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| Obama sees no threat in China rivalry for Africa business Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 08:16 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Mark Felsenthal PRETORIA (Reuters) - The United States does not feel threatened by the growth of trade and investment in Africa by China and other emerging powers, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday. Suggestions that he has allowed China to steal a march over the United States in doing business with Africa have dogged Obama's three-nation swing through the continent, but he said the increased Chinese engagement was beneficial for all. "I don't feel threatened by it. I feel it's a good thing," Obama told a news conference during a visit to South Africa. ... Full Story | Top |
| China's troubled Xinjiang hit by more violence: state media Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 07:42 PM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - More than a hundred people, riding motorbikes and wielding knives, attacked a police station in China's ethnically divided western region of Xinjiang, state media said on Saturday, in the latest unrest to hit the region in the past week. The attack in the remote desert city of Hotan, a heavily ethnic Uighur area, comes two days after the region's deadliest unrest in four years that resulted in the deaths of 35 people. China called the incident a "terrorist attack". Xinjiang is home to the mainly Muslim Uighur people who speak a Turkic language. ... Full Story | Top |
| New Australian PM Rudd gives struggling government big poll boost Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 07:09 PM PDT  SYDNEY (Reuters) - Support for Australia's embattled Labor government has surged since new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd took charge late last week but it will still struggle to win an election later this year, a major poll published on Sunday showed. Rudd replaced former prime minister Julia Gillard in a Labor party vote on Wednesday after successive polls predicting a Labor government washout at the next election. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt protests set for showdown, violence feared Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 05:33 PM PDT  By Alastair Macdonald and Tom Perry CAIRO (Reuters) - Mass demonstrations across Egypt on Sunday may determine its future, two and half years after people power toppled a dictator they called Pharaoh and ushered in a democracy crippled by bitter divisions. The protesters' goal again is to unseat a president, this time their first freely elected leader, the Islamist Mohamed Mursi. Liberal leaders say nearly half the voting population - 22 million people - have signed a petition calling for change. But with the long dominant, U. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama meets Mandela family, police disperse protesters Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 04:59 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Mark Felsenthal JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama met the family of South Africa's ailing anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela on Saturday, offering words of comfort and praising the critically ill retired statesman as one of history's greatest figures. The faltering health of Mandela, 94, a figure admired globally as a symbol of struggle against injustice and racism, is dominating Obama's two-day visit to South Africa. But Obama also faced protests by South Africans against U.S. foreign policy, especially American drone strikes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain's Cameron in thwarted Afghan peace talks push Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 04:53 PM PDT  By Andrew Osborn KABUL (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron flew into Afghanistan on Saturday to try to inject momentum into stalled peace talks, but left empty-handed after the Afghan president said his country could break up if a deal was done with the Taliban. Cameron, who hosted President Hamid Karzai for talks in February about Afghanistan's future, has cast himself as an honest broker able to use Britain's relations with Afghanistan's influential neighbor, Pakistan, to get the Taliban to talk peace. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fearing bloodshed, rival Cairo protests steel selves for Sunday Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 04:39 PM PDT By Alexander Dziadosz CAIRO (Reuters) - Rival protesters in Egypt's capital insist they want to avoid bloodshed during mass rallies against President Mohamed Mursi on Sunday, but both are clearly ready for a confrontation. As the opposing sides vie for the revolution's mantle, Mursi's Islamist supporters have set up checkpoints around a Cairo rally, recalling the human chains that protected protesters during the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. Thickset men stand in rows by guard rails, hefting wooden or plastic rods and wearing hard hats and body armor. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama tells Egyptians to talk, not fight Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 04:33 PM PDT By Maggie Fick and Alexander Dziadosz CAIRO (Reuters) - President Barack Obama called on Egypt's government and opposition on Saturday to engage each other in constructive dialogue and prevent violence spilling out across the region. Bloodshed on Friday killed at least three people, including an American student, and mass rallies are planned for Sunday aimed at unseating Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. Tens of thousands from both sides rallied again on Saturday across Egypt, although there were fewer reports of violence. Obama said he was "looking at the situation with concern". ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel and Palestinians cautious as Kerry extends peace bid Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 04:09 PM PDT  By Lesley Wroughton JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry extended his Middle East peace mission on Saturday, shuttling between Jerusalem and Amman for more talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on reviving their stalled negotiations. But officials on both the feuding sides played down prospects of the bustle bringing about any imminent diplomatic breakthrough that would restart the talks. Cancelling a trip to Abu Dhabi, Kerry flew from Jerusalem to the Jordanian capital for a second meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. asked Ecuador not to give Snowden asylum: Correa Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 04:07 PM PDT  By Brian Ellsworth QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said on Saturday the United States had asked him not to grant asylum for former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden in a "cordial" telephone conversation he held with Vice President Joe Biden. Correa said he vowed to respect Washington's opinion in evaluating the request. The Andean nation says it cannot begin processing Snowden's request unless he reaches Ecuador or one of its embassies. Snowden, who is wanted by the United States for leaking details about U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Timeline: Croatia's road to EU membership Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 03:46 PM PDT ZAGREB (Reuters) - Croatia becomes the 28th member of the European Union on July 1, just over two decades after declaring independence from socialist Yugoslavia and being engulfed in war. Following are the main events on its path to EU membership: 1991 - Croatia declares independence from socialist Yugoslavia but minority Serb rebels, backed by the Serb-dominated Yugoslav army, seize control of one third of the country and a four-year war ensues. 1995 - Croatian troops sweep through the rebel territory, putting to flight thousands of minority Serbs. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mired in recession, ex-Yugoslav Croatia joins troubled EU Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 03:44 PM PDT  By Zoran Radosavljevic ZAGREB (Reuters) - Croatia becomes the 28th member of the European Union at midnight on Sunday, a milestone that caps the Adriatic republic's recovery from war but is tinged with anxiety over the state of the economy and the bloc it joins. EU flags fluttered from a stage in Zagreb's central square ahead of the evening's festivities, though there have been few signs of the gushing welcome that marked past expansions to ex-communist Eastern Europe. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. bugged EU offices, computer networks: German magazine Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 03:43 PM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - The United States has bugged European Union offices and gained access to EU internal computer networks, according to secret documents cited in a German magazine on Saturday, the latest in a series of exposures of alleged U.S. spy programs. Der Spiegel quoted from a September 2010 "top secret" U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) document that it said fugitive former NSA contractor Edward Snowden had taken with him, and the weekly's journalists had seen in part. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudan protesters, opposition call for Bashir ousting Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 02:23 PM PDT  By Khalid Abdelaziz KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Thousands of Sudanese called for the overthrow of veteran President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Saturday, spurred on by an opposition trying to stoke an Arab Spring style uprising. The opposition, capitalizing on anger over soaring food prices and corruption, has threatened to stage mass protests to topple Bashir within 100 days. The uprisings that shook the Arab world have passed Sudan by as the security forces usually break up the frequent small street protests by students before they have a chance to spread. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bombs target soccer players, spectators in Iraq Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 02:04 PM PDT BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bombs targeting soccer players and young men who had gathered to watch a match in Iraq killed seven people on Saturday. A roadside bomb in a busy market killed another three people, bringing the death toll to 10, police and medics said. The violence is part of a trend of increasing militant attacks since the start of the year, which claimed more than 1,000 lives in May alone, making it the deadliest month since the sectarian bloodletting of 2006-7. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rousseff's popularity plummets in wake of Brazil protests Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 01:35 PM PDT  By Silvio Cascione and Todd Benson SAO PAULO (Reuters) - President Dilma Rousseff's approval rating sank by 27 percentage points in the last three weeks, a poll showed on Saturday in the strongest evidence yet that the recent wave of street protests sweeping Brazil poses a serious threat to her likely re-election bid next year. The share of people who consider Rousseff's administration "great" or "good" plummeted to 30 percent from 57 percent in early June, according to a Datafolha opinion poll published in local newspaper Folha de S.Paulo. ... Full Story | Top |
| Looking to Africa's future, Obama to cite Mandela, civil rights Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 01:13 PM PDT  By Mark Felsenthal JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will challenge Africans to renew efforts to expand economic growth and democratic government in a speech Sunday, invoking the legacies of Nelson Mandela and the U.S. civil rights movement in overcoming obstacles to achieve change. "There's been progress that nobody could have imagined in terms of a freer, more equal democratic society here in South Africa, and in many parts of the continent," deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters traveling with the president. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thousands march in Istanbul in solidarity with Kurds Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 11:55 AM PDT  By Ece Toksabay ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters marched to Istanbul's Taksim Square on Saturday chanting slogans against the government and police after security forces killed a Kurdish demonstrator in southeastern Turkey. The protest had been planned as part of larger unrelated anti-government demonstrations that have swept through the country since the end of May, but became a voice of solidarity with the Kurds after Friday's killing. "Murderer police, get out of Kurdistan!" some protesters chanted. "This is only the beginning, the struggle continues. ... Full Story | Top |
| Detained Somali Islamist commander flown to Mogadishu Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 11:41 AM PDT  By Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - One of Somalia's most prominent Islamist rebel commanders, arrested by a regional administration, was flown to the capital Mogadishu on Saturday, where he agreed to hold talks with the federal government about his fate, Somali officials said. Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, whose capture was a boost to Mogadishu in its battle against Islamist insurgents, was detained in central Somalia and then taken to the town of Adado. Much of Somalia has been stabilized after two decades of turmoil by a campaign that drove back the militant group al Shabaab. ... Full Story | Top |
| Dozens feared dead in fighting for control of Somali port city Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 11:33 AM PDT By Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Dozens of people were feared killed in two days of fierce fighting for control of a strategic Somali port city, according to witness and militia accounts on Saturday, despite efforts to prevent the clashes escalating into broader clan warfare. Scores have died in sporadic fighting in Kismayu since Ahmed Madobe, leader of the Ras Kamboni militia, was chosen by a regional assembly to lead Somalia's southern Jubaland region, where the port is located. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian rail workers jailed over train crash that killed 50 Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 11:14 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Two Egyptian railway workers were sentenced to 10 years in prison on Saturday over a train crash last year that killed 50 people, mostly children, and inflamed public anger at the country's shoddy transport network. A court in the southern city of Assiut found Hussein Abdelrahman and Sayed Abdel Radwan guilty of causing the crash last November due to negligence in performing their jobs as rail crossing guards, judicial sources said. It sentenced the men to 10 years in prison each and fined each 100,000 Egyptian pounds ($14,200). ... Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan's vice president to visit Khartoum on Sunday Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 10:47 AM PDT KHARTOUM (Reuters) - South Sudan's vice president will visit Sudan on Sunday, both sides said on Saturday, marking the highest-level talks between the long-time African foes since Khartoum threatened to stop cross-border oil flows. Relations hit a new low three weeks ago when Sudan said it would halt South Sudanese oil exports passing through the north for shipment abroad within 60 days unless Juba ended support for rebels operating across the border. Juba denies the claims. ... Full Story | Top |
| No threat in China rivalry for Africa business: Obama Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 10:37 AM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Mark Felsenthal PRETORIA (Reuters) - The United States does not feel threatened by the growth of trade and investment in Africa by China and other emerging powers, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday. Suggestions that he has allowed China to steal a march over the United States in doing business with Africa have dogged Obama's three-nation swing through the continent, but he said the increased Chinese engagement was beneficial for all. "I don't feel threatened by it. I feel it's a good thing," Obama told a news conference during a visit to South Africa. ... Full Story | Top |
| Talks with Palestinians unlikely despite Kerry bid: Israeli minister Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 09:41 AM PDT  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A senior Israeli official on Saturday played down the prospect of shuttle diplomacy by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reviving long-stalled peace negotiations with the Palestinians. Asked whether new talks might be imminent, Civil Defense Minister Gilad Erdan, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet, told Israel's Channel Two television: "To my regret, no, as of now." He blamed "preconditions" set by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whom Kerry met in Jordan twice in two days, alternating the meetings with talks with Netanyahu in Jerusalem. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian police officer shot dead in Sinai Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 09:38 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - A senior Egyptian police officer was shot dead by unknown gunmen who ambushed his car in the Sinai Peninsula town of El Arish on Saturday, security sources and state media said. Armed groups have exploited a security vacuum in the Sinai, which borders Israel, since a 2011 uprising ousted president Hosni Mubarak. The mainly Islamist and Bedouin groups have kidnapped tourists and police to press the government for the release of jailed colleagues. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian army, backed by jets, launches assault on Homs Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 09:14 AM PDT  By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces launched a major offensive on Saturday against rebels in Homs, a centre of the two-year-old uprising, in their latest drive to secure an axis connecting Damascus to the Mediterranean. Activists said jets and mortars had pounded rebel-held areas of the city that have been under siege by Assad's troops for a year, and soldiers fought battles with rebel fighters in several districts. "Government forces are trying to storm (Homs) from all fronts," said an activist using the name Abu Mohammad. ... Full Story | Top |
| American student killed in Egypt violence taught English Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 08:45 AM PDT  ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (Reuters) - An American college student stabbed to death during a protest in Egypt was in the country to teach English to children and improve his Arabic, his family said. Andrew Pochter, 21, from Chevy Chase, Maryland, died after being stabbed in the chest on Friday in the coastal city of Alexandria, where anti-government protesters stormed an office of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood. "As we understand it, he was witnessing a protest as a bystander and was stabbed by a protester," said a statement from the family. Egyptian officials said he was carrying a small camera. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russian pro-, anti-gay activists clash, police detain dozens Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 07:38 AM PDT  ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Police detained dozens of people when pro- and anti-gay activists clashed in the Russian city of St Petersburg on Saturday, just two weeks after parliament passed a law banning homosexual "propaganda". Critics say the bill - a nationwide version of laws in place in cities including St Petersburg, President Vladimir Putin's hometown, - effectively bans gay rights rallies and could be used to prosecute anyone voicing support for homosexuals. ... Full Story | Top |
| Shadow of soldier's death lingers as Britain toasts troops Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 07:26 AM PDT  By Costas Pitas LONDON (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Britons celebrated the work of the military on Saturday in the fifth annual Armed Forces Day, with one of the largest events being held near the site in London where a soldier was murdered in broad daylight. Lee Rigby, a 25-year-old veteran of the Afghan war, was killed last month outside Woolwich barracks in east London. Two men will stand trial in November. The Woolwich barracks hosted a marching band and military display at the start of celebrations expected to draw around 20,000 people over the weekend. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kurdish mourners blast Turkish government after shootings Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 05:52 AM PDT  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Hundreds of Kurds chanted anti-government slogans at the funeral on Saturday of a demonstrator killed by security forces in southeast Turkey, raising fears of violence at weekend protest marches planned around the country. Turkish security forces killed one person and wounded ten on Friday when they fired on a group protesting against the construction of a new gendarmerie outpost in Kurdish-dominated southeastern Turkey. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mandela remains 'critical but stable' Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 05:21 AM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African president Nelson Mandela's condition remains "critical but stable" but the government hopes the 94-year-old anti-apartheid hero will be out of hospital soon, President Jacob Zuma said on Saturday. "We hope that very soon he will be out of hospital," Zuma said at a televised press conference with visiting U.S. President Barack Obama. Mandela has been in hospital for three weeks for treatment for a recurring lung infection. (Reporting by Ed Stoddard and Ed Cropley; Editing by Ed Cropley) Full Story | Top |
| Greek utility shelves plans for price increases Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 04:59 AM PDT  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's state-controlled utility PPC said on Saturday it had no immediate plans to raise electricity prices for households after their liberalization on July 1. Under the terms of its international bailout, Greece was supposed to raise low-voltage electricity prices in two stages this year, on May 1 and then before their liberalization on July 1, to bring them closer to generation costs. The government, which owns 51 percent of PPC, shelved the May 1 hike, saying it was no longer needed because electricity generation costs were falling. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran's Rouhani hints will balance hardline, reformist demands Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 04:32 AM PDT  By Yeganeh Torbati DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's president-elect Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday he would appoint ministers from across its political spectrum as Iranian voters had chosen a path of moderation over extremism. His victory in the June 14 vote has lifted hopes of a thaw in Iran's antagonistic relations with the West that might create openings for defusing its nuclear dispute with world powers. Rouhani has pledged a more conciliatory approach than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, under whose belligerent presidency the Islamic Republic drew ever more punishing international sanctions. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt protest blast was explosive device: sources Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 04:24 AM PDT  ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) - A fatal blast during a protest against Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi in the Suez Canal city of Port Said was caused by a home-made hand grenade, security sources said Saturday. After the blast late on Friday, which killed one man, traces of an explosive substance were found on the bodies of some of the 15 wounded. Ballistics tests were still under way. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian army launches offensive in Homs city Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 04:15 AM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad launched a military offensive on Saturday against rebel-held areas of Homs, the country's third-largest city and a centre of the two-year-old uprising against his rule. Activists said jets and mortars pounded rebel territory and soldiers attacked the district of Khalidiyah, where state television reported they were making "great progress". Video uploaded on the Internet showed heavy explosions and clouds of white smoke after what the activists said were air strikes on the adjacent neighborhood of Jouret al-Shiyyah. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama calls on feuding parties in Egypt to avoid violence Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 04:15 AM PDT JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday urged Egypt's opposition parties and President Mohamed Mursi to renounce violence and engage in a constructive dialogue. "Obviously we are all looking at the situation with concern," Obama told a news conference in South Africa, commenting on clashes in Egypt which killed three people, including an American student. He called on the parties involved to avoid violence, saying instability in Egypt could spill over into the surrounding region. ... Full Story | Top |
| Five dead in Somali port city as leadership dispute rages Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 03:59 AM PDT By Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - At least five people have been killed in two days of fighting in a strategic Somali port city, a militia commander said on Saturday, despite talks to end a leadership row aimed at stopping a slide back into broader clan warfare. The threat of the kind of clan fighting that tore Somalia apart over two decades has hung over the city of Kismayu since Ahmed Madobe, leader of the Ras Kamboni militia, was chosen by a regional assembly in May to lead Jubaland and its port. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy to cut spending, sees risks of protests: report Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 03:55 AM PDT  MILAN (Reuters) - Italy will resume public spending cuts to find resources for tax cuts to kick start growth, Economy Minister Fabrizio Saccomanni told daily Corriere della Sera on Saturday. He warned, however, that cuts could spark social unrest in the euro zone's third largest economy, where lobbies have so far resisted previous government attempts to reduce state spending. "We aim to support economic growth through a reduction of taxes on labor and companies," said Saccomanni, former deputy governor at the Bank of Italy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obamas to meet Mandela family, not visit hospital Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 03:50 AM PDT  PRETORIA (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will meet on Saturday with relatives of anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela, but they will not visit the hospital where the former South African president is critically ill, the White House said. Obama is in South Africa on the second stop of a three-nation Africa tour. His visit had triggered intense speculation that the United States' first African-American president might visit 94-year-old Mandela in the Pretoria hospital where he has spent three weeks being treated for a lung infection. ... Full Story | Top |
| United States 'not threatened' by China's surge in Africa: Obama Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 03:36 AM PDT  PRETORIA (Reuters) - The United States does not feel threatened by the growth of trade and investment in Africa by China and other emerging powers, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday. "I don't feel threatened by it. I feel it's a good thing," Obama told a news conference during a visit to South Africa. He said the more countries invested in Africa the more the world's least developed continent could be integrated into the global economy. "I want everybody playing in Africa. The more the merrier," Obama said. ... Full Story | Top |
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