| | |
| Iraqi Kurds send more troops into standoff with Iraq army Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 04:19 PM PST ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's Kurdish region has sent reinforcements to a disputed area where its troops are involved in a standoff with the Iraqi army, a senior Kurdish military official said, despite calls on both sides for dialogue to calm the situation. The second military buildup this year illustrates how far relations between Baghdad's central government, led by Shi'ite Muslim Arabs, and ethnic Kurds have deteriorated, testing Iraq's federal cohesion nearly a year after U.S. troops left. ... Full Story | Top |
| Seven robbers shot dead in South Africa Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 03:33 PM PST JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - An elite South African police unit shot dead seven men when they tried to rob a cash depot in western Johannesburg on Saturday evening, a spokesman for the unit said. Nine others were injured and under police guard in hospital, a spokesman of the unit known as Hawks told Reuters. Police also confiscated 11 vehicles and four firearms. "We believe we got the kingpin down. We are convinced that we got all the robbers - dead or arrested," Paul Ramaloko said. The depot belonged to Protea Coin, a security company which runs a cash-in-transit business. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy center-left picks candidate for next prime minister Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 03:21 PM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Italian center-left voters head to the polls on Sunday to choose the candidate who will be the leading contender to succeed Mario Monti as prime minister after a general election in March. Opinion surveys show Democratic Party leader Pier Luigi Bersani is front-runner among five candidates, followed by youthful Florence mayor Matteo Renzi, who has vowed to shake up Italy's political establishment if he is chosen. Voting booths will be open from 08:00 to 20:00 local time (07:00 GMT to 19:00 GMT) with results due around midnight (23:00 GMT). ... Full Story | Top |
| Catalonia election tests Spanish unity Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 03:11 PM PST  BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) - Voters in Spain's Catalonia region go to the polls on Sunday and are likely to elect a pro-independence leader who will test Spanish unity at a time of deep economic crisis. Opinion polls show two-thirds of voters in this region on the French border will cast ballots for parties, both rightist and leftist, that want Catalan independence from Spain. Catalan President Artur Mas will likely win re-election since his conservative Convergence and Union party is forecast to take a majority, some 62 to 64 seats, in the 135-seat regional assembly, or Parliament. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian judges announce strike in protest at Mursi decree Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 02:21 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - The body representing Egypt's judges called on Saturday for an immediate strike in all courts and prosecutors offices in protest against President Mohamed Mursi's decree expanding his powers. At a meeting in Cairo, the Judges Club called on Mursi to retract the decree and to reinstate Abdel Maguid Mahmoud, the Hosni Mubarak-era prosecutor general who was sacked as part of the decision unveiled on Thursday. (Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Ralph Gowling) Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mursi must scrap "dictatorial" decree: ElBaradei Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 02:21 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Prominent opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei said on Saturday there could be no dialogue with Egypt's president until he scrapped a "dictatorial" decree that he said gave the Islamist leader Mohamed Mursi the powers of a pharaoh. The presidential decree issued on Thursday by Mursi, elected in June with the Muslim Brotherhood behind him, expanded his powers and caused fury amongst his opponents, prompting violent clashes in central Cairo and other cities on Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mursi faces judicial revolt over decree Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 02:21 PM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi faced a rebellion from judges who accused him on Saturday of expanding his powers at their expense, deepening a crisis that has triggered violence in the street and exposed the country's deep divisions. The Judges' Club, a body representing judges across Egypt, called for a strike during a meeting interrupted with chants demanding the "downfall of the regime" - the rallying cry in the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak last year. ... Full Story | Top |
| African presidents urge Congo rebels to abandon war Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 02:20 PM PST  GOMA/KAMPALA (Reuters) - African leaders called on eastern rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday to abandon their aim of toppling the government and leave the city of Goma they captured this week. The appeal came from heads of state of the central African Great Lakes region who fear that if left unchecked the offensive by the M23 rebels could drag the volatile, ethnically-diverse and mineral-rich region back into another bloody conflict. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mauritania's Abdel Aziz returns home after gunshot treatment Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 01:54 PM PST  NOAKCHOTT (Reuters) - Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz returned home on Saturday after more than a month of medical convalescence in France, calming fears concerning the state of his health and uncertainty over who was managing the country in his absence. Abdel Aziz, an ally of the West in its fight against al Qaeda in Africa, flew to Paris on October 14 after soldiers opened fire on his unescorted car as he returned to the capital Noakchott from his country residence. The government and Abdel Aziz himself have said the shooting was accidental. ... Full Story | Top |
| More than 350 African migrants intercepted off Italy Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 01:35 PM PST ROME (Reuters) - Italian coastguards said they had intercepted and picked up 358 African migrants attempting to reach Italy in two overcrowded vessels on Saturday. Two hundred and thirty-five of the migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were travelling in a rickety wooden boat and the other 123 were spotted on a rubber dinghy, said the coastguards. A coastguard spokesman, who was unable to give any information on where the vessels departed from, said the migrants were all in decent health and were being transported to reception centres. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thousands of Italians rally against Monti's austerity Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 01:35 PM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of students and workers rallied across Italy on Saturday to protest against austerity measures imposed by Prime Minister Mario Monti's technocrat government. Appointed a year ago when Italy came close to a Greek-style debt crisis, Monti has pushed through painful tax increases and spending cuts to try to rein in public finances at a time when schools and universities say they desperately need more support. "We need to fight for our rights. ... Full Story | Top |
| ETA calls for talks over "definitive end" with Spain, France Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 12:54 PM PST MADRID (Reuters) - Basque separatist group ETA said on Saturday it wanted talks with the Spanish and French governments to negotiate a definitive end to military operations and a handover of its arms. Basque newspaper Naiz published an advance summary of an ETA statement, which said the group wanted talks over the return of ETA prisoners to the northern Basque region, an end to its military structure, and a full disarmament. The paper said the full statement would be published on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Defeated Sierra Leone opposition says election flawed Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 12:38 PM PST FREETOWN (Reuters) - Sierra Leone's main opposition party on Saturday attacked the credibility of a poll that saw incumbent President Ernest Bai Koroma elected to a second term in an outright victory. The dispute risks tarnishing a vote deemed free and fair by observers and that many hope will help pave the way for an economic revival of the war-scarred West African nation. Koroma's main challenger Julius Maada Bio, a former military junta leader, said "systemic and widespread irregularities, malpractices and injustices ... undermined the credibility of the results. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Tomato revolution" gains momentum in Bulgaria Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 12:14 PM PST SOFIA (Reuters) - Hundreds of Bulgarians, inspired by a shaggy-haired poet, protested in front of parliament on Saturday, some of them throwing tomatoes in what they are calling a "tomato revolution" against corruption. Waving banners saying "Stop political hypocrisy", the protesters were kept too far away from parliament by police to hit the building. But they vowed their protests would grow ahead of a parliamentary election due next July. "This is only the beginning of the protests," dissident Nikolay Kolev, also known as "Bosiya" (The Barefooted), said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bangladesh clothes workers die in factory fire Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 12:10 PM PST  DHAKA (Reuters) - A fire swept through a garment factory on the outskirts of Bangladesh's capital on Saturday, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 100, police and witnesses said. The fire at the nine-story factory in the Ashulia industrial belt started on the ground floor and quickly spread. Firefighters took nearly five hours to extinguish the flames. Most of the victims died as they jumped from the building to escape the flames, a police official said. The death toll could rise, witnesses said. The cause of the blaze was not immediately clear. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bomb kills four Yemenis marking Shi'ite Muslim Ashura festival Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 12:09 PM PST SANAA (Reuters) - At least three Shi'ite Muslims were killed on Saturday in a bomb attack targeting the first public commemoration of the anniversary of the death of a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad in the Yemeni capital in half a century. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but al Qaeda and its affiliates, comprising Sunni Muslim militants, have targeted Shi'ites in the past. ... Full Story | Top |
| New corruption scandal rocks Brazilian government Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 11:57 AM PST  BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, moving quickly to nip a new scandal in the bud, ordered the dismissal on Saturday of government officials allegedly involved in a bribery ring, including the country's deputy attorney general. Federal police raided government offices in Brasilia and Sao Paulo on Friday and arrested six people for running an influence peddling ring that sold government approvals to businessmen in return for bribes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Morocco says breaks al Qaeda cell sending youth to Mali Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 11:50 AM PST RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco said on Saturday it had broken up a militant cell that was training youths to send them to fight in Mali, which has become the focus of international concern over the spread of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The interior ministry said in a statement on state news agency MAP it broke up a cell operating in the cities of Nador, Casablanca, Guercif, Laayoune and Kalaat Sraghna. Around 20 people had been sent to fight with AQIM and al Qaeda ally the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, and others had been sent to Libya, it said. ... Full Story | Top |
| German Pirate party apologizes for leadership shipwreck Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 11:33 AM PST BOCHUM, Germany (Reuters) - The leader of Germany's Pirates, whose shock success in four state elections thrust it onto the political stage, apologized on Saturday for the fierce infighting that has contributed to a plunge in popularity and called for unity. The Pirates have seen support drop from 13 percent six months ago to under 5 percent now, the threshold needed for it to enter parliament at next year's federal election. A strong showing at the election could split the leftist vote and help secure victory for Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives. ... Full Story | Top |
| Train hits van in southern Italy, killing six Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 11:08 AM PST ROME (Reuters) - A train hit a van in southern Italy on Saturday, killing at least six people, the Italian fire service said on Saturday. The van was waiting for the safety barriers to be opened manually at a crossing near Rossano in the Calabria region when it was hit by the train, Italian news agencies reported. A landowner and Romanian clementine-pickers travelling in the vehicle were among the victims, they said. None of the 12 people on board the small regional train were injured, but some were in a state of shock, a fire service spokesman said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hamas leader defiant as Israel eases Gaza curbs Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 10:57 AM PST  GAZA (Reuters) - Israel eased restrictions on Gaza fishermen and farmers on Saturday, Palestinian officials said, advancing a three-day-old truce brokered by Egypt after a week of fierce fighting. Gaza's children also headed back to school in their hundreds of thousands, in another indication normal life was returning after eight days of fierce cross-border fighting in which 166 Palestinians and six Israelis were killed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Burkina Faso calls upon Mali to open talks with northern rebels Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 10:46 AM PST BAMAKO (Reuters) - Burkina Faso, which is attempting to mediate an end to the crisis in its West African neighbour Mali, on Saturday called upon Malian President Dioncounda Traore to open direct talks with Islamist fighters in control of the country's north. Military experts from Africa, the United Nations and Europe have drafted plans to retake control of northern Mali, which fell to rebels in March after a coup in the capital Bamako created a power vacuum. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Berlusconi hints he may run in 2013 election Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 10:43 AM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi hinted on Saturday that he may seek to run in spring elections, changing his mind again and deepening chaos in his center-right party. A day before the center-left is due to hold primary elections to pick a candidate to lead their alliance in the national poll, the center-right is still unsure about whether to hold its own primary vote, which hinges on Berlusconi's plans. Asked by reporters on Saturday whether he was considering "returning to the playing field", Berlusconi said, "I am thinking about it. ... Full Story | Top |
| War-weary Goma frets under uneasy rebel occupation Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 10:29 AM PST GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Hours before rebels captured the eastern Congolese city of Goma on Tuesday, more than a thousand prisoners hammered a hole through the prison wall and escaped. "This is going to have a big impact on the security of the city," said a local magistrate who was afraid to give his name. The mass prison break highlights the challenges the M23 rebel movement now faces in holding and administering Goma and the expanding territory it has captured in a region long fought over for its rich mineral deposits. ... Full Story | Top |
| Macau police arrest five, gangster "Broken Tooth" release due Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 09:43 AM PST HONG KONG (Reuters) - Police in the world gambling capital Macau arrested five people on Saturday on suspicion of planning to commit murder as the territory off the coast of China braces for the imminent release from jail of a notorious gang leader. One of those arrested, local media said, was former police officer Artur Chiang Calderon, who was believed to be a key player in the infamous 14K triad society. Calderon was first arrested in 1998 along with Wan Kuok-koi, commonly known as ‘Broken Tooth', the leader of the 14k. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK, U.N. hope Mideast nuclear talks take place next year Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 09:05 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain and the United Nations said on Saturday they hoped a conference aimed at trying to ban nuclear weapons in the Middle East could take place soon after the United States said it would not happen next month as originally planned. If and when it happens, the conference is likely to be fraught as Iran and Arab states say Israel's presumed nuclear arsenal is the main threat to security in the region, while Israel and the West see Tehran as the main proliferation danger. ... Full Story | Top |
| At least 7 killed in attack on Shi'ite procession in Pakistan Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 08:42 AM PST  ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A roadside bomb killed at least seven people near a Shi'ite procession in Pakistan on Saturday, police said, with security forces on high alert over fears of large-scale sectarian attacks on the minority sect across the country. Pakistan, a nuclear-armed U.S. ally, is suspending phone coverage in many cities this weekend, an important one in the Shi'ite Muslim calendar, after a series of bomb attacks on Shi'ites triggered by mobile phones. Hardline Sunnis have threatened more attacks as the Shi'ite mourning month of Muharram comes to a climax. ... Full Story | Top |
| African leaders tell Congo rebels to stop war Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 08:25 AM PST KAMPALA (Reuters) - Heads of state from Africa's Great Lakes region on Saturday urged rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo's turbulent east to stop expanding their war and leave the town of Goma which they captured this week. The leaders met in the Ugandan capital Kampala to try to bring an end to the conflict after the M23 rebels said they planned to "liberate" the vast central African country. The M23 is widely thought to be backed by Rwanda, a claim it denies. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK foster row sparks political furor, spotlights anti-EU party Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 08:15 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - British politicians berated a local council in England on Saturday after it removed children from a foster family's care because of its support for a political party that wants the UK to exit the European Union and backs tighter immigration rules. The row has spotlighted the UK Independence Party (UKIP) that has seen its popularity rise in recent months on the back of growing voter disenchantment with Britain's membership of the EU, and has raised hackles among conservative politicians who accuse the left of excessive political correctness. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lebanon army seizes men suspected of bomb plot against Shi'ites Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 08:10 AM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Lebanese army said on Saturday it had arrested five Syrian men found with explosives and suspected of planning an attack on a Shi'ite Muslim procession on Sunday. The war in neighboring Syria, pitting majority Sunni Muslim rebels against President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle of Alawites - an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam - has widened rifts in Lebanon, still politically divided along sectarian lines deepened by its own 15-year civil war. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gaza conflict shows Israel must "bow" to Palestinian rights: Iran Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 07:09 AM PST DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the head of the Hamas government in Gaza on Saturday that eight days of cross-border fighting showed that Israel had no choice but to "bow" to Palestinian rights, according to Iran's IRNA news agency. The Iranian-backed Hamas has basked in what it called a victory against Israel after an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire on Thursday ended the conflict in which 163 Palestinians and six Israelis were killed. IRNA said Ahmadinejad, in the rare telephone call with Ismail Haniyeh, praised the Palestinian "resistance and perseverance". ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkey expects NATO Patriot missile decision within week Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 07:07 AM PST  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey expects NATO to make a decision about deploying surface-to-air Patriot missiles along its southern border with Syria within the next week, Defence Minister Ismet Yilmaz said on Saturday. Turkey asked NATO for the Patriot system, designed to intercept aircraft or missiles, on Wednesday after weeks of talks about how to shore up security on its 900-km (560-mile) border as the conflict in Syria deepens. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greek police recover stolen Olympia artefacts, arrest three Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 07:04 AM PST ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek police have recovered antiquities stolen from a museum in Ancient Olympia and arrested three people, police said on Saturday. The robbery in February, which came just after a theft at the country's National Gallery, prompted outrage from many arts and culture workers who said budget cutbacks from austerity measures had left Greece's vast art treasures at risk. During the robbery, armed thieves overpowered a female guard and made off with about 70 bronze, pottery and other artefacts at the museum in Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Brotherhood calls protest to support Mursi Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 06:44 AM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood called for a mass demonstration in Cairo on Tuesday to show support for President Mohamed Mursi, who is facing a storm of protest for issuing a decree that expanded his powers. In a statement published on its website, the Brotherhood also called for shows of support in public squares across Egypt after early evening prayers on Sunday to show support for Mursi's decisions. Parties opposed to the decree have also called for a protest on Tuesday in Cairo, though in a different square from the one where the Brotherhood called on its supporters to ... Full Story | Top |
| Sarkozy denies receiving money from L'Oreal heiress Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 06:37 AM PST  PARIS (Reuters) - Former president Nicolas Sarkozy denied receiving "a penny" in campaign funds from France's richest woman Liliane Bettencourt, according to excerpts of his testimony to judges published on Saturday by the French daily Sud-Ouest. Sarkozy, who lost power in May, was questioned for 12 hours on Thursday by a judge who is trying to establish whether his election win in 2007 was aided by illegal funding by the L'Oreal heiress. He denies any wrongdoing and his spokeswoman was not immediately available to comment on Saturday about the report. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arafat's body to be exhumed on Tuesday in murder inquiry Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 06:24 AM PST  RAMALLAH (Reuters) - The body of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will be exhumed on Tuesday, eight years after his death, in an investigation to establish if he was murdered, a Palestinian official said on Saturday. A French court opened a murder inquiry in August into Arafat's death in Paris after a Swiss institute said it had discovered high levels of radioactive polonium on his clothing, which was supplied by his widow, Suha. ... Full Story | Top |
| Saudi Grand Mufti warns Gulf public against unrest Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 05:49 AM PST JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti, the highest religious authority in the birthplace of Islam, issued a condemnation of demonstrations that appeared to blame Iran for unrest among Shi'ite Muslims in Gulf Arab states. "The Arab Gulf is being targeted by attacks seeking to discredit religion and eliminate the material interests and wealth it holds," Al-Watan newspaper quoted Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al al-Sheikh as saying in his Friday sermon in Riyadh. ... Full Story | Top |
| After abuse scandal, Pope names new bishop of Cloyne, Ireland Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 05:27 AM PST VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Saturday named the new bishop of the diocese of Cloyne, Ireland, to succeed the prelate who resigned more than two years ago over accusations of mishandling cases of sexual abuse. The Vatican named the new bishop as Father William Crean, 60, a native of Tralee who is currently working in Cahersiveen. The diocese has been run since 2009 by an Irish bishop acting as a special administrator for the Vatican. The previous bishop, John Magee, stepped aside in 2009 and formally resigned in 2010 after allegations that he had mishandled sexual abuse cases. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pope appoints six cardinals who will elect his successor Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 05:27 AM PST  VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict made six non-European prelates Roman Catholic cardinals on Saturday, chipping away at the old continent's domination of the elite group that will one day elect his successor. The new cardinals, ranging in age from 53 to 72, are from the United States, India, Nigeria, the Philippines, Lebanon and Colombia, and the decision to choose no Italians or Europeans looked like an attempt to counter criticism that he has in the past neglected the needs of the developing world. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thousands of Italian students rally against austerity in Rome Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 05:22 AM PST ROME (Reuters) - Several thousand students and teachers marched through central Rome on Saturday to protest against austerity measures imposed by Prime Minister Mario Monti's government that have cut into education spending. Appointed a year ago when Italy came close to a Greek-style debt crisis, Monti has pushed through painful tax hikes and spending cuts to try to rein in public finances at a time when schools and universities say they desperately need more support. "We need to fight for our rights. ... Full Story | Top |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment