Today's Reuters World News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
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Egyptians set to give Islamists biggest bloc in vote
Wed,14 Dec 2011 06:31 PM PST
Reuters -  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians return to polling stations on Thursday in a phased election likely to give Islamists the biggest bloc in a parliament that will play a key role in drafting a new constitution after decades of autocratic rule. The vote being staged over six weeks is Egypt's first free polls after a series of rigged elections under Hosni Mubarak, who after almost 30 years in power was driven from office by a popular uprising in February. ...
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Venezuela to send drug kingpin to U.S. - source
Wed,14 Dec 2011 04:29 PM PST
Reuters - CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela will extradite one of the region's most-wanted drug traffickers to the United States on Thursday, a Venezuelan government source said. Maximiliano Bonilla Orozco, a 39-year-old Colombian who had a $5 million bounty on his head and was better known by his alias Valenciano, was captured in the central Venezuelan city of Valencia late last month. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. military chapter in Iraq draws to a close
Wed,14 Dec 2011 03:36 PM PST
Reuters -  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Nearly nine years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq ousted Saddam Hussein, American troops are pulling out and leaving behind a country still battling insurgents, political uncertainty and sectarian divisions. Nearly 4,500 U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis lost their lives in a war that began with a "Shock and Awe" campaign of missiles and bombs pounding Baghdad, but later descended into a bloody sectarian struggle between long-oppressed majority Shi'ites and their former Sunni masters. Saddam is dead and the violence has ebbed, but the U.S. ...
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Libya Central Bank expected to have sanctions lifted
Wed,14 Dec 2011 03:19 PM PST
Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Libya's central bank and a subsidiary are expected to have U.N. sanctions against them lifted on Friday in a move to ease a cash crunch since the country's civil war ended, diplomats said on Wednesday. They said the Central Bank of Libya and the Libyan Foreign Bank (LFB), an offshore institution wholly owned by the central bank, would be taken off the Security Council's sanctions list unless there were objections from council members. ... Full Story | Top |
Lawmaker urges U.S. pursue trade pact with Egypt
Wed,14 Dec 2011 03:18 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top Republican lawmaker urged President Barack Obama's administration on Wednesday to pursue trade talks with Egypt to help shape the nascent democracy after a tumultuous year. "Engagement is now more important than ever," Representative David Dreier said in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which has issued a report recommending the two countries establish a path toward negotiation of a free trade agreement. ... Full Story | Top |
Islamists pursue gains in Egypt's phased election
Wed,14 Dec 2011 03:18 PM PST
Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Rival Islamist groups sought more gains in the second round of Egypt's parliamentary election on Wednesday, with liberals also fighting for a voice in an army-led transition that began with the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak. Egypt's first free election in six decades is unfolding in three stages until January. Even then, the generals who stepped in when an uprising toppled Mubarak in February will not hand power to civilians until after a presidential vote in mid-2012. ...
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Tunisia president asks for six-month political truce
Wed,14 Dec 2011 02:25 PM PST
Reuters -  TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's new president on Wednesday asked for a six-month political truce and a moratorium on strikes and protests, warning that otherwise the country would be committing "collective suicide." Tunisia electrified the Arab world when it overthrew its autocratic leader in January, but since then the caretaker authorities have been buffeted by social unrest, political turmoil and rows over the role of Islam in the political system. ...
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Security Council puts pressure on Cypriots for deal
Wed,14 Dec 2011 02:14 PM PST
Reuters -  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council threw its weight on Wednesday behind a push by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to clinch a Cyprus deal, urging the rival parties to speed up talks and be more constructive. Following talks with Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders, Ban last month called them to a summit in January to settle the decades-old conflict on the divided Mediterranean island that is harming Turkey's bid to join the European Union. ...
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Congo polls "seriously flawed": U.S. envoy
Wed,14 Dec 2011 01:54 PM PST
Reuters -  KINSHASA (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's elections, won by incumbent President Joseph Kabila according to provisional results, were seriously flawed and lacked transparency, the U.S. ambassador to the central African country said on Wednesday. The November 28 polls, whose outcome has already been rejected by the opposition, were seen as crucial to reinforcing stability but have been marred by poor organization, delays, violence and accusations of widespread fraud. The United States has closely followed observer missions including the U.S. ...
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Arab uprising could spark unrest in UK: general
Wed,14 Dec 2011 01:51 PM PST
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top soldier warned on Wednesday that pro-democracy uprisings in the Middle East could spawn militant Islamist activity in Britain, but said the greatest threat was economic. In his end-of-year analysis of the dangers facing Britain, the chief of the defense staff, General David Richards, said the Arab Spring could stir unrest in Britain's immigrant communities. ... Full Story | Top |
Russian TV struggles with Kremlin control
Wed,14 Dec 2011 01:44 PM PST
Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - For one evening last week, Fox News was among Russian television's best sources of information on the swell of protest in Moscow against alleged fraud in a parliamentary election that handed victory to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's party. One of Russia's state-controlled national television networks was quick to seize on the U.S. news channel's erroneous use of footage showing rioting in Athens to illustrate its reports on comparatively sedate protests in central Moscow. ... Full Story | Top |
Obama: Troops leaving Iraq with heads held high
Wed,14 Dec 2011 12:53 PM PST
Reuters -  FORT BRAGG, North Carolina (Reuters) - President Barack Obama welcomed home some of the last U.S. troops from Iraq on Wednesday, marking a symbolic end to the nearly nine-year war that strained America's armed forces and damaged its standing worldwide. Addressing soldiers at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, home of the 82nd Airborne Division, Obama stopped short of declaring victory in Iraq but called the winding down of the conflict "an extraordinary achievement. ...
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Israel approves steps to rein in settler violence
Wed,14 Dec 2011 12:50 PM PST
Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday approved steps to crack down on violent ultra-nationalist Jewish settlers after a rampage at a West Bank military base and torching of a mosque's facade stirred public outrage. Radical settlers are bent on foiling government efforts to shut down unauthorized outposts they have set up in occupied West Bank territory where Palestinians seek a state, although Israel has continued to expand larger official settlements. ... Full Story | Top |
In mountain camps, Pakistan Taliban train for death
Wed,14 Dec 2011 12:20 PM PST
Reuters - LADDA, Pakistan (Reuters)- Pakistan's Taliban say they have started peace talks, but in a mountain camp young recruits learn how to mount ambushes, raid military facilities and undertake the most coveted missions -- suicide bombings. "America, NATO and other countries could do nothing to us despite having nuclear weapons," said Shamim Mehsud, a senior Taliban commander training the fighters who hold AK-47 assault rifles and cover their faces with white cloth. ... Full Story | Top |
Pakistan's Zardari discharged from hospital: spokesman
Wed,14 Dec 2011 12:20 PM PST
Reuters - ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was released from a Dubai hospital on Wednesday, his spokesman said. Zardari, 56, was rushed to hospital early last week, triggering speculation that he might resign. "President Zardari has been discharged from the hospital and he has moved to his residence in Dubai," presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said. Zardari's office had released a statement earlier on Wednesday from his doctor saying the president had been admitted to hospital with numbness and twitching in his left arm and had lost consciousness for a few seconds. ... Full Story | Top |
U.N. chief defends NATO from critics of Libya war
Wed,14 Dec 2011 11:46 AM PST
Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday defended NATO against criticism from Russia, China and other countries, which accuse the alliance of overstepping its U.N. mandate to protect civilians in Libya. It was an unusual move by the cautious head of the United Nations, who will complete his first five-year term at the end of the month and begin his second term in January. Ban has rarely taken public positions that pit him with some permanent members of the 15-nation Security Council against others. ... Full Story | Top |
Clinton warns South Sudan of "resource curse" with oil wealth
Wed,14 Dec 2011 10:35 AM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged newly independent South Sudan on Tuesday to be prudent with its oil wealth, warning mismanagement and the "resource curse" could see money siphoned off by unscrupulous elites and foreign powers. Clinton, speaking at a development conference for South Sudan in Washington, welcomed the new government's pledge to improve transparency and accountability, particularly in the oil sector that appears poised for major development. "The proof is in the pudding. ...
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Tension simmers in blockaded China village after land protest
Wed,14 Dec 2011 10:32 AM PST
Reuters -  HONG KONG (Reuters) - Thousands of residents of a south China village rallied on Wednesday in defiance of police who sealed off the area to contain a long-running feud over land grabs and anger over the death of a village leader in police custody. The death of Xue Jinbo, 42, fanned tension in the small pocket of export-dependent Guangdong province and came after riot police fired water cannons and tear gas on Sunday to disperse thousands of stone-throwing villagers on the coast of the booming province. ...
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France says to release 230 million euros in Libyan assets
Wed,14 Dec 2011 10:31 AM PST
Reuters - TRIPOLI (Reuters) - France will release 230 million euros ($300 million) to Libyan authorities in the next few days and help them recover the rest of their frozen assets, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on a visit to Tripoli on Wednesday. Libya's leadership has expressed growing frustration that, three months after Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown, only a fraction of the frozen assets, estimated at $150 billion, have been released to pay for wages and rebuilding the country. "We are sure that the frozen amount belongs to the Libyan people. ... Full Story | Top |
Iran ready to start nuclear work in bunker: sources
Wed,14 Dec 2011 10:01 AM PST
Reuters -  VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran could soon begin sensitive atomic activities in an underground facility deep inside a mountain, diplomatic sources said on Wednesday, a move that would up the ante in a stand-off with big powers demanding Tehran curb such work. Iranian experts have carried out the necessary preparations at Fordow near the Shi'ite Muslim holy city of Qom, paving the way for the Islamic Republic to start higher-grade uranium enrichment at the site on a former military base. ...
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Gaddafi daughter seeks ICC probe into his killing
Wed,14 Dec 2011 09:57 AM PST
Reuters -  ALGIERS (Reuters) - A lawyer for Muammar Gaddafi's daughter said on Wednesday he had written to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to ask if an investigation had been launched into the killing of her father and brother. A copy of the letter, seen by Reuters, said that Muammar Gaddafi and his son Mo'tassim were "murdered in the most horrific fashion with their bodies thereafter displayed and grotesquely abused in complete defiance of Islamic law. ...
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Belgian gunman killed cleaning woman before attack
Wed,14 Dec 2011 09:27 AM PST
Reuters -  LIEGE, Belgium (Reuters) - Belgian investigators found the apparent first victim of a gunman who attacked Christmas shoppers and schoolchildren in the city of Liege, and expressed bafflement on Wednesday over why a small-time criminal turned into a multiple killer. The body of a cleaning woman was found at a warehouse used by gunman Nordine Amrani, killed before he headed on Tuesday for a central Liege square to attack people around a bus station with an assault rifle and grenades. ...
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London bankers baffled by protest camp's aims: survey
Wed,14 Dec 2011 09:26 AM PST
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Most finance industry workers are baffled by the anti-capitalist protest taking place outside London's St Paul's cathedral, and are struggling to understand what the movement is trying to achieve, a survey published Wednesday showed. The St Paul's camp set up two months ago, close to the London Stock Exchange protesters had originally been targeting, drew a hostile response from 31 percent of respondents in a poll of over 500 financial services workers. ...
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Army storms Syria's Hama, 10 killed: activists
Wed,14 Dec 2011 08:55 AM PST
Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian troops backed by tanks killed at least 10 people when they stormed the city of Hama on Wednesday after a three-day general strike in support of a pro-democracy uprising had shut most businesses, activists said. In the first armored incursion into Hama since a tank offensive in August ended large protests in the city centre, troops entered districts north and east of the Orontes River, firing machineguns and ransacking and burning closed shops, they said. Heavy civilian casualties were reported in the Hamidiya neighborhood. ... Full Story | Top |
Russia's Putin likely to end silence on protests
Wed,14 Dec 2011 08:33 AM PST
Reuters -  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin will portray himself in a marathon television phone-in as a man in touch with his country despite nationwide weekend protests and, according to a close aide, he will not skirt difficult questions. "Taking into account the busy agenda, the past election and future election, this phone-in will be special," Putin spokesman and deputy chief of staff Dmitry Peskov told reporters. ...
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Afghan rape victim freed, two weeks after pardon
Wed,14 Dec 2011 08:25 AM PST
Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - An Afghan woman who was jailed for "forced adultery" after a relative raped her, then pardoned following an international outcry over the case, has been released nearly two weeks after a judicial panel said she could go free, her lawyer said on Wednesday. "She was released last night," said lawyer Kimberley Motley. "She's happy that she's in a safer place." Sex outside marriage - even in cases of rape - is one of several "moral crimes" for which women are imprisoned in Afghanistan. Others include running away from an abusive husband or a forced marriage. ... Full Story | Top |
Hamas marks anniversary, hails Arab Spring Islamists
Wed,14 Dec 2011 08:18 AM PST
Reuters -  GAZA (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters rallied in Gaza on Wednesday to celebrate the Palestinian group's 24th anniversary and the strengthening of fellow Islamists in Egypt. "We hope all Arab countries will come under Islamic control," said Umm Bashir al-Hetani, a woman in the crowd over which fluttered a sea of green Islamist flags. Founded in 1987, Hamas, an Arabic acronym meaning the Islamist resistance movement, is an armed wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Palestinian territories. ...
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Refugees of Libya revenge attacks plan to go home
Wed,14 Dec 2011 07:56 AM PST
Reuters -  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Thousands of former supporters of Muammar Gaddafi who fled their town after revenge attacks will try to return next week, their leaders said on Wednesday, risking a confrontation with their neighbors. Tawargha, a town about 250 km east of Tripoli, was ransacked and looted, and its residents forced to flee, in one of the worst cases of reprisals against Gaddafi loyalists since the Libyan leader was overthrown three months ago. ...
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EU's Barnier says hopes Britain joins fiscal pact
Wed,14 Dec 2011 07:51 AM PST
Reuters - BRUSSELS (Reuters) - One of the EU's top officials said on Wednesday he hoped Britain would join other states in an agreement to tighten euro zone budget controls, and played down concerns about "discriminatory" rules being imposed on London's financial sector. British Prime Minister David Cameron last week refused to join the EU's other 26 member states in backing a new fiscal treaty for the euro zone, saying it was not in Britain's interests, a decision that has left the country isolated. ... Full Story | Top |
Bombs kill three, injure 35 in north Iraq: police
Wed,14 Dec 2011 07:41 AM PST
Reuters - MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Two car bombs exploded near shops and restaurants in the Iraqi town of Tal Afar on Wednesday, killing at least three people and wounding 35 others, a police source said. The blasts occurred in the mainly Shi'ite town of Tal Afar, which lies about 420 km (260 miles) north of Baghdad and just west of the volatile northern city of Mosul - the last urban stronghold of al Qaeda Sunni insurgency. Militants blew up a small oil tanker then few minutes later they detonated a car bomb as more people gathered to help the wounded, the source in Tal Afar police said. ... Full Story | Top |
Kuwait activists seek "real" opposition, reform
Wed,14 Dec 2011 07:37 AM PST
Reuters -  DUBAI (Reuters) - Fed up with Kuwait's dysfunctional and divisive political system, a group of activists is vying to make itself heard over the incessant bickering between government loyalists and the opposition they say are both to blame for the Gulf state's woes. The loose coalition including academics and professionals are hoping to distance themselves from the established opposition and rally others behind them to root out corruption they say is endemic and steer the country towards full democracy. ...
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Syrians lament their losses in Turkish border village
Wed,14 Dec 2011 07:35 AM PST
Reuters - GUVECCI, Turkey (Reuters) - From the roof of his cousin's house across the border, Syrian villager Ahmad Sadeq can see two Syrian soldiers strolling around the farm he abandoned four months ago to seek safety with Turkish relatives. Sadeq laments how nine months of unrest in Syria have shattered his once tranquil existence as the owner of more than 50 acres of orchards producing bountiful crops of apples, apricots and olives in Khirbet al-Jouz. ... Full Story | Top |
Syrians lament their losses in Turkish border village
Wed,14 Dec 2011 07:23 AM PST
Reuters -  GUVECCI, Turkey (Reuters) - From the roof of his cousin's house across the border, Syrian villager Ahmad Sadeq can see two Syrian soldiers strolling around the farm he abandoned four months ago to seek safety with Turkish relatives. Sadeq laments how nine months of unrest in Syria have shattered his once tranquil existence as the owner of more than 50 acres of orchards producing bountiful crops of apples, apricots and olives in Khirbet al-Jouz. ...
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Syria's currency sags under weight of unrest
Wed,14 Dec 2011 07:21 AM PST
Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian trader Ghaith Jawhar goes daily to the old Damascus market looking for illegal money dealers hiding in the alleyways. He sells them small amounts of Syrian pounds in exchange for hard currency that has become scarcer and more expensive in the last few weeks. "My profits and savings are now threatened. I cannot find anyone who can give me enough dollars, and those who are offering me some are giving me prohibitive rates," Jawhar, 62, said by telephone from his small clothing shop in the Salhia commercial district of the capital. ... Full Story | Top |
Syria's currency sags under weight of unrest
Wed,14 Dec 2011 07:09 AM PST
Reuters -  AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian trader Ghaith Jawhar goes daily to the old Damascus market looking for illegal money dealers hiding in the alleyways. He sells them small amounts of Syrian pounds in exchange for hard currency that has become scarcer and more expensive in the last few weeks. "My profits and savings are now threatened. I cannot find anyone who can give me enough dollars, and those who are offering me some are giving me prohibitive rates," Jawhar, 62, said by telephone from his small clothing shop in the Salhia commercial district of the capital. ...
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Syrians lament their losses in Turkish border village
Wed,14 Dec 2011 06:30 AM PST
Reuters - GUVECCI, Turkey (Reuters) - From the roof of his cousin's house across the border, Syrian villager Ahmad Sadeq can see two Syrian soldiers strolling around the farm he abandoned four months ago to seek safety with Turkish relatives. Sadeq laments how nine months of unrest in Syria have shattered his once tranquil existence as the owner of more than 50 acres of orchards producing bountiful crops of apples, apricots and olives in Khirbet al-Jouz. ... Full Story | Top |
Analysis: Rising prices main clue to Iran sanctions impact
Wed,14 Dec 2011 06:22 AM PST
Reuters -  TEHRAN (Reuters) - Tehran does not look like a city under siege. Its shops and markets are full of goods and customers; signs that international sanctions are ravaging Iran's economy are hard to detect. With global oil prices above $100 a barrel, the world's fifth biggest oil exporter is proving it can cope with trade and financial restrictions that the United States and Europe hope will force a halt to its controversial nuclear program, which is suspected of seeking to build an atomic bomb. ...
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Nine years on, Iraq's economic potential still untapped
Wed,14 Dec 2011 06:15 AM PST
Reuters -  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Four years ago, Iraq's oil minister Hussain al-Shahristani confronted a stark choice: should he risk opening Iraq's ailing oil industry to foreign companies? Iraq's oil sector was limping along after years of sanctions and conflict following the U.S. invasion in 2003, and badly needed more investment. But bringing in Big Oil could expose a vulnerable country to rapacious bids and exploitation. ...
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South Korea's China embassy window shot amid tension
Wed,14 Dec 2011 06:10 AM PST
Reuters -  BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea said on Wednesday it had asked China for security guarantees at its Beijing embassy after the building was hit by a small projectile as tensions run high after the killing of a South Korean coastguard by a Chinese fisherman. South Korea's Foreign Ministry said it was unclear what kind of weapon was used to fire the ballbearing-like shot that cracked one of the embassy's windows on Tuesday afternoon, but that no one was injured. A ministry official, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters in Seoul the incident occurred between 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. ...
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Merkel partner in disarray after shock resignation
Wed,14 Dec 2011 05:45 AM PST
Reuters -  BERLIN (Reuters) - A leader in Germany's Free Democrats resigned unexpectedly on Wednesday in the latest sign of turmoil in the party that shares power with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives. Christian Lindner, general secretary of the beleaguered FDP and a rising star seen as a potential future chairman, stepped down in a move which appeared to be linked to the poor turnout in a party referendum on euro zone rescue moves. Merkel faced further turbulence from a growing scandal engulfing President Christian Wulff, an ally she nominated for the largely ceremonial post last year. ...
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