Obama returns to law school to argue for his Supreme Court pick

By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama returns on Thursday to the University of Chicago Law School where he once taught to make the case for his U.S. Supreme Court nominee as Senate Republicans harden their opposition to confirming Merrick Garland to the post. The town hall-style event with students and faculty set for 2:30 p.m. CDT (1930 GMT) is part of a White House campaign to try to pressure the Republican-led Senate to approve Garland, a centrist appellate judge who grew up in a Chicago suburb. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has insisted the next president, who will take office on Jan. 20 after the Nov. 8 election, should fill the vacancy created by the Feb. 13 death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia.

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  With only eight justices, US Supreme Court struggles

  AFP
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  Obama returns to law school, presses case for SCOTUS nominee

  MSNBC

Student opponent of radical Islam slain on Bangladesh street

Three motorcycle-riding assailants hacked and shot to death a student opponent of radical Islam as he was walking with a friend along a street in Bangladesh's capital, police said Thursday. The killing on Wednesday night follows a string of similar attacks last year, when at least five secular bloggers and publishers were killed, allegedly by radical Islamists. Police suspect 28-year-old Nazimuddin Samad was targeted for his outspoken atheism in the Muslim-majority country and for supporting a 2013 movement to demand capital punishment for war crimes involving the independence war against Pakistan in 1971, according to Dhaka Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Nurul Amin.

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  Student activist hacked, shot to death in Bangladesh

  The Seattle Times
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  Bangladesh activist Nazimuddin Samad hacked to death

  Al Jazeera

Michelle Carter Case: Teen Who Texted Boyfriend to Kill Himself Faces Mass. Court

Michelle Carter, who encouraged her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, to kill himself, is at the center of an involuntary manslaughter charge over his 2014 death and could face up to 20 years of imprisonment if convicted. Massachusetts' highest court will be hearing arguments Thursday on whether the case against Carter will go forward. Roy and Carter had met each other in Florida, though their two-year relationship was mostly over the phone.

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  Court to hear case of teen who sent texts urging suicide

  Miami Herald
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  SJC hears case of teen who allegedly encouraged friend to kill himself

  BostonGlobe.com

IS accused of kidnapping 300 Syrian factory workers

The Islamic State group was accused Thursday of kidnapping more than 300 employees of a cement factory in Syria, in the latest mass abduction by the jihadists. IS attacked the town of Dmeir, east of Damascus, after suffering a series of territorial losses at the hands of regime troops in recent weeks, including in the ancient city of Palmyra. In another setback for the jihadists, anti-government rebels were reported to have seized their main supply route to Turkey on Thursday.

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  Syria civil war: ISIL kidnaps 300 factory workers

  Al Jazeera
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  The Latest: MSF aid group says besieged areas in Syria continue to suffer despite weeks-long truce

  US News & World Report

EU may require visas from Americans and Canadians: EU source

By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union executive is considering whether to make U.S. and Canadian citizens apply for visas before traveling to the bloc, a move that could raise tensions as Brussels negotiates a trade pact with Washington. Only Britain and Ireland have opt-outs from the 28-nation EU's common visa policy and the European Commission must decide by April 12 whether to demand visas from countries who have similar requirements in place for one or more EU state. Washington and Ottawa both demand entry visas from Romanians and Bulgarians, whose states joined the EU in 2007.

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  Visas for Europe, Netherlands’ no-confidence vote on Ukraine deal, Mexico stands up to Trump, and Pentagon wants more bases in Iraq

  Washington Post
• US and Canadian citizens may soon need visas to visit Europe

  Quartz

Swedes invite world to call 'random' citizens on new hotline

On its website, the nonprofit group says the idea is "to spark people's curiosity about Sweden — our culture, nature and mindset. The Swedes who take the calls have volunteered by downloading an app. "It's like when Swedes travel the world.

Mandela's ex-wife Winnie loses court bid to claim his home

Nelson Mandela's former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela on Thursday lost a court bid to claim ownership of his rural home, in a ruling welcomed by his family after a bitter legal dispute. The Eastern Cape High Court dismissed the case in which Madikizela-Mandela said she was the rightful owner of the property in Qunu, in the Eastern Cape province. Nelson Mandela spent much of his childhood in Qunu after being born nearby, and he returned there regularly after his retirement.

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  SAfrican court rejects Winnie's claim to Mandela rural home

  The Seattle Times
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  South Africa's Winnie Madikizela-Mandela fails to inherit home

  BBC News

NASA Discovers ‘Behemoth Black Hole’ In Unlikely Place

NASA astronomers have discovered a gigantic black hole at the centre of a galaxy in a ‘cosmic backwater’. Spotted by Hubble Space Telescope and the Gemini Telescope in Hawaii, the find is important because it suggests that these monster objects are more common than previously thought. Until now, ‘supermassive black holes’ - those roughly 10 billion times bigger than our sun - have only been found at the cores of very large galaxies in part of the universe packed with other large galaxies.

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  Supermassive black holes might actually be super common

  Washington Post
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  Supermassive black hole found in remote galaxy sparks hopes of future similar discoveries

  International Business Times UK

Pilot refuses to fly without favourite female co-pilot, keep passengers waiting for 2 hours

Around 110 passengers had to wait in a grounded Air India aircraft for nearly two-and-a-half hours after its commander refused to take off without his favourite female co-pilot. The passengers were travelling on the Air India flight from Chennai to Male via Thiruvananthapuram. According to reports, the Air India commander in question had resigned last week and was serving his notice period.

Selfie Loving Surgeons Are Slammed After Taking Photo With Newborn Baby

The ill-advised snap is believed to have been taken in the delivery room at the general hospital of the city of Calpulalpan, in the central-east Mexican state of Tiaxcala. In the photo, three men in blue scrubs and face-masks are seen looking at the camera as one of them holds the tiny infant over the shoulder of the doctor in the middle.