Ford invests $1.3bn in Mexico plant
US car giant Ford has announced a $1.3bn (£800m) investment in its plant in the Mexican town of Hermosillo, creating 1,000 jobs.
The investment will help Ford meet growing demand for its Fusion and Lincoln MKZ models, the company said.
Ford has invested about $3bn in Mexico over the past decade.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon hailed the investment which, he said, would help boost car production in his country.
"Mexico in January rose to fifth place in global auto exports... and I think we are about to move into fourth place," he said.
A number of major foreign carmakers run plants in Mexico, including Volkswagen and Toyota.
North Korea Says US Breaking Nuclear Deal over Rocket
North Korea said Saturday the U.S. suspension of food aid is an over-reaction to Pyongyang's planned rocket launch.
North Korea announced in February it would temporarily suspend nuclear tests, long-range ballistic missile launches and nuclear activities. In return, Washington, pledged to provide the North with 240,000 metric tons of nutritional assistance.
Washington considers the planned North Korea launch to be a violation of that agreement, saying Pyongyang is seeking to test long-range missile technology.
North Korea says it is sending a satellite into orbit for peaceful purposes.
8 Killed in Thailand Blasts
Officials in Thailand say eight people have died and at least 70 people were wounded in three bomb blasts just minutes apart in the country's insurgency-plagued south.
The governor of Yala says the explosions went off Saturday around lunchtime in Yala city's business area.
Authorities say the bombs, hidden in two motorcycles and a car, also set several nearby buildings on fire.
Such bombings are a common tactic of Islamic separatists who have been waging an insurgency in the Muslim-dominated provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani since early 2004. The conflict has taken more than 5,000 lives.
North Korea Says US Breaking Nuclear Deal over Rocket
North Korea said Saturday the U.S. suspension of food aid is an over-reaction to Pyongyang's planned rocket launch.
North Korea announced in February it would temporarily suspend nuclear tests, long-range ballistic missile launches and nuclear activities. In return, Washington, pledged to provide the North with 240,000 metric tons of nutritional assistance.
Washington considers the planned North Korea launch to be a violation of that agreement, saying Pyongyang is seeking to test long-range missile technology.
North Korea says it is sending a satellite into orbit for peaceful purposes.
Burma’s Suu Kyi Set for Public Office
Burma is finalizing arrangements Saturday for Sunday's historic election when pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi, who was under house arrest just over a year ago, is likely to be voted into parliament in the military-dominated country.
Her participation in the polling has been made possible by a fragile detente with a government that has embarked on surprising democratic reforms over the last several months.
Sunday's vote is for only a small minority of seats in national and regional legislatures, but it has not diminished the outpouring of enthusiasm for Aung San Suu Kyi – whom the government tried to silence for two decades – and her National League for Democracy party.
The Nobel Peace laureate said Friday she does not expect Burma's election to be fair, but still significant.
Clinton Seeks End to Syrian Crackdown
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continues her visit to Saudi Arabia Saturday with a meeting of regional Arab Gulf diplomats to discuss bringing an end to Syria's year-long crackdown on dissent.
The meeting is a prelude to the “Friends of the Syria” meeting Sunday in Istanbul. Clinton, as well as other diplomats from Arab and Western nations who support Syrian rebel groups, are scheduled to attend the meeting in Turkey. The U.S. remains opposed to arming Syria's rebels, which some Gulf states have proposed. Washington is instead working to unify the splintered opposition groups, and find ways to get humanitarian aid into Syria.
Fresh clashes between demonstrators and security forces broke out across Syria Friday. Rights groups say at least 11 people were killed.
U.N. and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan has called on the Syrian government to immediately implement a cease-fire and stop its attacks on opposition groups.
Mr. Annan's spokesperson told reporters in Geneva Friday that the “deadline is now” for President Bashar al-Assad to implement the six-point peace plan drawn up by the former U.N. chief. He did not specify what action, if any, would be taken if Mr. Assad did not comply.
Arab leaders at a Baghdad summit Thursday endorsed the Syria peace plan and called for its immediate implementation.
Mr. Assad agreed to the peace plan Tuesday, but government forces have not shown restraint. The opposition says it suspects Mr. Assad has no intention of stopping his crackdown and has used his agreement to the peace plan as a stalling tactic.
The United Nations says violence linked to Syria's crackdown on the revolt has killed more than 9,000 people.
Spike Lee apologizes for retweeting wrong Zimmerman address
Director Spike Lee issued an apology Wednesday night to a Florida couple who had to leave their home after he retweeted a message that erroneously listed their address as belonging to George Zimmerman.
"I Deeply Apologize To The McClain Family For Retweeting Their Address," Lee tweeted. "It Was A Mistake. Please Leave The McClain's In Peace. Justice In Court"
Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who claimed he killed teenager Trayvon Martin in self-defense last month, lives more than 4 miles from David and Elaine McClain. He is reported to be in hiding.
The McClains moved into a hotel room after the retweets.
"We got out of the house. It is just too scary," Elaine McClain told HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell on Wednesday before the Lee apology. "We've got to quit the hatred and the vengeance and start looking on the inside of people and quit looking on the outside of people. It is just sad the reactions that have been going on."
She told CNN Orlando affiliate WKMG that her youngest son has the last name of Zimmerman and the middle name George.
The couple told the station they received a letter addressed to George Zimmerman on Monday. On the back was a reference to Skittles.
Outcry mounts in Trayvon Martin case
Zimmerman fatally shot Martin, 17, on February 26 as the teen was walking back to his father's fiancee's house in Sanford. Martin was wearing a hoodie and carrying Skittles candy and a can of iced tea he had purchased from a nearby convenience store.
Elaine McClain said the couple called police after receiving the letter.
Lee, who has 250,000 Twitter followers, retweeted the address over the weekend, and it went viral. The man who initially sent the message, identified on his Twitter account as Marcus D. Higgins of Los Angeles, also apologized.
David McClain said they have accepted that, but want a retraction of the tweet with an apology attached.
Elaine McClain told HLN that an apology from Lee "could be a healing for this community."
Attorney and TV personality Lisa Bloom told CNN's Brooke Baldwin on Wednesday that the couple probably had legal recourse.
"This, in my opinion, is an invasion of their privacy and is defamatory to imply they had something to do with this incident, which they didn't."
A rapid remedy would include an apology from Lee and an offer to pay their security costs for a few days. "Make it right before this blows up to something bigger," Bloom said.
The McClains have hired Orlando attorney John Morgan, who said they might have a civil claim against Lee. "Fortunately, this couple is not about that right now."
"What they want to do is get a retraction, get an apology so everybody knows that that's not the house," Morgan told Velez-Mitchell.
(CNN)
Album sales: 'Hunger Games' soundtrack tops chart
When an album reaches the top of the Billboard 200 in its first week, there's only One Direction it can go.
After making history as the first artists to have their debut album bow at No.1, the British boy band One Direction ceded the top spot this week to the star-packed "Hunger Games" soundtrack.
Dubbed as a "companion" to the Jennifer Lawrence-led cinematic juggernaut (most of the songs don't actually appear in the film), the album sold a whopping 175,000 copies, becoming the first theatrical soundtrack to debut atop the chart since Michael Jackson's "This Is It" back in 2009.
Of course, the "Hunger Games" soundtrack was certainly bolstered by its enviable roster of artists, which includes Taylor Swift, the Arcade Fire, and Maroon 5 -- just to name a few. The movie itself grossed $155 million in its first weekend.
So how steeply did One Direction's "Up All Night" fall? The album clocked in at No. 4 with 55,000 units moved (a 69 percent drop from last week's 175,000) -- bested by, yep, Adele's "21" (No. 2, with 130,000) and the Shins' "Port of Morrow" (which debuted at No. 3, with 75,000).
Rounding out the top five is Odd Future's major-label debut "The OF Tape Vol. 2," selling a hearty 40,000 in its first week.
As for the rest of the list: Bruce Springsteen's "Wrecking Ball" fell to No. 6 with 37,000; Melanie Fiona's "The MF Life" posted a respectable 34,000 in its first week, placing it at No. 7; and "Now 41" (No. 8, with 31,000), Whitney Houston's "Greatest Hits" (No. 9, with 29,000), and Esperanza Spalding's "Radio Music Society" (No. 10, with 25,000 in its debut week) round out the rest of this week's top 10.
Lady Antebellum to host prom for tornado-ravaged school
Students at an Indiana high school heavily damaged by a tornado this month will have a private prom party thrown by the country music trio Lady Antebellum, followed by a public concert to raise money for their community.
The country music group announced last week that Henryville Junior-Senior High School was the winner of its "Own the Night" prom contest based on a video entry submitted by a rival Clark County, Indiana, school.
"Now, don't get me wrong, we would love to have you at our prom, but there's another school in the West Clark family that deserves it more than any other school in the country," Silver Creek High School senior Luke Gillenwater said in the winning video.
Lady Antebellum was already booked April 27, the night of the Henryville prom, so they set aside May 16 for a prom party in KFC YUM! Center in nearby Louisville, Kentucky, the group said Tuesday.
All the money raised from a public concert after the prom party will be donated to a local disaster relief fund, the group said.
"Helping rebuild this community is our biggest priority right now," Lady Antebellum's Hillary Scott said. "We were so moved by the stories from Henryville High School but also from the students at their rival schools who raised their hands and said they wanted to help."
Damage done by the March 2 tornado closed the campus until the fall. Students are scheduled to resume classes April 2 in an industrial building 10 miles away.
"They missed so much with the school being destroyed that things like this help them feel whole again," West Clark Community Schools Superintendent Monty Schneider said. "They will be talking about the tornadoes for the rest of their lives, but this event will give them something positive to reflect on about that time."
CNN
Titanic: Kate Winslet and James Cameron at 3D premiere
Oscar-winner Kate Winslet and director James Cameron have been in London for the red carpet premiere of a new, 3D version of Titanic.
Winslet shot to worldwide fame after starring in the original 1997 film alongside Leonardo DiCaprio.
She told the BBC the global hit was "massively important" to her career, giving her "creative freedom".
However, she added, the thought of seeing her performance transformed into 3D was "terrifying".
Director James Cameron said the new version of Titanic would allow fans to "revisit" the box-office blockbuster.
"The big thrill of it isn't just the 3D," he said, "it's bringing it back to the big screen, where it has a lot more emotional impact."
The director added he had been "plucked off my expedition ship" for the premiere at the Royal Albert Hall, following his recent deep ocean descent off the Pacific island of Guam.
Anniversary year
Titanic, which took two years to film, saw Winslet play upper class socialite Rose DeWitt Bukater opposite DiCaprio's third class passenger Jack Dawson.
She said the film had "never left her".
"People have been saying to me all day, 'How does it feel to be revisiting it after all this time?'," she said. "But people ask me about Titanic all the time, so it isn't like I'm revisiting it at all. It's part of my DNA."
Until the release of Avatar in 2009 - also directed by Cameron - Titanic was the most successful movie ever, with global takings of $1.843bn (£1.14bn).
Avatar went on to make $2.77 billion (£1.76 billion).
Speaking of the 3D conversion, Cameron said: "More than ever, you feel you're right there going through all the jeopardy that Jack and Rose go through.
"The 3D kicks the whole experience up to another level."
He added he would consider 3D versions of his other movies, including the first two Terminator films, if they were considered economically viable.
Winslet won the best actress Oscar for The Reader in 2009, while Titanic picked up 11 Oscars at the 1998 Academy Awards.
The film is being re-released 100 years after the titular ship set sail.
Shortly before midnight on 14 April 1912, the passenger liner struck an iceberg on its way from Southampton to New York.
It sank less than three hours later, killing 1,517 people.