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| Explosions, shooting heard at U.S. base in Afghanistan Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 07:49 PM PST JALALABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Two explosions and shooting were heard at a U.S. base in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Sunday, a Reuters witness said. The Taliban said they carried out an attack on the compound and inflicted casualties. NATO officials were not immediately available for comment. Security forces surrounded the area. "We can confirm there have been multiple explosions in the vicinity of the Jalalabad airfield," the U.S.-led coalition said in a statemen. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran stations defense staff at North Korea military site: Kyodo Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 07:39 PM PST TOKYO (Reuters) - Iran has stationed defense staff in North Korea since late October apparently to strengthen cooperation in missile and nuclear development, Japan's Kyodo News agency reported on Sunday, citing a Western diplomatic source. The report came as North Korea said on Saturday it would carry out its second rocket launch of 2012 between December 10 and December 22, near the first anniversary of the death of young leader Kim Jong-un's father. The Iranian mission, Kyodo said, is made up of four experts from Iran's Ministry of Defense and firms close to it. ... Full Story | Top |
| Congo rebels quit Goma, saying it's "for peace" Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 04:36 PM PST  GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Hundreds of rebel fighters, singing and brandishing weapons, pulled out of Congo's eastern border city of Goma on Saturday, raising hopes for negotiations to end the insurgency. The withdrawal of the M23 rebel movement from Goma on Lake Kivu, a strategic hub in Democratic Republic of Congo's war-scarred east, was agreed in a deal brokered by presidents of the Great Lakes states under Uganda's leadership a week ago. Kieran Dwyer, spokesman for the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations in New York, said the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian center-left party heads into decisive primary Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 04:03 PM PST ROME (Reuters) - The two finalists in a primary to choose the centre-left candidate for prime minister in next year's Italian elections face judgement day on Sunday in a run-off primary after a bitter campaign. The contest will decide whether Pier Luigi Bersani, 61, or Matteo Renzi, 37, stand in national elections early next year against a still-to-be-chosen centre-right candidate to take over from Prime Minister Mario Monti. Most polls say the slow-speaking, bald, professorial Bersani will defeat Renzi, who bounces around platforms at rallies in open shirts and jeans. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian rebels bombed, opposition open to peacekeepers Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 04:01 PM PST  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian jets bombed rebel-held areas of Damascus on Saturday, residents said, as the opposition indicated it could accept an international peacekeeping force if President Bashar al-Assad is forced from power. Warplanes attacked the Damascus suburbs of Kafar Souseh and Darraya, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked group. The air strikes follow intensified rebel activity in the capital, Assad's seat of power, as well as stormings of government military bases in recent weeks. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mursi calls December 15 referendum, Islamists rally Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 03:42 PM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi called a December 15 referendum on a new constitution, hoping to end protests over a decree expanding his powers, as at least 200,000 of his Islamist supporters rallied in Cairo on Saturday. Approval of the constitution drafted by an assembly stacked with Mursi's Islamist allies will override the November 22 decree that temporarily shielded Mursi from judicial oversight and triggered statements of concern from Western governments. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico's Pena Nieto takes power vowing to end violence Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 02:17 PM PST  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Enrique Pena Nieto took over as Mexico's president on Saturday, promising to end years of violence and sluggish economic growth, and giving the party that shaped modern Mexico a shot at redemption after 12 years out of office. The 46-year-old Pena Nieto said the people had been let down since his centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, fell from power in 2000, and pledged a raft of changes to boost growth, create jobs and fight poverty. "The state has lost ground in important areas. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria rebels bombed as opposition open to peacekeepers Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 02:11 PM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian jets bombed rebel-held areas of Damascus on Saturday, residents said, as the opposition indicated it could accept an international peacekeeping force if President Bashar al-Assad is forced from power. Warplanes attacked the Damascus suburbs of Kafar Souseh and Darraya, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked group. The air strikes follow intensified rebel activity in the capital, Assad's seat of power, as well as successful stormings of government military bases in recent weeks. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt opposition figure says draft constitution undermines freedoms Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 02:10 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei said on Saturday the "struggle will continue" after President Mohamed Mursi called a December 15 referendum on a draft constitution. "(Mursi) put to referendum a draft constitution that undermines basic freedoms and violates universal values. The struggle will continue," ElBaradei said on his Twitter feed. (Reporting By Tamim Elyan; Editing by Ralph Gowling) Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mursi calls December 15 referendum on constitution Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 02:10 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi called a December 15 referendum on a draft constitution and urged a national dialogue on the "concerns of the nation" as the country nears the end of the transition from Hosni Mubarak's rule. Mursi was speaking after receiving the final draft of the constitution from the Islamist-dominated constituent assembly. "I am issuing my decision to call people for a referendum on the draft constitution on Saturday, December 15," Mursi said in an address to the constituent assembly that approved its final draft on Friday before handing it to Mursi. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's President Mursi receives draft constitution Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 02:10 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's constituent assembly handed its final draft of a planned new constitution for the country to President Mohamed Mursi on Saturday so he could approve it before calling a referendum. The Islamist-dominated assembly finished voting on the draft on Friday. (Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Ralph Gowling) Full Story | Top |
| Kuwaiti holds divisive vote after mass protest Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 01:42 PM PST KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwaitis voted on Saturday in a divisive parliamentary election held under new polling rules that triggered an opposition boycott of the ballot and mass protests. The election is the second this year in the oil-rich Gulf Arab state, where a series of assemblies have collapsed due to a power struggle between elected MPs and the cabinet. Tens of thousands marched on Friday in what organizers said was the largest protest in Kuwaiti history, to urge people to shun the ballot box in protest at a rule change they say will skew the outcome in favor of pro-government candidates. ... Full Story | Top |
| French unions rage at Hollande over Mittal deal Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 01:31 PM PST  PARIS (Reuters) - French trade unions accused President Francois Hollande of betrayal on Saturday after his government backed away from a threat to nationalize ArcelorMittal's Florange steelworks. The Socialist government said on Friday it had won promises from ArcelorMittal to avoid forced redundancies and inject 180 million euros to develop the Florange plant, meaning it would no longer have to take over the site. ... Full Story | Top |
| Colombia, Nicaragua want to avoid war over water rights dispute Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 12:29 PM PST MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The presidents of Colombia and Nicaragua on Saturday both said they hoped to avoid war and use dialogue instead to solve a dispute over a recent U.N. court ruling that shifted some of Colombia's resource-rich water to the Central America country. The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) earlier this month shocked Colombia by giving a large expanse of its fishing and potentially oil rich maritime territory to Nicaragua while handing some disputed islands to Colombia in a binding ruling. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Mexico's new president debuts with raft of proposals Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 12:28 PM PST MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - New Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto proposed a series of economic, security and social measures as he took office on Saturday, aiming to reduce drug war violence and beef up growth in Latin America's second biggest economy. Following are his main proposals, which come on top of his pledges to enact major fiscal and energy reforms: * Propose a balanced budget for 2013, reducing the fiscal deficit to zero. Issue a decree requiring austerity measures and budgetary discipline in public spending. ... Full Story | Top |
| PM says Greek pension funds won't join debt buy-back Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 12:23 PM PST  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek pension funds will not take part in a debt buy-back that is a key part of the country's international bailout, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said in a newspaper interview. Greece must conduct the deal by December 13, before it receives more than 30 billion euros ($39 billion) in bailout payments from the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisian troops fire tear gas at protesters Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 12:13 PM PST SILIANA, Tunisia (Reuters) - Tunisian security forces fired tear gas and live rounds into the air on Saturday to try to disperse thousands of protesters in a town that has seen days of clashes over economic hardship. National guard forces belonging to the Interior Ministry fired tear gas and rounds from inside armored personnel carriers in the town of Siliana, southwest of Tunis. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK and France pile censure on Israel's new settlement plan Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 11:55 AM PST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Britain and France condemned on Saturday a plan by Israel to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, saying international confidence in its desire to make peace with the Palestinians was at risk. Stung by a UN vote according de facto recognition to a Palestinian state, Israel on Friday said it would build thousands of new settler homes, including in a wedge zone between Jerusalem and the West Bank, known as E1, which Washington considers especially sensitive. ... Full Story | Top |
| Detained Italy editor "escapes" to push for press freedom Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 11:54 AM PST ROME (Reuters) - The editor of an Italian newspaper was re-arrested on Saturday, police said, after he intentionally violated the terms of his house detention to draw attention to the issue of press freedom. Alessandro Sallusti, editor-in-chief of Il Giornale, a newspaper owned by the family of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, was sentenced to 14 months in September for a libellous article in 2007, when he was at another newspaper. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran's Ahmadinejad gives new job to aide seen as possible heir Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 11:53 AM PST  DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has moved his chief of staff, seen as a potential successor and a target of criticism from hardline conservatives, to another job, according to the president's official website on Saturday. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie has provoked the ire of Ahmadinejad's conservative rivals, who accuse him of trying to undermine Iran's theocratic system. Ahmadinejad has defended his closest aide throughout the attacks. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Al Qaeda-linked" Yemeni among four Pakistan drone strike dead Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 11:50 AM PST PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A missile fired from a drone killed four people, including a Yemeni fighter linked to al-Qaeda, when it hit their car in northern Pakistan on Saturday evening, intelligence and tribal sources said. The strike at Sheen Warsak village in South Waziristan followed another drone attack in the same area two days earlier. A Yemeni fighter called Abdul Rehman, allied to al-Qaeda, was among the dead, government and intelligence sources said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico's new president eyes balanced budget for 2013 Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 11:06 AM PST MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's new president, Enrique Pena Nieto, said on Saturday he would propose a balanced budget for 2013. Pena Nieto formally took office on Saturday, and has promised to push for major energy and fiscal reforms. (Reporting by Mexico Newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler) Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: News Corp to name Thomson as Publishing Co CEO next week - sources Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 10:20 AM PST  (Reuters) - News Corp is expected to name Robert Thomson, a close confidant of Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, to lead its new publishing company by the end of next week, according to sources familiar with News Corp's plans. Thomson is currently managing editor of the Wall Street Journal and editor in chief of its publisher Dow Jones & Co, which News Corp acquired in 2007. Gerard Baker, currently the deputy editor of the Journal, is expected to succeed Thomson, according to these sources. ... Full Story | Top |
| Little progress in U.S. "fiscal cliff" talks Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 09:06 AM PST  HATFIELD, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - With barely a month left before the "fiscal cliff," Republicans and Democrats remained far apart on Friday in talks to avoid the across-the-board tax hikes and spending cuts that threaten to throw the country back into recession. While President Barack Obama visited a Pennsylvania toy factory to muster public support for tax hikes on the rich, portraying Republicans as scrooges at Christmas time, his primary adversary in negotiations, Republican House Speaker John Boehner, continued to describe the situation as a stalemate. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian opposition may allow peacekeepers if Assad goes Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 08:44 AM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Syria's newly-formed opposition coalition said on Saturday it might allow an international peacekeeping force into Syria if President Bashar al-Assad and his allies leave power. Coalition spokesman Walid al-Bunni, asked about statements by U.N. mediator Lakhdar Brahimi that a ceasefire would only hold if overseen by a peacekeeping mission, said the opposition could accept such a deployment if Assad stepped down first. The issue of peacekeepers is highly sensitive. ... Full Story | Top |
| Merkel reaffirms support for Israel after U.N. vote Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 08:28 AM PST  BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel reassured Israel of her country's support on Saturday, two days after Berlin disappointed the Jewish state by abstaining in a U.N. vote on the Palestinians' status. Germany, which will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and many of his ministers next week, abstained in Thursday's vote in the U.N. General Assembly which provided de facto recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state. Netanyahu's government had hoped that Berlin would join the United States and a handful of other countries in opposing the resolution. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kuwaitis vote in divisive election after protests Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 08:13 AM PST  KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwaitis voted on Saturday in a divisive parliamentary election held under new polling rules that triggered an opposition boycott of the ballot and mass protests. The election is the second this year in the oil-rich Gulf Arab state, where a series of assemblies have collapsed due to a power struggle between elected MPs and the cabinet. Tens of thousands marched on Friday in what organizers said was the largest protest in Kuwaiti history, to urge people to shun the ballot box in protest at a rule change they say will skew the outcome in favor of pro-government candidates. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hamas complains to Egypt after Israeli army kills Gazan Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 08:08 AM PST  GAZA (Reuters) - Hamas accused Israel on Saturday of violating the shaky, Egyptian-brokered Gaza truce of November 21 after Israeli troops killed a Palestinian taking part in a protest at the enclave's border fence. Medical officials said the 21-year-old man had been among six Palestinians wounded by gunfire during Friday's demonstration near southern Rafah, and had later died in hospital. The Israeli military said the Palestinians had tried to vandalize the fortified fence and that soldiers shot at their legs after first trying to warn them away. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korean rocket launch would be "highly provocative act": U.S. Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 07:45 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Saturday condemned North Korea's plan to carry out its second rocket launch of 2012 as a "highly provocative act" that would threaten peace and violate U.N. sanctions. "A North Korean 'satellite' launch would be a highly provocative act that threatens peace and security in the region," said U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland in a written statement. "Any North Korean launch using ballistic missile technology is in direct violation of U.N. Security Council Resolutions," she added. ... Full Story | Top |
| Myanmar govt asks Suu Kyi to investigate mine dispute Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 07:34 AM PST  MONYWA, Myanmar (Reuters) - Myanmar's president asked opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Saturday to head an investigation into the planned expansion of a copper mine that has led to evictions and protests that were forcibly put down by riot police this week. Activists said at least 50 people were injured on Thursday, including more than 20 Buddhist monks, after riot police raided camps set up round the Monywa mine in the north west Sagaing region by villagers protesting the evictions. ... Full Story | Top |
| French firms must fight China for stake in Africa: Moscovici Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 07:25 AM PST  ABIDJAN (Reuters) - French companies must go on the offensive and fight the growing influence of rival China for a stake in Africa's increasingly competitive markets, France's Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said on Saturday. France, which once ruled over much of West Africa as colonial master, continued to exert direct and indirect influence over its ex-colonies for decades through a murky system of patronage known as "Francafrique". However, that regional reach is now being challenged by a new Chinese investment blitz. "It's evident that China is more and more present in Africa... ... Full Story | Top |
| Georgian investigators question former prime minister Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 07:08 AM PST  TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgian investigators were questioning former prime minister Vano Merabishvili on Saturday in the latest of a string of legal cases brought against members of the ousted administration of President Mikheil Saakashvili. The detentions of former state officials since billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili's coalition defeated Saakashvili's long-ruling party in parliamentary elections in October has raised opposition complaints of a political witch-hunt. ... Full Story | Top |
| Grand jury probing meningitis-linked pharmacy: newspaper Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 06:51 AM PST  BOSTON (Reuters) - A grand jury is investigating the compounding pharmacy at the heart of a deadly meningitis outbreak, the Boston Globe reported on Saturday. The grand jury has begun issuing subpoenas to people who worked for the New England Compounding Center, which closed after investigators determined it had produced the tainted injectible steroid that has killed 36 people, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed people who formerly worked for the company. ... Full Story | Top |
| Koroma strengthens hand in Sierra Leone parliament Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 06:08 AM PST  FREETOWN (Reuters) - Sierra Leone's ruling All People's Congress party secured a majority in parliament, results of the November 17 election published late on Friday showed. The party of President Ernest Bai Koroma now controls 67 of the 124 seats in parliament, gaining eight seats. The main opposition, Sierra Leone People's Party took 42 seats, losing three. The SLPP has said the election was fraudulent and that it will boycott parliament. Koroma took 58. ... Full Story | Top |
| Opposition boycott, protests hit Kuwaiti election Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 06:05 AM PST  KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwaitis voted on Saturday in a parliamentary election overshadowed by an opposition boycott, protests over a change to the polling rules and a festering political crisis in the U.S.-allied oil producer. The election is the second this year in the Gulf Arab state, where a series of assemblies have collapsed under the weight of a power struggle between MPs and the cabinet, appointed by the prime minister who is chosen by the ruling emir. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia says West pushing democracy with "iron and blood" Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 05:36 AM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Western states on Saturday of trying to advance democracy abroad through "iron and blood", defending Moscow's refusal to join nations seeking the exit of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Echoing comments made by Vladimir Putin, Lavrov made his sharply-worded address to a foreign and defense policy council meeting two days before the Russian president travels to Turkey where the war in Syria is expected to dominate talks. ... Full Story | Top |
| At least 32 killed as plane hits houses in Congo Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 04:16 AM PST BRAZZAVILLE (Reuters) - A cargo plane crashed into houses near Brazzaville Maya-Maya airport while attempting to land in a thunderstorm on Friday, killing at least 32 people, a Congolese Red Cross official said on Saturday. "We have already pulled 32 bodies from the crash site, but there could be more victims," the official said, asking not to be named. The official said the dead included six crew members. The Soviet-made Ilyushin-76 cargo plane, operated by local carrier Trans Air Congo was travelling from Pointe-Noire, the commercial capital of the Central African state. ... Full Story | Top |
| Serb parliament adopts 2013 budget, sees deficit at 3.3 percent Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 03:41 AM PST BELGRADE (Reuters) - Lawmakers in Serbia adopted a 2013 budget on Saturday, pledging to slash the deficit to 3.3 percent of national output and return the economy to growth of 2 percent as the government seeks new IMF funding. The Balkan country is running a budget shortfall this year of around 6.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) as seen in the revised budget, while public debt has ballooned to 60 percent. GDP is forecast to contract 2 percent in 2012. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian opposition edges toward appointing transition PM Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 03:36 AM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Syria's new opposition coalition edged closer on Friday toward choosing a prime minister to lead a transitional government after three days of talks in Cairo that furthered the dominance of the Muslim Brotherhood. Former Prime Minister Riad Hijab, a longtime apparatchik in President Bashar al-Assad's Baath Party before he defected in August, is the strongest candidate for the job, delegates said. Hijab, who is backed by Jordan and Gulf states, is likely to be chosen before or during a gathering in mid-December of the Friends of Syria, according to coalition insiders. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Korean sailors freed by Somali pirates after 19 months Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 02:52 AM PST SEOUL (Reuters) - Four South Korean sailors abducted by Somali pirates 19 months ago were released on Saturday, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said. The MT Gemini, a tanker operated by Singapore-based Glory Ship Management, was hijacked by the pirates on April 30, 2011, with the four sailors, along with 21 non-Korean crew members, while heading to Malaysia from Kenya. The pirates freed the vessel seven months later along with the non-Korean sailors, but kept the four Koreans captive, breaching an earlier agreement to release all crew members. ... Full Story | Top |
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