Reuters World News Highlights at 0430 GMT, Feb 15

TOP STORIES

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SEOUL/TOKYO - South Korea sent a stern warning to North Korea on Thursday, two days after the North tested a nuclear bomb, saying it could strike the isolated state if it believed an attack was imminent as it deployed a new cruise missile to drive home its point.

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WASHINGTON - Republican lawmakers succeeded on Thursday in delaying a Senate vote on confirming President Barack Obama's choice of Chuck Hagel as defense secretary, but another vote was planned for later in the month and Obama said he expected his nominee to be approved.

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JOHANNESBURG - South African 'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius, a double amputee who became one of the biggest names in world athletics, is due to appear in court on Friday on charges of murdering his girlfriend.

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WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Thursday promised to be more forthcoming with the American public on his administration's campaign of lethal drone strikes amid criticism over the targeting of suspected U.S. terrorism suspects abroad.

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BEIRUT - An Iranian military commander has been killed in Syria by rebels fighting Tehran's ally President Bashar al-Assad, Iran said on Thursday, describing the dead man as a Revolutionary Guard.

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VIENNA - U.N. inspectors returned on Thursday from talks in Tehran with no deal on reviving a nuclear investigation and no date for a new meeting, failing to produce even a small signal of hope for big power diplomacy aimed at averting war.

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VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict will see out his life in prayer, "hidden from the world", he said on Thursday in his first personal comment on his plans since he stunned Roman Catholics by announcing his retirement.

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NAIROBI - East Africa's most powerful economy and a key regional ally in the U.S.-led war against militant Islam could next month elect a president accused of crimes against humanity, posing a diplomatic headache for Western capitals.

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LOS ANGELES - Medical examiners on Thursday positively identified the remains of a fugitive former Los Angeles policeman wanted for a grudge-driven killing spree, capping a manhunt ranked by authorities as the most extensive ever in Southern California.

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BOSTON - A newly discovered asteroid about half the size of a football field will pass nearer to Earth than any other known object of its size on Friday, giving scientists a rare opportunity for close-up observations without launching a probe.

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MOBILE - Reeking of raw sewage, a crippled cruise ship carrying more than 4,200 people docked at a port in Mobile, Alabama, on Thursday as passengers waved towels and flashlights to greet the end of a voyage some described as hellish.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/thomson-reuters/130215/reuters-world-news-highlights-at-0430-gmt-feb-15