THE WORLD'S TODAY HOT NEWS ON APRIL 11TH, 2015

Masked men smashed communist-era monuments in Ukraine's second city overnight Friday after the country's pro-Western parliament voted to purge the nation of Soviet symbols and its head of state compared today's Russia to Nazi Germany. As Kiev and Moscow traded angry barbs in an escalating war of…

Well, it seems like the pissing contest between NATO and Russia has begun. Just a few days ago, Russia threatened to start nuclear war against the United States and its allies, and now the Alliance is further annoying the Kremlin. First, it was NATO’s voting to provide lethal aid to Kyiv’s…

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — In stories April 7 and 8 about the shooting of an unarmed black man by a white police officer, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Walter Scott was honorably discharged from the Coast Guard. Scott was granted a lesser discharge, known as a general discharge under…

(Adds killing of 15 civilians) BAGHDAD, April 10 (Reuters) - Islamic State militants attacked the capital of Iraq's vast Anbar province on multiple fronts on Friday, seizing two areas on the city outskirts in a setback for a government campaign to retake the desert terrain. The jihadists deployed…

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was greeted Friday in Odessa, Ukraine, by a group of pro-Russian Ukranians chanting "murderer!" and “no to fascism!" a day after his bloc in parliament passed a bill recognizing controversial World War II-era partisan groups as "freedom fighters." The groups are…

Zhang Wenmu [张文木] is a major fixture of the Chinese foreign policy debate. Unlike many of his colleagues in the Beijing foreign policy scene, he does not frequent seminars and workshops with Western counterparts. Toiling away at Beihang University (previously the Beijing University of Aeronautics…

Controversial laws designed to leave Ukraine's Soviet past behind stoked tension in the war-divided country Friday and prompted an angry reaction from Russia which called the ban on communist-era symbols "totalitarian". "Kiev used truly totalitarian methods, attacking freedom of the press, opinion…

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — As California struggles with a devastating drought, huge amounts of water are mysteriously vanishing from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta — and the prime suspects are farmers whose families have tilled fertile soil there for generations.

Perhaps the most interesting moment was when Zakaria went straight at Maher’s critique of Islam as an intolerant religion, which the host has developed more aggressively in recent months. For more of his response and the rest of the discussion, which included New York Times columnist Ross Douthat,…

It is part of the democratic ethos that you are not only allowed to criticize elected leaders, but are obliged to do so if you have good reason to believe they are wrong.So, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thought it was acceptable to address a joint session of Congress without coordinating…

Beijing hit back Friday at US President Barack Obama's criticism of Chinese construction in the disputed South China Sea, arguing that it is Washington that has greater military "muscle". The Chinese foreign ministry's retort came a day after Obama warned that Beijing was "using its sheer size and…

Thousands of Christian pilgrims filled Jerusalem's ancient Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Saturday for the "Holy Fire" ceremony on the eve of Orthodox Easter. Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said tens of thousands of Orthodox Christians flocked to the church and surrounding streets in the…

WASHINGTON (RNS) As she embarks, again, on a presidential campaign, one facet of Hillary Clinton, 67, is unchanged across her decades as a lawyer, first lady, senator and secretary of state: She was, is and likely always will be a social-justice-focused Methodist.1) She was shaped by a saying…

Germany plans to bring 100 mothballed tanks back into service in what is widely seen as a response to rising tensions with Russia over Ukraine. The tanks were sold to industry as part of defence cuts after the Cold War. The German defence ministry said it would spend €22m (£16m;$24m) on bringing…

Refugee camps across Iraq are about to get a Swedish touch. The United Nations’ refugee agency just ordered 10,000 shelters designed by Ikea, its largest corporate partner. Produced by Better Shelter, a social enterprise started by the Ikea Foundation, the design marries form, function, and…

US President Barack Obama and Cuba's Raul Castro stood near each other at a historic Summit of the Americas on Friday, marking a major milestone in their efforts to end decades of animosity. Obama and Castro, separated by the presidents of Ecuador and El Salvador, stood in the second of three rows…

By Mohammed Mukhashaf ADEN (Reuters) - Local militiamen in the Yemeni city of Aden said they captured two Iranian military officers advising Houthi rebels during fighting on Friday evening. Tehran has denied providing military support for Houthi fighters, whose advances have drawn air strikes by a…

According to my own sources in Ukraine, where I was two weeks ago, Russian military assets have spread broadly all along Ukraine’s eastern border formed up in three waves in order to stretch and overwhelm Ukrainian defences across an entire front. You fight back, you lose – you don’t fight back,…

Your cruise ship cabin is your home away from home when you're at sea. But unlike your own bedroom, you can't tweak the space given to you by the cruise line if you find something lacking.Or can you?Here are five great cruise cabin travel hacks that will change the way you cruise forever.1. How to…

WASHINGTON -- The fragile but growing congressional effort to bring oversight to ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran is at risk of unravelling, as lawmakers from both sides push for controversial additions to the bill.On Tuesday, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)…

AMARI AIR BASE, Estonia (AP) — Russia is so close that the F-16 fighter pilots can see it on the horizon as they swoop down over a training range in Estonia in the biggest ever show of U.S. air power in the Baltic countries.

Pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine used falsified text messages in a bid to destabilize the Ukrainian government’s standing among local citizens. The messages were sent as recently as this week, despite the ceasefire that has existed between the two sides in Ukraine’s civil war since…

Three months after appointing an openly gay diplomat as France's ambassador to the Vatican, Paris is still waiting for the green light from Rome. With Pope Francis entering his third year in the post, some activists see the Vatican's silence as a test of the depth of reform in the Catholic Church.…

Getting quality sleep on a plane can be a great...

Fear of a comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran has brought together some unlikely partners. In private, the Saudi government allegedly expressed its willingness to work with Israel to prevent a nuclear Iran, while at the same time officially welcoming the news of an agreement between Tehran…