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| FACTBOX-Reaction to the death of Nelson Mandela Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 08:06 PM PST South African President Jacob Zuma: "Our people have lost a father. His humility, passion and humanity earned him their love." U.S. President Barack Obama: "He achieved more than could be expected of any man. Nelson Mandela was a hero of our time." Desmond Tutu, archbishop emeritus and anti-apartheid activist: "Like a most precious diamond honed deep beneath the surface of the earth, the Madiba who emerged from prison in January 1990 was virtually flawless ... Instead of calling for his pound of flesh, he proclaimed the message of forgiveness and reconciliation, inspiring others by his example to extraordinary acts of nobility of spirit." Former South African President F.W. de Klerk, on CNN: "He was a great unifier and a very, very special man in this regard beyond everything else he did. This emphasis on reconciliation was his biggest legacy." U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: "Nelson Mandela was a giant for justice and a down-to-earth human inspiration. Full Story | Top |
| Aide of reportedly disgraced Kim Jong Un's uncle seeks asylum in Sth Korea- media Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 07:32 PM PST  A close associate of the reportedly disgraced uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is seeking asylum in South Korea, local media said on Friday. Jang Song Thaek's aide, who managed Jang's funds, requested asylum about two months ago and is currently in China under the protection of South Korean officials, South Korea's cable news network YTN said, citing a source familiar with the matter. A spokesman for South Korea's Unification Ministry, Kim Eui-do, said the defection report could not be confirmed. South Korea's National Intelligence Service said this week that Jang, the de-facto No.2 in North Korea, was removed from his positions, possibly in late November. Full Story | Top |
| China complains government building ban being flouted Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 07:25 PM PST  A ban on the construction of new government buildings in China is not being enforced effectively, the government said on Friday, ordering a new crackdown to ensure promises are kept to rein in extravagance and pervasive corruption. Numerous scandals in recent years have centered on excessive expenditure on new government buildings by officials, often in poverty-struck inland regions. Chinese President Xi Jinping has made fighting graft and extravagance a key platform of his new government, seeking to calm public anger over waste and corruption by government officials. In July, the government ordered a five-year suspension of the construction of new official buildings. Full Story | Top |
| South Africa, world mourn 'giant for justice' Mandela Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 07:12 PM PST  By Ed Cropley and Pascal Fletcher JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela died peacefully at home at the age of 95 on Thursday after months fighting a lung infection, leaving his nation and the world in mourning for a man revered as a moral giant. President Jacob Zuma's announcement late on Thursday of the death of a man who was a symbol of struggle against injustice and of racial reconciliation reverberated through South Africa and around the world. Mandela's passing, while long expected, left Africa's biggest economy still distant from being the "Rainbow Nation" ideal of social peace and shared prosperity that he had proclaimed on his triumphant release from prison in 1990. "He's in a better place, but I really hope South Africa realises what he wanted us to be ... we are not even half-way to what he wanted us to be," local resident Jack Van der Merwe said in the Johannesburg suburb of Melville. Full Story | Top |
| Mandela's struggle was personal inspiration, Obama says Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 06:37 PM PST By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - America's first black president, Barack Obama, hailed Nelson Mandela on Thursday as a source of personal inspiration whose struggle against racism in South Africa jump-started his own involvement in politics. Speaking in the White House press room shortly after the announcement of Mandela's death, a somber-looking Obama said the 95-year-old former South African president left a legacy of freedom and peace. "I am one of the countless millions who drew inspiration from Nelson Mandela's life. "Like so many around the globe, I cannot fully imagine my own life without the example that Nelson Mandela set, and so long as I live I will do what I can to learn from him," he said. Full Story | Top |
| Mexico lower house greenlights electoral reform Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 05:28 PM PST  Mexico's lower house on Thursday gave general approval to an electoral reform demanded by the opposition, helping pave the way for Congress to focus on an energy bill at the center of President Enrique Pena Nieto's economic agenda. The bill, which was approved by the Senate on Wednesday, would be returned to Senators for a final vote if significant changes to the bill are made. Opposition conservatives have made their support for backing the energy overhaul conditional on passage of the electoral reform, which would allow lawmakers to serve consecutive terms in office. Full Story | Top |
| World honors Mandela as champion of freedom and reconciliation Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 05:26 PM PST (Reuters) - Nelson Mandela was hailed on Thursday as a champion of reconciliation who "achieved more than could be expected of any man," as people the world over mourned his death and celebrated his triumphant fight against apartheid in South Africa. "Today he's gone home, and we've lost one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this earth," U.S. President Barack Obama said of Mandela, who became South Africa's first black president. "He achieved more than could be expected of any man," said Obama, who is expected to go to South Africa for Mandela's state funeral. "Nelson Mandela was a hero of our time," British Prime Minister David Cameron wrote on Twitter. Full Story | Top |
| Winter storm brings icy blast to wide swath of United States Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 05:08 PM PST  By Suzi Parker LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - People from Texas to New York were bundling up on Thursday against a winter storm that closed schools and businesses, blanketed roads and power lines with ice and threatened to disrupt road travel across a wide swath of the United States. The southern plains and central region, including Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas were expected to be especially hard hit by the storm, according to the National Weather Service. In Little Rock, Arkansas, people scrambled to stock their cupboards as temperatures plunged. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon activated the state's 24-hour emergency operations center. Full Story | Top |
| Uniting South Africa was Mandela's greatest accomplishment: de Klerk Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 04:23 PM PST Nelson Mandela's greatest accomplishment was to unify South Africa and push for reconciliation between blacks and whites in the post-apartheid era, F.W. de Klerk, the country's last white president, said on Thursday. This emphasis on reconciliation was his biggest legacy," de Klerk, 77, said in an interview with CNN after the announcement of Mandela's death at age 95. De Klerk, a white Afrikaner who released Mandela from prison in 1990 and then negotiated the end of apartheid, said Mandela was a humane man who was able to understand and soothe the fears of South Africa's white minority in the transition to democracy. De Klerk said he felt a connection to the African National Congress leader during their first meeting in 1989, shortly after de Klerk had taken over as leader of South Africa's apartheid government. Full Story | Top |
| Renewable fuel backers try to change EPA's mind at hearing Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 04:03 PM PST  By Cezary Podkul WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Supporters of the renewable fuels industry turned out en masse on Thursday, desperate for the U.S. government to change course after last month announcing a plan to lower the amount of biofuels that must be added to the fuel supply in 2014. About 300 people attended a public meeting held by the Environmental Protection Agency on the Renewable Fuel Standard, proposed changes which have become one of the most divisive policy issues of the year. The number of stakeholders who signed up to testify - almost 150 - was 10 times or more the count at a similar meeting a year ago, an EPA official said. Robert Dinneen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association, estimated that more than 100 of the speakers scheduled to testify were in favor of preserving the renewable fuel standard. Full Story | Top |
| World leaders honor Mandela as champion of freedom and reconciliation Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 03:39 PM PST (Reuters) - Nelson Mandela was hailed on Thursday as a "hero of our time" as tributes poured in from world leaders on the death of the man who led the triumphant fight against apartheid in South Africa and became that country's first black president. "Nelson Mandela was a hero of our time." Barack Obama, the first black U.S. president, said Mandela "achieved more than could be expected of any man. South African President Jacob Zuma, announcing that Mandela died at his Johannesburg home on Thursday after a prolonged lung infection, said, "Our people have lost a father. Mandela emerged from 27 years in apartheid prisons to help guide South Africa to democracy, becoming one of the world's most respected and loved political figures. Full Story | Top |
| Obama: 'courageous' Mandela left legacy of freedom, peace Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 03:06 PM PST President Barack Obama hailed former South African President Nelson Mandela on Thursday as a leader who left his country with a legacy of freedom and peace. "He achieved more than could be expected of any man," Obama said at the White House shortly after the announcement of Mandela's death. "Today he's gone home, and we've lost one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this earth," Obama said. Obama, the first black U.S. president, has long referred to Mandela as a personal inspiration. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine protesters vow to stay on streets despite police threat Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 03:05 PM PST  By Matt Robinson KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian pro-Europe demonstrators vowed to stay on the streets and continue their blockade of government buildings, despite a police threat to crack down "harshly" to enforce a court order that they disperse. Kiev's November 21 decision to abandon a trade and integration deal with the EU and pursue closer economic ties with Moscow brought hundreds of thousands of demonstrators into the streets over the weekend. Protesters have since blockaded the main government headquarters and occupied Kiev's city hall. The government ratcheted up its rhetoric on Thursday, with Prime Minister Mykola Azarov branding opponents "Nazis and criminals." Kiev's police chief, Valery Mazan, threatened to "act decisively, harshly" if the protesters defy the court order to end their blockade and occupation of government buildings. Full Story | Top |
| Zuma's announcement on death of Nelson Mandela Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 03:03 PM PST Following is the full text of South African President Jacob Zuma's address to the nation on the death of anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela on Thursday: "My Fellow South Africans, our beloved Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the founding President of our democratic nation, has departed. "Let us express, each in our own way, the deep gratitude we feel for a life spent in service of the people of this country and in the cause of humanity. Full Story | Top |
| Hurricane-force winds wreak havoc in Britain, head to Europe Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 02:58 PM PST  By Erik Kirschbaum and Belinda Goldsmith BERLIN/LONDON (Reuters) - Hurricane-force Storm Xaver blasted towards mainland Europe on Thursday after cutting transport and power in northern Britain and killing three people in what meteorologists warned could be the worst storm to hit the continent in years. British authorities said the Thames Barrier, designed to protect London from flooding during exceptional tides, would shut on Thursday night and warned of "the most serious coastal tidal surge for over 60 years in England". Prime Minister David Cameron called two emergency meetings to discuss strategy. Two people were killed in Britain as the nation's weather office measured winds of up to 225 km per hour (140 mph) when the storm slammed Scotland and parts of England. Full Story | Top |
| France vows immediate action in Central African Republic after battle Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 02:56 PM PST By Emmanuel Braun and Paul-Marin Ngoupana BANGUI (Reuters) - France said it would act immediately in Central African Republic after securing U.N. backing to halt sectarian violence that rocked the capital on Thursday and risked escalating into widespread civilian massacres. A Reuters witness and an aid worker said at least 105 people were killed in fierce fighting in Bangui between mainly Muslim former rebels now in charge of the country and a mix of local Christian militia and fighters loyal to ousted president Francois Bozize. Many were civilians. Mindful of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, when hundreds of thousands were killed as the world looked on, the United States and other Western powers have urged swift international action to prevent the anarchy in Central African Republic leading to atrocities against the civilian population. Full Story | Top |
| South Africa has lost 'colossus' in Mandela: ANC Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 02:50 PM PST JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa and the world have lost "a colossus and epitome of humility, equality, justice and peace" with the death of anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela, the ruling African National Congress said on Friday. "His life gives us the courage to push forward for development and progress towards ending hunger and poverty," it said in a statement. (Reporting by Stella Mapenzauswa; Editing by Ed Cropley) Full Story | Top |
| Pilot whales head back to sea after beaching in Florida Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 02:37 PM PST By Jane Sutton MIAMI (Reuters) - Most of the pilot whales that were stranded in the Florida Everglades swam into deeper water on Thursday while rescuers tried to chase the rest out to sea by banging on pipes and revving their boat engines. Wildlife workers had hoped the cacophony would encourage the whales to leave the shallow water where dozens of short-finned pilot whales were first sighted on Tuesday afternoon in a remote part of the Everglades National Park. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, said via Twitter that of the 51 whales originally stranded, 11 had died and five went missing overnight Wednesday. NOAA said the 35 swimming away were about 9 miles from shore, in about 18 feet of water, with about 10 or 15 miles to go before they reach deeper waters. Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Quotations about Nelson Mandela Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 02:23 PM PST (Reuters) - Here are some comments from notable figures about Nelson Mandela, made during his lifetime. "Nelson Mandela gave 27 years of his life, walked out of prison, and included his oppressors in his government so that they could all be free. He taught us that none of us can ever be free at another's expense." - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton in 2008. - - - - "Anyone who wants to talk to me on the basis that Mandela is the leader of black South Africa can forget it." - South African Prime Minister John Vorster in 1975. Full Story | Top |
| Witness: Searching for Mandela, from Robben Island to release Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 02:16 PM PST By Marius Bosch JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - One summer day in 1979 I broke several apartheid laws as a teenager, searching for a glimpse of Nelson Mandela on South Africa's notorious Robben Island prison. My businessman father managed to secure an invitation to the island through one of his employees, a rare chance to see the secluded jail where the white minority government imprisoned Mandela and scores of other anti-apartheid leaders for decades. Full Story | Top |
| "It is an ideal for which I am prepared to die," Mandela told court Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 02:12 PM PST Nelson Mandela was found guilty on June 11, 1964 of four charges of sabotage and was sentenced to life imprisonment. "At the outset, I want to say that the suggestion made by the State in its opening that the struggle in South Africa is under the influence of foreigners or communists is wholly incorrect. Full Story | Top |
| Nelson Mandela in his own words Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 02:10 PM PST (Reuters) - Following are notable quotations by former South African President Nelson Mandela. I will not leave South Africa, nor will I surrender. Full Story | Top |
| Mandela's legacy: peace, but poverty for many blacks Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 02:08 PM PST By Ed Cropley JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - In the 10 years after he withdrew from public life, Nelson Mandela divided his time between a mansion in one of Johannesburg's wealthiest suburbs and his ancestral home in Qunu, a village in South Africa's impoverished eastern Cape. While few query Mandela's achievement in dragging South Africa back from the brink of civil war in the early 1990s and brokering a peaceful end to three centuries of white dominance, tougher questions are being asked of the country he leaves behind. Despite more than 10 years of affirmative action to redress the balance under the banner of "black economic empowerment", South Africa remains one of the world's most unequal societies and whites still control huge swathes of the economy. Such ratios are fodder for critics of the 1994 settlement that brought the curtain down on nearly half a century of institutionalized white-minority rule and saw Mandela anointed South Africa's first black president. Full Story | Top |
| Mandela - teacher to his jailmates, "father" to his jailers Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 02:08 PM PST By Wendell Roelf ROBBEN ISLAND, South Africa (Reuters) - Apartheid-era South Africa's most feared prison, Robben Island, remains inextricably linked with Nelson Mandela, its most famous inmate who spent decades of hard labor educating his comrades and charming even his granite-hearted jailers. Mandela, who died on December 5 aged 95, was first sent to Robben Island for a brief period in 1962 for minor political offences, then returned two years later for a life sentence after being convicted of sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the state. Aged 46 when he began his term, Mandela was sentenced with other leading members of the African National Congress to years of hard labor, breaking rocks in a limestone quarry. "He was always friendly, polite and helpful," Christo Brand, a prison warder who was with Mandela from 1978 until his release in 1990, told Reuters during a recent visit to the island. Full Story | Top |
| Timeline: Life and times of Nelson Mandela Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 02:08 PM PST  Dec 5 - Here are some important dates and events in the life of former South African President and anti-apartheid fighter Nelson Mandela, who died on Thursday aged 95: July 18, 1918 - Born Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela near Qunu, in Transkei (now Eastern Cape), the youngest son of a counselor to the chief of his Thembu clan. 1944 - Founds African National Congress (ANC) Youth League with Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu. - Marries his first wife Evelyn. They had a daughter and two sons and were divorced in 1957. 1952 - Mandela and others arrested and charged under the Suppression of Communism Act. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia launches criminal inquiry into U.S. child exchanges Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 01:54 PM PST  By Alexei Anishchuk and Megan Twohey MOSCOW (Reuters) - Authorities in Moscow said Thursday they are investigating whether Russian children adopted by American families were illegally trafficked in the United States. The probe comes in response to a Reuters series that showed how U.S. parents have used Internet bulletin boards to offload children they regret adopting. The news agency in September reported the existence of an underground U.S. market where distressed parents are soliciting new families for children they adopted but no longer want. In a practice known as "private re-homing," people seeking to unload children, and adults seeking to take them, connect through online forums on Yahoo and Facebook, privately arranging custody transfers that can bypass government oversight and sometimes violate the law. Full Story | Top |
| Nelson Mandela, from apartheid fighter to president and unifier Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 01:52 PM PST  Nelson Mandela guided South Africa from the shackles of apartheid to multi-racial democracy, as an icon of peace and reconciliation who came to embody the struggle for justice around the world. Imprisoned for nearly three decades for his fight against white minority rule, Mandela emerged determined to use his prestige and charisma to bring down apartheid while avoiding a civil war. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come," Mandela said in his acceptance speech on becoming South Africa's first black president in 1994. "We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation." In 1993, Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, an honor he shared with F.W. de Klerk, the white Afrikaner leader who freed him from prison three years earlier and negotiated the end of apartheid. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. charges Russian diplomats with healthcare fraud Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 01:48 PM PST  By Emily Flitter and Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors have charged 49 current and former Russian diplomats and their family members with participating in a scheme to get health benefits intended for the poor by lying about their income. The charges come against a backdrop of tense exchanges between Russia and the United States over law enforcement actions in both countries. Russia's deputy foreign minister expressed disappointment Thursday that the U.S. had not tried to discuss the charges with Russia through diplomatic channels, but a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department said she did not expect the issue to harm relations between the two countries. Meanwhile, according to the charges, the family members had their housing costs paid for by the Russian government and spent "tens of thousands of dollars" on vacations, jewelry and luxury goods from stores like Swarovski and Jimmy Choo. Full Story | Top |
| Suicide bomber, gunmen kill 52 at Yemeni defense ministry Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 01:42 PM PST By Mohammed Ghobari SANAA (Reuters) - A suicide bomber and gunmen wearing army uniforms attacked Yemen's defense ministry on Thursday, killing 52 people including foreign medical staff, government sources said, in the country's worst militant assault in 18 months. The U.S. military raised its alert status in the region after the coordinated strikes on its ally, which is also home to what Washington has called the most active arm of al Qaeda. The attack wounded 167 people, said the Yemeni government's security committee. No one immediately claimed responsibility, but a Yemeni expert on Islamist militant affairs said it bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda-linked militants who have repeatedly attacked government officials and installations over the past two years. Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen kill U.S. teacher in Libya's Benghazi Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 01:40 PM PST  Gunmen shot dead an American teacher working in the Libyan city of Benghazi on Thursday more than a year after Islamist militants stormed the U.S. consulate there, killing the U.S. ambassador and three others. Remembered as a caring and friendly teacher, the victim, Ronnie Smith, described himself on his Twitter feed as "Libya's best friend." Libya's fragile government is struggling to contain former fighters and militants who two years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi are challenging a fragile state that is still building up a national army with Western aid. I don't know why," said Adel al Mansouri, a manager at the school in Benghazi. Full Story | Top |
| Lebanese soldier killed in clashes with Sunni militants Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 01:38 PM PST A Lebanese soldier was killed on Thursday evening during clashes with Sunni Muslim fighters in the coastal city of Tripoli after the army tried to storm a Sunni area, a security source said. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a further seven soldiers were wounded as well as five militants in battles in the majority Sunni Bab al-Tabbaneh district. He said 25 civilian residents were also wounded in the clashes. The Syrian civil war has deepened divisions between Tripoli's Sunni Muslims, who back the Syrian rebels, and the Mediterranean city's minority Alawites, who support Syria's Alawite President Bashar al-Assad. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. says China air defense zone unacceptable, shouldn't be implemented Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 01:29 PM PST  By Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Thursday that China's new air defense zone over the East China Sea was "unacceptable" and urged Beijing not to implement it, but stopped short of calling for it to rescind its declaration. Keeping up U.S. criticism, White House spokesman Jay Carney assailed China for a "dangerous and provocative" move that increased the risk of stumbling into a crisis, and said that was not consistent with the behavior of a major power. "We, the United States, do not recognize and we do not accept it, and will not change the way the United States conducts military operations in the region," Carney told reporters. Full Story | Top |
| Insight - Fukushima water tanks: leaky and built with illegal labor Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 01:25 PM PST By Antoni Slodkowski NAHA, Japan (Reuters) - Storage tanks at the Fukushima nuclear plant like one that spilled almost 80,000 gallons of radioactive water this year were built in part by workers illegally hired in one of the poorest corners of Japan, say labor regulators and some of those involved in the work. "Even if we didn't agree with how things were being done, we had to keep quiet and work fast," said Yoshitatsu Uechi, 48, a mechanic and former bus driver, who was one of a crew of 17 workers recruited in Okinawa and sent to Fukushima in June 2012 - among the thousands of workers from across Japan who have put together the emergency water tanks and stabilized the plant after three reactor meltdowns that were triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The Okinawa crew was recruited by Token Kogyo, an unregistered broker, and passed on to work at the Fukushima plant under the direction of Tec, a larger contractor which reported to construction firm Taisei Corp, records show. Full Story | Top |
| Mood music mixed after Palestinians hold talks with Kerry Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 01:04 PM PST By David Brunnstrom RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinians held talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday on a possible future peace accord with Israel and emerged with mixed descriptions of how much common ground they had found with Israel's most vital ally. One Palestinian official told Reuters his side had rejected Kerry's ideas for future security arrangements, without giving details of the proposals. But Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat told the official Palestinian news agency Wafa that report was "completely incorrect". The first official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Kerry presented the proposals to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after discussing them separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Full Story | Top |
| Syrian opposition alleges new poison gas attack Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 12:55 PM PST Opposition activists again accused President Bashar al-Assad's forces of using poison gas in Syria's civil war on Thursday, and said victims had been discovered with swollen limbs and foaming at the mouth. The activists told Reuters two shells loaded with gas hit a rebel-held area in the town of Nabak, 68 km (40 miles) northeast of Damascus, on a major highway in the Qalamoun region. Separately, the Syrian Revolution Coordinators Union also accused Assad's forces of using poison gas. "We have documented nine casualties from poison gas used by the regime in neighborhoods of Nabak," it said on its Facebook page. Full Story | Top |
| Central African PM urges France to act quickly to stop violence Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 11:40 AM PST By Daniel Flynn PARIS (Reuters) - Central African Republic Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye appealed to France and African nations on Thursday to take immediate action to stem worsening sectarian violence, after the U.N. authorized the use of force to protect civilians. More than 100 people were killed in the riverside capital Bangui on Thursday in fighting between the Seleka movement which seized power in March and gunmen loyal to former president Francois Bozize, witnesses said. The landlocked nation of 4.6 million people was plunged into chaos when the mostly Muslim Seleka fighters toppled Bozize, unleashing a wave of sectarian violence which interim President Michel Djotodia - Seleka's leader - has been powerless to stop. "This must prick the world's conscience and bring the whole international community to act." He spoke moments before the U.N. Security Council unanimously authorized French and a regional African peacekeeping mission, known as MISCA, to use force to protect civilians. Full Story | Top |
| White House expects Libya to investigate American's death in Benghazi Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 11:26 AM PST The Libyan government should thoroughly investigate the killing of an American in Benghazi, Libya, the White House said on Thursday. An American chemistry teacher who worked at an international school in Benghazi was shot to death in the same city where militants killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans in September 2012. White House spokesman Jay Carney confirmed the death of a U.S. citizen in Benghazi, offered condolences to the family of the victim and said there had been no claim of responsibility for the killing. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine police give protesters deadline, PM brands them 'Nazis' Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 11:14 AM PST  By Richard Balmforth KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian police on Thursday warned pro-Europe protesters they faced a "harsh" crackdown if they did not end their occupation of public offices in Kiev, while President Viktor Yanukovich's prime minister denounced them as "Nazis and criminals". The authorities issued the tough warnings as foreign ministers held a European security conference in a city seething with unrest over the Ukrainian government's U-turn away from Europe back towards Russia. Germany's visiting foreign minister used the occasion to warn Ukraine against violently cracking down on protesters. Full Story | Top |
| United States to help China crack down on vehicle emissions Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 11:02 AM PST  By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will help China implement stricter emission standards for vehicles in a bid to help the world's biggest carbon emitter tackle rampant air pollution, the White House announced on Thursday. The announcement was one of several made at the conclusion of Vice President Joe Biden's visit to China on Thursday, where he met with President Xi Jinping and other senior Chinese officials to discuss ways to strengthen economic ties between the countries in addition to the escalating geopolitical tensions in the East China Sea. Under the new agreement, the United States pledged to give China technical assistance to implement a new round of vehicle emissions standards, known as China VI, which would require cars to have filters that capture particulate matter that contributes to heavy smog. Full Story | Top |
| Relative of Yemen president killed in attack on ministry Thursday, Dec 05, 2013 10:38 AM PST A relative of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was among those killed in Thursday's attack on the Ministry of Defense compound, the ministry's website said. A suicide bomber and gunmen wearing army uniforms targeted the ministry compound in the capital Sanaa in the worst single attack in Yemen for 18 months. Yemen's Higher Security Committee said 52 doctors and nurses, some of them Germans, were killed. Full Story | Top |
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