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Sunday, August 5, 2012 8:30 PM PDT

Today's Reuters World News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Mars rover Curiosity nears make-or-break landing attempt Islamists kill 15 Egyptians, Israel strikes attackers Three armed men killed in Libya as violence escalates Reuters Twitter account hacked, false tweets about Syria sent Red Cross attacked with rockets, grenades in Libya Insight: Deadly India car factory riot sounds alarm bells for industry Seven dead, including gunman, in shooting at Wisconsin Sikh temple Bus accident kills 23 Angolan soccer fans Egypt says border attack undertaken by Gaza, Sinai militants Israel calls on Egypt to tighten security in Sinai Egypt's Rafah crossing with Gaza closed after attack: agency Hamas condemns deadly attack on Egyptian border post Knight talking to several parties on financing Assad's forces pound rebel stronghold in Aleppo Egypt's Mursi wants meeting with army council after Sinai attack West Bank summit scrapped after Israel bars envoys Israel says "group of terrorists" attack Egypt border post IMF mission to discuss loans in Egypt this month Five soldiers killed in Ivory Coast attacks UAE probes plot against state security, says has foreign links Thirteen Egyptian police killed in Sinai border attack Suicide bomb attack on Nigeria checkpoint kills eight Al Qaeda prisoners try to tunnel out of Iraqi jail Ernesto spins west over open sea, seen soaking Jamaica Senior Damascus intelligence officer defects to Jordan: TV Judge in Colorado shooting must decide fair trial versus transparency West Bank conference scrapped after Israel bars envoys Insight: A year on, Nigeria's oil still poisons Ogoniland Sudan to allow aid into rebel-held border areas Kurdish rebels attack troops in Turkey, 19 dead China calls in U.S. diplomat over South China Sea Troika inspectors conclude Greek visit, back in September Greece's new pledges will take epic battle to implement Victory closer, divisions deepen in Syria opposition Aleppo fight a journey into unknown for rural rebels Israel sees U.N. majority for Palestine status upgrade Israeli strike hits Gaza gunman linked to Egypt raid Iran warns against foreign intervention in Syria Israel bars envoys, West Bank conference canceled Ruling party lawmaker nominated to head Serbia central bank Mars rover Curiosity nears make-or-break landing attempt Sun,5 Aug 2012 06:03 PM PDT Reuters - PASADENA, California (Reuters) - The Mars rover Curiosity, on a quest for signs the Red Planet once hosted ingredients for life, streaked into the home stretch of its eight-month voyage on Sunday nearing a make-or-break landing attempt that NASA calls one of the toughest feats of robotic spaceflight. Curiosity, the first full-fledged mobile science laboratory sent to a distant world, was scheduled to touch down inside a vast, ancient impact crater on Sunday at 10:31 p.m. Pacific time (1:31 a.m. EDT on Monday/0531 GMT on Monday). ... Full Story Top Islamists kill 15 Egyptians, Israel strikes attackers Sun,5 Aug 2012 05:31 PM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Islamist gunmen killed at least 15 Egyptian police on Sunday and seized two military vehicles to attack a crossing point into Israel, the deadliest incident in Egypt's tense Sinai border region in decades. Israeli aircraft destroyed one of the armored vehicles and four of the gunmen were killed, Egyptian security sources said. Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak called for "determined Egyptian action" to "prevent terror in Sinai". The attack is an early diplomatic test for Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, an Islamist who assumed office at the end of June after staunch U.S. ... Full Story Top Three armed men killed in Libya as violence escalates Sun,5 Aug 2012 05:20 PM PDT Reuters - TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libyan security forces on Sunday killed three armed men suspected of being behind seven failed bomb plots, a government spokesman said, in the first incident of its kind since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in October. Several violent incidents have rocked Libya in recent days and on Sunday the International Committee of the Red Cross announced it was suspending its activity in the country's second biggest city after one of its compounds was attacked with grenades and rockets. ... Full Story Top Reuters Twitter account hacked, false tweets about Syria sent Sun,5 Aug 2012 05:18 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - Reuters News said one of its Twitter accounts was hacked on Sunday and false tweets were posted, mainly related to the current armed struggle in Syria. "Earlier today @ReutersTech was hacked and changed to @ReutersME," said a spokesperson for Reuters, which is owned by Thomson Reuters CorpTO . "The account has been suspended and is currently under investigation. ... Full Story Top Red Cross attacked with rockets, grenades in Libya Sun,5 Aug 2012 04:34 PM PDT Reuters - GENEVA (Reuters) - Unknown assailants attacked a compound of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Libyan port of Misrata on Sunday with grenades and rockets, forcing it to suspend its work there and in the eastern city of Benghazi, the agency said. The ICRC said seven of its aid workers were inside their residence when it came under attack. No one was hurt, but damage to the building was extensive. It was the fifth time in less than three months that violence was directed against the independent aid agency in Libya, the ICRC said in a statement, which stressed its neutrality. ... Full Story Top Insight: Deadly India car factory riot sounds alarm bells for industry Sun,5 Aug 2012 04:33 PM PDT Reuters - MANESAR, India (Reuters) - Hiding in his office near the Indian capital as workers armed with iron bars and car parts rampaged through the factory, Maruti Suzuki supervisor Raj Kumar spent two terrified hours trying to comprehend the warzone his workplace had become. By the end of the day, one of his colleagues had been burnt to death and dozens wounded, many with broken bones, as a long-running struggle between the shop floor and management exploded at a factory racked by mistrust. ... Full Story Top Seven dead, including gunman, in shooting at Wisconsin Sikh temple Sun,5 Aug 2012 04:09 PM PDT Reuters - OAK CREEK, Wisconsin (Reuters) - A gunman killed six people and critically wounded three at a Sikh temple during Sunday services before police shot him dead, and the attack is being treated as domestic terrorism, police said. The gunman opened fire when he entered the kitchen at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in suburban Milwaukee at about 10:30 a.m. CDT (11.30 a.m. EDT) as women were preparing a Sunday meal, witnesses said. They described the shooter as a white man. ... Full Story Top Bus accident kills 23 Angolan soccer fans Sun,5 Aug 2012 03:14 PM PDT Reuters - LUANDA (Reuters) - Twenty-three fans of Angolan soccer club Kabuscorp were killed and 29 injured when their bus overturned on the road back to Luanda after an away match, state news agency Angop reported on Sunday. The accident happened on Saturday in Kwanza Sul province after the fans had watched their team play in the country's top division at Libolo, about 600 kilometers (370 miles) southeast of Luanda, Angop said. "I am distraught and sad. ... Full Story Top Egypt says border attack undertaken by Gaza, Sinai militants Sun,5 Aug 2012 02:48 PM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - The attack on an Egyptian police station on the Israeli border on Sunday was staged by militants who infiltrated from Gaza through tunnels and others from the Sinai region, an Egyptian security official was quoted as saying by the state news agency. At least 15 Egyptian policemen were killed in the attack. "Jihadist elements who infiltrated from Gaza through tunnels, in collaboration with jihadist elements from the regions of Al-Mahdia and Jebel El Halal, attacked a border point on the eastern border," the official was quoted as saying by the MENA news agency. ... Full Story Top Israel calls on Egypt to tighten security in Sinai Sun,5 Aug 2012 02:48 PM PDT Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's defense minister called on Cairo to assert control over the Sinai peninsula after militants attacked an Egyptian border post on Sunday, killing about 15 people, and drove two vehicles through a border-crossing with Israel. "The terrorists' actions again show the need for determined Egyptian action to impose security and prevent terror in Sinai," Ehud Barak said in a statement. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Ralph Gowling) Full Story Top Egypt's Rafah crossing with Gaza closed after attack: agency Sun,5 Aug 2012 02:48 PM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian security source said on Sunday the Rafah border crossing with Gaza had been closed indefinitely, the state news agency MENA reported, after an attack on a police station in Sinai killed at least 15 officers. "A security official announced on Sunday evening that the Rafah land port had been closed for cases of travel and arrivals indefinitely. This comes in the wake of the attack by gunmen on a border checkpoint in Rafah in Sinai," MENA said. Full Story Top Hamas condemns deadly attack on Egyptian border post Sun,5 Aug 2012 02:48 PM PDT Reuters - GAZA (Reuters) - The Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers condemned an attack on an Egyptian border post that killed about 15 people on Sunday. The attack took place near the border crossing where the Egyptian, Israeli and Gazan frontiers converge. "Hamas condemns this ugly crime which killed a number of Egyptian soldiers and extends its deep condolences to the families of the victims and to the leadership and the people of Egypt," the Islamist group said in a statement. (Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by Andrew Osborn) Full Story Top Knight talking to several parties on financing Sun,5 Aug 2012 02:39 PM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Knight Capital Group has been in talks with several parties on a financing deal that would help stave off bankruptcy after a technical glitch saddled it with $440 million in losses, two sources with knowledge of the discussions said on Sunday. An announcement on a deal, with parties that include Knight trading partners, is expected on Sunday or early Monday as Knight needs to assure customers about the viability of the company before markets open, said one of the sources, who sought anonymity as they are not authorized to speak publicly. ... Full Story Top Assad's forces pound rebel stronghold in Aleppo Sun,5 Aug 2012 02:07 PM PDT Reuters - ALEPPO, Syria (Reuters) - Syrian army tanks shelled Aleppo and a helicopter gunship strafed rebel positions with heavy machinegun fire as they fought into early Monday for control of the country's biggest city and key battleground of the 17-month uprising. After U.N. Security Council paralysis on Syria forced peace envoy Kofi Annan to resign last week, and with his ceasefire plan a distant memory, rebels have been battered by a government onslaught in Aleppo and the capital Damascus. The main focus of fighting in Aleppo has been the Salaheddine district, a gateway into the city of 2. ... Full Story Top Egypt's Mursi wants meeting with army council after Sinai attack Sun,5 Aug 2012 01:31 PM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi called for an urgent meeting with the country's military council on Sunday, the Muslim Brotherhood's party said on its Facebook page, after an attack on a police station in North Sinai killed at least 15 policemen. Egyptian security sources said the attackers had used a stolen police vehicle to launch the assault - which took place on the border between Egypt and Israel - and had fired live ammunition at police officers at the station. ... Full Story Top West Bank summit scrapped after Israel bars envoys Sun,5 Aug 2012 01:30 PM PDT Reuters - RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - A meeting of envoys from the Non-Aligned Movement due to convene in the Israeli-occupied West Bank was scrapped on Sunday after Israel refused to admit four attendees from states with which it has no diplomatic relations, Palestinian officials said. The envoys were due to sign a declaration backing the Palestinians ahead of their planned campaign to win recognition as a state at the United Nations next month. ... Full Story Top Israel says "group of terrorists" attack Egypt border post Sun,5 Aug 2012 01:24 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - Israel said a group of militants who tried to storm its border on Sunday had commandeered two Egyptian vehicles and driven them through a crossing on the Egyptian-Israeli border. One of the vehicles exploded and the second was targeted by Israeli aircraft, military spokeswoman Avital Leibovich said, adding that about 15 people had been killed in the attack. (Editing by Andrew Osborn) Full Story Top IMF mission to discuss loans in Egypt this month Sun,5 Aug 2012 01:11 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will send a mission to Cairo this month to hold talks on loans to the new government of Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, a spokesman for the fund said on Sunday. The mission, to include Masood Ahmed, the IMF's director for the Middle East and Central Asia, will discuss "possible financial support for a homegrown economic program," the spokesman said. "The IMF stands ready to support Egypt and work closely with the authorities," added the spokesman, who did not give a specific date for the trip. ... Full Story Top Five soldiers killed in Ivory Coast attacks Sun,5 Aug 2012 01:03 PM PDT Reuters - ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Gunmen killed at least five soldiers in attacks on a police station and an army checkpoint in Ivory Coast's commercial capital, Abidjan, early on Sunday, police and government officials said. The pre-dawn attacks occurred in the Yopougon neighborhood, scene of some of the fiercest fighting during a brief post-election civil war last year, after a group of men were brought to the station following a police raid nearby. ... Full Story Top UAE probes plot against state security, says has foreign links Sun,5 Aug 2012 01:03 PM PDT Reuters - DUBAI (Reuters) - Initial findings of a probe into a group plotting "crimes against state security" in the United Arab Emirates have confirmed links with suspicious foreign parties, the Attorney General said on Sunday. About 35 activists have been detained since July 15, when the UAE said it had uncovered the plot. Many of those are affiliated with Islamist group Islah (Reform). ... Full Story Top Thirteen Egyptian police killed in Sinai border attack Sun,5 Aug 2012 12:11 PM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - At least 13 policemen were killed and seven wounded in an armed attack on a police station in North Sinai on the border between Egypt and Israel on Sunday, medical and security sources said. Egyptian state television reported that an Islamist militant group was behind the attack. The attackers used a stolen police vehicle to launch the attack, security sources said, and fired live ammunition at police officers at the station. (Reporting by Shaimaa Fayed; Editing by Andrew Osborn) Full Story Top Suicide bomb attack on Nigeria checkpoint kills eight Sun,5 Aug 2012 12:01 PM PDT Reuters - MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - A suicide car bomber attacked a military checkpoint in Nigeria's northeastern city of Damaturu on Sunday, killing six soldiers and two civilians, police said. Suspicion is likely to fall on Islamist sect Boko Haram, which is waging a bloody insurgency against President Goodluck Jonathan's government across the north. The sect is seeking to carve out an Islamic state in Africa's top energy producer and most populous country, which is split roughly evenly between Christians and Muslims. ... Full Story Top Al Qaeda prisoners try to tunnel out of Iraqi jail Sun,5 Aug 2012 11:51 AM PDT Reuters - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A group of al Qaeda prisoners was caught trying to tunnel out of Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, an official said on Sunday, after the militants said they would step up their fight against the government. Iraq's Shi'ite-led government is concerned that Sunni Muslim militants will get a boost from the insurgency in neighboring Syria, where mainly Sunni rebels are battling President Bashar al-Assad. ... Full Story Top Ernesto spins west over open sea, seen soaking Jamaica Sun,5 Aug 2012 11:29 AM PDT Reuters - MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Ernesto kept on a westerly course in the Caribbean Sea on Sunday and was expected to strengthen slowly over the next 48 hours, soaking Jamaica as it passes the island on its way to the Yucatan, U.S. forecasters said. Wet and windy conditions were already beginning to be felt in Jamaica by early Sunday afternoon as the outer rain bands of Ernesto reached the Caribbean island of fewer than 3 million people, according to Jamaica's emergency management office. ... Full Story Top Senior Damascus intelligence officer defects to Jordan: TV Sun,5 Aug 2012 10:19 AM PDT Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - A senior Syrian intelligence officer has defected to Jordan, Al Arabiya television reported on Sunday. It said Colonel Yarub Shara was head of the Damascus branch of Political Security, an intelligence organization responsible for monitoring and suppressing dissent. Jordanian officials were not immediately available to comment on the report. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, fighting a 17-month-old uprising against his rule, named his former intelligence chief in Lebanon, Rustum Ghazaleh, to head Political Security last month. ... Full Story Top Judge in Colorado shooting must decide fair trial versus transparency Sun,5 Aug 2012 10:02 AM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - The proceedings against accused Colorado shooter James Holmes will run into a tough question this week, one faced in many high-profile criminal cases: How do you balance the defendant's right to a fair trial with the public's right to know? Holmes is accused of killing 12 people and wounding 58 others at a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" movie in a Denver suburb last month in one of the worst outbursts of U.S. gun violence in recent years. He is charged with 24 counts of first-degree murder and 116 counts of attempted murder. ... Full Story Top West Bank conference scrapped after Israel bars envoys Sun,5 Aug 2012 09:32 AM PDT Reuters - RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - A meeting of international envoys due to be held in the West Bank to show support for the Palestinian leadership was scrapped on Sunday after Israel refused to admit attendees from four countries, Palestinian officials said. The meeting involved high-level representatives from the Non-Aligned Movement, a group of states that aims to represent the interests of the developing world. They were due to sign a declaration backing the Palestinians ahead of their fresh campaign to win recognition as a state at the United Nations next month. ... Full Story Top Insight: A year on, Nigeria's oil still poisons Ogoniland Sun,5 Aug 2012 09:21 AM PDT Reuters - OGONILAND, Nigeria (Reuters) - A bright yellow sign above the well in this sleepy Nigerian village says 'caution: not fit for use', and the sulphurous stink off the water that children still pump into buckets sharply reinforces that warning. "Can you smell it? Don't get any in your mouth or you'll be sick," said Victoria Jiji, 55, as she walked past the bore hole in her home village of Ekpangbala, one of several in Ogoniland, southeast Nigeria, whose drinking water has turned toxic. Prosperity has flowed from Ogoniland, one of Africa's earliest crude oil producing areas, for decades. ... Full Story Top Sudan to allow aid into rebel-held border areas Sun,5 Aug 2012 09:11 AM PDT Reuters - KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan agreed on Sunday to allow aid into two rebel-held southern border states where humanitarian groups say fighting has left civilians facing an impending famine. The move came a day after Sudan reached a deal with South Sudan over oil transit fees, a first step to ending a dispute which had brought the hostile neighbors close to war in April. Both countries still need to mark their disputed frontier and improve security in the violent borderland, one of several issues left over when South Sudan seceded a year ago under a 2005 agreement that ended decades of civil war. ... Full Story Top Kurdish rebels attack troops in Turkey, 19 dead Sun,5 Aug 2012 08:46 AM PDT Reuters - TUNCELI, Turkey (Reuters) - Six Turkish soldiers, two state militiamen and 11 Kurdish militants were killed when the rebels attacked military outposts in southeast Turkey, security sources said on Sunday. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan accused unnamed foreign countries of backing the fighters who attacked at least three military bases. The sources said 16 other soldiers and six civilians were wounded in the overnight attacks on the bases near the town of Cukurca in Hakkari province, which borders Iraq. Erdogan called the attack "dastardly". ... Full Story Top China calls in U.S. diplomat over South China Sea Sun,5 Aug 2012 08:24 AM PDT Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Foreign Ministry has called in a senior U.S. diplomat to protest against remarks by the U.S. State Department raising concerns over tensions in the contested South China Sea, further intensifying an already fraught territorial dispute. In a statement released late on Saturday, China's Foreign Ministry said Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Kunsheng summoned the U.S. Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Wang to make "serious representations" about the issue. ... Full Story Top Troika inspectors conclude Greek visit, back in September Sun,5 Aug 2012 07:48 AM PDT Reuters - ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece has made progress in finding budget cuts needed to continue its bailout program but not all work is done and international inspectors will return in September for a final verdict, officials said on Sunday. Inspectors from the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank - known as the troika - concluded a visit to Greece on Sunday saying the talks with the new coalition government were productive. "Talks went well, we made good progress. ... Full Story Top Greece's new pledges will take epic battle to implement Sun,5 Aug 2012 07:48 AM PDT Reuters - ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's latest fiscal and reform pledges may be enough to convince international lenders weary after years of broken promises to keep Athens hooked to a 130 billion euro lifeline, but the battle to implement it will be epic. Few question the new coalition government's resolve but many doubt whether the cantankerous public sector can or will implement the measures or the Greek public, reeling from years of austerity, can take much more without putting up a fight. ... Full Story Top Victory closer, divisions deepen in Syria opposition Sun,5 Aug 2012 07:48 AM PDT Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - Three separate Syrian opposition groups have floated proposals for a transitional government in the past week, a sign that differences among the many factions opposing President Bashar al-Assad are deepening even as victory seems closer. With fighting reaching Damascus and Aleppo in the past month, Western countries are increasingly anxious to see the disparate groups agree on a credible plan for a transitional government should Assad fall. ... Full Story Top Aleppo fight a journey into unknown for rural rebels Sun,5 Aug 2012 06:45 AM PDT Reuters - ALEPPO, Syria (Reuters) - The young rebel fighters' mission was clear: to rid an Aleppo neighborhood of Syrian army snipers who had infiltrated rebel lines on Saturday. But before they had reached their target, a skirmish with government troops forced them to make a diversion, throwing the group into confusion. All 40 were from rural areas outside Aleppo, and none could find their way through the city streets. "Wait, are we in the right place?" one rebel asked. ... Full Story Top Israel sees U.N. majority for Palestine status upgrade Sun,5 Aug 2012 06:24 AM PDT Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Palestinians' bid to upgrade their status at the United Nations would find majority support there but would not bring them closer to statehood and peace with Israel, Israel's U.N. envoy said on Sunday. Citing stalled peacemaking and Israeli settlement-building on occupied West Bank land where they seek sovereign independence, the Palestinians said on Saturday they would renew a bid to win U.N. recognition as a state. ... Full Story Top Israeli strike hits Gaza gunman linked to Egypt raid Sun,5 Aug 2012 06:23 AM PDT Reuters - GAZA (Reuters) - An Israeli air strike killed a Palestinian gunman from a radical Islamist group and wounded another on Sunday as they rode a motorbike in southern Gaza, near the Egyptian border. The Israeli military said one of those targeted, Ahmed Said Ismail, was behind an attack on June 18 along the Israel-Egypt border in which an Israeli civilian was killed. Palestinian hospital officials said Ismail was critically wounded and a second militant was killed. ... Full Story Top Iran warns against foreign intervention in Syria Sun,5 Aug 2012 06:13 AM PDT Reuters - DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran warned against foreign intervention in Syria on Sunday and said the conflict there could engulf Israel, Iranian media said. Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani accused the United States and regional countries he did not name of providing military support to rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran. Syria has accused Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia of backing rebels in Syria and fuelling violence there. ... Full Story Top Israel bars envoys, West Bank conference canceled Sun,5 Aug 2012 05:41 AM PDT Reuters - RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - A meeting of envoys from the Non-Aligned Movement due to convene in the Israeli-occupied West Bank was scrapped on Sunday after Israel refused to admit four attendees from states with which it has no diplomatic relations, Palestinian officials said. They said other guests, including the foreign ministers of Egypt and Zimbabwe, declined to attend in solidarity with those prevented from taking part. ... Full Story Top Ruling party lawmaker nominated to head Serbia central bank Sun,5 Aug 2012 05:37 AM PDT Reuters - BELGRADE (Reuters) - Ruling coalition lawmaker Jorgovanka Tabakovic was nominated as the new governor of Serbia's central bank on Sunday, part of a move by the Socialist-led government to step up control over the bank in the face of stern criticism by the EU and IMF. Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic nominated Tabakovic, an economist by education and a close ally of the president, to replace Dejan Soskic, who resigned last week citing threats to the bank's independence. ... Full Story Top

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