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| Japan's new government sticks to three-year nuclear safety goal Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 07:37 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's new government said on Friday it hoped to stick to a three year deadline to decide whether to restart all nuclear reactors after safety checks, despite the country's newly formed nuclear regulator saying the deadline was impossible to meet. Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, who is also responsible for energy policy, said reactors would be restarted as units received the all-clear from the atomic regulator. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lawmakers, Obama in last chance talks on "fiscal cliff" Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 07:14 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and lawmakers are launching a last-chance round of budget talks days before a New Year's deadline to reach a deal or watch the economy go off a "fiscal cliff." Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will meet congressional leaders from both parties at the White House on Friday at 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT) to try to revive negotiations to avoid tax hikes and spending cuts - together worth $600 billion - that will begin to take effect on January 1. ... Full Story | Top |
| CAR appeals for French help against rebels, Paris balks Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 06:02 PM PST  BANGUI (Reuters) - The president of the Central African Republic appealed on Thursday for France and the United States to help push back rebels threatening his government and the capital, but Paris said its troops were only ready to protect French nationals. The exchanges came as regional African leaders tried to broker a ceasefire deal and as rebels said they had temporarily halted their advance on Bangui, the capital, to allow talks to take place. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. suspends embassy operations in rebel-hit Central African Republic Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 05:36 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Thursday it was suspending operations at its embassy in the Central African Republic as rebels appeared poised to move on the capital of the impoverished but resource-rich nation. U.S. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said the U.S. embassy had temporarily suspended operations and that the U.S. ambassador and other embassy personnel had left the country. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan voters back new PM cabinet, economy top priority Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 04:42 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - More than half of Japanese voters support new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet, media surveys published on Friday showed, with the country's stagnant economy topping the list of problems voters want the hawkish new leader to tackle. Abe took office on Wednesday, after his conservative Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) landslide election victory this month, promising to revive the world's third-biggest economy with bold monetary easing and big spending by the debt-laden government. ... Full Story | Top |
| Secret UK files lift lid on Thatcher-Reagan Falklands contacts Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 04:07 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher wrote an emotional letter to U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the 1982 Falklands War calling him the "only person" who could understand her position, formerly secret documents showed on Friday. Newly declassified files from 1982 lift the lid on contacts between the two leaders over the crisis and reveal the extent of the pressure Thatcher felt she was under when Argentina invaded the remote South Atlantic archipelago to reclaim what it said was its sovereign territory, triggering a 10-week war. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lawmakers set up 11th-hour bid on "fiscal cliff" Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 03:30 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers on Thursday gave themselves a last chance to prevent the United States from plunging off a "fiscal cliff" by setting up a late session in Congress a day before taxes are due to rise for most working Americans. Republican leaders in the House of Representatives told their members to be back in Washington from the Christmas holiday break on Sunday in case they need to vote on budget measures. ... Full Story | Top |
| Apple CEO's pay takes big hit vs. record 2011 package Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 02:44 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook's 2012 compensation package of $4.17 million is a huge cut on paper for the top executive of the most valuable U.S. corporation, after a 2011 package fattened by more than $376 million in long-term stock awards. Cook received the largest single pay package awarded to a company CEO in about a decade when he replaced Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in August last year, shortly before the Silicon Valley legend's death in October 2011. The maker of the iPhone and iPad made the 2012 compensation disclosures in a regulatory filing on Thursday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Former President George H.W. Bush remains in intensive care Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 02:38 PM PST  AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Former President George H.W. Bush remained in the intensive care unit of a Houston hospital on Thursday, according to a hospital spokesman. Bush, 88, a Republican who during his one term in office led a coalition that ejected Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991, was admitted to Methodist Hospital November 23 for bronchitis. He was transferred to intensive care on Sunday after setbacks including a persistent fever, family spokesman Jim McGrath has said. "I don't have any guidance so far today except to say no news is good news," McGrath said on Thursday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nigeria says destroys bomb factory, kills 5 gunmen Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 02:23 PM PST KADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) - The Nigerian army said soldiers killed five "suspected terrorists" and destroyed a bomb making factory on Thursday in the northern city of Kaduna where the Islamist sect Boko Haram is active. Kaduna, in the mainly Muslim north, has been the target of several attacks by Boko Haram since the group's low-level insurgency intensified over two years ago. "On the approach to the factory, some suspected terrorists opened fire and also threw already primed Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) at the troops," Kaduna Army spokesman Sani Kukasheka Usman said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Georgian leader vetoes amnesty bill in duel with parliament Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 01:19 PM PST  TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili vetoed on Thursday a bill that would free 3,500 prisoners, some considered political prisoners by the parliament dominated by his opponents, adding to a bitter power struggle in the former Soviet republic. Georgia's parliament last week passed an amnesty law that would release many prisoners jailed under Saakashvili, whose party was ousted by an opposition coalition led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili in an October 1 election. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mubarak moved to army hospital on health concerns Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 12:44 PM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian strongman ousted last year after 30 years in power, was moved to an army hospital from a prison hospital on Thursday following a fall that raised fresh concerns about his fragile health. Mubarak, 84, was forced out in a 2011 uprising and sentenced to life in prison in June of this year for his role in killing protesters during the revolt. He was admitted to a prison hospital that month following what security officials called a "health crisis". ... Full Story | Top |
| Central African Republic president urges U.S., France to help fight rebels Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 12:23 PM PST BANGUI (Reuters) - Central African Republic President Francois Bozize on Thursday urged the United States and former colonial master France to help push back rebel forces who have advanced towards the capital Bangui. "We are asking our cousins the French and the United States, which are major powers, to help us push back the rebels to their initial positions in a way that will permit talks in Libreville to resolve this crisis," Bozize told a crowd at a main square in Bangui. ... Full Story | Top |
| Central African Republic appeals for French help against rebels, Paris balks Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 12:23 PM PST  BANGUI (Reuters) - The president of the Central African Republic appealed on Thursday for France and the United States to help push back rebels threatening his government and the capital, but Paris said its troops were only ready to protect French nationals. The exchanges came as regional African leaders tried to broker a ceasefire deal and as rebels said they had temporarily halted their advance on Bangui, the capital, to allow talks to take place. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia's Putin signals he will sign U.S. adoption ban Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 11:40 AM PST  MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin signaled on Thursday he would sign into law a bill barring Americans from adopting Russian children and sought to forestall criticism of the move by promising measures to better care for his country's orphans. In televised comments, Putin tried to appeal to people's patriotism by suggesting that strong and responsible countries should take care of their own and lent his support to a bill that has further strained U.S.-Russia relations. "There are probably many places in the world where living standards are higher than ours. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran's Ahmadinejad sacks only female government minister Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 11:37 AM PST  DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday dismissed his only female cabinet minister, Health Minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi, after she criticized her colleagues for failing to provide funds to import vital medicines. Appointed in 2009, Dastjerdi was the first woman government minister since the Islamic Republic was established in 1979. While seen as politically conservative, the gynecologist has advocated a greater role for women in society. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iraq Sunni rallies gather steam Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 11:24 AM PST  RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters from Iraq's Sunni Muslim minority kept up a week-old blockade on a key highway on Thursday and readied mass rallies for Friday to demand concessions from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Protests flared last week after troops loyal to Maliki, who is from the Shi'ite majority, detained bodyguards of his finance minister, a Sunni. Many Sunnis, whose community dominated Iraq until the fall of Saddam Hussein, accuse Maliki of refusing to share power and of favoring Shi'ite, non-Arab neighbor Iran. A year after U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria envoy calls for political change to end conflict Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 10:53 AM PST  BEIRUT (Reuters) - The international envoy seeking a negotiated solution to Syria's 21-month-old conflict said on Thursday political change was needed to end the violence which has killed 44,000 people. Speaking in Damascus at the end of a five-day trip during which he met President Bashar al-Assad, Lakhdar Brahimi called for a transitional government to rule until elections and said only substantial change would meet demands of ordinary Syrians. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cabinet resignations deal setback for Egypt's Mursi Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 10:51 AM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - An Islamist minister quit Egypt's government on Thursday, the second cabinet resignation this week, as President Mohamed Mursi tries to shore up his authority and gather support for unpopular austerity measures. An economic crisis and a battle over a new constitution have underlined bitter divisions between Islamist-backed Mursi and his liberal opponents and delayed a return to stability almost two years since a popular uprising. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iraq militia issues threat against Turkish interests Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 09:56 AM PST BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An Iraqi militia on Thursday issued a threat against Turkish interests in Iraq, responding to what it described as Turkey's "blatant interference" in the country's internal affairs. Relations between Turkey and Iraq have been deteriorating over the past year, with the two countries trading accusations of inciting sectarian tensions, and summoning each other's ambassadors in tit-for-tat maneuvers. Ankara has angered Baghdad by cultivating close ties with Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, which has defied the central government by signing contracts with foreign oil firms. ... Full Story | Top |
| Vatican paper lauds Italy PM Monti's election bid Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 09:17 AM PST  ROME (Reuters) - The Vatican newspaper on Thursday praised Mario Monti's announcement that he may run in February's general election, signaling that Italy's technocrat prime minister had replaced Silvio Berlusconi as the Church's preferred politician. Monti said on Sunday that he was willing to seek a second term if a credible, reform-minded political force backed his agenda ahead of the February 24-25 parliamentary election. ... Full Story | Top |
| Story on Iranian lawyer withdrawn Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 09:12 AM PST Please be advised the DUBAI story reporting jailed Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been released is wrong. The source, the opposition Kaleme website, withdrew its story and said she had not been released. The story "Jailed Iranian lawyer Sotoudeh temporarily released: website" has been withdrawn. There will be no substitute story. Full Story | Top |
| Taliban seize 22 Pakistani paramilitary fighters Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 09:05 AM PST PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - The Pakistani Taliban have seized at least 22 men from a regional paramilitary force in attacks on three checkpoints in northern Pakistan, a regional official said on Thursday. Taliban and other Pakistani sources put the number higher. The raids close to the provincial capital of Peshawar follows two high-profile attacks in the city this month, underlining the Taliban's willingness to take on the Pakistani state amid speculation of divisions among senior Talibani leadership. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mubarak to be moved to army hospital: sources Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 09:02 AM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's ousted strongman Hosni Mubarak will be moved to an army hospital from his prison clinic, security sources and state media said on Thursday, suggesting the already fragile health of the man who ruled Egypt for 30 years was deteriorating. It was not yet clear when Mubarak would be moved nor exactly why, security sources told Reuters. "Mubarak will head to Maadi military hospital," an army source said. Maadi is a suburb of Cairo. Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for three decades, was forced out in February 2011 after a popular uprising. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt Islamist minister resigns on Mursi PM decision Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 09:02 AM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - An Islamist Egyptian cabinet member resigned on Thursday, saying he disagreed with the slow pace of reform, in a move that highlighted growing divisions in the crisis-hit government. It was the second resignation in Egypt's cabinet since Communications Minister Hany Mahmoud quit citing his "inability to adapt to the government's working culture". Mohamed Mahsoub, a member of a centrist party which has recently backed Mursi, said he was resigning from his post as minister for parliamentary affairs because he believed the government needed to change more radically. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt may replace up to eight ministers next week: sources Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 09:02 AM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's prime minister may replace as many as eight ministers next week as part of President Mohamed Mursi's plan to reshuffle the government ahead of a parliamentary election early next year, cabinet sources told Reuters on Thursday. The reshuffle is likely to affect service ministries and possibly one ministry with an economics portfolio, the sources said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Life returns to shell-shocked Syrian town Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 07:57 AM PST ALEPPO PROVINCE, Syria (Reuters) - After months of air raids and artillery shelling, some inhabitants of northern Syria are returning to their stricken homes to clear the rubble and rebuild, despite fear that President Bashar al-Assad's forces will strike again. One town visited by a Reuters correspondent near the Turkish border was largely abandoned two months ago after relentless bombardment reduced buildings to piles of masonry. A local activist said around 200 people were killed there. Residents trickling back after the violence abated remain deeply fearful. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russian ex-defense minister to be questioned in fraud case Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 07:39 AM PST  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Former Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov has been called in for questioning on Friday over a $100 million property fraud case, federal investigators and his lawyer said on Thursday. Serdyukov, who was sacked by President Vladimir Putin on November 6, is not a suspect but a former subordinate, Yevgeniya Vasilyeva, has been charged with fraud and embezzlement in the case that has cast a spotlight on corruption in Putin's administration. ... Full Story | Top |
| Only son of Pakistan's murdered Bhutto launches political career Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 07:06 AM PST  LARKANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - The only son of assassinated former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto told hundreds of thousands of supporters on Thursday, the fifth anniversary of his mother's death, that he would carry forward her legacy, an appearance designed to anoint him as a political heir. "I am the heir to the martyr," Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, 24, told the crowd in the southern province of Sindh, referring to his mother and to his grandfather, the founder of the current ruling party who was hanged by a former military ruler. ... Full Story | Top |
| Azerbaijan frees activists, journalists in New Year amnesty Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 07:06 AM PST  BAKU (Reuters) - The president of Azerbaijan has pardoned 87 people, including journalists, rights activists and opponents jailed in cases the opposition says were evidence of shrinking political freedoms, state media reported on Thursday. Rights groups accuse President Ilham Aliyev, who succeeded his father in 2003, of clamping down on dissent and rigging elections but say Azerbaijan's role as energy supplier to Europe and transit route for U.S. troops in Afghanistan has cushioned him from strong Western criticism. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nelson Mandela "not yet fully recovered": spokesman Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 06:44 AM PST  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela is doing well after being discharged from hospital, although he is still not fully recovered, a government spokesman said on Thursday. "He is not yet fully recovered, but he has sufficiently moved forward so that he can be discharged," Mac Maharaj told local broadcaster eNCA. "He is sufficiently well to be home. ... Full Story | Top |
| King's speech riles Belgian separatists Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 06:40 AM PST  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium's king has angered separatists and some constitutional experts by making what they saw as a veiled criticism of the main political party in the Dutch-speaking north. King Albert II used his Christmas message to warn against "populist" political sentiment that rises during economic crises, drawing parallels with the pre-Nazi era in Europe when foreigners were made scapegoats for the problems. "Such argument is common in many European countries today, also in ours. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudan, South Sudan accuse each other of border attacks Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 06:32 AM PST JUBA/KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan and South Sudan on Thursday accused each other of incursions into disputed border areas, in a new setback to plans to secure their volatile boundary and resume cross-border oil flows. The accusations come a day after Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said he was willing to meet his South Sudan counterpart Salva Kiir to try to move forward stalled talks to set up a demilitarized border zone. ... Full Story | Top |
| Blast in Ukrainian university kills one, wounds two Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 06:15 AM PST KIEV (Reuters) - An explosion tore through a medical university in the city of Chernivtsy in western Ukraine on Thursday killing one person and wounding two, local police and prosecutors said. Police were investigating the blast and were looking into the possibility it may have been caused by a bomb, a police spokeswoman said. Regional prosecutors said a 62-year-old man had been killed in the incident, which they said probably involved a hand grenade. "According to preliminary information, the dead person was at odds with a staff member (of the university) over a plot of land ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Pakistan Taliban spokesman outlines conditions for ceasefire Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 05:47 AM PST ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - The Pakistani Taliban have outlined conditions for a ceasefire, including the adoption of Islamic law and a break with the United States, a spokesman said Thursday, an offer dismissed out of hand by the interior minister. The Taliban, in a letter sent to the Pakistan daily The News, also demanded that Pakistan stop its involvement in the war pitting Afghan insurgents against the Kabul government and refocus on a war of "revenge" against India. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kuwait used "excessive force" at demonstrations: rights group Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 05:15 AM PST KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwaiti security forces appear to have used excessive force to disperse several largely peaceful street protests since October, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday, citing activists, protesters and witnesses. Tens of thousands of Kuwaitis have taken to the streets over the past two months to protest changes to voting rules used in a parliamentary election on December 1 that they said would skew the outcome in favor of pro-government candidates. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran will open suspect military base if threats dropped: report Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 05:10 AM PST  DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran would let U.N nuclear inspectors into a military base they suspect was used for atomic weapons-related work, if threats against the Islamic Republic are dropped, a government official was quoted as saying. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) believes Iran conducted explosives tests with possible nuclear applications at Parchin, a sprawling military base southeast of Tehran, and has repeatedly asked to inspect it. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudan's Bashir dances at first rally since surgery Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 05:04 AM PST  KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir danced, waved his walking stick and delivered a defiant speech on Thursday at his first rally since undergoing surgery in Saudi Arabia and withstanding what officials called an attempted coup. Diplomats and Sudanese bloggers have speculated about the 68-year-old veteran leader's health after he appeared less frequently in public in recent months. He did not attend an economic conference in Khartoum on November 27, the kind of event he has used in the past to attack a U.S. trade embargo on the country. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cambodia court sends "scapegoats" back to jail for unionist murder Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 05:00 AM PST  PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A Cambodian court ordered the return to prison on Thursday of two men seen by rights groups as scapegoats for the 2004 murder of a top unionist, the latest controversial ruling in a country chided for its low judicial standards. The Appeals Court upheld a lower court's handing down of 20-year jail terms for Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun for killing Free Trade Union (FTU) leader Chea Vichea, despite weak evidence. Following a public outcry, the Supreme Court released the two on bail in 2008 after three years in jail to allow further investigation. ... Full Story | Top |
| New India rape protests fizzle, victim airlifted to Singapore Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 04:48 AM PST  NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Police thwarted an attempt by activists on Thursday to rekindle mass protests in New Delhi over the gang rape and ferocious beating of a young woman, after the victim was airlifted to Singapore for specialist hospital care to save her life. Demonstrations erupted in New Delhi after the December 16 attack, culminating last weekend in pitched battles between police and protesters around the city's India Gate war memorial. ... Full Story | Top |
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