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| CA-NEWS Summary Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 08:46 PM PDT North Korea delays access to Kaesong industrial zone SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea stepped up pressure on Seoul by delaying access to a joint industrial park in a move that could trap hundreds of South Korean workers on the northern side of the world's most militarized border. It was not immediately clear if the move was aimed at closing the Kaesong Industrial zone, which generates $2 billion a year in trade for the impoverished North and $80 million in cash wages that go straight to its government. North Korean delays to accessing the zone are very rare. U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Malaysia's Najib says dissolves parliament ahead of election Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 08:45 PM PDT  KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said he will dissolve parliament on Wednesday, paving the way for a long-anticipated general election within weeks that could be the closest his ruling coalition has faced in its 56-year rule. "The king has accepted my request to dissolve parliament effective April 3," Najib said in a live television address from the administrative capital Putrajaya. ... Full Story | Top |
| Malaysia's Najib to make TV address, expected to call election Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 08:25 PM PDT  KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is expected to dissolve parliament and call a long-anticipated general election in a televised announcement on Wednesday morning, government officials said. Najib, whose ruling coalition faces a resurgent opposition challenging its 56-year rule, will make the national address at 11.30 a.m (11:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday), an official in his department said. He is expected to use the TV address to announce the election, two government sources told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea suspends entry to Kaesong industrial zone Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 07:33 PM PDT SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean authorities were not allowing any South Korean workers into a joint industrial park on Wednesday, South Korea's Unification Ministry and a Reuters witness said, adding to tensions between the two countries. A South Korean official said hundreds of South Koreans currently in the Kaesong Industrial zone would be allowed to leave. North Korea had earlier delayed access to the park. The zone generates $2 billion a year in trade for the impoverished North. (Writing by Dean Yates) Full Story | Top |
| North Korea delays access to Kaesong industrial zone Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 07:33 PM PDT  By Christine Kim and Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea stepped up pressure on Seoul by delaying access to a joint industrial park in a move that could trap hundreds of South Korean workers on the northern side of the world's most militarized border. It was not immediately clear if the move was aimed at closing the Kaesong Industrial zone, which generates $2 billion a year in trade for the impoverished North and $80 million in cash wages that go straight to its government. North Korean delays to accessing the zone are very rare. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: In Malaysia's election, a focus on rainforest graft Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 07:22 PM PDT  By Niluksi Koswanage KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia (Reuters) - The island of Borneo may be all that stands between Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and an unprecedented election defeat within weeks for his ruling coalition. Borneo's two Malaysian states -- Sabah and Sarawak -- have been a bastion of votes for the National Front coalition headed by Najib's party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. overwhelmingly approves global arms trade treaty Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 07:03 PM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved the first treaty on the global arms trade, which seeks to regulate the $70 billion business in conventional arms and keep weapons out of the hands of human rights abusers. The National Rifle Association (NRA), a powerful U.S. pro-gun lobbying group that has opposed the treaty from the start, said it was a sad day for the United States, which joined the vast majority of U.N. member states by voting for the pact. ... Full Story | Top |
| Blow to Serbia's EU bid as Kosovo talks end without result Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 05:32 PM PDT  By Adrian Croft BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Crunch talks aimed at ending the ethnic partition of Serbia's former Kosovo province broke up without result on Wednesday, in a major setback for Serbia's hopes of starting European Union membership negotiations this year. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who has been mediating months of talks between Serbia and Kosovo, said the gap between the two sides was "very narrow, but deep" after a marathon 12-hour session. ... Full Story | Top |
| Four face manslaughter charges for Brazil nightclub fire Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 05:17 PM PDT  SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Prosecutors charged four people with manslaughter on Tuesday for their roles in the January 27 nightclub fire that killed 241 people in southern Brazil, saying they overlooked grave safety irregularities. The Kiss club's two owners, as well as two members of a band who lit a flare that ignited a soundproofing ceiling foam, will stand trial for manslaughter while four others face lesser charges, including for false testimony. "They ignored what could have happened to these people for financial reasons," prosecutor Joel Dutra said of the accused. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran's nuclear program entails huge costs, few benefits: report Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 05:11 PM PDT  By Yeganeh Torbati DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran will pursue its nuclear quest although it has reaped few gains from a totem of national pride that has cost it well over $100 billion in lost oil revenue and foreign investment alone, two think-tanks said on Wednesday. A report by the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Federation of American Scientists said Iran's atomic work could not simply be ended or "bombed away" and that diplomacy was the only way to keep it peaceful. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel launches air strikes on Gaza; first since truce Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 04:59 PM PDT By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) - Israel launched air strikes on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the first such attacks since an eight-day war in November, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that controls the territory, and Israel's military said. "Occupation planes bombarded an open area in northern Gaza, there were no wounded," a statement from the Hamas Interior Ministry said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt threatens to cancel license of TV station hosting satirist Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 04:44 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - The Egyptian government has threatened to cancel the license of an independent TV channel for hosting a popular satirist who was questioned by prosecutors over accusations that he insulted President Mohamed Mursi, state media said on Tuesday. Bassem Youssef, who rose to fame with a satirical online show after the uprising that swept the previous president, Hosni Mubarak, from power in 2011, turned himself in on Sunday after the prosecutor-general issued a warrant for his arrest. ... Full Story | Top |
| Islamists accuse U.S. of interference in Egyptian affairs Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 04:44 PM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - President Mohamed Mursi's Islamist allies accused the United States on Tuesday of blatant interference in Egypt's affairs after Washington said Cairo was muzzling freedom of speech. On Monday, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland criticized the questioning of the most popular Egyptian television satirist over allegations that he insulted Mursi and Islam. ... Full Story | Top |
| At Chavez's birthplace, Maduro vows to win Venezuela vote Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 04:18 PM PDT  By Brian Ellsworth and Mario Naranjo SABANETA, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan acting President Nicolas Maduro made a pilgrimage to late socialist leader Hugo Chavez's birthplace on Tuesday and pledged to win the April 14 election in his honor. "We regard Chavez as our father. He marked our life, that's why we came here to make an oath in the land of his birth that we will never let him down," Maduro, 50, said in the village of Sabaneta where his former boss was born. ... Full Story | Top |
| Serbia, Kosovo fail to reach deal to improve ties Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 04:11 PM PDT BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Serbia and Kosovo failed to reach a deal on improving ties that is seen as crucial to Serbia's hopes of joining the European Union, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Wednesday. Ashton, who has been mediating in the talks, said in a statement that the gap between the two sides was "very narrow, but deep." She said the 12-hour negotiating session in Brussels was the last time all sides would meet formally for the EU-brokered talks. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea to restart nuclear reactor in weapons bid Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 03:22 PM PDT By Jack Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Tuesday it would revive a mothballed nuclear reactor able to produce bomb-grade plutonium but stressed it was seeking a deterrent capacity and did not repeat recent threats to attack South Korea and the United States. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the crisis over North Korea had gone too far and he appealed for dialogue and negotiation to resolve the situation. "Nuclear threats are not a game. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Stockton and San Bernardino, a tale of two bankruptcies Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 03:16 PM PDT  By Tim Reid LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Stockton and San Bernardino, the two California cities that have filed for bankruptcy protection, are both considered test cases in the epic battle over whether municipal bondholders or pensioners will absorb most of the pain when a government goes broke. A federal court ruling on Monday that allowed Stockton's bankruptcy case to move forward underscored the huge differences between the two cases and how they are likely to unfold. Stockton, the largest U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel launches air strike on Gaza; first since truce Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 02:30 PM PDT GAZA (Reuters) - Israel launched an air strike on the Palestinian Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the first such attack since an eight-day war in November, Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls the territory, and Israel's military said. "Occupation planes bombarded an open area in northern Gaza, there were no wounded," a statement from the Hamas Interior Ministry said. An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed there had been a strike in Gaza, but gave no further details. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israeli troops return fire into Syria Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 01:52 PM PDT  By Maayan Lubell JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli tanks fired into Syria on Tuesday after shots were fired at troops in the occupied Golan Heights, a military spokeswoman said, in a further spillover of the Syrian civil war. "Shots were fired at an IDF (Israel Defence Forces) patrol on the border. No injuries or damage was caused. In response, IDF forces returned precise fire at the source and reported a direct hit," the spokeswoman said. The U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. deploys warship as tensions over North Korea rise Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 12:35 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Tuesday that a second U.S. guided-missile destroyer had taken position in the western Pacific on a missile defense mission, as tensions rise over North Korea's threats of war against the United States and its ally, South Korea. The announcement is the latest confirmation of minor adjustments to the posture of the U.S. military, which is seeking to reassure allies in Seoul and Tokyo of American military capabilities to respond to any moves by Pyongyang. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazil arrests third suspect in rape, kidnap of foreign student Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 12:32 PM PDT RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Police in Rio de Janeiro have arrested a third suspect after the weekend rape and kidnapping of a foreign student that shocked residents and once again raised concerns about security in Brazil ahead of the World Cup, Olympics and other major international events in the coming years. ... Full Story | Top |
| Most young Pakistanis pessimistic as economy struggles: survey Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 12:04 PM PDT  By Michael Georgy ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Nearly 100 percent of young Pakistanis are pessimistic about the future and believe their country is headed in the wrong direction, a survey released on Wednesday found. A British Council study, entitled "Next Generation Goes to The Ballot Box", also showed that only one in five young adults expect their economic situation to improve over the next year. The findings make for disturbing reading for politicians who are trying to win over Pakistanis ahead of a May 11 general election. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russian officials have three months to ditch foreign bank accounts Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 11:59 AM PDT  By Maria Tsvetkova MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian officials have until July 1 to get rid of financial assets abroad as part of President Vladimir Putin's campaign to stem corruption and capital flight, his chief of staff said on Tuesday. Sergei Ivanov, held a rare Kremlin news conference to announce measures related to a drive to "de-offshore" the Russian economy - a term used by Putin in the first state of the nation speech of his new term last year. Russia ranked 133rd out of 174 states in Transparency International's 2012 Corruption Perception Index. ... Full Story | Top |
| French ex-minister admits secret bank account, inquiry begun Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 11:55 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - France's erstwhile budget minister admitted on Tuesday to holding a secret 600,000-euro foreign bank account and he was placed under a fraud investigation in a grave blow to President Francois Hollande's 10-month-old government. Jerome Cahuzac's surprise reversal after months of denying allegations he held a Swiss account deeply embarrassed Hollande, who had promised an irreproachable team of ministers and is battling to uphold France's fiscal credibility in the eyes of foreign investors. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bomb hits Somalia's biggest bank after militant threat Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 11:44 AM PDT By Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A bomb exploded outside the headquarters of Somalia's biggest bank on Tuesday, wounding at least two people hours after al Qaeda-linked militants ordered the company cease operations in areas under their control. The blast outside Dahabshiil's office in Mogadishu shattered its doors and littered the area with debris, police said. "A remote-controlled bomb planted in front of Mogadishu's Dahabshiil bank and money transfer headquarters injured two guards," police captain Nur Hassan told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Armed men attack Baghdad newspaper offices over story on cleric Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 11:25 AM PDT  By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Men armed with pistols, knives and steel pipes stormed into three Baghdad newspaper offices, beating employees and smashing computers after publication of an article about a Shi'ite Muslim cleric, police and editors said on Tuesday. Monday's attacks illustrated the stubborn influence of hardline Islamist militias in Iraq, where Sunni and Shi'ite insurgents often imposed their own fundamentalist vision on the streets during the height of sectarian war a few years ago. ... Full Story | Top |
| Forex controls hinder global growth: Bank of Canada deputy governor Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 11:11 AM PDT  By Louise Egan and Randall Palmer OTTAWA (Reuters) - Countries that impose capital controls and accumulate reserves are delaying the adjustments needed to help the global economy grow fully, Bank of Canada Deputy Governor John Murray said on Tuesday, adding that he did not want to blame anyone country. "There is a sense that, as indicated by the reserves that have been accumulated and the capital controls, there certainly has been resistance on certain fronts," Murray said in a presentation in Washington that was webcast. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russian, U.S. ambassadors call for action to mend strained ties Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 10:45 AM PDT By Gabriela Baczynska MOSCOW (Reuters) - Eight former U.S. and Russian ambassadors on Tuesday urged swift action to improve relations between Washington and Moscow, which are at odds over issues ranging from Syria to human rights. Ties between the Cold War foes have soured since Vladimir Putin returned to Russia's presidency in May, undermining U.S. President Barack Obama's attempt to "reset" relations. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. wants to support fight against al Qaeda in Mali: senator Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 10:27 AM PDT  By Tiemoko Diallo BAMAKO (Reuters) - The United States will seek ways it can help French and African forces in Mali combat al Qaeda-linked rebels, U.S. Senator John McCain said on Tuesday during a visit to the West African country. France launched a military offensive in Mali in January against Islamist militants threatening the capital. That drove the insurgents out of the towns they had seized, but they have since hit back with suicide attacks and guerrilla-style raids. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mandela's condition unchanged, no deterioration: presidency Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 10:17 AM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African president Nelson Mandela's condition has not changed after a weekend improvement, the government said on Tuesday, and it denied media reports suggesting the anti-apartheid hero had suffered a relapse in his pneumonia. "His condition is unchanged as reported yesterday," presidency spokesman Mac Maharaj told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Parties carp as Italy's "wise men" seek end to political crisis Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 10:15 AM PDT  By Naomi O'Leary and Barry Moody ROME (Reuters) - Italian President Giorgio Napolitano expressed despair on Tuesday at fierce criticism of his latest plan to end a post-election deadlock that has raised fears of months of instability in the euro zone's third largest economy. Two groups of "wise men" appointed by Napolitano to try to forge a policy compromise between squabbling parties to end the impasse since the February 24-25 election started work on Tuesday. Napolitano said they would report back in 8-10 days. ... Full Story | Top |
| At Chavez's birthplace, Maduro swears to win Venezuela vote Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 10:11 AM PDT  By Brian Ellsworth and Mario Naranjo SABANETA, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan acting President Nicolas Maduro made a pilgrimage to late socialist leader Hugo Chavez's birthplace on Tuesday and pledged to win the April 14 election in his honor. "We regard Chavez as our father. He marked our life, that's why we came here to make an oath in the land of his birth that we will never let him down," Maduro, 50, said in the village of Sabaneta where his former boss was born. ... Full Story | Top |
| Explosion hits Somalia's Dahabshiil bank headquarters Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 10:08 AM PDT MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A loud explosion hit the headquarters of Somali's leading money transfer agency in the capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, wounding at least two people hours after al Qaeda-linked Islamist militants warned the bank to cease operations in areas under its control. Police said they were still searching the rubble outside the Dahabshiil bank, whose doors were shattered by the blast. It was not immediately clear whether anyone had been killed by the explosion. (Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Jon Hemming) Full Story | Top |
| Congo promises action on mass rapes in eastern town: U.N. Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 10:06 AM PDT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The Democratic Republic of Congo has promised to bring a group of suspected mass rapists to justice after the United Nations last month threatened to halt support to two Congolese army battalions, the world body said on Tuesday. The United Nations said 126 women were raped in Minova in November after Congolese troops fled to the town as so-called M23 rebels briefly captured the nearby provincial capital of Goma. The U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Palestinians protest after Israeli jail cancer death Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 09:32 AM PDT  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli prison guards fired tear gas to quell disturbances by Palestinian inmates on Tuesday after a prisoner serving a life sentence over an attempt to bomb an Israeli cafe died of cancer. Maysara Abu Hamdeya's death threatened to raise tensions in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Palestinians, who view jailed brethren as heroes in a fight for statehood, have held several protests in recent weeks in support of prisoners. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kurdish peace process in Turkey faces impasse over militant withdrawal Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 08:36 AM PDT  By Daren Butler ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's peace process with Kurdish militants faces a hurdle as the rebels demand legal protection to prevent any military attack on them during their planned withdrawal after decades of fighting, a call rejected by the government. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) declared a ceasefire with Turkey last month in response to an order from its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan after months of talks with Ankara to halt a conflict which has killed more than 40,000. ... Full Story | Top |
| India puts off purchase of 197 helicopters over bribery claim Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 08:27 AM PDT  NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India on Tuesday deferred a decision on a deal to buy 197 light-utility helicopters pending completion of an investigation into kickback allegations, the latest setback to efforts to upgrade the country's ageing arsenal. A previous tender to buy 197 helicopters for the army for $550 million collapsed in 2007 after claims of irregularities in the field trials. ... Full Story | Top |
| Suspected militants attack Pakistan power station, seven dead Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 08:16 AM PDT  By Jibran Ahmad PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Dozens of suspected militants attacked a major power station in northwest Pakistan with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades and killed seven people, police said on Tuesday. The assault, in the run-up to May 11 general elections, destroyed the biggest power station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, suspending electricity supply to half of the major city of Peshawar. It served as a reminder that Pakistan's leaders have failed to tackle a Taliban insurgency that remains potent despite a series of security crackdowns. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rescuers find 59 bodies after Tibet landslide: Xinhua Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 08:13 AM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - Rescue teams have found 59 dead bodies at the site a massive landslide in Tibet and two dozen more workers are still feared buried in the rubble, Chinese state media said on Tuesday. Tonnes of rock, mud and debris engulfed a miners' camp on Friday in Maizhokunggar County where China Gold International Resources Corp Ltd operates its Jiama mine. Emergency workers and other miners spent the weekend digging through the landslide which was up to 50 meters deep in parts. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine's opposition thwarted over Kiev mayor Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 08:04 AM PDT  By Olzhas Auyezov KIEV (Reuters) - Thousands of supporters of Ukraine's re-energized opposition rallied outside parliament on Tuesday to press for early elections for the mayor of Kiev and oust an ally of President Viktor Yanukovich from the powerful post. But despite the show of strength, Yanukovich's Party of the Regions defeated the attempt to set a June date for the ballot. ... Full Story | Top |
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