Evening Edition

I’ll be sitting in for ek hornbeck who is Live Blogging the NCAA Championship Games for the next few days.

• Gaddafi shells towns, rebels pinned down in east
  
  By Maria Golovnina and Michael Georgy

  TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Muammar Gaddafi’s forces attacked two west Libyan towns, killing dozens, while rebels were pinned down in the east and NATO tried to resolve a dispute over who should lead the Western air campaign.

  With anti-Gaddafi rebels struggling to create a command structure that could capitalize on the air strikes against Libyan tanks and air defenses, Western countries had still to decide who would take over command once Washington pulled back in a few days.

• Japan battles crippled nuclear plant, radiation fears grow
  
  By Risa Maeda and Kazunori Takada

  TOKYO (Reuters) – Rising temperatures around the core of one of the reactors at Japan’s quake-crippled nuclear plant sparked new concern on Tuesday and more water was needed to cool it down, the plant’s operator said.

  Despite hopes of progress in the world’s worst nuclear crisis in a quarter of a century, triggered by an earthquake and tsunami that left at least 21,000 people dead or missing, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said it needed more time before it could say the reactors were stabilized.

• U.S. presses plan to hand off Libya war command soon
  
  By Andrew Quinn and Missy Ryan

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States insisted on Tuesday it will hand control of Libyan military operations to its allies within days despite disagreements over NATO’s role in the air campaign against Muammar Gaddafi’s forces.

  Once the initial U.S.-led bombardment of the Libyan leader’s air defenses is complete, military planners still intend to pass on leadership of the U.N.-mandated mission, said Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

• U.S. fighter jet crashes in rebel-held Libya
  

  LONDON (Reuters) – A U.S. Air Force F-15E fighter jet crashed in Libya overnight after a mechanical failure but its crew was safe, a spokesman for the U.S. military Africa Command said on Tuesday.

  Libyan rebels rescued the pilot after he ejected from the warplane, which came down near the eastern city of Benghazi, Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on its website.

• Obama offers new U.S. partnership with Latin America
  
  By Matt Spetalnick and Simon Gardner

  SANTIAGO (Reuters) – President Barack Obama called on Monday for a “new era of partnership” with Latin America as he acknowledged a sometimes troubled past between Washington and its neighbors in the region.

  But his mission to reassert Washington’s influence south of the border was punctuated by questions over the U.S. role in fierce air assaults over Libya, and aides scrambled to keep him up to speed on the attacks in between talks with heads of state and policy speeches.

• Yemen president warns of civil war
  
  By Cynthia Johnston and Mohamed Sudam

  SANAA (Reuters) – Yemen’s president said on Tuesday his country would descend into civil war if he were forced to quit and Washington voiced concern about instability in the Arabian state that has become an al Qaeda stronghold.

  Seven weeks of unrelenting anti-government protests and defections among the ruling elite have piled pressure on Saleh, a U.S. ally against radical Islamist ambitions in the Arabian peninsula, to step down immediately after 32 years in power.

• Japan warns again on yen, extra budget seen by May
  
  By Kaori Kaneko and Tetsushi Kajimoto

  TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan warned markets on Tuesday it would act again to keep the yen in check and prevent its rapid gains from derailing Tokyo’s effort to rebuild areas ravaged by this month’s deadly earthquake and tsunami and revive the struggling economy.

  In their first joint intervention since 2000, Group of Seven rich nations sold the yen on Friday after it spiked to record highs, threatening to deal another blow to the export-reliant economy that was just picking up from a lull when the disaster struck.

• Former Israeli president Katsav jailed for rape
  
  By Rami Amichai

  TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Former President Moshe Katsav was sentenced on Tuesday to seven years in jail for rape, a case that brought shame to Israel’s highest office and sent a firm message to a transfixed public that no one was above the law.

  Katsav had denied charges he twice raped an aide when he was a cabinet minister in the late 1990s, and molested or sexually harassed two other women who worked for him during his 2000-2007 term as president.

• Yemen’s Saleh to step down by Jan 2012 after polls
  

  SANAA (Reuters) – Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh will leave office after organizing congress elections by January 2012, refusing to hand over power without knowing who would succeed him, an aide said on Tuesday.

  “President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he will hand over power through (parliamentary) elections and the formation of democratic institutions at the end of 2011 or January 2012,” Saleh’s media secretary Ahmed al-Sufi told Reuters.

• Apple sues Amazon.com over APP STORE trademark
  

  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc has sued Amazon.com Inc in a bid to stop the online retailer from improperly using Apple’s APP STORE trademark, according to a court filing.

  The lawsuit, filed in a California federal court late last week, said Amazon has improperly used Apple’s APP STORE mark to solicit software developers throughout the United States.

• AT&T seen selling assets to get nod for mega deal
  
  By Diane Bartz and Jasmin Melvin

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) – AT&T Inc will likely be forced to sell major assets and pledge to expand service to poor areas to get approval from the U.S. government for its $39 billion deal to buy Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile USA.

  Antitrust experts say the merger, which will create the largest U.S. wireless service provider, faces a tough review by competition and communications regulators that could take as long as 18 months, but that it will ultimately be approved.

• West helping rebels’ cause: Libyan minister
  
  By Michael Georgy

  TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Western forces are more interested in helping rebels advance than protecting civilians and they have made it clear they intend to assassinate Muammar Gaddafi, Libya’s deputy foreign minister said Tuesday.

  “That’s the problem now we are seeing, the coalition forces they are part of the war against the legitimate government,” Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim told Reuters in an interview, adding that coalition forces were even striking soldiers in their barracks.

• Canadians abort Libya attack, fearing casualties
  

  OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian military aircraft joined in a mission against ground targets in Libya on Tuesday, but did not drop their bombs amid concern there might be civilian casualties, military officials said.

  Officials said two CF18 aircraft were assigned to attack a unspecified Libya airfield along with other aircraft from the U.S.-led coalition.

• France: NATO will support Libya action after U.S
  

  PARIS (Reuters) – France’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that NATO would provide support to military intervention by the Western-led coalition in Libya when the United States scaled back its participation.

  “When the Americans decide to take a bit of a step back, NATO could come in to support, that seems fairly clear,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Christine Fages.

• Japan tests sea for radiation near crippled plant
  
  By Raju Gopalakrishnan

  TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese authorities tested sea-water off a badly damaged nuclear plant for radiation on Tuesday, but stressed that elevated levels already detected were no cause for worry.

  Reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, have leaked radiation after they were struck on March 11 by a massive earthquake and tsunami that led to the world’s worst nuclear crisis in a quarter of a century.

• Icy rain, fuel shortages hamper relief to quake-hit Japan
  
  By Jon Herskovitz

  KESENNUMA, Japan (Reuters) – Fuel shortages, icy rain and power outages are hampering Japan’s worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two, but relief workers are reporting some progress as mangled roads are reopened and new homes built.

  The sheer numbers in the world’s costliest natural disaster — estimated at $250 billion — remain staggering. There are about 21,000 dead or missing, 319,000 people evacuated, 2,131 makeshift shelters, 2.4 million people without access to water and 221,000 households without power.

• Wal-Mart to argue sex-bias case in Supreme Court
  
  By James Vicini

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc will urge the Supreme Court next week to reject the largest class-action sex-discrimination lawsuit in history, brought by female employees who seek billion of dollars.

  The top U.S. court hears arguments on March 29 in a lawsuit against the world’s largest retailer for allegedly giving women less pay and fewer promotions at 3,400 U.S. stores since late 1998.

• Judge orders Loughner mental evaluation in Missouri
  
  By David Schwartz

  PHOENIX (Reuters) – A federal judge on Monday ordered Jared Lee Loughner, the college dropout charged in January’s Arizona shooting rampage, to undergo a mental evaluation in Missouri to see if he is competent to stand trial.

  Federal prosecutors earlier this month asked for Loughner to receive an evaluation.

• Obama visits violence-plagued El Salvador
  
  by Tangi Quemener

  SAN SALVADOR (AFP) – Security was tight Tuesday for a visit by US President Barack Obama, on the final leg of a Latin America tour he hopes will turn the page on past troubled ties and build a new era of partnership.

  The three-nation trip — which has been overshadowed by the Arab uprisings and the launch of air strikes against the forces of Libyan strongman Moamer Kadhafi — was to conclude in El Salvador, one of the world’s most dangerous countries.

• Major legal blow to European anti-GM crops lobby
  
  by Roddy Thomson

  BRUSSELS (AFP) – Europe’s top court adviser dealt a huge blow to the anti-GM foods lobby Tuesday, saying states broke EU law by halting genetically-modified crop cultivation without first seeking action in Brussels.

  European Court of Justice advocate-general Paolo Mengozzi’s opinion provided a major fillip to a lawsuit-hungry genetically modified foods industry and stunned enraged environmental campaigners.

• Deutsche Bank client wins court case on investment loss
  
  by Etienne Balmer

  FRANKFURT (AFP) – Germany’s biggest bank, Deutsche Bank, was ordered Tuesday for the first time to pay compensation to a client who was not fully informed of the risks of one of its complex financial products.

  In a ruling that could set an important legal precedent, Deutsche Bank “failed to fulfill its advisory obligation … concerning a highly complex product,” the German Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe said.

• Protesters march in south Syria for fifth day
  
  By Khaled al-Hariri

  DERAA, Syria (Reuters) – Hundreds of people marched in southern Syria for a fifth straight day on Tuesday, protesting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad and shouting “Freedom, freedom. Peaceful, peaceful.”

  Protesters gathered near the Old Omari mosque in Deraa and in the nearby town of Nawa in the strategic Hauran plateau, close to the border with Jordan, catching a wave of Arab unrest that has toppled leaders in Tunisia and Egypt.

• Bahrain bans Lebanon travel, sectarian tension rises
  
  By Lin Noueihed

  MANAMA (Reuters) – Bahrain warned its nationals on Tuesday not to travel to Lebanon for their own safety, after Iranian-backed Shi’ite Muslim group Hezbollah came out in support of weeks of protests by mainly Shi’ite demonstrators.

  The warning highlights growing tensions in the world’s largest oil-exporting region between Sunni-ruled Arab countries and non-Arab Shi’ite power Iran, just across Gulf waters.

• Spain clears American of terror finance suspicion
  
  By Daniel Wools

  MADRID – A Spanish judge has cleared a U.S. citizen of suspicion that he financed al-Qaida’s North African affiliate, and the American is demanding a public apology from the government, saying the publicity surrounding the case has ruined his life.

  Investigating Magistrate Santiago Pedraz cited a lack of evidence against Mohamed Omar Dehbi, 44, who used to live in Texas but currently resides near Barcelona and runs a company that exports heavy machinery to North Africa. Dehbi is Algerian-born.

• Cuba’s Castro: I quit as party chief 5 years ago
  
  By Paul Haven

  HAVANA – Fidel Castro’s surprise announcement that he stepped down as head of the Communist Party five years ago – despite widespread belief he remained in charge – marks the bizarre end of an era for a nation, and a man, whose fates have been intertwined for more than half a century.

  The 84-year-old revolutionary icon made the revelation Tuesday – with word of the resignation thrown in as an aside halfway through an opinion piece that otherwise focused on President Barack Obama.

• Canada government reaches out to opposition over budget
  
  By Randall Palmer

  OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada announces plans on Tuesday for a budget that will rein in the federal deficit, amid last minute meetings with the left-wing New Democratic Party, which is seen as the most likely candidate to keep the minority Conservative government in power.

  Top members of Parliament from both parties were meeting in the hours before the budget, an NDP source said.

• Japan says high seawater radiation levels are no cause for alarm
  
  By Winifred Bird

  Shingu, Japan – As engineers reported progress on stabilizing overheated reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant Tuesday, elevated levels of radiation have been found in seawater nearby, fueling concern over long-term environmental and health impacts.

  Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) announced today that in samples taken 1,100 feet south of the plant on Monday, radioactive iodine exceeded legal limits for wastewater by 126.7 times, cesium-134 by 24.8 times, and cesium-137 by 16.5 times. Samples taken 16 kilometers (10 miles) south were up to 16 times above legal levels.

• France wants body outside NATO to head Libya fight
  

  PARIS – France proposed on Tuesday a new political steering committee outside NATO to be responsible for overseeing military operations over Libya.

  French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said the new body will bring together foreign ministers of participating states – such as Britain, France and the United States – as well as the Arab League. It is expected to meet in the coming days, either in Brussels, London or Paris, Juppe said.

• Law enforcement deaths rising quickly: AG Eric Holder
  
  By Jeremy Pelofsky

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Law enforcement officers are being killed at an alarming rate, Attorney General Eric Holder said on Tuesday, adding that options are being explored to address the violence including seeking new gun control laws.

  Before meeting with state and local police chiefs and representatives of federal law enforcement agencies, Holder said 48 officers have died during the first three months of 2011, a 17 percent increase over 2010. Of those, 23 were killed by gunfire, a 53 percent jump.

• South Dakota law requires 3-day abortion wait
  

  PIERRE, South Dakota (Reuters) – South Dakota’s governor signed into law on Tuesday the longest abortion waiting period in the nation at 72 hours, and opponents immediately promised a legal challenge to stop it from going into effect.

  The law signed by Republican Gov. Dennis Daugaard also requires a woman to submit to counseling to ensure her decision to have an abortion is “voluntary, uncoerced, and informed.”

• Judge orders Jobs to answer iTunes questions
  

  NEW YORK (Reuters) – Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs, who is out on medical leave, has been ordered by a federal judge to answer questions from plaintiffs’ lawyers in an antitrust lawsuit related to his company’s iTunes business.

  Judge Howard Lloyd of District Court for Northern California ruled that lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the suit may question Jobs for a total of two hours. He issued the ruling on Monday.