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| CA-NEWS Summary Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 07:38 PM PDT Obama won't rush to act against Syria over chemical arms WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama signaled on Tuesday he is no rush to respond quickly to Syria's apparent use of chemical weapons, taking a cautious approach to the country's civil war, mirroring the views of the American public, most lawmakers and some U.S. allies. Obama, who last year declared that the use or deployment of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would cross a "red line," told a White House news conference there was evidence those weapons were used, but there was still much that U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuelan lawmakers hurt during punch-up in parliament Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 07:38 PM PDT  By Mario Naranjo and Eyanir Chinea CARACAS (Reuters) - Fistfights broke out in Venezuela's parliament on Tuesday, injuring a number of legislators during an angry session linked to the South American nation's bitter election dispute. The opposition said seven of its parliamentarians were attacked and hurt when protesting a measure to block them from speaking in the National Assembly over their refusal to recognize President Nicolas Maduro's April 14 vote victory. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU considers trade action after Bangladesh factory collapse Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 06:20 PM PDT  (Reuters) - The European Union voiced strong concern over labor conditions in Bangladesh after a building collapse there killed hundreds of factory workers, and said it was considering action to encourage improvements, including the use of its trade preference system. Anger has been growing since the illegally built structure collapsed last week, killing at least 390 people. Hundreds remain unaccounted for but rescue officials said on Tuesday they had given up hope of finding any more survivors. ... Full Story | Top |
| Amnesty says Sri Lanka represses dissent to consolidate power Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 05:56 PM PDT  By Shihar Aneez and Ranga Sirilal COLOMBO (Reuters) - The Sri Lankan government is intensifying a crackdown on critics in order to tighten its grip on power, rights group Amnesty International said on Tuesday, urging Commonwealth countries not to hold a summit there in November. But the island nation's government accused Amnesty International of being in the pay of supporters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), an insurgent group defeated in a nearly 30-year war that ended in May 2009. ... Full Story | Top |
| ElBaradei says Egypt needs political consensus to heal economy Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 04:53 PM PDT  By Patrick Werr and Alexander Dziadosz CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's government must seek political compromise to win broad support for a crucial IMF loan and revive the country's ailing economy, senior opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei said on Tuesday. The former U.N. nuclear watchdog chief and Nobel Peace Prize winner accused the ruling Muslim Brotherhood of excluding other political forces from decision making, hindering recovery two years after an uprising ousted President Hosni Mubarak. ... Full Story | Top |
| No talks on key Mexico reforms until spat resolved: opposition Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 04:36 PM PDT  By Dave Graham and Ana Isabel Martinez MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A multi-party alliance to modernize Mexico's economy will not discuss pending energy and tax reforms until an electoral spat between the opposition and the government is resolved, the head of the main leftist party said on Tuesday. Jesus Zambrano, chairman of the opposition Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), said there could be no talks on these reforms until the government had taken clear steps to punish those responsible for a vote-buying scandal in the Gulf state of Veracruz that was exposed this month. ... Full Story | Top |
| Man who studied in U.S., four others freed in Uzbekistan: State Department Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 04:12 PM PDT By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Uzbekistan has released five high-profile prisoners jailed for political or religious reasons, including an accused member of an Islamist group who studied in the United States, the U.S. State Department said in its annual human rights report. The five - also including two human rights activists and two members of the Jehovah's Witnesses, were freed last year, the State Department said in its 2012 survey of human rights around the world. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cyprus bailout scrapes through island's parliament Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 03:59 PM PDT  By Michele Kambas NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus's parliament approved an EU bailout on Tuesday which will force it to wind down its second-largest bank and impose heavy losses on uninsured depositors at another, conditions that have intensified calls from islanders to exit the euro. With a razor-thin majority of just two votes, lawmakers approved terms accompanying 10 billion euros ($13.18 billion)in aid from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama won't rush to act against Syria over chemical arms Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 03:58 PM PDT  By Steve Holland and Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama signaled on Tuesday he is no rush to respond quickly to Syria's apparent use of chemical weapons, taking a cautious approach to the country's civil war, mirroring the views of the American public, most lawmakers and some U.S. allies. Obama, who last year declared that the use or deployment of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would cross a "red line," told a White House news conference there was evidence those weapons were used, but there was still much that U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama renews vow to close Guantanamo detention camp Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 03:34 PM PDT  By Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saying it was damaging to U.S. interests to keep holding prisoners in legal limbo at Guantanamo, President Barack Obama renewed an old vow on Tuesday to close the camp, where about 100 inmates are on hunger strike to protest against their years in detention without trial. Human rights groups welcomed Obama's recommitment to shutting the prison, but some activists called for action, not just words. Criticism of the camp, set up at the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Catholic church excommunicates Brazil priest for liberal views Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 03:05 PM PDT  By Paulo Prada RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - The Catholic Church has excommunicated a Brazilian priest after he defended homosexuality, open marriage and other practices counter to Church teaching in online videos. In a statement released late on Monday, the priest's diocese said Father Roberto Francisco Daniel, known to local parishioners as Padre Beto, had "in the name of 'freedom of expression' betrayed the promise of fealty to the Church." The priest "injured the Church with grave statements counter to the dogma of Catholic faith and morality. ... Full Story | Top |
| China steps up customs checks, but North Korea trade robust Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 02:47 PM PDT  By Ben Blanchard DANDONG, China (Reuters) - China has stepped up checks on shipments to and from North Korea almost two months after agreeing to new U.N. sanctions that demand greater scrutiny of trade, but the flow of goods in and out of the reclusive state appears largely unaffected. The sanctions were imposed after North Korea's third nuclear test on February 12. China has said it wants the measures enforced, but few analysts believe Beijing will take steps that hurt North Korea as it is committed to a policy of engagement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chile to be Latin America's only candidate to U.N. Council Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 02:33 PM PDT  SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chile will be Latin America's sole candidate for a seat at the United Nations' Security Council for the 2014 to 2015 period, Foreign Affairs Minister Alfredo Moreno told reporters on Tuesday. The Andean country needs to be elected by two-thirds of the General Assembly in October to win a two-year term. Chile has already been elected to the Security Council four times. The U.N.'s Security Council, which has five permanent members and 10 non-permanent members, is focused on maintaining international peace and security. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian activist detained on charges of insulting president Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 01:57 PM PDT  By Maggie Fick CAIRO (Reuters) - A prominent Egyptian campaigner was detained on Tuesday over accusations of insulting President Mohamed Mursi, state media reported, a case activists said highlighted a crackdown on dissent by the Islamist government. A court in the town of Tanta ruled Ahmed Douma should be held for four days, pending investigation into charges of "deliberately spreading false news and rumors" during two recent television appearances, a court official told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hezbollah says opposition won't topple Assad with force Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 01:53 PM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Tuesday that Syrian rebels fighting the forces of President Bashar al-Assad would not be able to topple him using force. Nasrallah, a staunch ally of Assad, said in a televised speech from an undisclosed location that Syria's allies in the region and the world would not allow it to fall "into the hands of Americans, Israel and (Sunni) extremists". "The battle is long ... We tell you (Syrian rebels) that you will not be able to bring this regime down through military means," he said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Sources say senior Iranian diplomat detained in March Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 01:12 PM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A senior Iranian diplomat linked to Iran's reformists was detained in Tehran in March, possibly as part of a crackdown on dissidents ahead of the June presidential election, sources familiar with the case told Reuters on Tuesday. Bagher Asadi, who has previously been a senior diplomat at Iran's U.N. mission in New York and was most recently a director at the secretariat of the so-called D8 group of developing nations in Istanbul, was arrested in mid-March in the Iranian capital according to the sources, who requested anonymity. ... Full Story | Top |
| Orange celebrations as King Willem-Alexander takes Dutch throne Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 12:56 PM PDT  By Gilbert Kreijger and Thomas Escritt AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Willem-Alexander became the first king of the Netherlands since 1890 on Tuesday, ascending a throne largely stripped of political power but still invested with enormous symbolic significance for the Dutch people. At his investiture in Amsterdam's 600-year-old Nieuwe Kerk, or New Church, the 46-year-old monarch swore an oath to uphold the Dutch constitution and stressed the need for unity at a time of economic crisis. "I take office in a period when many in the kingdom feel vulnerable or uncertain. ... Full Story | Top |
| China dissident's brother says home attacked nightly with dead poultry, bottles Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 12:27 PM PDT  By Terril Yue Jones BEIJING (Reuters) - Security personnel in eastern China are carrying out a nightly harassment campaign against the brother of blind rights activist Chen Guangcheng, the two said on Tuesday, throwing rocks, bottles and dead poultry at his house for 12 nights in a row. The attacks on the village home of Chen Guangfu continued early on Tuesday, he said. Two cars parked outside his house in Shandong province, shining their headlights through the windows and again security personnel threw rocks and beer bottles at the house and into the yard, he said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria says does not trust chemical weapons claims by U.S., Britain Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 12:21 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Syria urged the United Nations on Tuesday to send scientists to investigate its claim of a chemical attack by rebels in Aleppo, but said it does not trust accusations by the United States, Britain and others that such weapons were used elsewhere in the country. Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari also accused "armed terrorist groups" of spreading powder from plastic bags - which he described as "probably a kind of chemical material" - among crowds in the northern city of Saraqeb on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| France troops capture suspected French jihadist in Mali Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 12:03 PM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - A suspected French jihadist has been captured by French forces in Mali, the defense ministry in Paris said on Tuesday, one of a handful of French nationals in the Sahel suspected of fighting against their own country. French authorities had been searching for Gilles Le Guen since October, when he published a YouTube video in which he warned France, the United States and the United Nations not to interfere in Mali. "I confirm the capture of a French terrorist in Mali by the French Army," a defense ministry spokesman told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Six Tunisian police wounded in hunt for Islamists near Algeria Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:54 AM PDT TUNIS (Reuters) - A land mine suspected of being planted by hardline Islamists wounded six Tunisian police officers on Tuesday as they pursued a group of insurgents near the Algerian border, the interior ministry said. It was the third mine blast in Tunisia in two days, prompting Prime Minister Ali Larayedh to hold an emergency meeting with his defense and interior ministers. On Monday two policemen were seriously wounded in two explosions, also while searching for militants in the remote Mount Chaambi region west of Tunis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Letta tells Merkel Europe needs more growth Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:42 AM PDT  By Steve Scherer and Stephen Brown ROME/BERLIN (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, fresh from winning a confidence vote in parliament, told Germany on Tuesday his government would meet its budget commitments but expected Europe to drop its austerity mantra and do more to lift growth. Speaking in Berlin on his first foreign visit since taking office on Sunday, Letta warned that Italy's February election, which saw a surge of support for parties attacking the European Union, showed that a change of course was needed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pope accepts invite to Israel, urges peace talks Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:38 AM PDT  By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis urged Israelis and Palestinians to resume talks and make "courageous decisions" to bring peace after his first meeting with Israel's President Shimon Peres on Tuesday and accepted an invitation to visit the Holy Land. The two discussed the civil war in Syria, tensions in Iran and the scourge of anti-Semitism during half an hour of private talks in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace. ... Full Story | Top |
| Puerto doctor gets jail term, evidence to be destroyed Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:28 AM PDT  By Mark Elkington MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, the central figure in the Operation Puerto probe into a doping ring in cycling, got a one-year prison term on Tuesday as the judge ordered all evidence from the case to be destroyed. Fuentes - who is unlikely to be jailed because sentences under two years in Spain are usually suspended - was convicted for crimes against public health, barred from practicing sports medicine for four years and fined. ... Full Story | Top |
| Military push not sole way to end Congo conflict: U.N. envoy Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:26 AM PDT  GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - A military solution is not the only way to end decades of conflict in eastern Congo, the newly appointed United Nations special envoy to the region said on Tuesday as the world body prepared to bolster its peacekeeping mission there. Former Irish president Mary Robinson was visiting the region for the first time since being appointed U.N. special envoy charged with helping bring an end to the violence, which has left millions dead and the mineral-rich nation in ruins. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia's oldest rights group told to register as "foreign agent" Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:17 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow prosecutors told Russia's oldest human rights group on Tuesday that it must register as a "foreign agent" under a new law that critics say is a move by President Vladimir Putin to silence dissent. Memorial opened in 1987 to document the Soviet Union's totalitarian past but has also spoken out against the detention of Russians held after an anti-Putin protest last year that turned violent. "We don't aim to register, we aim to appeal against this," Memorial's head, Aleksander Cherkasov, told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Many in Muslim world want sharia as law of land: survey Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:14 AM PDT  By Religion Editor Tom Heneghan (Reuters) - Large majorities in the Muslim world want the Islamic legal and moral code of sharia as the official law in their countries, but they disagree on what it includes and who should be subject to it, an extensive new survey says. Suicide bombing was mostly rejected In the study by the Washington-based Pew Forum, but it won 40 percent support in the Palestinian territories, 39 percent in Afghanistan, 29 percent in Eygpt and 26 percent in Bangladesh. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spanish judge wants eight business leaders in court on graft case Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:11 AM PDT  MADRID (Reuters) - A magistrate investigating corruption allegations against Spain's ruling People's Party (PP) ordered eight business leaders on Tuesday to appear in court for questioning about supposed donations they made to the party. It was the latest development in a high-level corruption scandal that has enraged Spaniards struggling with a deep economic crisis and high unemployment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bomb blast kills 13 in center of Syrian capital Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:06 AM PDT  By Oliver Holmes BEIRUT (Reuters) - A bomb blast in the government-held center of Damascus killed 13 people on Tuesday, state television said, while rebels and loyalists to President Bashar al-Assad traded accusations over what they said was a chemical weapons attack the day before. Residents described scenes of carnage in Marjeh Square, in a the commercial district in the heart of the capital, with dozens of cars and buildings damaged by the bomb which went off in front of the former Interior Ministry building. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian air strike on Turkish border kills five: activists Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:06 AM PDT By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - A Syrian air strike on a headquarters of a rebel brigade along the Turkish border killed at least five people, including children, and wounded dozens more on Tuesday, opposition activists said. The attack targeted buildings belonging to the Ahrar al-Sham, a Salafist Islamist rebel unit fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the activists said. A Turkish aid worker said the strike also hit a warehouse on the Syrian side of the border used by aid groups. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen stage protest outside Libyan justice ministry Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 10:37 AM PDT  By Ghaith Shennib and Jessica Donati TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Armed men in pick-up trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns and rocket-launchers protested on the road outside Libya's justice ministry on Tuesday to press demands that former dictator Muammar Gaddafi's aides be barred from senior government posts. Tensions between the government and armed militia have been intensifying since authorities began a campaign to dislodge the gunmen from strongholds in the capital Tripoli to tackle lawlessness threatening democratic transition. ... Full Story | Top |
| Somalia's Puntland region executes suspected Islamist militants Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 10:35 AM PDT BOSASSO, Somalia (Reuters) - Somalia's northern Puntland province executed 13 suspected al Qaeda-linked militants on Tuesday, a military court official said, and security forces deployed heavily in the coastal city of Bosasso to ward off any reprisal attacks. Squeezed out of their strongholds in southern and central Somalia by a military offensive, al Shabaab rebels have slowly infiltrated Puntland, a semi-autonomous region that had largely avoided being caught up in successive Islamist insurgencies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bulgaria prosecutors say ex-minister oversaw wiretapping breach Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 10:25 AM PDT  By Tsvetelia Tsolova SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgarian prosecutors on Tuesday said former Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov had allowed employees in his ministry to commit crimes in a growing wiretapping scandal dubbed "Bulgaria's Watergate". Analysts said the case was undermining public confidence in political institutions in the EU member state and was likely to dent support for the largest political party, the center-right GERB, ahead of parliamentary elections on May 12. ... Full Story | Top |
| South African army deaths from Central African Republic rise to 14 Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 10:13 AM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - One of 27 South African soldiers injured in March in fighting against rebels in Central African Republic has died, bringing to 14 the total killed in the clashes, a defense force spokesman said on Tuesday. The soldier, who was not identified, had been released from hospital on April 19 following an improvement in his condition. "Yesterday, he collapsed at home and was rushed to hospital, where he died," South African National Defense Force spokesman Brigadier General Xolani Mabanga said. Pretoria had originally reported 13 killed in the fighting. ... Full Story | Top |
| UAE head feted in Britain, Cameron urged to raise torture claims Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 10:00 AM PDT  By Mohammed Abbas LONDON (Reuters) - The president of the United Arab Emirates met Queen Elizabeth on Tuesday on a visit to Britain where Prime Minister David Cameron is under pressure to raise allegations that UAE police tortured British citizens. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan's visit poses a delicate diplomatic challenge for Cameron who has already expressed concern about the torture accusations but is keen to boost lucrative trade and strategically important diplomatic relations in the Gulf. The two men are due to meet on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mali court drops case against newspaper editor Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 09:54 AM PDT BAMAKO (Reuters) - A court in Mali threw out a case against a newspaper editor who was arrested after publishing an article criticizing the leader of last year's military coup. Boukary Daou was detained on March 6 and charged with inciting revolt after an open letter in his Le Republicain newspaper accused Captain Amadou Sanogo of taking a large salary while leaving his soldiers poorly equipped. Sanogo headed a putsch that toppled President Amadou Toumani Toure. ... Full Story | Top |
| Merkel says Italy has taken 'considerable' reform steps Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 09:31 AM PDT BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that Italy had already taken "considerable" steps towards tackling weakness in its economy. "We want to ensure Europe emerges from this crisis stronger than it went into it. As part of that every country must do its part. Italy has taken considerable steps in this regard," Merkel said at a joint news conference with Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta in Berlin. ... Full Story | Top |
| ECB member Honohan says Cyprus bailout not a template Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 09:28 AM PDT DUBLIN (Reuters) - The treatment of deposit holders during the bailout of Cyprus is not something that will be repeated, Irish Central bank governor and European Central Bank governing council member Patrick Honohan said on Tuesday. "I think what happened in Cyprus certainly will not happen in any other country. It was certainly an unusual process that we observed," said Honohan when asked by a journalist if the "raiding" of savers in Cyprus might be repeated. Asked if he was happy with how the bailout of Cyprus was handled, Honohan said: "I would have done (things) differently myself. ... Full Story | Top |
| Anger builds as Bangladesh gives up hope of more survivors Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 09:21 AM PDT  By Ruma Paul and Serajul Quadir DHAKA (Reuters) - Rescue officials in Bangladesh said on Tuesday they had given up hope of finding more survivors from a garment factory complex that collapsed killing hundreds, as the government came under pressure to do more to enforce building safety standards. At least 390 people have been confirmed dead in what is just the latest incident to raise serious questions about worker safety and low wages in the poor South Asian country that relies on garments for 80 percent of its exports. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iceland's center-right Progressives to form new government Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 08:56 AM PDT  REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - The center-right Progressive Party will form Iceland's next government, likely to be a coalition with the Independence Party that shares its plans to end EU accession talks and cut household debt. Progressive leader Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson, who could become one of Iceland's youngest leaders at 38, has pledged an end to austerity and to return to growth five years after a spectacular banking collapse plunged the north Atlantic island into crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
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