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| Gunman wounds three officers, is shot dead in New Mexico Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 08:56 PM PDT By Zelie Pollon SANTA FE, New Mexico (Reuters) - A gunman opened fire on police in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Saturday and wounded three officers before he was shot and killed, the city's police department said. Two Albuquerque police officers and one Bernalillo County sheriff's deputy were hospitalized with gunshot wounds, according to a statement on the Albuquerque Police Department website, which did not detail their conditions. "There are multiple scenes as the shooter fired at officers throughout the entirety of this incident," the statement said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Army says pushing back M23 rebels in eastern Congo Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 06:11 PM PDT  By Kenny Katombe and Chrispin Mvano GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - The Congolese army said it made significant advances against eastern rebel forces in a second day of fierce fighting on Saturday and called on neighboring Rwanda to help disarm the insurgents. The army clashed with M23 rebels on Friday for the first time in two months after peace talks in Uganda broke down this week. Rwanda accused the army of firing a shell into its territory, sparking fears its military might intervene. ... Full Story | Top |
| Estuaries in Puerto Rico's capital get 'mega clean up' Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 05:25 PM PDT  SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) - A flotilla of fishing skiffs and kayaks plied through the channels and lagoons that comprise the San Juan estuary system Saturday, as volunteers dove beneath bridges and trudged through the thick mangrove forest lining its coasts. With egrets, herons and terns circling overhead and large tarpon breaking through the lagoon's surface, the estuary system evokes a tropical paradise. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Main candidates in Georgia's presidential election Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 01:39 PM PDT (Reuters) - Georgia elects a new president on Sunday that will bring the curtain down on Mikheil Saakashvili's decade in power. Twenty-three candidates will run in the election, the largest number since the former Soviet republic held its first presidential election in 1991. Saakashvili is barred from running after serving two terms. Here are some facts on the main candidates and the rules. GEORGY MARGVELASHVILI, 44, Georgian Dream's presidential candidate, is the front runner, according to opinion polls. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Key facts about former Soviet Georgia Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 01:37 PM PDT (Reuters) - Georgia elects a new president on Sunday in a vote that will end Mikheil Saakashvili's decade-long rule. Here are some facts about the country. GEOGRAPHY: Georgia, a former Soviet republic, is flanked by Russia to the north, Azerbaijan and Armenia to the east and south, and Turkey to the southwest. Its capital is Tbilisi. POPULATION: 4.5 million. There are 3.5 million eligible voters. RELIGION: Most of the population is Orthodox Christian. SEPARATIST REGIONS: Two regions of Georgia - Abkhazia and South Ossetia - broke away from central control during wars in the 1990s. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ex-Soviet Georgia enters new era with presidential poll Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 01:35 PM PDT  By Margarita Antidze and Timothy Heritage TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia elects a new president on Sunday in a vote that will end Mikheil Saakashvili's decade-long rule and test confidence in the ruling Georgian Dream coalition led by billionaire Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. The front-runner to replace Saakashvili, a pro-U.S. leader who fought a war with Russia and has served the maximum two terms, is Georgy Margvelashvili, a member of the coalition which ousted the president's cabinet in an election a year ago. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mozambique says Renamo ambush kills one, injures 10 Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 01:29 PM PDT By Manuel Mucari MAPUTO (Reuters) - Suspected Renamo guerrillas ambushed a passenger minibus in central Mozambique on Saturday, killing one person and injuring 10 more in an attack condemned by President Armando Guebuza, state media said. Fears of hit-and-run attacks by armed partisans of Renamo opposition leader Afonso Dhlakama have increased after the army overran Dhlakama's base in central Sofala province on Monday, forcing him to flee into the bush. ... Full Story | Top |
| Czech agro tycoon emerges as king-maker after election Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 12:07 PM PDT  By Jan Lopatka and Jason Hovet PRAGUE (Reuters) - Slovak-born billionaire and political novice Andrej Babis became the king-maker of Czech politics on Saturday, after voters angry at graft among the country's political establishment made his new party the second biggest in parliament. The mercurial 59-year-old overcame being a non-native Czech speaker and a hazy political program to win 18.7 percent of the vote in the election, just behind the Social Democrats, who garnered a disappointing 20.5 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel dismisses reports Iran halting higher-grade enrichment Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 11:41 AM PDT  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel on Saturday dismissed as "irrelevant" reports that Iran had halted its most sensitive uranium enrichment activity, and said Tehran's nuclear program must be dismantled. A senior member of Iran's parliamentary national security commission was quoted as saying Iran had stopped refining uranium above the 5 percent required for civilian power stations, as it already had all the 20-percent enriched fuel it needed for a medical research reactor in Tehran. But diplomats accredited to the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's right could split after Berlusconi move: lawmakers Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 11:17 AM PDT  ROME (Reuters) - Italy's political center-right could split, lawmakers said on Saturday, after Silvio Berlusconi resurrected his old Forza Italia party and suspended the People of Freedom (PDL), part of the wobbly left-right coalition government. Several parliamentarians allied to the former prime minister were critical of Berlusconi's move, and five senior PDL members boycotted Friday's meeting where the decision was made. ... Full Story | Top |
| United States tracked Merkel's phone since 2002: report Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 11:04 AM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - The United States may have bugged Angela Merkel's phone for more than 10 years, according to a news report on Saturday that also said President Barack Obama told the German leader he would have stopped it happening had he known about it. Germany's outrage over reports of bugging of Merkel's phone by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) prompted it to summon the U.S. ambassador this week for the first time in living memory, an unprecedented post-war diplomatic rift. ... Full Story | Top |
| No clear outcome as Madagascar election results dribble in Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 10:57 AM PDT  By Alain Iloniaina and Richard Lough ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Results dribbled in from Madagascar's presidential election on Saturday but two front-runners said a second round looked likely in a vote many hope will restore investor confidence in an economy left paralyzed by a coup four years ago. A credible poll on the Indian Ocean island would be an important step towards luring back tourists as well as oil and mining companies who were scared off when mutinous troops swept former disc jockey Andry Rajoelina to power in 2009. ... Full Story | Top |
| Czech center-left ekes out slim poll victory, tough coalition talks loom Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 10:39 AM PDT  By Jana Mlcochova and Robert Muller PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech Social Democrats won a slim victory in a parliamentary election on Saturday but faced a tough task forming a government after a wave of voter anger over sleaze and budget cuts propelled new protest parties into parliament. With most results in, Bohuslav Sobotka's center-left, pro-European Social Democrats had 21 percent of the vote, well short of the 30 percent they had targeted and in need of more than one coalition partner to build a stable government. ... Full Story | Top |
| Czech left leads vote count, new party second: partial results Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 10:39 AM PDT PRAGUE (Reuters) - The center-left Social Democrats held onto their lead in the Czech republic's parliamentary election, partial results showed on Saturday. The party led with 21.3 percent of the vote after 80 percent of polling stations had reported. The new centrist protest movement ANO had 18.7 percent and the Communists were third with 15.7 percent. (Reporting by Jason Hovet; editing by Andrew Roche) Full Story | Top |
| Czech Social Democrat leader expects tough talks on new government Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 10:39 AM PDT PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech Social Democrat leader Bohuslav Sobotka said he expected tough talks with other parties on forming a minority or coalition government after winning less of a parliamentary election vote than expected on Saturday. The left-leaning Social Democrat party was leading the count with 21.6 percent after 66 percent of polling stations had reported. Seven parties were on course to win seats. (Reporting by Jason Hovet; editing by Andrew Roche) Full Story | Top |
| Table: Center-left Social Democrats lead vote in Czech election Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 10:39 AM PDT PRAGUE (Reuters) - The center-left Social Democrats led the vote in the Czech parliamentary election on Saturday with around 95 percent of polling stations across the country reporting. Pre-election polls had predicted the Social Democrats would win about 25 percent of the vote with Czechs punishing center-right parties that ruled for most of the past seven years for austerity policies and a series of graft scandals. Parties must win at least 5 percent of the vote to enter parliament. The following are the latest election results for the leading parties: CSSD -- 20.8 pct KSCM -- 15. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Mount Etna volcano erupts Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 10:12 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - Europe's tallest and most active volcano Mount Etna erupted on Saturday, spewing glowing lava into the air and sending a vast plume of smoke over the southern Italian island of Sicily. The eruption did not require any mountain villages to be evacuated or cause significant disruption, though airspace over Sicily was briefly closed on Saturday morning, according to Catania airport. The volcano is in almost constant activity, although the last major eruption was in 1992. The latest eruption was preceded by a series of underground tremors on Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Militants say ex-army major carried out Cairo suicide attack Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 09:30 AM PDT By Hadeel Al Shalchi CAIRO (Reuters) - A Sinai-based Islamist militant group that claimed a September assassination attempt on Egypt's interior minister released a video on Saturday saying a former major in the army carried out the suicide bombing. The video, which Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis released on militant websites, runs to 30 minutes and identifies former major Waleed Badr as being responsible for the attack, but does not say if he was a member of the group. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kosovo issues arrest warrant for Serb minister for illegal entry Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 09:02 AM PDT PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo has issued an arrest warrant for a Serbian minister who entered the country illegally, a police spokesman said on Saturday, a move that may hamper implementation of a deal to normalise ties between Pristina and Belgrade. Pristina authorities said Aleksandar Vulin, the Serbian minister in charge of Kosovo, had visited ethnic Serbs living in northern Kosovo last week during campaigning for local elections on November 3. "We have received an arrest warrant on Vulin and we will act accordingly," Kosovo police spokesman Brahim Sadriu said, without giving further details. ... Full Story | Top |
| Afghanistan to ask Pakistan about Taliban chief's whereabouts Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 08:37 AM PDT By Hamid Shalizi and Dylan Welch KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan will demand an explanation from Pakistan on the whereabouts of a former Taliban second-in-command when the leaders of both countries meet next week to discuss how to end years of insurgency, an Afghan official said on Saturday. The whereabouts of Mullah Baradar has been the source of intense speculation since Pakistan announced his release on September 20. Pakistani sources say he is still kept in a safe house and is closely watched by his Pakistani handlers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bahrain defends use of teargas following criticism Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 08:21 AM PDT  By Mahmoud Habboush DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahrain has defended its use of teargas after rights groups criticized the Gulf kingdom's reported plans to buy 1.6 million canisters of the material. Local and international rights groups have accused the authorities of using teargas excessively and of firing canisters directly at protesters or into cars and houses where they can cause serious injuries. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran border guards killed, captured on Pakistan border Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 07:35 AM PDT DUBAI (Reuters) - Fourteen Iranian border guards were killed and three others captured by "bandits" on the southeastern frontier with Pakistan overnight, Iranian media reported on Saturday. In response, the Iranian judiciary executed 16 people it said were elements of "terrorist" groups, according to the ISNA news agency. There were no further details of who they were or whether or when they had been tried. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kurdish fighters seize Syrian border post from Islamists Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 07:33 AM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - Kurdish militants seized a Syrian border post on the frontier with Iraq early on Saturday, fighters and monitors said, after three days of clashes with an al Qaeda-linked group which had held the crossing since March. The armed Kurdish group YPG told Reuters fighting carried on through the day and a senior security official on the Iraqi side of the crossing said he could hear gunshots, mortar fire and shelling. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ethiopia opens Africa's largest wind farm to boost power production Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 06:25 AM PDT By Aaron Maasho ASHEGODA, Ethiopia (Reuters) - Africa's biggest wind farm began production in Ethiopia on Saturday, aiding efforts to diversify electricity generation from hydropower plants and help the country become a major regional exporter of energy. The Horn of Africa country - plagued by frequent blackouts - plans to boost generating capacity from 2,000 MW to 10,000 MW within the next three to five years, much of it coming from the 6,000 MW Grand Renaissance Dam under construction on the Nile. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. Syria envoy says Iran should join Geneva peace talks: Press TV Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 06:22 AM PDT  DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Nations peace envoy for Syria said on Saturday Iran should be invited to planned peace talks in Geneva, Iran's English-language Press TV reported, in comments sure to rile Gulf Arab states. Iran has strongly backed President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's civil war while Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states support the Syrian leader's mainly Sunni rebel foes. The Saudis are also deeply worried by signs of a tentative reconciliation between its ally the United States and its regional rival Iran. ... Full Story | Top |
| Finnish parliament should vote again on Fennovoima reactor: minister Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 05:38 AM PDT HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen said parliament should hold a new vote on nuclear consortium Fennovoima's permit to build a nuclear reactor after it chose a supplier not included in original plans. The suggested move would mean extra uncertainty for Fennovoima's plans, already strained by the weakened financial conditions of some of its stakeholders such as miner Talvivaara and stainless steel maker Outokumpu. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge dismisses 'betrayal of trust' case against ElBaradei Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 05:19 AM PDT  By Hadeel Al Shalchi CAIRO (Reuters) - A judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Egypt's former interim vice president for "betrayal of trust" in quitting the army-backed government in protest against its bloody crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. Cairo's Misdemeanours Court judge Wael El-Mahdi on Saturday threw out the case against Mohamed ElBaradei, saying it lacked sufficient grounds. ElBaradei was out of the country. Anti-Mursi Egyptian law professor Sayyid Al-Ateeq brought the suit against ElBaradei in August. ElBaradei, former head of the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan PM says ready to be more assertive against China: media Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 03:50 AM PDT  TOKYO (Reuters) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in an interview published on Saturday, said Japan was ready to be more assertive towards China as Beijing threatened to strike back if provoked. A top retired Chinese diplomat said any move by Tokyo to contain China could amount to an attempt to conceal ulterior motives in the region and prove to be "extremely dangerous". And the defense ministry warned Japan not to underestimate China's resolve to take whatever measures were needed to protect itself. ... Full Story | Top |
| Saudi women break driving ban, defying warnings: campaigners Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 03:50 AM PDT  RIYADH (Reuters) - A few women filmed themselves driving in Saudi cities on Saturday, defying government warnings of arrest and prosecution to take part in a campaign against men-only road rules, activists said. But some others stayed at home, put off by phone calls from men who said they were from the Interior Ministry, reported organizers of the demonstration against an effective ban on women drivers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greenpeace activist dangles from Eiffel Tower in Russia protest Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 03:39 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - A Greenpeace activist suspended himself from the Eiffel Tower on Saturday to call for the release of 30 people who have spent more than a month in a Russian jail over a protest against oil drilling in the Arctic After lowering himself from the second tier of the Paris landmark, the man unfurled a large yellow sign saying: "Free the Arctic 30." He was brought down about two hours later by firemen without incident. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunfight pits Afghan against foreign soldiers - one dead Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 03:38 AM PDT  KABUL (Reuters) - A gunfight broke out between Afghan and foreign soldiers on the outskirts of the capital Kabul on Saturday, killing at least one Afghan serviceman and injuring a number of other soldiers, according to Afghan and NATO officials. So-called "insider attacks" are severely straining ties between the NATO-led alliance and the Kabul authorities and further undermine waning support for the war in the West. They have become one of the Taliban insurgents' most effective weapons against the coalition. "There was an argument between an Afghan and foreign soldier inside a military base... ... Full Story | Top |
| Bosnian activists erect 'guerrilla memorials' to war crimes victims Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 03:20 AM PDT By Daria Sito-Sucic SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Bosnian activists put up "guerrilla memorials" overnight to Serbs, Muslims and Croats killed in the 1992-95 war, in protest at the denial of war crimes by authorities in the Balkan country. In a synchronized action, they erected identical marble plaques in three towns across Bosnia in the early hours of Saturday. The memorials in the southeastern town of Foca, the central town of Bugojno and the southern town of Konjic all bore the text: "So that it never happens again. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran border guards killed fighting bandits near Pakistan: report Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 01:55 AM PDT DUBAI (Reuters) - About 20 Iranian border guards were killed in clashes with "bandits" on the southeastern frontier with Pakistan overnight and several others were seized, Iranian media said on Saturday. The reports gave no more details on the identity of the armed group but security forces have fought drug traffickers before in the border region with Pakistan and Afghanistan. The area also has a history of unrest, with the mainly Sunni Muslim population complaining of discrimination at the hands of Iran's Shi'ite Muslim authorities. ... Full Story | Top |
| China leader promises 'unprecedented' reforms at key Party meeting Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 01:18 AM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - A top Chinese leader has promised "unprecedented" economic and societal reforms at the Communist Party's much anticipated plenum meeting next month, state media reported on Saturday. Yu Zhengsheng, the fourth-ranked member in the elite Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party, said the closed-door meeting would "principally explore the issue of deep and comprehensive reforms". "The reforms this time will be broad, with major strength, and will be unprecedented," he said, according to the official Xinhua news agency. ... Full Story | Top |
| Detained Chinese reporter confesses to taking bribes: CCTV Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 01:00 AM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese journalist arrested last week on charges he defamed a state-owned construction equipment maker on Saturday confessed on state television to accepting bribes for fabricating stories, despite a public outcry over his detention. Reporter Chen Yongzhou's lengthy explanation of how he invented negative stories about Changsha-based Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Co. Ltd is the latest in a series of televised confessions by suspects in high-profile or politicized cases. ... Full Story | Top |
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