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| As Obama's Asia 'pivot' falters, China steps into the gap Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 08:47 PM PDT  By Stuart Grudgings KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - When then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared two years ago "We are back to stay" as a power in Asia, the most dramatic symbol of the policy shift was the planned deployment of 2,500 U.S. Marines in northern Australia, primed to respond to any regional conflict. At this point in time, however, there is not a single U.S. Marine in the tropical northern city of Darwin, according to the Australian defense ministry. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. says captures al Qaeda leader in Libya, also raids Somalia Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 08:22 PM PDT  By Mark Hosenball and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. forces launched raids in Libya and Somalia on Saturday, two weeks after the deadly Islamist attack on a Nairobi shopping mall, capturing a top al Qaeda figure wanted for the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, U.S. officials said. The Pentagon said senior al Qaeda figure Anas al Liby was seized in the raid in Libya, but a U.S. official said the raid on the Somali town of Barawe failed to capture or kill the intended target from the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab movement. Liby, believed to be 49, has been under U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Argentina's president to take month off for brain hematoma Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 08:12 PM PDT  By Maximilian Heath BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine President Cristina Fernandez has been told by doctors to take a month off because of a subdural hematoma on her brain, forcing her to abandon campaigning for important congressional elections taking place later this month. The 60-year-old president suffered trauma to the brain in August and had been given the all-clear at the time, her spokesman Alfredo Scoccimarro said, without elaborating. Vice President Amado Boudou cut short a journey to France to return to Argentina and take over the president's duties. ... Full Story | Top |
| Another arrest in motorcycle gang beating on New York highway Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 08:03 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - A third suspect was arrested on Saturday for his alleged role in last weekend's attack on an SUV driver who was chased for miles along a Manhattan highway by dozens of bikers, police said. The arrest of Reginald Chance, 37, of Brooklyn, New York, came a week after bikers chased the sport utility vehicle, driven by a man traveling with his wife and 2-year-old daughter, and then pulled the man from the vehicle and beat him, the New York City Police Department said. Video of the confrontation was uploaded to YouTube and went viral. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tennessee patient treated in 2012 meningitis outbreak has relapse Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 07:11 PM PDT By Timothy Ghianni NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - A patient treated during the deadly meningitis outbreak in the United States last year that was tied to contaminated steroid injections is back in the hospital for a recurrence of the infection, a Nashville hospital said on Saturday. "The patient was admitted to Saint Thomas West Hospital on October 3 and is now receiving appropriate treatment at the hospital," hospital spokeswoman Rebecca Climer said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon to recall most furloughed workers, easing shutdown pain Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 06:24 PM PDT  By Phil Stewart and Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Saturday it would recall the vast majority of some 350,000 civilian Defense Department employees sent home during the government shutdown, in a move that could greatly lessen the impact of the shutdown on America's armed forces. Civilian Pentagon employees comprise nearly half the 800,000 federal employees currently furloughed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Illegal immigrants allowed to practice law in California Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 05:16 PM PDT By Noreen O'Donnell (Reuters) - Illegal immigrants can be licensed to practice law in California under one of eight bills expanding immigrant rights that were signed by Governor Jerry Brown on Saturday. The California Supreme Court, which finalizes requests of applicants to be licensed as a lawyer in California, is now authorized to approve qualified applicants regardless of their immigration status. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tuareg rebels rejoin peace process in northern Mali Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 05:13 PM PDT OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - Tuareg separatists said on Saturday they were rejoining the peace process in northern Mali, just over a week after they pulled out and accused Bamako of not respecting the terms of a truce signed in June. The three separatist groups, including the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, or MNLA, rebels, made the announcement after Malian authorities released 23 insurgents last week to comply with the terms of the ceasefire signed in Ouagadougou. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisia's ruling Islamists start crisis talks with opposition Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 04:47 PM PDT  By Patrick Markey and Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's ruling Islamists began talks with secular opponents on Saturday under a deal that calls for their government to step down and prepare elections to end months of political deadlock. The North African country, where an uprising two years ago began the "Arab Spring" revolts, has been in crisis since the July assassination of an opposition leader triggered street protests demanding the government's resignation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Children lured from Rwanda to fight with Congo rebels: U.N. Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 04:43 PM PDT  By Michelle Nichols KINSHASA (Reuters) - A third of child soldiers who have escaped from Congolese rebel group M23 were lured from neighboring Rwanda with promises of cash, jobs and education, the United Nations said on Saturday. Some M23 child soldiers received training from the Rwandan Defence Force for up to two weeks before being handed over to the rebel group, with some of the children believing mistakenly that they were joining the Rwandan army, the chief of child protection at the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the country said. U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. seizes al Qaeda figure indicted in 1998 Africa embassy bombings Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 04:22 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior al Qaeda figure Anas al-Liby, indicted by the United States for his alleged role in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa, was captured in Libya by a U.S. team and is in American custody, U.S. officials said on Saturday. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a second U.S. raid in Somalia had failed to capture a leader of the al Shabaab militant group who was the raid's target. (Reporting by Mark Hosenball and Phil Stewart; Editing by Peter Cooney) Full Story | Top |
| Obama wades into debate over NFL Washington Redskins' name Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 03:57 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, already embroiled in a battle over a government shutdown, jumped into another dispute on Saturday - a long-running fight over the name of the Washington Redskins NFL team. Obama said that if he owned the team, he would consider changing the name, which American Indians and others have long pilloried as racist. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. source confirms operation in Somalia against Shabaab militant Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 03:40 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. government source confirmed on Saturday that American military forces conducted an operation in Somalia targeting a member of the militant group al Shabaab, but could provide no further details. A second foreign military operation also took place in Libya on Saturday and was aimed at seizing senior al Qaeda figure Anas al Liby, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity. Al Liby is wanted by the United States for his alleged role in the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. ... Full Story | Top |
| Upper Midwest struck by unusual autumn tornadoes, snowstorm Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 03:36 PM PDT  By Greg McCune CHICAGO (Reuters) - The upper Midwest was recovering on Saturday from an unusual autumn wallop from a fierce snowstorm that trapped dozens of people in vehicles in western South Dakota and a swarm of tornadoes that left at least 15 people injured in rural Nebraska and Iowa. More than 80 motorists remained stranded in western South Dakota after a blizzard rolled out of the Rocky Mountains and dumped up to three feet of snow on parts of the Northern Plains. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon recalls most civilian defense employees idled by shutdown Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 03:16 PM PDT  By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Saturday it would recall the vast majority of around 350,000 civilian Defense Department employees sent home during the U.S. government shutdown, a move that could greatly lessen the impact of Washington infighting on the U.S. armed forces. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said a legal review of the "Pay Our Military Act," signed by President Barack Obama on Monday on the eve of the shutdown, would allow him to bring most civilians back to work next week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Al Shabaab leader believed killed by U.S. commandos: NYTimes Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 03:16 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy SEAL team is believed to have killed a senior leader of the al Shabaab militant group in a raid on his seaside villa in Somalia on Saturday in response to a deadly attack on a Nairobi shopping mall last month, the New York Times reported. The unidentified target was believed to have been killed in a predawn firefight after the SEAL team landed in the Somali town of Barawe by sea, but the commandos were forced to withdraw before that could be confirmed, a report on the newspaper's website quoted a senior U.S. official as saying. It said U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Midwest surveys damage from rare autumn tornadoes Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 03:12 PM PDT By Greg McCune (Reuters) - With daylight on Saturday, emergency responders began assessing the destruction from a series of more than a dozen rare autumn tornadoes that caused injuries and significant damage in rural areas of Iowa and Nebraska. The National Weather Service received 18 reports of tornadoes touching down in the two states on Friday night, including one or more that were a mile wide. The two hardest hit areas were Wayne County, Nebraska, and Woodbury County, Iowa, local officials said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazil opposition leaders join forces against Rousseff Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 02:51 PM PDT  By Jeferson Ribeiro and Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - Two of Brazil's most popular opposition leaders joined forces on Saturday in an unexpected alliance that shakes up next year's election and could pose a major challenge to President Dilma Rousseff at a time when the economy is sputtering. Marina Silva, a colorful former environment minister who was running second in polls for next year's presidential vote, said she was setting aside her own presidential ambitions to join the center-left PSB Party and support its candidate, Pernambuco state Governor Eduardo Campos. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ex-CBOT chief says he's in Europe after warrant issued Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 02:44 PM PDT  By Tom Polansek CHICAGO (Reuters) - Former Chicago Board of Trade Chairman Patrick Arbor said on Saturday that he was in Europe, following a newspaper report alleging he had fled the United States to avoid paying millions of dollars to his ex-wife. "I can't talk about it," Arbor told Reuters about the accusations when reached on his cell phone. Asked where he was, he said: "I'm in Europe. I'm an Italian citizen. ... Full Story | Top |
| Four dead in U.S. plane crash on Panama-Colombia border Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 02:39 PM PDT By Luis Jaime Acosta BOGOTA (Reuters) - Four of six passengers on a U.S. government surveillance mission died on Saturday when their plane crashed along a section of jungle on Colombia's border with Panama known for arms and drug trafficking, Colombian military sources said. The plane with five Americans and one Panamanian on board, crashed near Acandi, in the Colombian province of Choco, a region where Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrillas and drug-trafficking gangs operate. The two surviving crew members were evacuated by helicopter to a regional hospital. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama says Iran a year or more from nuclear weapon capability Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 02:26 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States believes Iran is a year or a more away from being able to produce a nuclear weapon, President Barack Obama said in an interview with the Associated Press released on Saturday, although he described the estimate as "conservative." "Our assessment continues to be a year or more away, and in fact, actually our estimate is probably more conservative than the estimates of Israeli intelligence services," Obama said in reply to a question about the U.S. intelligence assessment of Iran's ability to produce nuclear weapons. Obama has directed U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Somali militants say Western forces raid base and kill fighter Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 02:15 PM PDT By Feisal Omar and Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali al Shabaab militants said on Saturday British and Turkish special forces had raided a coastal town overnight, killing a rebel fighter, but that a British officer had also been killed and others wounded. A British Defence Ministry spokeswoman said: "We are not aware of any British involvement in this at all." A Turkish Foreign Ministry official denied any Turkish part in such an action. ... Full Story | Top |
| Suicide bombers target Iraq Shi'ites, killing 60 Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 02:10 PM PDT By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two suicide bombers targeted Shi'ite Muslims in Iraq on Saturday, killing 60 people on the eve of the anniversary of one of their imams' deaths, police and medics said on Saturday. In the northern city of Mosul, unidentified gunmen shot two Iraqi television journalists dead as they were filming, security sources said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for either of the bombings, but such attacks are the hallmark of Sunni Islamist al Qaeda, which views Shi'ites as non-believers and has been regaining momentum this year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greece mulls swapping bailout loans with 50-year bond issue: source Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 01:28 PM PDT ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece is looking into swapping a big chunk of its bailout loans with a 50-year government bond as a way to achieve debt relief once it attains a primary budget surplus this year, an official close to the discussions told Reuters on Saturday. Twice bailed out with 240 billion euros by its euro zone partners and the International Monetary Fund, Greece aims at a primary budget surplus this year, excluding interest payments, which will allow it to seek debt relief from its lenders. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israeli child seriously wounded in West Bank settlement shooting Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 01:20 PM PDT JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A nine-year-old Israeli girl was shot and seriously wounded in a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank on Saturday in what police said was a suspected Palestinian militant attack. "Our suspicion is that this is a terrorist attack," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. Rosenfeld said the girl was shot while she was outside in the garden and that security forces were searching in and around the Psagot settlement, where the shooting occurred, near the Palestinian city of Ramallah. Violence in the West Bank has risen in the past few weeks. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt issues tough warning against anti-army protests Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 12:54 PM PDT  By Michael Georgy CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian authorities said on Saturday anyone who protests against the army on Sunday when the country celebrates the anniversary of an attack on Israeli forces during the 1973 war will be regarded as agents of foreign powers. Presidential spokesman Ahmed al-Muslimani was speaking to the state news agency in anticipation of demonstrations by the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been staging protests against the army's ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July. ... Full Story | Top |
| Assad says will not negotiate with armed rebels: magazine Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 12:37 PM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told a German magazine he would not negotiate with rebels until they laid down their arms, and said his most powerful ally Russia supported his government more than ever. In an extensive interview with Der Spiegel, Assad said he did not believe it was possible to solve the conflict in Syria through negotiations with the rebels, comments that might dampen hopes among Western powers for a political solution. "In my view, a political opposition does not carry weapons. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela vows crackdown on 'currency tourists' Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 12:25 PM PDT  By Andrew Cawthorne CARACAS (Reuters) - President Nicolas Maduro's government plans to use fingerprint machines at airports to try to root out no-shows who buy tickets to scam travel-related currency controls without even flying, in the latest symptom of Venezuela's economic chaos. Most flights out of the South American OPEC nation are booked solid months ahead because locals buy up tickets to enable the purchase of dollars at a preferential rate. In a phenomenon Venezuelans have dubbed "currency tourism," many do not even bother taking the trips, meaning planes often fly out half-empty. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bahrain to try opposition leader for inciting terrorism Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 10:31 AM PDT MANAMA (Reuters) - The deputy leader of Bahrain's largest opposition party is to face trial on charges including inciting terrorism, the public prosecutor of the Gulf Arab kingdom said on Saturday. Khalil al-Marzouk was detained in mid-September by police investigating what authorities called his promotion of terrorism, angering his Al Wefaq party, an Islamist group which says it advocates non-violent methods of activism. ... Full Story | Top |
| Berlusconi to ask to serve sentence in community service: press Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 10:28 AM PDT  ROME (Reuters) - Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will ask to serve a tax fraud sentence in community service, rather than under house arrest, his lawyer told newswire AGI on Saturday. The center-right leader, 77, was found guilty of falsely recording the price paid for television rights by his Mediaset television empire to pay less tax. He was given a four-year sentence in August, commuted to one year, to be served under house arrest or in community service due to his age. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kenya says al Qaeda-trained Sudanese man helped lead mall attack Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 10:10 AM PDT  By James Macharia NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's government said a Sudanese man trained by al Qaeda was among the leaders of a raid on a Nairobi shopping mall in which at least 67 people were killed, the worst attack in the country in 15 years. Al Qaeda-linked group al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the assault two weeks ago on the Westgate center, saying it was an act of revenge for Kenya's military campaign in Somalia, but the identities of the gunmen have remained unclear. ... Full Story | Top |
| Assassinations of Muslim clerics in Kenya 'boosting al Shabaab' Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 10:02 AM PDT By Drazen Jorgic MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) - The killings of popular Muslim clerics in Kenya's port city of Mombasa is strengthening support for Somali militants who massacred at least 67 people in a Nairobi shopping mall two weeks ago, a prominent Islamist said on Saturday. The apparent assassination of Sheikh Ibrahim Omar on Thursday night raised religious tensions in Kenya's commercial and tourism hub. Young Muslims, streaming out of a mosque where Omar had preached, torched a church, burned tires and fought the police on Friday. Four people were killed during the day-long riots. ... Full Story | Top |
| Man who set himself on fire near monuments in Washington dies Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 09:56 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A man who set himself on fire in the heart of the U.S. capital as tourists and joggers watched in horror has died from his injuries, a Washington police spokesman said on Saturday. The man who set himself on fire on Friday afternoon died that night, D.C. police spokesman Araz Alali said. "Due to the severity and the nature of his injuries, he's not been identified," Alali said. Police responded to an emergency call on Friday on the National Mall, which is lined with Washington's famed Smithsonian museums and national monuments. ... Full Story | Top |
| Olympics-Russia receives Sochi Games flame Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 09:55 AM PDT By Karolina Tagaris ATHENS, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The flame that will burn at next year's Sochi Winter Olympics was handed over to Russia on Saturday in the marble stadium that hosted the first modern Games in 1896. After a six-day trek across 33 towns in Greece's mainly mountainous northern regions, the flame that was lit last Sunday by the sun's rays at the birthplace of the ancient Games in Olympia was presented to Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt warns against anti-army protests Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 09:51 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Anyone who protests against the Egyptian army on Sunday, when the country celebrates the anniversary of an attack on Israel forces during the 1973 war, will be regarded as agents of foreign countries, the presidential spokesman said on Saturday. The spokesman, Ahmed al-Muslimani, was speaking to the state news agency in anticipation of demonstrations by the Muslim Brotherhood, which is opposed to the army-backed government. (Reporting by Michael Georgy) Full Story | Top |
| Irish voters reject Prime Minister's call to scrap Senate Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 09:48 AM PDT  By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland voted to retain its upper house of parliament on Saturday, rejecting Prime Minister Enda Kenny's call to scrap a chamber where the likes of William Butler Yeats once sat but the government saw as redundant. In a campaign backed by some of the opposition and not seen as a chance to punish the government for austerity policies imposed as part of an EU/IMF bailout, 51.7 percent of the electorate voted against the proposal. ... Full Story | Top |
| Congo's Kabila pledges to implement reforms after national dialogue Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 09:26 AM PDT  DAKAR (Reuters) - Congo's President Joseph Kabila pledged on Saturday to turn the recommendations from three weeks of national dialogue into policies to tackle the central African nation's daunting social, institutional and economic problems. The talks in the capital Kinshasa were boycotted by some members of opposition political parties, who said they were denied the opportunity to discuss the validity of Kabila's disputed 2011 presidential election triumph. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy migrant tragedy unveils plight of survivors Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 09:19 AM PDT  By Steve Scherer LAMPEDUSA, Italy (Reuters) - The survivors of a shipwreck off Sicily two days ago live in terrible conditions and face criminal prosecution, a delegation of lawmakers and officials said on Saturday as they called for policy changes at home and in the European Union. Rough seas again blocked efforts to recover the bodies trapped inside a boat that sank on Thursday, killing an estimated 300 Eritrean and Somali men, women and children who were seeking a better life in Europe. ... Full Story | Top |
| Disabled Chinese rights lawyer freed, vows to sue police Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 09:17 AM PDT  By Sui-Lee Wee BEIJING (Reuters) - A disabled Chinese rights lawyer whose imprisonment stirred international concern said on Saturday she had been released after serving her two and a half year sentence and pledged to sue the police as well as pursue redress for her case. Ni Yulan, who is renowned for defending people evicted from their homes, was sentenced to two years and eight month in prison in April 2012 for causing a disturbance and fraud. Activists contend the charges were trumped up in an effort to silence her. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazil opposition to join forces against Rousseff: source Saturday, Oct 05, 2013 09:16 AM PDT  By Jeferson Ribeiro and Brian Winter BRASILIA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Two of Brazil's most popular opposition leaders will join forces on Saturday, a party source told Reuters, an unexpected alliance that could pose a major challenge to President Dilma Rousseff in next year's election. Marina Silva, a colorful former environment minister who is running second in polls for next year's vote, will announce she is joining the PSB Party of Pernambuco state Governor Eduardo Campos, a PSB source said on condition of anonymity. ... Full Story | Top |
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