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| CA-NEWS Summary Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 07:34 PM PDT Lawmakers press Obama to take action on Syria WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican senators on Sunday pressed U.S. President Barack Obama to intervene in Syria's civil war, saying America could attack Syrian air bases with missiles but should not send in ground troops. Pressure is mounting on the White House to do more to help Syrian rebels fighting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, which the Obama administration last week said had probably used chemical arms in the conflict. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen surround Libyan foreign ministry Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 07:33 PM PDT By Ghaith Shennib and Jessica Donati TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Gunmen surrounded Libya's Foreign Ministry on Sunday, calling for a ban on officials who worked for deposed dictator Muammar Gaddafi holding senior positions in the new administration. Just days after the French embassy in Tripoli was bombed, the armed protest raised fresh security fears in the capital and the German embassy suspended some of its activities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ten killed in battles between armed groups in Mexico: reports Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 07:25 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Ten people were reported killed in clashes on Sunday between armed groups in the western Mexican state of Michoacan, which is plagued by battles between rival drug gangs. Skirmishes broke out in two communities near the town of Apatzingan, a drug gang stronghold, according to local media. State officials could not be immediately reached by Reuters and a federal official could not confirm details of the battles. ... Full Story | Top |
| Millions in CIA "ghost money" paid to Afghan president's office: New York Times Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 07:00 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Tens of millions of U.S. dollars in cash were delivered by the CIA in suitcases, backpacks and plastic shopping bags to the office of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai for more than a decade, according to the New York Times, citing current and former advisers to the Afghan leader. The so-called "ghost money" was meant to buy influence for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) but instead fuelled corruption and empowered warlords, undermining Washington's exit strategy from Afghanistan, the newspaper quoted U.S. officials as saying. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fighting reported near suspected chemical arms site in Syria Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 06:48 PM PDT By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - Fighting erupted in Damascus on Sunday near a complex linked to Syria's chemical weapons program, on the third day of an offensive by President Bashar al-Assad's forces aimed at driving rebels from main sectors of the capital, activists said. The fighting occurred near the Scientific Studies and Research Centre on the foothills of Qasioun Mountain in the northern Barzeh district, opposition sources said from Damascus. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chinese military cracks down on license plates and corruption Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 04:50 PM PDT  By Terril Yue Jones BEIJING (Reuters) - China's new leadership is seeking to dismantle a system of privilege which has allowed the drivers of military vehicles to do as they please on the roads. On Sunday the Chinese military began replacing license plates on its cars and trucks to crack down on legions of vehicles, many of them plush luxury brands, which routinely break traffic laws and fill up with free gas. The People's Liberation Army General Logistics Department began supervising the removal of current military license plates that will expire on Tuesday, the PLA Daily newspaper reported. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. identifies four American victims in Afghan crash Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 04:05 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon identified four U.S. victims in Saturday's crash of a surveillance aircraft in southern Afghanistan and said the incident appeared unrelated to Taliban violence. The police chief in Zabul province, Rogh Lewanai, told Reuters on Saturday that bad weather caused the plane to crash, in the district of Shahjoi. At the time, NATO did not identify the nationality of the victims but said they were part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force. The Pentagon said on Sunday the crash of the MC-12 was under investigation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fire breaks out in Bangladesh building where 377 die Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 03:17 PM PDT  By Ruma Paul and Serajul Quadir DHAKA (Reuters) - Fire broke out on Sunday in a garment factory that collapsed in the Bangladeshi capital, complicating attempts to find any survivors of a disaster that has killed 377 people. Fire service officials said the blaze had been started by sparks from cutting equipment used by rescuers. Police said the owner of the factory, Mohammed Sohel Rana, was arrested on Sunday trying to flee to India, as hopes of finding more survivors from the country's worst industrial accident began to fade. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lawmakers press Obama to take action on Syria Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 03:06 PM PDT  By Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican senators on Sunday pressed U.S. President Barack Obama to intervene in Syria's civil war, saying America could attack Syrian air bases with missiles but should not send in ground troops. Pressure is mounting on the White House to do more to help Syrian rebels fighting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, which the Obama administration last week said had probably used chemical arms in the conflict. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bissau leader pledges election by year end Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 03:05 PM PDT  BISSAU (Reuters) - Guinea-Bissau's interim leader returned home on Sunday after weeks abroad seeking medical treatment and pledged to organize elections in his coup-prone nation before the end of the year. President Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo refused to comment on this month's U.S. drug sting that targeted his country's top brass, accused of trafficking Latin American cocaine, but said he expected leaders to unite so donors could fund the election. ... Full Story | Top |
| Key Egyptian negotiator with IMF quits Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 02:39 PM PDT By Paul Taylor CAIRO (Reuters) - A key Egyptian negotiator with the International Monetary Fund said on Sunday he has resigned as first deputy finance minister, in a potential blow to Cairo's prospects of an early IMF deal. Hany Kadry Dimian has been the crucial point man in Egypt's protracted and so far fruitless negotiations to obtain a $4.8 billion loan needed to help combat a severe economic crisis. "The only comment I can make for the time being is that yes, my term ends on April 30 according to my resignation, which I submitted in December," Kadry told Reuters by telephone. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen surround Libyan foreign ministry to push demands Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 02:09 PM PDT  By Ghaith Shennib and Jessica Donati TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Gunmen surrounded Libya's Foreign Ministry on Sunday, calling for a ban on officials who worked for deposed dictator Muammar Gaddafi holding senior positions in the new administration. Just days after the French embassy in Tripoli was bombed, the armed protest raised fresh security fears in the capital and the German embassy suspended some of its activities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan hopes Russia summit can bring momentum on island dispute Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 02:08 PM PDT  By Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hopes talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday will revive efforts to end a territorial dispute that has prevented the nations signing a treaty to end World War Two. Japan also expects Russia to present a proposal for Japan's participation in building a pipeline connecting East Siberian gas fields and a planned $38 billion Vladivostok gas hub built by state-controlled Russian export monopoly Gazprom. ... Full Story | Top |
| Germany's Greens lurch left in bid to beat Merkel Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 02:01 PM PDT  By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Greens lurched to the left at a party congress in Berlin over the weekend by endorsing a "soak-the-rich" campaign for new taxes, a risky attempt to win power in September's election that upset the party's pragmatist wing. Ignoring warnings against raising too many taxes at once from their most successful leader, Greens state premier Winfried Kretschmann, the 800 delegates voted to push to raise the top income tax rate to 49 percent from 42 percent and introduce an annual 1.5 percent wealth tax on assets above a million euros. ... Full Story | Top |
| Far right stumbles again in Austrian state election Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 12:39 PM PDT  VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria's far-right Freedom Party lost ground on Sunday at a third consecutive state election, further clouding its prospects for joining a national coalition after parliamentary elections due by September. Heinz-Christian Strache's Freedom Party - which had stumbled badly in two other state votes this year, including in its heartland of Carinthia - fell below 10 percent in the western province of Tyrol, provisional results showed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Building collapses in northern France, three dead Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 12:18 PM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - Part of a five-storey residential building collapsed in the northeastern French city of Reims on Sunday, killing three people and injuring 14, officials said. The collapse may have been caused by a gas explosion, regional official Michel Bernard told BFM-TV. The death toll was not likely to rise as the injured people were not at risk and there were no residents unaccounted for, an official at the region's emergency center told Reuters. Around 10 of the 40 apartments in the 1960s-era building were affected by the collapse. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mursi backs down, to seek compromise on judges Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 12:17 PM PDT  By Paul Taylor and Omar Fahmy CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi and top judges agreed on Sunday to seek a compromise to defuse a battle over Islamist attempts to force out thousands of judges that have deeply polarized the Arab world's most populous nation. Mursi's Islamist allies had proposed legislation to purge more than 3,000 judges at a stroke by reducing their mandatory retirement age to 60 from 70 to sweep away senior jurists appointed under autocratic former President Hosni Mubarak. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Boston bomb suspects' parents retreat to village, cancel U.S. trip Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 11:42 AM PDT  By Maria Golovnina UNDISCLOSED LOCATION IN NORTH CAUCASUS, Russia (Reuters) - The parents of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects have retreated to a village in southern Russia to shelter from the spotlight and abandoned plans for now to travel to the United States, the father of the suspects told Reuters on Sunday. Speaking in the garden of a large house, Anzor Tsarnaev said he believed he would not be allowed to see his surviving son DzhokharŸ, who was captured and has been charged in connection with the April 15 bomb blasts that killed three people and wounded 264. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy prosecutors aim to hasten Finmeccanica graft trial: source Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 11:32 AM PDT  MILAN (Reuters) - Italian prosecutors investigating allegations of corruption by Finmeccanica in the sale of 12 helicopters to India believe their evidence is strong enough to warrant an urgent trial without preliminary proceedings, a legal source with direct knowledge of the situation said. Prosecutors in the city of Busto Arsizio will ask a judge to order that Finmeccanica's former chairman, Giuseppe Orsi, and other suspects skip preliminary hearings and are sent directly to trial, the source said. Pre-trial hearings can last for months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iceland seeks end to austerity with new center-right government Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 11:17 AM PDT  By Balazs Koranyi and Robert Robertson REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Iceland's center-right parties began talks on Sunday to form a new government, promising to end years of austerity and provide debt relief to households, and only arguing about which one of them should lead the government. Fed up with years of belt tightening and soaring debt, Icelanders ousted the Social Democrats on Saturday, handing the biggest defeat to any ruling party since independence from Denmark in 1944 and offering a new chance to the very parties that presided over its economic rise and collapse. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two policemen shot as new Italy government sworn in Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 11:02 AM PDT  By Gavin Jones and Roberto Landucci ROME (Reuters) - Enrico Letta was sworn in as Italy's new prime minister on Sunday and immediately faced an emergency after an unemployed man shot two police officers outside his office. The 49 year-old gunman, from the poor southern region of Calabria, told investigators he had planned to attack politicians but had found none within range. One of the officers was shot in the neck, hitting his spinal cord, and he was in a serious condition, surgeons said. The other was shot in the leg. ... Full Story | Top |
| German finance minister calls anti-euro party's policy "insane" Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 10:03 AM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - A core policy of a new anti-euro party was criticized as "economically insane" by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in an interview published on Sunday. Support for the Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD), which wants Germany to quit the euro and reintroduce the deutsche mark, is at 2 percent, according to a survey by Emnid pollsters also released on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain's PM says concerned about claims of torture in UAE Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 09:32 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron is concerned about allegations that three Britons charged with drug offences in Dubai have been tortured, his office said on Sunday, two days before the president of the United Arab Emirates visits Britain. Grant Cameron, Karl Williams and Suneet Jeerh have been held in the UAE since taking a holiday there in July 2012. Police said they had found a form of synthetic cannabis in their hire car. They are due to hear a verdict in their case on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Good life goes on as Syrian elite sit out war Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 09:22 AM PDT  By Michael Stott and Samia Nakhoul DAMASCUS (Reuters) - It might sound absurd to talk about normal life in Syria after two years of civil war which have killed more than 70,000 people and left five million more destitute and homeless. Yet in the neighborhood of Malki, a tree-lined enclave of central Damascus, a wealthy group of elite, pro-government Syrians still enjoy shopping for imported French cheeses, gourmet hand-made chocolates and iPad minis in the well-stocked, recently built Grand Mall and in nearby boutiques. ... Full Story | Top |
| One year on, France's Hollande says he will weather poll slump Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 08:17 AM PDT  By Elizabeth Pineau PARIS (Reuters) - France's Francois Hollande said he was undeterred by a first year in power marked by economic slowdown and a record slump in his personal popularity, arguing his 5-year presidency would achieve results over time. In comments to correspondents from Reuters and Agence France Presse a week before the anniversary of his May 2012 election win over Nicolas Sarkozy, Hollande shrugged off polls showing his popularity rating around 25 percent, after the sharpest fall for any president in over half a century. "I'm aware how serious the situation is. ... Full Story | Top |
| British PM's party turns on anti-EU rival before vote Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 08:14 AM PDT  By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's ruling Conservatives derided the rival UK Independence Party as a "collection of clowns" on Sunday as they tried to stop supporters switching to the surging anti-European Union movement in local elections this week. Thursday's vote in England and Wales offers parties a chance to test the political climate before a national election in 2015 at a time when Conservative strategists fear UKIP will split the center-right vote. ... Full Story | Top |
| Algeria president shows no permanent damage from minor stroke: APS Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 07:38 AM PDT  By Lamine Chikhi and Hamid Ould Ahmed ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was transferred to France for medical tests on Saturday night after suffering a minor stroke that Algeria's official news agency said had caused no permanent damage. Bouteflika, who has ruled over the North African oil and gas producer for more than a decade, had a "transient ischemic attack" or mini-stroke on Saturday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudanese protesters stone government convoy after rebel attack Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 07:36 AM PDT KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Residents of a provincial Sudanese city set government offices on fire and threw rocks at local officials on Sunday, accusing them of failing to protect them from a rebel attack the day before, witnesses said. Insurgents from Sudan's Darfur region stormed Um Rawaba in North Kordofan state on Saturday, witnesses said. State media said late in the evening authorities had regained control of the city, located some 500 km (300 miles) from Khartoum. ... Full Story | Top |
| Court orders detention of Bosnia federation head in graft probe Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 07:34 AM PDT  SARAJEVO (Reuters) - A Bosnian court on Sunday ordered that the president of the country's autonomous Muslim-Croat federation and four other officials be detained for a month after prosecutors said they took bribes to arrange pardons for convicts. Federation President Zivko Budimir was arrested on Friday along with 19 others in the most high-profile anti-corruption drive in Bosnia since independence more than two decades ago. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bulgaria's center right on track for election win: poll Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 06:39 AM PDT  SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's center-right GERB party is on course for election victory on May 12 despite resigning from the government after mass protests against low living standards in February, a poll showed on Sunday. The state-funded NPOC survey put ex-premier Boiko Borisov's GERB at 23.6 percent and the Socialists at 17.7 percent. On this basis, however, a hung parliament looked likely since a party needs over 43 percent of votes for a majority. ... Full Story | Top |
| Libya to help ease Egypt crisis with $1.2 billion oil deal Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 06:04 AM PDT By Jessica Donati and Ghaith Shennib TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya will soon start shipping oil to neighboring Egypt on soft credit terms, two senior Libyan officials said, as Cairo struggles to pay for energy imports and avoid fuel shortages. The officials told Reuters that Tripoli would supply Cairo with $1.2 billion worth of crude at world prices but on interest free credit for a year, with the first cargo expected to arrive next month. Egypt has slid into economic crisis since president Hosni Mubarak was overthrown two years ago. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy minister says Rome shooting "isolated act" Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 05:25 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - The shooting outside the Italian prime minister's office in Rome as a new government was being sworn in on Sunday appeared to be an isolated incident, newly installed Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said. "An initial examination of the incident suggests that this can be considered as an isolated act," Alfano told reporters, adding that further checks were being carried out. He said there was no cause for concern about the overall security situation in Italy but added that protective measures had been stepped up at potential targets. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria's neighbors cautious about U.S.-led intervention Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 05:00 AM PDT  By Nick Tattersall ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Syria's neighbors, wary of stirring a conflict that could spill back over their borders, would be reluctant partners in a U.S.-led intervention but are ultimately likely to support limited military action if widespread use of chemical weapons is proven. The White House disclosed U.S. intelligence on Thursday that Syria had likely used chemical weapons, a move President Barack Obama had said could trigger unspecified consequences, widely interpreted to include possible U.S. military action. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rome mayor says shooting not act of terrorism Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 03:56 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - The shooting outside the Italian prime minister's office on Sunday could not be described as terrorism although the bitter political climate of the past few months has increased tensions, the mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno said. "It's not an act of terrorism but certainly the climate of the past few months has not helped," Alemanno told reporters. A man was arrested after the shooting in which two police officers and a passerby were wounded just as the new government of Prime Minister Enrico Letta was being sworn in at the presidential palace around a kilometer (mile) away. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunshots fired near Italy prime minister's office, injuries Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 03:37 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - Gunshots were fired in front of the Italian prime minister's office in Rome on Sunday as the new government of Enrico Letta was being sworn in at the president's palace around a kilometer away, RAI state television reported. It said there were injuries and quoted a witness who said that she had heard at least eight shots fired. (This story is corrected with day to Sunday from Saturday) (Reporting by James Mackenzie; editing by Mark Heinrich) Full Story | Top |
| Italy's new economy minister aims to cut taxes and spending Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 03:26 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - Italy's new economy minister Fabrizio Saccomanni plans to cut taxes and public spending and lower borrowing costs, according to an interview published on Sunday in daily la Repubblica. Saccomanni, formerly deputy governor of Italy's central bank, was sworn in as minister on Sunday as part of Prime Minister Enrico Letta's new coalition cabinet, a mix of center-right and center-left politicians and technocrats like Saccomanni. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two Italian police hurt in shooting near prime minister's office Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 03:01 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - A man was arrested on Sunday after shooting and wounding two police officers outside the Italian prime minister's office in central Rome, police said. One of the wounded law enforcers had been shot in the neck and was in a serious condition, a police official said. The shootings took place as Prime Minister Enrico Letta's new cabinet was being sworn in at the president's palace around one kilometer away. (Reporting by Roberto Landucci, writing by Gavin Jones) Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Israeli credibility on line over Iran nuclear challenge Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 02:59 AM PDT  By Crispian Balmer and Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel risks a loss of credibility over both its "red line" for Iran's nuclear program and its threat of military action, and its room for unilateral maneuver is shrinking. After years of veiled warnings that Israel might strike the Islamic Republic, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out an ultimatum at the United Nations last September. Iran, he said, must not amass enough uranium at 20 percent fissile purity to fuel one bomb if enriched further. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bangladesh collapsed building owner arrested near border: police Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 02:54 AM PDT DHAKA (Reuters) - The owner of a Bangladesh factory building that collapsed killing more than 370 people was arrested on Sunday attempting to flee to India, police said. Mohammed Sohel Rana, a leader of the ruling Awami League's youth front, was arrested by the elite Rapid Action Battalion in the Bangladesh border town of Benapole, Dhaka District Police Chief Habibur Rahman told Reuters. (Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Jeremy Laurence) Full Story | Top |
| Japan's Abe says "restoration of sovereignty day" signals hope Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 01:52 AM PDT  By Stanley White TOKYO (Reuters) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on Sunday for a renewal of a "sense of hope and determination" in marking for the first time the restoration of Japan's post-war sovereignty, part of a drive to repair what conservatives consider dented national pride. Abe, who is riding a wave of popularity after being swept back into office in a landslide election last December, wants to revise the post-war, U.S.-drafted pacifist constitution and rewrite Japan's wartime history with a less apologetic tone. ... Full Story | Top |
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