Today's Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
|
|
European firms keen but cautious over Myanmar: Ashton
Sat,28 Apr 2012 07:53 PM PDT
Reuters -  YANGON (Reuters) - European firms seeking to invest in Myanmar are unlikely to rush into business deals until more concrete reforms are put in place, despite a suspension of economic sanctions by the EU, its foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Saturday. The European Union and other powers have moved in recent weeks to ease sanctions on Myanmar, as the once pariah nation embarks on landmark reforms and seeks engagement with the world. ...
Full Story | Top |
UK puts missiles on London rooftop to guard Olympics
Sat,28 Apr 2012 06:27 PM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's military has told residents of an upscale apartment development near the Olympic Park in east London it is installing a missile battery on top of a tower within their housing complex to defend the 2012 Games this summer. The site is one of a number around the capital the army is considering as bases for surface-to-air missiles to protect the London games from an aerial attack, the Ministry of Defence said. ...
Full Story | Top |
UK puts missiles on London rooftop to guard Olympics
Sat,28 Apr 2012 06:25 PM PDT
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's military has told residents of an upscale apartment development near the Olympic Park in east London it is installing a missile battery on top of a tower within their housing complex to defend the 2012 Games this summer. Full Story | Top |
Escaped China activist in U.S. protection-rights group
Sat,28 Apr 2012 05:15 PM PDT
Reuters -  BEIJING (Reuters) - Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng is under U.S. protection in Beijing after an audacious escape from 19 months under house arrest, a U.S.-based group said on Saturday, in a drama that threatens to ignite new tensions between the two governments. The United States has not confirmed publicly reports that Chen, who slipped away from under the noses of guards and eyes and ears of surveillance equipment around his village home in eastern Shandong province, fled into the U.S. embassy. ...
Full Story | Top |
Sudan arrests foreigners in disputed border region
Sat,28 Apr 2012 03:06 PM PDT
Reuters -  KHARTOUM/JUBA (Reuters) - Sudan said it had arrested a Briton, a Norwegian and a South African on Saturday, accusing them of illegally entering a disputed oil-producing border area to spy for its enemy South Sudan. South Sudanese officials denied the allegations and said the men were working with the United Nations and aid groups clearing mines and had got lost in the remote territory close to the boundary between the two countries. ...
Full Story | Top |
Escaped China activist in U.S. protection-rights group
Sat,28 Apr 2012 02:39 PM PDT
Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng is under U.S. protection in Beijing after an audacious escape from 19 months under house arrest, a U.S.-based group said on Saturday, in a drama that threatens to ignite new tensions between the two governments. The United States has not confirmed publicly reports that Chen, who slipped away from under the noses of guards and eyes and ears of surveillance equipment around his village home in Shandong province, fled into the U.S. embassy. ...
Full Story | Top |
Hundreds rally to back hard-line Arizona sheriff
Sat,28 Apr 2012 02:36 PM PDT
Reuters -  FOUNTAIN HILLS, Arizona (Reuters) - As many as 200 activists, some chanting "go Joe, go Joe," rallied in Arizona on Saturday to support Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who is facing a federal racial-profiling probe for his police sweeps against illegal immigrants. "Sheriff Joe is one of the very few guys who will enforce the immigration laws across this nation," said Randy Hatch, who used a megaphone to rally supporters of Arpaio at a park in this northeast Phoenix valley city. ...
Full Story | Top |
Chen's flight triggers U.S.-China asylum memories
Sat,28 Apr 2012 02:35 PM PDT
Reuters -  BEIJING (Reuters) - The secret flight by blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng from smothering home detention to what appears to be U.S. protection conjures images of the last Chinese dissident to seek shelter with the U.S. mission in China - astrophysicist Fang Lizhi. China and the United States have kept silent on Chen's whereabouts, but a U.S.-based rights group has told Reuters he is under U.S. protection and high-level talks regarding his status are under way. If Chen is holed up with the United States - possibly at its Beijing embassy - it could open a wound in U.S. ...
Full Story | Top |
Saudi Arabia: bin Laden family let in on humanitarian grounds
Sat,28 Apr 2012 02:19 PM PDT
Reuters - JEDDAH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has allowed the family of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden into the kingdom on humanitarian grounds, state media reported on Saturday, almost a year after U.S. special forces killed the world's most wanted man in Pakistan. Pakistan deported the family this week, ending months of speculation about the fate of his wives and children who were detained by Pakistani security forces after the May 2 raid. A Saudi official was quoted by the state Saudi Press Agency (SPA) as saying the family arrived in the kingdom on Thursday. ... Full Story | Top |
Mali junta rejects West African transition plan
Sat,28 Apr 2012 02:10 PM PDT
Reuters - BAMAKO (Reuters) - A military junta that seized power in Mali last month rejected a regional plan to extend the rule of an interim civilian government on Saturday, casting a shadow over delicately-balanced negotiations to resolve the country's crisis. The junta had already agreed to hand over power for 40 days to a civilian government led by caretaker president Dioncounda Traore, and then allow the country to hold elections by the end of May. But the West African regional bloc ECOWAS on Thursday said the interim government should have up to 12 months to hold the elections. ... Full Story | Top |
Egypt Salafis back ex-Brotherhood man for president
Sat,28 Apr 2012 01:44 PM PDT
Reuters -  CAIRO (Reuters) - Influential Egyptian hardline Islamist movement, the Salafi Call, said on Saturday it will back moderate former Muslim Brotherhood member Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh for president, hurting the Brotherhood's chances of winning next month's vote. "The Salafi Call has decided by majority vote to back Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh in the presidential elections," senior Salafi Call member Yasser Borhamy said. "The Nour Party, the political wing of the Salafi Call, has also voted to back Abol Fotouh. ...
Full Story | Top |
Britain's richest see fortunes rise to record high
Sat,28 Apr 2012 01:37 PM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's wealthiest people saw their fortunes rise to record levels last year, according to the annual Sunday Times Rich List, at a time when most Britons' earnings and savings were squeezed by inflation and low interest rates. The combined wealth of Britain's 1,000 richest people swelled by almost five percent to more than 414 billion pounds ($670 billion), the highest recorded by the 24-year-old survey, the Sunday Times newspaper said in an advance release on Saturday. Some 77 members of the 2012 rich list were billionaires, two more than the previous record in 2008. ...
Full Story | Top |
Prize-winning film's Cuban actors to seek asylum in Miami
Sat,28 Apr 2012 01:30 PM PDT
Reuters -  A pair of lead actors from a prize winning film about escaping Cuba have emerged from hiding to confirm they are seeking political asylum in the United States. The young Cuban actors went missing last week while en route to the Tribeca Film Festival in New York where they were due to appear at the movie's U.S. premiere. Actress Anailin de la Rua and actor Javier Nunez, cast members of "Una Noche" ("One Night"), broke their silence Friday night in a TV appearance on the Miami-based Spanish language channel America TeVe. ...
Full Story | Top |
China makes new proposal on Russia gas deal
Sat,28 Apr 2012 01:28 PM PDT
Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Chinese energy officials signaled on Saturday they were keen to pursue a major gas deal with Russia despite a proliferation of alternative supplies, and said they had made a new proposal to overcome a price deadlock. Talks between China, the world's fastest growing energy consumer, and Russia, the world's largest conventional gas producer, fell apart late last year when China, frustrated by years of stalemate over price, increased its supplies from rival producer Turkmenistan. ... Full Story | Top |
Saudi recalls Cairo envoy in blow to Egypt ties
Sat,28 Apr 2012 01:14 PM PDT
Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia said on Saturday it had recalled its ambassador in Cairo for security reasons after protests in Egypt against the kingdom's arrest of an Egyptian lawyer, marking a diplomatic rupture between the long-time allies. The withdrawal of the Saudi envoy appeared a sharp message to Egypt's rulers of the need to maintain good ties with a Gulf state that last week agreed to send $2.7 billion to support Cairo's battered finances. ... Full Story | Top |
France's Hollande says his ideas winning in Europe
Sat,28 Apr 2012 01:13 PM PDT
Reuters -  PARIS (Reuters) - France's Socialist presidential frontrunner Francois Hollande welcomed Germany's call for growth measures on Saturday as a sign Europe was accepting his warnings of the risk of austerity. Hollande, on course to win next weekend's presidential runoff against President Nicolas Sarkozy, insisted German Chancellor Angela Merkel would eventually accept his proposal to renegotiate a German-inspired budget discipline pact. ...
Full Story | Top |
Sarkozy tells Strauss-Kahn to take complaint to court
Sat,28 Apr 2012 01:03 PM PDT
Reuters -  PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy challenged former IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Saturday to take legal action over his allegation that "political enemies" scuppered his presidential bid last year by ensuring his sexual encounter with a New York maid was made public. Strauss-Kahn, who was the runaway favorite for the Socialist party's presidential nomination before his arrest last May on sexual abuse charges, told London's Guardian newspaper he was convinced his political downfall was choreographed by his political enemies. ...
Full Story | Top |
European firms keen but cautious over Myanmar: Ashton
Sat,28 Apr 2012 01:02 PM PDT
Reuters - YANGON (Reuters) - European firms seeking to invest in Myanmar are unlikely to rush into business deals until more concrete reforms are put in place, despite a suspension of economic sanctions by the EU, its foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Saturday. The European Union and other powers have moved in recent weeks to ease sanctions on Myanmar, as the once pariah nation embarks on landmark reforms and seeks engagement with the world. ... Full Story | Top |
Obama, Romney tweak strategies for tight race this fall
Sat,28 Apr 2012 12:31 PM PDT
Reuters -  After months of casting Republican Mitt Romney as someone who often changes positions for political convenience, President Barack Obama's campaign is calling Romney a far-right conservative - a contradictory set of messages that essentially invites voters to decide what they don't like about Romney. And Romney, who has built his campaign around declaring Obama a failure - particularly on the economy - began sounding a more positive note this week, offering hints about his vision for governing if he defeats the Democratic president in the November 6 election. ...
Full Story | Top |
Body found in Washington state bunker after police siege
Sat,28 Apr 2012 12:12 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - A body police believe to be that of a man suspected of killing his wife and daughter was found in a mountainside bunker on Saturday, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, a sheriff's spokeswoman said. Police found the body, thought to be that of suspect Peter Keller, 41, after blasting a hole in the roof of the heavily fortified bunker about 30 miles east of Seattle, spokeswoman Katie Larson said. "Preliminarily, it would appear to be our suspect," she said. "It appears he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. ... Full Story | Top |
Israel ex-spy warns against "messianic" war on Iran
Sat,28 Apr 2012 11:58 AM PDT
Reuters -  A former Israeli spymaster has branded the country's leaders unfit to tackle the Iranian nuclear program because of what he called the "messianic feelings" behind their threats to launch a pre-emptive war on Iran. Other veterans have come out against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak recently, but the criticism from former domestic intelligence chief Yuval Diskin was especially strong. ...
Full Story | Top |
Clinton, Geithner Beijing trip going ahead: source
Sat,28 Apr 2012 11:40 AM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A trip to Beijing by the U.S. secretaries of state and treasury for talks on strategic and economic issues next week is going forward, a U.S. State Department source said on Saturday. "We're going," the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy 's travel to China for the May 3-4 Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) consultations. (Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Jackie Frank)
Full Story | Top |
China offers South Sudan $8 billion in development funds
Sat,28 Apr 2012 11:33 AM PDT
Reuters - JUBA (Reuters) - China has offered South Sudan $8 billion in development funds for road, hydropower, infrastructure and agriculture projects, South Sudan's information minister told Reuters on Saturday. The loan came after South Sudan President Salva Kiir visited Beijing to secure support from China, which has major oil interests in both South Sudan and its northern neighbor Sudan. ... Full Story | Top |
U.N. mission says 4 people taken to Khartoum
Sat,28 Apr 2012 11:31 AM PDT
Reuters - JUBA (Reuters) - The United Nations mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said on Saturday four people, including one U.N. staff member, had been taken to Khartoum. Sudan said it had arrested a Norwegian, a Briton and a South African for illegally entering a disputed border area earlier on Saturday and accused them of helping the South Sudan army, a claim the South denied. "Four people, including one U.N. staff member, were taken to Khartoum," Josephine Guerrero, a spokeswoman for the mission, said. Guerrero declined to give any further details. ... Full Story | Top |
Greek technocrat PM to return to academia after election
Sat,28 Apr 2012 11:29 AM PDT
Reuters - ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's technocrat prime minister Lucas Papademos plans to resume his academic career after a snap election on May 6, a senior government official said, having secured a second bailout for the country. A former vice president of the European Central Bank, Papademos took over as leader of an emergency coalition in November to help Greece secure the 130 billion euros ($170 billion) bailout and a landmark debt swap to avoid default. He is a professor of economics at the University of Athens and a visiting professor at Harvard. ... Full Story | Top |
PM pressed to investigate ally over Murdoch bid
Sat,28 Apr 2012 11:15 AM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron faced growing pressure on Saturday to launch a probe into the conduct of a minister criticised over his handling of a Rupert Murdoch television takeover bid, after a judge conducting a parallel inquiry refused to intervene. Cameron, enduring the worst crisis of his two years in power as the economy stagnates, has given his full backing to culture minister Jeremy Hunt, who was responsible for vetting media baron Murdoch's bid to take control of the country's biggest satellite TV firm BSkyB. ...
Full Story | Top |
Reviled by some, Wisconsin's Walker is conservative celebrity
Sat,28 Apr 2012 10:41 AM PDT
Reuters -  MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - At the National Rifle Association convention in St. Louis earlier this month, a top official rattled off a Who's Who of Republican politicians speaking to the group including Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Scott Walker. The loudest applause was for Wisconsin governor Walker, who faces a special election in June that could make him only the third U.S. governor recalled from office. Walker is a celebrity among conservatives wherever he goes thanks to his decision to take on public sector unions in his state, which has earned him the enmity of Democrats and organized labor. ...
Full Story | Top |
South Sudan army denies arrested foreigners aiding its forces
Sat,28 Apr 2012 10:36 AM PDT
Reuters - JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's army said that three foreigners arrested by Sudan near a disputed border area were not helping its forces, contrary to accusations by Khartoum. "That is rubbish and just a lie," the spokesman for South Sudan's army (SPLA), Philip Aguer, said. Aguer said SPLA sources in Bentiu, the capital of South Sudan's Unity State, told him that a U.N. truck had got lost in the disputed border area and were "caught by the Sudanese Armed Forces". "The humanitarian truck ... should have been allowed free passage," Aguer said. ... Full Story | Top |
Freed Moroccan editor says stop jailing journalists
Sat,28 Apr 2012 10:00 AM PDT
Reuters -  RABAT (Reuters) - A Moroccan editor who rights activists say was unjustly prosecuted for criticizing the authorities walked free after completing his one-year jail sentence on Saturday and demanded an end to the practice of sending journalists to prison. Rights group Amnesty International has described Rachid Nini as a "prisoner of conscience" and said he was punished for highlighting corruption and abuses by the kingdom's authorities, especially the security services. ...
Full Story | Top |
Lebanon impounds ship carrying Libyan weapons
Sat,28 Apr 2012 09:34 AM PDT
Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese authorities seized a large consignment of Libyan weapons including rocket-propelled grenades and heavy caliber ammunition from a ship intercepted in the Mediterranean, the army said on Saturday. It did not say where the vessel was heading but the ship's owner told Reuters it was due to unload in the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli. ... Full Story | Top |
Sudan army: arrested foreigners have military backgrounds
Sat,28 Apr 2012 09:30 AM PDT
Reuters - KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Three foreigners arrested by Sudan's army on Saturday had military backgrounds and were helping the South Sudanese army, an army spokesman said. Sudan said it arrested a Briton, a Norwegian and a South African on Saturday for illegally entering the disputed Heglig border area, the scene of recent fighting between Sudan and South Sudan, with a soldier from South Sudan. The three had been travelling in two cars that contained military equipment, he said. (Reporting by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Louise Ireland) Full Story | Top |
Arrested foreigners arrive in Khartoum: Reuters witness
Sat,28 Apr 2012 09:30 AM PDT
Reuters - KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Three foreigners whom Sudanese authorities arrested for illegally entering an oil-producing border area arrived at the military airport in Khartoum on Saturday, a Reuters witness said. Sudan said it had arrested a Briton, a South African and a Norwegian in part of the disputed Heglig area, scene of recent fighting between Sudan and South Sudan. Sudan said they had been seen entering with a soldier from South Sudan. The witness said two Western men and two African men arrived on a civilian plane at the airport. ... Full Story | Top |
Gunmen hit Syrian army from sea, Moscow slams rebels
Sat,28 Apr 2012 09:22 AM PDT
Reuters -  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Gunmen in inflatable dinghies killed several security officials in an attack on a military unit on Syria's Mediterranean coast, state media said on Saturday, the first seaborne assault reported during the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. The night raid, along with the killings of at least 15 people in violence in two areas near the capital, underlined the threadbare state of a U.N.-brokered ceasefire deal that has Western leaders talking of tougher steps to stop the bloodshed. ...
Full Story | Top |
UK PM pressed to investigate ally over Murdoch bid
Sat,28 Apr 2012 08:54 AM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron faced growing pressure on Saturday to launch a probe into the conduct of a minister criticized over his handling of a Rupert Murdoch television takeover bid, after a judge conducting a parallel inquiry refused to intervene. Cameron, enduring the worst crisis of his two years in power as the economy stagnates, has given his full backing to culture minister Jeremy Hunt, who was responsible for vetting media baron Murdoch's bid to take control of Britain's biggest satellite TV firm BSkyB. ...
Full Story | Top |
Egypt aims to "heal rift" after Saudi pulls envoy
Sat,28 Apr 2012 08:25 AM PDT
Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - The head of Egypt's ruling military council contacted the Saudi government on Saturday over its "surprise decision" to withdraw its envoy to Cairo, the Egyptian state news agency reported. Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi was working to "heal the rift" that had resulted from the decision. "The Field Marshal conducted contacts with the Saudi authorities to work to contain the situation," the state agency MENA said. (Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Catherine Evans) Full Story | Top |
Guinea's President Conde delays parliament vote
Sat,28 Apr 2012 08:22 AM PDT
Reuters -  CONAKRY (Reuters) - Guinea's President has postponed a parliamentary election originally scheduled for July 8 to give officials more time to fix problems in the vote registration system, a move the opposition said would boost the credibility of the poll. The election is supposed to mark the final step in the West African state's transition from military to civilian rule and help it unlock billions of dollars of aid. The European Union has said it will only resume full cooperation after the election in Guinea, the world's largest exporter of aluminium ore bauxite. ...
Full Story | Top |
Sudan arrests three foreigners in border region
Sat,28 Apr 2012 07:48 AM PDT
Reuters - KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan said it had arrested a Briton, a Norwegian and a South African on Saturday for illegally entering an oil-producing border area with a soldier from South Sudan. The three were detained in part of the disputed Heglig border area, the scene of recent fighting between Sudan and South Sudan, said Mohammed Jadallah, spokesman for the Sudanese defence ministry. The three had been travelling in two cars that contained military equipment, he said, adding they had been flown to Khartoum. No further details were immediately available. ... Full Story | Top |
ElBaradei gets behind new Egypt party
Sat,28 Apr 2012 07:46 AM PDT
Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Mohamed ElBaradei and other prominent Egyptians on Saturday launched a party which he said would one day govern the country, offering a new choice to voters seeking alternatives to Islamist parties that now dominate parliament. Though ElBaradei pulled out of the race for Egyptian presidency in January, his role in the new Dustour Party shows the Nobel Peace Prize winner and political liberal still aims to play a leading role in the future of the country of 80 million. ... Full Story | Top |
ElBaradei gets behind new Egypt party
Sat,28 Apr 2012 07:35 AM PDT
Reuters -  CAIRO (Reuters) - Mohamed ElBaradei and other prominent Egyptians on Saturday launched a party which he said would one day govern the country, offering a new choice to voters seeking alternatives to Islamist parties that now dominate parliament. Though ElBaradei pulled out of the race for Egyptian presidency in January, his role in the new Dustour Party shows the Nobel Peace Prize winner and political liberal still aims to play a leading role in the future of the country of 80 million. ...
Full Story | Top |
Canada's finance minister frets on housing, debt
Sat,28 Apr 2012 07:30 AM PDT
Reuters -  TORONTO (Reuters) - High housing prices and household debt are Canada's biggest economic concerns, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said in weekend interviews that also warned of a crash in Toronto's booming condo market and hinted at a crimped role for the government's mortgage insurer. Speaking to the Globe and Mail and the National Post, Flaherty said he had spoken to bank CEOs about their "race to the bottom" on mortgage interest rates, which he described as irresponsible. ...
Full Story | Top |
| |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment