Putin defends missiles to Iran ... Israel marks Holocaust memorial day ... Some criticize Kansas' welfare reform

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is defending his approval of the delivery of a missile defense system to Iran. Putin tells a televised call-in show today that Iran has made progress in international negotiations to reach an agreement to curb its nuclear program. Putin also says the missile system is a defensive weapon that he says shouldn't pose any threat to Israel.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel stood still for two minutes today in remembrance of the 6 million Jews killed in the Nazi Holocaust during World War II. As sirens pierced the air, cars and buses pulled over on the side of highways and roads. Motorists stepped out of their vehicles and pedestrians stopped in their tracks, bowing their heads as they remembered those who perished. Ceremonies are being held around the country.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia says it plans to double the search area for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 if nothing turns up by May. The plane, carrying 239 people, disappeared March 8 last year, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Teams have so far searched about 60 percent of a 23,000-square-mile area in the Indian Ocean for the plane.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The president and CEO of the advocacy group Kansas Action for Children says a change in how poor Kansans can spend their welfare benefits "feels mean-spirited." Shannon Cotsoradis says, "It really seems to make a statement about how we feel about the poor." Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback plans to sign into law today a list of don'ts for recipients of cash assistance. The money can't be used on things such as concerts, tattoos, lingerie, tobacco products, liquor and body piercing.

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A man indicted in the U.S. for allegedly smuggling heroin has been elected a senator in Nigeria. Despite a U.S. extradition order, Buruji Kashamu returned home in 2003 from Britain to become a major financier of President Goodluck Jonathan's party. A dozen co-conspirators already have been tried and jailed in the 1998 U.S. court case, including Piper Kerman, whose memoir about her prison time became the Netflix TV hit "Orange Is The New Black."

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