Jerusalem (AFP) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's main challenger in March 17 elections, the centre-left Zionist Union, unveiled its platform Sunday with an emphasis on ending Israel's "diplomatic isolation".

Its two planks for the legislative polls are "to end the diplomatic isolation of Israel" and halt the rising cost of living, the alliance between the Labour party of Yitzhak Herzog and Tzipi Livni's centrist HaTnuah said in a statement.

The Zionist Union said it would rely on Arab League support for a meaningful resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians that ground to a halt in 2013.

It proposes "demilitarisation of the Palestinian state", major Jewish settlement blocs in the West Bank to stay under Israeli sovereignty, Jerusalem to remain "the eternal capital of the Jewish people", and increased economic cooperation with the Palestinians.

Herzog and Livni also called for a restoration of warm ties with the United States, Israel's key ally but with whom ties have frayed over Iran's nuclear programme.

On the socio-economic front, the Zionist Union would increase the education and health budgets and create a housing committee to cap rent rises.

Herzog, at a news conference, charged that Netanyahu's rightwing Likud bloc lacked vision and policies for the future.

"Israel needs a leader who doesn't just insist on what causes fear. Israel needs a leader who brings a vision," said Livni, who is supporting Herzog's challenge for the prime minister's job.

Opinion polls show Likud and the Zionist Union running almost neck-and-neck.

But political analysts say Netanyahu is better placed to form a parliamentary majority with support from ultra-nationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties, or the two main blocs could form a unity government in case of a dead heat.

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Wisconsin Police Officer Kills Unarmed Man, Sparking Protests

By Ben Brewer

MADISON, Wi. (Reuters) - Activists protested for a third day in Madison, Wisconsin, on Sunday over the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white policeman, the latest in a string of killings that have intensified concerns of racial bias in U.S. law enforcement.

More than 100 people angry over the death of Tony Robinson Jr. marched through the streets of Madison toward the capital building on Sunday evening, carrying signs, beating drums and chanting "The people united will never be defeated."

Earlier scores of people who took part in a sign-making event designed to involve children in the civil action rallied outside the apartment home where Robinson died.

Robinson, 19, was shot in Madison, Wisconsin's capital, on Friday evening after Officer Matt Kenny responded to calls about a man dodging cars in traffic who had allegedly battered another person, Police Chief Mike Koval said.

Kenny, 45, followed the suspect into an apartment, where the officer was struck in the head, according to Koval. Kenny then shot the unarmed teen, who died later in a local hospital.

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A makeshift memorial pays tribute to a 19-year-old black man killed by police, in front of a home co …

Last year, the deaths of unarmed black men in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City triggered a wave of demonstrations against the use of excessive force by law enforcement officers.

Kenny is on paid administrative leave while the Wisconsin Department of Justice conducts an investigation.

In a statement on the city's website, Madison Mayor Paul Soglin called the shooting "a tragedy beyond description" and said the city would be transparent in communicating results of an investigation into the shooting.

He noted that the incident occurred on the same weekend as the 50th anniversary of the "Bloody Sunday" march in Selma, Alabama, a turning-point in the U.S. civil rights movement. Kenny, a 12-year veteran of the Madison Police Department, was exonerated in a police shooting in 2007 and even earned a commendation in the incident, Koval said.

According to media reports, a 48-year-old man in that instance was shot to death after he pointed a gun at officers and refused to drop his weapon. The weapon was later determined to be a replica of a .38-caliber handgun.

Wisconsin court records show that Robinson pleaded guilty to armed robbery last year and received a probated six-month sentence. Koval declined to comment on Robinson's record.

(Additonal reporting by Karen Brooks and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Alan Crosby, Eric Walsh, Leslie Adler and Alan Raybould)

Forces from Niger and Chad have launched a ground and air offensive against militant group Boko Haram in north-eastern Nigeria, officials say.

The campaign is said to be targeting militants in Borno state.

It came as Nigerian officials dismissed Boko Haram's pledge of allegiance to Islamic State as a reaction to military pressure from Nigeria and its allies.

The pledge was posted online on Saturday in an audio message by Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau.

He called on Muslims everywhere to swear loyalty to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Boko Haram has been fighting an insurgency to create an Islamic state in northern Nigeria since 2009, and in recent months the violence has increasingly spilled over into neighbouring states.

Chad, Cameroon and Niger have already been helping Nigeria in its battle against Boko Haram.

On Friday, the African Union endorsed the creation of a regional force of more than 8,000 troops to combat the group. However, the force's remit will be limited to securing the Nigerian side of Lake Chad, rather than pushing further into Nigeria.

As the latest offensive began early on Sunday, a resident and an aid worker told AFP news agency there had been heavy arms fire close to Niger's border with Nigeria.

A local radio station said that a convoy of more than 200 vehicles was moving towards the area, and that air strikes had been carried out on Saturday and early on Sunday.

The Nigerian military and troops from neighbouring states have recently claimed some success in their campaign against Boko Haram, and Nigerian officials said the pledge of allegiance to IS was a sign of weakness

Army spokesman Col Sami Usman Kukasheka said the Boko Haram leader was like a "drowning man".

"There is no surprise that he is craving for support from fellow terrorists across the world," he told the BBC World Service.

"Basically he's just trying to create panic to create a plea for help that will not even come because very soon we will see to the end of the insurgency in Nigeria."

Boko Haram at a glance

Founded in 2002, initially focused on opposing Western-style education - Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language

• Launched military operations in 2009 to create Islamic state
• Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria - has also attacked police and UN headquarters in capital, Abuja
• Abducted hundreds, including at least 200 schoolgirls
• Controls several north-eastern towns
• Launched attacks on neighbouring states

A spokesman for the Nigerian government, Mike Omeri, said Boko Haram needed help "as a result of the heavy casualties and bombardment and degrading of their capacity".

However, militants have continued to launch deadly attacks. On Saturday Boko Haram was blamed for a series of attacks in its former stronghold of Maiduguri, including suicide bombings, that left more than 50 people dead.

Nigeria postponed national elections by six weeks until 28 March in order to have more time to try to improve security in the north.

Col Kukasheka called on Nigerians "to be more security conscious because given the onslaught on Boko Haram definitely they are bound to spring surprises".

IS took control of large swathes of territory in eastern Syria and across northern and western Iraq last year.

It has forged links with other militant groups across North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and in January, militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan pledged their allegiance.

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West Hollywood furniture store website hacked by group claiming to be ISIS

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The FBI is investigating a string of hacks that defaced US websites with imagery from the Islamic St …

Washington (AFP) - The FBI is investigating a string of hacks that defaced US websites with imagery from the Islamic State jihadist group, NBC News reported on Monday.

Websites including a racecar speedway in the state of Ohio, a Goodwill center in Missouri and a church in Canada were defaced with the radical group's black flag, the news organization reported.

Attacks against similar low-profile websites were also recorded in Montana, New York, Massachusetts and Minnesota.

The FBI said it was aware of the incidents and "is contacting the impacted parties." A security analyst told NBC it was unlikely the hacks had any "real connection" to the Islamic State group.

The IS-themed hacks were on Sunday reported in Ireland, where the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre in Ireland's website was defaced.

"Hacked by Islamic State (ISIS) We Are Everywhere," the hacked website said while playing music associated with the group.

IS has relied on an aggressive propaganda campaign online to appeal to possible recruits to join and support the violent Islamists in Iraq and Syria.

Moscow (AFP) - A Russian court on Sunday charged two men with the murder of opposition activist Boris Nemtsov, including a former police officer from Chechnya who confessed to his involvement in what investigators said was a contract killing.

Four others denied any connection to the killing of Nemtsov, who was shot four times in the back on February 27 while walking with his girlfriend along a bridge near the Kremlin in a brazen assassination that has sent shivers through the country's opposition.

Interfax news agency quoted a law enforcement source as saying that a sixth suspect threw a grenade at police who came to arrest him in the Chechen capital Grozny and killed himself with another grenade Saturday.

In Moscow, heavily armed masked police marched the five handcuffed suspects through hallways packed with journalists and into two separate courtrooms where they were ordered to be held for around two months pending the investigation.

According to documents read out in court, the accused are charged under a section of the Russian criminal code relating to murders carried out for financial gain, Interfax reported.

The charges also involve extortion and banditry. Investigators said they were still seeking others who may have been involved.

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Russia's opposition supporters carry portraits of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov during a march in …

However, as in a string of other killings of Russian opposition figures, officials have yet to shed light on who might have ordered the late-night murder of the 55-year-old Nemtsov, a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin.

Zaur Dadayev, a decorated former deputy commander in a Chechen police unit born in 1982, and Anzor Gubashev, 31, who worked for a private security company in Moscow, were arrested on Saturday in Ingushetia, which neighbours Chechnya.

They were both charged with murder but Gubashev denied involvement.

"The participation of Dadayev is confirmed by his confession," said presiding judge Nataliya Mushnikova, according to state news agencies.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said he was baffled by the arrest.

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Suspect Tamerlan Eskerkhanov, detained over the killing of Russian opposition activist Boris Nemtsov …

"I knew Zaur Dadayev as a true Russian patriot... He was one of the bravest and worthiest soldiers of his regiment," Kadyrov said on Instagram.

Court spokeswoman Anna Fadeyeva told the RIA Novosti news agency that the other three men were still only suspects at this stage.

They are Gubashev's younger brother Shagid, Ramzat Bakhayev, 45, and Tamerlan Eskerkhanov, 34.

The men are all from the volatile northern Caucasus region where Russia has fought two devastating wars against Chechen separatists and where security forces continue to clash with Islamist insurgents.

"The suspects denied their involvement in this crime but investigators have proof of their involvement," a representative for the probe told the court.

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Russia's opposition supporters carry a banner bearing a portrait of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov …

- Russia 'crossed the line' -

However no information emerged as to the possible motive behind the killing of the former prime minister turned charismatic opposition leader who was one of the last outspoken opponents to Putin.

Nemtsov's allies believe his assassination was a hit ordered by the top levels of government determined to silence dissenters. The allegation has been strenuously denied.

The murder in one of the most heavily policed parts of the Russian capital sent shockwaves through an opposition that has seen several Kremlin critics killed in recent years and that accuses Putin of steadily suppressing independent media and opposition parties.

Nemtsov's daughter Zhanna Nemtsova, in an interview with CNN from Germany, said the murder was obviously "politically motivated".

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A woman places flowers on February 28, 2015 at the spot, where Russian opposition leader Boris Nemts …

"I think that now Russia has crossed the line after this murder, and people will be frightened to express their ideas which contradict... the official standpoint."

Her comments echo those heard from Kremlin critics such as Alexei Navalny, who accused "the country's political leadership" of ordering a hit on Nemtsov.

Nemtsov, who had long complained of being followed and having his phone tapped, had spoken of his fear of being killed.

Putin has described Nemtsov's killing as a tragedy that brought disgrace on Russia and vowed that everything would be done to bring to justice those who committed a "vile and cynical murder".

- 'Fifth column' -

Many Russians say that even if Putin was not directly involved he is still to blame for whipping up hatred against the opposition by regularly referring to them as a "fifth column" of traitors and spies -- a message spread daily by all-powerful state media.

He first used the term "fifth columnist" -- which originated during the Spanish Civil War and refers to subversive sympathisers with an outside enemy -- after he ordered the annexation of Crimea in Ukraine last year, plunging relations with the West to lows not seen since the Cold War.

Investigators have suggested Nemtsov's killers wanted to destabilise Russia while Kremlin-loyal politicians have referred to a Western plot.

Investigators say they are also probing the possibility he was assassinated for criticising Russia's role in the Ukraine conflict or for his condemnation of the deadly January attack by Islamist gunmen on the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris.

At the time of his death, Nemtsov was believed to be working on a study documenting the secret deployment of Russian troops in Ukraine, something the Kremlin denies doing.