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| Cuban leader Raul Castro announces he will retire in 2018 Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 07:49 PM PST  HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban President Raul Castro announced on Sunday he will step down from power after his second term ends in 2018, and the new parliament named a 52-year-old rising star to become his first vice president and most visible successor. "This will be my last term," Castro, 81, said shortly after the National Assembly elected him to a second five-year tenure. In a surprise move, the new parliament also named Miguel Diaz-Canel as first vice president, meaning he would take over if Castro cannot serve his full term. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mursi invites opposition to dialogue on elections Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 07:34 PM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi invited opposition parties to a meeting on Monday to discuss concerns about upcoming parliamentary elections, which some parties have threatened to boycott, and agree on ways to ensure their fairness. The invitation was similar to offers Mursi has made previously that were spurned, and the National Salvation Front opposition coalition immediately rejected the offer to meet. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Korea's new president demands North drop nuclear ambitions Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 06:36 PM PST  SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's new president Park Geun-hye urged North Korea on Monday to abandon its nuclear ambitions, and to stop wasting its scarce resources on arms development, less than two weeks after the country carried out its third nuclear test. Park, 61, the daughter of South Korea's former military ruler Park Chung-hee, is the first female president of prosperous South Korea and one of her campaign promises was to engage with the North if it halted its nuclear weapons plans. ... Full Story | Top |
| Afghan president to expel U.S. special forces from key province Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 06:04 PM PST  KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai has given U.S. special forces two weeks to leave a key battleground province after accusations that Afghans working for them tortured and killed innocent people, the president's spokesman said on Sunday. The decision by Karzai could further complicate negotiations between the United States and Afghanistan over the presence of Americans troops in the country once most NATO forces leave by the end of 2014. ... Full Story | Top |
| African leaders sign deal aimed at peace in eastern Congo Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 05:21 PM PST  ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - African leaders signed a U.N.-mediated deal on Sunday aimed at ending two decades of conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo and paving the way for the deployment of a new military brigade to take on rebel groups. Congo's army is fighting the M23 rebels, who have hived off a fiefdom in North Kivu province in a conflict that has dragged Congo's eastern region back into war and displaced more than half a million people. U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan PM Abe keeps ratings high as he pushes reflation steps Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 04:42 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Voter support for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rose to 70 percent or more in two weekend opinion polls, signaling that his drastic economic policies are winning backing and giving him a shot at becoming a rare long-term leader. Abe, who took office in December after his conservative Liberal Democratic Party's massive election win, has promised to beat deflation and revive the long-stagnant economy with a mix of hyper-easy monetary policy and big fiscal spending. Abe, just back from a summit in Washington with U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Protest votes add to uncertainty in close Italy election Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 03:43 PM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Italians finish voting in one of the most closely watched and unpredictable elections in years on Monday with a surge in protest votes fuelling concern that the ballot may not produce a government strong enough to pull Italy from its economic slump. A bitter campaign, fought largely over economic issues, has been closely watched by financial markets, still wary after the debt crisis that took the whole euro zone close to disaster and brought technocrat prime minister Mario Monti to office in 2011. For the euro zone, the stakes are high. ... Full Story | Top |
| After election win, Anastasiades faces Cyprus bailout quagmire Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 03:42 PM PST  NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriot president-elect Nicos Anastasiades faces weeks of difficult talks with foreign lenders on a financial rescue for the island nation after sweeping to a resounding victory in a run-off election on Sunday. Eight months of inconclusive talks on a bailout package have turned tiny Cyprus into a big headache for the euro zone, triggering fears of a financial collapse that reignites the bloc's debt crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fidel Castro surprises with parliament appearance amid leadership speculation Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 03:33 PM PST  HAVANA (Reuters) - Retired Cuban leader Fidel Castro made a rare public appearance Sunday by joining the opening session of the National Assembly, state media reported amid speculation the gathering could give clues on planning for a future leadership succession. Since falling ill in 2006 and ceding the presidency to his brother, Fidel Castro has given up all official positions except as a deputy in the National Assembly. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian opposition says captures former nuclear site Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 02:34 PM PST  AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian rebels have captured the site of a suspected nuclear reactor near the Euphrates river which Israeli warplanes destroyed six years ago, opposition sources in eastern Syria said on Sunday. Al-Kubar site, around 60 km (35 miles) west of the city of Deir al-Zor, became a focus of international attention when Israel raided it in 2007. The United States said the complex was a North Korean-designed nuclear reactor geared to making weapons-grade plutonium. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kerry makes first foreign trip as top U.S. diplomat Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 02:04 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - John Kerry views his first trip as U.S. secretary of state as a listening tour, but the leaders he meets will want to hear whether he has any new ideas on Syria, Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Kerry arrived on Sunday in London, the first stop on a nine-nation, 11-day trip that will also take him to Berlin, Paris, Rome, Ankara, Cairo, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Doha before he returns home on March 6. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fighting in Sudan's Darfur region kills 51: government Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 12:59 PM PST KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Recent fighting between Arab tribes in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur has killed 51 people and wounded 62, state news agency SUNA said on Sunday, in the first official comment on fresh violence in the western region. Conflict has raged in the vast arid region since mainly non-Arab tribes revolted against the Arab government in Khartoum in 2003, accusing it of political and economic neglect. Violence ebbed from 2004 but has picked up again in recent months. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK's Clegg on defensive as sexual harassment claims batter party Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 12:55 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on Sunday denied covering up allegations of sexual misconduct by a former senior member of his Liberal Democrat party, already floundering in opinion polls. Allegations of sexual impropriety by former party chief executive Chris Rennard threaten to engulf Clegg and further undermine the Lib Dems, the junior member of Britain's coalition government. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. urges Syrian opposition to attend Rome talks Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 12:42 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. official on Sunday urged the Syrian opposition to attend a planned international meeting in Rome this week, saying it was a chance for rebels to make their case for more support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was dissension among the opposition about the utility of such meetings and some members have signaled they may not attend. ... Full Story | Top |
| Palestinians say detainee tortured before death Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 12:14 PM PST  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Palestinian officials said on Sunday a Palestinian detainee who died in an Israeli prison was tortured before his death, but Israel said autopsy findings were preliminary and inconclusive. The death of 30-year-old Arafat Jaradat in an Israeli jail on Saturday and a hunger strike by four inmates have flared tension across the occupied West Bank, where stone-throwing protesters clashed with Israeli soldiers on Sunday. The Palestinian autopsy findings could further fuel unrest that has surged in the Palestinian Territories weeks before U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cypriot president-elect vows to work for swift bailout deal Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 11:35 AM PST NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriot president-elect Nicos Anastasiades vowed on Sunday to work with Cyprus's European Union partners to nail down a swift bailout deal to stave off insolvency in the cash-starved nation. In a statement outlining his priorities after cruising to a resounding victory in presidential elections earlier Sunday, conservative Anastasiades, 66, said he would work for the completion of a bailout at the "earliest possible". He said it needed to be structured such that it safeguarded vulnerable groups, social cohesion and industrial peace. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran says it has brought down a mock spy drone Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 11:31 AM PST LONDON (Reuters) - Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had conducted tests aimed at bringing down a "hypothetical" foreign surveillance drone during a military exercise, the official Fars news agency said on Saturday. The Islamic Republic News Agency, another official news agency, also reported the exercise, but omitted the word hypothetical giving the impression that a real drone had been downed. Other official Iranian media outlets later referred to the downing of a "hypothetical" aircraft. In the past, there have been incidents of Iran claiming to have seized U.S. drones. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hollande, Ayrault approval ratings rise slightly: poll Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 11:09 AM PST  PARIS (Reuters) - The popularity of French President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has improved slightly since last month, according to an OpinionWay poll carried out for newspaper Metro and TV channel LCI. The survey published on Sunday showed 39 percent of those interviewed were satisfied with Hollande's performance, up 1 percentage point, while 57 percent were dissatisfied, down 3 points. The proportion of people satisfied with Ayrault rose 1 point to 36 percent, with the percentage of those dissatisfied with him decreasing by 5 points to 54 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ten Chadian soldiers killed fighting Islamists in Mali Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 10:14 AM PST  N'DJAMENA/GAO (Reuters) - Ten Chadian soldiers were killed in combat in northern Mali's mountainous border with Algeria where Islamist rebels regrouped after losing urban areas to a French-led offensive, Chad's army said on Sunday. The latest Chadian fatalities came in an area of the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains where 13 Chadian soldiers were killed in clashes on Friday that centered around what one senior commander said was a rebel base of "significant importance". At least 93 rebels have been killed in fighting in the area so far, Chad's army said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cypriot presidential victor turns "Nasty" to "Nice" Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 10:07 AM PST NICOSIA (Reuters) - Conservative chief Nicos Anastasiades's victory in Cyprus's presidential elections on Sunday marks a stunning comeback for a politician whose career was almost destroyed by a political gamble in 2004. A sharp and rousing public speaker who pulls no punches, Anastasiades, 66, comfortably beat his leftist rival Stavros Malas by taking 57.5 percent in the run-off vote. ... Full Story | Top |
| French photographer dies of shrapnel wounds in Syria Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 09:00 AM PST PARIS (Reuters) - A French freelance photographer working in Syria has died after being hit by shrapnel while covering an opposition group for Reporters Without Borders, the French government said on Sunday. Olivier Voisin was following the operations of an armed opposition group near Idlib, in northwestern Syria, Reporters Without Borders said. Voisin, born in 1974, was taken to the international hospital in the Turkish border city of Antakya but subsequently died from wounds to his head and arm, the office of French President Francois Hollande said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Early results show Cypriot conservative chief with strong lead Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 08:46 AM PST NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriot conservative leader Nicos Anastasiades took a commanding lead in Sunday's presidential runoff with a 56.8 percent share of the vote after 10 percent of votes were counted, interior ministry data showed. Leftist rival Stavros Malas, who is backed by the Communist party AKEL, trailed with a 43.3 share of the vote. Anastasiades is in favour of a quick bailout deal with European Union and International Monetary Fund lenders to avert a looming Cypriot bankruptcy, while Malas has promised to drive a hard bargain on the austerity terms accompanying a rescue. ... Full Story | Top |
| 45 arrested in Madrid after mass demonstration Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 08:31 AM PST  MADRID (Reuters) - Forty-five people have been arrested in Spain during disturbances following a demonstration on Saturday by tens of thousands of people against spending cuts and allegations of government corruption. The mostly peaceful march convened in central Madrid on Saturday evening in front of parliament under the watch of riot police, who closed access to the legislature, Ritz Hotel and stock exchange. However, while most protesters dispersed after the rally, police reported disturbances later on Saturday and early on Sunday around the city's Atocha train station. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cypriot conservative chief leads in presidential runoff: exit poll Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 08:11 AM PST NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriot conservative leader Nicos Anastasiades has taken an overwhelming lead in Sunday's presidential runoff vote, an exit poll by the state broadcaster CyBC showed. The 66-year-old lawyer took between 57.5 and 61.5 percent share of the vote according to the poll. That was well ahead of leftist rival Stavros Malas, who was seen taking between 38.5 and 42.5 percent of the vote, the poll said. (Reporting by Michele Kambas and Deepa Babington) Full Story | Top |
| Egypt insists food supply secure as wheat imports dive Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 07:59 AM PST CAIRO/LONDON (Reuters) - Egypt's wheat imports are sharply down this year as it endures economic and political crisis, but state and private buyers insist they still have funds to keep the nation supplied with its staple bread. Egyptian officials and traders acknowledge the government's problems with a rising budget deficit and falling currency reserves, but say the state is allocating priority financing for wheat imports. They are also pinning some of their hopes on an increase in domestic production. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pope, on last Sunday, says following God's wishes Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 07:52 AM PST  VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict spoke from his window for the last time on Sunday, telling the faithful packed into St. Peter's Square that the first papal abdication in centuries was God's will and insisting he was not "abandoning" the Church. Four days before the 85-year-old's often troubled eight-year rule ends, new talk of scandal hit the cardinals who will choose his successor; one of them, a Scottish archbishop, had to deny a media allegation of misconduct with young priests in the 1980s. ... Full Story | Top |
| New Bulgarian patriarch enthroned by tarnished Orthodox Church Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 07:49 AM PST SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's new Orthodox patriarch was enthroned in a mass in Sofia on Sunday that leaves the soft-spoken theologian the task of restoring the reputation of a church hurt by links to businessmen and communist secret police. Neofit, Bishop of Rousse, took over the 1,100-year old church, which survived centuries of Turkish domination and decades of communism, just as Bulgaria heads for early elections by May after the government resigned on Wednesday during protests over the cost of living and corruption. ... Full Story | Top |
| Among pilgrims on pope's final Sunday, a sense of malaise Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 07:39 AM PST VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Many of the Catholics packed into St. Peter's Square On Sunday expressed a sense of malaise about seeing Pope Benedict give his last weekly blessing before resigning from a position traditionally seen as a commitment until death. "This is an ill wind blowing," said midwife Marina Tacconi as a chilly gust blew across the square. "It feels like something ugly could happen. I'm 58 years old. I have seen popes come and go, but never one resign. I don't see it as a good thing. ... Full Story | Top |
| Guinea opposition pulls out of legislative elections process Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 06:47 AM PST CONAKRY (Reuters) - Guinea's opposition coalition has withdrawn from preparations for long-delayed legislative polls and may stage nationwide protests, claiming the run up to the vote has been flawed, an opposition spokesman said on Sunday. The election set for May 21 is intended to be the last step in the West African country's transition to civilian rule after two years under a violent army junta following the death of long-time leader Lansana Conte in 2008. ... Full Story | Top |
| British cardinal rejects "inappropriate behavior" allegations Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 05:52 AM PST LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's most senior Roman Catholic cleric, a cardinal expected to take part in the conclave to choose the next pope, rejected allegations on Sunday that he had behaved in an "inappropriate" way with other priests. The Observer newspaper said Cardinal Keith O'Brien, 74, the archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, who is known for outspoken views on homosexuality, had been reported to the Vatican over allegations of inappropriate behavior stretching back 30 years. "Cardinal O'Brien contests these claims and is taking legal advice," a spokesman for the cardinal said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Merkel's conservatives mull U-turn on gay couples' rights Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 05:43 AM PST  BERLIN (Reuters) - Leading members of Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) are considering a U-turn in policy on same sex couples after a court ordered the government to grant them greater adoption rights, in an embarrassing ruling for the chancellor. Germany's constitutional court ruled last week that gay people should be allowed to adopt a child already adopted by their partner, and that the present ban was unconstitutional because it violated the principle of equal treatment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Topless women protest against Berlusconi as he votes in election Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 05:24 AM PST MILAN (Reuters) - A group of topless women were dragged away by police on Sunday when they protested against former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as he voted in Italy's election. The protesters, from the Ukrainian women's rights group Femen, shouted "Basta (Enough) Berlusconi", as the media tycoon was voting in a polling station in a Milan school. The same words were painted on their bodies. Police quickly grabbed the women and roughly bundled them away. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bulgarian protests for cheaper energy intensify Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 04:57 AM PST SOFIA (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people marched in cities across Bulgaria on Sunday, demanding an end to high utility bills and new voting rules after the government was toppled last week. Public anger with power monopolies in the European Union's poorest member forced right-of-center Prime Minister Boiko Borisov's cabinet to resign and has put the country on track for an early election by May. Although Borisov's government managed to maintain fiscal stability since taking power in 2009, belt-tightening has held back growth and driven up unemployment. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK downgrade pressures reluctant Osborne to change course Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 04:50 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister George Osborne said he would not flinch from his austerity drive, despite increasing pressure to change course after the loss of the country's 'AAA' credit rating and with elections approaching in two years. 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 |
| Blast in Vietnam film effects warehouse kills 10 Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 04:15 AM PST HANOI (Reuters) - Twin blasts at a warehouse owned by a cinema special effects expert killed 10 people and reduced three homes to burning rubble in Vietnam's biggest city, state media reported on Sunday. Teams of firefighters worked through the early hours after the overnight explosions and found three survivors among the bodies buried beneath what was left of the houses in southern Ho Chi Minh City early on Sunday, the Tuoi Tre newspaper said on its website (www.tuoitrenews. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: How Italy's election works Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 03:48 AM PST ROME (Reuters) - Italians began voting on Sunday to choose a new government to succeed technocrat Prime Minister Mario Monti, appointed in November 2011 after Silvio Berlusconi resigned at the height of a financial crisis that threatened to break apart the euro zone. Early exit polls and projections will start to come out soon after polls close at 3 p.m. (2 p.m. British time) on Monday and an official result is expected later that evening or early on Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Financial woes in tiny Cyprus are big euro zone headache Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 02:54 AM PST (Reuters) - Cypriots voted on Sunday for a president who must negotiate a financial rescue to keep the island nation from a bankruptcy that would reignite the euro zone debt crisis. Here are some of the options: BAILOUT LOAN While Cyprus's financial needs are relatively low - estimated at 17.5 billion euros - a loan worth as much as the entire Cypriot economy would push debt up to as much as 140 percent of gross domestic product. ... Full Story | Top |
| Battered Monti may still be key player in Italy vote Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 02:06 AM PST ROME (Reuters) - Prime Minister Mario Monti has put his image as an independent technocrat at risk by joining the hurly-burly of Italy's election campaign but investors hope he will retain a key role in government after the vote, whatever the outcome. Monti's centrist bloc is expected to come a lowly fourth in the election on Sunday and Monday, which polls suggest will be won by the center-left, but it may still be needed to help form a stable government. ... Full Story | Top |
| Berlusconi's last throw of the dice in Italy election Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 01:48 AM PST ROME (Reuters) - Billionaire showman Silvio Berlusconi has again astonished Italy with a storming comeback that has frayed nerves in European capitals and among investors, but the signs are his final gamble has failed. The 76-year-old media magnate and four-times prime minister looked down and out for much of 2012 after a jeering crowd hounded him from office in November 2011 as Italy tottered towards a Greek-style debt crisis. His indecision over whether to stand in this weekend's election brought his People of Freedom Party (PDL) to the brink of disintegration. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Bersani on anti-glamour quest for power Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 01:45 AM PST ROME (Reuters) - In an electoral landscape crowded with some of the most colorful personalities in European politics, Italy's center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani is a conspicuously unglamorous exception. Bald, rumpled and habitually seen dragging on a stumpy Tuscan cigar, opinion polls suggest the 61-year-old head of the Democratic Party (PD) is the man most likely to lead the next government after elections on Sunday and Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
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