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| Egypt locked in standoff after millions rally against Mursi Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 06:03 PM PDT  By Paul Taylor and Maggie Fick CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt was locked in a tense standoff on Monday after millions of protesters swarmed into the streets to demand the resignation of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and militants set the ruling Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters on fire. Young revolutionaries united with liberal and leftist opposition parties in a massive show of defiance on the first anniversary of Mursi's inauguration on Sunday, chanting "the people demand the fall of the regime". ... Full Story | Top |
| Nineteen firefighters killed battling Arizona blaze: U.S. Wildland Fire Aviation Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 09:13 PM PDT PHOENIX (Reuters) - A team of 19 firefighters were killed battling a fast-moving wildfire that has forced the evacuation of two small towns in central Arizona on Sunday, fire officials said. The firefighters perished in the so-called Yarnell Hill Fire, near the small town of Yarnell about 80 miles northwest of Phoenix, the U.S. Wildland Fire Aviation service said in a Facebook post. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU confronts U.S. over surveillance reports Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 07:02 PM PDT  By Ben Deighton and Annika Breidthardt BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Union has demanded that the United States explain a report in a German magazine that Washington is spying on the group, using strong language to confront its closest trading partner over its alleged surveillance activities. EU High Representative Catherine Ashton said on Sunday that U.S. authorities were immediately contacted about a report in Der Spiegel magazine that the U.S. spy agency had tapped EU offices in Washington, Brussels and at the United Nations. ... Full Story | Top |
| Assad's forces battle to tighten control of central Syria Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 04:19 PM PDT  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad's forces pounded Sunni Muslim rebels in the city of Homs with artillery and from the air on Sunday, the second day of their offensive in central Syria, activists said. They said rebels defending the old center of Homs and five adjacent Sunni districts had largely repelled a ground attack on Saturday by Assad's forces, backed by guerrillas from the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, but reported clashes and deaths within the city on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wikileaks founder says Snowden info will keep getting published Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 10:39 AM PDT  By Deborah Charles WASHINGTON (Reuters) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said on Sunday that Edward Snowden made sure that the information he took about U.S. surveillance programs will continue to be published regardless of what happens to the former U.S. spy agency contractor. Assange criticized the United States for revoking Snowden's passport and said it would not stop the classified information taken by the 30-year-old former contractor from getting out. "Look, there is no stopping the publishing process at this stage," Assange said in an interview with ABC's "This Week" television show. ... Full Story | Top |
| Democrat predicts House will pass Senate immigration bill Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 10:56 AM PDT  By John Whitesides WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled House of Representatives will bow to political pressure and pass the immigration bill approved by the Democratic-led Senate by the end of the year, Democratic Senator Charles Schumer predicted on Sunday. Schumer, a member of the bipartisan Senate group that crafted the immigration measure, said House Republicans who are now vowing they will not pass the Senate measure will ultimately be convinced by political concerns about the party's future. "I believe that by the end of this year, the House will pass the Senate bill. ... Full Story | Top |
| Supreme Court denies bid to stop California gay marriages Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 06:25 PM PDT  By Casey Sullivan (Reuters) - A U.S. Supreme Court justice on Sunday rejected a long-shot bid to halt same-sex marriages in California, days after the high court let stand a trial judge's order declaring the ban unconstitutional. Justice Anthony Kennedy denied the application verbally, spokeswoman Kathy Arberg told Reuters. Supporters of the gay marriage ban known as Proposition 8, which California voters approved in 2008, asked the high court on Saturday to overrule a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals order that lifted an injunction barring same-sex unions. ... Full Story | Top |
| Blast in Pakistani city of Quetta kills at least 28 Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 12:00 PM PDT  By Gul Yousufzai QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - At least 28 people were killed and dozens wounded in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Sunday when a suicide bomber attacked a largely Shi'ite Muslim neighborhood, police said. The blast appeared to be the latest in an escalating campaign of gun and bomb attacks by militants on ethnic Hazaras in Quetta because they belong to Pakistan's Shi'ite minority. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kerry plans return to Middle East after visit yields no deal Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 08:37 AM PDT  By Lesley Wroughton TEL AVIV (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry ended a shuttle diplomacy mission on Sunday without an agreement on resuming Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, but said gaps had been narrowed and he would return to the region soon. "I'm pleased to tell you that we have made real progress on this trip. And I believe that with a little more work, the start of final status negotiations could be within reach," he told a news conference before his departure from Tel Aviv's airport. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ecuador's Correa says Snowden's fate in hands of Russia Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 11:03 AM PDT  By Alexandra Valencia PORTOVIEJO, Ecuador (Reuters) - Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said on Sunday the fate of former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden is in the hands of the authorities in Russia, where he is holed up in hope of obtaining asylum in the South American nation. Correa said his government cannot begin considering asylum for Snowden, wanted by Washington for leaking confidential information about a surveillance program, until he reaches Ecuador or an Ecuadorean embassy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kurdish protesters clash with Turkish security forces Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 11:24 AM PDT  By Seyhmus Cakan DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Police fired teargas and water cannon on Sunday to disperse thousands of protesters in Diyarbakir, the main city in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast, during demonstrations across the country to pressure the government to carry out reforms. Turkey's main pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, the BDP, had called for marches in at least three major cities, to launch a summer of protests against what it sees as a lack of commitment by Ankara to a peace process with Kurdish militants. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU confronts U.S. over reports it spies on European allies Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 01:07 PM PDT By Ben Deighton and Annika Breidthardt BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Union has demanded that the United States explain a report in a German magazine that Washington is spying on the group, using strong language to confront its closest trading partner over its alleged surveillance activities. EU High Representative Catherine Ashton said on Sunday the U.S. authorities was immediately contacted about a report in Der Spiegel magazine that the U.S. spy agency had tapped EU offices in Washington, Brussels and at the United Nations. ... Full Story | Top |
| Supreme Court justice denies bid to stop California gay marriages Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 12:35 PM PDT By Casey Sullivan (Reuters) - A U.S. Supreme Court justice on Sunday rejected a long-shot bid to halt same-sex marriages in California, days after the high court let stand a trial judge's order declaring the ban unconstitutional. Justice Anthony Kennedy denied the application verbally, spokeswoman Kathy Arberg told Reuters. Supporters of the gay marriage ban known as Proposition 8, which California voters approved in 2008, asked the high court on Saturday to overrule a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals order that lifted an injunction barring same-sex unions. ... Full Story | Top |
| Millions flood Egypt's streets to demand Mursi quit Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 04:37 PM PDT  By Shaimaa Fayed and Yasmine Saleh CAIRO (Reuters) - Millions of Egyptians flooded into the streets on the first anniversary of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi's inauguration on Sunday to demand that he resign in the biggest challenge so far to rule by his Muslim Brotherhood. Waving national flags and chanting "Get out!", a crowd of nearly 500,000 massed in and around Cairo's central Tahrir Square in by far the largest demonstration since the 2011 uprising that overthrew Mursi's predecessor, Hosni Mubarak. ... Full Story | Top |
| Forged in war, ex-Yugoslav Croatia joins EU Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 04:52 PM PDT  By Zoran Radosavljevic and Igor Ilic ZAGREB (Reuters) - To fireworks, cannon-fire and Beethoven's Ode to Joy, Croatia joined the European Union at midnight on Sunday, two decades since fighting itself free of Yugoslavia. Thousands packed Zagreb's Ban Jelacic square to celebrate the accession of the bloc's 28th member, setting aside for a moment the troubles of a country in its fifth year of recession. "This will change the life of this nation for good. I welcome you wholeheartedly," Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, told the crowd. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. says oil market can cope with more Iran export cuts Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 10:04 AM PDT  By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - The top U.S. energy official said he believed the oil market could cope with any further reduction of Iran's oil exports from the tightening of sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program. U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz also said on Sunday he expected a "fair amount of action" by his department in 2013 in evaluating applications by U.S. firms to export natural gas. Companies hoping to ship gas abroad have been frustrated by lengthy delays and rule changes as they await Department of Energy approval of their applications. ... Full Story | Top |
| At least 30 killed by fuel truck explosion in Uganda Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 07:33 AM PDT  KAMPALA (Reuters) - At least 30 people were killed and scores more injured when a fuel tanker exploded on a highway in Uganda, a major transit route for fuel heading from Kenya to land-locked east African states, a police spokesman said on Sunday. The truck exploded late on Saturday a few miles north of the capital Kampala after it had stopped when it was involved in an accident with another vehicle and people nearby crowded round trying take fuel from the tanker, the spokesman said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Helicopter lands in New York river, all five aboard safe Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 10:18 AM PDT (Reuters) - A sightseeing helicopter made an emergency landing in the Hudson River in New York City on Sunday and all five people aboard were rescued unharmed, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The Bell 206 helicopter landed in the river near West 79th Street about noon EDT, police said. The pilot and four passengers were safe, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said. The helicopter was floating and was being towed ashore by the Coast Guard, she said. (Reporting by Jane Sutton; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Bill Trott) Full Story | Top |
| Blast in Pakistani city of Peshawar kills 14 Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 04:47 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Fourteen people were killed in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Sunday when a powerful roadside bomb attack narrowly missed a passing convoy of security forces but ravaged a busy market area, police said. Two paramilitary personnel riding with the convoy were wounded but the brunt of the blast was borne by passers-by in the tense Badhber neighborhood of Peshawar, a frequent scene of attacks on the police and army by Pakistan's Taliban militants. ... Full Story | Top |
| China agrees South China Sea talks amid new row with Manila Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 05:11 AM PDT  By Stuart Grudgings and Manuel Mogato BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Reuters) - China agreed to hold formal talks with Southeast Asian nations on a plan to ease maritime tensions on Sunday as the Philippines accused it of causing "increasing militarization" of the South China Sea, one of Asia's naval flashpoints. The rebuke by Philippine Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario at a regional summit in Brunei came a day after China's state media warned of an inevitable "counterstrike" against the Philippines if it continued to provoke Beijing. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obamas tour Mandela's island jail before Africa speech Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 07:47 AM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Mark Felsenthal CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and his family visited South Africa's bleak former prison of Robben Island on Sunday to pay tribute to ex-inmate Nelson Mandela, now critically ill in hospital. Obama was expected to later cite the legacy of Mandela, who was imprisoned on the windswept island for most of the 27 years he spent in jail before becoming the country's first black president, in a speech at the University of Cape Town. ... Full Story | Top |
| Western United States swelters amid deadly heat Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 04:48 PM PDT  By Tim Gaynor PHOENIX (Reuters) - A dangerous, record-breaking heat wave in the western United States contributed to the death of a Nevada resident and sent scores of people to hospitals with heat-related illnesses. The scorching heat, caused by a dome of hot air trapped by a high pressure ridge, pushed the mercury above 100 F (38 C) in parts of California, Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, Nevada and Utah and Texas. Paramedics in Las Vegas, where searing temperatures reached an all-time high of 118 F (48 C) on Saturday, found an elderly man dead in his apartment, which had no air-conditioning. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. taps half-billion German phone, internet links in month: report Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 02:39 AM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - The United States taps half a billion phone calls, emails and text messages in Germany in a typical month and has classed its biggest European ally as a target similar to China, according to secret U.S. documents quoted by a German newsmagazine. The revelations of alleged U.S. surveillance programs based on documents taken by fugitive former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden have raised a political furor in the United States and abroad over the balance between privacy rights and national security. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis - After selloff, some dip toes back in emerging markets Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 04:09 AM PDT  By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - The threat of less central bank stimulus and higher interest rates has crushed emerging markets more than most assets in the past two months, in some cases slashing the value of stocks and bonds in developing countries to levels not seen since the last financial crisis. The slump after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled in May that the Fed expects to curb and then end its bond-buying program in the next year if the economy improves has pushed prices to levels that would have looked very appealing only a few weeks ago. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gay marriage opponents ask Supreme Court to reimpose California ban Sunday, Jun 30, 2013 07:23 AM PDT  By Steve Gorman and Alex Dobuzinskis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Opponents of gay marriage filed a long-shot petition on Saturday with the Supreme Court asking the justices to immediately halt same-sex weddings taking place in California since Friday, when an appeals court lifted a 5-year-old ban on gay matrimony. Marriage ceremonies of gay and lesbian couples went ahead after a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco removed its stay of a trial judge's order declaring the gay marriage ban, known as Proposition 8, unconstitutional. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama to unveil broad African electrical power initiative Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 09:31 PM PDT  By Mark Felsenthal JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Pointing to Africa's crippling lack of electrical power, President Barack Obama is due to announce on Sunday a $7 billion initiative over five years to double access to power in sub-Saharan Africa. "We see this as the next phase in our development strategy and a real focal point in the president's agenda going forward," deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters traveling with the president. Obama is midway through a three-country tour of Africa and is due to give what aides bill as his fullest description of his vision for the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
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