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Saturday, February 25, 2012 8:30 PM PST

Today's Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Death toll mounts as Syria holds referendum Analysis: Kingfisher's nosedive poses dilemma for India Global politics loom over Oscar foreign film event 2nd New York state judge upholds fracking ban in towns Two killed in blaze at Brazil Antarctica base Senegalese to vote in test of nation's stability World Bank top job should be open to all: South Africa's Gordhan Georgia on his mind, Gingrich fights in own backyard "Bad" cocaine killed American TV producer in Uganda U.S. democracy activists to go on trial in Egypt BRICS call for open selection of next World Bank chief U.S., Egypt seek to resolve NGO dispute within days SEC probes exchanges and electronic trading firms ties Libya and France boost military cooperation As violence rages, Syria holds referendum Obama welcomes new Yemen leader, pushes for reform, election American officers killed in Afghan Interior Ministry Obama backs NATO security steps after deadly Afghan attack Spanish treasure lands after 200 years Two missing after fire at Brazil Antarctica base Pakistan begins demolishing bin Laden house: police Iran uranium "discrepancy" still unresolved: IAEA Taliban militants say they shot down U.S. drone US urges Afghanistan to protect NATO forces Clinton urges Tunisians to protect new freedoms Romney, Santorum battle for support in tight Michigan Under Zeus' gaze, austerity-hit Greeks queue for potatoes Al Qaeda kill 26 as new Yemeni leader is sworn in Syria condemns meeting with opposition in Tunis Italy's Berlusconi bribery trial ends with no verdict Libya urges neighbors to hand over Gaddafi supporters Greece launches long-awaited debt offer German minister first in govt call for Greece euro exit Taliban didn't shoot down drone in Pakistan: US official Zimbabwe's Mugabe says ready for polls, slams violence US top court to hear corporate human rights case Mandela in hospital, expected to go home soon Mandela in hospital, expected to go home soon Al Shabaab says extends reach into Somalia's Puntland Al Shabaab says extends reach into Somalia's Puntland Death toll mounts as Syria holds referendum Sat,25 Feb 2012 07:01 PM PST Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian government kept up its onslaught on Homs and other towns, with at least 100 killed according to human rights campaigners, as the country prepared to hold a referendum on Sunday on a new constitution. "No one is going to vote," activist Omar, speaking by Skype from the rebel-held Baba Amro district of Homs, said in advance of the referendum staged by President Bashar al-Assad's government. "This was a constitution made to Bashar's tastes and meanwhile we are getting shelled and killed," he added. ... Full Story Top Analysis: Kingfisher's nosedive poses dilemma for India Sat,25 Feb 2012 06:18 PM PST Reuters - NEW DELHI (Reuters) - As Kingfisher Airlines careens toward collapse, the Indian government finds itself between a rock and a hard place. The government, already weakened by a string of corruption scandals over the past year, will face further political heat if it tries to rescue a money-losing private carrier - especially one owned by a flamboyant liquor baron. If it lets Vijay Mallya's airline fail, however, the government will hurt state-run banks, which own about a fifth of Kingfisher's shares and three-quarters of its $1.3 billion debt. ... Full Story Top Global politics loom over Oscar foreign film event Sat,25 Feb 2012 06:11 PM PST Reuters - BEVERLY HILLS, California (Reuters) - Nominees for the best foreign language film Oscar gathered on Saturday for an annual symposium to discuss their films, but a cloud of global politics loomed over the event in which Iranian and Israeli filmmakers both took part. One day earlier in Los Angeles, Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, whose divorce drama "A Separation" is an Oscar nominee, missed an award-related event saying he was ill, prompting reports in the Israeli media that he might be avoiding them and the director of Israel's nominee, "Footnote. ... Full Story Top 2nd New York state judge upholds fracking ban in towns Sat,25 Feb 2012 04:39 PM PST Reuters - ALBANY, New York (Reuters) - A New York state judge on Friday upheld an upstate community's ban on gas drilling, marking the second victory this week for opponents of the drilling method known as fracking. The authority vested in towns and cities in New York to regulate use of their land extends to prohibitions on drilling, acting state Supreme Court Justice Donald Cerio ruled on Friday, dismissing arguments by a landowner who had already sold leases on almost 400 acres. "Municipalities are not preempted ... ... Full Story Top Two killed in blaze at Brazil Antarctica base Sat,25 Feb 2012 04:03 PM PST Reuters - BRASILIA (Reuters) - A fire broke out at Brazil's research station in Antarctica on Saturday, killing two navy personnel and forcing the evacuation by helicopter of about 40 other people, the government said. A third navy member was injured but stable after the fire, which broke out in a building housing power generators at the Comandante Ferraz base, the navy said in a statement. It said those evacuated had been flown to Chile's Antarctica station. ... Full Story Top Senegalese to vote in test of nation's stability Sat,25 Feb 2012 03:57 PM PST Reuters - DAKAR (Reuters) - Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade faces re-election on Sunday, having defied opposition efforts to block him from standing and warnings that his candidacy risked destabilizing the usually tranquil West African state. Overshadowing voting is a row over whether the octogenarian leader should be able to run for a third term. It has sparked violent street protests and a stream of warnings that Senegal's reputation as an established democracy now hangs in the balance. ... Full Story Top World Bank top job should be open to all: South Africa's Gordhan Sat,25 Feb 2012 03:52 PM PST Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The tradition of automatically giving the World Bank presidency to an American is outdated, although the country should be free to put forward a candidate, South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 meeting. "The World Bank presidency should be open to all nationalities and based on merit," Gordhan told Reuters. "It is time we break the traditions of the U.S. and Europe sharing the two seats (for the heads of the IMF and World Bank) and amongst all of us we must try harder this time to find some consensus. ... Full Story Top Georgia on his mind, Gingrich fights in own backyard Sat,25 Feb 2012 03:43 PM PST Reuters - ATLANTA (Reuters) - Only a month ago, Newt Gingrich was atop the Republican presidential race. Now he is in a fight for a win even in his home state of Georgia as his campaign stakes its future on the Super Tuesday primaries. Two polls out of three in recent days show Gingrich running a close race in the state with either Mitt Romney or Rick Santorum, who is making inroads with the large number of evangelical Republicans in Georgia. But he will take hope that one of those polls gave him a healthy lead of 13 percentage points over Santorum and 19 over Romney. ... Full Story Top "Bad" cocaine killed American TV producer in Uganda Sat,25 Feb 2012 03:22 PM PST Reuters - KAMPALA (Reuters) - An American television producer found dead on a hotel balcony in Uganda last week died after taking contaminated cocaine, police and a private investigator said on Saturday. An official toxicology report confirmed the narcotic was in Jeff Rice's blood, dispelling initial suspicions the father-of-two known for his work on the U.S. show "The Amazing Race," had been poisoned by attackers. Rice, who was found slumped over a table bleeding through the nose and mouth, died of asphyxiation, a post mortem showed. Drug users who fall unconscious risk inhaling vomit. "Rice ... ... Full Story Top U.S. democracy activists to go on trial in Egypt Sat,25 Feb 2012 03:15 PM PST Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Dozens of democracy activists including 16 Americans go on trial in Egypt Sunday in a politically charged case which has set off a crisis in relations between Cairo and Washington and threatened $1.3 billion in annual U.S. military aid. Forty-three foreign and Egyptian non-profit workers - including the son of the U.S. transportation secretary - are accused of receiving illegal funds from abroad and carrying out political activities unrelated to their civil society work. A senior U.S. ... Full Story Top BRICS call for open selection of next World Bank chief Sat,25 Feb 2012 03:12 PM PST Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A meeting of BRICS major emerging countries discussed the selection process of the next head of the World Bank and emphasized it should be open to all countries, rejecting the tradition that the job automatically goes to an American, a senior BRIC official said on Saturday. The official, speaking after a meeting of the BRICS - Russia, South Africa, Brazil, India and China - said the United States had not circulated the name of its proposed candidate for the World Bank. ... Full Story Top U.S., Egypt seek to resolve NGO dispute within days Sat,25 Feb 2012 03:10 PM PST Reuters - RABAT (Reuters) - The United States and Egypt are holding intense talks to try to resolve within days the case of democracy activists who have been barred from leaving the country, a senior U.S. official said on Saturday. "We are in intense discussions with the government of Egypt to try to resolve the situation with the NGOs within days," said the senior U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity. (Reporting by Arshad Mohammed, Writing by Maria Golovnina) Full Story Top SEC probes exchanges and electronic trading firms ties Sat,25 Feb 2012 03:08 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a probe into the ties between stock exchanges and certain electronic trading firms, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter. BATS Global Markets Inc, a U.S. exchange operator that is planning an initial public offering, said in a government filing cited by the Journal that it got a request from the U.S. regulator's enforcement division for information on the use of order types and its communications with certain market participants. ... Full Story Top Libya and France boost military cooperation Sat,25 Feb 2012 02:43 PM PST Reuters - TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya and France have agreed to look into boosting maritime security and controlling the North African country's borders, their defense ministers said on Saturday. On a visit to Tripoli, French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet met his Libyan counterpart Osama al-Juwali to discuss the issues and sign a letter of intent to boost cooperation. Foreign states are worried about the Libyan interim government's capacity to secure its Mediterranean coast, which could be used as a gateway into Europe for arms traffickers, al Qaeda insurgents and illegal migrants. ... Full Story Top As violence rages, Syria holds referendum Sat,25 Feb 2012 02:39 PM PST Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria holds a referendum on Sunday on a new constitution, dismissed by the opposition as a charade amid an intensifying crackdown on the 11-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. Forces loyal to Assad took the bombardment of rebel-held areas in Homs into a fourth week. Activists say hundreds of people have died in the violence in the central city. "No one is going to vote. This was a constitution made to Bashar's tastes and meanwhile we are getting shelled and killed," said activist Omar, speaking by Skype from the rebel-held Baba Amro district of Homs. ... Full Story Top Obama welcomes new Yemen leader, pushes for reform, election Sat,25 Feb 2012 01:56 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama told Yemen's new president on Saturday the United States would be a steadfast partner and urged him to follow through on promises for a broad national dialogue, political reforms and elections by 2014. "I told President (Abd-Rabbu Mansour) Hadi that the United States will stand with the people of Yemen as they continue their efforts to forge a brighter future for their country," Obama said in a statement. ... Full Story Top American officers killed in Afghan Interior Ministry Sat,25 Feb 2012 01:52 PM PST Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - Two American officers were shot dead at close range in Afghanistan's Interior Ministry on Saturday, a U.S. official said, as rage gripped the country for a fifth day over the burning of the Muslim holy book at a NATO base. NATO recalled all staff working at ministries in the Afghan capital, Kabul, following the attack, with its top commander in Afghanistan calling the killer a coward. ... Full Story Top Obama backs NATO security steps after deadly Afghan attack Sat,25 Feb 2012 01:41 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Saturday backed steps by NATO's commander in Afghanistan to protect U.S. service members there after the killing of two U.S. officers in the Interior Ministry, and welcomed President Hamid Karzai's call for calm, the White House said. Obama spoke to U.S. General John Allen after NATO withdrew all staff working in Afghan ministries following the attack, which came amid violent protests against the burning of copies of the Koran at a NATO military base near Kabul. ... Full Story Top Spanish treasure lands after 200 years Sat,25 Feb 2012 12:34 PM PST Reuters - MADRID (Reuters) - Coins worth nearly half a billion dollars finally arrived in Spain on Saturday after lying in a sunken warship for more than 200 years and following a five-year legal battle between the Spanish government and a salvage company. The Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, a 49-gun navy frigate, set sail from the coast of Peru - then a colony of Spain - with coins to help replenish the Spanish treasury's coffers. In 1804, British warships attacked as the frigate was approaching the Spanish port of Cadiz and the ship went down, with 249 killed, a Spanish government website said. ... Full Story Top Two missing after fire at Brazil Antarctica base Sat,25 Feb 2012 12:12 PM PST Reuters - BRASILIA (Reuters) - A fire broke out at Brazil's research station in Antarctica on Saturday, leaving two navy personnel missing and forcing the evacuation by helicopter of roughly 40 other people. A third navy member was injured but stable after the fire, which broke out in a building housing power generators at the Comandante Ferraz base, the navy said in a statement. It said those evacuated had been flown to Chile's Antarctica station. Local newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo, quoting scientists stationed at the base, said two military personnel had been killed in the blaze. ... Full Story Top Pakistan begins demolishing bin Laden house: police Sat,25 Feb 2012 12:10 PM PST Reuters - PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani security forces on Saturday began demolishing the house where al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. special forces in Abbottabad last May, a senior police official in the town said. The boundary wall and upper portion of the building had already been destroyed by midnight, Karim Khan told Reuters, without giving further details or saying why the compound was being demolished. (Writing by Chris Allbritton; Editing by Alison Williams) Full Story Top Iran uranium "discrepancy" still unresolved: IAEA Sat,25 Feb 2012 11:49 AM PST Reuters - VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has yet to give an explanation over a small quantity of uranium metal missing from a research site, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said in a report that voiced concern over possible military links to Tehran's nuclear program. The discrepancy found at the research site in the Iranian capital came to light after measurements by international inspectors last year failed to match the amount declared by the laboratory. Experts say the quantity of natural uranium not accounted for is too small to be used for a bomb, but that it could be relevant to weapons-linked tests. ... Full Story Top Taliban militants say they shot down U.S. drone Sat,25 Feb 2012 11:49 AM PST Reuters - PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A U.S. drone crashed on Saturday in North Waziristan, not far from the Afghan border, Pakistan intelligence officials said, while Taliban militants said they had shot it down. Taliban militants led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur said they had collected wreckage of the destroyed drone and would provide its pictures to the media on Sunday. "The drone today in Machikhel was flying at low altitude and our fighters fired at and shot it down," a local commander of the Taliban said. "We have trained people for such type of job. ... Full Story Top US urges Afghanistan to protect NATO forces Sat,25 Feb 2012 11:42 AM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called on the Afghan government on Saturday to take decisive action to protect NATO forces and curtail violence sweeping the country, after two American military officers were shot dead inside Afghanistan's interior ministry. The killings came as Afghanistan reels from a wave of bloody protests that have gripped the country for the past five days over the burning of copies of the Koran at a NATO base, an incident that NATO described as a tragic blunder. ... Full Story Top Clinton urges Tunisians to protect new freedoms Sat,25 Feb 2012 11:37 AM PST Reuters - SIDI BOU SAID, Tunisia (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Tunisians on Saturday to protect their newly won freedoms and called on Islamist and secular parties to work together in the country that inspired the Arab Spring. Addressing about 200 students, Clinton urged young people to use social media and other technologies that enabled popular revolts last year to hold their new rulers to account. "After a revolution, history shows it can go one of two ways. It can move in the direction you are now headed, building a strong, democratic country, or it can derail ... ... Full Story Top Romney, Santorum battle for support in tight Michigan Sat,25 Feb 2012 11:36 AM PST Reuters - TROY, Michigan (Reuters) - White House hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum battled over who was the most conservative Republican on Saturday and knocked President Barack Obama over soaring gasoline prices as the high-octane race in Michigan moved toward a still-uncertain finish. With three days to go before voting starts in the state where Romney grew up, the two top contenders worked to shore up local support in a bid to keep momentum as the unpredictable race for the Republican presidential nomination rounds the next bend. ... Full Story Top Under Zeus' gaze, austerity-hit Greeks queue for potatoes Sat,25 Feb 2012 11:27 AM PST Reuters - KATERINI, Greece (Reuters) - Struggling to cope with austerity, hundreds of Greeks in the town of Katerini at the foot of Mount Olympus have turned to a cheap way to do groceries: ordering potatoes on the Internet and picking them up in a parking lot. As dawn broke on a cloudless Saturday, buyers patiently gathered to buy directly from growers at less than half the supermarket shelf price - the unemployed who struggle to make ends meet, the retirees whose pensions have been cut by the cost-saving measures and even well-heeled lawyers and women in fur. ... Full Story Top Al Qaeda kill 26 as new Yemeni leader is sworn in Sat,25 Feb 2012 11:02 AM PST Reuters - SANAA/ADEN (Reuters) - A suicide bombing claimed by al Qaeda killed at least 26 people outside a presidential palace in southern Yemen on Saturday, hours after the newly-elected president was sworn in and said the battle against the Islamists was a "national duty." A car was driven at the gates of the building in the port city of Mukalla, Yemen's fourth-largest city, far from the capital Sanaa where Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was sworn in. Dozens were injured. ... Full Story Top Syria condemns meeting with opposition in Tunis Sat,25 Feb 2012 10:49 AM PST Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria condemned statements issued by participants at the "Friends of Syria" conference in Tunis, official state television said on Saturday, dubbing the gathering of the opposition and Western and Arab states as "the enemies of Syria" meeting. "Syria rejects all that was said and issued at the meeting for the enemies of Syria in Tunis," Syria TV reported in an urgent news break. "Syria deplores all voices calling for financing the armed groups which could lead to support for terrorism and hurt the interests of the Syrian people." (Reporting by Erika Solomon) Full Story Top Italy's Berlusconi bribery trial ends with no verdict Sat,25 Feb 2012 10:39 AM PST Reuters - MILAN (Reuters) - Italian judges on Saturday ended former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's trial on charges of bribing British lawyer David Mills, saying the statute of limitations had run out and a verdict could not be reached. The case surrounding Mills was one of the most prominent of the scandals involving Berlusconi, Italy's richest media entrepreneur as well as its dominant political figure of the past two decades. ... Full Story Top Libya urges neighbors to hand over Gaddafi supporters Sat,25 Feb 2012 10:38 AM PST Reuters - TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya urged its neighbors to hand over supporters of toppled leader Muammar Gaddafi who have fled the country, saying bilateral ties could be threatened if they did not cooperate. Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chairman of Libya's ruling National Transitional Council (NTC), named no specific countries but said Libya had spoken to Arab and African states about the matter. ... Full Story Top Greece launches long-awaited debt offer Sat,25 Feb 2012 10:03 AM PST Reuters - ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece formally launched a bond swap offer to private holders of its bonds on Friday, setting in motion the largest-ever sovereign debt restructuring in the hope of getting its messy finances back on track. The swap is part of a second, 130-billion-euro rescue package to claw Greece back from the brink of a disorderly default that had threatened to send shockwaves through the financial system and punish other weak euro zone members. ... Full Story Top German minister first in govt call for Greece euro exit Sat,25 Feb 2012 10:03 AM PST Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Interior Minister became the first member of her centre-right government to openly call for Greece to leave the euro zone in a magazine interview released on Saturday. Hans-Peter Friedrich, a leader of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) that is the sister part of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), told Der Spiegel news magazine Greece's chances of restoring its fiscal health would be greater outside the euro. ... Full Story Top Taliban didn't shoot down drone in Pakistan: US official Sat,25 Feb 2012 09:57 AM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. official denied Taliban claims on Saturday that the militants shot down a U.S. drone in Pakistan but declined further comment. Pakistani intelligence officials said a U.S. drone may have crashed in North Waziristan, not far from the Afghan border. (Reporting By Phil Stewart) Full Story Top Zimbabwe's Mugabe says ready for polls, slams violence Sat,25 Feb 2012 09:36 AM PST Reuters - MUTARE, Zimbabwe (Reuters) - Octogenarian Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe called on Saturday for his supporters to avoid violence in elections he says should happen this year and which he says his ZANU-PF party is poised to win resoundingly. The veteran ruler told supporters at a rally for his 88th birthday the time had come to make up with the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), with whom Mugabe was forced to share power after disputed and violent elections in 2008. ... Full Story Top US top court to hear corporate human rights case Sat,25 Feb 2012 09:03 AM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court will weigh next week whether corporations can be sued in the United States for suspected complicity in human rights abuses abroad, in a case being closely watched by businesses concerned about long and costly litigation. The high court on Tuesday will consider the reach of a 1789 U.S. law that had been largely dormant until 1980, when human rights lawyers started using it, at first to sue foreign government officials. Then, over the next 20 years, the lawyers used the law to target multinational corporations. ... Full Story Top Mandela in hospital, expected to go home soon Sat,25 Feb 2012 08:59 AM PST Reuters - JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African president Nelson Mandela was comfortable in hospital on Saturday after undergoing a "diagnostic procedure" for abdominal pains, the government said, telling people not to panic about the health of the 93-year-old anti-apartheid leader. A statement from President Jacob Zuma said Mandela, who is popularly known by his clan name, Madiba, should be discharged on Sunday or Monday after being checked out for a "long-standing abdominal complaint. ... Full Story Top Mandela in hospital, expected to go home soon Sat,25 Feb 2012 08:56 AM PST Reuters - JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African president Nelson Mandela was comfortable in hospital on Saturday after undergoing a "diagnostic procedure" for abdominal pains, the government said, telling people not to panic about the health of the 93-year-old anti-apartheid leader. A statement from President Jacob Zuma said Mandela, who is popularly known by his clan name, Madiba, should be discharged on Sunday or Monday after being checked out for a "long-standing abdominal complaint". ... Full Story Top Al Shabaab says extends reach into Somalia's Puntland Sat,25 Feb 2012 08:10 AM PST Reuters - MOGADISHU (Reuters) - An Islamist militia group in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region has merged with the al Shabaab rebel group, said the insurgents on Saturday, a union which threatens to destabilize the relatively secure area targeted by oil explorers. Al Shabaab said it wanted to scrap the licenses of Western oil and gas firms drilling in Puntland. The al Qaeda-backed insurgents used social media site twitter to declare all oil and gas exploration and drilling licenses nullified. ... Full Story Top Al Shabaab says extends reach into Somalia's Puntland Sat,25 Feb 2012 08:04 AM PST Reuters - MOGADISHU (Reuters) - An Islamist militia group in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region has merged with the al Shabaab rebel group, said the insurgents on Saturday, a union which threatens to destabilise the relatively secure area targeted by oil explorers. Al Shabaab said it wanted to scrap the licenses of Western oil and gas firms drilling in Puntland. The al Qaeda-backed insurgents used social media site twitter to declare all oil and gas exploration and drilling licenses nullified. ... Full Story Top

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