TOP WORLD NEWS (english version) - 18 March

Reuters - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed "confidence-building steps" with Palestinians in a telephone call on Thursday with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, after a dispute over settlements.

AP - Shelvin Mack hit four 3-pointers in the first 6 minutes of the second half — one more than Butler had in the entire first half — and the Bulldogs opened a 47-37 lead over UTEP.

AP - Computer data from a Toyota Prius that crashed in suburban New York City show that at the time of the accident the throttle was open and the driver was not applying the brakes, U.S. safety officials said Thursday.

AP - President Barack Obama, facing criticism from advocates of immigration reform, pledged Thursday "to do everything in my power" to get immigration legislation moving in Congress this year.

AFP - A Middle East diplomatic flurry was given a sense of urgency after a rocket fired from Gaza killed a farmworker in Israel Thursday while the EU foreign policy chief visited the Palestinian enclave.

AP - Fess Parker, a baby-boomer idol in the 1950s who launched a craze for coonskin caps as television's Davy Crockett, died Thursday of natural causes. He was 85.

AP - Freshman Rep. Steve Driehaus is getting it from all sides on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. The Ohio Democrat opened his local newspaper, The Cincinnati Enquirer, on Wednesday to find a giant ad urging him to vote against the bill — featuring a photo of him with his two young daughters. Tea party protesters stormed his office and berated his staff.

AP - Historic health care change in the balance, Democrats plowed fresh billions into insurance subsidies for consumers on Thursday and added a $250 rebate for seniors facing high prescription drugs, last-minute sweeteners to sweeping $940 billion legislation headed for a climactic weekend vote.

AP - When Alana Sanders gave birth to her fourth child, the people on hand to towel off the baby and tie its umbilical cord weren't the usual team of doctors or nurses. They were her 11-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son.

AP - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and her Russian counterpart clashed openly Thursday over the planned launch this summer of Iran's first, Russian-built nuclear power plant, highlighting a split in views over how to steer Iran away from nuclear weapons.

AP - A woman accused of trolling the Internet as Jihad Jane and agreeing to marry a terrorist suspect and kill a Swedish artist targeted by radical Muslims cooperated with authorities, a congressman said.

Reuters - Bowing to political pressure at home, President Barack Obama on Thursday scrapped his trip to Indonesia and Australia next week to stay in Washington for a final push for a healthcare overhaul.

Reuters - Democrats in the House of Representatives on Thursday predicted weekend passage of a sweeping healthcare overhaul that budget analysts said would cut the U.S. deficit over 10 years and dramatically expand health coverage.

AFP - Thailand's rural underclass, vying to revive flagging momentum after a week of colourful protests, appealed Thursday for a popular uprising against the well-entrenched political and aristocratic elite.

Reuters - Some Tea Partiers say they can pinpoint the precise moment when they made it clear to the Republican Party they had no intention of being its lapdog.