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Friday, December 2, 2011 8:32 PM PST

Today's Reuters World News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Lively Chavez hosts Latin American peers, snubs U.S Insight: African leader's son tests U.S. anti-corruption push Iraq says PM possible target in Green Zone bomb Moscow knocks U.S. for "silence" on dead Russian child Lively Chavez hosts Latin American peers, snubs U.S. Egypt election turnout 62 percent, protesters honor dead After NATO strike, Pakistan adjusts rules of engagement Pakistan tells Germany it will definitely shun Bonn UK envoy tells of fear as mob rampage in Iran embassy Geithner to lobby Europe leaders before summit Iranian diplomats leave UK after expulsion order Expelled Iran diplomats leave Britain U.N. sanctions on Iran have been "exhausted": Russia Italy plans 20-25 billion euro austerity measures: sources Russia's Muslim North Caucasus on high alert for vote Egypt's new PM keeps half old cabinet: report Analysis: Salafis sense best is yet to come in Egypt vote Russia's Putin: don't make politics a circus ICC prosecutor seeks Sudan defense minister's arrest Kabila leads Congo poll: partial vote tally Yemen PM warns transition at risk, eight dead in Taiz Syria army defectors target Assad's military Carter praises Egyptian vote, cites some problems Lively Hugo Chavez hosts Latin American peers Witness: What not to wear in Myanmar: Clinton's Burma road Factbox: What is the International Criminal Court? U.N. urges action in Syria, Russia and China object Myanmar's Suu Kyi praises U.S. engagement Exiled Rwandan journalist killed in Uganda-police United Russia battles comparisons with Soviet rulers U.N. urges action in Syria, Russia and China object ICC requests arrest warrant for Sudan defense minister One killed, 10 wounded in Syrian protests Pig challenges Putin party in ballot-spoiling bid Yemen PM warns transition at risk, 8 dead in Taiz China's Ordos property bust offers warning sign Ouattara says no "victors' justice" in Ivory Coast Carlos the Jackal dominates trial but turnout wanes Syrian dissidents don't feel safe in Lebanon Authorities protecting Syrian opposition in France Lively Chavez hosts Latin American peers, snubs U.S Fri,2 Dec 2011 05:30 PM PST Reuters - CARACAS (Reuters) - Displaying new vigor after cancer treatment, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez hosted fellow Latin American leaders to launch a new regional body on Friday that pointedly excludes the United States. The inauguration of the 33-member Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which also does not include Canada, was the Venezuelan socialist's biggest moment on the world stage since he underwent surgery in June. ... Full Story Top Insight: African leader's son tests U.S. anti-corruption push Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:41 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The wealthy son of Equatorial Guinea's president squared off this week against the U.S. government in a legal battle over efforts to seize his $30 million California mansion, exotic cars, a private jet and an extensive collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia. In a test of the Obama administration's campaign against bribery and corruption involving foreign countries, the case of Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue stands out not only as an example of the government's strategy, but for its sheer excess. ... Full Story Top Iraq says PM possible target in Green Zone bomb Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:40 PM PST Reuters - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi authorities said on Friday a rare attack inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone this week was carried out by a suicide bomber in a car and may have targeted the country's prime minister. Reports a suicide bomber was able to penetrate the Green Zone, which houses the U.S. and other embassies as well as parliament and some ministries, raised questions about security just as the remaining American troops leave Iraq. The attack took place a day before a visit by Vice President Joe Biden to Iraq's capital. ... Full Story Top Moscow knocks U.S. for "silence" on dead Russian child Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:34 PM PST Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States "inexcusably" failed to inform Moscow about the death of a Russian-born toddler adopted by an American couple, a Kremlin official said on Friday, highlighting tensions over an adoption accord the two countries signed in July. Russia's children's rights commissioner Pavel Astakhov criticised U.S. authorities for not informing Russia that an American man had been acquitted of the murder of his Russian-born son. In November a jury in U.S. ... Full Story Top Lively Chavez hosts Latin American peers, snubs U.S. Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:30 PM PST Reuters - CARACAS (Reuters) - Showing off new energy after his recent cancer treatment, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez hosted Latin American leaders at a meeting on Friday to create a new regional body that pointedly excludes the United States. The inauguration of the 33-member Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which also deliberately excludes Canada, was the Venezuelan socialist's biggest moment on the world stage since he underwent surgery in June. ... Full Story Top Egypt election turnout 62 percent, protesters honor dead Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:24 PM PST Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - More than eight million Egyptians voted in the opening round of their first free vote in six decades in what the election chief said Friday was a turnout of 62 percent, far higher than in the rigged polls of deposed President Hosni Mubarak. The Muslim Brotherhood's party and its ultra-conservative Salafi rivals looked set to top the polls, to the alarm of many at home and abroad. Moderate Islamists have won elections in Tunisia and Morocco in the past two months. The emergence of ambitious Salafi parties is one of the starkest measures of change in post-Mubarak Egypt. ... Full Story Top After NATO strike, Pakistan adjusts rules of engagement Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:20 PM PST Reuters - ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's commanders in the wild Afghan border region can return fire if under attack without waiting for permission, the army chief said on Friday, a policy change that could stoke tensions after Saturday's NATO strike killed 24 Pakistani troops. Exactly what happened in the attack is unclear. Two U.S. officials told Reuters early indications were that Pakistani officials had cleared the NATO air strike, unaware they had troops in the area. A Pakistani official denied this. The attack sparked fury in Pakistan and further complicated U.S. ... Full Story Top Pakistan tells Germany it will definitely shun Bonn Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:20 PM PST Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - Pakistan has officially withdrawn from an international conference on Afghanistan, Germany's foreign ministry said on Friday, saying that it regretted the boycott. Pakistan said on Tuesday it planned to pull out of the meeting in reaction to a cross-border attack by NATO that killed 24 of its soldiers and plunged U.S.-Pakistani relations deeper into crisis. Pakistani Foreign Minister Rabbani Khar told his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle in a telephone call late on Friday that his country would not send a delegation, but wished the conference success, the ministry said. ... Full Story Top UK envoy tells of fear as mob rampage in Iran embassy Fri,2 Dec 2011 01:00 PM PST Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's ambassador to Iran described on Friday how he took refuge while a mob rampaged through his embassy in Tehran, smashing windows, tearing up portraits and starting fires, while seven staff were seized by protesters at a second compound. Speaking three days after the attack by protesters on the British embassy in Iran that sparked a crisis in British-Iranian relations, Dominick Chilcott said he had feared he might be taken hostage as U.S. diplomats were in 1979. ... Full Story Top Geithner to lobby Europe leaders before summit Fri,2 Dec 2011 12:44 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will travel to Europe next week to lobby key leaders and officials ahead of a make-or-break summit aimed at halting contagion from Europe's growing debt crisis. Geithner will meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, new Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, and Spanish Prime Minister-elect Mariano Rajoy on the December 6-8 trip, which will -include stops in Frankfurt, Berlin, Paris, Marseille and Milan, the Treasury said in a statement on Friday. ... Full Story Top Iranian diplomats leave UK after expulsion order Fri,2 Dec 2011 12:44 PM PST Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - All Iranian diplomats left Britain on Friday after being expelled in protest at the storming by protesters of the British embassy in Tehran, a government spokesman said. "I can confirm that, earlier this afternoon, all diplomatic staff of the Iranian Embassy in London took off from Heathrow airport. They are returning to Iran in line with the Foreign Secretary's (William Hague) statement to parliament on Wednesday," a Foreign Office spokesman said. (Reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by Stefano Ambrogi) Full Story Top Expelled Iran diplomats leave Britain Fri,2 Dec 2011 12:44 PM PST Reuters - TEHRAN/LONDON (Reuters) - All Iranian diplomats left Britain on Friday, expelled in response to protesters storming the British embassy in Tehran, hardening a confrontation between Tehran and the West over its nuclear program. In Iran, crowds chanted "Death to Britain" at Tehran University, and a militia linked to the storming of the embassy prepared to greet the returning diplomats as heroes. A hardline cleric denounced the U.N. Security Council and European Union for backing Britain following the embassy storming. ... Full Story Top U.N. sanctions on Iran have been "exhausted": Russia Fri,2 Dec 2011 12:44 PM PST Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Moscow believes there is no room for further U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said on Friday. "We believe the sanctions track in the Security Council has been exhausted," he told reporters in response to a question about Iran and its nuclear program. "We continue to believe very strongly that negotiations should continue with Iran. ... Full Story Top Italy plans 20-25 billion euro austerity measures: sources Fri,2 Dec 2011 12:39 PM PST Reuters - ROME (Reuters) - Mario Monti's government will unveil austerity measures totaling 20-25 billion euros over the next two years on Monday, government sources said, as Italy seeks to shore up public finances but also help growth to head off an acute debt crisis. About 10-12 billion euros of the total will be used to cut the budget deficit, the sources said, aimed at ensuring Italy meets its goal of balancing the budget in 2013 despite a steep economic downturn and rapidly rising borrowing costs. The remainder will free up resources to try to re-generate Italy's recession-bound economy. ... Full Story Top Russia's Muslim North Caucasus on high alert for vote Fri,2 Dec 2011 12:23 PM PST Reuters - GROZNY, Russia (Reuters) - Russia's strife-torn Muslim North Caucasus region will vote in the country's parliamentary election on Sunday with thousands of armed security officers on guard while homes are searched and street markets are closed, officials said on Friday. More than a decade after federal forces won the second of two wars against Chechen separatists, violence rooted in those conflicts is raging in an Islamist insurgency that claimed at least 600 lives in the first nine months of this year. ... Full Story Top Egypt's new PM keeps half old cabinet: report Fri,2 Dec 2011 12:13 PM PST Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's new prime minister is keeping at least half the ministers unchanged in a new cabinet, state television reported on Thursday, after he was appointed in a bid to assuage voters demanding army rulers quit and that the system be purged. The ruling military council accepted the resignation of the previous cabinet under pressure from protesters last week, appointing Kamal al-Ganzouri, 78, who served under ousted President Hosni Mubarak, to form a new government. ... Full Story Top Analysis: Salafis sense best is yet to come in Egypt vote Fri,2 Dec 2011 12:05 PM PST Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - The Salafi movement wants to model Egypt's future on Islam's past, a past they see as an example for the present. If indications from the first round of the country's parliamentary elections are anything to go by, many Egyptians agree with them. The success of ultra-conservative Islamists in the first leg of Egypt's three-stage parliamentary vote has surprised and alarmed those Egyptians worried about what this might mean for freedoms and tolerance in the Arab world's most populous nation. ... Full Story Top Russia's Putin: don't make politics a circus Fri,2 Dec 2011 12:01 PM PST Reuters - ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin urged voters and politicians on Friday to unite behind the government and prevent Russian politics turning into a "circus" after Sunday's parliamentary election. Talking to a shipyard worker on the factory floor in St Petersburg, Putin echoed remarks by President Dmitry Medvedev calling for a strong parliament, amounting to an appeal for a big mandate for his ruling United Russia party. ... Full Story Top ICC prosecutor seeks Sudan defense minister's arrest Fri,2 Dec 2011 11:54 AM PST Reuters - AMSTERDAM/KHARTOUM (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for Sudan's defense minister on Friday as part of the court's investigation into atrocities in the Darfur conflict, a move that Khartoum dismissed as "political." The ICC has already issued arrest warrants for Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on charges of orchestrating genocide in Darfur, as well as for a former minister of state for the interior and a militia leader, who all remain at large. ... Full Story Top Kabila leads Congo poll: partial vote tally Fri,2 Dec 2011 11:43 AM PST Reuters - KINSHASA (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's President Joseph Kabila had an early lead in partial election results released on Friday, after a poll marred by confusion, violence and fraud allegations. Veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi is currently Kabila's nearest challenger, according to the Reuters tally of official results released by the election commission for 15 percent of the country's 63,000 polling stations. ... Full Story Top Yemen PM warns transition at risk, eight dead in Taiz Fri,2 Dec 2011 11:04 AM PST Reuters - SANAA (Reuters) - At least five civilians and three soldiers were killed in the protest hotbed city of Taiz on Friday, and the head of a new government meant to prevent civil war in Yemen said a week-old political pact might unravel if the bloodshed went on. A deal to ease President Ali Abdullah Saleh from power has yet to defuse 10 months of violent unrest over the autocratic leader's fate and the political future of impoverished country. Yemen's Gulf Arab neighbors and their U.S. ... Full Story Top Syria army defectors target Assad's military Fri,2 Dec 2011 10:10 AM PST Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian army defectors are targeting military convoys sent to reinforce President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on popular unrest, a senior rebel said, increasingly taking the fight to Assad's forces in response to what he called state brutality. Colonel Riad al-Asaad told Reuters that fighters from the Syrian Free Army, a loose collection of military units formed from thousands of military deserters, had improved their reconnaissance ability to enable them to disrupt army movements. ... Full Story Top Carter praises Egyptian vote, cites some problems Fri,2 Dec 2011 09:31 AM PST Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said Egyptians "should be proud" of the first phase of the parliamentary elections that began this week but said there were areas for improvement for the remaining two stages of the vote. His Carter Center visited more than 300 polling stations in all nine of the Egyptian governorates where voting got under way this week in the first free parliamentary election since army officers overthrew the monarchy in 1952. ... Full Story Top Lively Hugo Chavez hosts Latin American peers Fri,2 Dec 2011 09:28 AM PST Reuters - CARACAS (Reuters) - Showing off new energy after cancer treatment, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez hosted Latin American leaders on Friday to create a new regional body that pointedly excludes the United States. The inauguration of the 33-member Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which also deliberately excludes Canada, is the charismatic socialist's biggest moment on the world stage since his surgery in June. ... Full Story Top Witness: What not to wear in Myanmar: Clinton's Burma road Fri,2 Dec 2011 09:26 AM PST Reuters - YANGON (Reuters) - It wasn't exactly Nixon in China, but Hillary Clinton's visit to Myanmar this week had that slight touch of the surreal that sometimes marks the beginning of unexpected diplomatic change. First, it had to be color coordinated. Officials traveling with Clinton are always given instructions by the State Department on accompanying the secretary of state, but this time they came with an added set of suggestions on what not to wear for the first high-level U.S. mission to Myanmar in more than 50 years. Blacks, whites and pinks were out. Rust and saffron were discouraged. ... Full Story Top Factbox: What is the International Criminal Court? Fri,2 Dec 2011 09:18 AM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor on Friday requested an arrest warrant for Sudan's defense minister, Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur from August 2003 to March 2004. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is also pursuing Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, and is investigating alleged crimes in Kenya, Libya and the Central African Republic. Below are some facts on main cases before the court and the court itself. ... Full Story Top U.N. urges action in Syria, Russia and China object Fri,2 Dec 2011 08:44 AM PST Reuters - GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations' human rights chief urged world powers on Friday to take action to protect civilians in Syria from "ruthless repression," but her call was swiftly criticized by envoys from China and Russia. More than 4,000 people have been killed during a military crackdown on street protesters that started in March and more than 14,000 people are believed to be in detention, said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. ... Full Story Top Myanmar's Suu Kyi praises U.S. engagement Fri,2 Dec 2011 08:12 AM PST Reuters - YANGON (Reuters) - Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed on Friday renewed U.S. engagement with Myanmar, saying she hoped it would set her long-isolated country on the road to democracy. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held a final meeting with Suu Kyi as she wrapped up a landmark visit to Myanmar which saw the new civilian government pledge to forge ahead with political reforms and re-engage with the world community. ... Full Story Top Exiled Rwandan journalist killed in Uganda-police Fri,2 Dec 2011 07:44 AM PST Reuters - KAMPALA (Reuters) - A Rwandan journalist, who was living as a political refugee in Uganda's capital, has been shot dead in a bar, police said. Charles Ingabire, editor of the Inyenyeri News website and a prominent and vocal critic of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, was killed at around midnight on Thursday, said officers. "He was shot dead at a bar. We have arrested two people, a guard and a barmaid, and they're helping with investigations," Ibn Senkumbi, police spokesman for the Kampala metropolitan area, told Reuters. ... Full Story Top United Russia battles comparisons with Soviet rulers Fri,2 Dec 2011 07:28 AM PST Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - A packed Moscow stadium echoed to chants of Vladimir Putin's name when Russia's ruling party triumphantly confirmed him as its next presidential candidate. The vote was unanimous. Perhaps that was just as well. Putin had, apparently jokingly, publicly chided the single party member who voted against the party list of candidates two months ago when it was drawn up for Sunday's parliamentary election. ... Full Story Top U.N. urges action in Syria, Russia and China object Fri,2 Dec 2011 06:48 AM PST Reuters - GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations' human rights chief on Friday urged world powers to take action to protect civilians in Syria from "ruthless repression," but her call was criticised by envoys from China and Russia. More than 4,000 people have been killed during a military crackdown on protesters that started in March and more than 14,000 people are believed to be in detention, said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. ... Full Story Top ICC requests arrest warrant for Sudan defense minister Fri,2 Dec 2011 06:38 AM PST Reuters - AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for Sudan's defense minister on Friday as part of its investigation into atrocities in the Darfur conflict. The ICC has already issued arrest warrants for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on charges of orchestrating genocide in Darfur, as well as for a former minister of state for the interior and a militia leader, all of whom remain at large and in the case of Bashir, free to travel widely. ... Full Story Top One killed, 10 wounded in Syrian protests Fri,2 Dec 2011 06:12 AM PST Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least one man was killed by security forces trying to break up protests which broke out after Friday prayers in Syria, according to anti-government activists. Troops fired at random at protesters in the village of Kfar Laha in Houla district northwest of the city of Homs, killing a villager and wounding 10, they said. In the Deir Baalba district of Homs protesters called for the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad and urged Western powers to impose a buffer zone on Syria's borders. ... Full Story Top Pig challenges Putin party in ballot-spoiling bid Fri,2 Dec 2011 06:07 AM PST Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin's United Russia party faces an array of Communists, nationalists and liberals in a parliamentary election on Sunday, but one of its ardent opponents is a more peculiar political animal: a cartoon pig named Nakh-Nakh. Pushed to the margins since Putin came to power 12 years ago, some of the prime minister's fiercest foes are urging Russians to reject the political system he has put in place by spoiling their ballots in Sunday's State Duma vote. ... Full Story Top Yemen PM warns transition at risk, 8 dead in Taiz Fri,2 Dec 2011 06:03 AM PST Reuters - SANAA (Reuters) - At least five civilians and three soldiers were killed in the protest hotbed city of Taiz Friday, and the head of a new government meant to prevent civil war in Yemen said a week-old political pact could unravel if the bloodshed went on. The bloodshed in Taiz made clear that a deal to ease President Ali Abdullah Saleh from power has yet to defuse 10 months of violent unrest over the fate of Saleh and the political future of impoverished country. Yemen's Gulf Arab neighbors and their U.S. ... Full Story Top China's Ordos property bust offers warning sign Fri,2 Dec 2011 05:35 AM PST Reuters - ORDOS, China (Reuters) - The monumental, neo-Mongolian sculptures, empty plazas and hulking concrete shells of buildings in Ordos district, deep in the steppes of Inner Mongolia, are a potent symbol of how China's property boom can turn to bust. Off the back of a thriving coal industry, the local government has been building a new city for one million people called Kangbashi. It sits virtually empty and property prices are falling. Even in the old city of Dongsheng where people live and work, some 45 minutes drive away, a wave of investment has backfired. ... Full Story Top Ouattara says no "victors' justice" in Ivory Coast Fri,2 Dec 2011 05:23 AM PST Reuters - CONAKRY (Reuters) - Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara rejected accusations that he had imposed "victors' justice" on his civil war rival by transferring him to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Former president Laurent Gbagbo was flown from Ivory Coast to the Netherlands on Wednesday and put in a detention center in The Hague, making him the first former head of state to face trial by the global court since its inception in 2002. Gbagbo faces charges of crimes against humanity, including murder and rape. ... Full Story Top Carlos the Jackal dominates trial but turnout wanes Fri,2 Dec 2011 05:00 AM PST Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - All the world's a stage for Carlos the Jackal, the veteran Marxist militant who since last month has reigned with imperious bluster over his trial in France on terrorism charges. But while theatrical antics have been a daily feature of a trial now in its fourth week, Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, once the most wanted international criminal looks out at a steadily dwindling audience from his caged-in defendant's box. ... Full Story Top Syrian dissidents don't feel safe in Lebanon Fri,2 Dec 2011 04:44 AM PST Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - Some fear walking down main streets. Some go into hiding. For many Syrian activists who have fled across the border, Lebanon is an uneasy refuge. "You always worry that you're still in reach of the hands of the Syrian regime," said one activist, whispering in the corner of a busy coffee shop in Beirut. "Being on the other side of the border doesn't mean much." Syria denies it, and it is impossible to prove, but many activists who have fled to Lebanon blame a series of kidnappings and reported beatings on Syrian supporters here. ... Full Story Top Authorities protecting Syrian opposition in France Fri,2 Dec 2011 04:44 AM PST Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - France is taking measures to protect opponents of the Syrian government after recent threats against the main Syrian National Council, whose leader is based in Paris, French Interior Minister Claude Gueant said on Friday. France has previously said it would not tolerate Syria intimidating opposition activists on its soil and would beef up its police presence at future opposition rallies following clashes over the summer. ... Full Story Top

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