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| Chavez's breathing problems worsen, has severe new infection Monday, Mar 04, 2013 08:04 PM PST  CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's breathing problems have worsened and he is suffering from a "severe" new respiratory infection as he struggles to recover from cancer surgery, the government said in a somber update on Monday. The 58-year-old socialist leader has not been seen in public nor heard from in almost three months since undergoing surgery in Cuba. It was his fourth operation since the disease was detected in mid-2011. "Today there is a worsening of his respiratory function. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S., China reach tentative deal on North Korea sanctions Monday, Mar 04, 2013 08:02 PM PST  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States and China have struck a tentative deal on a draft U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution that would punish North Korea for its third nuclear test last month, U.N. diplomats said on Monday. Separately, the U.N. press office announced that Russia, which holds the presidency of the 15-nation Security Council this month, will convene closed-door consultations on North Korea at 11:00 a.m. EST (1600 GMT) in New York on Tuesday. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| China eyes 2013 economic growth of 7.5 percent: Premier Wen Monday, Mar 04, 2013 07:48 PM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - China said it would boost fiscal spending in 2013 in a bid to deliver economic growth of 7.5 percent for the year, outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao said on Tuesday in remarks prepared for the opening of the country's annual parliament meetings. Wen said China targeted a 2013 fiscal deficit of 1.2 trillion yuan ($192.8 billion), or around 2.0 percent of gross domestic product, up from the 850 billion yuan deficit chalked up in 2012 that was worth 1.6 percent of GDP. ... Full Story | Top |
| Malaysian troops attack armed Philippine group in Sabah Monday, Mar 04, 2013 06:16 PM PST  KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian troops backed by fighter jets attacked an armed Filipino group on Tuesday, trying to end a standoff on Borneo island after violence that killed at least 27 people and sparked fears of broader insecurity in the resource-rich area. The operation to seize an area occupied by about 180 Filipinos, dozens of them armed, began at 7 a.m. (2300 GMT Monday), a day after the government sent seven army battalions to Malaysia's eastern Sabah state to reinforce police. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico wants U.S. ties to focus on economy, education, not drugs Monday, Mar 04, 2013 06:05 PM PST  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico must give greater priority to economic cooperation and education in relations with the United States rather than allowing the fight against organized crime to take center stage, a senior Mexican official said on Monday. Mexico has spent the past six years locked in a bloody fight with powerful drug cartels whose killings, kidnappings and extortion have marred the country's image, particularly in the United States, where it ships nearly 80 percent of its exports. ... Full Story | Top |
| France says al Qaeda chief Abou Zeid "probably" killed Monday, Mar 04, 2013 03:59 PM PST  PARIS/BAMAKO (Reuters) - France gave the first indication on Monday that it believed reports that Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, one of al Qaeda's most feared commanders in Africa, had been killed in Mali, an event that would deal a serious blow to the militants' leadership. Edouard Guillaud, head of France's joint chiefs of staff, said it was probable Abou Zeid had been killed in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains where French troops are hunting down al Qaeda-linked fighters after a seven-week campaign which has broken Islamist control of northern Mali. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico's wealth gap in spotlight as Slim and miners get richer Monday, Mar 04, 2013 03:23 PM PST  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Two Mexican mining magnates have moved up Forbes' annual list of the world's richest, headed once again by compatriot Carlos Slim, underscoring the challenge the new government faces to narrow the wealth gap and pull millions out of poverty. Slim's fortune - from an empire that stretches from telecoms to retail, to mining and banking - rose nearly 6 percent to $73 billion in 2012. The tycoon topped the list for the fourth year in a row, ahead of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. The wealth of Alberto Bailleres, the second-placed Mexican on the 2013 list at No. ... Full Story | Top |
| Biden, Netanyahu set tone on Iran for Obama visit to Israel Monday, Mar 04, 2013 03:10 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden insisted on Monday that President Barack Obama was not bluffing about using force to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions if all else fails, even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a "credible military threat" against Tehran. Seeking to reassure Israel and its U.S. supporters just weeks before Obama visits the Jewish state, Biden cautioned that all options, including sanctions and diplomacy, must be exhausted to ensure that the international community will be supportive if military action is deemed necessary. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kenyatta takes early lead as Kenya counts votes Monday, Mar 04, 2013 02:59 PM PST NAIROBI (Reuters) - Uhuru Kenyatta had an early edge as Kenya continued the count on Tuesday in a presidential election that brought out millions of voters despite pockets of violence that killed at least 15 people. Kenyans, who waited patiently in long lines, hope the vote will restore the nation's image as one of Africa's more stable democracies after tribal blood-letting killed more than 1,200 people when the result of the 2007 vote was disputed by rivals. ... Full Story | Top |
| At least nine die in plane crash in Congolese town of Goma Monday, Mar 04, 2013 02:45 PM PST  GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - At least nine people were killed on Monday when a twin-propeller plane crashed as it tried to land in bad weather in the eastern Congolese town of Goma, the government said. It was not immediately clear how many people were on board the Fokker 50, which was operated by domestic airline CAA. The flight was arriving from the town of Lodja, some 700 km (440 miles) to the west in Kasai-Oriental province, central Congo. A government spokesman said that, as the plane was loaded with cargo, it was not carrying its full capacity of 50 passengers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia willing to consider making it easier for Libya to buy arms Monday, Mar 04, 2013 02:39 PM PST  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia is prepared to consider ways of making it easier for Libya's government to buy arms, but voiced serious concern about lifting an embargo on the North African state already awash with weapons, Russia's U.N. ambassador said on Monday. Libya's Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said last week he planned to ask the U.N. Security council to lift the embargo, which was imposed at the start of an uprising in 2011 that culminated in the ouster of dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Russia's U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian rebels report capture of provincial capital Monday, Mar 04, 2013 02:25 PM PST AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian opposition fighters captured the northeastern city of Raqqa on Monday and crowds toppled a statue of President Bashar al-Assad's father, opposition sources and residents said. The fall of Raqqa on the Euphrates River would be a significant development in the two-year-old revolt against Assad. The rebels do not claim to hold any other provincial capitals. Rebel fighters said loyalist forces were still dug in at the provincial airport 60 km (40 miles) from Raqqa and they remained a threat. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel warns it cannot "stand idle" as Syria war spills over border Monday, Mar 04, 2013 01:27 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Israel warned the U.N. Security Council on Monday that it could not be expected to "stand idle" as Syria's civil war spills over its border, while Russia accused armed groups of undermining security between the states by fighting in a demilitarized zone. Israeli U.N. Ambassador Ron Prosor wrote to the 15-member council to complain about shells from Syria landing in Israel. "Israel cannot be expected to stand idle as the lives of its citizens are being put at risk by the Syrian government's reckless actions," Proser wrote. "Israel has shown maximum restraint thus far. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bersani ultimatum may bring new Italy election closer Monday, Mar 04, 2013 01:24 PM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Italy could be inching closer towards another election within months after center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani issued an ultimatum to anti-establishment comic Beppe Grillo to support a new government or return to the polls. Last week's election, in which Grillo's 5-Star Movement won a huge protest vote, left no group with a working majority in parliament, making an alliance with a rival the only way out. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pakistani teen, Colombia president among Nobel prize nominees Monday, Mar 04, 2013 12:47 PM PST  OSLO (Reuters) - A Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating girls' education is a wild card entry for this year's Nobel Peace prize, with the leaders of Colombia and Myanmar among likely candidates for the award. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was certain to be on the list for his efforts to end half a century of conflict with the FARC guerrillas, alongside Myanmar's Thein Sein, who has led a transition from decades of dictatorship, people familiar with the committee's deliberations said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Argentina dismisses Falklands vote, says oil industry unfeasible Monday, Mar 04, 2013 12:41 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - A referendum on the fate of the Falkland Islands is a publicity stunt with no legal status, Argentina's ambassador to Britain said on Monday, warning that oil exploitation around the territory was impossible without better regional ties. The inhabitants of the islands, some 300 miles off the Argentine coast and which Buenos Aires calls "Las Malvinas", are due to take part in a referendum on March 10-11 to find if they want to remain British. The vote comes as relations between Argentina and Britain worsen over the territory, where the two nations fought a 10-week war in ... Full Story | Top |
| Rights group urges U.N. not to lift Somalia arms embargo Monday, Mar 04, 2013 12:33 PM PST  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The human rights group Amnesty International warned the U.N. Security Council on Monday not to lift the 21-year-old arms embargo in place for Somalia as called for by a draft resolution, describing the idea as premature. The 15-nation council is considering lifting the U.N. arms embargo on Somalia's government for one year so it can beef up its army to combat Islamist fighters, according to a draft resolution obtained by Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. nuclear chief presses Iran on access to military base Monday, Mar 04, 2013 12:14 PM PST  VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog raised pressure on Iran to finally address suspicions that it has sought to design an atomic bomb, calling for swift inspector access to a military base where relevant explosives tests are believed to have been carried out. Airing frustration at the lack of progress in his agency's investigation, Yukiya Amano told its 35-nation governing board on Monday that negotiations with Iran must "proceed with a sense of urgency" and be focused on achieving concrete results soon. ... Full Story | Top |
| Malta's Socialists eye first election win in 16 years Monday, Mar 04, 2013 12:13 PM PST  VALLETTA (Reuters) - Malta's opposition Socialists appear set for their first election victory in more than 16 years on Saturday, capitalizing on popular anger at ministerial pay rises, high power prices and an oil kickbacks scandal. The ruling Nationalist Party took the Mediterranean island into the European Union in 2004 and says it deserves to be re-elected for making Malta the second-best performing euro zone economy. Newspaper opinion polls show Labour ahead by 11 percent, enough for a landslide by Maltese standards. ... Full Story | Top |
| Berlusconi parties were for prostitution: prosecution Monday, Mar 04, 2013 12:12 PM PST  MILAN (Reuters) - Parties at Silvio Berlusconi's Milan villa were arranged for prostitution and were not the elegant dinners he suggested, the prosecution in the Italian former prime minister's sex trial said on Monday. Making closing arguments in Berlusconi's trial on charges of having sex with an underage prostitute, prosecutor Antonio Sangermano said the parties involved dinner, erotic "bunga bunga" dancing and then sex between aspiring women TV presenters and invited guests. "I am a bit surprised and a little amused by the prosecution's closing arguments," Berlusconi said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sri Lanka takes next step to opening strategic China-built port Monday, Mar 04, 2013 12:11 PM PST COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka will start storing bunker fuel at the $1.5 billion Hambantota port in June, a senior official said, after years of delays to the Chinese-built installation that sits on strategic shipping lanes, and a key step to making it commercially viable. The state-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) originally had plans to open the facility for ship fuel in May 2011, six months after President Mahinda Rajapaksa launched the port in his home town on his 65th birthday. "We are about to get the test samples in March. Then we will do the trials. ... Full Story | Top |
| Decades after death, Chile's Neruda to be exhumed after accusation of murder Monday, Mar 04, 2013 11:52 AM PST  SANTIAGO (Reuters) - The body of Chilean Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda, dead nearly four decades, will be exhumed after his former driver declared the poet was poisoned under Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship, a judge said on Monday. Neruda, famed for his passionate love poems and staunch communist views, is presumed to have died from prostate cancer on September 23, 1973. ... Full Story | Top |
| Netanyahu: "Credible military threat" needed to stop Iran nuclear drive Monday, Mar 04, 2013 11:40 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Monday that Iran was getting closer to being able to build a nuclear bomb despite sanctions and diplomacy and said a "clear and credible military threat" was needed to halt Tehran's program. Speaking via satellite link from Jerusalem, Netanyahu used an address to an influential U.S. pro-Israel lobbying group to underscore Israeli impatience with Washington's strategy on Iran, a message that could foreshadow his talks with President Barack Obama on a Middle East visit later this month. "Words alone will not stop Iran. ... Full Story | Top |
| Second trading firm says it supplied Iranian firm linked to atomic work Monday, Mar 04, 2013 11:12 AM PST GENEVA (Reuters) - Switzerland-based Trafigura on Monday became the second major trading house to confirm that it had traded with an Iranian firm that the European Union says has links to Iran's nuclear program. The two contracts demonstrate the difficulties that western powers face in curbing Iran's ability to do business with the rest of the world. Commodities giant Glencore had supplied thousands of tons of alumina to an Iranian firm that provided aluminum to Iran's nuclear program, Reuters reported last week, citing intelligence and diplomatic sources. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria opposition says captures eastern city of Raqqa Monday, Mar 04, 2013 11:01 AM PST AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian opposition fighters captured the northeastern city of Raqqa on Monday and crowds toppled a statue of President Bashar al-Assad's father, opposition sources and a resident said. If confirmed, the fall of the provincial capital on the Euphrates River 160 km (100 miles) east of Aleppo would make it the first major city taken by the opposition since a revolt against Assad broke out two years ago. "The city of Raqqa has fallen," Mustafa Nawaf al-Ali of the Syrian National Council told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Blast in eastern Kenya's Garissa outside polling centre Monday, Mar 04, 2013 10:54 AM PST GARISSA, Kenya (Reuters) - A suspected grenade attack on Monday night at an election center in the eastern Kenya town of Garissa close to the border with Somalia caused panic among voters, but caused no injuries, a government official said. "A hand grenade exploded near a polling station, there were no injuries. The grenade exploded outside the polling center, where people had almost finished casting their ballots," Garissa county commissioner Mohamed Maalim told Reuters. (Reporting by James Macharia; Editing by Michael Roddy) Full Story | Top |
| Syrian opposition says captures eastern city of Raqqa Monday, Mar 04, 2013 10:27 AM PST AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian opposition fighters captured the eastern city of Raqqa on Monday, the region's representative at the opposition Syrian National Coalition said. If confirmed, the fall of the provincial capital, on the Euphrates River 160 km (100 miles) east of Aleppo, would make it the first major city taken by the opposition since a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad broke out two years ago. A resident also said the city had fallen and said a Syrian military intelligence compound in the city center was surrounded by rebels. ... Full Story | Top |
| Libyan army restores order at gas complex, flows suspended Monday, Mar 04, 2013 10:26 AM PST  MILAN/TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya said on Monday the army had restored order at an energy complex near Tripoli after weekend clashes between militia guards, but that gas exports to Italy would remain suspended and oil production cut back for several days. Libyan officials said the national army and militias aligned with it had arrived at the Mellitah oil and gas complex, some 100 km (60 miles) west of Tripoli, on Sunday night. The locally deployed militias had ceased fighting but gas exports had been suspended on Monday for a third day. ... Full Story | Top |
| Oman court orders retrial of 11 activists Monday, Mar 04, 2013 10:21 AM PST MUSCAT (Reuters) - Oman's Supreme Court has ordered a retrial of 11 democracy activists convicted of forming an illegal gathering, their lawyer said on Monday, after they staged a prison hunger strike last month. They were jailed last year in a security crackdown after protests in the Gulf Arab sultanate inspired by Arab Spring uprisings elsewhere in the region. "The Supreme Court ordered the appeals court to review the case of the 11 prisoners who have been jailed for illegal gathering," said the lawyer, Khalifa al-Hinai. "It is a victory and we hope there will be a dismissal after the ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia to put dead whistleblower on trial Monday, Mar 04, 2013 10:20 AM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian court will start the posthumous trial of a dead anti-corruption lawyer next week after ignoring calls by his family and lawyers to abandon a case they say is absurd and politically motivated. Sergei Magnitsky's death in custody in 2009, after he had complained repeatedly of being denied medical treatment, has damaged Russia's image and strained ties with the United States. But Moscow's Tverskoy Court said after a pre-trial hearing on Monday that the trial itself would open on March 11, a court spokeswoman said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Armenian opposition asks court to rule that it won poll Monday, Mar 04, 2013 10:01 AM PST  YEREVAN (Reuters) - Armenia's main opposition party said on Monday the country's president had rigged the result of a February poll and it called on the Constitutional Court to rule that it had been the winner. Incumbent President Serzh Sarksyan was declared the victor with 58.6 percent of the vote, against 37 percent for opposition leader Raffi Hovannisian. "We demand to register the people's victory and to declare Raffi Hovannisian Armenia's president," Hovsep Khurshudyan, spokesman for the Heritage Party, told reporters after submitting an appeal to the court. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fire kills nine children at Senegalese Koranic school Monday, Mar 04, 2013 09:50 AM PST DAKAR (Reuters) - Nine children were burnt to death in a fire that broke out while they were sleeping in a crowded room at a Koranic school in the Senegalese capital Dakar, witnesses said on Monday. The fire occurred late on Sunday while some 40 children were asleep in a single room inside the ramshackle building with wooden walls and zinc roofing in the residential district of Medina, local residents said. "When the fire started, a fire brigade truck came but could not get access to the site because of the narrow road leading to the house," restaurant worker Saliou Gano, 45, told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greece, in trouble elsewhere, boosts cooperation with Turkey Monday, Mar 04, 2013 09:29 AM PST  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Beset by economic crisis at home, Greece took a symbolic step towards improving relations with long-time arch rival Turkey on Monday by pledging to double annual trade with its eastern neighbor over the next three years. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, on his first visit to Turkey since winning power in June, met his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul and signed deals on issues from agriculture to disaster relief. They set a target of $10 billion in annual trade by 2015. ... Full Story | Top |
| Northern Ireland police foil IRA-style mortar attack Monday, Mar 04, 2013 09:23 AM PST  BELFAST (Reuters) - Northern Ireland police foiled an attempt to fire mortar bombs at a police station overnight in what would have been the first attack of its kind in the United Kingdom since a peace deal ended the Irish Republican Army's campaign of violence. Officers said they were working on the assumption smaller Irish nationalist militant groups were behind the planned assault, though no group claimed responsibility. Police said they intercepted a white van on the outskirts of Londonderry on Sunday at 3.15 p.m. ET carrying four mortar bombs that were minutes from being deployed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cardinals want to be briefed on secret report Monday, Mar 04, 2013 09:22 AM PST VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Catholic cardinals in a closed-door meeting ahead of the election of a new pontiff want to be briefed on a secret report into leaks about alleged corruption and mismanagement in the Vatican, a senior source said on Monday. More than 140 cardinals began preliminary meetings to sketch a profile for the next pope following the shock abdication of Pope Benedict last month and to ponder who among them might be best to lead a church beset by crises. ... Full Story | Top |
| Netanyahu: Military threat needed to stop Iran's nuclear program Monday, Mar 04, 2013 09:18 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Neither diplomacy nor sanctions have stopped Iran from pressing ahead with its nuclear ambitions and a clear and credible military threat is needed to stop Tehran's program, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday. "Words alone will not stop Iran. Sanctions alone will not stop Iran. Sanctions must be coupled with a clear and credible military threat," he told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in a speech to its annual policy conference. ... Full Story | Top |
| Twelve pro-army militiamen killed in Yemen - commander Monday, Mar 04, 2013 09:16 AM PST ADEN (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed at least 12 members of a pro-government militia that helped the Yemeni army to drive al Qaeda-linked Islamist militants out of southern strongholds in a U.S.-backed campaign last year, a commander said on Monday. Nizar Jaafar said 15 other people had been wounded in the attack on an office of the Popular Committees in the town of Lawdar in the southern province of Abyan. Residents said the force of the blast shook the center of Lawdar. ... Full Story | Top |
| Passenger plane crashes in Congolese town of Goma Monday, Mar 04, 2013 09:13 AM PST KINSHASA (Reuters) - A small plane carrying passengers and cargo crashed on Monday in the eastern Congolese town of Goma, a Reuters witness said. It was not immediately clear how many people were on board or how many casualties there were. Democratic Republic of Congo has one of the world's worst air safety records. There have been numerous crashes in Goma, where the runway has not been fully repaired after a volcanic eruption in 2002 left it covered in lava. (Reporting by Jonny Hogg; Writing by David Lewis; Editing by Daniel Flynn) Full Story | Top |
| Trial begins of 94 charged with plotting UAE state overthrow Monday, Mar 04, 2013 09:01 AM PST ABU DHABI (Reuters) - The trial of 94 people accused of plotting to seize power in the United Arab Emirates opened on Monday in the latest move by the Gulf Arab state to address what it says is a security threat from the banned Muslim Brotherhood. More than 60 people have been detained in a crackdown on Islamists in the past year amid heightened worries among officials about a spillover from Arab unrest elsewhere. Those on trial also include 13 women who have been charged but were not detained and 10 others who are being tried in absentia, the state news agency WAM reported. ... Full Story | Top |
| Violent protests erupt for second day in Egypt's Port Said Monday, Mar 04, 2013 08:54 AM PST PORT SAID, Egypt (Reuters) - Protesters hurled petrol bombs and stones at police officers who responded by firing teargas in Egypt's Port Said on Monday, a day after deadly demonstrations in the Suez Canal city. Violent protests have erupted in Port Said since January over the detention of dozens of people after a soccer riot in the city last year in which 70 people were killed. On Monday, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of a local government office to protest against the detentions and they set fire to two police cars, a witness said. ... Full Story | Top |
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