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| Australia PM hits out at critics amid leadership turmoil Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 09:03 PM PDT  By Rob Taylor CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard hit out at critics of her record on Monday as speculation intensified of a fresh challenge to her leadership and opinion polls showed her divided Labor Party headed for a catastrophic September election defeat. With Labor on track for a record low vote following months of tensions between Gillard and her main rival, Kevin Rudd, senior backers of the prime minister called for an end to the impasse. "We certainly can't have this go on. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ecuador says Snowden has made asylum request, no decision yet Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 08:58 PM PDT HANOI (Reuters) - Ecuador's foreign minister, currently on a visit to Vietnam, said on Monday that his nation has received a request for political asylum from Edward Snowden, the former U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, but no decision had been taken. "I can confirm that we received the request for asylum from Mr Snowden," Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino told reporters in Hanoi. "We will make a decision on this, we are analyzing this with a lot of responsibility. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan ruling bloc sweeps Tokyo poll, on track for upper house win Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 08:50 PM PDT  By Linda Sieg TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling bloc swept to victory in a weekend Tokyo election, a sign it's on track for a hefty win in a July national vote that could strengthen Abe's hand as he aims to end economic stagnation and bolster defense. Politicians and pundits had been eyeing the outcome of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election for clues to how well Abe's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner, the New Komeito, will fare in a July 21 election for parliament's upper house that opinion polls suggest they will win handily. ... Full Story | Top |
| Snowden's Hong Kong lawyer says HK government asked him to leave city Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 08:14 PM PDT HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Hong Kong lawyer representing ex-CIA contractor Edward Snowden said on Monday that a middle man claiming to represent the Hong Kong government told Snowden that he should leave the city. Legislator Albert Ho told reporters he was approached by Snowden several days ago, and that Snowden had sought reassurances from the Hong Kong government on whether he would be able to leave the city freely, if he chose to do so. ... Full Story | Top |
| Police remove flagpole at center of Afghan, Taliban row Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 07:05 PM PDT  By Hamid Shalizi and Amena Bakr KABUL/DOHA (Reuters) - Police have removed a flagpole from the Taliban's office in Qatar, an official said on Sunday, expunging the last visible sign of official decoration that riled the Afghan government and derailed nascent peace talks. The Taliban was due to hold discussions with U.S. officials in Qatar last Thursday - originally raising hopes the meeting could develop into full-blown negotiations to end Afghanistan's 12-year-old war. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. warns countries against Snowden travel Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 06:47 PM PDT  By James Pomfret and Lidia Kelly HONG KONG/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden sought asylum in Ecuador on Sunday after Hong Kong allowed his departure for Russia in a blow to Washington's efforts to extradite him on espionage charges. In a major embarrassment for U.S. President Barack Obama, an aircraft thought to have carried Snowden landed in Moscow on Sunday, and Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino tweeted that Ecuador had received an asylum request from Snowden. ... Full Story | Top |
| China 'gravely concerned' by Snowden's claims of U.S. cyber attacks on China Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 06:43 PM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - China has expressed "grave concern" over former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden's allegations that the United States had hacked into computers in China, saying it had taken up the issue with Washington. A statement issued late on Sunday by China's foreign ministry came a day after Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper quoted Snowden offering new details about U.S. surveillance activities. These included accusations of U.S. hacking of Chinese mobile phone firms and targeting of China's Tsinghua University. ... Full Story | Top |
| Timeline: U.S. and Hong Kong communication about Snowden Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 05:23 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said on Sunday it was disappointed with Hong Kong's decision not to arrest former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who is accused of divulging secrets about U.S. surveillance programs. The Hong Kong government said the U.S. extradition requests were insufficient. Below is the timeline of communication between the United States and Hong Kong before Snowden fled the Chinese territory for Russia, based on Reuters reports and official U.S. accounts. ... Full Story | Top |
| Qatar readies new leadership, little policy change expected Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 05:02 PM PDT By William Maclean and Sami Aboudi DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar appeared on Monday to be readying its population of nearly 2 million for new leadership that could see the emir and prime minister step down, a move analysts say would not herald big changes in energy, investment or foreign policies. The tiny country, the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, is a global investment powerhouse, a growing force in international media and sport, and a financial backer of Arab Spring revolts in alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian rebels renew fight for Aleppo Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 03:53 PM PDT  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian rebels battled President Bashar al-Assad's forces in and around the northern city of Aleppo on Sunday, seeking to reverse gains made by loyalist forces in the commercial hub over the last two months, activists said. The fighting, by a variety of insurgent groups, happened as France urged moderate rebels to wrest territory back from radical Islamists whose role in the fight to topple Assad poses a dilemma for Western countries concerned that arms shipments could fall into the hands of people it considers terrorists. ... Full Story | Top |
| Power outages in Calgary could last for months after floods Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 03:43 PM PDT  By Nia Williams CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Power outages in the Canadian oil capital of Calgary could last for weeks or even months, city authorities said on Sunday, as record breaking flood waters moved downstream to threaten smaller communities in southeastern Alberta. Even as officials told 65,000 Calgary residents they could start returning to their water-damaged homes, 10,000 people in were evacuated in Medicine Hat, where the South Saskatchewan River is expected to burst its banks. ... Full Story | Top |
| Al Qaeda says hostages in North Africa alive, open to talks Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 03:42 PM PDT By Bate Felix DAKAR (Reuters) - Eight hostages, including five from France, being held by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) are safe, the Islamist group said in a statement posted on its Twitter account on Saturday. The statement coincided with rallies across France organised by the families of French hostages who were seized in Niger in September 2010 to mark more than 1,000 days of captivity. French newspapers reported this week that the hostages had been transferred to Algeria and were in the hands of AQIM's new chief, Yahia Abou el Hamam. ... Full Story | Top |
| Father of Snowden's girlfriend says she is staying with friends Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 03:42 PM PDT By Tom Ramstack and Joe McDonald LAUREL, Md./ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Jonathan Mills, father of the girlfriend of fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, said his daughter is staying with friends and he doesn't know if she will try to join Snowden in exile. Snowden, who divulged widespread U.S. government wiretapping to the news media, flew to Moscow from Hong Kong to escape extradition to the United States. Snowden, who faces felony charges, is seeking asylum in Ecuador, the Quito government said on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. 'disappointed' Hong Kong didn't arrest Snowden: official Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 03:15 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is disappointed Hong Kong didn't arrest former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden despite repeated senior level contacts on the matter, a Justice Department official said on Sunday. "The U.S. is disappointed and disagrees with the determination by Hong Kong authorities not to honor the U.S. request for the arrest of the fugitive," the official said. At no point in discussions through Friday did Hong Kong raise issues regarding the sufficiency of the U.S. arrest request, the official said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Qatar ruler to meet ruling family amid handover reports: Al Jazeera Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 03:09 PM PDT DUBAI (Reuters) - The ruler of Qatar will meet members of the ruling family and decision makers in the U.S.-allied Gulf Arab state on Monday "amid reports that he intends to hand over power to his crown prince, Sheikh Tamim", the Qatar-owned Al Jazeera television reported. The satellite channel said it had learned of the news from "reliable Qatari sources", but provided no further details. Diplomats said earlier this month that an orderly transfer of power, which would also include the powerful prime minister stepping down, was being considered. (Editing by Kevin Liffey) Full Story | Top |
| Mandela's health worsens, condition now 'critical' Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 03:02 PM PDT  By Ed Cropley JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African president Nelson Mandela's condition deteriorated to "critical" on Sunday, the government said, two weeks after the 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader was admitted to hospital with a lung infection. The worsening of his condition is bound to concern South Africa's 53 million people, for whom Mandela remains the architect of a peaceful transition to democracy in 1994 after three centuries of white domination. ... Full Story | Top |
| Four Egyptian Shi'ites killed in attack by Sunni Muslims Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 02:59 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Four Egyptian Shi'ites were killed on Sunday in an attack by Sunni Muslims fearing the spread of Shi'ite Islam in Egypt, according to reports by state media, witnesses and security sources. Residents of the town of Zawiyat Abu Muslim in Giza province on the outskirts of Cairo surrounded the home of a prominent Shi'ite after learning he was hosting a religious gathering, witnesses and security sources told Reuters. The residents beat the guests and threw petrol bombs at the house, setting it on fire, the sources said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fifteen killed in Montenegro bus crash, 31 injured Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 02:51 PM PDT PODGORICA (Reuters) - Fifteen people were killed and 31 injured when a passenger bus with Romanian licence plates fell into a deep river gorge in central Montenegro on Sunday, officials said. Police said the bus had swerved off the Zdrijelo Bridge and plunged onto a rocky outcrop in the gorge of the Moraca River, about 50 km (30 miles) north of the capital Podgorica. "This is a major tragedy for us. Fifteen people out of 46 passengers died in a bus accident. Medical crews are fighting for the lives of others," the Romanian ambassador to Montenegro, Mihail Florovici, told Vijesti TV. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Japan utilities' assumptions for reactor restart dates Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 02:48 PM PDT TOKYO (Reuters) - Six of Japan's regional electricity monopolies have included plans to restart 20 reactors by September 2015 in applications for rate hikes that have to be signed off by the country's industry ministry. Industry observers say the assumptions are ambitious, as the country's new nuclear regulator, set up after the Fukushima disaster of March 2011, has said its review of Japan's nuclear fleet may take more than three years. The regulator has also said its standards will be the toughest in the world. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. urges countries not to let 'wanted' Snowden travel Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 02:41 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has warned countries in the Western Hemisphere that Edward Snowden might travel through or take refuge in not to let the former spy agency contractor go anywhere but home, a State Department official said on Sunday. "The U.S. is advising these governments that Snowden is wanted on felony charges, and as such should not be allowed to proceed in any further international travel, other than is necessary to return him to the United States," the official said in a written statement. The State Department did not identify any of the countries. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria-linked clashes kill at least 12 in Lebanon Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 02:32 PM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least 12 people were killed in fierce clashes in the Lebanese city of Sidon on Sunday between the army and followers of a Sunni Muslim cleric who have been caught up in sectarian fighting fuelled by the war in neighboring Syria. Guns and rocket fire rattled the port city 40 km (28 miles) south of Beirut that has been on edge since violence erupted there last week between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslim fighters, at odds over the Syrian conflict. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan nuclear safety upgrades dazzle, mask industry woes Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 02:30 PM PDT  By Aaron Sheldrick and Kentaro Hamada TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's nuclear utilities face shareholders this week promising restarts of idled plants as soon as next month after costly safety upgrades, plans that look wildly optimistic given they are yet to secure either regulatory or local approval. A glaring example is the Hamaoka nuclear plant, once dubbed the world's most dangerous for its location near a major earthquake fault zone. Operator Chubu Electric Power Co's $1.5 billion upgrade is unlikely to convince opponents galvanized by ongoing problems from the Fukushima meltdown. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian army steps in to demand political truce Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 02:26 PM PDT  By Shaimaa Fayed and Alastair Macdonald CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army stepped in to a deepening political crisis on Sunday to demand that the Islamist government and its opponents settle their differences and warned that it would act to stop violence spinning out of control. Issued a week before mass rallies to demand the resignation of President Mohamed Mursi, and following days of friction and increasingly aggressive rhetoric between factions, the statement by the armed forces chief was the most powerful since generals ceded control to civilians after Mursi's election a year ago. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Korea's Park set to charm China, show up the North Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 02:07 PM PDT  By Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) - When the presidents of China and South Korea meet in Beijing this week, they will likely use a rapport that blossomed eight years ago to find common ground on North Korea as well as seek ways to boost already vibrant economic ties. With her self-taught Mandarin and interest in Chinese culture, South Korea's Park Geun-hye will get a warm welcome during a four-day state visit that begins on Thursday. "I am sure this summit will be an unprecedented honeymoon for China and South Korea," said Woo Su-keun, a South Korean professor at Donghua University in Shanghai. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kerry urges climate change action on eve of India talks Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 01:49 PM PDT  By Lesley Wroughton NEW DELHI (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged fast-growing India to work with Washington to tackle climate change and develop green technologies, on the eve of talks on trade and regional security. Emerging economies like India have resisted pressure in global climate talks to commit to targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in a dispute with rich nations over whose industries should bear the brunt of the cuts. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thirteen killed in Montenegro bus crash, 33 injured Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 01:15 PM PDT PODGORICA (Reuters) - Thirteen people were killed and 33 injured when a passenger bus with Romanian licence plates fell into a deep river gorge in central Montenegro on Sunday, the interior minister said. Police said the bus had swerved off the Zdrijelo Bridge and plunged onto a rocky outcrop in the gorge of the Moraca River, about 50 km (30 miles) north of the capital Podgorica. "There are 13 dead, 33 injured. There were 46 people on board," Interior Minister Rasko Konjevic said in a television broadcast. "There are many severely injured. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU's Barroso 'fuelling' far-right: French minister Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 01:04 PM PDT By Claude Canellas and Dominique Vidalon BORDEAUX/PARIS (Reuters) - Outspoken French Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg accused European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Sunday of fueling far-right groups across Europe as France's National Front made gains in a parliament by-election. Montebourg said the EU was alienating ordinary Europeans by ignoring their concerns. The comments mark an escalation in tensions between Paris and Brussels, already at loggerheads over France's refusal to allow subsidies to its cinema and other cultural sectors to be reviewed in future EU-U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ecuador takes center stage, again, in U.S. secrecy saga Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 12:54 PM PDT By Alexandra Valencia QUITO (Reuters) - Tiny Ecuador is once again at the center of an international diplomatic saga over U.S. data secrecy that will thrust the country's leftist President Rafael Correa into the limelight and stir fresh controversy with Washington. The government of the South American nation of just 15 million people, which has thumbed its nose at the West before, said on Sunday that fugitive former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden had asked it for asylum. Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino was due to give more details on Monday during a visit to Vietnam. ... Full Story | Top |
| Claim and counter-claim in Albania vote watched by West Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 12:49 PM PDT  By Benet Koleka and Matt Robinson TIRANA (Reuters) - Albania's ruling party and opposition traded claims of victory on Sunday in a parliamentary election watched closely by Western allies worried about the state of democracy in the NATO country. After a vote marred by a fatal shootout, opposition Socialist Party leader Edi Rama called on Prime Minister Sali Berisha to "prepare the transition" after two consecutive terms at the helm of the ex-communist Adriatic nation. "Our data says we won over the forces of destruction," Rama told cheering supporters at his party headquarters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen kill nine foreign tourists, two locals in northern Pakistan Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 12:14 PM PDT  By By Jibran Ahmed PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Gunmen stormed a mountaineering base camp in northern Pakistan on Sunday and shot dead nine foreign trekkers and a Pakistani guide as they rested during an arduous climb up one of the world's tallest peaks, police said. The night-time raid - which killed five Ukrainians, three Chinese and a Russian - was among the worst attacks on foreigners in Pakistan in a decade and underscored the growing reach of militants in a highland region once considered secure. One of the victims also held a U.S. passport, a U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Erdogan defends riot police tactics in Turkey protests Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 12:08 PM PDT  By Daren Butler ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan piled ridicule on activists behind weeks of protests against his government during a rally on Sunday and defended riot police who fired water cannon at crowds in Istanbul a day earlier. Looking out of over a sea of Turkish flags waved by his AK Party faithful in the eastern city of Erzurum, Erdogan praised his supporters and the general public for opposing what he called a plot against his country. "The people saw this game from the start and frustrated it. They (the protesters) thought the people would say nothing. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU risks upsetting Turkey with threat to call off talks Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 12:08 PM PDT By Adrian Croft BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is on the verge of scrapping a new round of membership talks with Turkey, a move that would further undermine Ankara's already slim hopes of joining the bloc anytime soon and damage its relations with Brussels. Germany, the EU's biggest economic power, is blocking efforts to revive Turkey's EU membership bid, partly because of its handling of anti-government protests that have swept the country in the last few weeks, EU sources say. ... Full Story | Top |
| French minister says EU's Barroso fuelling far-right Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 12:06 PM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - French Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg accused European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Sunday of fuelling far-right and populist movements in Europe as EU institutions failed to defend the interests of ordinary people. His comments came just before France's conservatives narrowly saw off a challenge from the far-right National Front to win a by-election in the southern French constituency of Villeneuve-sur-Lot. President Francois Hollande's Socialists had already been eliminated in the first round. "The European Union is paralysed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Five killed as rebels attack Damascus security compounds: activists Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 11:57 AM PDT AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian rebels attacked two security compounds in Damascus on Sunday, killing at least five people, opposition activists in the capital said. Fighters attacked a compound in the district of Rukn al-Deen with explosives and another in Bab Musalla with mortar rounds, they said. The compound in Rukn al-Deen served as a base for shabbiha militia loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, the activists said. ... Full Story | Top |
| WikiLeaks defies U.S. to help leaker Snowden Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 11:37 AM PDT By Peter Griffiths LONDON (Reuters) - WikiLeaks' decision to help U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden escape Washington's extradition attempts in Hong Kong has cemented the anti-secrecy group's reputation as a thorn in the side of the American and British governments. In comments likely to infuriate Washington, WikiLeaks said it was escorting Snowden to Ecuador and had offered the support of its legal director Baltasar Garzon, a former Spanish judge known around the world for ordering the arrest of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. says Pakistan has food 'emergency', but donors look elsewhere Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 10:47 AM PDT  By Frank Jack Daniel PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Hunger in Pakistan is at emergency levels after years of conflict and floods, but funding has dwindled as new crises such as Syria grab donors' attention, the United Nations food aid chief said on Sunday. Fighting in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan compounded problems caused by three consecutive years of floods that destroyed crops and forced millions of people to temporarily abandon their homes. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. revokes Snowden's passport: official source Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 10:30 AM PDT (Reuters) - The United States has revoked the passport of former national security contractor Edward Snowden, an official source familiar with the decision said on Sunday. It was not immediately clear how Snowden was able to travel, and the official offered no details. An aircraft thought to be carrying him landed in Moscow on Sunday after Hong Kong let the former U.S. National Security Agency contractor leave the territory, despite Washington's efforts to extradite him to face espionage charges. (Editing by Bill Trott) Full Story | Top |
| Czech president hints he may try to form technocrat cabinet Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 10:22 AM PDT  By Jan Lopatka and Jason Hovet PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech President Milos Zeman indicated on Sunday he was considering forming a technocrat cabinet to replace the government of Petr Necas, who resigned on Monday in a bribery and spying scandal involving his aide. The leftist president said he might not agree to a plan by the centerright ruling coalition to form a new cabinet, under current parliament speaker Miroslava Nemcova, that could rule until a scheduled election in May next year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ecuador says it has received asylum request from Snowden Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 10:09 AM PDT QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said on Sunday that former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden had asked Ecuador for asylum. "The Government of Ecuador has received an asylum request from Edward J. #Snowden," Patino, who is on an official visit to Vietnam, said on Twitter. Patino did not give additional details. WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson confirmed that Snowden had requested asylum in Ecuador. The anti-secrecy website had earlier said it helped Snowden find "political asylum in a democratic country". ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. lawmakers slam Russia for abetting Snowden flight Sunday, Jun 23, 2013 09:37 AM PDT By Paul Eckert and Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers on Sunday said former national security contractor Edward Snowden's reported flight to Russia with a plan to flee onward to Cuba or Venezuela undermined his whistle blower claims and they slammed Moscow for helping a fugitive. An aircraft thought to be carrying Snowden landed in Moscow on Sunday after Hong Kong let the former U.S. National Security Agency contractor leave the territory, despite Washington's efforts to extradite him to face espionage charges. ... Full Story | Top |
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