Sunday, April 22, 2012

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Sunday, April 22, 2012 8:30 PM PDT
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Factbox: What happened at the IMF meetings
Sun,22 Apr 2012 07:10 PM PDT
Reuters - April 22 - The world's finance ministers and central-bank governors have wrapped up their twice-yearly talks on the global economy. Below is a summary of what happened at the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington: MORE MONEY FOR THE IMF TO CONTAIN EURO ZONE CRISIS - IMF member countries pledged $430 billion in new loans to the Fund, doubling its ability to help economies struck by fallout from the euro zone crisis. More could yet come from emerging economies. ... Full Story
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Myanmar awaits EU sanction easing; Suu Kyi delays debut
Sun,22 Apr 2012 07:00 PM PDT
Reuters -

Myanmar pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi leaves her office after a meeting in front of the National League for Democracy Party head office YangonNAYPYITAW, Myanmar (Reuters) - Myanmar's reformist rulers are looking forward to an eagerly awaited easing of European Union sanctions on Monday but celebrations will be muted over a political stalemate delaying Aung San Suu Kyi's historic parliamentary debut. A protest by Suu Kyi's party over a swearing-in vow for its would-be parliamentarians will dent an image of transformation the government wanted to show off on Monday, when the European Union is all but certain to become the first among Western powers to suspend in earnest sanctions that isolated Myanmar for two decades. ...


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Congress presses investigation of Secret Service scandal
Sun,22 Apr 2012 06:49 PM PDT
Reuters -

Prostitutes walk on the square of the old city in CartagenaWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two senior Republicans in the House of Representatives expressed confidence on Sunday in the head of the U.S. Secret Service, despite the agency's Colombia prostitution scandal while a Senate committee chairman planned hearings into the matter. Senator Joseph Lieberman, an independent, said that the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that he chairs will send specific questions to the Secret Service this week about the scandal before the panel holds public hearings. The Secret Service, which protects the president, vice president and other prominent U.S. ...


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Wal-Mart probe lifts lid on culture of bribery in Mexico
Sun,22 Apr 2012 06:45 PM PDT
Reuters - Whether you are the world's No. 1 retailer or a humble street vendor, paying public officials a bribe may be the quickest way to get your business growing in Mexico. The New York Times reported this weekend that Wal-Mart Stores Inc investigators probing its Mexican operations found a paper trail of hundreds of suspect payments worth more than $24 million made to grow its business there, and that the company then quashed the investigation. ... Full Story
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Tulsa, Oklahoma's racial divide bedevils plan to honor MLK
Sun,22 Apr 2012 06:37 PM PDT
Reuters - TULSA, Oklahoma (Reuters) - This city, where a history of racial tension was inflamed by the Good Friday shootings of five black people, plans to name a street in honor of civil rights pioneer Dr. Martin Luther King but only the section that passes through a predominantly black part of a city. The challenges in winning approval for the move and getting it put into place -- including the need to scale the proposal down to get it passed by the largely white city council -- illustrate Tulsa's legacy of racial animosities and resistance to change. ... Full Story
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Le Pen voters to arbitrate Hollande-Sarkozy duel
Sun,22 Apr 2012 05:37 PM PDT
Reuters -

France's President and UMP party candidate for the 2012 French presidential electionS Sarkozy speaks to supporters at La Mutualite meeting hall in ParisPARIS (Reuters) - Far-right voters may decide who becomes France's next president after anti-immigration crusader Marine Le Pen's record first-round score jolted the race between Socialist frontrunner Francois Hollande and incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy. The centre-left Hollande narrowly beat the conservative Sarkozy in Sunday's 10-candidate first round by 28.6 percent to 27.1 percent, the Interior Ministry said with 99 percent of votes counted, but Le Pen stole the show by surging to 18.0 percent, the biggest result for a far-right candidate. ...


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China lauds North Korea friendship despite tensions
Sun,22 Apr 2012 05:00 PM PDT
Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China's most senior diplomat has vowed to deepen ties with North Korea and praised its young leader Kim Jong-un, despite an international outcry over Pyongyang's recent rocket launch and the possibility of a third nuclear test by the isolated state. State Councillor Dai Bingguo, who steers Chinese diplomacy and outranks the foreign minister, made the show of friendship in a meeting with Kim Yong-il, the Korean Workers' Party director of international affairs, according to a statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry late on Sunday. ... Full Story
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The long and short of Mitt Romney's VP list
Sun,22 Apr 2012 04:49 PM PDT
Reuters -

Romney pauses during remarks to the Franklin County Lincoln Day Dinner in Greencastle, PennsylvaniaWASHINGTON (Reuters) - In picking a vice presidential running mate, Republican Mitt Romney wants to avoid the Sarah Palin syndrome. Then-Republican nominee John McCain shook up the 2008 race with his dramatic choice of the relatively unknown Palin, but the problems she faced during the campaign will be on the minds of Romney and his vice presidential search team. The presumptive 2012 nominee, Romney is expected to make a steady, "do-no-harm" choice and avoid the type of "Hail Mary" selection that Palin represented, in his bid to unseat President Barack Obama. ...


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Myanmar awaits EU sanction easing; Suu Kyi delays debut
Sun,22 Apr 2012 04:32 PM PDT
Reuters - NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (Reuters) - Myanmar's reformist rulers are looking forward to an eagerly awaited easing of European Union sanctions on Monday but celebrations will be muted over a political stalemate delaying Aung San Suu Kyi's historic parliamentary debut. A protest by Suu Kyi's party over a swearing-in vow for its would-be parliamentarians will dent an image of transformation the government wanted to show off on Monday, when the European Union is all but certain to become the first among Western powers to suspend in earnest sanctions that isolated Myanmar for two decades. ... Full Story
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Government seeks tighter grip on public spending
Sun,22 Apr 2012 04:07 PM PDT
Reuters -

Alexander arrives at 11 Downing Street in LondonLONDON (Reuters) - Treasury Minister Danny Alexander will set out new rules on Monday to push ministries to tighten their grip on spending at a time of deep public cuts aimed at wiping out the country's huge budget deficit within five years. Under the new rules, government departments will be asked to identify 5 percent of their annual budget to cover unexpected costs - in a bid to discourage them from asking for more money from central government when emergencies arise. ...


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Hollande edges Sarkozy in French vote, Le Pen surges
Sun,22 Apr 2012 03:38 PM PDT
Reuters -

Francois Hollande, Socialist Party candidate for the 2012 French presidential election, waves to supporters in Tulle before his speech, after early results in the first round vote of the 2012 French presidential electionPARIS (Reuters) - Far-rightist Marine Le Pen threw France's presidential race wide open on Sunday by polling nearly 19 percent in the first round - votes that may tip a runoff between Socialist favorite Francois Hollande and conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy. Hollande led Sarkozy by 28.2 percent to 27.0 percent with more than four fifths of votes counted, the Interior Ministry said, meaning the two will meet head-to-head in a decider on May 6 that may be closer than pundits had been expected. Le Pen's record score of 18. ...


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Sudan, South Sudan swap accusations of attacks, church raided
Sun,22 Apr 2012 03:32 PM PDT
Reuters - KHARTOUM/BENTIU, South Sudan (Reuters) - Sudan and newly-independent South Sudan accused each other of launching fresh attacks on their territories on Sunday as neither side showed any sign of bowing to global pressure to return to the negotiating table. South Sudan said Sudanese troops attacked settlements about 10km (6 miles) on its side of the border and carried out air raids in a range of areas including its oil-producing Unity state. ... Full Story
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Egypt cancels gas deal with Israel
Sun,22 Apr 2012 03:27 PM PDT
Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Egyptian energy companies, citing a trade dispute, have terminated a deal to supply Israel with natural gas in a step that may further erode bilateral ties strained by a popular revolt that toppled Egypt's pro-Israeli leader last year. An Israeli partner in the business made the step public on Sunday but an Egyptian firm said the decision to cancel the deal had been made on Thursday. ... Full Story
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Afghanistan and U.S. agree on strategic pact text
Sun,22 Apr 2012 03:21 PM PDT
Reuters -

U.S. soldiers from 3rd platoon Bronco troop 5-20 infantry Regiment attached to 82nd Airborne patrol with Afghan national Army soldiers in Zharay districtAfghanistan and the United States on Sunday agreed on a draft of a long-awaited deal that will define the scope and nature of a U.S. presence in the country for up to a decade after the pullout of most NATO combat troops in 2014. The U.S. Ambassador to Kabul, Ryan Crocker, and Afghan national security adviser, Rangin Spanta, initialed copies of the agreement, paving the way for President Barack Obama and his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, to review it. ...


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Analysts' view: Hollande tops Sarkozy in French vote
Sun,22 Apr 2012 03:12 PM PDT
Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - Far-rightist Marine Le Pen threw France's presidential race wide open on Sunday by scoring nearly 20 percent in the first round - votes that may determine the outcome of the May 6 runoff between Socialist favorite Francois Hollande and conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy. Following are comments from analysts on the results: DOMINIQUE BARBET, ECONOMIST, BNP PARIBAS "Overall we've got a vote that is much more uncertain than we thought it would be. The vote has really been marked by the crisis. ... Full Story
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Former Iceland PM to learn if guilty in 2008 crisis
Sun,22 Apr 2012 02:07 PM PDT
Reuters -

Geir Haarde, Iceland's former prime minister, speaks to the media in court in ReykjavikREYKJAVIK (Reuters) - The only politician in the world to stand trial for their role in the 2008 financial crisis will learn their fate on Monday when a court in tiny Iceland rules on whether the island's former prime minister was grossly negligent or not. In a verdict that many fear will do little to heal the wounds of the meltdown, a court will decide whether former prime minister Geir Haarde, 61, was personally responsible for failing to rein in the country's banking sector before it imploded. Haarde, who faces four charges of gross negligence, has denied any guilt. ...


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Hungary sees EU aid talks approval for end-April
Sun,22 Apr 2012 01:53 PM PDT
Reuters - BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary said on Sunday it expects the EU to give the green light to vital credit talks by the end of April after Prime Minister Viktor Orban meets with European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso this week. "There will be a very important meeting on Tuesday between the Commission President Barroso and the Hungarian Prime Minister," Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi said in a televised interview. "We expect ... ... Full Story
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Vettel wins Bahrain Grand Prix, protesters kept away
Sun,22 Apr 2012 01:38 PM PDT
Reuters -

Winner Red Bull Formula One driver Vettel pours champagne on second placed Lotus F1 Formula One driver Raikkonen during the podium ceremony after the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix at the Sakhir circuit in ManamaMANAMA (Reuters) - Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel won the Grand Prix in Bahrain on Sunday while rage boiled beyond the circuit among protesters who say the island's rulers should not have hosted the race after crushing Arab Spring demonstrations last year. High security kept trouble well away from the track, where Red Bull's Vettel led an uneventful race before half-empty stands. Activists said police fired tear gas to prevent post-race demonstrations in Shi'ite villages around the capital. The villages have seen nightly clashes over the past week. ...


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UPDATE 7-Vettel wins Bahrain Grand Prix, protesters kept away
Sun,22 Apr 2012 01:36 PM PDT
Reuters - * Race passes without any incidents at circuit * Vettel wins, pro-democracy protests kept away * Police fire teargas in villages-activists (Adds arrest of British TV crew) MANAMA, April 22 (Reuters) - Formula One world championSebastian Vettel won the Grand Prix in Bahrain on Sunday whilerage boiled beyond the circuit among protesters who say theisland's rulers should not have hosted the race after crushingArab Spring demonstrations last year. High security kept trouble well away from the track, whereRed Bull's Vettel led an uneventful race before half-emptystands. ... Full Story
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Global crisis not over, China reforms to go on: Wen
Sun,22 Apr 2012 01:14 PM PDT
Reuters -

Chinese Premier Jiabao delivers his speech during the opening ceremony of the Hanover fair in Hanover.HANOVER, Germany (Reuters) - The global financial crisis is not over and technical innovation and investment will be key to sustaining what remains a "tortuous" recovery, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Sunday during a visit to Germany. Wen also said China, the world's biggest exporter and second largest economy, would press on with reforms aimed at creating better legal protection for foreign investors -- a major concern for the growing number of German firms active in the country. ...


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Israel intercepts ship for weapons search
Sun,22 Apr 2012 01:12 PM PDT
Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli naval forces intercepted a cargo ship in the Mediterranean on Sunday then boarded the vessel to search for suspected weapons, military officials and media reports said. Israel routinely patrols the seas for ships suspected of carrying weapons destined for Palestinian militants. A year ago Israel seized a cargo ship it said held Iranian-supplied arms intended for the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. ... Full Story
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Peru's Humala gains in poll on kidnap, mine rescues
Sun,22 Apr 2012 01:12 PM PDT
Reuters -

Peru's President Humala gives a news conference at the Americas Summit in CartagenaLIMA (Reuters) - Peruvian President Ollanta Humala's approval rating climbed to 56 percent in April, boosted by the release of energy industry workers kidnapped by Shining Path rebels, an Ipsos Apoyo poll showed on Sunday. The president's approval rating rose 3 percentage points from the previous monthly opinion poll following last weekend's liberation of the 36 gas pipeline workers in a remote jungle region in southern Peru. ...


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Argentina's YPF cuts computer links with Repsol
Sun,22 Apr 2012 12:51 PM PDT
Reuters -

A sign with the YPF Gas logo is seen outside a gas distributor in MorenoLONDON (Reuters) - Argentine oil group YPF has cut computer links with parent Repsol, two sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday, following Buenos Aires' plans unveiled last week to seize control of the leading energy company. The move is the latest in a string of actions that have shut Spain's Repsol out of YPF, even before Argentina has implemented laws to provide the basis for the nationalization. ...


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Sri Lanka orders mosque move after Buddhist protest
Sun,22 Apr 2012 12:15 PM PDT
Reuters - COLOMBO (Reuters) - The Sri Lankan government ordered a mosque relocated on Sunday after Buddhist monks said the 50-year-old structure had been built illegally in an area sacred to Buddhists and threatened to demolish it. The monks in the island nation's central town of Dambulla protested against the mosque on Friday, stopping the Islamic prayers, and threatened violence if it was not removed. They also have asked that a Hindu temple in the area be removed. ... Full Story
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Merkel's FDP ally eyes poll comeback, doubts persist
Sun,22 Apr 2012 12:12 PM PDT
Reuters -

German Chancellor Merkel delivers her speech during the opening ceremony of the Hanover industrial fair in HanoverKARLSRUHE, Germany (Reuters) - Poll figures may be low and forecasts gloomy, but Martina Reuter felt certain things were looking up for her party - Germany's Free Democrats (FDP), the junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right coalition. "At the moment there is a real mood of change ... There is a return to the old, fundamental values," the 50-year-old party member told Reuters at a weekend FDP congress in Karlsruhe, western Germany. Her comments were in tune with the atmosphere of determined bonhomie among the hundreds of delegates at the gathering. ...


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ECB deaf to call for more action to help euro zone
Sun,22 Apr 2012 11:40 AM PDT
Reuters -

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi takes his seat for an IMFC meeting during the spring IMF-World Bank meetings in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - European Central Bank officials showed no sign of bending to renewed international pressure to do more to boost the euro zone's struggling economy. Top ECB policymakers, attending the International Monetary Fund's spring meetings, politely but firmly rebuffed the IMF's call that the bank should cut its policy interest rate below 1 percent and be prepared to provide more public funding to banks to reduce the risk of a new flare-up of the crisis. ...


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Congress presses investigation of Secret Service scandal
Sun,22 Apr 2012 11:39 AM PDT
Reuters -

Prostitutes walk on the square of the old city in CartagenaWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two senior House of Representatives Republicans expressed confidence in the head of the U.S. Secret Service on Sunday despite the agency's Colombia prostitution scandal while a Senate committee chairman planned hearings into the matter. Senator Joseph Lieberman, an independent, said that the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that he chairs will send specific questions to the Secret Service this week about the scandal before the panel holds public hearings. Other congressional committees also are investigating. ...


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ANALYSIS-No winner in the real contest of Bahrain's Grand Prix
Sun,22 Apr 2012 11:11 AM PDT
Reuters - * No winner in Grand Prix public relations battle * Event shone light on forgotten protests * Divisions have deepened DUBAI, April 22 (Reuters) - Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel mayhave won the Bahrain Grand Prix, but there was no winner in themain event: a public relations battle between the ruling AlKhalifa family and protesters in the streets over competingvisions of Bahrain. Masked youths with petrol bombs faced off nightly againstriot police in armoured vehicles, armed with batons, tear gas,sound bombs and guns firing birdshot. At least one protester wasfound dead on a rooftop after a clash. ... Full Story
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As Myanmar awaits easing of sanctions, row brews over MP no-show
Sun,22 Apr 2012 11:10 AM PDT
Reuters -

Myanmar pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi leaves her office after a meeting in front of the National League for Democracy Party head office YangonNAYPYITAW, Myanmar (Reuters) - Myanmar's reformist rulers are looking forward to an eagerly awaited easing of European Union sanctions on Monday but celebrations will be muted over a political stalemate delaying Aung San Suu Kyi's historic parliamentary debut. A protest by Suu Kyi's party over a swearing-in vow for its would-be parliamentarians will dent an image of transformation the government wanted to show off on Monday, when the European Union is all but certain to become the first among Western powers to suspend in earnest sanctions that isolated Myanmar for two decades. ...


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Egypt's Moussa promises army voice in key policy body
Sun,22 Apr 2012 11:03 AM PDT
Reuters -

Egyptian presidential candidate and former Arab League Secretary General Moussa speaks during news conference in CairoCAIRO (Reuters) - Ex-foreign minister Amr Moussa, a leading contender for Egypt's presidency, said on Sunday he would give the military a voice in key policies via a national security council, a move to reassure ruling generals about their status after a power transfer. Moussa, a self-described liberal nationalist whose main election rivals are Islamists, also said Egypt needed a president with lobbying skills to work effectively with the Islamist-dominated parliament and other institutions after decades of autocratic government. ...


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Orthodox Church under attack: Russian Patriarch
Sun,22 Apr 2012 10:52 AM PDT
Reuters -

Members of the Orthodox clergy walk in procession after a call to prayer in support of the Orthodox Church at the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in MoscowMOSCOW (Reuters) - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church warned tens of thousands of believers on Sunday they were "under attack by persecutors" on a nationwide day of prayer intended to heal divisions over a protest at the altar by a women's punk band. At least 40,000 people came to hear Patriarch Kirill lead them in prayer at Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow, where Pussy Riot performed a "punk prayer" on February 21 deriding the Church's close relationship with President-elect Vladimir Putin. ...


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Gay media group honors Chaz Bono, Betty White
Sun,22 Apr 2012 10:46 AM PDT
Reuters -

Chaz Bono speaks after being presented the Stephen F. Kolzak Award by Mary Bono Mack and Cher at the GLAAD Media Awards in Los AngelesLOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Media watchdog the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation brought out some big names in Hollywood over the weekend including American sweetheart Betty White to honor movies, TV shows and performers. At the annual GLAAD Media Awards on Saturday night, the group gave one honorary trophy to transgender activist and celebrity Chaz Bono, the child of superstar Cher and Sonny Bono, for promoting equal rights in the media. The makers of documentary "Becoming Chaz," Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey, earned another trophy for their film about his transformation. ...


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Netherlands political crisis casts cloud on euro zone
Sun,22 Apr 2012 10:35 AM PDT
Reuters - AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Netherlands, a core euro zone member, was drawn into Europe's debt crisis at the weekend when the government failed to agree on budget cuts, making elections almost unavoidable and casting doubt on its support for future euro zone measures. Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose centre-right coalition has been in power since October 2010, said on Saturday that crucial talks on budget cuts had collapsed after his ally Geert Wilders refused to do a deal, and that new elections were inevitable. ... Full Story
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Israel intercepts ship for security check: official
Sun,22 Apr 2012 10:32 AM PDT
Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli naval forces intercepted a cargo ship in the Mediterranean on Sunday and troops have boarded the vessel for a "security check", military sources said. Israel routinely patrols the seas for ships suspected of carrying weapons destined for Palestinian militants. A year ago Israel seized a cargo ship it said held Iranian-supplied arms intended for the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The official said so far "nothing outstanding has been found" on the ship, and declined to provide details, describing the interception as "routine protection of our territorial waters". ... Full Story
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Ukraine ex-PM refuses treatment, returned to jail
Sun,22 Apr 2012 10:26 AM PDT
Reuters -

A supporter of opposition leader and former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko holds placard during a rally outside the President office in KievKIEV (Reuters) - Former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, whose jailing last year damaged the ex-Soviet republic's ties with the West, has been returned to a prison after refusing to be treated for back pain at a state-run hospital, her party said on Sunday. The seven-year prison sentence handed down last October to Tymoshenko, a fierce opponent of President Viktor Yanukovich, has been condemned by the European Union as an example of selective justice. ...


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Egypt MPs demand Mufti quit over Jerusalem trip
Sun,22 Apr 2012 10:24 AM PDT
Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Islamist-dominated parliament on Sunday called on the Mufti to quit after a visit to Jerusalem, stepping up pressure on the state-appointed official over a trip that critics say bestowed recognition of Israeli control of the city. Mufti Ali Gomaa's trip to East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, has caused a stir in Egypt and across the Arab region, where he has been criticized for a visit that has revived debate about normalization with Israel. ... Full Story
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North Korea leader spent nine years in Switzerland: reports
Sun,22 Apr 2012 09:52 AM PDT
Reuters -

State media film North Korean leader Kim Jong-un waving in PyongyangZURICH (Reuters) - North Korea's young leader Kim Jong-un spent more of his childhood being educated under a pseudonym in Switzerland than originally thought, Swiss newspapers reported on Sunday. Jong-un first travelled to Switzerland in 1991, aged eight or nine, rather than in 1998 as has previously been established, Le Matin Dimanche and the SonntagsZeitung reported, citing official Swiss police documents. Little is known about the leader of the reclusive communist state, who took over from the late Kim Jong-il last year, not even his exact age. ...


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Ex-Muslim Brotherhood man finds wide appeal in Egypt
Sun,22 Apr 2012 09:17 AM PDT
Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - A politician expelled from the Muslim Brotherhood is finding support among liberals and Islamists alike in his bid for Egypt's presidency, challenging the group he helped lead with a message that spans divisions in a polarised society. Abdul Moneim Abol Fotouh is appealing to a broader constituency than many of the candidates in a field that includes a Brotherhood leader and former members of the Hosni Mubarak administration. Whether he can win the historic democratic election will depend on how deeply that support runs. ... Full Story
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Iran's trade partners act to avoid U.S. sanctions
Sun,22 Apr 2012 09:17 AM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran's trading partners are looking for ways to avoid being hit by U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil transactions that take effect mid-year, with Turkey looking for other suppliers, India exploring options and smaller Asian countries arguing their imports from Tehran are tiny. Turkey, the fifth-largest buyer of Iranian oil, has committed to reduce its crude from Tehran by 10 percent and the country's only refiner, Tupras , a unit of Koc Holding , has pledged to cut imports by 20 percent. "The bottom line is that there are alternative suppliers. ... Full Story
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Sudan border fighting with South dampens deal hopes
Sun,22 Apr 2012 09:17 AM PDT
Reuters -

People wave Sudanese flags as they ride a military vehicle along with soldiers, during a celebration march outside the Defence Ministry in KhartoumKHARTOUM (Reuters) - South Sudan's seizure of a Sudanese oilfield has all but killed off hopes the two countries will settle their disputes soon and Khartoum may demand compensation before returning to talks, a Sudanese oil minister said on Sunday. The newly-independent South seized Heglig earlier this month, 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. ...


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