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Chinese firm suspected in missile-linked sale to North Korea: U.S. official
Sat,21 Apr 2012 05:21 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States believes a Chinese firm sold North Korea components for a missile transporter showcased in a recent military parade and will press Beijing to tighten enforcement of a U.N. ban on such military sales, a U.S. official said on Saturday. The Obama administration suspects the Chinese manufacturer sold the chassis - not the entire vehicle - and may have believed it was for civilian purposes, which means it would not be an intentional violation of U.N. sanctions, the senior official said. ...
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Economy could doom Sarkozy as France heads to polls
Sat,21 Apr 2012 04:35 PM PDT
Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - France votes on Sunday in round one of a presidential vote, with a feeble economy that could make Nicolas Sarkozy the country's first president to lose a fight for re-election in more than 30 years. In a contest driven as much by a dislike of Sarkozy's showy style and his failure to bring down unemployment as by policy differences, Sarkozy and his Socialist rival Francois Hollande are pegged to beat eight other candidates to go through to a May 6 runoff, where polls give Hollande a double-digit lead. ... Full Story | Top |
French voters frustrated on eve of election day
Sat,21 Apr 2012 04:35 PM PDT
Reuters -  PARIS (Reuters) - French voters voiced disillusionment on Saturday at a campaign that many said ignored the country's real problems, on the eve of a first-round vote expected to send President Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist rival Francois Hollande to a runoff next month. A day ahead of voting in mainland France, the first ballots were cast in overseas territories, from French Guiana on the northern shores of South America to the Pacific islands of Polynesia. ...
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Watergate figure, ministry founder Charles Colson dies
Sat,21 Apr 2012 04:23 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Charles Colson, a Richard Nixon White House operative during the Watergate scandal who had a reputation for ruthlessness before going to jail and starting a prison ministry, died on Saturday at age 80, the ministry said. Colson, who compiled Nixon's infamous "enemies list" before Watergate brought down the president in 1974, died of complications from a brain hemorrhage after being admitted to a hospital in Fairfax, Virginia, on March 31, Prison Fellowship Ministries said in a statement on its website. ...
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Six-term Utah senator faces Republican primary challenge
Sat,21 Apr 2012 03:49 PM PDT
Reuters -  SANDY, Utah (Reuters) - Veteran U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah will face a Republican primary fight after delegates to a party convention on Saturday denied him the nomination, forcing him into an election with a Tea Party-backed challenger who finished second. Hatch, 78, won the day over nine challengers, but narrowly fell short of reaching the 60 percent of the vote needed in a pairing against his number two challenger to win the nomination outright and avoid the primary. Heavily Republican Utah last elected a Democrat to the U.S. ...
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Dutch elections loom as budget talks collapse
Sat,21 Apr 2012 03:23 PM PDT
Reuters -  THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The Netherlands appears to be heading for early elections after budget talks in the core euro zone member collapsed on Saturday, jeopardizing its chances of meeting European deficit targets and of approving a broader fiscal responsibility pact. Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who has led a minority Liberal-Christian Democrat coalition since October 2010, will first try to reach an agreement with the opposition, including the pro-Europe Labour Party, on crucial budget cuts after his ally Geert Wilders refused to do a deal. ...
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Army dumps Nugent from concert after Obama remarks
Sat,21 Apr 2012 01:37 PM PDT
Reuters -  (Reuters) - The U.S. Army cut rock musician and gun-rights advocate Ted Nugent from a summer concert program at Fort Knox, Kentucky, on the same day he met with two U.S. Secret Service agents over recent comments he made about President Barack Obama. Nugent was scheduled to perform on June 23, but officials at Fort Knox said on Thursday the singer and guitarist would not be in the lineup with co-headliners REO Speedwagon and Styx. ...
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Chinese firm suspected in missile-linked sale to North Korea: U.S. official
Sat,21 Apr 2012 01:06 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States believes a Chinese firm sold North Korea components for a missile transporter showcased in a recent military parade and will press Beijing to tighten enforcement of a U.N. ban on such military sales, a U.S. official said on Saturday. The Obama administration suspects the Chinese manufacturer sold the chassis - not the entire vehicle - and may have believed it was for civilian purposes, which means it would not be an intentional violation of U.N. sanctions, the senior official said. ...
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Motor racing-Formula One lives in a Bahrain bubble
Sat,21 Apr 2012 12:46 PM PDT
Reuters - MANAMA, April 21 (Reuters) - While demonstrators hurledpetrol bombs at the police a half hour's drive away, the onlysmoke that reached the Bahrain Grand Prix paddock on the eve ofSunday's race was laid on by the organisers at the "relaxedBahraini-style barbecue". Formula One's Bahrain experience has been a tale of twoparallel universes, with the drivers and team bosses staying inluxury hotels and safely sheltered inside their paddock bubbleof familiar routine, while running battles are fought on thestreets and in villages. ... Full Story | Top |
China and North Korea hold highest-level talks since rocket
Sat,21 Apr 2012 12:43 PM PDT
Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China and North Korea on Saturday held their highest-level talks since Pyongyang staged a rocket launch that drew international censure, and they exchanged views about the tense Korean peninsula, according to an official Chinese news report. Wang Jiarui, the head of the ruling Chinese Communist Party's International Department, met Kim Yong-il, the Korean Workers' Party director of international affairs, for "strategic" talks between the two ruling parties, the Xinhua news agency reported. ... Full Story | Top |
Nigerian kidnappers release Spanish doctor
Sat,21 Apr 2012 12:40 PM PDT
Reuters - LAGOS (Reuters) - Kidnappers in Nigeria have released a Spanish doctor they abducted three weeks ago, police said on Saturday. Gunmen kidnapped Jose Manuel Machimbarrena on April 4 from his home in southeastern Nigeria, a region where several foreigners have been seized for ransom in the past few years. "The kidnapped Dr Machimbarrena ... was released yesterday," Enugu police spokesman Ebere Amaraizu said in a statement. "The state police command has intensified its manhunt in the pursuit of the hoodlums who took him. ... Full Story | Top |
Utah Senator Orrin Hatch to face challenger in Republican primary
Sat,21 Apr 2012 12:38 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah will face a Republican challenger in a June 26 primary run-off election, after failing to get the required 60 percent of votes in a Republican nominating convention held on Saturday. Hatch, a senior stalwart of the Republican party, got 59.2 percent of the vote compared to 40.8 percent for his strongest challenger, former state Senator Dan Liljenquist who had the support of Tea Party activists. (Reporting by Debbie Hummel; Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Vicki Allen) Full Story | Top |
Utah Senator Orrin Hatch to face challenger in Republican primary
Sat,21 Apr 2012 12:37 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah will face a Republican challenger in a June 26 primary run-off election, after failing to get the required 60 percent of votes in a Republican nominating convention held on Saturday. Hatch, a senior stalwart of the Republican party, got 59.2 percent of the vote compared to 40.8 percent for his strongest challenger, former state Senator Dan Liljenquist who had the support of Tea Party activists. (Reporting by Debbie Hummel; Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Vicki Allen) Full Story | Top |
Chinese firm suspected in missile-linked sale to North Korea: U.S. official
Sat,21 Apr 2012 12:30 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States believes a Chinese firm sold North Korea components for a missile transporter showcased in a recent military parade and will press Beijing to tighten enforcement of a U.N. ban on such military sales, a U.S. official said on Saturday. The Obama administration suspects the Chinese manufacturer sold the chassis - not the entire vehicle - and may have believed it was for civilian purposes, which means it would not be an intentional violation of U.N. sanctions, the senior official said. ... Full Story | Top |
More agents likely to go over Secret Service scandal: U.S. lawmaker
Sat,21 Apr 2012 12:26 PM PDT
Reuters -  Most of the Secret Service agents accused of misconduct with prostitutes ahead of President Barack Obama's recent visit to Colombia are likely to leave the agency, a top Republican lawmaker said on Saturday. Six of 11 employees linked to a night of partying in the coastal city of Cartagena on April 11-12 have left the agency over the scandal, which embarrassed the United States and overshadowed Obama's participation in the Summit of Americas meeting. ...
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New Brotherhood candidate pitched in to Egypt race
Sat,21 Apr 2012 11:45 AM PDT
Reuters -  CAIRO (Reuters) - The Muslim Brotherhood's new presidential candidate, pitched into the race after its first choice was disqualified, promised on Saturday to govern in coalition and to steady Egypt after more than a year of political turmoil. Mohamed Mursi, 59, the head of the Brotherhood's political party, said he would seek the votes of ultra-conservative Muslims after a popular hardline Salafi candidate was barred too, but he promised to be a president for all Egyptians. ...
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Wisconsin's Planned Parenthood suspends non-surgical abortions
Sat,21 Apr 2012 10:53 AM PDT
Reuters - MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin has suspended non-surgical abortions in response to a new state law that makes it harder for women to have the procedure, a move that followed anti-abortion measures in several Republican-controlled states. The law, which took effect on Friday, requires women visit a doctor at least three times before having a drug-induced abortion, forces physicians to determine whether women are being coerced into having an abortion and prohibits women and doctors from using web cams during the procedure. ... Full Story | Top |
"Loyalist" soldiers move into Mali's rebel-held north
Sat,21 Apr 2012 10:52 AM PDT
Reuters -  BAMAKO (Reuters) - About 200 soldiers claiming to be government loyalists have moved back into northern Mali saying they will fight to take it back from Tuareg-led separatist and Islamist rebels that routed the army across the region three weeks ago. The troop movement just inside Mali's eastern border with Niger came as witnesses said gunmen in rebel-held Timbuktu, near the northwestern border with Mauritania, opened fire to disperse residents protesting against the occupation of their town. ...
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WRAPUP 3-Protests, clashes, death cast pall over Bahrain Grand Prix
Sat,21 Apr 2012 10:49 AM PDT
Reuters - * Body of protester found on rooftop, Wefaq opposition says * Dead man was among protesters beaten by police - Wefaq * Opposition vows "days of rage" during Formula One race * Bahraini govt wants Grand Prix to show return to normalcy MANAMA, April 21 (Reuters) - Crowds of masked protestershurled petrol bombs at police who fired tear gas back in Bahrainon Saturday, turning the streets into a battle zone on the eveof a Formula One Grand Prix that demonstrators say glorifies arepressive government. ... Full Story | Top |
Belarus leader says will jail freed foe if he "blabbers"
Sat,21 Apr 2012 10:46 AM PDT
Reuters - MINSK (Reuters) - Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Saturday he would jail Andrei Sannikov, a recently released opposition leader, if he "blabbers" or if the West increases diplomatic pressure on Minsk to reform. In an apparent attempt to discourage Sannikov from talking about his time in jail, Lukashenko made it clear he would send his political foe and one of Sannikov's allies back to jail if he was displeased with them. ... Full Story | Top |
U.N. council approves up to 300 Syria truce monitors
Sat,21 Apr 2012 10:36 AM PDT
Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Saturday that authorizes an initial deployment of up to 300 unarmed military observers to Syria for three months to monitor a fragile week-old ceasefire in a 13-month old conflict. But the 15-nation council's move to condition deployment of observers on a U.N. assessment of compliance with the truce reflected U.S. and European concerns that Damascus' failure to halt the violence, return troops to barracks and withdraw heavy weapons from towns makes the prospects for success slim. U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
Daughter of Bahrain hunger striker arrested over protest
Sat,21 Apr 2012 10:34 AM PDT
Reuters - MANAMA (Reuters) - The daughter of a prominent Bahraini opposition activist who has been on hunger strike for over two months was arrested on Saturday evening for trying to stage a protest in the capital Manama, activists said. Sayed Yousif al-Muhafda said Zainab al-Khawaja, who has been arrested before only to be released several hours later, was taken by police after she tried to protest near the Financial Harbor in the capital. She was among protesters who riot police tried to prevent marching inside the city's market area, a Reuters witness said. ... Full Story | Top |
Man linked to U.S. Fort Bragg missing soldier held on unrelated charge
Sat,21 Apr 2012 10:13 AM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - A registered sex offender thought to be the last person to have seen missing Fort Bragg soldier Kelli Marie Bordeaux has been arrested for failing to register his new residence near the North Carolina base, a charge unrelated to Bordeaux's disappearance. Nicholas Holbert turned himself in to the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina on Friday and is charged with failing to report a change of address as required for a registered sex offender, authorities said. Bordeaux, 23, has been missing since leaving the Froggy Bottoms bar in Fayetteville on April 14. ... Full Story | Top |
Trump flies into ex-Soviet Georgia for tower project
Sat,21 Apr 2012 09:35 AM PDT
Reuters -  TBILISI (Reuters) - American property mogul Donald Trump flew into the former Soviet republic of Georgia on Saturday to expand his global real estate empire, lending his name to a glitzy tower on the Black Sea coast there. Unveiling a $250 million residential high-rise planned for the Georgian coastal resort town of Batumi, Trump said the Caucasus mountain nation had become a prime destination for foreign investment. "I think you have a lot of investment opportunities in Georgia. It's amazing what's going on. ...
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Analysis: Did U.S. fumble chance to peer inside China's secretive leadership?
Sat,21 Apr 2012 09:33 AM PDT
Reuters -  Information about a Chinese policeman who implicated the wife of a top Chinese official in a British businessman's murder was not circulated widely in Washington as he was considered of marginal intelligence value, current and former U.S. officials said. In the weeks since Wang Lijun's visit to the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu and his subsequent detention, some critics of the Obama administration have accused it of fumbling what could have been one of the highest-level defectors ever from inside China's clannish leadership class. ...
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South Sudan says troops bombed during flashpoint pullout
Sat,21 Apr 2012 09:32 AM PDT
Reuters - BENTIU, South Sudan (Reuters) - South Sudan accused its neighbor Sudan of bombing its troops as they pulled out of the disputed oil region of Heglig on Saturday, dampening already faint hopes of any imminent settlement between the bitter foes. The newly-independent South seized Heglig last week, raising fears of an all-out war with Sudan, then announced it had started withdrawing on Friday, following sharp criticism from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "The Sudan armed forced bombed our positions last night ... ... Full Story | Top |
Obama urges talks between Sudan, South Sudan to avoid war
Sat,21 Apr 2012 09:32 AM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama urged the leaders of Sudan and South Sudan on Saturday to stop the fighting between their countries and begin negotiations to settle their disputes, saying there was still a chance to avoid war. In a videotaped message to the two bitter foes, Obama sought to prevent further escalation of border hostilities that have raised tensions to the highest level since South Sudan split away as an independent country in July, taking with it most of the country's known oil reserves. ... Full Story | Top |
WRAPUP 2-Protests, clashes, death cast pall over Bahrain Grand Prix
Sat,21 Apr 2012 09:03 AM PDT
Reuters - * Body of protester found on rooftop, Wefaq opposition says * Dead man was among protesters beaten by police - Wefaq * Opposition vows "days of rage" during Formula One race * Bahraini govt wants Grand Prix to show return to normalcy MANAMA, April 21 (Reuters) - Crowds of masked protestershurled petrol bombs at police who fired tear gas back in Bahrainon Saturday, turning the streets into a battle zone on the eveof a Formula One Grand Prix that demonstrators say glorifies arepressive government. ... Full Story | Top |
Bahrain police use teargas against race protesters
Sat,21 Apr 2012 08:57 AM PDT
Reuters - MANAMA (Reuters) - Bahraini police fired teargas to break up a protest in a Shi'ite district outside Manama on Saturday, during Bahrain's Formula One Grand Prix, and protesters responded with petrol bombs. "Protesters were at a roundabout in Diraz and police tried to move them by firing teargas. They started throwing petrol bombs back at them," a Reuters witness said. He said there were up to 150 protesters, who had taken part in a march of several thousand earlier for democratic reforms and against Formula One, and around 50 riot policemen in jeeps. ... Full Story | Top |
Bahrain police use teargas against race protesters
Sat,21 Apr 2012 08:24 AM PDT
Reuters - DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahraini police fired teargas to break up a protest in a Shi'ite district outside Manama on Saturday, during Bahrain's Formula One Grand Prix, and protesters responded with petrol bombs. "Protesters were at a roundabout in Diraz and police tried to move them by firing teargas. They started throwing petrol bombs back at them," a Reuters witness said. He said there were up to 150 protesters, who had taken part in a march of several thousand earlier for democratic reforms and against Formula One, and around 50 riot policemen in jeeps. ... Full Story | Top |
UN council approves up to 300 Syria truce monitors
Sat,21 Apr 2012 08:23 AM PDT
Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Saturday that authorizes an initial deployment of up to 300 unarmed military observers to Syria for three months to monitor a fragile week-old ceasefire in a 13-month old conflict. The Russia-European drafted resolution said that deployment of U.N. observer mission, which will be called UNSMIS, will be "subject to assessment by the Secretary-General (Ban Ki-moon) of relevant developments on the ground, including the cessation of violence. ... Full Story | Top |
Two killed in fight at S.Africa gold mine: police
Sat,21 Apr 2012 08:23 AM PDT
Reuters - JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Two men were killed overnight in a fight involving suspected illegal miners at Harmony Gold's Tshepong mine in South Africa's Free State province, a police spokesman said on Saturday. Harmony spokeswoman Marian can der Walt said the incident had not halted operations at the mine, the biggest earner of the company that is the country's third largest gold producer. Company data showed Tshepong produced 207,950 ounces of gold in the 2011 financial year. ... Full Story | Top |
Czechs in mass march against austerity as government wobbles
Sat,21 Apr 2012 08:19 AM PDT
Reuters - PRAGUE (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Czechs on Saturday staged one of the biggest protests since the fall of communism, marching in Prague against spending cuts, tax rises and corruption and calling for the end of a centre-right government already close to collapse. Police estimated that 80-90,000 workers, students and pensioners snaked through the capital to rally in Wenceslas Square. Chanting and whistling, the crowd held banners proclaiming "Away with the government" and "Stop thieves". Rallies of such a scale are rare in the country of 10.5 million people. ... Full Story | Top |
Protests, clashes in Bahrain before Formula One race
Sat,21 Apr 2012 08:09 AM PDT
Reuters - MANAMA (Reuters) - Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in anti-government protests and activists reported clashes in several districts on Saturday, the eve of a Formula One Grand Prix race. Around 7,000 people took part in a march called by opposition parties in Diraz, holding banners for democratic reforms in the Shi'ite-majority Gulf Arab state, which is governed by the Sunni Muslim Al Khalifa family. They held up a banner depicting Formula One race drivers as riot police beating up protesters. ... Full Story | Top |
Todt says Bahrain race will not damage F1 image
Sat,21 Apr 2012 07:49 AM PDT
Reuters -  MANAMA (Reuters) - The head of Formula One's governing body was unrepentant on Saturday about the decision to race in Bahrain and said the sport would suffer no lasting damage to its image despite worldwide condemnation. Televised images of streets ablaze, with masked youths hurling petrol bombs while police fire teargas and birdshot at them, threaten to embarrass the sport and the global brands that back the series. "I am sorry about what has been reported. ...
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Motor racing-Todt says Bahrain race will not damage F1 image
Sat,21 Apr 2012 07:40 AM PDT
Reuters - MANAMA, April 21 (Reuters) - The head of Formula One'sgoverning body was unrepentant on Saturday about the decision torace in Bahrain and said the sport would suffer no lastingdamage to its image despite worldwide condemnation. Televised images of streets ablaze, with masked youthshurling petrol bombs while police fire teargas and birdshot atthem, threaten to embarrass the sport and the global brands thatback the series. "I am sorry about what has been reported. ... Full Story | Top |
Mali's military frees arrested officials
Sat,21 Apr 2012 07:34 AM PDT
Reuters - BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's military has released all the senior political and army officials it arrested earlier this week, the army leaders behind last month's coup said on Thursday. Separately, neighbouring Senegal said Mali's ousted former president, Amadou Toumani Toure, was on a plane heading for the capital Dakar. Senegal revealed this week that Toure been sheltering in its embassy in the Malian capital, Bamako. Toure fled his palace on March 22. ... Full Story | Top |
Bissau politician rejects junta job offer
Sat,21 Apr 2012 07:28 AM PDT
Reuters - BISSAU (Reuters) - The man that Guinea-Bissau's military rulers chose to run a two-year transition back to democracy has refused the offer, casting further doubt on the junta's internationally criticized roadmap to elections. Manuel Sherif Nhamadjo, who lost in a first-round presidential poll in March before a run-off was derailed by the coup, said late on Friday he would remain in his current post of vice-president of the ruling PAIGC party. ... Full Story | Top |
New Brotherhood candidate pitched in to Egypt race
Sat,21 Apr 2012 07:16 AM PDT
Reuters -  CAIRO (Reuters) - The Muslim Brotherhood's new presidential candidate, pitched into the race after its first choice was disqualified, promised on Saturday to govern in coalition and to steady Egypt after more than a year of political turmoil. Mohamed Mursi, 59, the head of the Brotherhood's political party, said he would seek the votes of ultra-conservative Muslims after a popular hardline Salafi candidate was barred too, but he promised to be a president for all Egyptians. ...
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Japan to write off Myanmar debt in thumbs-up for reform
Sat,21 Apr 2012 07:13 AM PDT
Reuters -  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will write off billions of dollars in debt owed by Myanmar and restart development loans, the leaders of the two countries said on Saturday, in a further move to end the Southeast Asian nation's isolation and strengthen its nascent democracy. The agreement to waive 303.5 billion yen ($3.72 billion) debt and overdue charges was reached during President Thein Sein's visit to Tokyo, the first by a Myanmar head of state in nearly three decades, signaling its steady return to the international fold after decades of brutal military rule. ...
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