1. KERRY ASSUAGES JAPAN, ASIAN ALLIES AMID NORTH KOREA TENSION
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Japan on Sunday for the last stop of his Asian tour. Kerry vowed that the U.S. would protect its Asian allies against any provocative acts by North Korea, but stressed that Washington wants a peaceful solution to rising tensions in the region. Japan is within range of the rockets that North Korea ordered moved to its east coast and has been taking precautions, including setting up batteries of U.S.-made Patriot anti-missile systems around the capital and sending two warships to the Sea of Japan, with orders to shoot down any missiles fired towards the Japanese islands. North Korea issued a scathing warning to Japan on Friday, saying Tokyo should "stop recklessly working for staging a comeback on Korea, depending on its American master," state media reported. [CNN]
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2. ALL LION AIR CRASH VICTIMS RESCUED NEAR BALI
A new Boeing 737 aircraft from Lion Air, Indonesia's largest airline, crashed into the water just off the runway of the main airport on the island of Bali on Saturday afternoon, injuring 45 passengers. All 101 passengers and seven crew members on the flight were rescued as the aircraft was evacuated after crashing. Eyewitnesses said the plane, which was flying through heavy rain, missed the runway and crashed into the shallow water just off Denpasar airport, one of the busiest in Indonesia. While Lion Air and other airlines have big plans for Indonesia, the country's air-safety standards and regulatory system have sparked international concern following a spate of deadly accidents over the past decade. The U.S. in 2007 downgraded Indonesia to the lower of two safety classifications. [Wall Street Journal]
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3. AT LEAST 10 DEAD IN SOMALIA ATTACK
At least 10 people have been killed in an attack on the main law courts in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. According to witnesses, gunmen entered the courts, detonating explosives and opening fire. It is not clear who carried out the attacks, but most in Mogadishu are blamed on Islamic militant group al-Shabab, which has links with al Qaeda. A BBC reporter said the courts are located in one of the busiest parts of the city, and were full of people when the attacks happened, as Sunday is a normal working day in Somalia. The incident comes a month after 10 people were killed in a suicide car bombing, in one of the deadliest attacks in the coastal city since a new U.N.-backed Somali government was formed last year. Security has improved in Mogadishu since al-Shabab withdrew from the city in August 2011, but the group's fighters still launch attacks. [BBC]
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4. RUBIO OUTLINES BIPARTISAN IMMIGRATION SUPPORT
Sen. Marco Rubio detailed his support for the bipartisan immigration proposal from the Gang of Eight on Meet the Press Sunday morning. Asked by host David Gregory why he'd back the deal, the Florida Republican rejected the "political calculus" of the moment. "What we have in place today, the status quo, is horrible for America," Rubio said. The senator, who went all-in on the immigration bill last week, said the bill will allow the issue to be addressed both compassionately and responsibly. "If you're waiting to come legally to the United States now, no one who has done it the wrong way will get it before you," he said. "In fact, it will be much cheaper, faster, easier and less bureaucratic if you're doing it the right way." [Politico]
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5. RUSSIA BANS 15 AMERICANS IN RESPONSE TO SANCTIONS
Russia responded to the announcement of American sanctions against 18 Russian human rights offenders by banning an equal number of Americans on Saturday. Russia named a dozen-and-a-half Americans it accuses of human rights violations at the prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, or of having had a role in the detention of Russian citizens in other countries. As opposed to the American Magnitsky list, which includes midlevel tax, police, jail and court officials, the Russian government aimed its list at a much higher level, including David Addington, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff; John Yoo, assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel of the Justice Department from 2001 to 2003 and the author of memos backing torture of suspects; Jed Rakoff, U.S. district judge for the Southern District of New York; and Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. [Washington Post]
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6. VIOLENCE ERUPTS AT GUANTANAMO BAY PRISON
Violence broke out at the U.S. military's Guantanamo Bay detention center Saturday after the commander there ordered prisoners moved from communal living areas into single-person cells, a military statement said. The unrest comes as at least several dozen detainees have embarked on a hunger strike to protest their treatment and the dim prospects for release. Some of the prisoners are being force fed to maintain their health. Previously, a prisoner told his lawyer that the hunger strike that began Feb. 6 had grown to involve 130 men. A prison spokesman said at that time the strike involved 39 prisoners. [Politico]
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7. POLICE OFFICER FIRED FOR TRAYVON MARTIN TARGETS
A police officer in Florida accused of bringing targets resembling Trayvon Martin to a gun range has been fired. Sgt. Ron King was leading a target practice with two other officers and a civilian when he pulled out the targets April 4. King allegedly asked the group if they wanted to use the targets, and they said no. "It is absolutely reprehensible that a high-ranking member of the Port Canaveral Police, sworn to protect and serve Floridians, would use the image of a dead child as target practice," said Benjamin Crump, an attorney for Trayvon Martin's parents. "Such a deliberate and depraved indifference to this grieving family is unacceptable. The citizens of Port Canaveral deserve better." [USA Today]
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8. VENEZUELANS IN U.S. VOTE FOR CHAVEZ SUCCESSOR
As Venezuela votes for a successor to Hugo Chavez today, thousands of Venezuelans in the U.S. are traveling from Miami to New Orleans to vote in their homeland's presidential election. The largest concentration of Venezuelans in the U.S. resides in South Florida; they must travel to New Orleans to cast their ballots because Chavez closed the Miami consulate in January 2012. Chavez's chosen successor, interim President Nicolas Maduro, is favored to win, but opinion polls show Henrique Capriles has narrowed Maduro's advantage. While most of the U.S. voters are fervently anti-Chavez and are expected to vote for Capriles, it is unlikely their numbers will decide the election. Last year, Capriles lost by 1.6 million votes, and there are 38,000 Venezuelan voters in the U.S. [ABC News]
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9. TWO NEW BIRD FLU CASES ARE IDENTIFIED IN CHINA
Two people in the central Chinese province of Henan have been infected by a new strain of avian influenza, the first cases found in the region, while the death toll has risen to 13 from a total of 60 infections after two more deaths in Shanghai. Three more victims were identified in Shanghai, China's business hub, bringing the total number of cases in the city to 24, with a total of nine deaths, state media said. Three cases have now been reported outside the original clusters in eastern China, including one in the capital Beijing, but there is nothing out of the ordinary so far, the China representative of the World Health Organization said. [Reuters]
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10. WOODS STILL MAY WIN MASTERS
Tiger Woods still has a chance to win the Masters after he was assessed a two-stroke penalty Saturday before he went out for the third round, a ruling that stirred plenty of debate because of the way it was handled by Augusta National. Woods could have been disqualified for signing an improper scorecard. Instead, he was docked a couple of strokes, bounced back to shoot a 2-under 70, and will go to the final round four strokes behind co-leaders Brandt Snedeker and Angel Cabrera. He is still in the running for the green jacket, which would be his career fifth. [USA Today]
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