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PURCHASE, N.Y. (AP) — Hillary Clinton gave a spirited defense Thursday of her campaign proposals and her lead in the Democratic primaries after she was disrupted by a group of Bernie Sanders supporters ahead of her home state's primary.

A few minutes into Clinton's remarks on the campus of Purchase College, about 20 Sanders supporters shouted, "If she wins, we lose," and then began walking out. Clinton responded sharply, "The Bernie people came to say that. We're very sorry you're leaving," as the crowd chanted, "I'm with her!"

At another point, Clinton grew angry when Eva Resnick-Day, an organizer with Greenpeace USA, asked her along the rope line whether she'd forego contributions from the fossil fuel industry.

"I have money from people who work for fossil fuel companies," Clinton said in a video posted and later confirmed by Greenpeace."I am so sick of the Sanders campaign lying about that," Clinton added, pointing her finger at the questioner. "I'm sick of it."

The sharp exchanges came ahead of Tuesday's Wisconsin primary and next month's vote in New York, where Clinton is favored because of her deep ties to the state. The former New York senator holds a formidable lead among delegates but Sanders hopes a series of recent victories out West might turn into a springboard for a win in Wisconsin.

It also offered a vivid example of Clinton's gulf with some young Democrats, who have brought energy to the Vermont senator's upstart bid.

Clinton said she regretted that the young Sanders supporters "won't listen to anybody else" and didn't want to hear "the contrast between my experience, my plans, my vision, what I know I can get done and what my opponent is promising."

Sanders "goes around telling young people that he's going to give them free college. Well, I wish it were so," Clinton said. She said the "fine print" of his plan would require governors to pay a significant share of the cost, an unlikely outcome in a state like Wisconsin, which is led by Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

"I just wish that there were an opportunity to actually talk and listen to each other because we've got to unite when this primary contest is over," Clinton said.

Clinton's team accused her rival's campaign of "misleading voters with their attacks," saying she's never accepted funds from oil and gas industries companies or their political action committees. Both candidates, they said, have taken contributions from individuals who work in the industry.

"Assuming they don't believe their own candidate is bought by the fossil fuel industry, they should stop the false attacks," said spokesman Nick Merrill in a statement.

Sanders campaign didn't dispute that the industry donations came from individual contributors, pointing out that 57 oil, gas and coal industry lobbyists have directly contributed to her campaign.

He was campaigning in Pittsburgh, ahead of Pennsylvania's April 26 primary, joining activists with the United Steelworkers union and the letter carrier's union to criticize Clinton's past support of certain trade deals.

Sanders called for "a moral economy, not an economy based on greed and selfishness," a message that he has used in manufacturing states such as Michigan and Wisconsin. Sanders said that even when factories don't close, the trade agreements relegate workers in a "race to the bottom," with corporations going to unions and forcing them to make concessions under threat of moving out of the country.

Sanders campaign said late Thursday he had raised more than $43 million in March. Both campaigns face monthly fundraising deadlines at the end of the day.

In New York, Clinton reiterated her critique of Sanders' "Medicare for allplan, saying it would force Congress to "start all over again" on health care reform. She also rebuked Republican Donald Trump for saying that women should be "punished" for having an abortion, comments he quickly backtracked from.

Clinton also noted an MSNBC interview in which Sanders suggested Trump's comments were a distraction from serious issues. "To me this is a very serious issue and it is a very serious discussion," Clinton said. AP

Ten Libyan cities that were under control of the non-recognised government of Tripoli have broken away and pledged their support to the UN-backed government, one of the municipalities announced online Thursday.

The news is a major blow to the unrecognised authority in Tripoli that is refusing to give up power.

The announcement came in a statement on the official Facebook page of the Sabratha municipality, after a meeting between representatives from the 10 coastal cities in the west of Libya located between Tripoli and the border with Tunisia.

The statement called on all Libyans to "support the national unity government" and welcomed the arrival of prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj along with several members of his cabinet to the capital.

The group also asked the internationally recognised government to "put an immediate end to all armed conflicts across Libya".The non-recognised government of Tripoli have branded the arrival of UN-backed Sarraj illegal, demanding he leave or surrender.

Libya has had two administrations since mid-2014 when the militia alliance overran Tripoli, setting up its own authority and forcing the internationally recognised parliament to flee to the country's remote east.

The country was plunged into chaos and fighting between rival military factions following the death of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, killed following a Western-backed military intervention in the country. AFP

NEW YORK (AP) — Bernie Sanders is telling hundreds of supporters in New York City that if he wins the state's primary, he will win the White House.

The Democratic presidential candidate says voter turnout in April 19's primary could affect the trajectory of his campaign. The Empire State has 247 delegates up for grabs, the second largest haul in the primary season.

Sanders was joined at the rally Thursday night in the Bronx by actress Rosario Dawson, director Spike Lee and singer Residente. They spoke of Bernie's support for women and for Puerto Rico in its debt crisis.

Sanders drew on his experience growing up in Brooklyn. He reiterated his positions on fighting income inequality, creating a single-payer healthcare system and raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. AP

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's bank accounts were used to purchase $15 million in luxury goods and pay out millions more to political figures ahead of 2013 elections, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Wall Street Journal, citing documents from Malaysian investigators, said the $15 million went towards clothing, jewellery and a car.

Some of the spending occurred when Najib, accompanied by his wife Rosmah Mansor, was on a trip to Hawaii where he met with President Barack Obama, it said in the report Wednesday.

Rosmah has been the subject of numerous reports over the years detailing her taste for luxury spending when many Malaysians complain of rising prices and stagnant incomes.

Najib is under pressure to explain why he accepted hundreds of millions of dollars in mysterious overseas payments to the accounts which the Journal said were used for the lavish spending.Najib, 62, has repeatedly denied that the money was siphoned off from a now-struggling state firm, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and says he is the victim of a political conspiracy.

But the Journal has reported that documents it has reviewed indicate the funds came from 1MDB and totalled more than $1 billion.

Najib at first denied reports last year that he had received the overseas payments. But his government now acknowledged that he received $681 million.

The government says it was a gift from the Saudi royal family -- most of which was given back -- to "promote moderate Islam".

That explanation is yet to be confirmed by Saudi Arabia and is widely dismissed in Malaysia as a cover story.

The newspaper's report said tens of millions of dollars were paid out to political figures in more than 500 payments ahead of 2013 Malaysian elections.

In those elections, Najib's ruling party suffered its worst-ever showing but still retained power.

Opposition leaders have repeatedly said the financial shenanigans were indicative of widespread money politics by the long-ruling United Malays National Organisation.

The report said more than $130,000 was spent at a Chanel store in Honolulu two days before Najib played golf with Obama in December 2013.

Najib took power in 2009, promoting himself as a reformer and moderate Muslim.

But his government has taken a number of steps to stifle free speech and democratic rights, especially as outrage over the financial scandal has grown.But his government has taken a number of steps to stifle free speech and democratic rights, especially as outrage over the financial scandal has grown.

No immediate reaction to the new report was seen from Najib's office.

1MDB issued a statement reiterating it had never provided money to Najib.

Swiss authorities said recently up to $4 billion may have been stolen from Malaysian state firms and that they were investigating possible fraud and money-laundering.

American, British, Singaporean and Hong Kong authorities are also scrutinising 1MDB-related money flows.

Najib has staved off pressure to resign by purging ruling-party critics.  AFP

Beijing's defence ministry on Thursday warned the US navy to "be careful" in the South China Sea and slammed a newly signed agreement between Washington and the Philippines.

Earlier this month, Manila agreed to give US forces access to five military bases, including some close to the disputed South China Sea, where tensions have risen over Beijing's assertion of its territorial claims.

China claims virtually all the South China Sea despite conflicting claims by Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines, and has built up artificial islands in the area in recent months, including some with airstrips.

Washington has since October carried out two high-profile "freedom of navigation" operations in which it sailed warships within 12 nautical miles of islets claimed by China.

Asked about a recent report on US patrols in the sea, defence ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told a briefing on Thursday: "As for the US ships which came, I can only suggest they be careful".

The agreement between Washington and Manila applies to the Antonio Bautista Air Base on the western island of Palawan, directly on the South China Sea.

Asked about the deal, Yang said: "To strengthen military alliances is a reflection of a Cold War mentality".

"It is in the opposite direction of the trends of the era for peace, development and cooperation," he said, adding bilateral military cooperation "should not "undermine a third party's interests".

Washington regularly accuses Beijing -- which says it has built runways on and deployed unspecified weapons to islands in the South China Sea -- of militarising the area.

Beijing denies the accusations and says US patrols have ramped up tensions.Now, the United States has come back, and is reinforcing its military presence in this region and promoting militarisation in the South China Sea," Yang said.

Beijing acknowledges that the facilities on its new islands will have military as well as civilian purposes.

China's comments came as Malaysia accused "a large number" of Chinese fishing trawlers and a coast guard vessel of entering its waters, understood to be last week.

Kuala Lumpur said China's envoy to Malaysia was summoned on Thursday "to seek clarification as well as to register Malaysia’s concerns over the matter".AFP

Luxembourg on Thursday launched a money laundering probe linked to a corruption scandal embroiling Malaysian Premier Najib Razak who is accused of using money in a state-run fund for his own purposes.

Najib, 62, has been under fire over allegations that billions of dollars were stolen from 1MDB, the now struggling state firm he founded, and his acceptance of a $681 million overseas payment.

Reports have also emerged of the luxurious lifestyles, lavish spending and jet-set travel arrangements of his family, stoking calls for his resignation.

The Luxembourg prosecutor's office said in a statement that it had launched the probe "following revelations about the alleged diversion of funds from 1MDB"."The suit concerns money laundering of funds likely to have come from the embezzlement of public monies," it said.

It said the decision to task an examining magistrate with the probe was taken "after concrete indications" that public money had been diverted via offshore companies with accounts in Singapore, Switzerland and Luxembourg.

The probe will focus on tracking down payments made after bond issues in May and October 2012, it said.

The small duchy of Luxembourg is home to a major financial services centre, with clients worldwide.

US authorities are reportedly looking into 1MDB-related fund flows, while Swiss, British, Singaporean and Hong Kong authorities also are scrutinising them.

Najib denies any wrongdoing, saying the corruption accusations are part of an unspecified political conspiracy against him.He has curbed investigations into the scandal and purged his ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) of critics, essentially shutting off internal party challenges.

His no-nonsense predecessor Mahatir Mohamad demanded last week that Najib return hundreds of millions of dollars that ended up in his personal bank accounts to the government.  AFP

KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 ― Umno would risk little if it decides to expel Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir as neither command enough support to create fissures within the party, according to political observers.

Such a move will also unlikely galvanise the Save Malaysia movement seeking to remove Datuk Seri Najib Razak as prime minister, as both men’s supporters were not wholly committed to the move spearheaded by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

According to Prof James Chin, Muhyiddin and Mukhirz had failed to display strength by not resisting their removals as deputy prime minister and Kedah mentri besar respectively, which communicated to Umno that both men were a “spent force”.

“In Malay political culture, you must fight to the death and kill your opponents and they did not do that. Najib did the political killings and emerged stronger as a result,” the University of Tasmania's Asia Institute director told Malay Mail Online.

Muhyiddin was suspended in late February as Umno deputy president and was last year dropped as deputy prime minister in a Cabinet reshuffle; Mukhriz was replaced by a fellow Umno member when he gave up his Kedah mentri besar post in February after losing majority support in the state assembly.

While the moves had been expected to create a rift within Umno, neither men opposed their removals at length, instead accepting the decisions before continuing to snipe away at the party leadership with veiled remarks to dwindling audiences.Both men attended the so-called People’s Congress last Sunday despite Umno warning its members not to participate in the event, and could face expulsion from the party for defying the order issued by secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor.

Although such a move will cause some fallout within the party, Assoc Prof Faisal Hazis said there will be “minimal impact” to Umno as both politicians are not the type of leaders who can rally many people to support them.

“Plus, Najib has a strong grip over majority of the division chiefs, supreme council members and the party warlords. Having said that, their sacking might destabilise Umno Kedah and Johor because they have many followers in the two states respectively,” the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia academic said.

As for the Save Malaysia movement, Faisal believed there will be little benefit to it as Muhyiddin and Mukhriz's supporters within Umno are already divided over the duo's participation in the campaign seeking the prime minister's resignation.

The campaign polarised support from within Umno with the inclusion of opposition parties, most notably DAP that the Malay nationalist party currently views as its main and irreconcilable political rival.

“Their loyalists would have joined them in the movement while the rest would refrain from doing so. And I don't think they have many loyalists,” he said, noting that there was no widespread protest across the country when they were removed from their government positions.

Centre for Policy Initiatives director Dr Lim Teck Ghee similarly noted that while the pro-Muhyiddin and pro-Mukhriz factions have considerable support within Johor and Kedah as well as some backing in other states, Umno will not be split into rival camps if the two are sacked.But he said that expelling the two leaders for their criticism of the Umno leadership’s handling of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd could alienate neutrals in the party who viewed the current crisis as stemming from Najib and not the two sidelined leaders.

Lim believed that expelling the duo was certain to boost the Save Malaysia movement and may even help it gain traction within rural communities.

“Whether this can give the movement the momentum it needs depends on the resources and work put in. But the issue is certainly out there to be exploited,” he said.

For Chin, while the possible expulsion of the duo might provide fresh impetus for Save Malaysia, the movement was fundamentally flawed as it was a vehicle for Dr Mahathir to use the opposition in his bid to remove Najib but keep Umno in power.

He said the campaign will ultimately fail when it becomes apparent to its participants that while they were united in seeking the prime minister’s resignation, their goals beyond that did not align. MMALAY  MAIL ONLINE

Russia is running a "shadow government" in rebel-held territories of eastern Ukraine under the control of the FSB intelligence service, German daily Bild reported Wednesday, citing minutes from an official commission.

The report said that basic administrative functions of the cities of Donetsk and Lugansk are being run by six working groups at five Russian ministries.

The officials, who manage areas including tax law, transport infrastructure and the establishment of an electricity market, work under the auspices of the FSB and answer to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, according to the minutes cited in Bild."It is notable that no members of the self-declared people's republics in eastern Ukraine are on the commission," Bild said.

"They are simply informed about its findings and their political implementation."

The minutes derive from an October 2015 meeting of the so-called Interministerial Commission for the Provision of Humanitarian Aid for the Affected Areas of the Southeast of the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions.

Bild quoted an unnamed secret services agent as saying that the commission's work allowed the separatist regions to function as a Russian "satellite state".

Eastern Ukraine has been gripped for nearly two years in a war between government forces and pro-Moscow separatists.

Russia has repeatedly denied allegations that it has active forces in the war zone or exercises direct influence over the territories, saying it only provides humanitarian aid there.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Will they or won't they? Mostly, they won't.

The three Republican presidential candidates aren't committing to supporting whomever the party chooses as its standard-bearer in the fall campaign. That could make for a messy and fractured GOP nominating convention in July.

Early in the campaign Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich indicated they would support the eventual nominee. The three were asked about that again Tuesday night in town hall appearances in Milwaukee hosted by CNN.

Trump said he was rescinding his promise because "I have been treated very unfairly." He listed the Republican National Committee, the Republican Party and party establishment among those he believes have wronged him. On ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, Trump said, "I only want the people to support me. ...I will take my chances with the people."

"I'm not in the habit of supporting someone who attacks my wife and children," Cruz said, referring to Trump's jabs at his wife, Heidi. Cruz said if Trump were the nominee that would hand the election to Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Kasich said that "if the nominee is somebody that I think is really hurting the country and dividing the country, I can't stand behind them." But he said he would wait and see how events unfold.

The candidates were in Wisconsin ahead of the state's primary next week.AP

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta's city council is expected to consider a plan for Uber and other ride-booking services to operate at the airport under certain conditions.

The airport's proposed new rules for Uber, Lyft and other ride-booking firms go before the city council's transportation committee Wednesday.

Officials at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — the world's busiest airport — have said they want drivers to undergo criminal background checks based on fingerprints, a method preferred by many law enforcement experts.

Uber has objected to the fingerprint checks, saying its own background checks work well, and the fingerprint-based checks would be overly cumbersome for its driverThe airport's plan also covers proposed fees the airport would receive from ride-booking firms, when drivers can pick up passengers and where they would be able to do so.AP

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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview published Wednesday that the transitional government of his war-torn country should include both the regime and the opposition.

Assad told Russia's RIA Novosti state news agency in comments translated into Russian that it would be "logical for there to be independent forces, opposition forces and forces loyal to the government represented there".

UN-mediated talks involving Damascus and the opposition paused last week with the sides still deadlocked over Assad's fate, whom the opposition insists must leave power before a transitional government is agreed.

Western officials fear the Syrian opposition will drop out of the peace talks in Geneva entirely unless Russia's ally Assad agrees to step down.

In the interview, Assad did not touch on his own future, saying only that the makeup of the transitional government should be agreed upon at the negotiations in Switzerland.

"There are many questions that need to be discussed in Geneva, but there are not difficult questions," Assad said. "I don't consider them difficult, they can all be resolved."

The West and Russia say they are pushing for a transitional government to be set up and a draft constitution established by August according to a plan agreed by world powers last year.

Assad said a preliminary draft version of the constitution could be drawn up "within a few weeks", but insisted that the country would only adopt a new constitution "after the Syrian people vote on it".

Assad rejected the prospect of Syria becoming a federal state -- an option the Kurds have pushed for -- saying the country was too "small" for such a political structure.

"From a sociological point of view, there must be components of society that may not be able live with one another for there to be a federation," Assad said. "There is none of this in Syrian history."

"The majority of Kurds want to live in a united Syria, within the framework of centralised power in political terms, and not in a federal structure," he said.

Syria's Kurds earlier this month declared a federal region across the several provinces they control, in a move aimed at boosting autonomy but which risks further complicating the talks.

The federalism declaration was broadly rejected by those negotiating in Geneva, including Damascus and the UN's Syria envoy, who branded it as possibly "dangerous."AFP

A series of blunders by Belgium's security and intelligence agencies have come to light since the attacks that killed 32 and wounded hundreds last week. It has also exposed weaknesses in communication between intelligence agencies across Europe.

For the Dutch, it is the second mistake in as many days by Interior Minister Ard van der Steur, who was forced on Tuesday to send a correction of his first letter addressed to parliament about the intelligence received on Ibrahim and Khalid El Bakraoui.

In another missive on Wednesday, van der Steur wrote that contrary to what he had said on Tuesday, it was not the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that had warned that two brothers were being sought by Belgian authorities.

The information actually came from the New York Police Department's Intelligence Division and was forwarded by the Dutch embassy liaison in Washington, the minister wrote.

U.S. investigators are helping their European partners unravel the network behind the attacks.

But legislators are demanding to know why Dutch agencies did not act on U.S. intelligence received on March 16 that Ibrahim was sought by the Belgian authorities for "his criminal background", while Khalid was wanted for "terrorism, extremism and recruitment".

Ibrahim was not on international wanted lists when he was put on a flight from Turkey to Amsterdam on July 14, 2015 and disappeared, the minister said on Tuesday.

He was violating conditions of parole in Belgium and avoided potential arrest by requesting that Turkey deport him to the closest neighbouring country, the Netherlands, rather than being sent home. Khalid had been missing since October.

The Brussels attacks, claimed by Islamic State, were carried out by the same network as the Paris attacks in November, in which 131 people died.

Van der Steur said during a parliamentary debate on Tuesday night that the Netherlands had "done all that could have been done" with the information it received.

Belgian federal police denied the minister's assertion that their Dutch counterparts had shared U.S. intelligence about the brothers at a meeting on March 17.

Four men were detained in Rotterdam over the weekend. The main suspect, identified as 32-year-old Frenchman Anis B., wanted by France for allegedly helping prepare an attack that was never carried out, is resisting extradition - a legal process expected to take around three months.

Two others, described as "having an Algerian background", are also being held on terror charges. A fourth has been released without charge.  REUTERS