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| Belgian national killed in Mexican resort of Acapulco Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 07:52 PM PST ACAPULCO (Reuters) - A Belgian man was shot dead in Mexico's Pacific resort city of Acapulco on Saturday, the latest episode of violence to strike one of the country's most important tourist destinations. Acapulco police spokeswoman Gloria Mendez said the man, 58, resisted two assailants who were attempting to steal his convertible Mercedes Benz, one of whom shot him in the chest. The shooting took place just minutes away from the city's landmark Princess hotel, site of next week's Mexico Open professional tennis tournament. ... Full Story | Top |
| Half-inch crack blamed for F-35 fighter jet grounding: sources Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 07:12 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The engine blade crack that prompted the U.S. military to ground all 51 F-35 fighter jets was over half an inch long, according to three sources familiar with the matter, but it remained unclear if the crack was caused by a manufacturing anomaly or some larger design issue. Engineers at Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp, will conduct a detailed examination of the turbine blade as soon as it arrives at the company's Middletown, Connecticut, site, said spokesman Matthew Bates. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Spiral of Karachi killings widens Pakistan's sectarian divide Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 05:01 PM PST  KARACHI (Reuters) - When Aurangzeb Farooqi survived an attempt on his life that left six of his bodyguards dead and a six-inch bullet wound in his thigh, the Pakistani cleric lost little time in turning the narrow escape to his advantage. Recovering in hospital after the ambush on his convoy in Karachi, Pakistan's commercial capital, the radical Sunni Muslim ideologue was composed enough to exhort his followers to close ranks against the city's Shi'ites. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran says it has brought down a foreign spy drone Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 04:12 PM PST LONDON (Reuters) - Iran's Revolutionary Guards have brought down a foreign surveillance drone during a military exercise, the official Islamic Republic News Agency said on Saturday. "We have managed to bring down a drone of the enemy. This has happened before in our country," the agency quoted war games spokesman General Hamid Sarkheli as saying in Kerman, southeast Iran, where the military exercise is taking place. The agency gave no details on who the drone belonged to. In Washington, a Pentagon spokesman said he had seen the reports. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK downgrade pressures reluctant Osborne to change course Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 04:07 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's finance minister insisted on Saturday he would not change course after the loss of the country's 'AAA' credit rating but George Osborne is facing pressure to do just that as his bet on austerity falters ahead of the 2015 election. Moody's dealt Britain its first sovereign rating downgrade on Friday, saying the $2.5 trillion economy faced years more sluggish growth and debt would continue to rise until 2016. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cyprus votes for president as clock ticks on bailout deal Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 04:06 PM PST  NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriots vote in a runoff on Sunday to elect a president who must clinch a bailout deal so the island nation can avoid a financial meltdown that would revive the euro zone crisis. Conservative leader Nicos Anastasiades, who favors hammering out a quick deal with foreign lenders, is favored to win against Communist-backed rival Stavros Malas, who is more wary of the austerity terms accompanying any rescue. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italians head to polls in crucial vote for euro zone Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 04:03 PM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Italians vote on Sunday in one of the most closely watched elections in years with markets nervous about whether it will produce a strong government to pull Italy out of recession and help resolve the euro zone debt crisis. A huge final rally by anti-establishment-comedian-turned-politician Beppe Grillo on Friday before a campaigning ban kicked in has highlighted public anger at traditional parties and added to uncertainty about the election outcome. Polling booths will open between 02:00 am-04:00 pm EST on Sunday and 01:00 am-09:00 am EST on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tens of thousands in Spain protest economic policy, corruption Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 01:56 PM PST  MADRID (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Spaniards marched through cities across the country on Saturday to protest deep austerity, the privatization of public services and political corruption. Gathering under the banner of the "Citizen Tide", students, doctors, unionists, young families and pensioners staged rowdy but non-violent demonstrations as a near five-year economic slump shows no sign of recovery and mass unemployment rises. "I'm here to add my voice. They're cutting where they shouldn't cut; health, education ... basic services. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy urges high turnout in key election for euro zone Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 01:17 PM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Italy pressed citizens to get out and vote in one of the most closely watched elections in years on Sunday and Monday, with markets on edge at the prospect of a political stalemate that could reignite the debt crisis. A campaigning ban kicked in the day before the vote but center-right leader Silvio Berlusconi, on trial for a sex crime, broke the rules to launch an attack on magistrates, saying on Saturday that claims he held "Bunga Bunga" parties were a sham. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kurdish militant leader signals Turkish prisoners may be freed Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 12:54 PM PST  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The jailed leader of Turkey's Kurdish rebellion on Saturday signaled that his followers could release captives and further a fledgling peace process that may be the best hope in years of ending the decades-long conflict. The call by Abdullah Ocalan, the head of the autonomy-seeking Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), came after a rare meeting with members of parliament's only pro-Kurdish party at his prison on an island in the Sea of Marmara south of Istanbul. ... Full Story | Top |
| Austrian Yemen hostage appeals for ransom in video Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 11:59 AM PST VIENNA (Reuters) - An Austrian man taken hostage in Yemen in December has appeared in a video posted on YouTube, saying he would be killed if ransom money was not paid to a Yemeni tribe within a week. Pictured with what appeared to be an AK47 automatic rifle pointed at his head, Dominik Neubauer said he was in good health and appealed to the Yemeni and Austrian governments and the European Union to give his hostage takers what they wanted. "Mum, Dad, Lucas, Angela, I love you more than anything. ... Full Story | Top |
| Horsemeat with banned drug entered French food chain Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 11:34 AM PST PARIS (Reuters) - Meat from three horse carcasses contaminated with a banned drug has entered the human food chain in France but there is no danger to the public, the French farm minister said on Saturday. The meat, which came from a lot of six British carcasses exported to France, contained traces of phenylbutazone - known as bute - an anti-inflammatory painkiller for sporting horses, banned for animals intended for eventual human consumption. French Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll said there was no danger to public health. ... Full Story | Top |
| France's Hollande hails quality meat at farm show Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 11:26 AM PST  PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande sang the praises of local produce at the annual French farm show, where the horse meat scandal added to French cattle breeders' downbeat mood. Hollande, who was long the head of the rural Correze region, spent hours talking to livestock farmers, who worry that the discovery of horse meat in lasagnas and other processed foods labeled as beef-based will cast another cloud over their sector. "We need to promote French quality, French production and French cattle breeding," Hollande told reporters at Europe's largest farm show. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian marines held in India return home to vote Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 11:17 AM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Two Italian marines charged in India with killing two fishermen while on anti-pirate duty a year ago arrived home on Saturday to vote in parliamentary elections this weekend. "We are happy to be back home. This has been possible because India's Supreme Court ... has shown itself to be very democratic by recognizing our right to vote," Massimiliano Latorre said on arrival at Rome Fiumicino airport with his colleague, Salvatore Girone. ... Full Story | Top |
| More fighting erupts in Sudan's Darfur region Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 11:10 AM PST  KHARTOUM (Reuters) - New fighting erupted between Arab tribes in Sudan's troubled Darfur region, tribal leaders said on Saturday, threatening to displace more people after clashes last month killed more than 100 and forced around 130,000 to flee. Law and order has collapsed in swathes of the arid western region since mainly non-Arab tribes revolted against the Arab government in Khartoum in 2003, accusing it of neglect. Violence has ebbed since 2004 but picked up again in recent months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Palestinians demand inquiry into death in an Israeli jail Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 10:51 AM PST  RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian officials on Saturday demanded an international investigation into the death of a Palestinian detainee who died in an Israeli jail hours earlier. A spokeswoman for Israel's Prison Authority said that the detainee, 30-year-old Arafat Jaradat, had apparently died of cardiac arrest. An emergency service team had tried to resuscitate him but failed, she said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisian secularists protest against new Islamist PM Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 10:35 AM PST  Tunis (Reuters) - Thousands of Tunisians protested on Saturday against the new prime minister-designate Ali Larayedh, a hardliner from the main Islamist Ennahda party. President Moncef Marzouki asked Larayedh to form a government on Friday, in the aftermath of the February 6 assassination of secular opposition politician Chokri Belaid. Outgoing prime minister Hamadi Jebali resigned on Tuesday because Ennahda rejected his plan for an apolitical technocrat cabinet to prepare for elections. ... Full Story | Top |
| Afghan cabinet gives preliminary approval to delayed mining law Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 10:32 AM PST  KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's cabinet gave preliminary approval to a long-delayed package of laws to govern mining, which officials hope will become a key driver of the troubled country's economy, the government said on Saturday. The news will be greeted with relief by Western donors, who committed to provide $4bn in aid from 2012 to 2015 based partly on projections of future mining earnings, only to see cabinet reject the legislation in July due to concern the laws failed to protect national interests from foreign exploitation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt parliament election start moved to April 22 Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 10:08 AM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's parliamentary elections, previously scheduled to begin on April 27, have been brought forward to start on April 22, the presidential spokesman said on his Facebook page on Saturday. Members of Egypt's Coptic Christian minority had criticized the planned timing of the elections because some voting would take place during their Easter holiday. (Reporting by Alexander Dziadosz; editing by David Stamp) Full Story | Top |
| Yemen security chief escapes gunmen as three die in south Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 09:55 AM PST  ADEN (Reuters) - A Yemeni security chief survived an assassination attempt on Saturday in the south of the country, where three people were killed in clashes between his forces and separatists. The Defence Ministry said Abdulwahab al-Wali, head of the central security forces, escaped the attack by unknown gunmen in the town of Mukalla, but two of his bodyguards were wounded. Southern Yemen, which was an independent state until 1990, is troubled by both separatist unrest and an insurgency led by Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda, a source of concern to Gulf states and the West. ... Full Story | Top |
| France warns of kidnappings, attack risk in Benin Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 09:48 AM PST  DAKAR (Reuters) - France said on Saturday its nationals were at risk of kidnappings or attacks in the West African state of Benin, warning of a specific danger close to neighboring Niger. The advisory came after a French family of seven, including four children, were abducted by suspected Islamist militants in Cameroon on Tuesday, the first case of foreigners being seized in the mostly Muslim north of the country. It highlighted the threat to French interests in West Africa since Paris deployed thousands of troops to Mali to oust al Qaeda-linked Islamists who controlled the country's north. ... Full Story | Top |
| Patriots in Turkey send clear warning to Syria: Germany Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 09:36 AM PST  KAHRAMANMARAS, Turkey (Reuters) - Germany's defense minister inspected Patriot missile batteries close to the Syria-Turkey border on Saturday and said they delivered a "clear warning" to Damascus that NATO would not tolerate missiles being fired into Turkey. Thomas de Maiziere and his Dutch counterpart Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert travelled to the Turkish cities of Adana and Kahramanmaras to inspect the batteries provided by their countries at Turkey's request. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was scheduled to visit the same area on Sunday when she begins a two-day visit to Turkey. ... Full Story | Top |
| Maldives ex-president leaves Indian embassy refuge Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 09:33 AM PST  MALE (Reuters) - Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed on Saturday left the Indian High Commission, his party said, after taking refuge for 11 days to avoid arrest on charges related to his presidency. The government has said he no longer faces arrest. Nasheed, the Maldives' first democratically elected leader, left office last year in contested circumstances. He entered the Indian High Commission, or embassy, in the capital on February 13 as police tried to arrest him in connection with a court case. ... Full Story | Top |
| Merkel backs new EU talks for Turkey but has doubts Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 09:29 AM PST  BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday she favored new talks to revive Turkey's stalled European Union membership bid, following warnings by the Turkish prime minister its half-century wait was "unforgivable". Yet Merkel, who favors a "privileged partnership" for Turkey in place of full EU membership, stressed the outcome of Ankara's talks with Brussels should be open, and she remained skeptical about whether Turkey should join. ... Full Story | Top |
| European Parliament Deputy President injured in car crash Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 09:18 AM PST BERLIN (Reuters) - The deputy president of the European Parliament, Alexander Alvaro, was seriously injured in a car crash in western Germany overnight, a spokesman for the European liberals group ALDE said on Saturday. Alvaro, 37, is a member of Germany's Free Democrats. "I have been informed of a car crash involving Alexander Alvaro, I am deeply shocked by the horrific accident. On behalf of the European Parliament and his colleagues, I wish him a speedy and full recovery," European Parliament President Martin Schulz said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Palestinian wounded in clashes with settlers, army Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 07:56 AM PST  QUSRA, West Bank (Reuters) - A Palestinian man was shot in the stomach on Saturday when clashes broke out in the occupied West Bank between Jewish settlers, Palestinians and Israeli soldiers, a medical official and military sources said. Tension in the area has been on the rise, a month before U.S. President Barack Obama is due to visit Israel and the Palestinian Territories. On Friday Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli soldiers throughout the West Bank, and dozens sustained light injuries from inhaling tear gas or being hit by rubber bullets fired by the military. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chadians attack Islamists' Mali mountain hideout Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 07:41 AM PST N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Chadian troops attacked an Islamist base in northern Mali on Saturday in heavy fighting which France called part of the final campaign to drive al Qaeda from its mountain hideouts. Thirteen Chadian soldiers and 65 al Qaeda-linked rebels were killed on Friday in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains near the Algerian border, where French special forces are also hunting Islamist bases, Chadian military sources said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Djibouti ruling party declares election victory, opposition says flawed Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 07:05 AM PST DJIBOUTI (Reuters) - Djibouti's ruling coalition declared victory on Saturday in the Red Sea state's parliamentary election, but the opposition rejected the vote as flawed and said it planned demonstrations to protest against the outcome. The disputed result raises the possibility of instability in Djibouti, which hosts the United States' only military base in Africa and is an ally in the West's fight against militant Islam. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran announces uranium finds, days before nuclear talks Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 06:47 AM PST  DUBAI (Reuters) - Days before resuming talks over its disputed atomic program, Iran said on Saturday it had found significant new deposits of raw uranium and identified sites for 16 more nuclear power stations. State news agency IRNA quoted a report by the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) which said the reserves were discovered in northern and southern coastal areas and had trebled the amount outlined in previous estimates. There was no independent confirmation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy urges high turnout in critical election for euro zone Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 06:38 AM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Italy pressed citizens to get out and vote in one of the most closely watched elections in years on Sunday and Monday, with financial markets on edge at the prospect of a political stalemate that could reignite the euro zone debt crisis. A campaigning ban kicked in at midnight on Friday after leaders held final rallies. Comedian-turned-politician Beppe Grillo stole the spotlight in Rome by attracting an estimated half a million people to hear his tirades against corrupt politicians and bankers. ... Full Story | Top |
| France to focus on spending cuts in 2014: Hollande Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 06:33 AM PST  PARIS (Reuters) - France will focus on spending cuts to bring down its deficit to three percent of GDP in 2014 but is not planning extra austerity measures this year, French President Francois Hollande said on Saturday. "It would be wrong to take measures that put another brake on consumption and investment," Hollande said at the annual farm show in Paris. He also said that while his government's effort to reduce the state deficit had up to now mainly focused on increasing state revenues, the focus from 2014 would be more on reducing state spending. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spain grumbles as king's son-in-law appears in court Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 06:21 AM PST  PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain (Reuters) - The Spanish king's son-in-law appeared before a judge on the island of Mallorca on Saturday to respond to charges of tax fraud in a six-million-euro embezzlement case that has eroded public support for the once-popular royal family. The scandal and other corruption cases in which politicians are accused of taking millions of euros in bribes have enraged Spaniards at a time when unemployment has soared to 26 percent in a deep recession. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian opposition politician demands election boycott Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 05:40 AM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - An opposition leader called on Saturday for Egyptians to boycott elections due to start in April, saying the process under Islamist President Mohamed Mursi would be "an act of deception". Islamists, who have won every election since the 2011 overthrow of autocrat Hosni Mubarak, dismissed any suggestion that the parliamentary polls would lack credibility and predicted a strong turnout. While divisions between the Islamists and opposition remain deep, Mursi appeared ready to soothe anger among the Christian minority over the election schedule. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy finds no trace of horse DNA in Nestle mince meals Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 05:34 AM PST ROME/ZURICH (Reuters) - Italy's Health Ministry said on Saturday that tests had found no trace of horse DNA in minced beef meals by Swiss food giant Nestle that were removed from sale on Monday. Nestle removed the ready-made beef ravioli and tortellini sold under its Buitoni brand from shelves in Italy and Spain and halted production of the meals after its own tests had found more than 1 percent horse DNA in the products. ... Full Story | Top |
| France's Hollande urges compulsory labeling amid horsemeat scandal Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 01:02 AM PST  PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande called for compulsory labeling and traceability of meat used in processed foods in Europe to prevent a repeat of the horsemeat scandal. French and German agriculture ministers said on Friday they agreed on the need for origin labeling and would try to find a deal on meat traceability at a meeting of European farm ministers in Brussels on Monday. "There needs to be traceability, that is what I want from talks on a European level," Hollande said on Saturday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iraq president's health improving, can now talk: doctor Saturday, Feb 23, 2013 12:34 AM PST  KIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is now able to talk, his doctor said, adding he was hopeful the Kurdish statesman would soon be fit to return to Iraq from Germany, where he has been receiving medical treatment for a stroke. A peace-maker who often mediated among Iraq's Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish factions, 79-year-old Talabani was flown abroad in December in critical condition. "I am in continuous contact with the German team treating President Talabani," said Najmaldin Karim, who is also governor of the city of Kirkuk. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea warns U.S. forces of "destruction" ahead of war drills Friday, Feb 22, 2013 11:13 PM PST  SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea on Sunday warned the top U.S. military commander stationed in South Korea that his forces would "meet a miserable destruction" if they go ahead with scheduled military drills with South Korean troops, North Korean state media said. Pak Rim-su, chief delegate of the North Korean military mission to the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom, gave the message by phone to Gen. James Thurman, the commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, KCNA news agency said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Uruguay's Supreme Court rules against dictatorship trials Friday, Feb 22, 2013 09:54 PM PST MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - Uruguay's Supreme Court said on Friday that a law allowing fresh investigations of dictatorship-era human rights crimes violates the constitution, a ruling that puts dozens of cases into doubt. About 200 Uruguayans were kidnapped and killed during the 1973-1985 dictatorship, and the small South American nation remains divided over how to deal with former military officers accused of rights abuses. Congress passed legislation in 2011 that made new rights trials possible in spite of a 1986 amnesty law shielding most officers from prosecution. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thousands protest in Armenia against re-elected president Friday, Feb 22, 2013 09:16 PM PST YEREVAN (Reuters) - Thousands of people protested in Armenia's capital Yerevan on Friday against the re-election of President Serzh Sarksyan, asserting that an opposition party leader was the real winner. International monitors said Monday's vote was an improvement on recent elections in Armenia but there was little competition as some of Sarksyan's most prominent rivals did not run, saying the result was likely to be skewed to deliver him victory. The rally in Yerevan's Freedom Square was peaceful and there were no protests in other cities in the ex-Soviet republic. ... Full Story | Top |
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