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| Kerry to resume Mideast peace talks after a pause Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 09:09 PM PDT  By David Rohde NEW YORK (Reuters) - To both critics and supporters, it was "classic" John Kerry. A day before the formal end of Kerry's quixotic, nine-month effort to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, the Secretary of State was surreptitiously taped making a comment that provoked a political firestorm in Washington. In a closed meeting with foreign policy experts, Kerry said that if there is no two-state solution soon, Israel risked becoming "an apartheid state." Kerry was apparently referring to an argument made by liberal Israelis and European critics that if two states are not created and current demographic trends continue, Palestinians will outnumber Israelis. "A unitary state winds up either being an apartheid state with second-class citizens," Kerry said on Friday, according to the Daily Beast. Full Story | Top |
| Shootouts claim 14 lives in northern Mexican border city Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 08:42 PM PDT At least 14 people were killed in a series of shootouts in the northern Mexican border city of Reynosa on Tuesday as gunmen battled police in a region racked by violence between warring drug gangs. Assailants in armored vehicles opened fire on federal police and military officers in three shootouts in Tamaulipas, an unruly state on the U.S. border where the brutal Zetas drug gang has fought the Gulf Cartel for control. The death toll in Reynosa, which is directly across the border from Hidalgo, Texas, included 10 gunmen, two federal police officers as well two young adults who were caught in the crossfire while driving in separate vehicles. It was not immediately clear if the gunmen were affiliated with any drug cartels, which vie for control of lucrative smuggling routes into the United States. Full Story | Top |
| Santos holds lead in Colombia election opinion poll but rival gains Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 07:45 PM PDT  Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos maintained his clear lead in voting intentions ahead of May 25 elections, a Gallup poll published on Tuesday showed, but his nearest rival, Oscar Ivan Zuluaga, continued to gain support. Santos would win 32 percent of the vote, down half a point from the pollster's March survey, while Zuluaga, the anointed candidate of still-popular former President Alvaro Uribe, jumped 5 percentage points to 20.5 percent. Santos would beat Zuluaga in a second round of voting by 46 percent of votes versus 34 percent for his rival. Santos initiated talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia at the end of 2012 and the negotiations have made slow but promising progress. Full Story | Top |
| SeaWorld says San Diego killer whale is pregnant Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 07:37 PM PDT  By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO Calif. (Reuters) - A killer whale at SeaWorld is pregnant, the San Diego theme park said Tuesday, a development welcomed by the company but decried by animal rights activists trying to outlaw the breeding of captive orcas and "Shamu" shows that feature them doing tricks. The news of the pregnancy comes weeks after California lawmakers effectively killed a closely watched bill that would have banned SeaWorld from continuing its breeding program and from using killer whales to perform tricks at its California park. "The calf's birth is expected in December," said spokesman Dave Koontz. Killer whales have a 17 1/2 month gestation period. Full Story | Top |
| Russia's Lavrov scolds U.S., EU for imposing sanctions Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 07:36 PM PDT Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov slammed the United States and European Union on Tuesday for imposing sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis, saying they were the work of weak politicians in the West "attempting to blame others." The European Union on Tuesday announced asset freezes and travel bans on 15 Russians and Ukrainians over Moscow's actions in Ukraine, one day after the United States imposed sanctions on seven Russians and 17 companies linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "We reject sanctions in any of our relationships, in particular those sanctions that were sponsored by the United States and the European Union, which defy all common sense, regarding the events in Ukraine," Lavrov said during a visit to Cuba. Full Story | Top |
| Searchers dismiss possibility wreckage in Bay of Bengal is from MH370 Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 06:59 PM PDT  (Reuters) - A private company said it had found what it believes is wreckage of a plane in the Bay of Bengal that should be investigated as potential debris from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, but the possibility was dismissed by search coordinators. The Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) managing the multinational search for the missing plane said it continued to believe that the plane came down in the southern Indian Ocean off Australia. The Bay of Bengal is located between India and Myanmar, thousands of miles from the current search area. The wreckage was reported by Australian geophysical survey company GeoResonance. Full Story | Top |
| Iraqis vote on Wednesday as violence grips country Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 05:19 PM PDT  By Ned Parker BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqis head to the polls on Wednesday in their first national election since U.S. forces withdrew from Iraq in 2011 as Prime Minister Nuri Maliki seeks a third term amid rising violence. The country's western province of Anbar is awash in violence as Sunni Muslim militants challenge the Iraqi military and Shi'ite militias for territory surrounding Baghdad. The country's economy is struggling and Maliki faces criticism that he is aggravating sectarian splits and trying to consolidate power for political gain. On Wednesday voters choose among 9,012 candidates and the parliamentary election effectively serves as a referendum on Maliki, a Shi'ite Muslim who has governed eight years. Full Story | Top |
| Patton Boggs' latest case vs Chevron over pollution award tossed Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:39 PM PDT  By Casey Sullivan NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Patton Boggs accusing Chevron Corp of "bad faith" litigation tactics while the Washington law firm tried to enforce a multibillion-dollar pollution judgment. In granting Chevron's motion to dismiss the case, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Tuesday agreed with a 2013 recommendation by U.S. Magistrate Judge James Francis that Patton Boggs did not have legal standing to sue. The lawsuit was the most recent of three that Patton Boggs had filed against Chevron in connection with its efforts to enforce an $18 billion judgment obtained in Ecuador in 2011. Plaintiffs lawyers led by Steven Donziger had claimed Chevron polluted Ecuador's rainforest. Full Story | Top |
| EPA's U.S. Supreme Court win a boost for pending carbon rules Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:35 PM PDT By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Supreme Court decision on Tuesday upholding U.S. rules that curb air pollution that floats across state lines was seen as a boost for the Environmental Protection Agency's upcoming plan to crack down on carbon emissions from power plants. The top court backed a federal regulation requiring 28 Midwestern and Appalachian states that cause smog and soot-forming emissions to limit pollution from their smoke stacks before it wafts downwind, mostly to eastern states. The D.C. Circuit court in 2012 had sided with the industry and certain states that said the EPA exceeded its authority by issuing a national plan. Lawyers said the 6-2 Supreme Court decision to side with the EPA was a timely boost for the agency as it moves to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from the country's power plants using a different section of the Clean Air Act. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. chief urges South Sudan's Kiir help end violence, anti-U.N. campaign Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:16 PM PDT  U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged South Sudan President Salva Kiir on Tuesday to publicly call for an end to a "negative campaign" against U.N. peacekeepers and to bring to justice those responsible for attacks there on civilians and the United Nations. In a phone call with Kiir, the U.N. chief called for "an immediate halt to the vicious fighting and the appalling killing of South Sudanese civilians," according to a statement from Ban's press office. More than 1 million people have fled their homes since fighting erupted in December between troops backing Kiir and soldiers loyal to his sacked deputy, Riek Machar. Thousands of people have been killed and tens of thousands have sought refuge at U.N. bases around South Sudan, the world's youngest country, after the violence spread. Full Story | Top |
| Pakistan should investigate spy agency over journalist attacks: Amnesty Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:06 PM PDT By Mehreen Zahra-Malik ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities should investigate the country's powerful spy agency for human rights abuses against journalists following a spate of attacks on leading reporters, London-based Amnesty International said in a report published on Wednesday. The report sheds light on the threat it says the country's media faces, including from political parties, Islamist insurgents and its own intelligence agencies. At least 34 journalists have been killed in Pakistan as a direct consequence of their work since 2008 and eight have been killed in the past 11 months since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was elected to power in May 2013, Amnesty said. "A critical step will be for Pakistan to investigate its own military and intelligence agencies and ensure that those responsible for human rights violations against journalists are brought to justice," said David Griffiths, Amnesty's Deputy Asia Pacific Director. Full Story | Top |
| Study finds Fukushima radioactivity in tuna off Oregon, Washington Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 03:24 PM PDT By Shelby Sebens PORTLAND Ore. (Reuters) - A sample of albacore tuna caught off the shores of Oregon and Washington state have small levels of radioactivity from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, researchers said on Tuesday. But authors of the Oregon State University study say the levels are so small you would have to consume more than 700,000 pounds of the fish with the highest radioactive level to match the amount of radiation the average person is annually exposed to in everyday life through cosmic rays, the air, the ground, X-rays and other sources. Still, the findings shed some light about the impact of the meltdown on the Pacific Ocean following the March 2011 tsunami and subsequent power plant disaster, said Delvan Neville, a graduate research assistant at OSU and lead author of the study. "I think people would rather have an answer on what is there and what isn't there than have a big question mark," Neville said. At the most extreme, radiation levels tripled from fish tested before Fuskushima and fish tested after. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. says needs Syrian government consent for cross-border aid deliveries Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 03:08 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations on Tuesday rejected calls for it to deliver humanitarian aid across borders into Syria without the approval of the government in Damascus, saying such operations would be possible only under a stronger U.N. Security Council resolution. Dozens of top lawyers from around the world argued in a letter to the United Nations on Monday that there was no legal barrier for the world body to carry out cross-border aid deliveries or support other organizations to do the same. More than 150,000 people have been killed in Syria's three-year-old civil war. "It's the longstanding and consistent position of the United Nations that consistent with its charter ... the organization can engage in activities within the territory of a member state only with the consent of that government of that state," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday. Full Story | Top |
| Italy court says Knox murdered flatmate over argument, not orgy Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 03:07 PM PDT  By Silvia Ognibene FLORENCE, Italy (Reuters) - The Italian court that found American student Amanda Knox guilty of murder in January, said on Tuesday she had killed her British flatmate because of a domestic argument, rather than during a sex game, and that she herself had wielded the knife. Knox spent four years in an Italian jail after a court found that she and her then boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, had murdered 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher in 2007. Knox and Sollecito both proclaim their innocence. A third person, Ivory Coast-born Rudy Guede, who was tried separately, is serving a 16-year sentence for his part in Kercher's murder at the university town of Perugia. Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela to crush cars, bikes to build houses Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:55 PM PDT By Diego Ore CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela said on Tuesday it would start crushing abandoned cars and bicycles to provide raw materials for housing construction and supplement drastically reduced amounts of local steel. "We have sent 10,485 automobiles, 9,651 motorbikes and 539 bicycles to the national steel industry," Maria Martinez, a deputy justice minister, said during a visit to an abandoned car deposit outside Caracas. That quantity of steel, she said, could be used for rebars, which reinforce concrete, in the construction of tens of thousands of housing units. In one of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez's most popular policies, the "Great Venezuelan Housing Mission," authorities built or refurbished more than 250,000 housing units in 2012 for low-income families. Full Story | Top |
| Putin sees no need to sanction West, may review energy ties Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:54 PM PDT Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Moscow saw no need for counter sanctions against the West, but could reconsider the participation of Western companies in its economy, including energy projects. "But if something like that continues, we will of course have to think about who is working in the key sectors of the Russian economy, including the energy sector, and how." The United States on Monday unveiled a new round of sanctions aimed at business leaders and companies close to Putin, while the European Union followed up on Tuesday by naming 15 Russians and Ukrainians to its blacklist, moving to freeze assets and deny visas. "Regarding the second package, it's not clear at all what this is linked to, because there is no cause and effect link with what is happening now in Ukraine and Russia," he said. SIGNIFICANT TIES Though some Western oil companies left Russia in recent years because of a difficult business climate, U.S. companies Exxon Mobil and Chevron Corp, along with British major BP, have significant ties there. Full Story | Top |
| Iran's Rouhani suggests critics benefited from sanctions Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:50 PM PDT By Mehrdad Balali DUBAI (Reuters) - President Hassan Rouhani, in a riposte to hardliners who suggest he is capitulating to the West, accused critics of his government on Tuesday of using lies and exaggeration to oppose his policies, including Iran's nuclear talks with world powers. In an interview on state television, Rouhani suggested his critics were a "tiny minority" who had profited from sanctions and feared losing out if curbs were removed with an eventual resolution of Iran's nuclear dispute with the West. Rouhani and his negotiators have been under strong pressure from Islamic hardliners opposed to the talks with the United States and five other powers seeking curbs on Iran's nuclear program in return for an end to sanctions against Tehran. As the talks move toward a possible deal by late July, the hardliners, many of them hold-outs from the administration of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have stepped up their campaign, accusing Rouhani of sacrificing national pride and revolutionary identity for the sake of an agreement. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. offers $5 million for Chinese businessman accused of Iran dealings Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:50 PM PDT  The United States offered a reward of up to $5 million on Tuesday for a Chinese businessman accused of supplying missile parts to Iran, and targeted companies from China and Dubai for allegedly helping Iran evade weapons and oil sanctions. In a signal Washington will keep pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, the U.S. Treasury Department said it was sanctioning eight of Chinese businessman Li Fangwei's Chinese companies for allegedly procuring missile parts for Iran. The U.S. State Department said it was offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Li, who is also known as Karl Lee. Li has been the target of U.S. sanctions in the past for his alleged role as a principle supplier to Iran's ballistic missile program. Full Story | Top |
| EU says Egypt mass death sentences in breach of international law Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:45 PM PDT  The European Union's foreign policy chief said on Tuesday Egypt's sentencing of 683 people to death breached international law and urged Cairo authorities to ensure defendants' rights to a fair and timely trial. An Egyptian court sentenced the leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and 682 supporters to death on Monday, intensifying a crackdown on the movement that could trigger protests and political violence before an election next month. The defendants were charged with crimes including inciting violence following the army overthrow of elected leader Mohamed Mursi, a senior Brotherhood member, in July after mass protests against his rule. "These mass trials are clearly in breach of international human rights law," the EU's Catherine Ashton said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Israel, Palestinians at U.N. accuse each other of sabotaging peace Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:34 PM PDT  By Mirjam Donath UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Israeli and Palestinian envoys on Tuesday took advantage of a U.N. Security Council meeting on the Middle East to publicly blame each other for the latest breakdown in the fragile peace negotiations as the deadline for a deal expired. Robert Serry, the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the 15-nation Security Council that Israeli and Palestinian leaders should "convince each other anew they are partners for peace." Both Israel's U.N. Ambassador Ron Prosor and Palestinian U.N. observer Riyad Mansour expressed a commitment to peace. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. renews Western Sahara mission, but without rights monitors Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:25 PM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council renewed a U.N. peacekeeping mission in the disputed North African territory of Western Sahara for another year on Tuesday, and urged all sides to respect human rights, but it did not call for the United Nations to monitor abuses as rights groups have advocated. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, like the rights advocacy groups, has called for the U.N. peacekeeping mission, known as MINURSO, to monitor and report on human rights abuses in the territory, traditionally backed by France, Morocco has long rejected the idea. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. tornadoes kill 34, threaten more damage in South Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:23 PM PDT  By Emily Le Coz TUPELO, Mississippi (Reuters) - At least 34 people across six states were killed in tornadoes unleashed by a ferocious storm system that razed neighborhoods and threatened more destruction in heavily populated parts of the U.S. South on Tuesday. In Arkansas and Mississippi, the hardest hit states, there have been 27 confirmed storm-related deaths and more than 200 people injured over the last three days as tornadoes reduced homes to splinters, snapped trees like twigs and sent trucks flying through the air like toys. Deaths were also reported in Oklahoma and Iowa on Sunday, and Alabama and Tennessee on Monday. There was nothing left," Melba Reed said as she described the aftermath of a tornado in Louisville, Mississippi, a town of about 7,000 in the central part of the state. Full Story | Top |
| Senior U.S. lawmaker blocks aid for Egyptian military Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:14 PM PDT  By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate subcommittee that oversees foreign aid, said on Tuesday he would not approve sending funds to the Egyptian military, denouncing a "sham trial" in which a court sentenced 683 people to death. The decision by Leahy, the longest-serving U.S. senator and an influential foreign policy voice, could further complicate the Obama administration's difficult relationship with Egypt, one of Washington's most important strategic allies in the Middle East. The Pentagon said last week it would deliver 10 Apache attack helicopters and $650 million to Egypt's military, relaxing a suspension of aid imposed after Egypt's military ousted President Mohamed Mursi on July 3 and violently suppressed protesters. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. senators urge Treasury to keep halt on Russia tax talks Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:13 PM PDT Two U.S. senators on Tuesday urged the Obama administration to continue refusing to negotiate with Russia over a tax agreement that, if not approved by July 1, could result in Russian banks facing steep penalties. Talks were suspended weeks ago with Russia over a pact to help its financial institutions comply with 2010's U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), a Treasury Department spokesperson said on Monday. FATCA requires banks, insurers and investment funds to give the Internal Revenue Service information about the accounts of Americans and U.S. permanent residents worth more than $50,000. The Treasury has more than two dozen FATCA deals with foreign governments. Full Story | Top |
| Brunei adopts sharia law, others in region consider it Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:02 PM PDT  By Stuart Grudgings KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - The sultanate of Brunei this week becomes the first East Asian country to introduce Islamic criminal law, the latest example of a deepening religious conservatism that has also taken root in parts of neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia. Brunei, a tiny former British protectorate of about 400,000 nestled between two Malaysian states on Borneo island, relies on oil and gas exports for its prosperity, with annual per capita income of nearly $50,000. It is the first country in east Asia to adopt the criminal component of sharia at a national level. Run by Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, 67, Brunei has no national elections, but any discontent has been assuaged by high, tax-free incomes and benefits like free education and health care. Full Story | Top |
| Two aides to Guinea-Bissau ex-navy chief plead guilty in U.S. Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 01:59 PM PDT  By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - In one of the most high-profile international drug cases in the United States, two aides to Guinea Bissau's former navy chief, Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto, have pleaded guilty in New York to their roles in a major cocaine trafficking enterprise. Tchamy Yala and Papis Djeme entered their pleas in Manhattan federal court on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, telling a U.S. judge they conspired to import cocaine to Guinea Bissau in West Africa for eventual distribution to Europe and the United States. United Nations officials say poverty-stricken Guinea Bissau, a former Portuguese colony that borders Senegal, is a major waypoint for Latin American cocaine on its way to Europe. According to U.S. prosecutors in New York, the three men met with confidential Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) informants posing as representatives of Latin American drug traffickers and were recorded discussing shipments of cocaine to Guinea Bissau. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine separatists seize second provincial capital, fire on police Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 01:50 PM PDT  By Vasily Fedosenko LUHANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Hundreds of pro-Moscow separatists stormed government buildings in one of Ukraine's provincial capitals on Tuesday and fired on police holed up in a regional headquarters, a major escalation of their revolt despite new Western sanctions on Russia. Nevertheless, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by threatening to reconsider Western participation in energy deals in Russia, the world's biggest oil producer, where most major U.S. and European oil companies have extensive projects. Demonstrators smashed their way into the provincial government headquarters in Luhansk, Ukraine's easternmost province, which abuts the Russian border, and raised separatist flags over the building, while police did nothing to interfere. "The regional leadership does not control its police force," said Stanislav Rechynsky, an aide to Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, referring to events in Luhansk. Full Story | Top |
| Secularist underdogs fight to be heard in Iraq election Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 01:48 PM PDT By Isra' al Rubei'i and Ned Parker BAGHDAD (Reuters) - "I am Iraqi, so do I exist?" is the question posed on the Civil Democratic Alliance's Facebook page. The coalition of 10 liberal and secular parties aims to be an alternative to the communal politics defining Wednesday's national vote, aimed at people who feel so marginalized by Iraq's politics that they are hardly counted. In an electoral race filled with old faces and vitriolic hatred, the underdog list hints at a way forward that has appeal for those wishing to move beyond the sectarian fears coloring Iraqi politics. The country is at war, with the Iraqi military and militias battling Sunni extremists in areas surrounding Baghdad. Full Story | Top |
| UK PM Cameron faces vote test after lawmaker's resignation Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 01:33 PM PDT  British Prime Minister David Cameron faces a potentially awkward test of voter support following the resignation on Tuesday of lawmaker Patrick Mercer, a former member of his Conservative party. Mercer's resignation, after reports he was to be suspended for six months for breaking lobbying rules, triggers an election that would allow the anti-European Union UK Independence Party (UKIP) to test their growing popularity in a region where the Conservative party is traditionally strong. The result could reveal how much support the Conservatives, who in 2010 had a healthy 16,000 vote majority in Mercer's Newark constituency in the English Midlands, have lost to UKIP. The vote will not take place until after European Parliament elections next month, in which UKIP is expected to push Cameron's Conservatives into third place behind itself and the opposition Labour party. Full Story | Top |
| Seeking deals, France rolls out red carpet for Angolan leader Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 12:55 PM PDT  By John Irish PARIS (Reuters) - French officials welcomed Angola's president on Tuesday for the first time in 20 years, hailing his economic reforms in the clearest sign yet that Paris is turning its diplomatic focus to winning overseas contracts. Relations were strained in the past decade after the "Angolagate" trial over arms sales to Angolan President Eduardo dos Santos's MPLA party during the civil war in the 1990s, which a Paris court said broke a United Nations arms embargo. Dos Santos, in power since 1979, made clear from the start he was displeased about old arms deals being exposed in court, prompting former French President Nicolas Sarkozy to fly to Luanda in May 2008 to mend fences with the African leader. After several convictions in 2009, Angola signaled the court ruling would have a negative impact on ties with Paris. Full Story | Top |
| Firm says finds plane debris in Bay of Bengal: CNN Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 12:24 PM PDT (Reuters) - A private company said it had found what it believes is wreckage of a plane in the Bay of Bengal that should be investigated as possible debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, CNN reported. The Joint Agency Coordination Center managing the multinational search for the missing plane dismissed the possibility, saying it continued to believe that the plane came down in the southern Indian Ocean off Australia. The Bay of Bengal is located between India and Myanmar, thousands of miles from the current search area. Full Story | Top |
| Mozambique extends registration deadline for election Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 12:00 PM PDT MAPUTO (Reuters) - Mozambique has extended voter registration for elections due in October by 10 days, after a request by the main opposition party, Renamo, the government said on Tuesday. Renamo has conducted an insurgency over the past year in parts of central and southern Mozambique and its leader Afonso Dhlakama is holed up in the remote Gorongosa area, preventing him from registering as a presidential candidate. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kerry: NATO territory inviolable - 'We will defend every single piece' Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 11:58 AM PDT The United States warned Russia on Tuesday that Washington and its allies would stand united in their defense of Ukraine and that NATO territory was inviolable and the alliance would defend every single piece of it. "Today Russia seeks to change the security landscape of Eastern and Central Europe," Kerry said in a speech in Washington referring to Russia's occupation of Crimea and the threat it posed to eastern Ukraine. Full Story | Top |
| Seven dead after blasts at Siberia munition depot: statement Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 11:48 AM PDT Seven people died and four were missing on Tuesday after blasts at a munition depot in Eastern Siberia that also closed a section of the Transsiberian railway, local authorities said, citing preliminary data. Full Story | Top |
| 'Rebel priest' prays for Ukraine gunmen, denies doing more Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 11:23 AM PDT By Thomas Grove SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Father Vitaly says he prays every day for the armed men who now wield power in Slaviansk, stronghold of pro-Russian separatists who have seized key buildings in a dozen towns across eastern Ukraine this month. "There's a point at which you just can't take it anymore and you have to pick yourself up and stand up for yourself," the bearded, broad-shouldered Orthodox priest said of his hostility to the Ukrainian leadership which has taken power in Kiev. Standing under the dark blue cupolas of his church on the outskirts of town, Father Vitaly denies accusations he has an active role in the uprising - including an allegation that he even provides a logistics and command base for the rebels. But he makes no apology for aiding parishioners who have taken up arms against the new government in Kiev and dismisses suggestions that they - or he - takes orders from Moscow. Full Story | Top |
| Merkel urges Germans to think of Ukraine and vote in EU ballot Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 11:12 AM PDT  Angela Merkel opened her conservatives' European election campaign with an appeal to Germans to use their vote to keep Europe peaceful and strong, reminding them crisis-hit Ukraine will struggle to hold a free presidential election the same day. "You can go and vote with a completely free choice, on how you see the Europe of the next few years," she told a rally in the northern German city of Bremerhaven. "People in Ukraine will also vote on May 25. Full Story | Top |
| European human rights body says Azerbaijan must stop pressure on activists Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 10:40 AM PDT By Margarita Antidze and Nailia Bagirova BAKU (Reuters) - A European rights monitor urged Azerbaijan authorities on Tuesday to ensure that freedom of expression, association and assembly is respected and to halt pressure on human rights defenders. Nils Muiznieks, human rights commissioner for the Council of Europe, made his plea after the detention and a nine-hour questioning of prominent human rights defender Leyla Yunus. Azerbaijan, a mainly Muslim former Soviet republic, has been governed by President Ilham Aliyev since he succeeded his father in 2003. Full Story | Top |
| Belgium should avoid new world record of post-election crisis Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 10:29 AM PDT  By Robert-Jan Bartunek and Philip Blenkinsop BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Temuraz Sadoyan has no strong view on whether Belgium should split, but he is clear about what he wants from a future federal government after a May 25 election. I'm self-employed, but most of my time I'm effectively working for the state," said Sadoyan, who came to Belgium 21 years ago from Georgia and now lives in Asse, a town in the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders. He is just the sort of voter the N-VA (New Flemish Alliance), already the largest party in Belgium's parliament, is seeking to attract with a campaign focusing on its tax-cutting credentials rather than its longer-term separatist aims. It is a shift of emphasis offering Belgium hope that it will avoid a repeat of the 2010-2011 political crisis. Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen storm Libyan parliament, stop lawmakers' vote on next PM Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 10:25 AM PDT By Ahmed Elumami TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Gunmen stormed Libya's parliament on Tuesday and opened fire, forcing lawmakers to abandon a vote on the next prime minister, witnesses said. Parliament spokesman Omar Hmeidan said several people were wounded in the shooting by the gunmen, who were linked to one of the defeated candidates for prime minister. The government has been unable to control armed groups and Islamists who helped oust Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 but refuse to disarm and have carved out regional fiefdoms. In the first ballot, businessman Ahmed Maiteeq came out on top among seven candidates. Full Story | Top |
| Separatists seize control in another Ukrainian city Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 10:12 AM PDT By Vasily Fedosenko LUHANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Pro-Russian separatists opened fire on a police station in the city of Luhansk on Tuesday after seizing the regional government headquarters, as Kiev's control over swathes of eastern Ukraine evaporates. Earlier, pro-Moscow activists took the headquarters of the government of Luhansk region, the second such institution to fall this month after that of neighboring Donetsk region. The regional prosecutor's office and television center were next to fall, a Reuters photographer at the scene said, before around 20 gunmen opened fire with automatic rifles on the local police headquarters, demanding police surrender their weapons. The government in Kiev has all but lost control of its police forces in parts of eastern Ukraine since pro-Russian activists seized buildings in the region's second biggest city of Donetsk and several smaller towns. Full Story | Top |
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