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| Obama meets with Dalai Lama, upsetting China Friday, Feb 21, 2014 07:00 PM PST  By Roberta Rampton and Sui-Lee Wee WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - President Barack Obama held low-key talks with the Dalai Lama on Friday, prompting the Chinese government to ask why the White House ignored Beijing's warnings that the meeting with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader would damage ties. China's vice foreign minister, Zhang Yesui, summoned Daniel Kritenbrink, charge d'affaires of the U.S. embassy in China, on Friday night to condemn the meeting as interference in China's internal affairs, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. China calls the Dalai Lama, who fled to India after a failed uprising in 1959, a "wolf in sheep's clothing" who seeks to use violent methods to establish an independent Tibet. Full Story | Top |
| China summons U.S. official over meeting between Obama and Dalai Lama Friday, Feb 21, 2014 07:00 PM PST China's Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui summoned on Friday a senior U.S. embassy official in China after U.S. President Barack Obama held low-key talks with the Dalai Lama at the White House despite warnings from Beijing the meeting would damage ties. Zhang summoned Daniel Kritenbrink, charge d'affaires of the U.S. embassy in China, on Friday night, according to a statement posted on the Chinese foreign ministry's website. Full Story | Top |
| Libyan official, patients killed as military plane crashes in Tunisia Friday, Feb 21, 2014 05:08 PM PST  An Islamist official in Libya's government and 10 other passengers and crew were killed when a military plane carrying medical patients crashed near Tunisia's capital early on Friday, officials said. The Libyan Antonov aircraft went down after the pilot tried to land in farmland near Grombalia town south of Tunis, Tunisia's TAP state news agency reported. Sheikh Meftah Daouadi, undersecretary at the Libyan Ministry of Martyrs which looks after families of fighters killed in Libya's 2011 revolution, was among the dead, said a spokesman for his organization, the Operations Room for Libyan Revolutionaries. The veteran Islamist fighter took part in the revolt against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Full Story | Top |
| From jail, Venezuela protest leader urges resistance Friday, Feb 21, 2014 05:01 PM PST  By Andrew Cawthorne and Diego Ore CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's jailed protest leader urged supporters on Friday to keep demonstrating peacefully against President Nicolas Maduro despite violence that has killed at least six people and rocked the OPEC member nation. "I'm fine, I ask you not to give up, I won't," Leopoldo Lopez told his followers in a handwritten note passed to his wife at Caracas' Ramo Verde prison and then posted on the Internet. The 42-year-old Lopez, a Harvard-educated economist and one of the few surviving relatives of Venezuelan independence hero Simon Bolivar, spearheaded protests against the socialist government that began at the start of February. At least six people have died, five from gunshots, and one run over by a vehicle, as the protests have degenerated into violence in Caracas and other cities around Venezuela, especially in the western Andean region. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. says assures Ukraine of its support in IMF talks Friday, Feb 21, 2014 04:54 PM PST By Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has assured Ukraine it will have "strong support" from Washington in seeking an IMF-backed economic program to stabilize the country's economy after months of crippling street violence, a State Department official said on Friday. A fragile peace deal between Ukraine's government and opposition was struck late on Thursday, ending months of violence in which 77 people were killed. The agreement was also an opportunity to stabilize Ukraine's economy and resume talks with the International Monetary Fund, the senior State Department official said, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity. Ukraine has failed to fully implement previous economic programs, which have required politically difficult reforms. Full Story | Top |
| Junior coalition partner poised to quit Cyprus government Friday, Feb 21, 2014 04:05 PM PST A junior partner in Cyprus's center-right government said on Saturday it was poised to quit the coalition in disagreement over a decision to restart peace talks on the ethnically split island. A spokeswoman for the Democratic Party said members of its executive committee decided to recommend to its key decision-making body withdrawal from the government, which it has been a member of for a year. The central committee of the Democratic Party was scheduled to meet on February 26 to discuss the recommendation. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, the Greek Cypriot leader, and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu relaunched stalled peace talks on the island on February 11 in an attempt to end one of Europe's longest-running conflicts. Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela's Maduro calls for dialogue with Obama Friday, Feb 21, 2014 03:48 PM PST CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Friday called on U.S. President Barack Obama to hold dialogue with Venezuelan authorities, only days after expelling three U.S. diplomats on charges they were stirring up violent protests. (Reporting by Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Chris Reese) Full Story | Top |
| Cyprus junior coalition partner poised to quit government Friday, Feb 21, 2014 03:23 PM PST A junior partner in Cyprus's center-right government said it was poised to quit the coalition in disagreement over a decision to restart peace talks on the ethnically-split island. A spokeswoman for the Democratic Party said members of its executive committee decided to recommend to its key decision-making body withdrawal from the government which it has been a member of for a year. The central committee of the Democratic Party was scheduled to meet on February 26 to discuss the recommendation. Full Story | Top |
| Hagel praises Ukraine for keeping military out of crisis Friday, Feb 21, 2014 03:21 PM PST U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel commended Ukraine on Friday for keeping its armed forces on the sidelines of the country's political crisis, in a long-awaited call with his Ukrainian counterpart after multiple attempts to reach him this week. The Pentagon had told reporters on Thursday that it had been unable to connect with anyone at Ukraine's Defense Ministry in recent days, as violence flared in Kiev and Ukraine named a new head of the armed forces general staff. Russian-backed President Viktor Yanukovich agreed to give up powers, hold early elections and form a government of national unity. Throughout it all, Defense Minister Pavlo Lebedev said in the call with Hagel, his country's armed forces kept their focus "on protecting defense facilities and equipment," the Pentagon said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Obama meets with Dalai Lama despite China warnings Friday, Feb 21, 2014 02:53 PM PST By Roberta Rampton and Sui-Lee Wee WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - President Barack Obama held low-key talks with the Dalai Lama at the White House on Friday after warnings from Beijing that the meeting with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader would "seriously damage" ties with Washington. The private meeting lasted about an hour, although the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was not seen by White House photographers as he entered or exited the complex. The White House sidestepped questions about whether it was worried Obama's meeting - his third with the Dalai Lama - would upset its relationship with China. Full Story | Top |
| Obama, Putin held 'constructive' talks on Ukraine: U.S. official Friday, Feb 21, 2014 02:52 PM PST U.S. President Barack Obama held a "constructive" phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday and agreed it was important that Ukraine's peace agreement be implemented quickly and that Ukraine's economy is stabilized, a senior State Department official said on Friday. "They agreed that the agreement reached today needed to be implemented quickly, that it was very important to encourage all sides to refrain from violence, that there was a real opportunity here for a peaceful outcome," the official told reporters on a conference call. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine peace deal halts violence but crowds still angry Friday, Feb 21, 2014 02:44 PM PST  By Sabine Siebold and Natalia Zinets KIEV (Reuters) - A breakthrough peace deal for Ukraine halted two days of violence that had turned the center of the capital into a war zone and killed 77 people, bringing sweeping political change that met many demands of the pro-European opposition. Russian-backed President Viktor Yanukovich agreed to give up powers, hold early elections and form a government of national unity. Parliament voted for changes to the legal code that could see the release of Yanukovich's jailed rival, opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. By nightfall, opposition leaders who signed the deal were addressing peaceful crowds from a stage in Independence Square, which for the previous 48 hours had been an inferno of blazing barricades and protesters were shot dead by police snipers. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. Security Council considering targeted sanctions in Yemen Friday, Feb 21, 2014 01:45 PM PST  The U.N. Security Council is considering a draft resolution to impose travel bans and asset freezes on people in Yemen who obstruct or undermine the country's political transition and those who commit human rights violations. Yemen, a U.S. ally, with a population of 25 million, is trying to end nearly three years of political unrest, which began with mass protests against Ali Abdullah Saleh, the president for 33 years who stepped down in 2012. Britain circulated a draft resolution among the 15 council members on Friday that would establish a sanctions committee for one year to blacklist individuals and entities in Yemen. Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Renzi to be sworn in Saturday after unveiling cabinet Friday, Feb 21, 2014 01:42 PM PST  By Steve Scherer and James Mackenzie ROME (Reuters) - Italian center-left leader Matteo Renzi promised on Friday to start work on reforms immediately, after he named a new cabinet and formally accepted the mandate to form an administration he said would stay in place until 2018. He confirmed that OECD Chief Economist Pier Carlo Padoan, who was forced to hurry back from Australia, would take over at the economy ministry where he will play a central role in Renzi's bid to revitalize Italy's stagnant economy. With a cabinet boasting no star names, the success or failure of the government will be down to the ambitious Renzi, who forced out party rival Enrico Letta last week after a stream of criticism over the slow pace of economic reforms. At 39, he will be Italy's youngest prime minister and heads a cabinet made up mainly of ministers in their 40s and 50s, half of them women, continuing the rejuvenation of the elderly caste which used to run Italian politics. Full Story | Top |
| Salsa star Blades, Venezuela president spar over unrest comments Friday, Feb 21, 2014 01:21 PM PST By Tomas Sarmiento CARACAS (Reuters) - Panamanian salsa star Ruben Blades, one of Latin America's best-loved musicians, says he was not inviting foreign intervention in Venezuela's deadly political unrest when he criticized both the government and protesters this week. Blades, 65, wrote on his website on Tuesday that President Nicolas Maduro's administration and the opposition were "serving their own agendas" and failing to rein in more than a week of violence between security forces and protesters that has killed at least six people. Maduro, the successor of the late Hugo Chavez, said in a national speech on Wednesday that Blades had fallen for foreign propaganda against his government. "I love him ... but this is an international lobbying campaign to bring artists every day saying something against the revolution, to create the conditions for a (foreign) intervention," said Maduro, who then invited the "Amor y Control" singer to Venezuela. Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela's Ivy League radical eyes prison as political springboard Friday, Feb 21, 2014 01:03 PM PST By Brian Ellsworth CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has started down a well-worn path toward building a profile in this politically volatile country: defying the government and going to jail. The Harvard-educated, former mayor of the Chacao district of Caracas revived an opposition movement that had stalled, kickstarting anti-government protests that have left at least six dead and landed him behind bars. It certainly helped late socialist president Hugo Chavez, who served two years in jail for a failed 1992 coup, and it also helped opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who was jailed for four months after being accused of being involved in a siege of the Cuban embassy in Caracas in 2002. Lopez, who was barred from public office by a national comptroller's ruling after he was accused of corruption, has won support among hardliners who have said creeping authoritarianism by President Nicolas Maduro has made a democratic change of government impossible. Full Story | Top |
| Syria submits new 100-day plan for removal of chemical weapons Friday, Feb 21, 2014 12:54 PM PST  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Syria has submitted a new 100-day plan for the removal of its chemical weapons after failing to meet a February 5 deadline, but the international mission overseeing the operation believes it can be done in a shorter time frame, diplomats said on Friday. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons executive committee met on Friday in The Hague to discuss the joint OPCW and U.N. mission amid growing international frustration at Syria falling behind on its commitments. The Syrian government, locked in a three-year-old war with rebels seeking President Bashar al-Assad's overthrow, failed to meet the February 5 OPCW deadline to move all of its declared chemical substances and precursors out of the country. The final deadline under the OPCW plan is for all of Syria's declared chemical materials to be destroyed by June 30. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine crowds want Yanukovich out despite political deal Friday, Feb 21, 2014 12:08 PM PST Emotional crowds on Kiev's Independence Square rounded on opposition leaders on Friday after they signed an agreement with President Viktor Yanukovich to end a protracted crisis, and said they would not wait any longer for him to go. Passions ran high as the coffin of a victim from Thursday's violence, when dozens were killed during anti-government protests, was borne through the crowd to the stage on the square, apparently catching opposition leaders off guard. Despite the deal signed by Yanukovich and the opposition, many on the square were in no mood to call off the protests which erupted in November after the president abandoned a trade pact with the European Union and turned instead towards Moscow. After another open coffin was held aloft by the crowd, a protester wearing battle-fatigues leapt up to the microphone and triggered roars of approval as he declared: "By tomorrow we want him (Yanukovich) out!" Referring to the three opposition leaders, including boxer-turned-politician Vitaly Klitschko, who were standing behind him, the man said: "My comrade was shot and our leaders shake the hand of a murderer. Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Who's who of the cabinet named by Italy's Matteo Renzi Friday, Feb 21, 2014 11:39 AM PST Prime Minister-designate Matteo Renzi named the 16 members of his new coalition government, the first Italian administration to be 50 percent women. The new administration will be sworn in at 10:30 GMT Saturday, and will face confidence votes from Monday to confirm it has the required majority in parliament. The coalition of Renzi's center-left Democratic Party and centrist parties including the New Centre Right led by Angelino Alfano is the same one that backed the administration of Enrico Letta, ousted last week by Renzi in a PD party coup. Among those re-appointed to their posts were Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin and Infrastructure Minister Maurizio Lupi. Full Story | Top |
| Italian economy minister is respected, but new to politics Friday, Feb 21, 2014 11:33 AM PST By Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - With Pier Carlo Padoan, an internationally respected economist with no experience in frontline politics, Italy is continuing the recent tradition of having technocrats run the economy ministry. Like his predecessor, Bank of Italy official Fabrizio Saccomanni, Padoan, chief economist at the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, will serve as one of the main contacts with the European Central Bank and the wider European Union. But he will remain inescapably in the shadow of the ambitious prime minister-in-waiting, Matteo Renzi, who opted against installing a political heavyweight with experience in running the sprawling ministry which oversees the euro zone's third-largest economy. With Italy struggling to emerge from recession and shake off unemployment at levels last seen in the 1970s, Padoan will have to help implement and sell an ambitious agenda that includes reforms to the labor market, tax system and public administration within the next four months. Full Story | Top |
| Snipers sow fear and death in Kiev's urban conflict Friday, Feb 21, 2014 11:15 AM PST By Richard Balmforth KIEV (Reuters) - It only takes one word for people on Independence Square - hardy though they are - to dash for cover: "Sniper!" A handful of snipers have been wreaking havoc on the front lines of Kiev's urban conflict, picking off targeted individuals among protesters with kill-shots to the neck and head. Self-defense groups on the protesters' side say at least two snipers, and possible as many as four or five, operating from vantage points on higher ground, reduced a small area on the edge of Independence Square on Thursday to a battlefield. Anti-government protesters hold snipers on the police side responsible for deaths of at least 15 people in Kiev's spasm of violence - the last possibly victim being a man who was sipping coffee with his wife at dusk when he was shot in the neck. Even as the opposition-led protest movement were poised to savor a victory over President Viktor Yanukovich with a deal foreseeing early elections and formation of an interim government, there was little cause for jubilation after violence which had claimed at least 77 lives since Tuesday. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. says it's not in Russia's interest for Ukraine to be engulfed in violence Friday, Feb 21, 2014 11:14 AM PST The White House said on Friday that it is not in Russia's interest for Ukraine to be gripped by violence, and rejected the notion that the situation in Ukraine represented a Cold War style "tug of war" between the United States and Russia. "It is in Russia's interest that Ukraine not be engulfed in violence - Kiev or other places - and that it return to stability, and that progress be made towards a future in Ukraine that reflects the will of the Ukrainian people," White House spokesman Jay Carney told a news briefing. Full Story | Top |
| Ex-Murdoch editor Brooks denies having affair with Coulson Friday, Feb 21, 2014 11:05 AM PST  By Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Rebekah Brooks fought back tears at the Old Bailey on Friday as she detailed her "car crash" private life and dysfunctional relationship with fellow editor Andy Coulson as part of her defense against phone-hacking allegations. Taking the stand for the second day, the 45-year-old close friend of Rupert Murdoch and the last three British prime ministers, said she had had periods of "physical intimacy" with Coulson but denied a prosecution charge that they had a six-year affair. Prosecutor Andrew Edis had opened the trial in October by arguing that the close nature of the relationship between the two former editors of the News of the World tabloid meant they both knew as much as the other about the criminal activities of journalists on the paper. Three senior journalists and a private investigator have admitted conspiracy to hack phones. Full Story | Top |
| Federal water allocation for drought-stricken California farms cut to zero Friday, Feb 21, 2014 11:05 AM PST  The worsening drought in California will force a first-ever complete cutoff of federally supplied irrigation water to most farm districts throughout the state's Central Valley heartland this year, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said on Friday. The projected 2014 zero allocation to all but a handful of agricultural districts supplied by the federally run Central Valley Project comes three weeks after forecasts of similarly drastic cuts were announced by managers of a separate water-delivery system operated by the state. California grows roughly half of all U.S. fruits and vegetables, most of that in the Central Valley, and ranks as the No. 1 farm state by value of agricultural products produced each year. Full Story | Top |
| Russia played constructive role in Ukraine agreement: Poland Friday, Feb 21, 2014 10:50 AM PST WARSAW (Reuters) - The Russian representative at negotiations between Ukraine's president and the opposition played a constructive role in achieving an agreement, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Friday. Sikorski, who was one of the EU delegates at the talks, told a news conference in Warsaw that the Russian official, Vladimir Lukin, made interventions during the marathon talks which eased the path towards an agreement. (Reporting by Marcin Goettig; Writing by Christian Lowe) Full Story | Top |
| Security staff strike brings chaos to Frankfurt airport Friday, Feb 21, 2014 10:47 AM PST  By Victoria Bryan and Peter Maushagen FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A strike by security staff at Frankfurt airport caused dozens of flight cancellations and delayed thousands of passengers, bringing chaos to Europe's third largest hub on Friday, the busiest day of the week for travelers. Trade union Verdi had called on around 5,000 staff who carry out security checks on passengers, baggage and freight at the airport to strike for the entire day to push for their pay to be brought into line with counterparts at other German airports. Hoards of people jostling to get to the front of lines at check-in and service desks thronged the airport, which usually handles 150,000 passengers on a typical Friday. Some 90 flights were cancelled, with Lufthansa scrapping nearly 40, but the biggest problem was getting people through check-in and thinly-staffed security, airport operator Fraport said. Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Renzi accepts mandate to form government, to be sworn in Saturday Friday, Feb 21, 2014 10:17 AM PST ROME (Reuters) - Italian center-left leader Matteo Renzi on Friday formally accepted a mandate to form a government which will be sworn in on at 1030 GMT on Saturday, an official in the president's office said. The new administration will face a confidence vote in parliament, expected Monday. (Reporting by Naomi O'Leary) Full Story | Top |
| Obama plans to talk to Russia's Putin about Ukraine deal Friday -official Friday, Feb 21, 2014 10:16 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama planned to speak by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday about a peace deal aimed at halting violence in Ukraine, a top White House official told MNSBC. White House deputy national security adviser Tony Blinken also said there was much work to do to calm the situation in Kiev after an agreement was established to head off a political crisis after dozens of people were killed this week. "We're not out of the woods yet," Blinken said. "It still has to be implemented." But, he added, "Ukraine has pulled back from the brink. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bhutan turns to Nissan electric cars to help cut oil imports Friday, Feb 21, 2014 10:16 AM PST By Aby Tharakan THIMPHU (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co has struck a deal to supply its Leaf electric car for taxis and government use in Bhutan, it said on Friday, as the Himalayan kingdom seeks to cut expensive oil imports. Bhutan regards environmental protection as a priority, but while it exports clean hydro-electricity to India, the proceeds are wiped out by the oil it imports to power its vehicles. The country - home to about 740,000 people - will seek funding from international agencies to help pay for the Leaf cars, Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay said. Nissan did not disclose how many cars the deal would involve or how much they would cost. Full Story | Top |
| Ukrainian leader moved after oligarchs spoke out Friday, Feb 21, 2014 10:09 AM PST By Natalia Zinets and Richard Balmforth KIEV (Reuters) - Marooned among empty seats in the Ukrainian parliament, Vadim Novinsky broke with the ruling Party of Regions and voted in favor of a bill condemning the violence that has left dozens dead in Kiev during a week of bloodshed. It was unusual behavior by Ukraine's fourth richest man, a close ally of President Viktor Yanukovich. It was also a sign that a leader who had seemed unshakeable since protests against him broke out in November may be under pressure from his most powerful supporters, Ukraine's money men. On Friday, Yanukovich made a number of concessions to the opposition, signing a deal brokered by the European Union which ushered in an early presidential election, a national unity government and other constitutional reforms. Full Story | Top |
| Winds batter southeast after snowstorm, tornadoes blast Midwest Friday, Feb 21, 2014 09:46 AM PST  (Reuters) - A powerful storm that blasted the north central United States with heavy, wet snow and damaging tornadoes pushed onward Friday, threatening more twisters, severe thunderstorms and high winds in the southeastern states, forecasters said. The damaging winds came "very, very close" to a private school with children inside, Laurens County manager Bryan Rogers said. The storm, called a panhandle hook for its origin in the panhandles of Oklahoma or Texas and its twisting shape, triggered concerns about damaging winds and possible tornadoes from parts of South Carolina through North Carolina, Virginia, southern Maryland and Delaware, forecasters said. "There is a pretty extensive line of storms that extends from just west and southwest of Washington D.C. all the way down to the Florida panhandle," said Jeremy Grams, a meteorologist with the Storm Prediction Center. Full Story | Top |
| Moscow police say 200 detained outside protest trial courthouse Friday, Feb 21, 2014 09:42 AM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Police detained about 200 people on Friday outside a Moscow courthouse where eight people were convicted of rioting and assaulting police at a protest against President Vladimir Putin in 2012, a police spokesman said. The spokesman said those detained had attempted to violate public order. Russian authorities say that by law, most large outdoor gatherings require prior approval from government officials. (Writing by Steve Gutterman; Editing by Alexei Anishchuk) Full Story | Top |
| Eight Russians convicted of attacking police at anti-Putin protest Friday, Feb 21, 2014 09:42 AM PST  By Gabriela Baczynska and Ian Bateson MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian judge on Friday convicted eight defendants of rioting and assaulting police at a protest against Vladimir Putin, in what one of his leading critics called a "show trial" designed to make clear the president would tolerate no dissent. In a show of force outside the courthouse, police pushed into a crowd of hundreds that had gathered to support the defendants, grabbing people one by one and hauling them away. Moscow police said they detained about 200 people for attempting to violate public order. The convictions, which activists had anticipated, coincided with political turmoil in neighboring Ukraine, where dozens have died in violence the Kremlin blames on militant government opponents it accuses the West of encouraging. Full Story | Top |
| Russia urges EU to condemn 'radicals' responsible for Ukraine violence Friday, Feb 21, 2014 09:32 AM PST Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the Ukraine peace deal with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and urged the EU to condemn "radicals" responsible for violence, his ministry said on Friday. "Sergei Lavrov has decisively denounced the activities of radicals who bear the full responsibility for the violence and human casualties and urged the EU and its member-states to clearly express rejection of these activities," it said. Russia and the EU will maintain contacts to resolve the Ukraine crisis, the statement said, in which 77 people have died in clashes with riot police in Kiev. "It has been agreed to continue contacts in order to aid the normalization of the situation while respecting the sovereignty of Ukraine and the legitimacy of the Ukrainian authorities," it said. Full Story | Top |
| Merkel too timid, former German chancellor Schroeder says Friday, Feb 21, 2014 09:26 AM PST  Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has indirectly criticized his successor Angela Merkel, suggesting she is overly cautious and does not show enough political leadership. Schroeder, the centre-left Social Democrat (SPD) chancellor from 1998 until Merkel defeated him in 2005, also said in an interview with Der Spiegel magazine that the conservative leader had failed to groom a successor. Always following the mainstream is not political leadership." His comments echoed criticism of Merkel heard in Germany and parts of the euro zone during the bloc's debt crisis. She won a third term last year, only the third post-war German leader to do so. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine's parliament move could pave way for freeing jailed Tymoshenko Friday, Feb 21, 2014 09:12 AM PST Ukraine's parliament on Friday voted for amendments in the criminal code which could pave the way for the release of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. The amendments would decriminalize aspects of the criminal code relevant to her prosecution and set Ukrainian law in line with European Union legislation, her supporters said. "We are insisting that there is a vote on a bill which would free Tymoshenko," former economy minister Arseny Yatsenyuk, who has taken over as head of her Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party since she was jailed, told parliament. Tymoshenko, a former prime minister and long-standing rival of President Viktor Yanukovich, was narrowly defeated by him in a run-off for the presidency in February 2010. Full Story | Top |
| Uganda leader puts anti-gay law on hold to seek more scientific advice Friday, Feb 21, 2014 09:08 AM PST  By Elias Biryabarema KAMPALA (Reuters) - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has put a bill imposing strict penalties for homosexuality on hold to give scientists a chance to prove that homosexuality could be triggered by genes and is not a "lifestyle choice". Homosexuality is taboo in African countries and illegal in 37. Museveni dismissed the U.S. threat, but said in a statement dated February 18 and seen by Reuters on Friday that he would not sign the proposed law until after hearing from scientists. Presidential spokesman, Tamale Mirundi, told Reuters on Friday the bill would be on hold for now "until more conclusive research is done, and that's what the president is saying in that letter." The bill, which was introduced in 2009, initially proposed a death sentence for homosexual acts, but was amended to prescribe jail terms including life in jail for what it called aggravated homosexuality. Full Story | Top |
| Iran's rising executions dim U.N. hopes for reforms Friday, Feb 21, 2014 08:54 AM PST  By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - At least 80 people and perhaps as many as 95 have been executed in Iran already this year, a surge in the use of the death penalty that has dampened hopes for human rights reforms under President Hassan Rouhani, the United Nations said on Friday. Rouhani, who won a surprise election last year on a platform of more openness with the West, clinched an interim deal in November with world powers over Iran's nuclear program. In September, dozens of political prisoners were released, raising hopes that he would also improve human rights in a country that ranks second after China on Amnesty International's list of states with the highest use of capital punishment. Full Story | Top |
| Russian mediator says questions remain about Ukraine peace deal Friday, Feb 21, 2014 08:48 AM PST A Russian envoy sent to Kiev by President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that talks to resolve Ukraine's crisis produced progress, but indicated Moscow had questions about a European Union-mediated peace deal and confirmed he had not signed it. "Certain questions still remain, consultations will continue, this is a normal process," the Interfax news agency quoted the envoy, Vladimir Lukin, as saying after returning to Moscow. "We will continue consultations, in that sense there it is of course a progress." He said he did not sign the EU-mediated peace deal with President Viktor Yanukovich aiming to resolve a political crisis in which dozens have been killed and opening the way for an early presidential election next year. It has accused the West of meddling and warned against "imposing mediation" on Ukraine. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine interior minister dismissed by parliament for anti-protest 'violence' Friday, Feb 21, 2014 08:28 AM PST KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's parliament on Friday voted to dismiss acting Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko for using "violence" against protesters during the wave of street unrest. Zakharchenko is a hated figure on Kiev's Independence Square because of several police crackdowns on anti-government protesters. His dismissal will be seen as a victory for the protest movement. (Writing By Richard Balmforth; Editing by Larry King) Full Story | Top |
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