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| Iran shuts reformist paper over comments on law Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 08:09 PM PST Iranian authorities shut a reformist newspaper on Thursday, less than a week after its launch, because it published comments critical of Islamic criminal law. "Aseman" (Sky) newspaper, a weekly magazine turned newspaper aligned with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, had quoted a political science professor describing eye-for-an-eye punishment as "inhumane." "The newspaper was banned for spreading lies and insulting Islam," an official from Tehran's Prosecutor's office told the official IRNA news agency. Numerous articles by Iran's hardline Fars News agency had called for the paper's closure, reflecting conservative displeasure with any challenge to shariah law, which mandates equal retribution for a crime. The paper's managing director, Mohamad Ghouchani, was also prosecuted, the semi-official ISNA news agency said without elaborating. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. ready to assist Ukraine return to democracy: Lew Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 08:05 PM PST U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Sunday the United States was ready to work with Russia and other countries to restore democracy in Ukraine, a U.S. Treasury official said. Lew met his Russian counterpart, Anton Siluanov, on the sidelines of a Group of 20 meeting in Sydney to discuss the situation in Ukraine after the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovich and the release of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. "Secretary Lew emphasized that the United States, working with other countries including Russia, stands ready to assist Ukraine as it implements reforms to restore economic stability and seeks to return to a path of democracy and growth," the Treasury official said. Full Story | Top |
| Mexico captures No.1 drug kingpin 'Shorty' Guzman Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 07:13 PM PST  By Michael O'Boyle MAZATLAN, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexico's most wanted man, drug cartel kingpin Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, was captured on Saturday with help from U.S. agencies in a major victory for the government in a long, grisly war. Guzman, known as "El Chapo" (Shorty) in Spanish, has long run Mexico's infamous Sinaloa Cartel and over the past decade he emerged as one of the world's most powerful organized crime bosses, even making it onto Forbes' list of billionaires. He was caught in his native northwestern state of Sinaloa in an early morning operation without a shot being fired, Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said, adding that Guzman's identity had been "100 percent confirmed." It is a political triumph for President Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office in late 2012. Pena Nieto confirmed the capture via Twitter earlier on Saturday and congratulated his security forces. Full Story | Top |
| G20 aspires to faster economic growth, roadmap sketchy Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 07:09 PM PST  By Wayne Cole and Jane Wardell SYDNEY (Reuters) - The world's top economies have adopted a soft target of adding at least 2 percentage points to growth over five years, a source said, signaling optimism that the worst of crisis-era austerity was behind them. There was a nod to concerns by emerging nations that the Federal Reserve consider the impact of its policy tapering, with the communique saying central banks would be mindful of the effects on the global economy. The G20 communique also stated that it "deeply regrets" that progress on giving emerging nations more say in the International Monetary Fund had stalled, the source said. The growth plan borrows wholesale from an IMF paper prepared for the G20 meeting, which estimated that structural reforms would raise world growth by about 0.5 percentage points per year over the next five years, boosting global output by $2.25 trillion. Full Story | Top |
| Two killed, 41 wounded in attack on Thai protest rally Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 06:55 PM PST Thousands of supporters of Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra meet on Sunday hours after an attack on an anti-government rally killed at least two people and wounded 41, police said, raising tension in the country's protracted political crisis. Gunmen shot at a protest stage and threw explosive devices in the Khao Saming district of the eastern province of Trat on Saturday evening, police said. "At least two people were killed, but the number of dead is not definite and it could be more," police spokesman Kissana Phathanacharoen told Reuters. Anti-government protesters have blocked main Bangkok intersections for weeks with tents, tires and sandbags, seeking to unseat Yingluck and halt the influence of her billionaire brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, an ousted former premier regarded by many as the real power behind the government. Full Story | Top |
| Commitment on central bank communication unlikely at G20: Canada Fin Min Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 06:15 PM PST  Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said he does not expect a commitment for advanced economies to articulate monetary policy more clearly to be in the Group of 20 (G20) communique due later on Sunday. Flaherty said the figure for additional global growth that members at the meeting of finance members of the group in Sydney were seeking agreement on would be framed as an aspiration, rather than a target. Full Story | Top |
| G20 to agree to target extra 2 percent growth over five years: source Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 05:22 PM PST The world's financial leaders will agree on Sunday to implement reforms and policies that would aim to accelerate global economic growth by an extra 2 percentage points over five years, a G20 official said. "The G20 is likely to agree on aiming at reforms and polices that could increase GDP by 2 percent on top of the current trajectory in five years. Full Story | Top |
| Police fire tear gas at Istanbul anti-government protest Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 05:16 PM PST  By Ece Toksabay ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish riot police fired tear gas on Saturday to disperse thousands of demonstrators in central Istanbul protesting against what they see as authoritarian new laws from Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government. Battling a corruption scandal, Erdogan's AK Party has pushed through laws tightening government control over the Internet and courts this month, and has proposed a bill envisaging broader powers for the national intelligence agency. Officers backed by water cannon cleared demonstrators from the main Istiklal shopping street, some chanting "Everywhere Taksim, Everywhere Resistance", a reference to weeks of anti-government protests last summer on the nearby Taksim Square. "(Prime Minister) Tayyip Erdogan, don't pull the Internet plug," read one banner among the crowds. Full Story | Top |
| Suicide bomber kills three in Lebanon: security sources Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 05:15 PM PST  A suicide bomber killed two Lebanese soldiers and a civilian with a car bomb at an army checkpoint in a Hezbollah stronghold in northeast Lebanon on Saturday, security sources said. The Nusra Front in Lebanon - a militant Sunni group named after one of the factions fighting against President Bashar al-Assad in Syria - said it carried out the attack, in a statement posted on Twitter and a website used by militant groups. Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed political and military movement, is fighting alongside Assad's forces against predominantly Sunni Muslim rebels in a conflict that has exacerbated sectarian tensions in Lebanon. Full Story | Top |
| Seeking cheap stocks, chaos no problem? Try Libya Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 05:05 PM PST  Ever since the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya's government has been struggling to establish law and order and assert control over a vast desert nation awash with arms. But despite the turmoil, Libya's stock market is getting ready for the first launch of Islamic investment funds, the most prominent bourse debut since the eight-month uprising. Authorities also hope a regulator, another novelty for Libya, will bring transparency to an opaque market and put it on the radar of risk-willing investors. "We need stability," said Ahmed Karoud, the energetic bourse director, whose office is almost as large as the trading room. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. calls for peaceful change in Ukraine Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 04:52 PM PST By Lesley Wroughton and Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Saturday the dramatic ouster of Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovich and the release of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko could move the country away from violence toward a political settlement. The White House said Washington was keen to see the country build a new government and hold early elections. Ukraine's Rada parliament voted to oust Yanukovich, who abandoned his Kiev office to protesters and denounced what he described as a coup after a week of fighting in the streets. The White House issued a statement welcoming the release of Tymoshenko, a former prime minister, and pledging to work with Russia, European allies and international organizations to support the formation of a government of national unity. Full Story | Top |
| Buddhist faction protests Dalai Lama as he visits U.S Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 03:57 PM PST By Laila Kearney SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Dozens of Buddhists rallied on the streets of San Francisco on Saturday protesting the Dalai Lama, who they say has persecuted followers of an ancient deity that the Tibetan spiritual leader denounced decades ago. The crowd of brightly-dressed monks, nuns and other Shugden Buddhism practitioners, a subset of Buddhists who worship the 300-year-old deity Dorje Shugden, held protest signs and chanted, "Religious freedom. Dalai Lama Give!" Demonstrators met across the street from a building where the Dalai Lama was scheduled to launch the first of a series of speaking events in a tour of U.S. cities. Dalai Lamas are the head monks of the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Full Story | Top |
| Brazil presidential poll tips Rousseff win; Neves support slips Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 03:40 PM PST  Brazil's president Dilma Rousseff would likely win a second, four-year term if elections scheduled for October were held today, a poll published by the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper said on Saturday. The survey, conducted February 19 and 20 by the Datafolha public opinion research group, gives Rousseff, a member of the Workers' Party, 47 percent of Brazilians' intended votes, the same amount she had in the last Datafolha poll conducted November 28 and 29. Senator Aecio Neves, a former governor of Minas Gerais state and a member of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), saw his support slip to 17 percent from 22 percent in the previous poll. Eduardo Campos, the governor of Pernambuco state and member of the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) saw his support edge up to 12 percent from 11 percent. Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela deaths rise as unrest claims student and biker Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 03:28 PM PST By Daniel Wallis and Tomas Sarmiento CARACAS (Reuters) - A female student and a young supermarket worker were the latest fatalities from Venezuela's political unrest as the death toll from 10 days of violence rose on Saturday to at least eight. Both sides are mourning supporters killed in the worst turmoil since President Nicolas Maduro narrowly won an election in April 2013 to replace the late socialist leader Hugo Chavez. The government blames "fascist groups" seeking a coup like the one that briefly ousted Chavez 12 years ago, while the opposition is accusing troops and pro-Maduro militants of attacking peaceful demonstrators. Opposition officials and local media in central Carabobo state said a 23-year-old student, Geraldine Moreno, died in hospital on Saturday after being shot in the face with rubber bullets as security forces broke up a protest there on February 19. Full Story | Top |
| Facebook's big buy, WhatsApp messaging app, back up after outage Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 03:28 PM PST  By Ros Krasny and Christine Stebbins WASHINGTON (Reuters) - WhatsApp, the rapidly expanding mobile messaging app, suffered an outage for more than three hours on Saturday, frustrating users just days after its acquisition by Facebook for $19 billion. We are so sorry for the downtime...," WhatsApp tweeted to its more than 1 million Twitter followers on Saturday around 5:48 p.m. EST (2248 GMT). Facebook referred questions on the outage to WhatsApp representatives, who did not immediately respond. On Saturday, some of those users took to other forms of social media, including blogs and Twitter to report the outage and vent their frustration. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine parliament ousts Yanukovich, Tymoshenko freed Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 03:03 PM PST By Pavel Polityuk and Matt Robinson KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's parliament voted to remove President Viktor Yanukovich after three months of street protests, while his arch-rival Yulia Tymoshenko hailed opposition demonstrators as "heroes" in an emotional speech in Kiev after she was released from jail. Yanukovich abandoned the capital to the opposition on Saturday and denounced what he described as a coup after several days of bloodshed this week that claimed 82 lives. Supporters cheered former prime minister Tymoshenko as she left the hospital where she had been held. When she spoke later in Kiev, her reception was mixed. Full Story | Top |
| Missing U.S. student found dead in Italy railroad tunnel Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 02:37 PM PST (Reuters) - A U.S. college student who went missing two days ago while traveling in Italy has been found dead, authorities said Saturday. The body of 21-year-old John Durkin, of Rye Beach, New Hampshire, was discovered in a railroad tunnel in Rome, authorities said. The State Department confirmed the find but did not release details about the circumstances of the death, citing "respect for the family at this difficult time." Durkin was an economics major with a minor in Asian studies, and played football at Bates College, a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. He was studying abroad with five other Bates College students through a program sponsored by Trinity College of Hartford, Connecticut. Full Story | Top |
| Captured drug lord 'Shorty' Guzman a cunning, brutal businessman Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 02:26 PM PST By Dave Graham MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, the world's most wanted drugs lord, fought his way up from a ramshackle mountain village to become the Mexican government's most powerful adversary in a war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. Guzman, who was captured early on Saturday in his native northwestern state of Sinaloa after a months-long operation, gained power by crushing rivals in brutal turf wars and dominated drug smuggling across the border into the United States after escaping from a high-security prison in 2001. But in towns and villages across Mexico he was better known for his squads of assassins who committed thousands of murders and kidnappings. Guzman's Sinaloa cartel smuggled billions of dollars worth of cocaine, marijuana and crystal meth across Mexico's 2,000- mile (3,200-km) border with the United States. Full Story | Top |
| Morocco summons French ambassador over torture lawsuit Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 01:52 PM PST Morocco has summoned the French ambassador in Rabat to protest against a French lawsuit filed against the head of Morocco's domestic intelligence for alleged complicity in torture, the foreign ministry said on Saturday. It was a rare diplomatic spat between France and Morocco, a former French colony and strong ally of Paris which has faced criticism from rights groups over police abuses, press freedom and judicial independence. The lawsuit filed by Moroccan activists in France accuses the Moroccan intelligence service, known by its French acronym DST, of torturing them while in detention in Morocco. During a visit by DST chief Abdellatif Hammouchi to France this week, French police officers went to the Moroccan embassy to ask about him, the Moroccan statement said. Full Story | Top |
| Polarizing opposition leader freed in Ukraine after enemy ousted Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 01:49 PM PST  By Alessandra Prentice and Matt Robinson KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko was freed by her jailors on Saturday during the dramatic ouster of President Viktor Yanukovich, but an emotional speech from her wheelchair won a mixed response from Kiev's Independence Square. Cheers and whistles from anti-government protesters reflected the polarizing nature of the 53-year-old former gas magnate, who co-led Ukraine's 2004-05 Orange Revolution but disappointed supporters as prime minister. Within hours, the former prime minister was carried in her wheelchair onto a stage on Independence Square, where 82 people were killed this week in the worst violence in more than 22 years of Ukrainian statehood. Thousands had packed the square after parliament voted to oust her arch-enemy, President Viktor Yanukovich. Full Story | Top |
| Militants shoot down Iraqi helicopter and occupy northern town Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 01:47 PM PST  By Suadad al-Salhy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Militants shot down a helicopter on Saturday and briefly occupied a town, in an escalating turf war with Iraq's government that has killed at least 25 people in two days, police said. All four crew members were killed when their helicopter was downed during a reconnaissance flight over the town of Karma in Iraq's western province of Anbar, where the army is engaged in a standoff with anti-government fighters. Sunni Islamist insurgents have been gaining ground in Iraq over the past year and in recent weeks overran several towns, raising the stakes in a conflict against the Shi'ite-led government that made last year the deadliest since sectarian civil strife began to abate in 2008. Late on Friday, dozens of militants in SUVs drove into the small town of al-Sainiyah, near Baiji, some 180 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, after bombing the local police headquarters, and fought troops for several hours overnight, witnesses said. Full Story | Top |
| G20 united on need to tackle tax reform: Australian Treasurer Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 01:41 PM PST  Finance officials of the world's 20 major economies discussed the impact of the Federal Reserve's withdrawal of stimulus on emerging markets and were united on the need to address problems of tax minimization, Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey said on Sunday. "There was extensive discussion of the impact of tapering on emerging economies and it was an excellent discussion," Hockey told a media briefing ahead of the final day of a weekend meeting. Full Story | Top |
| Thirteen billboards, one paint-shop worker helped defeat union at VW plant in Chattanooga Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 01:31 PM PST  By Kevin Drawbaugh and Nick Carey WASHINGTON/CHATTANOOGA (Reuters) - In the aftermath of the United Auto Workers' crushing defeat in a vote to represent workers at Volkswagen's sole U.S. factory, a key question remains unanswered: did conservative politicians and anti-union groups work together to stymie the union? In an appeal to the National Labor Relations Board on Friday, the UAW said there was a "coordinated effort" by state politicians, anti-union groups and Tennessee's U.S. Senator Bob Corker to coerce a no vote in the February 12-14 election. However, through the interviews a more complete picture emerges of how at least five national organizations and one grassroots group - all apparently operating independently - mounted a formidable threat to the UAW and helped thwart what many initially viewed as the favorite to win the election. How that loose coalition was able to help defeat the UAW could provide a blueprint for conservative groups to oppose the union as it presses on with its campaign for representation in its first foreign-owned auto plant in the U.S. South. Full Story | Top |
| Nigeria court rules central bank governor can't be arrested pending plea Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 01:31 PM PST  A Nigerian court has issued an order on the security agencies, barring them from arresting suspended Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi, after he was briefly detained and his passport seized at the airport, a document viewed by Reuters showed. Justice Buba Ibrahim issued the order on Friday, after Sanusi complained that his detention had breached his right to freedom of movement, since he had not yet been charged with committing the financial malpractices for which he was suspended. President Goodluck Jonathan suspended Sanusi on Thursday, removing an outspoken critic of his government's record on corruption, citing "acts of financial recklessness". Since the suspension, presidential spokesman Reuben Abati has accused the central bank of procurement irregularities during Sanusi's tenure, most of them dating back to 2011. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Air Force reveals ‘neighborhood watch' spy satellite program Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 01:12 PM PST  By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The United States plans to launch a pair of satellites to keep tabs on spacecraft from other countries orbiting 22,300 miles above the planet, as well as to track space debris, the head of Air Force Space Command said. The previously classified Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) will supplement ground-based radars and optical telescopes in tracking thousands of pieces of debris so orbital collisions can be avoided, General William Shelton said at the Air Force Association meeting in Orlando on Friday. The two-satellite network, built by Orbital Sciences Corp will drift around the orbital corridor housing much of the world's communications satellites and other spacecraft. The Air Force currently tracks about 23,000 pieces of orbiting debris bigger than about 4 inches. Full Story | Top |
| Algeria's Bouteflika to seek fourth term in April Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 12:54 PM PST  By Lamine Chikhi and Hamid Ould Ahmed ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the aging independence veteran who suffered a stroke last year, will run in April's election, the government said on Saturday, in a vote likely to hand him a fourth term in power. Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal's announcement appeared to end months of speculation over Bouteflika's future after his trips to Paris for treatment in the last year intensified talk of a succession after his 15 years in office. Sellal said Bouteflika, who opponents believe is still too frail to govern, had decided to run and state news agency reported that he had already formally registered his candidacy. "Bouteflika will be a candidate," Sellal said at event in the city of Oran. Full Story | Top |
| Police attacked with grenade at Tunisian consulate in Libya Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 12:44 PM PST Gunmen fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a police car parked in front of the Tunisian consulate in Libya's eastern Benghazi city on Saturday, security officials said. Security officials said it was not clear whether the unknown gunmen had targeted the car, which had four officers inside, or the consulate. Tunisia is one of the last states still with a mission in Benghazi. Egypt withdrew its personnel last month from its Benghazi consulate and Tripoli embassy for security reasons. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt sweeps out senior wheat import official; suspects corruption Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 12:32 PM PST By Shadia Nasralla and Maha El Dahan CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt, the world's top wheat importer, has sacked the head of its silos and storage holding company and referred an official at the main wheat importing body to prosecutors on suspicion of corruption, state media said on Saturday. Supplies Minister Mohamed Abu Shadi referred the head of the central import administration at the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) to prosecutors for suspected corrupt dealings with traders, a ministry official said. The moves come just days after two other senior GASC officials were removed, and mark another flash point for the major consumer after deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi spent his year in power dramatically reducing wheat imports in a failed attempt at self sufficiency. This will also unnerve several small companies involved in importing grain to Egypt and potentially a small group of global traders that supply them. Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen kidnap Czech woman doctor in Yemen Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 12:24 PM PST A Czech doctor was kidnapped by gunmen in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Saturday, the third foreigner to be snatched this month, security sources said. The kidnapping, which highlights the increasing breakdown of security in the U.S.-allied country, follows that of a British oil worker by unidentified gunmen and a German abducted by Yemeni tribesman to press for the release of their jailed relatives. Also on Saturday, an intelligence officer was killed by suspected al Qaeda militants in Yemen's southern province of Shabwa. Colonel Ahmed Hashem was shot dead by the armed gunmen in the city of Atak, a security source said. Full Story | Top |
| Mexico drug boss "Shorty" Guzman caught with U.S. help: Attorney General Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 12:23 PM PST MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico captured its most-wanted man, drug kingpin Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, in his native northwestern state early on Saturday after a months-long operation with help from certain U.S. agencies, Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said. Officials have confirmed Guzman's identity "100 percent", and the operation passed off without a single shot fired, he added. After he spoke, Guzman, wearing a cream shirt and dark jeans, was frog-marched across the tarmac by soldiers in face masks, his head pushed down, and put aboard an awaiting federal police helicopter. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ukrainians gawp as Yanukovich's luxury estate is opened to public Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 12:10 PM PST By Richard Balmforth NOVI PETRIVTSI, Ukraine (Reuters) - A sprawling forested estate of graceful waterways and summer houses - half the size of Monaco but just one hour's drive from Kiev - stands as a symbol of the folly of Ukraine's fugitive president. Even the most cynical Ukrainians, who on Saturday streamed to see Viktor Yanukovich's luxury estate, rubbed their eyes in disbelief when they were confronted by the scale of the opulence he built around him and kept secret from the outside world. Yanukovich, 63, who fled into hiding on Saturday as the turmoil of three months confrontation with his people caught up with him, relaxed at weekends in luxury behind high walls patrolled by scores of security guards. When the dream ended and Yanukovich's staff fled the Gatsby-like mansion in the early hours of Saturday, the Kiev protest movement that had opposed him invited Ukrainians to go to see the opulence Yanukovich lived in. Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Mexico's cartel kingpins: dead, captured and wanted Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 11:55 AM PST By Julia Symmes Cobb MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's most wanted man, cocaine kingpin Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, has been captured by U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials, sources said on Saturday, the highest profile drug cartel leader to fall in nearly a decade of raging violence. Below are some facts about the capture or death of some of the gang leaders who appeared on a list of Mexico's 37 most wanted posted in March 2009, and of others still at large. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. welcomes release of Ukraine's Tymoshenko: White House Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 11:47 AM PST The United States on Saturday welcomed the release from prison of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and pledged to work with its allies, Russia and international organizations to support a unified and democratic Ukraine. "We have consistently advocated a de-escalation of violence, constitutional change, a coalition government, and early elections, and today's developments could move us closer to that goal," the White House said in a statement. The White House praised the "constructive work" in Ukraine's parliament, which declared President Viktor Yanukovich constitutionally unable to carry out his duties and set an early election for May 25 after the pro-Russian president's violent suppression of demonstrations in Kiev. Yanukovich abandoned the capital and said the parliament's actions amounted to an illegal "coup d'etat." The White House urged an end to violence by all sides and wished Tymoshenko a speedy recovery as she seeks appropriate medical treatment. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. Security Council unanimously approves Syria aid access resolution Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 11:35 AM PST  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council achieved rare unity to act on Syria's civil war on Saturday when Russia and China supported adoption of a resolution to boost aid access in Syria that threatens to take "further steps" in the case of non-compliance. Russia, supported by China, has shielded its ally Syria on the Security Council during the three-year-long war. They had previously vetoed three resolutions that would have condemned Syria's government and threatened it with possible sanctions. Lithuanian U.N. Ambassador Raimonda Murmokaite, president of the 15-member council for February, described the unanimous approval of the resolution, drafted by Australia, Jordan and Luxembourg, as a "moment of hope" for Syria's people. Full Story | Top |
| Protest against new airport for west of France turns violent Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 11:08 AM PST  Violence erupted when about 20,000 people demonstrated against an airport project near the city of Nantes on Saturday, leaving six riot police officers injured. Environmental activists have been protesting for more than a year against the government's plan to build a new airport for the west of the country, with some activists occupying the area by living rough in makeshift wooden cabins. The protest on Saturday in Nantes, homeland of French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, involved around 20,000, according to police, and was the first since local authorities gave the project a green light. Riot police used tear gas to disperse protesters who lobbed projectiles and threw paint onto Nantes' city hall, set fire to construction vehicles and vandalized the offices of Vinci, the project's contractor. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. weapons makers, military bet on innovation as funds shrivel Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 10:56 AM PST By Andrea Shalal HUNTSVILLE, Alabama (Reuters) - Building missiles used to be back-breaking, strenuous work, and dangerous too, given the high level of explosives involved. But U.S. weapons maker Raytheon Co has revolutionized that process at a sprawling, classified facility in Huntsville, Alabama, where automated transporters ferry missile parts to gleaming assembly stations, and even tuck themselves away for charging when their batteries run low. The $75 million facility at the U.S. military's Redstone Arsenal reflects a new spirit of innovation pulsing through the U.S. defense industry, which is scrambling to maintain revenues despite declining military budgets after the end of the war in Iraq and the withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan. "This is what we call the 'factory of the future'," said Randy Stevenson, director of Raytheon's Weapon Integration Center. Full Story | Top |
| Russian envoy criticizes EU envoys after Ukraine deal Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 10:33 AM PST An envoy sent to Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin to participate in mediation efforts on Saturday criticized the European Union ministers who helped broker a peace deal in Kiev. "I do not understand, frankly, how after recognizing the legitimacy of President Yanukovich, the parliament, all the state structures, my European colleagues can then come to Kiev and go to the nationalist-revolutionary and terrorist Maidan and say there - down with the legitimate government they recognized," Vladimir Lukin said in a television interview. The deal between Russian-backed President Viktor Yanukovich and the opposition was brokered by the foreign ministers of France, Poland and Germany, who signed it on Friday as witnesses. It was also unclear "to what degree the three gentlemen who participated from the other side ... are in control of the situation," he said, referring to Ukraine's three main opposition leaders. Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Renzi sworn in as prime minister Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 10:11 AM PST  By Giselda Vagnoni ROME (Reuters) - Italian center-left leader Matteo Renzi took office on Saturday as his country's youngest prime minister, facing pressure to show immediate results after he forced out his predecessor over the slow pace of economic reforms. The 39-year-old Renzi has named a low-profile list of ministers with a mix of politicians and technocrats which included no figures capable of challenging his control of the government. Business and union leaders have repeatedly warned that the government must take urgent action to save Italy's ailing industry, with thousands of companies going out of business and millions put out of work. "The responsibility is enormous and this must not fail," said Rocco Palombella, secretary general of the UILM union, which represents workers in the engineering sector. Full Story | Top |
| Lawyer sues over portrayal as degenerate 'Rugrat' in 'Wolf of Wall Street' Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 09:50 AM PST By Patricia Reaney NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lawyer has sued Paramount Pictures and the makers of "The Wolf of Wall Street" for $25 million in damages, saying he is portrayed as a toupee-wearing, degenerate drug user in the Oscar-nominated film. Andrew Greene, of New York, also wants the film based on the memoir of stock swindler Jordan Belfort, to be removed from theaters. Greene claims the character of Nicky "Rugrat" Koskoff in the movie directed by Martin Scorsese was repeatedly ridiculed about his toupee and is shown as a person having no moral or ethical values. Viacom Inc-owned Paramount Pictures said it had no comment when contacted about the lawsuit. Full Story | Top |
| Russia says Games 'broke the ice', hosts lead medals table Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 09:41 AM PST  By Mike Collett-White SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Russia leapt to the top of the medals table on Saturday with two more golds as the Sochi Olympics entered the final stretch, and the host nation said its first Winter Games had helped "break the ice" of skepticism towards it. Organizers were confident they had achieved what they, and President Vladimir Putin, had set out to do - project Russia as a modern, tolerant country that had thrown off the shackles of its Soviet past. The icing on the cake was home gold in the men's snowboard parallel slalom and men' biathlon relay, lifting Russia above Norway in the rankings with just three more titles to be decided on Sunday, the final day. "The friendly faces, the warm Sochi sun and the glare of the Olympic gold have broken the ice of skepticism towards the new Russia," said Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, also Putin's Olympics organizer. Full Story | Top |
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