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| CA-NEWS Summary Monday, Apr 22, 2013 08:50 PM PDT Canada thwarts "al Qaeda-supported" passenger train plot TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian police said on Monday they had arrested and charged two men with plotting to derail a Toronto-area passenger train in an operation they say was backed by al Qaeda elements in Iran. "Had this plot been carried out, it would have resulted in innocent people being killed or seriously injured," Royal Canadian Mounted Police official James Malizia told reporters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Suspect charged in hospital with Boston Marathon bombing Monday, Apr 22, 2013 08:49 PM PDT  By Scott Malone and Aaron Pressman BOSTON (Reuters) - Prosecutors formally charged Dzhokhar Tsarnaev with the bombings at the Boston Marathon in a hearing held on Monday in his hospital room, accusing him of crimes that carry the possibility of the death penalty. The 19-year-old ethnic Chechen can be seen in video taken by security cameras placing a backpack near the finish line of the world-renowned race last Monday, the criminal complaint said, alleging he acted in concert with his older brother, who was killed during a shootout with police early Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada thwarts "al Qaeda-supported" passenger train plot Monday, Apr 22, 2013 08:10 PM PDT  By Euan Rocha and Alastair Sharp TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian police said on Monday they had arrested and charged two men with plotting to derail a Toronto-area passenger train in an operation they say was backed by al Qaeda elements in Iran. "Had this plot been carried out, it would have resulted in innocent people being killed or seriously injured," Royal Canadian Mounted Police official James Malizia told reporters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Irate Italian president to begin talks on new coalition Monday, Apr 22, 2013 07:59 PM PDT  By Philip Pullella ROME (Reuters) - Italy's president launches urgent talks on Tuesday that could see a prime minister designated after two months of post-electoral stalemate that has weighed on a stagnant economy and alarmed Rome's partners in the euro. After directing an emotional blast of impatience on Monday at the very parliament which handed him an unprecedented - and heartily unwanted - second term as head of state at the weekend, 87-year-old Giorgio Napolitano has announced a "rapid round of consultations" with political leaders, starting early Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan nationalists near disputed isles, MPs visit shrine Monday, Apr 22, 2013 07:28 PM PDT  By Ruairidh Villar EAST CHINA SEA (Reuters) - Japanese nationalists sailed a flotilla of boats on Tuesday in waters near islands at the centre of a row between China and Japan, putting further strain on Tokyo's tense ties with Beijing as a group of more than 160 Japanese lawmakers visited a shrine seen by critics a symbol of Japan's past militarism. Last year members of the same right-wing group landed on one of the disputed islets and triggered anti-Japanese protests in China, where lingering bitterness over Japan's wartime aggression has been rekindled in recent days. ... Full Story | Top |
| What next for Boston bombing suspect? Monday, Apr 22, 2013 07:18 PM PDT  By Jessica Dye NEW YORK (Reuters) - A decision to charge the Boston Marathon bombing suspect in a civilian rather than a military court means he will face the same legal process as other federal criminal defendants in U.S. courts. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was charged on Monday with using a weapon of mass destruction and malicious destruction of property resulting in death. The White House said earlier that Tsarnaev, an ethnic Chechen who is a naturalized U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: China consolidates sea claims as Asian diplomacy struggles Monday, Apr 22, 2013 05:30 PM PDT  By Manuel Mogato MASINLOC, Philippines (Reuters) - For decades, fishermen along the northwestern Philippine coast treated the teeming fishing grounds of the Scarborough Shoal as their backyard, less than a day's boat ride away. Now, they see it as a foreign country. "I lost my livelihood when we lost the Scarborough Shoal to the Chinese," said Mario Forones, a 53-year-old who owns three fishing boats that worked the reef for about a dozen years before armed Chinese vessels arrived in force last April. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK says "no clear reason" to let independent Scotland use sterling Monday, Apr 22, 2013 04:05 PM PDT  By David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) - The euro zone's experience of countries sharing a currency but not a government shows there is no clear case for an independent Scotland to use sterling, Britain's finance ministry said on Tuesday. The nation of 5 million will hold a referendum on September 18 next year to decide whether to split from the United Kingdom, at the instigation of the Scottish National Party that runs the country's devolved government. ... Full Story | Top |
| In Paraguay, a rich conservative must tackle poverty Monday, Apr 22, 2013 03:55 PM PDT  By Daniela Desantis and Hilary Burke ASUNCION (Reuters) - For Horacio Cartes, a millionaire cigarette and soft drink magnate who will be Paraguay's next president, the challenge now is to run a country where most people can only dream of having a sliver of the wealth he does. The 56-year-old, who won election on Sunday with 46 percent of the vote and will take office in August, campaigned as a center-right conservative at a time when most of Latin America is run by leftists. ... Full Story | Top |
| Palestinian prisoner in deal with Israel to end fast Monday, Apr 22, 2013 02:56 PM PDT  RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - A Palestinian prisoner held by Israel has agreed to end an on-off hunger strike on Monday which lasted for more than eight months in exchange for an early release, Palestinian officials told Reuters. The fast by Samer al-Issawi, 32, from a suburb of Jerusalem, had stoked weeks of street protests and concerns by Israel that his death might lead to mass unrest. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan nationalists close to islands disputed by China Monday, Apr 22, 2013 02:36 PM PDT  By Ruairidh Villar EAST CHINA SEA (Reuters) - A flotilla of boats carrying more than 80 Japanese nationalists arrived on Tuesday in waters near disputed islands at the centre of tensions between China and Japan, risking further straining Tokyo's fraught relations with its Asian neighbors. The boats were shadowed by at least 10 Japanese Coast Guard vessels, while three Chinese government surveillance ships moved near the islands, according to the JCG. ... Full Story | Top |
| Palestinian prisoner gains deal from Israel to end eight-month fast Monday, Apr 22, 2013 02:18 PM PDT RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - A Palestinian prisoner held by Israel has agreed to end an on-off hunger strike on Monday which has lasted for over eight months in exchange for an early release, Palestinian officials told Reuters. The fast by Samer al-Issawi, a 32-year-old from a suburb of Jerusalem, had stoked weeks of street protests and concerns by Israel that his death might lead to mass unrest. ... Full Story | Top |
| Heavy fighting in northeast Nigeria, death toll unclear Monday, Apr 22, 2013 02:12 PM PDT  By Tim Cocks and Isaac Abrak ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian authorities said on Monday there had been heavy fighting between security forces and Islamist militants in a remote part of the northeast, but there was no confirmation of reports from a local official that 185 people had been killed. Fighting erupted on Thursday in Baga, a fishing town in Borno state on the shores of Lake Chad, by the Chadian border -- an area officials say is a stronghold for Islamist fighters and a smuggling point for weapons from across the Sahara. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria says two bishops kidnapped by rebels Monday, Apr 22, 2013 02:11 PM PDT By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Two prominent Syrian bishops, who had warned of the threat to religious tolerance and diversity from the two-year conflict in their country, were kidnapped on Monday by armed rebels in the northern province of Aleppo, state media said. SANA news agency said the Syriac Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Archbishops of Aleppo, Yohanna Ibrahim and Paul Yazigi, were seized by "a terrorist group" in the village of Kfar Dael as they were "carrying out humanitarian work". ... Full Story | Top |
| China says new bird flu case found in northeast Monday, Apr 22, 2013 01:04 PM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - A man in the northeastern Chinese province of Shandong has been infected by a new strain of bird flu, the first case found in the province, state news agency Xinhua said on Monday, bringing the total number of cases in China to 105. The H7N9 virus has killed 21 people in China, according to the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO). Although it is not clear exactly how people are becoming infected, WHO experts say there is no evidence of the most worrying scenario - sustained transmission between people. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. failure boosts Western Sahara conflict risk: Polisario Monday, Apr 22, 2013 12:36 PM PDT By John Irish PARIS (Reuters) - Failure by the United Nations to let peacekeepers monitor human rights in the disputed Western Sahara risks pushing the region toward armed conflict, a senior official from the Polisario Front independence movement said on Monday. The dispute over Western Sahara dates back to 1975 and pits Morocco, which claims the region is part of its territory, against the Algeria-backed Polisario. The United Nations brokered a ceasefire settlement in 1991 with the understanding that a referendum would be held on the region's fate. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkey criticizes U.S. request to delay PM's Gaza visit Monday, Apr 22, 2013 12:04 PM PDT  By Jonathon Burch and Gulsen Solaker ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey on Monday criticized U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for asking Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to delay his planned visit to the Palestinian Gaza Strip, in a blunt put-down that underlined often prickly ties between the NATO allies. Erdogan, who has for years spoken of his desire to visit the Palestinian enclave, said last week he planned to go in late May after an official visit to the United States earlier in the same month. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunman kills six people with hunting rifle in Russia Monday, Apr 22, 2013 12:02 PM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - A man shot dead six people, including two schoolgirls, with a rifle after robbing a hunting shop in the western Russian city of Belgorod on Monday, local officials said. Police said their main suspect was a former convict in his thirties, adding that the attacker had fled in an expensive car. The man, who was still on the run on Monday evening, first opened fire at the personnel of the shop and then also shot dead passersby outside in the city's main street, police said. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU lifts Myanmar sanctions despite human rights concerns Monday, Apr 22, 2013 11:49 AM PDT  By Adrian Croft and Justyna Pawlak LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - The European Union agreed on Monday to lift all sanctions on Myanmar, except for an arms embargo, despite a Human Rights Watch report which accused authorities of complicity in the mass killing of Muslims in the west of the country last year. Lifting the sanctions gives more certainty to European firms contemplating investments in one of the least developed markets in Asia. Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has significant natural resources and borders economic giants China and India. ... Full Story | Top |
| Colombia's Santos changes mind on two-year re-election bid Monday, Apr 22, 2013 11:43 AM PDT  By Eduardo Garcia BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Monday said he is no longer considering running for a shorter term of two years in 2014 and told lawmakers it was too early to consider an extension of presidential terms to six years. Santos on Friday signaled he may seek re-election, but only if he can stay in office for two more years, half the usual term. He also said that from 2016 onwards, the presidential term should be extended to six years and that a president's right to stand for re-election should be scrapped. ... Full Story | Top |
| Up to 500 feared dead in Damascus suburb: activists Monday, Apr 22, 2013 11:41 AM PDT  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - At least 109 people have been documented as killed and up to 400 more are likely to have died in an almost week-long offensive by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on a rebellious Damascus suburb, opposition activists said. If the accounts are confirmed, the killings in the mainly Sunni Muslim suburb of Jdeidet al-Fadel would amount to one of bloodiest episodes of the two-year-old uprising against Assad. Many of the dead were civilians, the activists said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada police to hold news conference on national security probe Monday, Apr 22, 2013 11:32 AM PDT OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian police will hold a news conference at 3:30 p.m. (1930 GMT) Monday to provide details on a "national security criminal investigation", police said shortly after media reports said they had thwarted a major terrorist attack. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement the investigation was coordinated by a multi-agency team comprised of the RCMP, Canadian Security Intelligence Services, the Canada Border Service Agency and other law enforcement and national security partners. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran is biggest threat to nuclear pact's credibility: U.S. Monday, Apr 22, 2013 11:32 AM PDT  By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Iran's nuclear program poses the greatest threat to the credibility of the global pact aimed at halting the spread of atomic weapons, a senior U.S. arms control official said on Monday. The Islamic Republic has a "long history" of deceiving the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its nuclear enrichment program far exceeds that needed for civilian use, said Thomas Countryman, Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Malian army "managing misery", not received funds: French colonel Monday, Apr 22, 2013 10:48 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - The Malian army remains poor, corrupt and barely functional months after the launch of a European training mission to rebuild its strength, a French colonel said on Monday, urging a rapid payout of pledged donor funds. The European Union approved in January a 15-month training mission to rebuild a badly paid and poorly equipped Malian army, with the aim of making it strong enough to fend off potential attacks by Islamist militants. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mursi in crisis talks with judges over reform Monday, Apr 22, 2013 10:27 AM PDT  By Yasmine Saleh and Asma Alsharif CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi held crisis talks with the country's top judges on Monday after the justice minister resigned over demands by the ruling Muslim Brotherhood for a "purification" of the judiciary. The secular, liberal and left-wing opposition denounced what it called a planned "Brotherhoodisation" of the judiciary and called for demonstrations outside parliament. ... Full Story | Top |
| Afghan girls' school feared hit by poison gas Monday, Apr 22, 2013 10:22 AM PDT  By Folad Hamdard TALUQAN, Afghanistan (Reuters) - As many as 74 schoolgirls in Afghanistan's far north fell sick after smelling gas and were being examined for possible poisoning, local officials said on Sunday. While instances of poisoning are sometimes later found to be false alarms, there have been numerous substantiated cases of mass poisonings of schoolgirls by elements of Afghanistan's ultra-conservative society that are opposed to female education. Local officials said the girls became ill after smelling gas at their school, Bibi Maryam, in Takhar province's capital, Taluqan. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Italy deadlock close to an end but problems not over Monday, Apr 22, 2013 10:21 AM PDT  By Barry Moody ROME (Reuters) - Months of paralyzing political deadlock seem close to an end in Italy with a new government possible within the week, but there are still questions over whether the stability can last. President Giorgio Napolitano has reluctantly been re-elected for an unprecedented second term after traditional politicians begged him to stay on and deal with one of the most turbulent moments in recent Italian political history. Now there is some optimism that a government can be formed within the week, nearly two months after February's inconclusive election. ... Full Story | Top |
| West ramps up accusations of systemic repression in Turkmenistan Monday, Apr 22, 2013 10:17 AM PDT By Robert Evans GENEVA (Reuters) - Western states on Monday ratcheted up accusations against Turkmenistan that it allows torture and crushes free speech but Asian and Islamic states came to the defense of the natural gas-rich republic in the main U.N. human rights forum. Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov wields almost unlimited power in his Central Asian desert nation, a former Soviet republic which holds the world's fourth largest known reserves of natural gas. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU aid chief warns of risks of spreading Syria crisis Monday, Apr 22, 2013 10:10 AM PDT By Adrian Croft LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - The Syrian crisis risks unsettling Lebanon and causing a humanitarian catastrophe in Europe's backyard, the European Union's humanitarian chief said on Monday, calling for a new drive to help refugees and strained neighboring states. Kristalina Georgieva said the two-year-old crisis in Syria was the most dramatic of recent years with 4.3 million people internally displaced and nearly 1.4 million refugees in neighboring countries. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian rebel oil sales at least a month off Monday, Apr 22, 2013 09:55 AM PDT By Julia Payne LONDON (Reuters) - The Syrian opposition will not be able to sell its crude oil for at least another month due to a lack of real executive power, even though the EU has eased an embargo to help them, a prominent member of the Syrian National Council said on Monday. European Union governments agreed on Monday to ease sanctions on Syria to allow for purchases of crude from the opposition, in hopes of throwing a financial lifeline to rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad. Britain has also been pushing the EU to ease the arms embargo against Syria in favor of the opposition. ... Full Story | Top |
| Afghan Taliban say seize foreigners from helicopter Monday, Apr 22, 2013 09:51 AM PDT KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban said it had captured a group of foreigners on board a helicopter that came down in a volatile region of Afghanistan, though there were widely differing accounts of the nationalities of the passengers. The helicopter had to make an emergency landing in the eastern Logar province late on Sunday because of bad weather, a member of staff from its owner Khorasan Cargo Airlines said on condition of anonymity. "Mujahideen immediately surrounded the chopper, detained (the) foreigners aboard and completely destroyed the helicopter ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Assad urges Lebanon to help fight his foes: Lebanese delegates Monday, Apr 22, 2013 09:26 AM PDT  By Laila Bassam BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad believes neighboring Lebanon cannot shield itself from the civil war in his country and that both states should fight his opponents, three members of a Lebanese delegation who visited Assad said on Monday. Lebanon, which suffered its own civil war from 1975 to 1990 and endured a military presence by its historically dominant neighbor for 29 years until 2005, has maintained a policy of "dissociation" from Syria's two-year-old conflict. ... Full Story | Top |
| Frustrated Iraqi Sunnis protest, fear they being sidelined Monday, Apr 22, 2013 09:20 AM PDT  By Kamal Naama RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqis in Sunni provinces boycotted government offices, closed shops and deserted universities on Monday in the latest protests by the minority sect which fears it is being marginalized by Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Streets in the Sunni-majority provinces of Anbar, Nineveh and Salahuddin were mostly empty after people shuttered their shops or stayed away from work in what protest leaders said was an attempt to put pressure on Baghdad. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU opens to Serbia after Kosovo deal Monday, Apr 22, 2013 09:15 AM PDT  By Justyna Pawlak and Adrian Croft LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - The European Commission encouraged EU governments on Monday to start membership talks with Serbia, in recognition of Belgrade's accord with Kosovo last week that marked a milestone for the Balkans' recovery from the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Talks could start within the year - if all European Union capitals agree at a meeting in June - provided Serbia puts in place all the conditions of the deal meant to address the status of the Serb-populated northern part of its former province. ... Full Story | Top |
| Dutch hold student, close schools after shooting threat Monday, Apr 22, 2013 08:59 AM PDT AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dozens of schools in the Netherlands were closed on Monday and thousands of students stayed at home after an anonymous person left a message on the Internet threatening a shooting spree, police said. Police detained a former student of the British School in the Netherlands near Leiden on suspicion of making the threat, the force said in a statement. The person who posted the message said they intended to "shoot my Dutch teacher and as many students as I can" at the school. The posting also showed a picture of a pistol. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt says Russia to help revive nuclear program Monday, Apr 22, 2013 08:53 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Russia will help Egypt develop its nuclear power program, Trade and Industry Minister Hatem Saleh said on Monday, signaling that the Islamist-led state will press ahead with its quest for atomic energy. Egypt froze its nuclear program after the 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, but in 2006, the government of deposed President Hosni Mubarak announced it would revive the program. ... Full Story | Top |
| Comoros says foils plot against government, makes arrests Monday, Apr 22, 2013 08:41 AM PDT MORONI (Reuters) - Authorities in Comoros have detained several people suspected of plotting against the government, senior officials said on Monday. Disquiet has simmered in recent months on the politically volatile Indian Ocean archipelago, which has experienced around 20 coups or coup attempts since independence in 1975, after President Ikililou Dhoinine sacked people allied to his predecessor. About 10 people were taken into custody in the Kandani military camp, suspected of wanting to "orchestrate a destabilizing act", a presidential aide told Reuters on condition of anonymity. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kerry to meet Afghanistan's Karzai and Pakistanis Monday, Apr 22, 2013 08:32 AM PDT By David Brunnstrom and Hamid Shalizi BRUSSELS/KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will host talks between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and senior Pakistan officials in Brussels on Wednesday, officials said, with the aim of calming tension over border disputes and a flagging peace process. The meeting is part of a series of on-off discussions between Afghanistan and Pakistan at the behest of the United States, a senior State Department official said on Monday, confirming that Kerry had offered to host the gathering. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israeli airlines stay grounded, strike to shut airport Tuesday Monday, Apr 22, 2013 08:21 AM PDT  By Steven Scheer JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Flights at Israeli flag carrier El Al and two smaller airlines remained grounded for a second straight day on Monday due to a strike by workers protesting against a new open skies deal with Europe which they fear could cost them their jobs. Nearly 50 El Al flights from Tel Aviv were cancelled on Monday, affecting some 15,000 passengers, although the airline's union did allow three flights to take off. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. nuclear agency in talks about talks with Iran Monday, Apr 22, 2013 08:01 AM PDT  VIENNA/DUBAI (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear agency is talking with Iran to set a date for discussions on resuming an investigation there, it said on Monday, as Washington stressed the importance of diplomacy in ending a standoff over Tehran's nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which wants to restart a long-stalled inquiry into suspected atomic bomb research, issued a brief statement after Iranian media reported that talks were set for May 21. The IAEA has been trying for more than a year to coax Iran into granting IAEA officials the access they want. ... Full Story | Top |
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