Today's Reuters World News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
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Argentine icon Evita graces 100-peso bank notes
Wed,25 Jul 2012 05:25 PM PDT
Reuters -  BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine President Cristina Fernandez unveiled a commemorative bank note on Wednesday bearing the image of Evita Peron to mark the 60th anniversary of the iconic first lady's death. The bill is based on the design of a five-peso note that the mint had planned to issue after Evita died of cancer at the height of her popularity, but which went missing during the coup that toppled her husband, late former President Gen. Juan Peron. ...
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Israel's Barak calls for swifter action against Iran
Wed,25 Jul 2012 05:10 PM PDT
Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak called on Wednesday for major powers to speed up efforts to stop Iran's nuclear program, cautioning it would be tougher to confront it once Tehran managed to cross an atomic threshold. Israeli media interpreted Barak's comments as pushing for a possible Israeli strike against Iran to stop a project the West sees as a drive to achieve nuclear weapons though Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons, saying its program is intended solely for peaceful purposes. ... Full Story | Top |
U.N. Security Council lifts travel bans on 17 Liberians
Wed,25 Jul 2012 04:50 PM PDT
Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council has lifted travel bans and assets freezes on 17 Liberians, including at least two ex-wives of Liberia's former president and convicted war criminal Charles Taylor. The council said in a statement that the decision to remove a travel ban on all 17 individuals with links to Taylor, along with an assets freeze on 10 of those people, was made on Friday. It simply listed the 17 names and gave no reason for removing the sanctions. ... Full Story | Top |
Mexico's new president faces long grind on poverty
Wed,25 Jul 2012 04:24 PM PDT
Reuters -  SAN SIMON ZAHUATLAN, Mexico (Reuters) - Sofia Irene can remember when a Mexican president came to visit her mountaintop village pledging to replace dirt floors with cement, pave roads and broaden electricity coverage. Seven years on, most homes in San Simon Zahuatlan have solid foundations and electric lights and two concrete roads run through the remote settlement in Oaxaca state in southwestern Mexico. But soon after the day President Vicente Fox entered the village with a bustling entourage in 2005, Mexico had its back to the wall again in its long fight against poverty. ...
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Coca planting rises in Colombia, cocaine production falls
Wed,25 Jul 2012 04:14 PM PDT
Reuters - BOGOTA (Reuters) - The amount of planted coca, the raw material used to produce cocaine, rose in Colombia last year for the first time since 2007, including in several rebel strongholds, according to a UN report on Wednesday that is likely to fan criticism of the government. One of the world's top cocaine producers, Colombia, has been battling drug-funded leftist rebels and powerful gangs for decades, but billions of dollars in drugs still leave the nation each year despite a decade-long U.S.-backed security crackdown. ... Full Story | Top |
Iran accuses Israel of plotting Bulgaria bus attack
Wed,25 Jul 2012 03:24 PM PDT
Reuters -  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iran's U.N. envoy accused Israel on Wednesday of plotting and carrying out a suicide bomb attack on a bus in Bulgaria a week ago in which five Israeli tourists were killed. A suicide bomber blew up the bus in a car park at Burgas airport, a popular gateway for tourists visiting Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, killing himself, the Israeli tourists and the Bulgarian bus driver and wounding more than 30 people. Israel has accused Iran and the Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah of the bombing. Iran has denied the accusations. ...
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As Ghana mourns president, focus turns to election race
Wed,25 Jul 2012 02:48 PM PDT
Reuters -  ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghana has seen a smooth transition of power after the sudden death of its president, but as the nation mourns attention is already turning to who will replace him as the ruling party's candidate in a December vote. Vice-President John Dramani Mahama was sworn in hours after the announcement of the death through sudden illness on Tuesday of 68-year-old President John Atta Mills. ...
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Seven coal miners dead after explosion in northern Mexico
Wed,25 Jul 2012 02:45 PM PDT
Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - An explosion on Wednesday in a coal mine in northern Mexico killed seven miners, officials said, highlighting lax safety conditions in small mines that are often poorly regulated. Emergency services brought the bodies of the men, aged between 20 and 39 years old, to the surface after an hours-long rescue effort, said Juan Antonio Ibarra, a emergency services official in the coal-mining state of Coahuila. "Sometimes these mines don't have the appropriate security measures," said Ibarra. ... Full Story | Top |
Syrian armored column closes in on Aleppo
Wed,25 Jul 2012 02:31 PM PDT
Reuters -  AZAZ, Syria (Reuters) - The Syrian army turned its forces on Aleppo on Wednesday, ordering an armored column to advance on the country's second biggest city and pounding rebels there with artillery and attack helicopters, opposition activists said. As hostilities intensified near the Turkish border, Ankara said it was closing its crossing posts, although the United Nations said refugees fleeing Syria would be allowed through. ...
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Deadlocked U.N. Security Council members lay blame over Syria
Wed,25 Jul 2012 02:31 PM PDT
Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Security Council members blamed each other for rising violence in Syria on Wednesday, with Western states pledging to also seek an end to the 16-month conflict outside the world body as Russia warned of "likely catastrophic consequences" with that approach. Russia, an ally of Syria, and China have repeatedly blocked Western-backed Security Council attempts to increase pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to end the violence sparked by a government crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. ... Full Story | Top |
China's hawks gaining sway in South China sea dispute
Wed,25 Jul 2012 02:06 PM PDT
Reuters -  HONG KONG (Reuters) - China has adopted a more aggressive stance in recent weeks on territorial disputes in the South China Sea as hard-line officials and commentators call on Beijing to take a tougher line with rival claimants. China's supreme policymaking body, the Politburo Standing Committee, is made up entirely of civilians, but outspoken People's Liberation Army (PLA) officers, intelligence advisers and maritime agency chiefs are arguing that Beijing should be more forceful in asserting its sovereignty over the sea and the oil and natural gas believed to lie under the sea-bed. ...
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Colombia's Santos adamant security hasn't deteriorated
Wed,25 Jul 2012 01:55 PM PDT
Reuters -  CARTAGENA, Colombia (Reuters) - Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos rejected accusations that leftist FARC guerrillas are making a comeback, describing recent attacks as a last-gasp effort to grab headlines that did not pose a threat to economic prosperity. In an interview at one of his official residences, in the coastal city of Cartagena, Santos said a surge in violence by the Marxist rebels was an attempt to remain relevant as they faced attacks by government troops that eroded their capacity to fight and demoralized their ranks. ...
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Five miners trapped after explosion in northern Mexico
Wed,25 Jul 2012 01:34 PM PDT
Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - An explosion on Wednesday in a coal mine in northern Mexico trapped five miners, officials said. The explosion occurred at around 9 a.m. local time in Muzquiz, in the coal-mining state of Coahuila, said civil protection representative Juan Antonio Ibarra. "We have no information as to whether they are alive or injured," Ibarra said. Emergency services are now attempting to free the trapped miners, he added. Ibarra said a pocket of gas likely caused the explosion that occurred between 60 and 70 meters (195-228 feet) underground. ... Full Story | Top |
Report of suspected Colorado shooter's notebook surfaces
Wed,25 Jul 2012 01:28 PM PDT
Reuters -  AURORA, Colo. (Reuters) - The man accused of the shooting rampage in a Denver-area screening of the latest "Batman" movie mailed a notebook detailing his plans to a psychiatrist days before the attack, FoxNews.com reported on Wednesday, as the first funeral was held for one of the 12 people killed. The package allegedly from the suspected shooter, 24-year-old James Eagan Holmes, remained unopened in a mailroom, perhaps for as long as a week before its discovery Monday, FoxNews.com reported, citing a law enforcement source. ...
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North Korea confirms mystery woman is leader's wife
Wed,25 Jul 2012 01:11 PM PDT
Reuters -  SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's new young leader, Kim Jong-un, is married, state media said on Wednesday, putting an end to speculation over the relationship with a woman seen at his side during recent events. The announcement, which fits a trend the Kim has followed to break out of the dour management style of his late father, Kim Jong-il, came just two weeks after he was seen at a gala performance accompanied by the woman, with rumors swirling as to whether she was his wife, lover or sister. ...
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Canadian sea activist facing charges flees Germany: court
Wed,25 Jul 2012 12:29 PM PDT
Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - A Canadian marine conservationist has fled Germany after being freed on bail while awaiting possible extradition to Costa Rica over charges stemming from his campaign against shark finning, a court official said on Wednesday. Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd marine conservation group, had been banned from leaving Germany and ordered to report twice a day to police in Frankfurt after his arrest there in May. "Watson has not reported to the police since July 22," a spokesman for the court in Frankfurt said. ... Full Story | Top |
In Syria crisis, stakes high for Hezbollah
Wed,25 Jul 2012 12:25 PM PDT
Reuters -  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's powerful Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah has publicly tied its future to Bashar al-Assad, but as the tide turns against the Syrian president it is silent on whether it will join the fight to support him. The stakes are high for the group which fears that toppling Assad will pave the way for increased Western pressure - if not war - on its strongest ally and founder, Shi'ite Iran. By losing Assad the group would also be deprived of its strategic partner and main supply line for its arsenal. "Hezbollah is at a point of enormous strategic uncertainty. ...
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Bangladesh arrests suspects in Saudi diplomat killing
Wed,25 Jul 2012 12:24 PM PDT
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Bangladeshi authorities have arrested four men suspected of killing a Saudi Arabian diplomat in Dhaka on March 6, the press agencies of both countries said on Wednesday. Khalaf Ali was shot dead near his home and was the second Saudi diplomat in South Asia to be killed in 10 months - incidents that initially raised fears of a concerted campaign of assassination. The Saudi ambassador to Pakistan was killed in May last year. Another Saudi diplomat is being held hostage in Yemen. ... Full Story | Top |
Russia's Putin tells flood victims help on the way
Wed,25 Jul 2012 12:23 PM PDT
Reuters -  GELENDZHIK, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin made his third visit in less than a month to an area hit by devastating floods on Wednesday, and promised the government would rebuild homes as the Kremlin sought to minimize the political damage from the disaster. Putin talked to a group of pregnant women from the worst-affected town and again accused local officials of not doing enough to warn people about the rising waters. ...
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Italian parties clash over electoral reform plans
Wed,25 Jul 2012 12:19 PM PDT
Reuters - ROME (Reuters) - Italy's major political parties clashed on Wednesday over plans to change much-criticized electoral laws as maneuvering intensified ahead of a vote due to take place next May at the latest. Both the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom party (PDL) want to change voting laws which will shape the government that succeeds Prime Minister Mario Monti's technocrat administration. ... Full Story | Top |
Turkish forces kill 15 Kurdish rebels in southeast
Wed,25 Jul 2012 12:05 PM PDT
Reuters -  DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish security forces killed at least 15 Kurdish rebels in a raid near the country's border with Iraq after tracking them with drones and attacking them with helicopters and on the ground, officials said on Wednesday. The drones spotted a group of Kurdish fighters who blocked roads on Monday in Hakkari province, then pinpointed them for an attack when the Kurdish fighters returned to the same area on Tuesday evening, the security officials said. Three Turkish soldiers were injured in clashes that ensued, they said. ...
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Canada home price index at new record, but may cool
Wed,25 Jul 2012 11:50 AM PDT
Reuters - TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian home prices hit a third straight record high in June, but a slowdown in the pace of price increases suggested the red-hot housing market is cooling, the Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index showed on Wednesday. The index, which measures price changes for repeat sales of single-family homes, showed overall prices climbed 1.2 percent in June from a month earlier. From a year earlier, the index was up 5.4 percent. But it was the seventh straight month in which year-on-year price gains slowed. ... Full Story | Top |
Italy Lombardy governor shrugs off graft probe
Wed,25 Jul 2012 11:37 AM PDT
Reuters - MILAN (Reuters) - The governor of Italy's Lombardy region defended himself on Wednesday against accusations of corruption in an investigation that could further undermine political stability in Italy ahead of next year's elections. Roberto Formigoni, an ally of ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said he had been notified on Wednesday of an inquiry into alleged bribes, including costly trips and dinners, paid by businessmen allegedly to help secure favorable deals. The governor, a prominent member of Berlusconi's PDL party, denied any wrongdoing. ... Full Story | Top |
Al Qaeda-tied militants attack south Yemen village
Wed,25 Jul 2012 10:45 AM PDT
Reuters - ADEN (Reuters) - Al Qaeda-linked militants attacked a village in south Yemen on Wednesday, fighting to regain control of territory for the first time since they were driven from their strongholds in a U.S.-backed army offensive last month. The head of a local militia said his fighters had managed to repel the militants, killing two of them in clashes in the village of Batias in the province of Abyan, where armed Islamists established a foothold last year. ... Full Story | Top |
Syrian refugees simmer in Turkish camps
Wed,25 Jul 2012 10:44 AM PDT
Reuters - KILIS, Turkey (Reuters) - Tempers are running short in Syrian refugee camps just inside Turkey, where torrid summer heat and the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan are compounding complaints about living conditions and perceived mistreatment by the Turkish authorities. "They have broken our hearts, the Turks. Why are they doing this to us?" sobbed Umm Omar, huddling with her four children after choking on teargas fired by Turkish riot police to quell trouble over food distribution in the Kilis camp on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
Recalling Srebrenica, U.N's Ban urges action on Syria
Wed,25 Jul 2012 10:40 AM PDT
Reuters - SARAJEVO (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on world powers on Wednesday to urgently unite to end the bloodshed in Syria, recalling the inertia of the United Nations in 1995 as genocide occurred in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica. Wrapping up a week-long tour of the countries carved from old federal Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Ban told the Bosnian parliament he was making a plea to the world. In Srebrenica, he said, "the United Nations did not live up to its responsibility. The international community failed in preventing the genocide that unfolded. ... Full Story | Top |
Six dead in helicopter crash in French Alps: police
Wed,25 Jul 2012 10:39 AM PDT
Reuters - MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) - Six employees of aircraft maker Eurocopter were killed when their helicopter crashed in a mountainous region of southeast France on Wednesday during a test flight, police and company officials said. The crash occurred around 1:30 p.m. (0730 EDT) in a steep section of the Verdon Gorge in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region near the border with Italy, according to local police. Police said a preliminary investigation suggested the helicopter may have hit an electric cable. ... Full Story | Top |
Khartoum court accuses U.S. resident of terrorism
Wed,25 Jul 2012 10:27 AM PDT
Reuters - KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A Sudanese court on Wednesday charged two men including a U.S. resident of forming a terrorist organization, in the first trial of people arrested during a spate of anti-government protests that broke out more than a month ago. Security forces arrested Radwan Daoud, whose origins are in Sudan's western Darfur region, and Ahmed Ali Mahjoub about two weeks ago at a house in a Khartoum suburb. Daoud has legal permanent resident status in the United States, according to the U.S. embassy in Sudan. ... Full Story | Top |
IMF agrees to lend $2 billion to Jordan
Wed,25 Jul 2012 10:06 AM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON/DUBAI (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund agreed on Wednesday to lend $2 billion to Jordan, whose economy has been hit by high oil prices and Arab Spring political unrest in neighboring countries. "The IMF staff agreed to support Jordan's agenda for a socially acceptable fiscal consolidation," the IMF said in a statement. "It will provide liquidity during the next three years, which will allow the authorities to gradually implement their agenda." Jordan's foreign reserves stood at about $8. ... Full Story | Top |
White House condemns arrest of Cuban activists
Wed,25 Jul 2012 09:52 AM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday condemned the arrest of dozens of Cuban pro-democracy activists who were mourning the death of leading dissident Oswaldo Paya, saying it showed the "climate of repression" in communist-ruled Cuba. Paya, 60-year-old leader of the Christian Liberation Movement, and fellow dissident Harold Cepero died in a car crash in eastern Granma province on Sunday. The cause of the crash is officially under investigation. ...
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Suncor to revisit growth plans as new CEO takes charge
Wed,25 Jul 2012 09:36 AM PDT
Reuters - CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - The new chief executive of Suncor Energy Inc, Canada's No. 1 integrated oil producer and refiner, said on Wednesday the company is revisiting plans for a massive expansion of its oil sands operations as looks to increase profits. Suncor, which late on Tuesday reported a better-than-expected 28 percent jump in second-quarter profit, will no longer commit to an ambitious growth program that would see production nearly double by the beginning of the next decade. ... Full Story | Top |
Siege broken, life stirs in Syrian ghost town
Wed,25 Jul 2012 09:29 AM PDT
Reuters - AZAZ, Syria (Reuters) - For seven days 53-year-old Walid Murai was holed up in his house with his wife and children in his hometown of Azaz in northern Syria as rebel fighters battled to gain control of the town from President Bashar al-Assad's forces. With their food running low and tank fire skimming the roof of their two-storey home, Murai decided it was time to leave. He knocked a hole in his living room wall, gathered his wife and 12 children and led them through to his next-door neighbor's home. ... Full Story | Top |
Blast in refugee camp wounds 6 in northeast Kenya
Wed,25 Jul 2012 09:27 AM PDT
Reuters - NAIROBI (Reuters) - An explosive device hit a police vehicle inside a refugee camp near the border with Somalia on Wednesday, wounding all six people aboard in the latest attack in the region, officials said. The vehicle, carrying three police officers and three civilians, was escorting aid workers travelling in a separate car to distribute food in the Dadaab refugee camp, police officials said. The aid workers were unhurt. ... Full Story | Top |
Russia says worried by MTS Uzbek executive detention
Wed,25 Jul 2012 09:11 AM PDT
Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's foreign ministry said it has informed Uzbekistan of its concern over the detention of the acting chief executive of Russia's top mobile firm MTS's Uzbek subsidiary as part of a dispute that caused its license suspension. The dispute, which analysts fear may lead to MTS exiting the market, broke out earlier this year when Uzbek authorities launched a near $1.3 million back-tax claim against MTS. Although MTS said it had repaid the claim, it was later hit by numerous inspections, including audits of its financial and operating activities. ... Full Story | Top |
British hunger striker jailed in UAE released
Wed,25 Jul 2012 09:06 AM PDT
Reuters - DUBAI (Reuters) - A British businessman who spent nearly three years in a Dubai jail has been released after his conviction for writing cheques that bounced was overturned earlier this week, family members said on Wednesday. Safi Qurashi, who went on a hunger strike in May for seven weeks, was accused of bouncing three cheques in property deals in Dubai - a criminal offence in the United Arab Emirates - and given a seven-year jail term after a 2010 trial. ... Full Story | Top |
South African gold firm "starves out" illegal miners
Wed,25 Jul 2012 09:04 AM PDT
Reuters - TWO KM BENEATH WELKOM, South Africa (Reuters) - One of South Africa's biggest gold firms has taken the drastic step of banning all food underground to cut supply lines to gangs of illegal miners used to staying deep in the mines for months on end, threatening lives and official production. With gold mining around Welkom, 200 km (130 miles) south of Johannesburg, dating back to the 1930s, the bedrock is criss-crossed by a myriad network of tunnels that provide perfect cover and multiple entry points for illegal miners. Bosses of Harmony Gold's 2. ... Full Story | Top |
Makeup of new Egyptian government seen complete next week
Wed,25 Jul 2012 09:02 AM PDT
Reuters -  CAIRO (Reuters) - The makeup of a new Egyptian government is likely to be decided by the middle of next week, a presidential spokesman said on Wednesday, a day after the new prime minister was named by President Mohamed Mursi. Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Hisham Kandil was designated as premier on Tuesday but some critics questioned whether the little-known technocrat had the political or economic experience for the job. "Negotiations over the formation of the new government will end by the middle of next week," Yasser Ali told reporters. ...
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Analysis: In Syria crisis, stakes high for Hezbollah
Wed,25 Jul 2012 08:59 AM PDT
Reuters -  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's powerful Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah has publicly tied its future to Bashar al-Assad, but as the tide turns against the Syrian president it is silent on whether it will join the fight to support him. The stakes are high for the group which fears that toppling Assad will pave the way for increased Western pressure - if not war - on its strongest ally and founder, Shi'ite Iran. By losing Assad the group would also be deprived of its strategic partner and main supply line for its arsenal. "Hezbollah is at a point of enormous strategic uncertainty. ...
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U.N. quietly halves aid force in Syria: source
Wed,25 Jul 2012 08:54 AM PDT
Reuters - GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations has halved the number of international aid workers deployed in Syria in the past week due to the deteriorating security situation in Damascus, a U.N. source said on Wednesday. The decision to "relocate" staff deemed non-essential for humanitarian operations was taken by U.N. security officials last Thursday, a day after an explosion killed four members of President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle in the capital. "I believe 30 international staff are left in Syria now," the source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. John Ging, a senior U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
Russia tells Syria chemical arms threat is unacceptable
Wed,25 Jul 2012 08:50 AM PDT
Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday it had clearly told the Syrian government it was unacceptable to threaten to use chemical weapons, after Damascus warned it might do so if faced with foreign intervention. In a meeting with Syria's ambassador to Moscow, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov "laid out in an extremely clear form Russia's position on the inadmissibility of any threats of the use of chemical weapons", the ministry said. ... Full Story | Top |
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