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| Four injured in fire at State Department Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 04:31 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A fire broke out during routine maintenance at the U.S. State Department on Saturday, injuring four maintenance workers, officials said. The fire began inside ductwork on the building's eighth floor at about 11 a.m. (1600 GMT) as workers were replacing insulation, State Department and fire officials said. Workers doused the fire with hand-held extinguishers before fire department personnel arrived, District of Columbia Battalion Chief Edward Mills said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iraqi Kurds send more troops into standoff with Iraq army Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 04:19 PM PST ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's Kurdish region has sent reinforcements to a disputed area where its troops are involved in a standoff with the Iraqi army, a senior Kurdish military official said, despite calls on both sides for dialogue to calm the situation. The second military buildup this year illustrates how far relations between Baghdad's central government, led by Shi'ite Muslim Arabs, and ethnic Kurds have deteriorated, testing Iraq's federal cohesion nearly a year after U.S. troops left. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy center-left picks candidate for next prime minister Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 03:21 PM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Italian center-left voters head to the polls on Sunday to choose the candidate who will be the leading contender to succeed Mario Monti as prime minister after a general election in March. Opinion surveys show Democratic Party leader Pier Luigi Bersani is front-runner among five candidates, followed by youthful Florence mayor Matteo Renzi, who has vowed to shake up Italy's political establishment if he is chosen. Voting booths will be open from 08:00 to 20:00 local time (07:00 GMT to 19:00 GMT) with results due around midnight (23:00 GMT). ... Full Story | Top |
| Catalonia election tests Spanish unity Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 03:11 PM PST  BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) - Voters in Spain's Catalonia region go to the polls on Sunday and are likely to elect a pro-independence leader who will test Spanish unity at a time of deep economic crisis. Opinion polls show two-thirds of voters in this region on the French border will cast ballots for parties, both rightist and leftist, that want Catalan independence from Spain. Catalan President Artur Mas will likely win re-election since his conservative Convergence and Union party is forecast to take a majority, some 62 to 64 seats, in the 135-seat regional assembly, or Parliament. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian judges announce strike in protest at Mursi decree Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 02:21 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - The body representing Egypt's judges called on Saturday for an immediate strike in all courts and prosecutors offices in protest against President Mohamed Mursi's decree expanding his powers. At a meeting in Cairo, the Judges Club called on Mursi to retract the decree and to reinstate Abdel Maguid Mahmoud, the Hosni Mubarak-era prosecutor general who was sacked as part of the decision unveiled on Thursday. (Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Ralph Gowling) Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mursi must scrap "dictatorial" decree: ElBaradei Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 02:21 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Prominent opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei said on Saturday there could be no dialogue with Egypt's president until he scrapped a "dictatorial" decree that he said gave the Islamist leader Mohamed Mursi the powers of a pharaoh. The presidential decree issued on Thursday by Mursi, elected in June with the Muslim Brotherhood behind him, expanded his powers and caused fury amongst his opponents, prompting violent clashes in central Cairo and other cities on Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mursi faces judicial revolt over decree Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 02:21 PM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi faced a rebellion from judges who accused him on Saturday of expanding his powers at their expense, deepening a crisis that has triggered violence in the street and exposed the country's deep divisions. The Judges' Club, a body representing judges across Egypt, called for a strike during a meeting interrupted with chants demanding the "downfall of the regime" - the rallying cry in the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak last year. ... Full Story | Top |
| African presidents urge Congo rebels to abandon war Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 02:20 PM PST  GOMA/KAMPALA (Reuters) - African leaders called on eastern rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday to abandon their aim of toppling the government and leave the city of Goma they captured this week. The appeal came from heads of state of the central African Great Lakes region who fear that if left unchecked the offensive by the M23 rebels could drag the volatile, ethnically-diverse and mineral-rich region back into another bloody conflict. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mauritania's Abdel Aziz returns home after gunshot treatment Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 01:54 PM PST  NOAKCHOTT (Reuters) - Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz returned home on Saturday after more than a month of medical convalescence in France, calming fears concerning the state of his health and uncertainty over who was managing the country in his absence. Abdel Aziz, an ally of the West in its fight against al Qaeda in Africa, flew to Paris on October 14 after soldiers opened fire on his unescorted car as he returned to the capital Noakchott from his country residence. The government and Abdel Aziz himself have said the shooting was accidental. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thousands of Italians rally against Monti's austerity Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 01:35 PM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of students and workers rallied across Italy on Saturday to protest against austerity measures imposed by Prime Minister Mario Monti's technocrat government. Appointed a year ago when Italy came close to a Greek-style debt crisis, Monti has pushed through painful tax increases and spending cuts to try to rein in public finances at a time when schools and universities say they desperately need more support. "We need to fight for our rights. ... Full Story | Top |
| ETA calls for talks over "definitive end" with Spain, France Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 12:54 PM PST MADRID (Reuters) - Basque separatist group ETA said on Saturday it wanted talks with the Spanish and French governments to negotiate a definitive end to military operations and a handover of its arms. Basque newspaper Naiz published an advance summary of an ETA statement, which said the group wanted talks over the return of ETA prisoners to the northern Basque region, an end to its military structure, and a full disarmament. The paper said the full statement would be published on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama visits bookstore, promotes "Small Business Saturday" Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 12:43 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, in a bid to show support for small businesses, took his daughters on an early Christmas shopping trip on Saturday as the U.S. retail sector swings into high gear this holiday season. Promoting "Small Business Saturday," the third annual event that encourages consumers to support independently-owned local shops, Obama took his daughters Sasha and Malia to "One More Page Books" in Arlington, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. ... Full Story | Top |
| Defeated Sierra Leone opposition says election flawed Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 12:38 PM PST FREETOWN (Reuters) - Sierra Leone's main opposition party on Saturday attacked the credibility of a poll that saw incumbent President Ernest Bai Koroma elected to a second term in an outright victory. The dispute risks tarnishing a vote deemed free and fair by observers and that many hope will help pave the way for an economic revival of the war-scarred West African nation. Koroma's main challenger Julius Maada Bio, a former military junta leader, said "systemic and widespread irregularities, malpractices and injustices ... undermined the credibility of the results. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Tomato revolution" gains momentum in Bulgaria Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 12:14 PM PST SOFIA (Reuters) - Hundreds of Bulgarians, inspired by a shaggy-haired poet, protested in front of parliament on Saturday, some of them throwing tomatoes in what they are calling a "tomato revolution" against corruption. Waving banners saying "Stop political hypocrisy", the protesters were kept too far away from parliament by police to hit the building. But they vowed their protests would grow ahead of a parliamentary election due next July. "This is only the beginning of the protests," dissident Nikolay Kolev, also known as "Bosiya" (The Barefooted), said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bomb kills four Yemenis marking Shi'ite Muslim Ashura festival Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 12:09 PM PST SANAA (Reuters) - At least three Shi'ite Muslims were killed on Saturday in a bomb attack targeting the first public commemoration of the anniversary of the death of a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad in the Yemeni capital in half a century. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but al Qaeda and its affiliates, comprising Sunni Muslim militants, have targeted Shi'ites in the past. ... Full Story | Top |
| New corruption scandal rocks Brazilian government Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 11:57 AM PST  BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, moving quickly to nip a new scandal in the bud, ordered the dismissal on Saturday of government officials allegedly involved in a bribery ring, including the country's deputy attorney general. Federal police raided government offices in Brasilia and Sao Paulo on Friday and arrested six people for running an influence peddling ring that sold government approvals to businessmen in return for bribes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Morocco says breaks al Qaeda cell sending youth to Mali Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 11:50 AM PST RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco said on Saturday it had broken up a militant cell that was training youths to send them to fight in Mali, which has become the focus of international concern over the spread of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The interior ministry said in a statement on state news agency MAP it broke up a cell operating in the cities of Nador, Casablanca, Guercif, Laayoune and Kalaat Sraghna. Around 20 people had been sent to fight with AQIM and al Qaeda ally the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, and others had been sent to Libya, it said. ... Full Story | Top |
| German Pirate party apologizes for leadership shipwreck Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 11:33 AM PST BOCHUM, Germany (Reuters) - The leader of Germany's Pirates, whose shock success in four state elections thrust it onto the political stage, apologized on Saturday for the fierce infighting that has contributed to a plunge in popularity and called for unity. The Pirates have seen support drop from 13 percent six months ago to under 5 percent now, the threshold needed for it to enter parliament at next year's federal election. A strong showing at the election could split the leftist vote and help secure victory for Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hamas leader defiant as Israel eases Gaza curbs Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 10:57 AM PST  GAZA (Reuters) - Israel eased restrictions on Gaza fishermen and farmers on Saturday, Palestinian officials said, advancing a three-day-old truce brokered by Egypt after a week of fierce fighting. Gaza's children also headed back to school in their hundreds of thousands, in another indication normal life was returning after eight days of fierce cross-border fighting in which 166 Palestinians and six Israelis were killed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Burkina Faso calls upon Mali to open talks with northern rebels Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 10:46 AM PST BAMAKO (Reuters) - Burkina Faso, which is attempting to mediate an end to the crisis in its West African neighbour Mali, on Saturday called upon Malian President Dioncounda Traore to open direct talks with Islamist fighters in control of the country's north. Military experts from Africa, the United Nations and Europe have drafted plans to retake control of northern Mali, which fell to rebels in March after a coup in the capital Bamako created a power vacuum. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Berlusconi hints he may run in 2013 election Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 10:43 AM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi hinted on Saturday that he may seek to run in spring elections, changing his mind again and deepening chaos in his center-right party. A day before the center-left is due to hold primary elections to pick a candidate to lead their alliance in the national poll, the center-right is still unsure about whether to hold its own primary vote, which hinges on Berlusconi's plans. Asked by reporters on Saturday whether he was considering "returning to the playing field", Berlusconi said, "I am thinking about it. ... Full Story | Top |
| War-weary Goma frets under uneasy rebel occupation Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 10:29 AM PST GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Hours before rebels captured the eastern Congolese city of Goma on Tuesday, more than a thousand prisoners hammered a hole through the prison wall and escaped. "This is going to have a big impact on the security of the city," said a local magistrate who was afraid to give his name. The mass prison break highlights the challenges the M23 rebel movement now faces in holding and administering Goma and the expanding territory it has captured in a region long fought over for its rich mineral deposits. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK, U.N. hope Mideast nuclear talks take place next year Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 09:05 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain and the United Nations said on Saturday they hoped a conference aimed at trying to ban nuclear weapons in the Middle East could take place soon after the United States said it would not happen next month as originally planned. If and when it happens, the conference is likely to be fraught as Iran and Arab states say Israel's presumed nuclear arsenal is the main threat to security in the region, while Israel and the West see Tehran as the main proliferation danger. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. boxer Hector "Macho" Camacho dies after shooting Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 09:04 AM PST  SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) - Three-time world boxing champion Hector "Macho" Camacho died on Saturday, four days after he was shot in the face in a drive-by shooting, doctors said. He was 50. Camacho was pronounced dead after being taken off life support following a second heart attack early Saturday morning, Rio Piedras Medical Director Ernesto Torres told reporters. Puerto Rico officials planned a public wake for the boxer at the Department of Sports & Recreation headquarters in San Juan, but details were pending. The former U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| UPDATE 2-U.S. boxer Hector 'Macho' Camacho dies after shooting Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 09:03 AM PST * Shot in face while sitting in a car with a friend * Police say cocaine found in vehicle, no arrests made * Battled drug and alcohol problems throughout career (Adds boxing career highlights) SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Three-time world boxing champion Hector "Macho" Camacho died on Saturday, four days after he was shot in the face in a drive-by shooting, doctors said. He was 50. Camacho was pronounced dead after being taken off life support following a second heart attack early Saturday morning, Rio Piedras Medical Director Ernesto Torres told reporters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Alabama shooter kills one sheriff's deputy, wounds another Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 08:43 AM PST  (Reuters) - A man shot and killed one Alabama sheriff's deputy and critically wounded another when they went to his home near Fairhope on a report that he was acting aggressively toward family members, authorities said on Saturday. The shooter, Michael Jansen, also was killed in the exchange of gunfire on Friday afternoon, the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| At least 7 killed in attack on Shi'ite procession in Pakistan Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 08:42 AM PST  ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A roadside bomb killed at least seven people near a Shi'ite procession in Pakistan on Saturday, police said, with security forces on high alert over fears of large-scale sectarian attacks on the minority sect across the country. Pakistan, a nuclear-armed U.S. ally, is suspending phone coverage in many cities this weekend, an important one in the Shi'ite Muslim calendar, after a series of bomb attacks on Shi'ites triggered by mobile phones. Hardline Sunnis have threatened more attacks as the Shi'ite mourning month of Muharram comes to a climax. ... Full Story | Top |
| African leaders tell Congo rebels to stop war Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 08:25 AM PST KAMPALA (Reuters) - Heads of state from Africa's Great Lakes region on Saturday urged rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo's turbulent east to stop expanding their war and leave the town of Goma which they captured this week. The leaders met in the Ugandan capital Kampala to try to bring an end to the conflict after the M23 rebels said they planned to "liberate" the vast central African country. The M23 is widely thought to be backed by Rwanda, a claim it denies. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK foster row sparks political furor, spotlights anti-EU party Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 08:15 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - British politicians berated a local council in England on Saturday after it removed children from a foster family's care because of its support for a political party that wants the UK to exit the European Union and backs tighter immigration rules. The row has spotlighted the UK Independence Party (UKIP) that has seen its popularity rise in recent months on the back of growing voter disenchantment with Britain's membership of the EU, and has raised hackles among conservative politicians who accuse the left of excessive political correctness. ... Full Story | Top |
| Foster row sparks political furore, spotlights anti-EU party Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 08:14 AM PST LONDON (Reuters) - British politicians berated a local council in England on Saturday after it removed children from a foster family's care because of its support for a political party that wants the UK to exit the European Union and backs tighter immigration rules. The row has spotlighted the UK Independence Party (UKIP) that has seen its popularity rise in recent months on the back of growing voter disenchantment with Britain's membership of the EU, and has raised hackles among conservative politicians who accuse the left of excessive political correctness. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lebanon army seizes men suspected of bomb plot against Shi'ites Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 08:10 AM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Lebanese army said on Saturday it had arrested five Syrian men found with explosives and suspected of planning an attack on a Shi'ite Muslim procession on Sunday. The war in neighboring Syria, pitting majority Sunni Muslim rebels against President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle of Alawites - an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam - has widened rifts in Lebanon, still politically divided along sectarian lines deepened by its own 15-year civil war. ... Full Story | Top |
| Susan Rice battles critics over style, substance, perceptions Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 07:45 AM PST  UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Susan Rice has had a series of diplomatic triumphs as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. President Barack Obama, an old friend, showed he has her back when last week he publicly challenged her Republican critics over the Benghazi controversy to "go after me" rather than her. She knew former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright from the age of 4. And yet Rice is now fighting for her political future. ... Full Story | Top |
| US boxer Hector 'Macho' Camacho dead Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 07:17 AM PST  SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) - Former U.S. boxing champ Hector "Macho" Camacho, who was shot in the face this week, died on Saturday after being removed from life support, Rio Piedras Medical Director Ernesto Torres told reporters. He was 50. Camacho had been declared brain dead on Thursday after being struck in the face in a drive-by shooting earlier in the week. Two gunmen opened fire on Camacho and a friend, Adrian Mojica Moreno, 49, on Tuesday as they sat in a car outside a liquor store in the San Juan suburb of Bayamon, Camacho's birthplace. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gaza conflict shows Israel must "bow" to Palestinian rights: Iran Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 07:09 AM PST DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the head of the Hamas government in Gaza on Saturday that eight days of cross-border fighting showed that Israel had no choice but to "bow" to Palestinian rights, according to Iran's IRNA news agency. The Iranian-backed Hamas has basked in what it called a victory against Israel after an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire on Thursday ended the conflict in which 163 Palestinians and six Israelis were killed. IRNA said Ahmadinejad, in the rare telephone call with Ismail Haniyeh, praised the Palestinian "resistance and perseverance". ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkey expects NATO Patriot missile decision within week Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 07:07 AM PST  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey expects NATO to make a decision about deploying surface-to-air Patriot missiles along its southern border with Syria within the next week, Defence Minister Ismet Yilmaz said on Saturday. Turkey asked NATO for the Patriot system, designed to intercept aircraft or missiles, on Wednesday after weeks of talks about how to shore up security on its 900-km (560-mile) border as the conflict in Syria deepens. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greek police recover stolen Olympia artefacts, arrest three Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 07:04 AM PST ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek police have recovered antiquities stolen from a museum in Ancient Olympia and arrested three people, police said on Saturday. The robbery in February, which came just after a theft at the country's National Gallery, prompted outrage from many arts and culture workers who said budget cutbacks from austerity measures had left Greece's vast art treasures at risk. During the robbery, armed thieves overpowered a female guard and made off with about 70 bronze, pottery and other artefacts at the museum in Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Brotherhood calls protest to support Mursi Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 06:44 AM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood called for a mass demonstration in Cairo on Tuesday to show support for President Mohamed Mursi, who is facing a storm of protest for issuing a decree that expanded his powers. In a statement published on its website, the Brotherhood also called for shows of support in public squares across Egypt after early evening prayers on Sunday to show support for Mursi's decisions. Parties opposed to the decree have also called for a protest on Tuesday in Cairo, though in a different square from the one where the Brotherhood called on its supporters to ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. boxer Hector 'Macho' Camacho dead Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 06:39 AM PST SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Former U.S. boxing champ Hector "Macho" Camacho, who was shot in the face this week, died on Saturday after being removed from life support, Rio Piedras Medical Director Ernesto Torres told reporters. He was 50. Camacho had been declared brain dead on Thursday after being struck in the face in a drive-by shooting earlier in the week. Two gunmen opened fire on Camacho and a friend, Adrian Mojica Moreno, 49, on Tuesday as they sat in a car outside a liquor store in the San Juan suburb of Bayamon, Camacho's birthplace. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sarkozy denies receiving money from L'Oreal heiress Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 06:37 AM PST  PARIS (Reuters) - Former president Nicolas Sarkozy denied receiving "a penny" in campaign funds from France's richest woman Liliane Bettencourt, according to excerpts of his testimony to judges published on Saturday by the French daily Sud-Ouest. Sarkozy, who lost power in May, was questioned for 12 hours on Thursday by a judge who is trying to establish whether his election win in 2007 was aided by illegal funding by the L'Oreal heiress. He denies any wrongdoing and his spokeswoman was not immediately available to comment on Saturday about the report. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arafat's body to be exhumed on Tuesday in murder inquiry Saturday, Nov 24, 2012 06:24 AM PST  RAMALLAH (Reuters) - The body of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will be exhumed on Tuesday, eight years after his death, in an investigation to establish if he was murdered, a Palestinian official said on Saturday. A French court opened a murder inquiry in August into Arafat's death in Paris after a Swiss institute said it had discovered high levels of radioactive polonium on his clothing, which was supplied by his widow, Suha. ... Full Story | Top |
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