturday night after he returned from a five-day trip to the United States last week. It was the first time in over a year that he sat down with the Israeli media. A portion of all the interviews deal with the peace process. “I won’t abandon anyone,” Netanyahu told Channel 2 as he spoke against the evacuation of settlements. Jerusalem Post

US State Department: Recognition Of 'Jewish State' Not A Precondition To Peace Talks
The US State Department affirmed on Friday that the US recognizes Israel as a "Jewish state" but that this is not a precondition in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The statement was in response to questions regarding the department's position on comments made by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that the Palestinian Authority must recognize Israel as a Jewish state, something that its chairman, President Mahmoud Abbas, said that he was unwilling to do. Prime Minister Netanyahu made his position clear at AIPAC's annual convention on Tuesday where he publicly posed the demand to Abbas saying, “Abbas must recognize the Jewish state,” and “in doing so, you’d be telling the Palestinians that, while we have a territorial dispute, the right of the Jewish people to a state of their own is beyond dispute." Jerusalem Post

Libya Threatens To Bomb North Korea-Flagged Tanker
Libya's prime minister has threatened to bomb a North Korean-flagged tanker if it tries to export oil from a rebel-controlled port. Ali Zeidan said that orders had been issued to arrest the tanker's crew. Earlier separatist militants said they had started loading oil on to the tanker at Sidra port, east of Tripoli. The rebels have seized three major ports since August, to demand more autonomy, hampering the government's ability to revive oil exports. The Morning Glory docked at Sidra port earlier on Saturday, after a failed attempt to dock on Tuesday. A local TV station showed footage of the rebels holding a ceremony to celebrate. "We started exporting oil. This is our first shipment," a rebel spokesman said. BBC

Malaria 'Spreading To New Altitudes'
Warmer temperatures are causing malaria to spread to higher altitudes, a study suggests. Researchers have found that people living in the highlands of Africa and South America are at an increased risk of catching the mosquito-borne disease during hotter years. They believe that temperature rises in the future could result in millions of additional cases in some areas. The research is published in the journal Science. Prof Mercedes Pascual, from the University of Michigan in the US, who carried out the research, said: "The impact in terms of increasing the risk of exposure to disease is very large." BBC

Hawaii Holds Death Penalty Trial Despite Having Abolished Capital Punishment
A Honolulu courtroom is set to become the scene of a death penalty trial, even though Hawaii abolished capital punishment in 1957. Opening statements are scheduled for Tuesday in the trial of a former Hawaii-based army soldier accused of beating his five-year-old daughter to death in 2005. But because the crime allegedly took place on military property, Naeem Williams is being tried in federal court – a system that does have the death penalty. It is rare for the government to seek the death penalty in a state that does not allow it. Only seven of 59 inmates currently on federal death row are from states that did not have the death penalty at the time the sentence was imposed, according to the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington. Guardian

Signs Of Unrest Ahead Of North Korea Elections
Notice boards calling on the people of North Korea to vote for Kim Jong-un in Sunday’s general election have been damaged or destroyed at a number of polling stations, according to sources within the country. Incidents that analysts describe as “extreme” for North Korea have been reported in at least two provinces, with state security troops withdrawn from border protection duties to patrol polling stations and to make sure that the first election in the country since 2009 goes off without a hitch. The election of deputies to the 13th Supreme People’s Assembly will also be the first time that Mr Kim has stood for the rubber-stamp North Korean parliament. Telegraph

Radar Information Can Help Nasa Predict Sinkholes
Sinkholes which have devoured cars, boats and even houses could be spotted before they open up thanks to new research by Nasa. The American space agency has found that an analysis of radar data it collected in 2012 had indications that a sinkhole was likely on the site of an underground salt mine at Bayou Corne, Louisiana. Its sudden appearance on August 3 2012, led to the evacuation of 350 residents. In this case, however, the crater kept growing, devouring trees and land, and is now estimated as covering an area of 25 acres. Telegraph

Equality For Women Means Progress For All, UN Officials Declare, Marking International Day
To mark International Women's Day, the United Nations family is spotlighting a simple truth: achieving equality for women and girls is essential not merely because it is a matter of fairness and fundamental human rights, but because progress in so many other areas depends on it. “The evidence is clear: equality for women means progress for all,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared in his message for the Day, which underscored that empowered women lift up society as a whole: countries with more gender equality have better economic growth; peace agreements that include women are more durable; and parliaments with more women enact more legislation on key social issues such as health, education, anti-discrimination and child support. UN News

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