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| Rudd sworn in as Australian prime minister after overthrowing Gillard Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 09:03 PM PDT  By James Grubel CANBERRA (Reuters) - Kevin Rudd was sworn in as Australian prime minister for the second time on Thursday, a day after toppling Julia Gillard and three months out from scheduled elections with polls suggesting the ruling Labor Party is staring at a devastating defeat. Rudd's resurrection as prime minister comes after three years of bitter infighting within the Labor leadership and as the world's 12th largest economy faces challenges from a slowdown in top trade partner China. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mongolian president wins second term amid focus on mining curbs Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 08:32 PM PDT  ULAN BATOR (Reuters) - Mongolia's incumbent president, Tsakhia Elbegdorj, who wants more controls on foreign mining investments, has emerged as the winner of Wednesday's polls with a narrow majority of votes cast, the country's election commission said on Thursday. Elbegdorj, 50, who has served as president since 2009, was the overwhelming favorite in the contest, played out amid worries about Mongolia's faltering economy as well as the growing role of foreign mining firms. The commission said Elbegdorj got 50. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisia frees three Europeans jailed for topless feminist protest Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 07:42 PM PDT  By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - A Tunisian court on Wednesday decided to release three European feminist activists who staged a topless protest in Tunis last month against the Islamist-led government. The release of the three women -- one German and two French members the women's rights group, Femen -- could ease the anger of the European Union, Tunisia's main economic ally. They were sentenced to four months in jail for indecency earlier this month after their May 29 protest to call for the release of fellow activist Tunisian Amina Tyler. Tyler, 18, remains in custody, awaiting trial. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuelan government says recording proves opposition plots Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 07:28 PM PDT  By Enrique Andres Pretel and Daniel Wallis CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's government released a recording on Wednesday of a well-known opposition lawmaker apparently criticizing the head of the opposition coalition and accusing him of meeting U.S. officials to provoke a crisis in the OPEC nation. In the latest of a string of secretly-made recordings that have roiled politics in the South American country in recent months, the new tape was of female legislator Maria Corina Machado talking to a local academic. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mursi offers to listen, opponents unimpressed Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 06:14 PM PDT  By Yasmine Saleh and Alastair Macdonald CAIRO (Reuters) - President Mohamed Mursi offered opponents a say in amending Egypt's constitution, but railed against "enemies" he accused of undermining the new democracy in a defiant speech ahead of mass protests planned to demand that he step down. As the Islamist head of state ended a marathon televised address early on Thursday, liberals said they had heard nothing new, including any offer to include them in committees to draft institutional reforms and study "national reconciliation". ... Full Story | Top |
| Fresh protests in Brazil despite government concessions Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 04:55 PM PDT  By Anthony Boadle and Tatiana Ramil BRASILIA/BELO HORIZONTE (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets on Wednesday in new demonstrations calling for a crackdown on corruption and better public services, just a day after Congress ceded to some of the key demands galvanizing protests across the country. In Belo Horizonte, authorities said 40,000 people gathered to demand improved education and healthcare as Brazil's third-largest city hosted a Confederations Cup semi-final soccer game between Brazil and Uruguay in a warm-up for the 2014 World Cup. ... Full Story | Top |
| Snowden still at airport, Ecuador asylum decision could take months Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 04:44 PM PDT  By Alessandra Prentice and Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) - A former U.S. spy agency contractor facing charges of espionage remained in hiding at a Moscow airport on Wednesday while the prospect grew of a protracted wrangle over his fate. Ecuador, where Edward Snowden has requested asylum, said a decision could take months and asked Washington to argue its case for extradition. Russia said Snowden, whose flight is proving a growing embarrassment for President Barack Obama, was still in the transit area of Sheremetyevo airport. A leading U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. judge throws out Abu Ghraib detainees' torture case Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 04:37 PM PDT  By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - CACI International Inc has won the dismissal of a lawsuit accusing it of conspiring to torture detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, as the defense contractor benefited from a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision over alleged human rights abuses on foreign soil. In a decision made public on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee in Alexandria, Virginia said he lacked jurisdiction to hear claims brought by the four Iraqi plaintiffs under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), and separate claims by one plaintiff that he said were barred under Iraqi law. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mursi invites parties to amend constitution Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 03:52 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi said on Wednesday he was forming an all-party committee to propose amendments to the constitution and was inviting party leaders to start work on it on Thursday. The move to address complaints about the constitution, pushed through a referendum by Mursi and his Islamist supporters against vocal complaints from the opposition, appeared to be a key point in his speech and seemed to address a call from the army for political factions to forge a new consensus. Mursi also said he would form a second committee to work on "national reconciliation". ... Full Story | Top |
| Mursi offers constitution change before protests Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 03:52 PM PDT By Alastair Macdonald and Yasmine Saleh CAIRO (Reuters) - President Mohamed Mursi offered opponents a say on Wednesday in amending a controversial new constitution and a forum to seek "national reconciliation", as he sought to avert a violent showdown in the streets. In a televised address lasting more than two and a half hours, the Islamist head of state blamed loyalists of fallen dictator Hosni Mubarak for the "paralysis" that has marked his first year in office but also offered an olive branch to opponents that also seemed to address demands from the army. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt to try six Israelis in absentia for spying Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 03:52 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian state security prosecutor said on Wednesday he had ordered six Israelis and three Egyptians to be tried for spying. In a statement, he said the six Israelis and one Egyptian would be tried in absentia, along with two Egyptians now in custody, on charges of espionage for Israel. The Israeli suspects include four intelligence officers who Egyptian authorities say had recruited the Egyptians to spy for them, a source in the prosecutor's office said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Australia to swear in Rudd as PM, Bowen as Treasurer Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 03:41 PM PDT  CANBERRA (Reuters) - Kevin Rudd will be sworn in as Australian prime minister at 9.30 a.m. on Thursday (2330 GMT Wednesday), with Chris Bowen to be sworn in as treasurer, the office of Governor-General Quentin Bryce said on Thursday. Rudd toppled Julia Gillard on Wednesday, taking back the top job with an election due within three months and with the party's poll standing in the doldrums. (Reporting by Lincoln Feast in Sydney; Editing by Eric Beech) Full Story | Top |
| Speculation mounts on early arrival for Britain's royal baby Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 03:33 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - British bookmakers are taking money on speculation that the royal baby could come sooner than expected with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge fudging the date to retain some privacy and shake off the world's media. Prince William and Kate's first child is officially due in mid-July with the couple saying they have no idea of the sex of the baby who will be third in line to the British throne. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mandela still critical, Zuma cancels Mozambique trip Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 03:29 PM PDT By Ed Cropley JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African President Jacob Zuma canceled a trip to neighboring Mozambique on Thursday, intensifying speculation about a deterioration in the health of anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela, who remains critically ill in hospital. Zuma made his decision not to leave the country after visiting the 94-year-old late on Wednesday in the Pretoria hospital where he has been receiving treatment for a lung infection for nearly three weeks. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria death toll tops 100,000, rebels lose border town Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 02:51 PM PDT By Dominic Evans and Oliver Holmes BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces have retaken a town on the Lebanese border as they press an offensive against rebels in a conflict that has now cost more than 100,000 lives, activists said on Wednesday. The army took full control of Tel Kalakh, driving out insurgents and ending an unofficial truce under which it had allowed a small rebel presence to remain for several months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Big poll win for Japan PM Abe's party could defeat bold economic reform Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 02:48 PM PDT  By Linda Sieg TOKYO (Reuters) - Will the real Shinzo Abe please stand up? Abe, back as Japan's premier in a rare second term, is expected to lead his ruling bloc to victory in a July upper house election, but what he will do with the mandate is a puzzle. Pessimists fear too decisive a win will weaken commitment to reforms needed to end the stagnation that has long plagued the economy. The risks are twofold. ... Full Story | Top |
| Armed groups clash in Libyan capital for second day Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 02:31 PM PDT  By Ghaith Shennib TRIPOLI (Reuters) - At least two people were killed and 24 wounded in clashes between militias in Libya's capital on Wednesday, highlighting the rivalries behind heavily armed groups that have plagued the country since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi. Loud explosions and gunfire rocked Tripoli's southern neighborhoods - the second day of violence in the battle-scarred city. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ecuador denies giving Snowden a travel document: report Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 02:11 PM PDT QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuador has not given a temporary travel document to former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, the South American nation's acting foreign minister told local media on Wednesday. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has said that Snowden, wanted by the United States for leaking secret information about a spying program, had received a refugee document from Ecuador. "That's not true. ... Full Story | Top |
| Khodorkovsky supporters rally to mark birthday, arrests reported Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 02:09 PM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Supporters of jailed ex-oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky gathered in Moscow on Wednesday to mark his fiftieth birthday and one news website reported that 46 people were arrested. Chanting: "Freedom for political prisoners!," some 200 protesters rallied amid speculation that the fierce Putin critic could face a fresh criminal case that would prevent his scheduled release in October 2014. There was no immediate confirmation from the police of the arrest of 46 people, reported by the popular Lenta.ru news site. ... Full Story | Top |
| Manila plans air, naval bases at Subic with access for U.S., officials say Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 02:04 PM PDT By Manuel Mogato MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippine military has revived plans to build new air and naval bases at Subic Bay, a former U.S. naval base that American forces could use to counter China's creeping presence in the disputed South China Sea, senior navy officials said. The proposed bases in the Philippines, a close U.S. ally, coincides with a resurgence of U.S. warships, planes and personnel in the region as Washington turns its attention to a newly assertive China and shifts its foreign, economic and security policy towards Asia. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sierra Leone slaps travel ban on bank workers, taxmen in corruption probe Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 01:54 PM PDT FREETOWN (Reuters) - Sierra Leone has banned the country's bank workers, tax officers and some shipping officials from travelling abroad without permission in a wide-scale crackdown on tax fraud. Authorities in the West African state have arrested 13 people working in banks and the tax authority as part of an investigation that has underscored deep-rooted corruption in a country attracting investment as it recovers from years of war. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Kuwaitis campaign privately to arm Syrian rebels Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 01:44 PM PDT By Sylvia Westall and Mahmoud Harby KUWAIT (Reuters) - At a traditional evening meeting known as a "diwaniya", Kuwaiti men drop banknotes into a box, opening a campaign to arm up to 12,000 anti-government fighters in Syria. A new Mercedes is parked outside to be auctioned off for cash. They are Sunni Muslim and mainly Islamist like many Syrian rebels who have been trying for two years to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, a member of the minority Alawite sect that is a branch of Shi'ite Islam. ... Full Story | Top |
| French court upholds life term for Carlos the Jackal Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 01:14 PM PDT  By Chine Labbé and Alexandria Sage PARIS (Reuters) - Carlos the Jackal, once one of the world's most wanted criminals, lost his appeal of a guilty verdict for deadly bomb attacks in France three decades ago, as a Paris court on Wednesday reaffirmed a life sentence in prison. The Venezuelan defendant, 63, whose real name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, had appealed a guilty verdict handed down in December 2011 for masterminding four separate attacks on two trains, a train station and a Paris street that killed 11 people and wounded about 150 more. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greek militant group claims attack on ruling party base Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 01:10 PM PDT ATHENS (Reuters) - A newly emerged militant group said it carried out a rifle attack on the headquarters of Greece's governing New Democracy party earlier this year in protest against cuts imposed by international lenders. In an early morning gun assault in January, attackers opened fire on the building near the center of Athens with a Kalashnikov rifle. A bullet pierced a window in Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's office but no one was hurt. The "People's Fighter Group" posted its claim online on Wednesday, saying its original plan to fire a rocket-propelled grenade had failed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mursi says polarized politics threaten democracy Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 01:09 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - President Mohamed Mursi, in an address to the nation, said on Wednesday that the polarized state of Egypt's politics was threatening democracy and could plunge the nation into chaos. He acknowledged he had made errors, but also blamed unspecified "enemies of Egypt" for sabotage the democratic system born in the uprising of 2011 and under which the Islamist Mursi was elected a year ago. ... Full Story | Top |
| Albanian leader concedes defeat, soothes fears of poll dispute Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 01:07 PM PDT  By Benet Koleka TIRANA (Reuters) - Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha conceded defeat on Wednesday after losing a parliamentary election at the weekend, ending three days of public silence and soothing fears of a messy handover of power in the volatile NATO country. The concession speech to supporters in downtown Tirana clears the way for the capital's former mayor and leader of the opposition Socialist Party, Edi Rama, to take power after a landslide victory on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Support for Snowden dips, but more Americans still see him as patriot: Reuters/Ipsos poll Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 12:37 PM PDT By Gabriel Debenedetti WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans are still more likely to view Edward Snowden as a "patriot" than a "traitor," but public support for the former U.S. spy agency contractor who leaked details of secret American surveillance programs has fallen during the past week, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday. More than one-quarter of respondents said that Snowden should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, up 3 percentage points from a week earlier. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kosovo says now recognized by 100 countries Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 12:27 PM PDT  By Fatos Bytyci PRISTINA (Reuters) - Egypt has become the 100th country to recognize Serbia's former province of Kosovo as independent, the Pristina government said on Wednesday, a milestone for the Balkan country's pursuit of full international acceptance. "The oldest state in the world, Egypt, has officially recognized now the youngest state in Europe - Kosovo," Kosovo Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj said on Twitter. A ministry official said this was the 100th recognition since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February 2008 with the backing of the West. The country of 1. ... Full Story | Top |
| Artist and acclaimed ex-mayor takes on Albania Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 12:25 PM PDT  By Benet Koleka TIRANA (Reuters) - If outgoing Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha was one of the most resilient leaders of the turbulent Balkans, his successor after a Sunday election is its most colorful. Towering over most of his countrymen, former basketball player and artist Edi Rama won international acclaim by splashing paint and cleaning up his native Tirana in a decade as its energetic mayor. He once vowed never to wear a tie and described politics in the former communist nation as "the highest level of conceptual art". ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia has no military personnel in Syria: reports Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 12:22 PM PDT By Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia currently has no Defence Ministry personnel in Syria, the Vedomosti newspaper reported on Wednesday, indicating Moscow has withdrawn staff from its naval facility in the Mediterranean port of Tartous and may have stopped using it. If accurate, the report could indicate Russia was concerned about the danger to its workers posed by the rebellion against Moscow's ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, analysts said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Defense chief says Snowden leaks were 'serious security breach' Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 12:08 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Wednesday that intelligence leaks by National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden were a serious breach that violated U.S. laws and damaged national security. "I would hope that the Russians do the right thing here and turn Snowden over to the United States," Hagel told a Pentagon news conference, adding that Moscow evidently had not made a final decision since Snowden reportedly was still at the airport. "He has broken laws," Hagel said. "There was damage done to this country by the Snowden leaks. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel approves more East Jerusalem housing before Kerry talks Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 12:05 PM PDT  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel on Wednesday authorized construction of 69 housing units in a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, a decision that may upset U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's push to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Kerry, in the region for the fifth time since March, is due to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Thursday to try to win agreement to renew negotiations that broke down in 2010. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ireland agrees compensation for Magdalene Laundries survivors Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 12:00 PM PDT  DUBLIN (Reuters) - The Irish government has agreed to pay up 58 million euros ($75 million) to hundreds of women forced to work at the Catholic Church's notorious Magdalene Laundries after a report found that a quarter of them were sent there by the Irish state. The laundries, depicted in the award-winning film "The Magdalene Sisters", put 10,000 women and girls as young as nine through uncompromising hardship from the foundation of the Irish state in 1922 until 1996. ... Full Story | Top |
| Three Madagascar candidates could face sanctions over vote row Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 11:37 AM PDT By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - The European Union, the United States and the African Union proposed on Wednesday imposing sanctions such as travel bans on Madagascar's president and two other presidential candidates unless they withdrew from a planned election. The former French colony has been in crisis since 2009 when President Andry Rajoelina seized power with military support, ousting former President Marc Ravalomanana and triggering turmoil that scared off investors and tourists. Rajoelina and Ravalomanana had reached a deal with regional states not to run in this year's poll. ... Full Story | Top |
| French appeals court upholds life term for Carlos the Jackal Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 11:35 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - Carlos the Jackal, the Marxist militant once one of the world's most wanted criminals, lost his appeal on Wednesday against conviction over deadly bomb attacks three decades ago in France. Ilich Ramirez Sanchez had appealed a guilty verdict handed down in December 2011 for masterminding four separate attacks on two trains, a train station and a Paris street that killed 11 people and wounded about 150 more in the early 1980s. Judges upheld a life sentence in prison. (Reporting by Chine Labbe; Writing by Alexandria Sage; Editing by Alison Williams) Full Story | Top |
| NATO head urges Georgia to hold democratic presidential race Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 11:18 AM PDT  By Margarita Antidze TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia must ensure presidential elections in October satisfy democratic standards, NATO head Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Wednesday told Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili who is locked in a bitter political dispute with the outgoing president. Since Ivanishvili took office last year, dozens of former officials linked to President Mikheil Saakashvili have been arrested, triggering warnings from the West that Tbilisi should avoid selective justice or persecution of political opponents. ... Full Story | Top |
| Prominent militant arrested in blow to Somali Islamists Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 10:55 AM PDT  By Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - One of Somalia's most prominent Islamist rebel commanders has been arrested and is in the hands of a regional administration, local and government officials said on Wednesday, dealing a blow to the country's al Shabaab insurgents. Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys was detained in a coastal area of central Somalia and had been taken to a safe-house in the town of Adado, said a spokesman for the Somali Federal Government. Aweys was "linked to terrorism" by the United States shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington and is on a U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy government coalition averts split over F-35 jet purchase Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 10:39 AM PDT By Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - Italy's ruling coalition averted a split over a motion to scrap its purchase of 90 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets on Wednesday by agreeing to seek parliament's approval before going ahead with further spending on the program. The awkward right-left governing bloc, formed two months ago to end a political stalemate that followed February's deadlocked national election, risked fragmenting over a vote to pull out of the fighter program first agreed more than a decade ago. ... Full Story | Top |
| New emir: Qatar will pursue its 'independent behavior' Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 10:37 AM PDT  By Regan Doherty DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar's new emir said on Wednesday the U.S.-allied Gulf Arab state would not "take direction" from anyone, in an accession speech suggesting the young leader would pursue the assertive, independent-minded foreign policy pioneered by his father. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani's first address as head of state coincided with a cabinet reshuffle that saw Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, a force behind Qatar's support for Arab Spring revolts, replaced as premier and foreign minister. ... Full Story | Top |
| Al Jazeera director-general resigns to take up government post Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 10:35 AM PDT DOHA (Reuters) - The director-general of Qatar-based al Jazeera satellite news network has resigned to take up a post in the newly reshuffled government, the station said on Wednesday. Ahmed bin Jassim al-Thani said in a statement posted on the station's website that he was leaving the network "to serve my country", without indicating which government post he was taking. ... Full Story | Top |
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