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| Mexico probes if blast was attack or accident, 33 dead Friday, Feb 01, 2013 06:30 PM PST  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's government vowed on Friday to find out whether an explosion that killed 33 people at the headquarters of its state-run oil monopoly Pemex was a deliberate attack or yet another stain on the company's poor safety record. Rescue workers continued to pull bodies from the debris on Friday and officials said the search would continue until they account for everyone inside the Mexico City building. Government officials have refused to speculate over what caused the explosion on Thursday but said they had deployed large teams of experts to pore through the wreckage. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran escalating efforts to destabilize region - Panetta Friday, Feb 01, 2013 06:22 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta accused Iran of an intensified campaign to destabilize the Middle East by smuggling anti-aircraft weapons to militant allies, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. "There is no question when you start passing MANPADS around, that becomes a threat, not just to military aircraft but to civilian aircraft," Panetta told the newspaper in an interview. "That is an escalation." MANPADS are shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. rushing treatment for Brazil fire victims Friday, Feb 01, 2013 05:25 PM PST  SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The U.S. government is shipping emergency medical supplies to Brazil to treat survivors of a deadly nightclub fire who are suffering from exposure to cyanide gas released in the blaze, the Brazilian health ministry said on Friday. Officials say 119 people remain hospitalized after Sunday's fire at the Kiss nightclub in southern Brazil that killed 236. Brazilian doctors have said cyanide was among the toxic chemicals produced when fire consumed the soundproofing foam on the club's ceiling, contributing to the high number of fatalities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Suicide bomber kills guard at U.S. embassy in Turkey Friday, Feb 01, 2013 04:39 PM PST  ANKARA (Reuters) - A far-leftist suicide bomber killed a Turkish security guard at the U.S. embassy in Ankara on Friday, officials said, blowing open an entrance and sending debris flying through the air. The attacker detonated explosives strapped to his body after entering an embassy gatehouse. The blast could be heard a mile away. A lower leg and other human remains lay on the street. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said the bomber was a member of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), a far-left group which is virulently anti-U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Envoy makes "last appeal" for Syria as officials meet Friday, Feb 01, 2013 03:31 PM PST  AMMAN/MUNICH (Reuters) - Senior U.S., Russian and U.N. officials, along with the leader of the Syrian opposition, were all expected at a security conference in Munich on Saturday, providing a rare opportunity for talks to revive efforts to end the civil war in Syria. Moscow and the United Nations, however, played down Syrian opposition assertions that its leader would hold a joint meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi in Munich. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudan riot police clash with students at Khartoum university Friday, Feb 01, 2013 03:20 PM PST KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese riot police fired teargas at students on Friday as government supporters stormed the main university in the capital Khartoum, activists and witnesses said, in a second day of unrest on the campus. Sudan has avoided the Arab Spring style uprisings which unseated rulers in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, but spiraling inflation sparked small protests which have broadened into demonstrations of discontent with veteran President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's rule. ... Full Story | Top |
| One dead, dozens hurt as police clash with Egypt protesters Friday, Feb 01, 2013 02:50 PM PST  CAIRO/PORT SAID, Egypt (Reuters) - At least one protester was shot dead and dozens wounded on Friday when riot police clashed with demonstrators demanding the overthrow of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi. Youths threw petrol bombs and shot fireworks at the outer wall of Mursi's Cairo presidential compound as night fell. Police responded by firing water cannon and teargas leading to skirmishes in the surrounding streets. Two witnesses said they had seen a protester shot dead in Cairo with live ammunition in front of them. "It's verified. I am at the morgue. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. chief suggests review of 21-year-old Somalia arms embargo Friday, Feb 01, 2013 02:44 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The Security Council should consider lifting an arms embargo on Somalia to help rebuild the country's security forces and consolidate military gains against al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon suggested in a report Friday. The council imposed the embargo in 1992 to cut the flow of arms to feuding warlords, who a year earlier ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and plunged Somalia into civil war. Council diplomats said the arms embargo was "under discussion" as the delegations have not reached a final agreement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Stalingrad victory offers Putin patriotic platform Friday, Feb 01, 2013 02:29 PM PST  VOLGOGRAD, Russia (Reuters) - Stalingrad will be back on the map for a few hours on Saturday, and Josef Stalin's face will be splashed on buses, as Russia remembers the epic battle that turned the tide of World War Two. President Vladimir Putin is expected in the city, now known as Volgograd, for a military parade to mark 70 years since the German surrender after the six-month Battle of Stalingrad, which became a symbol for Russians of patriotic sacrifice and unity. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico blast kills at least 33, flagging Pemex safety woes Friday, Feb 01, 2013 01:24 PM PST  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Rescue workers pulled out more bodies from debris at the headquarters of Mexican state oil giant Pemex on Friday after a powerful explosion killed at least 33 people and threw a spotlight onto the state-run company's poor safety record. Scenes of confusion and chaos outside the downtown tower block in Mexico City have dealt another blow to Pemex's image, just as Mexico's new president is seeking to court outside investment for the 75-year-old monopoly. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazil nightclub owners, band detained 30 more days after fire Friday, Feb 01, 2013 01:22 PM PST SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A judge in southern Brazil ordered 30 more days of detention on Friday for the owners of a nightclub and band members involved in a fire that killed 236 in the college town of Santa Maria last weekend. The order came after a 20-year-old woman succumbed to her injuries late Thursday, pushing up the death toll from the country's second most deadly fire ever. Civil defense authorities in Rio Grande do Sul, the state where Santa Maria is located, said the victim suffered a heart attack while struggling with injuries that included burns on more than half her body. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazil hotline, soap opera help bust prostitution ring in Spain Friday, Feb 01, 2013 01:08 PM PST BRASILIA (Reuters) - A call home from an anguished daughter in Spain and images from a soap opera about human trafficking for sexual exploitation led a Brazilian mother to realize her daughter was in trouble. So she called a sexual abuse hotline set up by Brazil's Ministry of Women's Affairs, prompting an international police operation that led authorities to break up a prostitution ring in the Spanish university town of Salamanca last week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Church should have more control over Russian life: Putin Friday, Feb 01, 2013 11:59 AM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Friday the Orthodox Church should be given more say over family life, education and the armed forces in Russia, as he celebrated the leadership of its head Patriarch Kirill. Faith runs deep in Russia after the fall of the officially atheist Soviet Union and Putin has looked to the largest religion in Russia for support since he began his third term as president after a wave of protests against his rule. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ex-CIA Rome chief gets jail term in "rendition" trial Friday, Feb 01, 2013 11:55 AM PST MILAN (Reuters) - A former CIA station chief received a seven-year jail sentence on Friday for the kidnap of an Egyptian Muslim cleric during the U.S. government's "war on terror" waged by former president George W. Bush. A Milan appeals court also handed down two six-year sentences to two American officials for the same crime, the first of so-called "extraordinary rendition" operations organized by the United States. The cleric, an Egyptian imam known as Abu Omar, was snatched from a Milan street and flown to Egypt for interrogation, where he says he was tortured for seven months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Assassination attempt in Armenia threatens stability Friday, Feb 01, 2013 11:35 AM PST  YEREVAN (Reuters) - An assassination attempt on a presidential candidate in Armenia has thrown this month's election into doubt and could threaten stability in the volatile Caucasus region that carries oil and natural gas to Europe. Paruyr Hayrikyan, an outsider in the February 18 presidential vote, was shot in the shoulder on Thursday night close to his home in the capital Yerevan. Doctors removed the bullet on Friday and said his life was not in danger. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Mexico's oil giant Pemex at reform crossroads Friday, Feb 01, 2013 11:02 AM PST (Reuters) - An explosion on Thursday at the headquarters of Mexican state oil giant Pemex killed at least 32 people, dealing a blow to the company's image as the government prepares a reform to draw in more private investment. The following are key facts about Pemex: * Mexico is the world's No. 7 oil producer and a top exporter to the United States. Output has slumped from a peak of 3.4 million barrels per day in 2004 as major fields aged to stabilize around 2.55 million bpd. * The Mexican government relies on oil revenues to fund about a third of the federal budget. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ed Koch, New York's colorful longtime former mayor, dies Friday, Feb 01, 2013 11:00 AM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ed Koch, the voluble three-term mayor who helped bring New York back from the brink of fiscal ruin in the 1970s and came to embody the city with his wry, outspoken style, died on Friday at the age of 88. As mayor from 1978 to 1989, the forceful, quick-witted Koch, with his trademark phrase "How'm I Doin?," was a natural showman and tireless promoter of both himself and the city. He could also be a deeply polarizing figure. Koch died of congestive heart failure at about 2 a.m. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rights allegations in Mali cloud France Hollande's visit Friday, Feb 01, 2013 10:52 AM PST  BAMAKO/TIMBUKTU, Mali (Reuters) - A French-led offensive against Islamists in Mali has led to civilian deaths from air strikes and ethnic reprisals by Malian troops, human rights groups said on Friday, a day before President Francois Hollande was due to visit the country. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch cited witness reports of extrajudicial killings by Malian government soldiers of dozens of civilians in the towns of Sevare and Konna. At least five civilians were killed in a helicopter attack on the first day of France's military intervention, Amnesty also said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Water, wine to lubricate Russian talks with war foe Georgia Friday, Feb 01, 2013 10:51 AM PST  BORJOMI, Georgia (Reuters) - If there's a way to dilute the bitterness in relations between Russia and Georgia after a 2008 war, it may lie in a lush valley south of the Caucasus Mountain border between the feuding former Soviet republics. Here flows Borjomi, a naturally carbonated mineral water of volcanic origin that had been popular in Russia since the 19th century until it was swept off the shelves when Moscow banned Georgian beverages and other products in 2006 as tensions built toward the five-day war. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S., Turkish staff struck by debris in Ankara embassy blast Friday, Feb 01, 2013 10:22 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Several U.S. and Turkish staff at the U.S. embassy in Ankara were struck by debris from a suicide bombing that killed one Turkish guard on Friday, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. The spokeswoman said a Turkish visitor to the embassy was in "serious condition" following the blast, which Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Guler said was carried out by a member of an illegal far-left group. Nuland said the staff members struck by debris were treated at the embassy clinic and released. (Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Vicki Allen) Full Story | Top |
| Serbia, Kosovo presidents to hold first talks since secession Friday, Feb 01, 2013 09:26 AM PST BELGRADE/PRISTINA (Reuters) - The presidents of Serbia and Kosovo will hold talks next week in Brussels for the first time since Serbia's former province seceded in 2008, officials said, in the latest sign of progress in EU-mediated talks to reconcile the neighbors. The February 6 meeting will be the first between Serbia's Tomislav Nikolic, once a firebrand advocate of the Greater Serbia policy that fomented the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, and Atifete Jahjaga of majority-Albanian Kosovo. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jordan staggers under fallout of Syria conflict Friday, Feb 01, 2013 09:25 AM PST AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan has every reason to worry about the conflict in Syria, its bigger neighbor to the north. A flood of Syrian refugees and disrupted trade due to the 22-month-old revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad burden a frail economy that has already had to turn to the IMF. Any emergence of Islamist rule in a post-Assad Syria could embolden Islamists who are the main opposition group in Jordan. And rising Islamist militancy among Syrian insurgents threatens the security of the Western-backed kingdom next door. ... Full Story | Top |
| Six killed in Lebanon army clash with gunmen Friday, Feb 01, 2013 09:12 AM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Four Lebanese soldiers and two gunmen were killed in clashes in the country's Bekaa Valley on Friday after militants attacked a Lebanese army unit, security sources said. Fighting was continuing in the area, near the northeastern town of Arsal, the sources said, close to the border with Syria where rebels are fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad. The Lebanese army released a statement confirming the deaths of two soldiers, including an officer, and had cordoned off the area. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mysterious YouTube video accuses Russia's Medvedev of treason Friday, Feb 01, 2013 09:08 AM PST  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Dmitry Medvedev is glimpsed exchanging confidential smiles with Barack Obama as sinister music plays. The dead body of Russian ally Muammar Gaddafi, driven from power by the West, is dragged through the dirt. A camera homes in on the prime minister sweating and shifting uneasily in his chair. The word 'treason' is uttered by a narrator. A more than hour-long Internet video employs methods reminiscent of the Soviet past in excoriating a prime minister already laboring in President Vladimir Putin's shadow. ... Full Story | Top |
| White House says motivation not clear for U.S. embassy bombing in Turkey Friday, Feb 01, 2013 09:03 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said it is not yet clear who is responsible for a suicide bombing on Friday at the U.S. embassy in Turkey, the second attack on a U.S. mission in four months "The attack itself was clearly an act of terror," said Jay Carney, White House spokesman, in a briefing with reporters. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Vicki Allen) Full Story | Top |
| Nigeria says helicopter strike kills 17 Islamist fighters Friday, Feb 01, 2013 09:01 AM PST MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian authorities said on Friday security forces backed by helicopter gunships killed 17 militants and destroyed two training camps belonging to Islamist sect Boko Haram, one in a forest and one in a game reserve. Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, spokesman for joint military and police forces in Borno state, said one soldier had also been killed in the firefights, which cast fresh doubt on a ceasefire declared by one purported Boko Haram commander this week. "The camp was properly ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Colombian forces kill FARC commander close to chief negotiator Friday, Feb 01, 2013 08:58 AM PST BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian government forces have killed a FARC brigade commander close to the Marxist group's chief peace negotiator, the defense minister said on Friday, as combat heats up after the expiration of a unilateral guerrilla ceasefire. Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon said that Jacobo Arango, a FARC commander in a northwestern area straddling Cordoba and Antioquia provinces, a known drug route, was among six rebels killed in an assault on Thursday. "It's a strike of great importance," he told reporters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia and U.N. play down report of four-way Syria talks Friday, Feb 01, 2013 08:54 AM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow and the United Nations played down reports that Syria's opposition leader would hold a joint meeting with the U.N. Syria envoy and officials from the United States and Russia at a security conference in Munich on Saturday. Syrian opposition sources said on Friday that Syrian National Coalition President Moaz Alkhatib would meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi at a security conference in the German city. But a U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. holds key to improving Russia ties: Putin aide Friday, Feb 01, 2013 08:52 AM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Strained Russian-U.S. ties will not improve unless Washington stops openly criticizing Moscow's human rights record and supporting President Vladimir Putin's foes, the top foreign policy official in the Russian parliament said. Relations between the Cold War-era rivals took a dive after Putin's return to the Kremlin in May, undermining a 2009 initiative by President Barack Obama and Russia's then-president Dmitry Medvedev, a more liberal Putin protégé, to "reset" ties. ... Full Story | Top |
| Germany says unfreezing Rwandan aid but to watch progress on Congo Friday, Feb 01, 2013 08:50 AM PST KIGALI (Reuters) - Germany said on Friday it will unblock 7 million euros in frozen aid to Rwanda, which the U.N. accuses of helping arm rebels in neighboring Congo, but warned the African state will be under continued international pressure over its links with M23 rebels. Germany joined the United States and several other European states in partially suspending aid to Rwanda after U.N. experts said senior Rwandan military officials have equipped, trained and directly commanded M23 rebels who in November briefly seized the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. ... Full Story | Top |
| Berlusconi's bid to halt tax fraud trial rejected again Friday, Feb 01, 2013 08:31 AM PST  MILAN (Reuters) - A Milan court on Friday rejected a new request from Silvio Berlusconi's lawyers to suspend a tax fraud trial involving the purchase of broadcasting rights by his Mediaset media group until after the February 24-25 election. The decision prompted a defiant response from the former prime minister and his center-right party, who described as "scandalous" what they see as an interference with the parliamentary race. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nigeria says helicopter strike kills 17 Islamist insurgents Friday, Feb 01, 2013 08:17 AM PST MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian security forces used helicopter gunships to destroy a training camp belonging to the Islamist sect Boko Haram in a northeastern forest on Friday, killing 17 of them in a battle, they said. Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, spokesman for joint military and police forces in northeastern Borno state, said a soldier had also been killed in the firefight, which cast fresh doubt on a ceasefire declared by one Boko Haram commander this week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Congo's M23 rebels say peace deal possible by end-February Friday, Feb 01, 2013 07:41 AM PST  KAMPALA (Reuters) - Congolese rebels said they expected to sign a peace deal with the government by the end of February that would end their ten-month revolt, but Kinshasa said "capricious" demands from the rebels could cause delays. The M23 rebels have carved out a fiefdom in eastern Congo's North Kivu province that has dragged Congo's eastern region back into war and displaced an estimated half a million people. Bertrand Bisimwa, spokesperson for the rebels and a participant in the talks, said negotiations had already covered substantial ground. ... Full Story | Top |
| Could Scottish, Catalan independence votes reshape Europe? Friday, Feb 01, 2013 07:14 AM PST  BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) - The separatist flag of Catalonia - with its yellow and red stripes, blue triangle and white star - was a rare sight on the streets of Barcelona a decade ago. Now, it is almost ubiquitous. Two thousand km to the north in Scotland, the blue-and-white saltire has always been popular. But that flag too increasingly symbolizes something new, that after more than 400 years within the United Kingdom Scotland may be on the verge of demanding a divorce. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuelan opposition cracks could help Chavez's allies Friday, Feb 01, 2013 07:10 AM PST  CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's multiple opposition parties took a decade to unite against President Hugo Chavez, but old strains are emerging again just as he could be forced from power by cancer. The increasingly public tensions between moderates and radicals within the five-year-old Democratic Unity coalition play into the government's hands should Chavez fail to recover from the disease and a new presidential election be held. "They're beating each other up. ... Full Story | Top |
| UNHCR reaches rebel-held area of North Syria for first time Friday, Feb 01, 2013 07:02 AM PST GENEVA (Reuters) - The U.N. refugee agency said on Friday that it had reached an opposition-held area of north Syria for the first time and found about 45,000 displaced people living in appalling conditions. A senior U.N. official voiced fears that other parts of the country could contain similar untold stories of suffering and he said Syria faced systematic destruction. The Syrian government agreed to give the U.N. access to the zone of Azaz north of Aleppo near the Turkish border, enabling a convoy to deliver tents and blankets to needy people living in the open in sub-zero temperatures. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Embassy bomber in Turkey from illegal leftist group-minister Friday, Feb 01, 2013 07:00 AM PST ANKARA (Reuters) - A suicide bomber who attacked the U.S. Embassy in Ankara on Friday, killing himself and a security guard, belonged to an illegal leftist group, Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Guler said. Speaking to reporters, Guler said the attacker could have been a member of the militant Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) or another leftist group. (Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Nick Tattersall) Full Story | Top |
| Death toll from Pemex blast in Mexico City jumps to 32 Friday, Feb 01, 2013 06:45 AM PST MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The head of Mexico's state-run oil giant Pemex, Emilio Lozoya, said on Friday that the death toll from a powerful explosion that rocked the Mexico City headquarters of the company had risen to 32. A blast shattered the lower floors of the downtown tower Thursday afternoon, throwing debris into the streets and sending frightened workers running outside. More than 100 people were injured. Emergency workers continue to work on the site looking for more people trapped in the rubble. (Reporting By Cyntia Barrera Diaz; Editing by Vicki Allen) Full Story | Top |
| Suicide bomber at U.S. Embassy believed to be Turkish-minister Friday, Feb 01, 2013 06:24 AM PST ANKARA (Reuters) - A suicide bomber who attacked the U.S. Embassy in Turkey on Friday, killing himself and a security guard, was believed to have been a Turkish citizen, Interior Minister Muammer Guler told reporters. Guler said a woman was badly wounded in the attack on the U.S. mission and that two security guards were receiving out-patient care at a hospital. (Writing by Ayla Jean Yackley; Editing by Janet Lawrence) Full Story | Top |
| U.S. warns citizens against visiting Turkey missions after blast Friday, Feb 01, 2013 06:21 AM PST ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The U.S. consulate in Istanbul warned its citizens against visiting its missions in Turkey until further notice after a suicide bomber killed himself and one other person in an attack on its embassy in Ankara. "The Department of State advises U.S. citizens traveling or residing in Turkey to be alert to the potential for violence, to avoid those areas where disturbances have occurred and to avoid demonstrations and large gatherings," the consulate statement added. (Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Janet Lawrence) Full Story | Top |
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