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10A Daily News – Saturday, March 10, 2012 WORLD BRIEFING Romney's Super Tuesday victories elicit a big yawn WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitt Rom- ney's Super Tuesday victories elicited a col- lective yawn from his party's superdele- gates. Since Tuesday's voting, Romney has added only a single endorsement to his total among members of the Republican Nation- al Committee, the party leaders who auto- matically attend the national convention this summer. They can support any candidate they choose, so they can play an important role at the convention. Some of the undecided superdelegates say they expect the former Massachusetts governor to be the eventual nominee but, like many Republican voters, they're not quite ready to embrace him. ''Right now I am comfortable with this going a bit longer,'' said Jeff Johnson, a national committee member from Minneso- ta. In fact, Johnson has endorsed former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and he said he was ''hanging tight for now.'' But, he acknowledged, ''There may be a point where it seems all but impossible for him to win.'' Obama calls jobs report proof of economic rebound PRINCE GEORGE, Va. (AP) — Presi- dent Barack Obama applauded another burst of job growth Friday as proof the economy is rebounding on his watch from a disastrous recession. Bidding for re-elec- tion, Obama warned factory workers and campaign donors that Republicans would offer only the policies ''that got us into this mess.'' ''I did not run for this office just to get back to where we were. I ran for this office to get us where we needed to be,'' Obama told 1,400 people at a rally-style event in a sprawling Rolls-Royce manufacturing plant south of Richmond, Va. ''And I promise you, we will get there.'' The new monthly jobs report — a barometer of the economy and an important factor in the coming presidential race — showed employers created 227,000 jobs in February. The unemployment rate held steady at 8.3 percent, the result of more Americans looking for work as job growth takes hold month by month. The president cautioned that too many Americans still long for work. But on the factory floor here, he said the manufacturer of jet-engine parts was a symbol of what American companies can accomplish. ''When I come to places like this, and I see the work that's being done, it gives me confidence there are better days ahead,'' Obama said. ''The key now is to keep this economic engine churning. We can't go back to the policies that got us into this mess.'' Syrian opposition rejects international calls for dialogue BEIRUT (AP) — A high-profile interna- tional mission to end the Syrian crisis stum- bled Friday before it began as the opposition rejected calls by U.N. envoy Kofi Annan for dialogue with President Bashar Assad as pointless and out of touch after a year of violence. The dispute exposes the widening gap between opposition leaders who say only military aid can stop Assad's regime, and Western powers who fear more weapons will exacerbate the conflict. As the prospects for diplomacy faltered, Turkey reported the defections of three high-ranking military officers — two gener- als and a colonel — as well as two sergeants, a significant development because until now most army defectors have been low-level conscripts. A deputy oil March 12th -22nd up to $800 Instant Cash Discounts available on high efficiency heating & air conditioning systems 2526 Sister Mary Columba Drive Red Bluff, 96080 (530) 529-1888 3330 Churn Creek Road #D5 Redding, CA 96002 (530) 221-7380 110 Chestnut Street Mount Shasta, CA 96067 (530) 926-4900 Instant cash discount ends April 30th 2012 Financing available O.A.C. Some restrictions apply. See dealer for details replacement systems only. No new construction 527-5828 Cal. Lic. #233456 minister also deserted Assad's regime this week, making him the highest-ranking civilian official to join the opposition. The White House welcomed the report- ed defections as a sign the regime is crack- ing from within and that Assad will eventu- ally fall. Western and Arab powers are backing Annan's two-day trip to Syria, starting Sat- urday, when he is to meet with Assad. The former U.N. secretary-general — now a special U.N.-Arab League envoy for Syria — has said he seeks to start a ''political process'' to end the crisis and warned against further militarization of a conflict that appears headed toward civil war. Israeli airstrike kills Gaza commander GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Friday killed the commander of the militant group behind the abduction of Gilad Schalit, an Israeli soldier who was held captive for more than five years and freed in a prison- er swap for more than 1,000 Palestinians. The midday attack marked the highest profile Israeli strike against the coastal strip in several months and immediately sparked retaliatory rocket attacks toward Israel — raising the specter of a violent escalation after a period of relative calm. The Israeli military said it targeted Zuhair al-Qaissi, the commander of the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committee, a large militant group close- ly aligned with Gaza's Hamas rulers. The explosion tore apart al-Qaissi's blue sedan and killed his son-in-law, Mah- moud Hanini — himself a top PRC field commander.