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Heaviest rains in 60 years kill 10 in Beijing: media
Sat,21 Jul 2012 07:51 PM PDT
Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - The heaviest rain storm in six decades to hit the Chinese capital killed at least 10 people and caused widespread chaos, flooding streets and stranding 80,000 people at the city's main airport, state media reported on Sunday. The storm, which started on Saturday afternoon and continued late into the night, flooded major roads and sent torrents of water tumbling down steps into underpasses. In the Beijing suburb of Tongzhou, two people died in a roof collapse and another person killed was struck by lightning, the official Xinhua news agency reported. ... Full Story | Top |
Obama going to Colorado to visit shooting victims, families
Sat,21 Jul 2012 07:33 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will travel to Colorado on Sunday to meet with wounded survivors and victims' families in the aftermath of a deadly shooting rampage at a movie theater in a Denver suburb, White House officials said on Saturday. Obama's trip will come a day after local and federal authorities completed the painstaking process of disarming the booby-trapped apartment of the suspected gunman accused of killing 12 people and wounding 58 during a midnight premiere of the new "Batman" film on Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
Blast rocks Egypt's gas pipeline to Israel, Jordan
Sat,21 Jul 2012 07:03 PM PDT
Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - An explosion on Sunday rocked the Egyptian pipeline built to carry natural gas to Israel and Jordan, the 15th time it has been attacked since the start of the uprising in early 2011 that toppled President Hosni Mubarak. The blast occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning at al-Tuwail, east of the coastal Sinai town of al-Arish, at a point before the pipeline splits into separate branches to Israel and Jordan, security officials and witnesses said. ... Full Story | Top |
Denver shooting suspect's bomb could have "destroyed apartment complex": police
Sat,21 Jul 2012 06:59 PM PDT
Reuters - AURORA, Colo. (Reuters) - The sophisticated booby-trap devices Denver-area shooting suspect James Holmes set at his apartment could have killed first responders and destroyed the apartment complex in a massive inferno, an official involved in the probe said on Saturday. Bomb experts entered the 800-square-foot apartment in the Denver suburb of Aurora after a controlled explosion on Saturday. ... Full Story | Top |
Evidence shows months of calculation ahead of Colorado shooting: police
Sat,21 Jul 2012 06:30 PM PDT
Reuters -  AURORA, Colo. (Reuters) - The man accused in a shooting rampage at a Denver-area premiere of the new "Batman" film received a high volume of deliveries in recent months, police said on Saturday, parcels they believe contained ammunition and bomb-making materials and showed evidence of "calculation and deliberation. ...
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Rupert Murdoch quits boards of British papers
Sat,21 Jul 2012 05:17 PM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - News Corp's Rupert Murdoch has stepped down from a string of boards overseeing the Sun, Times and Sunday Times newspapers in Britain, the company said in an internal memo on Saturday. The company described the news as a "corporate housecleaning exercise" linked to the announcement in June that News Corp would split into two separate companies: a smaller publishing division and a much larger entertainment and TV group. ...
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Syrian forces fight rebels in Damascus, residents flee
Sat,21 Jul 2012 03:53 PM PDT
Reuters -  BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian troops backed by helicopters and tanks have struck back in Damascus against rebel fighters emboldened by a bomb attack against President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle. Assad's forces, who also pushed into a rebel-held district in the northerly commercial hub of Aleppo on Saturday, targeted pockets of lightly armed rebels, who moved about the streets on foot and attacked security installations and roadblocks. ...
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Coroner identifies 12 victims in Colorado movie theater shooting
Sat,21 Jul 2012 03:22 PM PDT
Reuters - DENVER (Reuters) - A coroner on Saturday released the identities of the dozen victims - aged between 6 and 51 - who were shot to death in a mass shooting at a Denver-area movie theater, noting the manner of death was "homicide" and that all families had been notified. Police say suspect James Holmes, 24, was armed with an assault rifle, a shotgun and a pistol and wearing a full suit of tactical body armor when he allegedly set off two smoke bombs and opened fire in a dark theater early on Friday in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and injuring 58 others. ... Full Story | Top |
Shooting suspect got "high volume" of deliveries: police
Sat,21 Jul 2012 03:13 PM PDT
Reuters - AURORA, Colo. (Reuters) - The man accused in a shooting rampage at a Denver-area premiere of the new "Batman" film received a high volume of deliveries at work and home over the past four months, police said, parcels they believe contained ammunition and possibly bomb-making materials. Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates revealed the shipments as local and federal authorities worked to make safe suspect James Holmes' apartment, which was found to be booby-trapped with sophisticated explosives following the massacre at a multiplex theater several miles away. ...
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Spanish protests swell as jobless march on Madrid
Sat,21 Jul 2012 03:02 PM PDT
Reuters -  MADRID (Reuters) - Hundreds of unemployed Spaniards who had walked hundreds of kilometers (miles) to Madrid joined protests on Saturday against Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government and its handling of an economic crisis. Demonstrations have swollen across Spain since the center-right government announced 65 billion euros ($79 billion) in new spending cuts two weeks ago to cut its deficit and avert a full-blown bailout, with firefighters and police joining a mass protest on Thursday. ...
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Damascus chaos strikes fear in Assad's Alawite bastion
Sat,21 Jul 2012 02:57 PM PDT
Reuters -  TARTOUS, Syria (Reuters) - Sunbathing and drinking at bars, men and women lived in a bubble on Syria's Mediterranean coast. They refused to believe their country was collapsing into chaos. Until now. A stunning bomb attack in Syria's capital this week that killed four from President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle has shaken the faith of Alawite supporters in his ability to stave off an armed rebellion that has now encroached on Damascus. ...
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U.S. Air Force staff sergeant gets 20 years for rape, sex assault
Sat,21 Jul 2012 02:44 PM PDT
Reuters - SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A drill instructor accused of raping and sexually assaulting 10 female trainees at Lackland Air Force Base was sentenced on Saturday to 20 years in prison, the stiffest jail term handed down yet in the biggest sex scandal to hit the U.S. military since the 1990s. Staff Sergeant Luis Walker, found guilty by a military jury on Friday of 28 charges, was ordered to be reduced to lowest rank in the Air Force, to forfeit all pay and allowances, and given a dishonorable discharge. He will also have to register as a sex offender. ... Full Story | Top |
Militant attacks kill 15 in Pakistan
Sat,21 Jul 2012 02:39 PM PDT
Reuters -  PARACHINAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A bomb exploded at a compound in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing nine people and wounding 20, local government and intelligence officials said. The bombing in the compound, used by a local militia and containing residential units and an office, occurred near the village of Spin Tal in the Orakzai tribal region. The Pakistan military has been conducting operations against militant groups in the area for months. ...
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IOC rules out public commemoration of 1972 Munich killings
Sat,21 Jul 2012 02:25 PM PDT
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - The IOC has ruled out marking the 40th anniversary of the Munich massacre at the London Olympics opening ceremony but will visit the airfield where some Israeli team members were killed, it said on Saturday. International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge rejected calls for an official commemoration of the 1972 Munich Games attack during Friday's curtain raiser, a standing request of the families of the 11 Israeli Olympic team members who died. ... Full Story | Top |
Police say shooting suspect got "high volume" of deliveries
Sat,21 Jul 2012 02:23 PM PDT
Reuters - AURORA, Colo. (Reuters) - The man accused in a shooting rampage at a Denver-area premiere of the new "Batman" film received a high volume of deliveries to his work and home over the past four months, police said on Saturday, parcels they believe contained ammunition and possibly bomb-making materials. Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates revealed the shipments as local and federal authorities worked to make safe the apartment of 24-year-old James Holmes, which was found booby-trapped with sophisticated explosives following the massacre on Friday at a multiplex theater several miles away. ... Full Story | Top |
Mexico urges U.S. to review gun laws after Colorado shooting
Sat,21 Jul 2012 01:44 PM PDT
Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Felipe Calderon condemned U.S. gun laws as "mistaken" and urged Washington to review them after a shooter killed 12 people and injured more than 50 others at a U.S. movie theater on Friday. In comments posted on his Twitter account on Saturday, Calderon offered his condolences to the United States after a gunman went on the rampage with an assault rifle at a midnight premier of the new Batman film in Aurora, Colorado. ... Full Story | Top |
Analysis: Job challenge looms for next Mexican president
Sat,21 Jul 2012 01:26 PM PDT
Reuters -  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - In a country beset with drugs wars and a massive underground economy, Mexico's president-elect faces a tall order to stem the drift of young people into organized crime and off-the-books work: create jobs, lots of them. Enrique Pena Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) was elected president early this month on a pledge to provide more work and raise living standards to bring economic growth to about 6 percent a year, triple the average growth rate of the outgoing administration. ...
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Pentagon eyes drones for Kenya to fight militants nearby
Sat,21 Jul 2012 11:55 AM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon is seeking to send hand-launched drones to Kenya as part of a $40 million-plus military aid package designed to help four African countries fight al Qaeda and al Shabaab militants, notably in Somalia, the Wall Street Journal reported. Kenya would get eight "Raven" unmanned aerial systems - an unarmed drone that can be used to identify targets for strikes by ground forces or other aircraft. ... Full Story | Top |
Police say have overcome trip wires at shooting suspect's apartment
Sat,21 Jul 2012 11:36 AM PDT
Reuters - AURORA, Colo. (Reuters) - A controlled explosion conducted by a police bomb squad defeated trip wires in the booby-trapped apartment of the man suspected in Friday's mass shooting at a Denver-area movie theater, local police said Saturday. Authorities believe they may now enter James Holmes' apartment, Aurora Police Sergeant Cassidee Carlson said. "We have been successful in disabling a second triggering device," Carlson said. "Although not certain, we are hopeful we have eliminated the remaining major threats. We will not know this until we enter the apartment. ... Full Story | Top |
EU sets terms for Hutch's Orange Austria bid: paper
Sat,21 Jul 2012 11:32 AM PDT
Reuters - FRANKFURT (Reuters) - EU regulators will allow a bid by Hongkong's Hutchison 3G to buy France Telecom's Orange Austria if the new combined group permits other Austrian operators to access its network, an Austrian daily said on Saturday, citing sources. The online edition of Wirtschaftsblatt said the EU had proposed to the new group, which operates under the '3' brand in Austria, that it allow other rivals to operate as so-called Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO). It said the EU had asked various interested parties for comment on its proposals, which included the interconnection fees. ... Full Story | Top |
Two killed in Homs prison mutiny: Syrian activists
Sat,21 Jul 2012 11:11 AM PDT
Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least two people were killed in a prison mutiny in Syria's central city of Homs on Saturday, opposition activists said. They said some guards had joined in the mutiny, which broke out shortly after midnight, but that government forces from a nearby intelligence base had arrived to crush the rebellion. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human rights, which monitors violence in Syria, said two prisoners were killed. Other activists put the death toll at four and said the mutiny was continuing, although the prison was surrounded. ... Full Story | Top |
Explosion occurs at Colorado shooting suspect's apartment: witness
Sat,21 Jul 2012 11:09 AM PDT
Reuters - AURORA, Colo. (Reuters) - An explosion occurred at the booby-trapped apartment of the man suspected in Friday's mass shooting at a Denver-area movie theater, a Reuters witness said. In an operation called a "render-safe procedure," conducted remotely by a bomb squad, a robot placed a tube -- known as a "water shot" -- near the improvised explosive device in the apartment and backed out at a safe distance. The water shot was then detonated. (Reporting By Chris Francescani; writing by Dan Burns; Editing by Eric Beech) Full Story | Top |
Factbox: Spending, fundraising in presidential race
Sat,21 Jul 2012 10:38 AM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Financial reports of presidential campaigns and political action committees, or PACs, were filed on this week showing how much they raised and spent this campaign season, as of June 30. The Federal Election Commission filings also offer a snapshot of who has been donating how much to the Super PACs, which operate independently from campaigns and can raise unlimited amounts from individuals, corporations and unions. ... Full Story | Top |
As election approaches, candidates beef up spending
Sat,21 Jul 2012 10:38 AM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Less than four months until the U.S. presidential election, Republican candidate Mitt Romney's campaign is beefing up on personnel and investing more cash internally as outside groups pour millions into television ads to help him counter Democratic President Barack Obama's messaging over the airwaves. ...
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Spain's WWF dumps King as patron over African hunting trip
Sat,21 Jul 2012 10:09 AM PDT
Reuters -  MADRID (Reuters) - The Spanish branch of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) voted to remove King Juan Carlos as the organization's honorary patron on Saturday after he went on an elephant-hunting safari in Botswana. Members of the Spanish chapter of the WWF charity voted overwhelmingly to scrap the position of honorary patron, which has been occupied by Juan Carlos since the group was created in Spain in 1968. ...
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Egyptians throng former spy chief Suleiman's funeral
Sat,21 Jul 2012 09:21 AM PDT
Reuters -  CAIRO (Reuters) - Thousands of well-wishers and Egypt's military brass gathered on Saturday for the funeral of the country's former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, a key figure in the fallen Mubarak regime who died this week in hospital in the United States. Supporters of Suleiman chanted "God is great" and "in the name of God," as his casket was hoisted atop a horse-drawn cart after a ceremony at the Al Rashdan Mosque in Cairo's Heliopolis district. ...
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U.S. says closely monitoring Syria chemical weapons
Sat,21 Jul 2012 09:19 AM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is closely monitoring Syria's chemical weapons stockpile and is "actively consulting" Damascus's neighbors to stress concerns over the security of those weapons and Syria's responsibility to safeguard them, the White House said on Saturday. "We believe Syria's chemical weapons stockpile remains under Syrian government control," White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said. "Given the escalation of violence in Syria and the regime's increasing attacks on their people, we remain very concerned about these weapons. ... Full Story | Top |
South Sudan accuses Sudan of bombing, suspends direct talks
Sat,21 Jul 2012 08:43 AM PDT
Reuters - ADDIS ABABA/JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan accused Sudan on Saturday of bombing its territory along a disputed borderland and suspended direct talks with its neighbor over oil and security issues, but Khartoum denied the charge. The two countries split peacefully last year under a 2005 agreement that ended decades of civil war. But many issues remain unsolved, and the two old foes came close to all-out war in April after border clashes escalated. ... Full Story | Top |
Russia's Putin signs law on WTO accession
Sat,21 Jul 2012 08:03 AM PDT
Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin has signed Russia's accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) into law, completing an 18-year campaign to join the trade rules club, the Kremlin press office said on Saturday. Russia's upper house of parliament ratified the country's WTO entry earlier this month. The $1.9 trillion Russian economy, the world's ninth largest, will become the WTO's 156th member 30 days after ratification. (Writing by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Mark Heinrich) Full Story | Top |
"Batman" shooting survivor proposes after family escapes death
Sat,21 Jul 2012 07:05 AM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - Surviving the deadly movie theater shooting in a Denver suburb was one momentous event that Jamie Rohrs and Patricia Legarreta shared on Friday - the other came afterward when they got engaged to be married at the hospital. The couple were in a theater in Aurora, Colorado, watching a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" with Legarreta's 4-year-old daughter and their infant son on Friday when the gunman opened fire and chaos ensued. Later, reunited and with the whole family safe, Rohrs proposed to Legarreta, who suffered a minor bullet wound, CNN said. ... Full Story | Top |
South Sudanese runner to race under Olympic flag
Sat,21 Jul 2012 06:58 AM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - A marathon runner born in what is now South Sudan will be allowed to run under the Olympic flag in London, the International Olympic Committee said on Saturday. As a 16-year-old Guor Marial moved to the United States, where he has permanent resident status. Given South Sudan, the world's newest country recognised only last year, has not yet established a national Olympic Committee - and so cannot send a team to the Games starting next week - Marial was unable to represent that country. As he is not a U.S. citizen, he was also ineligible to take part for the Americans. ...
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Team Great Britain see silver lining in security problems
Sat,21 Jul 2012 06:53 AM PDT
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - London's Olympic security debacle, with uniformed soldiers hurriedly drafted in to make up for a shortage of hired guards, could have a silver lining for Britain's medal hopes. British Olympic Association (BOA) chairman Colin Moynihan told reporters on Saturday that Team GB athletes in the high-security Village were getting a boost from having the army manning checkpoints. Some 3,500 troops have been brought in to guard the Olympic Park, with another 1,200 on standby, after private security firm G4S said it would be unable to provide its full quota on time. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. cuts military aid to Rwanda over Congo rebel support
Sat,21 Jul 2012 06:51 AM PDT
Reuters - ABIDJAN (Reuters) - The U.S. government said Saturday it will cut military aid to Rwanda for this year, citing evidence Kigali is supporting rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in a significant step by one of Rwanda's staunchest allies. Rwanda has denied reports by United Nations experts and rights groups that it is backing eastern Congolese rebels, including the M23 group, which has seized parts of North Kivu province in fighting that has displaced over 260,000 people since April. The U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
US cuts military aid to Rwanda over Congo rebel support
Sat,21 Jul 2012 06:50 AM PDT
Reuters - ABIDJAN (Reuters) - The U.S. government said Saturday it will cut military aid to Rwanda for this year, citing evidence Kigali is supporting rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in a significant step by one of Rwanda's staunchest allies. Rwanda has denied reports by United Nations experts and rights groups that it is backing eastern Congolese rebels, including the M23 group, which has seized parts of North Kivu province in fighting that has displaced over 260,000 people since April. The U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
Syrian families flee fighting in Aleppo
Sat,21 Jul 2012 06:43 AM PDT
Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian rebels battled army units on Saturday in the northern city of Aleppo, forcing hundreds of families to flee their homes, opposition activists said. Activists in the Sunni Muslim city of 3 million people, an industrial and commercial hub close to the border with Turkey, said the army was pushing troops and armored vehicles into Saladin district. The large neighborhood in eastern Aleppo, inhabited by both Arabs and Kurds, has been under rebel control for two days. ... Full Story | Top |
Colorado shooting unlikely to spur changes in gun laws
Sat,21 Jul 2012 06:12 AM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Denver Mayor Michael Hancock is a member of a coalition called Mayors Against Illegal Guns, but when he issued a statement expressing shock and horror on Friday after a mass shooting at a Colorado movie theater, he had nothing to say about gun control. Neither did President Barack Obama nor his Republican rival Mitt Romney, though both canceled campaign speeches on Friday and expressed sorrow for the victims of the shooting rampage. ...
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European Investment Bank agrees to fund Greek firms
Sat,21 Jul 2012 06:11 AM PDT
Reuters - ATHENS (Reuters) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide 1.44 billion euros ($1.75 billion) in loans to struggling Greek firms, providing a stimulus to the debt-laden country's ailing economy, Greece's finance ministry said on Saturday. With Greek banks dependent on ECB cash to survive and reluctant to finance any but the biggest companies, Athens and the European Union have been pushing the EIB, the EU's long-term investment arm, to step into the breach. ... Full Story | Top |
U.N. chief to send envoy to assess situation in Syria
Sat,21 Jul 2012 06:02 AM PDT
Reuters - BRIJUNI, Croatia (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday he was sending an envoy to Syria to assess the situation as government forces and rebels battle for control of the country. "I am sending my Undersecretary General for Peacekeeping Operations (Hervé Ladsous) to Syria to assess the situation as well as the top U.N. military advisor (Gen. Babacar Gaye) to lead UNSMIS (mission) in this critical phase," Ban said after meeting Croatian officials in the Adriatic resort of Brijuni. Ban's remarks came a day after the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
Syria moves chemical weapons before wider offensive: defector
Sat,21 Jul 2012 05:32 AM PDT
Reuters - HACIPASA, Turkey (Reuters) - A senior Syrian military defector said President Bashar al-Assad's forces were moving chemical weapons across the country for possible use in a military retaliation for the killing of four top security officials. "The regime has started moving its chemical stockpile and redistributing it to prepare for its use," said General Mustafa Sheikh, citing rebel intelligence obtained in recent days. "They are moving it from warehouses to new locations," he told Reuters in an interview in southern Turkey, close to the Syrian border. "They want to burn the country. ... Full Story | Top |
Two more Syrian generals flee to Turkey, official says
Sat,21 Jul 2012 04:42 AM PDT
Reuters - ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Two Syrian brigadier-generals fled to Turkey overnight, part of a group of about 10 people that included colonels and other military officers, a Turkish official told Reuters on Saturday. The latest defections would bring the number of Syrian generals taking refuge in Turkey to 24. A 16-month uprising in Syria has unleashed a refugee crisis in Turkey and its other neighbors. More than 43,000 Syrian refugees are registered as living in Turkey. (Reporting by Ayla Jean Yackley; Editing by Louise Ireland) Full Story | Top |
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