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| China accuses Briton, American of illegally buying private data Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 09:03 PM PDT By Megha Rajagopalan BEIJING (Reuters) - China has accused two risk consultants, a British man and his American wife, of illegally buying and selling private information, state media reported on Tuesday, in what could be a widening crackdown on obtaining data for commercial purposes. Peter Humphrey and Yu Yingzeng were detained in Shanghai on July 10. They have since been formally arrested, which typically means police believe they have enough evidence for a case to be brought to trial. ... Full Story | Top |
| Australia backs action against Syria, with or without U.N. approval Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 08:09 PM PDT  CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia, incoming chair of the U.N. Security Council, has endorsed possible retaliation against Syria over the use of chemical weapons, even if the council fails to agree on action. Australia, a close ally of the United States, is due to take over the rotating leadership of the council on Sunday, a role that requires it to assist council members to reach agreement. But Foreign Minister Bob Carr said that if it was proved the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons, the world had a mandate to respond, even if the United Nations failed to agree on such action. ... Full Story | Top |
| China's top paper says United States wants regime change in Syria Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 07:52 PM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - China's top newspaper said on Wednesday the United States and its allies were seeking to use the issue of chemical weapons to pursue regime change in Syria illegally and fan an already ugly and difficult conflict. The United States and its allies are gearing up for a probable military strike against Syria that could come within days and would be the most aggressive action by Western powers in the Middle Eastern nation's two-and-a-half-year civil war. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. envoy to visit North Korea over jailed American Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 07:26 PM PDT  By Paul Eckert and Eric M. Johnson WASHINGTON/SEATTLE (Reuters) - The United States will send its North Korean human rights envoy to Pyongyang this week to seek the release of an imprisoned U.S. Christian missionary, the State Department said on Tuesday. Robert King, special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, will travel to Pyongyang on Friday at the invitation of the government on a "humanitarian mission focused on securing the release of U.S. citizen Kenneth Bae," the department said in a statement. King will ask North Korea to "pardon Mr. ... Full Story | Top |
| China leaders fear Bo comeback if sentence is not harsh: sources Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 07:25 PM PDT  By Benjamin Kang Lim and John Ruwitch BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Senior figures in China's ruling Communist Party fear ousted politician Bo Xilai could stage a political comeback one day if he is not dealt a harsh sentence in his trial for corruption, embezzlement and abuse of power, according to sources. Bo was a rising star who analysts say was seen as a potential rival to President Xi Jinping for leadership of the Party and country before his career was spectacularly derailed by a lurid murder scandal involving his wife. ... Full Story | Top |
| Drug strategy unclear as Mexico pares back new security force Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 05:33 PM PDT  By Gabriel Stargardter and Lizbeth Diaz MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's government on Tuesday diluted plans for a new security force to fight drug gangs, as President Enrique Pena Nieto struggles to break with the military-led strategy of his predecessor. Pena Nieto took office in December vowing to take a different tack in Mexico's raging drug war. Former President Felipe Calderon tried to tame drug bosses with a military assault, but it was widely seen as a failure and more than 70,000 people died in drug-related violence. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S., allies prepare for probable military strike on Syria Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 05:09 PM PDT  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Matt Spetalnick AMMAN/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies geared up on Tuesday for a probable military strike against Syria that could come within days and would be the most aggressive action by Western powers in the Middle Eastern nation's two-and-a-half-year civil war. Western envoys have told the Syrian opposition to expect a military response soon against President Bashar al-Assad's forces as punishment for a chemical weapons attack last week, according to sources who attended a meeting with the rebel Syrian National Coalition in Istanbul. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama called Britain's Cameron again about Syria Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 03:46 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama called British Prime Minister David Cameron about Syria again on Tuesday, the White House said, part of a flurry of international consultations he and his top officials have had with foreign leaders about how to respond to a chemical weapons attack by Syria on its citizens. Since the attack on Wednesday, Obama and his top officials have made a total of at least 88 phone calls to foreign leaders, the White House said, with Obama speaking twice to Cameron. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Eric Walsh) Full Story | Top |
| U.S., allies preparing for probable strike on Syria Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 03:29 PM PDT  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and William Maclean AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United States and its allies were gearing up on Tuesday for a probable military strike against Syria that could happen within days as punishment for last week's chemical weapons attacks blamed on President Bashar al-Assad's government. Western powers have told the Syrian opposition to expect military action against Assad's forces soon, according to sources who attended a meeting between envoys and the Syrian National Coalition in Istanbul. Amid a quickening drumbeat of preparations, U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. lawmaker says 'compelling' evidence of Syrian chemical attack Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 02:38 PM PDT  By Tabassum Zakaria WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the U.S. House intelligence committee said on Tuesday that the evidence is "convincing, if not compelling" that the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was behind the chemical weapons attack near Damascus this month. Representative Mike Rogers, a Republican, said he has looked into the August 21 attack and spoken to U.S. government intelligence analysts and operators, but his committee did not receive a formal consultation from President Barack Obama's administration, despite the seriousness of the issue. ... Full Story | Top |
| Son of Chinese general faces rape trial; raises anger over top families Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 02:03 PM PDT  By Sui-Lee Wee BEIJING (Reuters) - The teenage son of a prominent Chinese general goes on trial on Wednesday suspected of involvement in a gang rape in a case that has inflamed public anger at the offspring of the political elite who are widely seen as spoilt and reckless. Li Tianyi, 17, is among five men accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a Beijing hotel in February, according to state media. His father is General Li Shuangjiang of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), who is a singer known for performing patriotic songs on television shows and at official events. ... Full Story | Top |
| At least two killed in southern Egypt clash Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 01:55 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - At least two supporters of Egypt's deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi were killed in clashes with residents and security forces in the southern city of Beni Suef late on Tuesday, a security source said. Dozens were wounded when locals started fighting with hundreds of Islamist protesters marching through the city, and then government forces intervened to try and stop the violence, the source told Reuters. State newspaper al-Ahram cited a medical source as saying the two people were killed by live ammunition. ... Full Story | Top |
| Colombia's ELN rebels free Canadian geologist Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 12:38 PM PDT  By Helen Murphy BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's ELN rebels freed a Canadian geologist they had held captive for seven months on Tuesday, meeting one of the demands by President Juan Manuel Santos to enable the start of peace talks with the insurgent group. Jernoc Wobert was seized on January 18 in northern Bolivar province along with two Peruvian and three Colombian miners contracted by the Toronto-based Braeval Mining gold mining company. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. official urges Iran to sway Syria government on peace talks Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 12:31 PM PDT  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A top U.N. official visiting Iran has urged it to use its influence to persuade the Syrian government to attend planned peace talks with opposition groups in Geneva, the United Nations said on Tuesday. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman has spent the past two days in Tehran meeting officials, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, to discuss trying to reach a political solution in Syria. "Mr Feltman shared the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Colombia's Santos open to talks with FARC leader Timochenko Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 12:09 PM PDT  By Helen Murphy BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said on Tuesday he would consider meeting FARC rebel leader Timochenko to accelerate talks aimed at ending 50 years of conflict but warned the nation will continue at war if Colombians reject what is agreed at the negotiating table. Santos, who started peace talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, back in November, said the time for peace is "now or never" but reiterated that any negotiated agreements must be ratified by popular vote. ... Full Story | Top |
| German Turks call for disbanding of security agency after murders Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 12:02 PM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - The German domestic intelligence agency (BfV) should be disbanded because of its racist mentality, Germany's Turkish community said, a week after a probe found its negligence had enabled a neo-Nazi cell to commit nine racist murders. Kenan Kolat, chairman of the organization representing Germany's 3-million strong Turkish community, said on Tuesday the BfV did not just contain "racist" people but it also had ingrained prejudices about migrants, which determined its action. He called for the BfV to be scrapped and replaced with a new agency with new staff. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain drafts military plans for Syria, recalls parliament Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 11:11 AM PDT  By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron recalled parliament to debate Britain's response to a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria as he began to make the case for targeted military action to punish and deter President Bashar al-Assad. Stressing he had not yet taken a decision either way, Cameron condemned last Wednesday's reported chemical attack in the suburbs of Damascus as "ghastly". ... Full Story | Top |
| South Africa strikes escalate with petrol stations dispute Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 11:10 AM PDT  By Ed Stoddard and David Dolan JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's petrol station and car dealership workers on Tuesday announced a strike for higher wages next week, signaling more labor disruption to a struggling economy also facing stoppages in gold mines. Africa's largest economy is facing a wave of wage increase demands and strikes by increasingly militant workers, renewing a challenge to President Jacob Zuma after violent mines strikes last year dented growth and led to sovereign credit downgrades. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russian police seize painting of Putin in women's underwear Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 11:04 AM PDT  By Liza Dobkina ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Police seized a painting of Russia's president and prime minister in women's underwear from a gallery in St Petersburg, saying the satirical display had broken unspecified laws. The officers also removed a picture of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, his torso covered in tattoos, and two others poking fun at lawmakers who have backed legislation banning so-called gay propaganda, gallery staff said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Libya's oil chaos deepens as armed group shuts pipeline Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 10:48 AM PDT By Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Julia Payne TRIPOLI/LONDON (Reuters) - Libya's largest western oilfields closed when an armed group shut down the pipeline linking them to ports, its deputy oil minister said on Tuesday, reducing its oil output to a trickle. Total Libyan oil output would be just under 200,000 barrels per day from pre-war levels of around 1.6 million bpd, according to a Reuters estimate, the worst disruption since the civil war in 2011. The fields - El Feel and El Sharara - linked to the pipeline have a combined capacity of around 500,000 barrels per day. "I'm upset. ... Full Story | Top |
| Divided Damascus apprehensive, hopeful over Western strike Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 10:39 AM PDT  DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Shops in Damascus are open, and traffic chokes the main thoroughfares, but the mood in the capital, exhausted by more than two years of civil war, is growing restive as Syria faces the prospect of a military strike by Western powers. Despite the bustle of daily life in those areas of the city not directly caught up in conflict, there is apprehension at what foreign intervention would look like but also hope. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama, Canada PM agree Syria chemical weapon use merits firm response Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 10:28 AM PDT OTTAWA (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday agreed that the use of chemical weapons in Syria merited a firm, effective and timely response from the international community, a spokesman for Harper said. The two leaders talked amid mounting signs that Washington and its allies are edging toward a limited use of force against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's loyalists in the wake of a poison gas attack last week that killed hundreds of civilians. ... Full Story | Top |
| France's Hollande urges U.N. action on Central African Republic Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 10:28 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande called on the U.N. Security Council and the African Union on Tuesday to stabilize the situation in the Central African Republic, warning it was at risk of going the way of Somalia. The country's newly sworn-in rebel leader Michel Djotodia is struggling to control the impoverished but mineral-rich nation, which has witnessed a string of violent power changes since independence from France in 1960. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ukrainian serial killer dies in prison Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 10:13 AM PDT  KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's most prolific serial killer, Anatoly Onoprienko, who killed 52 people in a six-year reign of terror up to 1996, has died in jail, the state penitentiary service said on Tuesday. Onoprienko, who killed groups of people at a time in western and central Ukraine, sometimes using a hunting rifle, shotgun or axe while trying to rob them, died in prison in the town of Zhytomir, Interfax news agency said. The agency reported a prison service official as saying Onoprienko, who was about 54 years old, appeared to have died of a heart attack. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tanzanian-Zambian rail firm sacks 1,000 unpaid striking workers Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 09:47 AM PDT DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority has sacked more than 1,000 workers who went on strike last week demanding payment of unpaid wages, paralyzing a line that carries freight and passengers, a TAZARA spokesman said on Tuesday. TAZARA said the strike had affected the transport of copper from Zambia to Tanzania's Dar es Salaam port for export. "Over 12 trains are stuck along the line, including copper, manganese and cement destined for Dar es Salaam and fertilizer, bitumen and sulphur for the mines," said spokesman Conrad Simuchile. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy says Syria has passed 'point of no-return' with chemical weapons Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 09:39 AM PDT  ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta said that he agreed with British Prime Minister David Cameron in a phone call on Tuesday that Syria's use of chemical weapons was "unacceptable", according to a statement. "The United Kingdom and Italy agreed on the fact that Syria has gone past the point of no-return with its massive use of chemical weapons," the Italian premier said in a statement. The attacks are "an unacceptable crime that cannot be tolerated by the international community," the statement read. (Reporting by Steve Scherer, editing by Silvia Aloisi) Full Story | Top |
| France says ready to punish those who gassed civilians in Syria Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 09:39 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday that France stood ready to punish those behind a chemical attack on civilians in Damascus last week and would increase its military support to the Syrian opposition. Hollande said it seemed certain that forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad were behind the chemical attack - believed to have killed hundreds of civilians - and said it was the outside world's responsibility to respond. He said he recognized a 2005 U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Former German President to be tried on corruption charges Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 09:38 AM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - Former German President Christian Wulff will go on trial in November on corruption charges, more than 18 months after the man once tipped as a successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel resigned from the largely ceremonial role in disgrace. Wulff, who served just 20 months as president, will face charges of receiving favors, a district court in Hanover ruled on Tuesday, throwing out a bid by prosecutors to try him for the more serious offence of accepting bribes. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK's Cameron: Any Syria action must be specific, avoid wider war Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 09:27 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday that any military action against Syria must be specific and not entail being dragged into a wider Middle East conflict. "This is not about getting involved in a Middle Eastern war or changing our stance in Syria or going further into that conflict," Cameron told reporters in his first public comments on the matter. "It's about chemical weapons. Their use is wrong and the world shouldn't stand idly by." (Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge) Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine Femen group accuse police after arms find Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 09:22 AM PDT  KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian topless feminist group Femen accused the police of planting explosives and a gun during a raid on their headquarters in Kiev headquarters on Tuesday in a bid to close their organization down. The Femen group specializes in shock bare-breast appearances to dramatize women's rights causes, mainly in the male-dominated hierarchies of Russia and its former Soviet allies. Russia's Vladimir Putin has particularly been a target for Femen's protests since the prosecution of the Russian female punk group Pussy Riot last year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama, Canada's Harper discuss Syria, potential responses: White House Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 09:13 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke by phone on Tuesday about the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government and pledged to consult closely on potential responses, the White House said. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by David Brunnstrom) Full Story | Top |
| Merkel faces pre-election balancing act on Syria Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 09:00 AM PDT  By Madeline Chambers BERLIN (Reuters) - Just four weeks before she hopes to win a third term as German chancellor, Angela Merkel faces an unexpected problem that could damage her chances - how to respond to shocking pictures of a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria. She is caught between overwhelming opposition from German voters to military action in Syria and pressure from international allies to back their calls for "consequences". Berlin's decision two years ago not to support Western intervention in Libya has intensified that pressure. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisia PM says state must stay strong amid jihadi threat Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 08:58 AM PDT  By Tarek Amara and Tom Heneghan TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's Islamist Prime Minister Ali Larayedh said on Tuesday he was ready to step aside for a caretaker cabinet to hold new elections, but would not create a power vacuum while the country faced serious security and economic challenges. He said this after announcing Tunis had proof the jihadist group Ansar al-Sharia had assassinated two secular politicians and killed eight soldiers in recent months and so had now officially classified it "as a terrorist group". ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran names new envoy to IAEA, extending makeover of nuclear team Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 08:38 AM PDT  By Yeganeh Torbati DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran has named a disarmament expert as its envoy to the U.N. nuclear watchdog, extending a reshuffle of top officials dealing with its disputed atomic program since new President Hassan Rouhani took office vowing to improve Iran's foreign relations. Rouhani has yet to pick someone for arguably Iran's most important diplomatic post - chief nuclear negotiator with world powers - but the pragmatist tilt of his team so far points to a closer alignment of nuclear and foreign policy. ... Full Story | Top |
| France says ready to punish those who gassed civilians Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 08:36 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday that France stood ready to punish the perpetrators of a chemical attack in Damascus last week and would increase its military support to the Syrian opposition. "France is ready to punish those who took the decision to gas the innocent," Hollande told an annual meeting in Paris of dozens of French ambassadors posted around the world. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arab League blames Syria's Assad for chemical attack Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 08:21 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - The Arab League squarely blamed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday for a gas attack near Damascus and urged the U.N. Security Council to act, providing what diplomatic sources said was political cover for a possible U.S. strike. Western powers have told the Syrian opposition to expect a strike against Assad's forces within days to punish the attack, according to sources who attended a meeting between envoys and the Syrian National Coalition. The Arab League's statement, issued after an emergency meeting, made no mention of military action. ... Full Story | Top |
| Polish government down to wafer-thin majority after MP quits Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 08:16 AM PDT  By Marcin Goettig WARSAW (Reuters) - A Polish lawmaker quit the ruling Civic Platform party on Tuesday, leaving Prime Minister Donald Tusk's coalition with just a three-seat majority in parliament as it struggles to revive a faltering economy. John Godson, Poland's first black member of parliament, said he was leaving over disagreements about unspecified social issues - a move which could embolden over members of a conservative faction in the party. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia-Belarus potash dispute ignites diplomatic row Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 08:07 AM PDT  By Douglas Busvine and Andrei Makhovsky MOSCOW/MINSK (Reuters) - Russia demanded on Tuesday the release of the head of Russian company Uralkali, whose arrest in Belarus threatens to turn a business dispute that shook the $20-billion global potash market into a major diplomatic row. Vladislav Baumgertner, chief executive of the world's largest potash producer, was detained on Monday at the airport of the Belarusian capital Minsk after being invited to secret talks with Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich. ... Full Story | Top |
| France will not shirk duty on Syria: source Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 08:05 AM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - France "will not shirk its responsibilities" in response to a suspected chemical attack in Damascus by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a French diplomatic source said on Tuesday. The source, speaking shortly before President Francois Hollande was due to address an ambassadors' conference in Paris on foreign policy, said that, in France's view, there was no doubt Syrian forces were behind last week's attack. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel says will respond with force to any attack from Syria Tuesday, Aug 27, 2013 08:02 AM PDT  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel was not involved in Syria's civil war, but would respond forcefully to any attempts to attack it. "The state of Israel is prepared for any scenario," Netanyahu said in a statement after holding security consultations in Tel Aviv as Western countries weighed a possible military action to punish the Syrian government for an alleged chemical attack near Damascus last week. ... Full Story | Top |
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