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Saturday, September 29, 2012 8:30 PM PDT

Today's Reuters World News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Egyptian leftist leader eyes parliament majority Two Venezuelan opposition activists shot dead Venezuela opposition party says 2 leaders shot dead Ancient market burns as fighting rages in Syria's Aleppo Egypt's Copts to return to Sinai homes, says government Exclusive: North Korean leader seeks trip to China for economic help Exclusive: Kim plans economic change in North Korea Exclusive: North Korea's nuclear test ready "soon" Exclusive: North Korea's military to share power with Kim's heir Israel PM tells coalition partners to back budget or face poll Libyans hand over their weapons in arms collection drive Northern Irish parade passes peacefully amid tight security Egypt's top military commander promises army overhaul Guantanamo's last Western detainee returned to Canada Sudan tells United Nations its debts must be canceled Slowdown galvanizes Polish opposition protesters Anti-Islam filmmaker held at Los Angeles federal jail Billionaire Georgia opposition leader says vote win hours away Portuguese protest against austerity, await more measures U.N. chief urges careful handling of Myanmar Rohingyas issue Mexico's lower house gives final approval to labor reform Somalia's al Shabaab rebels pull out of Kismayu bastion North Ireland police mount major security operation for key parade Palestinian man dies of wounds after being shot by Israel troops Trial of pope's butler starts with setback for defense Obama, Netanyahu seek to get past Iran differences Islamists smash Sufi saint's tomb in northern Mali Germany's Steinbrueck urges SPD unity to oust Merkel Tymoshenko calls on Ukraine to rise up against "mafia-rule" Two killed in suicide bomb attack on Yemeni official Guantanamo's last Western detainee, Khadr, returned to Canada Bahraini teenager killed in Friday's protest Youngest Guantanamo prisoner Khadr returning to Canada: reports Fire fighter killed in Japan chemical plant explosion Violence stalks women workers in Afghanistan Exclusive: North Korea plans agriculture reforms - source China leaders stage show of unity after expelling Bo At least 8 die in fire in Russian oil sludge firm Turkey warns Syria after mortar strike EU raids lead recycling firms in cartel investigation Egyptian leftist leader eyes parliament majority Sat,29 Sep 2012 06:15 PM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Popular Egyptian leftist politician and former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahy said on Saturday he is confident a coalition of leftist groups he is working to unite will be strong enough to defeat Islamists and win a parliament majority. Sabahy, in an unexpected outcome, came in third place in the first round of the presidential vote last May, behind well-known army commander and politician Ahmed Shafik and current president Mohamed Mursi, who was the candidate of the state's most organized Muslim Brotherhood group. ... Full Story Top Two Venezuelan opposition activists shot dead Sat,29 Sep 2012 06:59 PM PDT Reuters - CARACAS (Reuters) - Gunmen shot and killed two local leaders of parties backing presidential challenger Henrique Capriles on Saturday in the worst violence of a volatile campaign before Venezuela's election next weekend, the opposition said. Capriles' party, Primero Justicia (First Justice), said the gunmen fired from a van that witnesses identified as belonging to state oil company PDVSA or the local mayor's office during a rally in the agricultural state of Barinas. ... Full Story Top Venezuela opposition party says 2 leaders shot dead Sat,29 Sep 2012 05:13 PM PDT Reuters - CARACAS (Reuters) - The political party of Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles said on Saturday that two of its local leaders where shot to death during a rally in the state of Barinas a week before the nation's presidential election. Primero Justicia (First Justice) said the gunmen fired from a van that witnesses identified as belonging to state oil company PDVSA or the local mayor's office - but there was no immediate confirmation of the incident or reaction from Venezuelan authorities. Venezuela is awash with guns, and violent crime is frequently cited as voters' No. 1 concern. ... Full Story Top Ancient market burns as fighting rages in Syria's Aleppo Sat,29 Sep 2012 03:54 PM PDT Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hundreds of shops were burning in the ancient covered market in Aleppo on Saturday as fighting between rebels and state forces in Syria's largest city threatened to destroy a UNESCO world heritage site. The uprising-turned-civil war that is now raging across Syria has killed more than 30,000 people, according to activist groups such as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. But beyond the dramatic human cost, many of Syria's historic treasures have also fallen victim to an 18-month-old conflict that has reduced parts of some cities to ruins. ... Full Story Top Egypt's Copts to return to Sinai homes, says government Sat,29 Sep 2012 03:31 PM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's presidency and prime minister said on Saturday security forces in North Sinai were working to return Coptic Christians living near Egypt's border with Israel to their homes after they fled in fear of attack from Islamist militants. Nine Christian families living in Rafah near Egypt's border with Israel left their homes on Friday after Islamist militants made death threats and gunmen attacked a Coptic-owned shop. ... Full Story Top Exclusive: North Korean leader seeks trip to China for economic help Sat,29 Sep 2012 03:01 PM PDT Reuters - (This story from August 24, 2012, corrects the description of the source who appears in the first paragraph. An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the source previously predicted North Korea's first nuclear test in 2006. The corrected version of the description of the source appears in the 25th paragraph) BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea's young leader wants a state visit to China in the latest move in his push to lift the isolated state out of decades of poverty, but risks further fraying ties with his only powerful ally by sticking to the threat of a new nuclear test. ... Full Story Top Exclusive: Kim plans economic change in North Korea Sat,29 Sep 2012 02:51 PM PDT Reuters - (This story from July 21, 2012, corrects the description of the source who appears in the first paragraph. An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the source previously predicted North Korea's first nuclear test in 2006. The corrected version of the description of the source appears in the fourth paragraph) BEIJING Impoverished North Korea is gearing up to experiment with agricultural and economic reforms after young leader Kim Jong-un and his powerful uncle purged the country's top general for opposing change, a source with ties to both Pyongyang and Beijing said. ... Full Story Top Exclusive: North Korea's nuclear test ready "soon" Sat,29 Sep 2012 02:40 PM PDT Reuters - (This story from Apr. 25, 2012 corrects the description of the source who appears in the first paragraph. An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the source previously predicted North Korea's first nuclear test in 2006. ... Full Story Top Exclusive: North Korea's military to share power with Kim's heir Sat,29 Sep 2012 02:31 PM PDT Reuters - (This story from December 21, 2011 corrects the description of the source who appears in the first paragraph. An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the source previously predicted North Korea's first nuclear test in 2006. The corrected version of the description of the source appears in the third paragraph) BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea will shift to collective rule from a strongman dictatorship after last week's death of Kim Jong-il, although his untested young son will be at the head of the ruling coterie, a source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing said. ... Full Story Top Israel PM tells coalition partners to back budget or face poll Sat,29 Sep 2012 01:52 PM PDT Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told his coalition partners he will have to call an early election if they do not back a "responsible" budget he must present by the end of the year. Netanyahu said he would start meeting coalition partners after he returns home from New York on Sunday. Failure to pass the budget by December 31 would mean bringing forward a national ballot currently scheduled for October 2013. ... Full Story Top Libyans hand over their weapons in arms collection drive Sat,29 Sep 2012 01:37 PM PDT Reuters - TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Hundreds of Libyans handed in weapons left over from last year's war on Saturday, part of a drive by the North African country to rid its streets of arms and crack down on rogue militia groups. As the day went on, a trickle of people turned into longer lines in Tripoli and in the eastern city of Benghazi, where tents were set up in squares for military officials to collect arms, explosives and even rocket propelled grenade launchers. ... Full Story Top Northern Irish parade passes peacefully amid tight security Sat,29 Sep 2012 01:06 PM PDT Reuters - BELFAST (Reuters) - A major parade that Northern Irish politicians and security forces feared could spark fighting between Catholics and Protestant passed peacefully on Saturday after police mounted their biggest security operation in 20 years. Some 30,000 Protestants marked the centenary of one of the most historic events in a province scarred by decades of sectarian violence, the signing of a pact by half a million of their ancestors opposing the introduction of devolved government in Ireland. ... Full Story Top Egypt's top military commander promises army overhaul Sat,29 Sep 2012 01:04 PM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's most senior military commander has promised better training and more modern weaponry for the army in an apparent effort to satisfy officers' demands for change, which have multiplied after an uprising last year. Commander-in-Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is also the defense minister, was appointed by the country's first Islamist president Mohamed Mursi only last month and is under pressure to shake up a military which until recently had held the balance of power in Egypt for decades. ... Full Story Top Guantanamo's last Western detainee returned to Canada Sat,29 Sep 2012 12:27 PM PDT Reuters - WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - The youngest prisoner and last Westerner held in the Guantanamo military base, Omar Khadr, was sent to finish his sentence in his native Canada on Saturday, the Canadian government said. Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said that Khadr, who was a 15-year-old fighting in Afghanistan when captured in 2002, had been flown from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to a military base in Trenton, Ontario and transferred to the province's Millhaven maximum-security prison. ... Full Story Top Sudan tells United Nations its debts must be canceled Sat,29 Sep 2012 11:39 AM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Sudan told the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday that its debts must be canceled and its economy supported as it struggles to recover from losing three-quarters of its critical oil revenue to South Sudan when it seceded a year ago. The International Monetary Fund this week urged Sudan to meet donors to discuss debt relief and some IMF board members called for "exceptional efforts" from the IMF and the global community to help Sudan reduce its debt of about $40 billion. ... Full Story Top Slowdown galvanizes Polish opposition protesters Sat,29 Sep 2012 10:55 AM PDT Reuters - WARSAW (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of protesters marched through the Polish capital on Saturday, the start of an opposition drive to capitalize on the spluttering economy and try to loosen Prime Minister Donald Tusk's grip on power. Poland's economy, the biggest in central Europe, has grown robustly even while its neighbors slipped into recession, handing Tusk high levels of support and leaving his opponents struggling to win credibility with voters. Economic growth is expected to slow to just above 2 percent next year. ... Full Story Top Anti-Islam filmmaker held at Los Angeles federal jail Sat,29 Sep 2012 10:12 AM PDT Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The California man behind an anti-Islam film that stoked violent protests across the Muslim world was being held at a federal high-rise jail in downtown Los Angeles on Friday over possible probation violations, a prison official said. Federal officials, citing safety concerns, were tight-lipped about the conditions of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula's confinement, including whether he was being held with the general population or was isolated from other inmates. ... Full Story Top Billionaire Georgia opposition leader says vote win hours away Sat,29 Sep 2012 10:11 AM PDT Reuters - TBILISI (Reuters) - The billionaire leader of the opposition in Georgia on Saturday told tens of thousands of his supporters that the current government loyal to President Mikheil Saakashvili had only hours left in power before it was voted out in an election on Monday. Addressing crowds in a central square in the capital Tbilisi after days of protests against prison brutality, Bidzina Ivanishvili was making his final pitch before the vote which his six-party "Georgian Dream" coalition hopes to win. "This regime cannot be the leadership of our country ... This system should collapse ... ... Full Story Top Portuguese protest against austerity, await more measures Sat,29 Sep 2012 10:03 AM PDT Reuters - LISBON (Reuters) - Thousands of Portuguese protested on Saturday against austerity, stepping up their opposition to the country's 78-billion-euro bailout ahead of new spending cuts and tax hikes to be announced in the government's 2013 draft budget. The peaceful protest organized by the CGTP union came after the center-right government ignited widespread anger this month with a hike in social security taxes that threatened to end Portugal's so far high social acceptance for austerity. ... Full Story Top U.N. chief urges careful handling of Myanmar Rohingyas issue Sat,29 Sep 2012 09:56 AM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the world's largest Islamic body on Saturday to "treat carefully" the issue of the stateless Muslim Rohingyas in Myanmar because it could affect the reform process underway in the country, also known as Burma. Over the past year, Myanmar has introduced the most sweeping reforms in the former British colony since a 1962 military coup. A semi-civilian government, stacked with former generals, has allowed elections, eased rules on protests and freed dissidents. ... Full Story Top Mexico's lower house gives final approval to labor reform Sat,29 Sep 2012 09:47 AM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's lower house of Congress gave final approval on Saturday to a bill that would mark the biggest shake-up of the country's labor market in 42 years. The final vote took place just before 4 a.m. following a raucous 14-hour debate that was led from a congressional balcony after leftist lawmakers stormed the chamber's rostrum and snatched the microphone from the speaker leading the session. The bill was approved on a vote of 346-60 with one abstention and now moves to the Mexican Senate, which will have 30 days to approve or reject it. ... Full Story Top Somalia's al Shabaab rebels pull out of Kismayu bastion Sat,29 Sep 2012 09:31 AM PDT Reuters - MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's al Shabaab rebels retreated from the southern port of Kismayu overnight, abandoning the last major bastion of their five-year revolt to an offensive by African Union and Somali government troops. The loss of Kismayu a day after it was attacked by Kenyan and Somali soldiers backed by air strikes is a major blow to the al Qaeda-linked rebels, weakening morale and depriving them of revenue from taxing local businesses and shipping. "We moved out our fighters ... ... Full Story Top North Ireland police mount major security operation for key parade Sat,29 Sep 2012 09:29 AM PDT Reuters - BELFAST (Reuters) - Police in Northern Ireland mounted their biggest security operation in 20 years on Saturday when 30,000 Protestants marked the centenary of one of the most historic events in a province scarred by decades of sectarian violence. Eight Protestant Unionist organizations, including members of the Orange Order, marched through Belfast to celebrate the signing of the Ulster Covenant by half a million of their ancestors, a pact opposing the introduction of devolved government in Ireland. ... Full Story Top Palestinian man dies of wounds after being shot by Israel troops Sat,29 Sep 2012 09:09 AM PDT Reuters - GAZA (Reuters) - A Palestinian man died on Saturday after he was shot by Israeli troops while fishing on the beach in the Gaza Strip, said Hamas officials, while an Israeli military spokeswoman said the man was shot when he approached the border fence. Israeli army patrols deem the Gaza border area off limits because militants try to attack them by planting explosive devices or shooting at them. Officials from Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which rules the coastal enclave, said the 22-year-old man was fishing with his brother on Friday when he was shot. ... Full Story Top Trial of pope's butler starts with setback for defense Sat,29 Sep 2012 09:07 AM PDT Reuters - VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict's butler, accused of using his access to the pope to steal papers that he thought would expose Vatican corruption, suffered a blow on Saturday's first day of his trial when judges refused to admit evidence from the Church's own investigation. Gabriele's arrest in May, after police found confidential documents in his apartment inside the Vatican, not only threw a spotlight on allegations of malpractice but also pointed to a power struggle at the highest levels of the Church. ... Full Story Top Obama, Netanyahu seek to get past Iran differences Sat,29 Sep 2012 08:28 AM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a show of unity on Friday on preventing a nuclear-armed Iran, seeking to tone down the acrimony between the two leaders that has become an issue in the final stretch of the U.S. presidential race. Obama, widely seen as having snubbed Netanyahu by not meeting face to face with him during his U.S. visit, spoke instead by phone to the Israeli prime minister amid signs of movement toward a truce in their war of words over how to confront Tehran. Netanyahu used his U.N. ... Full Story Top Islamists smash Sufi saint's tomb in northern Mali Sat,29 Sep 2012 08:07 AM PDT Reuters - BAMAKO (Reuters) - Heavily armed Islamist fighters in Mali destroyed the tomb of a local Sufi saint near Timbuktu on Saturday, witnesses said, the latest attack on traditional shrines in the rebel-occupied north. The destruction of the tomb of Almirou Mahamane Assidiki in Goundam came just months after a number of other shrines in the UNESCO-listed city of Timbuktu, 90 km (55 miles) to the south, were reduced to rubble, underscoring the threat to the region's ancient heritage from the rebels' extremist ideology. ... Full Story Top Germany's Steinbrueck urges SPD unity to oust Merkel Sat,29 Sep 2012 07:36 AM PDT Reuters - MUENSTER, Germany (Reuters) - Peer Steinbrueck, the man chosen to lead Germany's opposition Social Democrats into an election next year as its candidate for chancellor, called for party unity on Saturday, saying it would otherwise be difficult to unseat Chancellor Angela Merkel. Steinbrueck, a feisty former finance minister distrusted by Social Democrat (SPD) leftwingers for his centrist economic views, also repeated his opposition to serving under Merkel, a conservative, in a future coalition government. "This federal election can only be won with the mobilization of our supporters ... ... Full Story Top Tymoshenko calls on Ukraine to rise up against "mafia-rule" Sat,29 Sep 2012 07:25 AM PDT Reuters - KIEV (Reuters) - Jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko called on Ukrainians on Saturday to "rise up" at a parliamentary election next month and end President Viktor Yanukovich's "criminal rule". In a shaky two-minute video filmed at the hospital where she is being held, the former prime minister said she was enduring "a hell", created by Yanukovich, as she serves a seven-year sentence for abuse of office. ... Full Story Top Two killed in suicide bomb attack on Yemeni official Sat,29 Sep 2012 07:02 AM PDT Reuters - ADEN (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed himself and a bystander in south Yemen on Saturday in an attempt to assassinate a government official who had targeted al Qaeda militants, a security source said. The attacker walked up to the parked car of Mohammed Aidarous, head of a "popular committee" of tribal volunteers who helped the army oust militants from the town of Lawdar in Abyan province this year. Aidarous, the local government official in charge of Lawdar, was not in the vehicle, but a bystander was also killed in the blast, the source said. ... Full Story Top Guantanamo's last Western detainee, Khadr, returned to Canada Sat,29 Sep 2012 06:55 AM PDT Reuters - WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - The youngest prisoner and last Westerner held in the Guantanamo military base, Omar Khadr, was sent to finish his sentence in his native Canada on Saturday, the Canadian government confirmed. Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said that Khadr, who was a 15-year-old fighting in Afghanistan when captured in 2002, had been flown to a military base in Trenton, Ontario and transferred to the province's Millhaven prison. (Reporting by Rod Nickel; Writing by Jeffrey Hodgson in Toronto; Editing by Bill Trott) Full Story Top Bahraini teenager killed in Friday's protest Sat,29 Sep 2012 06:27 AM PDT Reuters - DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahraini riot police killed a teenager when they fired shotgun pellets during clashes with protesters following a demonstration on Friday, the country's opposition said on Saturday, the second young protester to die in six weeks. Thousands rallied on Friday in an officially authorized protest called by the main opposition group al-Wefaq, but as the event ended around 100 demonstrators clashed with police. ... Full Story Top Youngest Guantanamo prisoner Khadr returning to Canada: reports Sat,29 Sep 2012 06:17 AM PDT Reuters - TORONTO (Reuters) - The youngest Guantanamo prisoner, Omar Khadr, who was a 15-year-old fighting in Afghanistan when captured in 2002, was sent to finish his sentence in his native Canada on Saturday, Canadian media reported. A military plane carrying Khadr, who pleaded guilty to killing a U.S. soldier and admitted links to al Qaeda, left the U.S. naval base on Saturday morning, the Toronto Star newspaper and Canadian Broadcasting Corp said, citing unnamed sources. Canadian government officials did not immediately return emails seeking comment. ... Full Story Top Fire fighter killed in Japan chemical plant explosion Sat,29 Sep 2012 06:13 AM PDT Reuters - TOKYO (Reuters) - One fire fighter was killed after a chemical tank explosion at Nippon Shokubai Co's Himeji plant in western Japan on Saturday afternoon, a local fire department official said. An acrylic acid storage residue tank exploded around 2:30 p.m. (0530 GMT), and the fire later spread to another acrylic acid tank and a toluene tank at the plant, the official said. In total two explosions occurred at the plant, killing a 28-year-old fire fighter and injuring about 30 people, the official added. Nippon Shokubai is one of the world's biggest makers of acrylic acid, used in baby diapers. ... Full Story Top Violence stalks women workers in Afghanistan Sat,29 Sep 2012 03:49 AM PDT Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - Muzhgan Masoomi's attacker stabbed her 14 times with a thick blade used to slaughter animals, tearing wide gashes in her flesh before leaving the government worker for dead on the outskirts of the Afghan capital. With a severe limp and no control over her bladder - caused by the blade scraping her spinal cord - the 22-year-old can no longer work at the Ministry of Public Works, where she was a financial assistant before the assault. ... Full Story Top Exclusive: North Korea plans agriculture reforms - source Sat,29 Sep 2012 03:47 AM PDT Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea plans to allow farmers to keep more of their produce in an attempt to boost agricultural output, a source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing said, in a move that could boost supplies, help cap rising food prices and ease malnutrition. The move to liberalize agriculture under new leader Kim Jong-un, who took office in December 2011 after the death of his father, would reverse a crackdown on private production that started in 2005. It comes amid talk that the youngest Kim to rule the impoverished North is considering reforms to boost the economy. ... Full Story Top China leaders stage show of unity after expelling Bo Sat,29 Sep 2012 03:23 AM PDT Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China's leaders put on a show of unity on Saturday after their damning accusations against disgraced politician Bo Xilai, whose expulsion from the Communist Party drew an outcry from leftist supporters in a sign of the rifts his prosecution could inflame. ... Full Story Top At least 8 die in fire in Russian oil sludge firm Sat,29 Sep 2012 03:09 AM PDT Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - At least eight workers died after fire broke out in an oil sludge-processing firm on Saturday in the West Siberian region of Khanty-Mansiisk, the hinterland of Russian crude production, the Emergencies Ministry said. The fire at a sludge storage has been put out, the ministry said in a statement. The Investigation Committee said the cause of fire could be an explosion, while the state-owned RIA Novosti news agency said, citing a law-enforcement source, the plant caught fire after gas exploded. ... Full Story Top Turkey warns Syria after mortar strike Sat,29 Sep 2012 02:55 AM PDT Reuters - ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey signaled it would take action if there was a repeat of a mortar strike on its territory from inside Syria. A mortar bomb fired from Syria hit southeastern Turkey on Friday, damaging homes and workplaces in the Akcakale border area, the private Dogan news agency said. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters in New York that Ankara had reported the incident to the United Nations and NATO, in comments broadcast by CNN Turk. ... Full Story Top EU raids lead recycling firms in cartel investigation Sat,29 Sep 2012 01:53 AM PDT Reuters - BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission said it raided several lead recycling companies in a number of European Union countries on September 26 as part of an investigation into suspected cartel practices. The Commission did not name the countries or the companies, that it said had been buying old batteries and scrap lead for recycling. "The Commission has reasons to believe that the companies concerned may have violated Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which prohibits cartels and restrictive business practices," it said. ... Full Story Top

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