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| Anger grows over fuel shortage in storm-hit Northeast Friday, Nov 02, 2012 07:17 PM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tempers frayed in long gas lines and millions were still without electricity across the Northeast on Friday as the death toll from superstorm Sandy hit 102 and crews searched for more victims in devastated communities in New York and New Jersey. The U.S. government moved to ease the fuel crunch by tapping strategic reserves and buying millions of gallons of gasoline and diesel to be trucked to storm-damaged areas. With the U.S. presidential election four days away, television and newspaper images of angry storm victims could affect the campaign. ... Full Story | Top |
| Uganda says to pull out troops from Somalia over Congo charges Friday, Nov 02, 2012 06:09 PM PDT KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda will tell the United Nations it is withdrawing its forces from military operations in Somalia and other regional hotspots after the world body accused it of supporting Congolese rebels, the security minister said on Friday. Minister Wilson Mukasa said the decision was irreversible and another Cabinet minister would explain Uganda's position at the United Nations in New York. However, it was not immediately clear if an irrevocable decision had been taken. U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea says proud of its human rights record Friday, Nov 02, 2012 03:12 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - North Korea's U.N. delegation declared on Friday that it was proud of Pyongyang's social system and human rights record and rejected as baseless a U.N. monitor's report that described appalling human rights abuses in the reclusive country. Pyongyang was reacting to a report to the U.N. General Assembly's Third Committee, which focuses on rights issues, from U.N. special rapporteur on North Korea Marzuki Darusman that described "a wide range of human rights violations. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian dissident pushes to unite fragmented opposition Friday, Nov 02, 2012 02:29 PM PDT AMMAN (Reuters) - The fragmented Syrian opposition will attempt once again this weekend to forge a common policy to gain international respect, obtain weapons and, most importantly, topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a formerly imprisoned dissident said. "An alternative to the regime is dearly needed," said Riad Seif, a liberal politician who is battling cancer and managed to leave Syria only a few months ago after having been imprisoned. ... Full Story | Top |
| Prominent Irish nationalist arrested over Northern Ireland shooting Friday, Nov 02, 2012 02:07 PM PDT  BELFAST (Reuters) - An Irish nationalist acquitted earlier this year of the murder of two British soldiers in Northern Ireland was arrested on Friday in connection with the fatal shooting of a prison officer, a security source said. The murder of David Black, 52, on Thursday was the first killing of a Northern Irish prison officer in almost 20 years and the fifth fatal attack on a member of the security establishment since the 1998 Good Friday peace deal. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. renews sanctions, Sudan criticizes decision Friday, Nov 02, 2012 01:58 PM PDT WASHINGTON/KHARTOUM (Reuters) - President Barack Obama renewed U.S. sanctions on Sudan on Friday, acknowledging Khartoum had resolved disputes with South Sudan but warning that Darfur and other conflicts still impeded normal ties, the State Department said. Khartoum reacted by accusing the United States of "double standards". The order maintains several sets of U.S. sanctions imposed since 1997 that restrict U.S. trade and investment with Sudan and block the assets of the Sudanese government and certain officials. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nigerian army kills 30 in militant bastion: witnesses Friday, Nov 02, 2012 01:41 PM PDT  MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian troops shot dead at least 30 people during raids in the northeast city of Maiduguri, bastion of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram, witnesses and hospital staff said on Friday. Boko Haram says it wants to create an Islamic state in Nigeria and its fighters have killed hundreds in bomb and gun attacks targeting security forces, politicians and civilians since launching an uprising in 2009. The sect has become the top security threat to Africa's biggest energy-producing state. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudan oil state rebels say repulsed government advance Friday, Nov 02, 2012 01:38 PM PDT KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Rebels in Sudan's main oil state said on Friday they had killed scores of government troops in one of the largest clashes reported in the South Kordofan region in recent months. Sudan's armed forces were not available to comment on the report by the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N). Access to South Kordofan, which borders newly independent South Sudan, is restricted and it was not possible to verify the report independently. "The SPLM-N were able to kill 70 of the enemy forces," the rebels said in a statement, adding that seven insurgents died. ... Full Story | Top |
| Georgia's new government to cut president's funding in 2013 Friday, Nov 02, 2012 01:10 PM PDT  TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia's new government led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili plans to cut President Mikheil Saakashvili's funding next year in a move to put pressure on his political rival. Political novice Ivanishvili became Georgia's prime minister after voters relegated Saakashvili's ruling party to the minority in a bitterly contested October 1 election. The election ended Saakashvili's nine-year dominance of Georgia, a focus of tensions between Russia and the West and a transit country for Caspian Sea oil and gas exports to Europe. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israeli official sees "shocking" dictatorship in Egypt Friday, Nov 02, 2012 01:06 PM PDT  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A senior Israeli official described Egypt's new government on Friday as a "shocking dictatorial force" and predicted there would be no high-level contacts between the two countries, but the Israeli government distanced itself from his comments. The remarks by Amos Gilad, a top aide to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, were some of the harshest yet about the rise to prominence of Egypt's new Islamist president Mohamed Mursi, who was elected in June. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine opposition complains of stolen seats Friday, Nov 02, 2012 12:31 PM PDT KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian opposition parties accused President Viktor Yanukovich's Party of the Regions of "stealing" several parliamentary seats as the vote count from Sunday's election neared completion on Friday. The Party of the Regions is set to retain a majority in the 450-seat parliament with their traditional communist allies and some independents. The opposition voiced suspicions about sudden swings in counting away from opposition candidates and in favor of the Regions in some constituencies. "If manipulations continue ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Union at Kenya's port of Mombasa calls off strike Friday, Nov 02, 2012 11:14 AM PDT MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) - Workers at Kenya's main port of Mombasa called off a strike on Friday after the management issued letters of employment to casual staff who were demanding permanent jobs. The strike, which was in its second day, had left loading and unloading at a standstill at the main gateway for East Africa's trade, which handles imports such as fuel for Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria army quits base on strategic Aleppo road Friday, Nov 02, 2012 11:13 AM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian army abandoned its last base near the northern town of Saraqeb after a fierce assault by rebels, further isolating the strategically important second city Aleppo from the capital. But in a political setback to forces battling to topple President Bashar al-Assad, the United Nations said the rebels appeared to have committed a war crime after seizing the base. ... Full Story | Top |
| Albanian communist-era dissident dies of burn wounds Friday, Nov 02, 2012 11:08 AM PDT TIRANA (Reuters) - An Albanian communist-era dissident died on Friday of severe burns after he set himself on fire during a hunger strike calling for compensation for time spent in jail under communism. Lirak Bejko, 47, set himself on fire three weeks ago, two days after another dissident - both of them among a group of 20 hunger strikers. The dissidents said they had been paid only a fraction of the money owed to them under a 2007 law meant to compensate political prisoners held during the Stalinist regime of late Albanian leader Enver Hoxha. ... Full Story | Top |
| Slovenian PM says will ask court to reject referendum demand Friday, Nov 02, 2012 10:43 AM PDT  LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said on Friday he will ask the Constitutional Court to reject opposition demands for a referendum on a law his government hopes will help lower the risk of needing a bailout. The opposition on Tuesday called for referendums on two laws but parliamentary speaker Gregor Virant earlier on Friday rejected its call for a referendum on a law that enables an establishment of a state company to take over bad loans of local banks. ... Full Story | Top |
| Polish mother accused of killing five of her children Friday, Nov 02, 2012 10:38 AM PDT WARSAW (Reuters) - Polish police arrested a 41-year-old woman on suspicion of killing five of her children, local media quoted prosecutors as saying on Friday. The bodies of four of the children were found in or near their home in a village in south-eastern Poland. Authorities say a fifth child was killed but the body has not been found. (Reporting by Dagmara Leszkowicz; Editing by Robert Woodward) Full Story | Top |
| Czech opposition tells banks to ignore government pension reform Friday, Nov 02, 2012 10:37 AM PDT  PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech's left-wing opposition advised asset managers on Friday to ignore a government pension reform slated to launch in January and wait for the next election after which the changes may be reversed. The reform, as planned by the centre-right administration of Petr Necas, will allow people to divert some of their social insurance payments to private pension funds, lifting part of the burden of caring for an ageing population from the state budget. ... Full Story | Top |
| Acquitted Greek journalist says press muzzled by elite Friday, Nov 02, 2012 10:36 AM PDT  ATHENS (Reuters) - The Greek journalist put on trial for publishing a list of Swiss bank account holders accused Greece's political and business elite on Friday of trying to muzzle the press to cover up chronic corruption. Costas Vaxevanis was acquitted on Thursday of charges of violating personal privacy laws after he published the list of 2,059 names of prominent Greeks including several politicians, shipping magnates, doctors, lawyers, and housewives. "The main problem in Greece is the people who govern it. ... Full Story | Top |
| Serbian defense minister accuses police of tapping his phone Friday, Nov 02, 2012 10:18 AM PDT  BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia's defense minister accused the police on Friday of phone-tapping him and other senior officials, including President Tomislav Nikolic, and said a group within the interior ministry were responsible. The Socialist-nationalist government that came to power in July has pledged to root out high-level corruption, nepotism and organized crime, a precondition for Serbia's entry into the European Union. Defense Minister Aleksandar Vucic said he received information about the surveillance a few days ago. ... Full Story | Top |
| Inquest must see if UK shares spy-death blame-lawyer Friday, Nov 02, 2012 10:15 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - An inquest into the death of a former Russian agent who died in London after being poisoned with a radioactive isotope could examine whether the British government is culpable in his murder, a lawyer said on Friday. Alexander Litvinenko, a Kremlin critic who had been granted British citizenship, died days after he was poisoned with polonium-210, a highly toxic radioactive isotope, which was slipped to him in a cup of tea at a plush London hotel in 2006. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russian activists say have freed 12 human "slaves" from shop Friday, Nov 02, 2012 10:14 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian human rights activists said on Friday they had freed 12 Central Asians held captive as modern-day slaves in the basement of a Moscow food store, some of them for as long as a decade. The allegations - which are being investigated by the authorities - could not immediately be confirmed independently, but activists said they were consistent with reports of hundreds of thousands of such "slaves". "Six years ago, a survey on human trafficking was conducted at the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Peru court plans to clean up billions in land bonds Friday, Nov 02, 2012 10:09 AM PDT LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's constitutional court plans to require the government to finally honor land reform bonds it issued 40 years ago but in most cases never paid, a ruling that could be worth billions of dollars to bondholders in Peru and abroad. The court's president, Ernesto Alvarez, said the ruling will probably come out "in the next three months" and would aim to clear up a bitter chapter in Peruvian history. ... Full Story | Top |
| Former Ivory Coast president is well enough to stand trial Friday, Nov 02, 2012 10:05 AM PDT  AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo, who stands accused of multiple war crimes, is well enough to stand trial, judges at the International Criminal Court ruled on Friday. But they also warned that his fragile mental health required close monitoring and appropriate treatment. Preparations for Gbagbo's trial for crimes against humanity including murder, rape and persecution have been on hold since June, when he told judges the ill-treatment he had received at the hands of his captors in Ivory Coast had left him unfit to stand trial. ... Full Story | Top |
| Islamists protest in Cairo, call for Islamic law Friday, Nov 02, 2012 09:47 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - More than 1,000 Islamists rallied in Cairo on Friday and called for the implementation of sharia Islamic law, highlighting divisions in society as rival factions jostle to shape the new Egypt. Liberals have locked horns over the role of Islam with Islamists who dominate a 100-strong assembly that is drawing up a new constitution, which must be approved in a referendum before a new parliamentary election can be held. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arab Spring jitters complicate British-Gulf ties Friday, Nov 02, 2012 09:29 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - With billions of dollars worth of deals and vital geostrategic interests at stake, Britain can ill afford to upset its Gulf allies, yet signs are emerging of growing Arab irritation over the issue of human rights. The Arab Spring has ratcheted up sensitivity in the largely autocratic Gulf region over perceived criticism of how it deals with dissent, making Britain's efforts to balance its push for rights and democracy with other interests increasingly tricky. ... Full Story | Top |
| French conservatives gear up against gay marriage Friday, Nov 02, 2012 09:24 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - Roman Catholic bishops and conservative politicians are stepping their campaign against French President Francois Hollande's plan to legalize gay marriage days before his government presents its draft law in cabinet. Paris Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois is expected to call for a broad mobilization against the law when Catholic bishops meet in the southwestern pilgrimage town of Lourdes for their annual plenary on Saturday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Uganda says to pull out of Somalia over Congo charges Friday, Nov 02, 2012 08:45 AM PDT KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda plans to tell the United Nations it will withdraw its forces from military operations in regional hotspots including Somalia, a security minister said on Friday, in response to U.N. allegations it is supporting Congolese rebels. Security Minister Wilson Mukasa described the decision as "irreversible" and said another cabinet minister was travelling to New York to explain its position to the world body. In a leaked report, a U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada job market stalls in October after hefty gains Friday, Nov 02, 2012 08:44 AM PDT  OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian job growth stalled in October after two months of strong hiring, Statistics Canada data showed on Friday, confirming expectations employment gains would ease to reflect sluggish economic growth. The economy added 1,800 jobs in the month, even lower than the small increase of 5,000 jobs forecast in a Reuters poll, while the unemployment rate held steady at 7.4 percent. Economists have argued that with the economy expanding at a rate of about 2 percent, employment growth of the magnitude seen in the previous two months was not sustainable. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine opposition complains of stolen seats as count nears end Friday, Nov 02, 2012 08:38 AM PDT  KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian opposition parties accused President Viktor Yanukovich's Party of the Regions of "stealing" several parliamentary seats as the vote count from Sunday's election neared completion on Friday. The Party of the Regions is set to retain a majority in the 450-seat parliament with their traditional communist allies and some independents. The opposition voiced suspicions about sudden swings in counting away from opposition candidates and in favor of the Regions in some constituencies. "If manipulations continue ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Myanmar president signs long-awaited foreign investment law Friday, Nov 02, 2012 08:00 AM PDT  YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's president signed a foreign investment law, state television reported on Friday, clearing the way for overseas companies to commit funds to the country after long delays. The bill had passed between the country's legislative and executive branches since March in a tussle involving a government eager to attract foreign investment, tycoons determined to protect their monopolies, and small businesses keen not to be shut out. The bill was finally approved by parliament earlier this week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen kill 18 in Pakistan bus attack: police Friday, Nov 02, 2012 07:38 AM PDT ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Gunmen attacked a bus in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province on Friday, killing at least 18 people including a woman and a child, police said. Most of the victims died from fire caused by the attack at a petrol station in Khuzdar, a town about a four-hour drive from Quetta. The fire engulfed the van, the petrol station and four nearby shops. No further details were available. Several militant groups are active in Baluchistan, Pakistan's biggest but poorest province. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tanzanian police clash with protesters over arrested cleric Friday, Nov 02, 2012 07:18 AM PDT DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Muslim protesters clashed with police in Tanzania's commercial capital on Friday during a protest over the arrest of a hardline Islamic cleric, witnesses said. Police fired tear gas and at least 30 people were arrested. Similar demonstrations have erupted sporadically over the last few weeks, raising religious tensions in the relatively stable and secular east African country. Sheikh Ponda Issa Ponda was arrested last month and charged with illegally trespassing on private property and theft. He is in police custody after failing to make bail. ... Full Story | Top |
| Increased air raids bring death and ruin to Damascus suburbs Friday, Nov 02, 2012 07:07 AM PDT AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian government war planes have intensified air strikes on suburbs of the capital Damascus that have fallen under rebel control, taking the death and destruction to new levels in the 19-month-old conflict. Civilians have been the main victims, activists say. Footage posted by the opposition shows scenes of carnage, with mangled bodies and houses reduced to rubble. ... Full Story | Top |
| London mayor slams "inertia" over calls for airport growth Friday, Nov 02, 2012 06:59 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - London's mayor accused the British government on Friday of "utter inertia" on airport expansion policy with pressure growing for a launch of major infrastructure projects to help shore up the floundering economy. Airport capacity is a divisive issue in Britain, pitting popular London Mayor Boris Johnson against Prime Minister David Cameron at a time when the British leader is facing a damaging rebellion from inside his own ruling Conservative party. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jailed Irish tycoon Quinn completes fall from grace Friday, Nov 02, 2012 06:50 AM PDT  DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland jailed former billionaire Sean Quinn on Friday for failing to disclose assets he was hiding abroad, completing the fall from grace of the richest man in Ireland's "Celtic Tiger" boom. Quinn, whose four billion euro ($5.2 billion) business empire collapsed after a disastrous investment in the now failed Anglo Irish Bank, is the first major player jailed in connection with the country's economic collapse, having come to personify its boom and bust. ... Full Story | Top |
| Merkel seeks coalition unity for 2013 election challenges Friday, Nov 02, 2012 06:33 AM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel is under pressure to resolve a dispute on taxes and welfare between her centre-right coalition partners this weekend in order to present a united front before elections in 2013. The challenge for Merkel's conservatives and their junior Free Democrat (FDP) partners is to ensure that any compromise on rival welfare proposals does not threaten the government's ambitious goal of balancing the budget by 2014. ... Full Story | Top |
| Political meltdown looms for Israel's centrist Kadima Friday, Nov 02, 2012 06:11 AM PDT  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's once dominant Kadima party faces eclipse at a January election, with polls suggesting the movement created by former prime minister Ariel Sharon could be replaced by new and revived forces at the helm of centre-left opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Surveys ahead of the January 22 election predict victory for Netanyahu and his right-wing Likud bloc, and a realignment that revives the ailing Labor party as leader of a strong centre-left, championing domestic issues of the economy and the ultra-religious' role in Israeli society. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. rights boss chides China over Tibet protests Friday, Nov 02, 2012 06:02 AM PDT  GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations' most senior human rights official urged China on Friday to address deep-rooted frustrations that have led to desperate forms of protest by Tibetans, including some 60 self-immolations since March 2011. Navi Pillay called on the Chinese authorities to release detainees, allow independent human rights monitors to visit Tibet, and to lift restrictions on media access to the restive Himalayan region. ... Full Story | Top |
| Instant View: Canada adds 1,800 new jobs in October Friday, Nov 02, 2012 05:58 AM PDT TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's economy added 1,800 jobs in October compared with 52,100 jobs created in the previous month, Statistics Canada said on Friday. All the gains were in full-time work and roughly in line with market expectations. COMMENTARY MARK CHANDLER, HEAD OF CANADIAN FIXED INCOME AND CURRENCY STRATEGY AT ROYAL BANK OF CANADA "Soft in Canada, soft in the core, but given how volatile the Canadian numbers can be, really this is about what people should have expected. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian government forces quit town linking Aleppo to south: monitor Friday, Nov 02, 2012 05:43 AM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have withdrawn from their last base near the northern town of Saraqeb, further weakening his ability to fight rebels in the country's largest city Aleppo, a violence monitoring group said on Friday. Saraqeb straddles the junction of two main highways leading to Aleppo and the pullout will make it harder for government forces to reinforce or resupply Aleppo, where they have been battling with rebels for control since late July. ... Full Story | Top |
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