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| Accused Los Angeles airport shooter could face death penalty Saturday, Nov 02, 2013 06:58 PM PDT  By Alex Dobuzinskis and Dana Feldman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The 23-year-old man accused of opening fire at Los Angeles International Airport, killing an airport security officer and wounding three other people, could face the death penalty after being charged with murder on Saturday, a federal prosecutor said. Paul Anthony Ciancia was charged with murder of a federal officer and committing violence at an international airport, U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte told reporters a day after the shooting that touched off panic and chaos at the world's sixth busiest airport. Ciancia carried a signed note that called Transportation Security Administration officers "traitorous" and he targeted them during his rampage at the airport's Terminal 3, FBI special agent in charge David Bowdich said. Ciancia was dropped off at the airport, said Bowdich, who declined to say if the FBI knew who drove the suspected gunman there. Full Story | Top |
| Two French journalists abducted, killed in northern Mali Saturday, Nov 02, 2013 02:22 PM PDT  By Adama Diarra and John Irish BAMAKO/PARIS (Reuters) - Two French radio journalists were killed by gunmen in northern Mali on Saturday shortly after being abducted in the town of Kidal, French and Malian officials said. The French government confirmed that 58-year old Claude Verlon and Ghislaine Dupont, 51, both journalists at RFI radio, had been found dead. "The French president ... expresses his indignation over this heinous act," Francois Hollande's office said in a statement. Kidal is the birthplace of a Tuareg uprising last year that plunged Mali into chaos, leading to a coup in the capital Bamako and the occupation of the northern half of the country by militants linked to al Qaeda. Full Story | Top |
| Pakistan Taliban secretly bury leader, vow bombs in revenge Saturday, Nov 02, 2013 08:34 AM PDT  By Saud Mehsud and Hafiz Wazir DERA ISMAIL KHAN/WANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani Taliban fighters secretly buried their leader on Saturday after he was killed by a U.S. drone aircraft and quickly moved to replace him while vowing a wave of revenge suicide bombings. The Pakistani government denounced the killing of Hakimullah Mehsud as a U.S. bid to derail planned peace talks and summoned the U.S. ambassador to protest. Some lawmakers demanded the blocking of U.S. supply lines into Afghanistan in retaliation. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt to look beyond U.S. for arms: foreign minister Saturday, Nov 02, 2013 05:46 PM PDT  By Samia Nakhoul and Michael Georgy CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy said on Saturday that Egypt would look beyond the United States to meet its security needs and warned Washington that it could no longer ignore popular demands in a changed Arab world. Speaking ahead of a visit by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Fahmy said the United States must take a long-term view of its relations with Egypt and understand that in the wake of the Arab Spring, "it would have to deal now with the Arab peoples, not only with Arab governments". Emphasizing the "turbulent" state of Washington's ties with its longtime Arab ally after U.S. military aid curbs in response to the army's overthrow in July of President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, Fahmy said Egypt would have to develop "multiple choices, multiple options" to chart its way forward - including military relationships. Full Story | Top |
| China says will stamp out Dalai Lama's voice in Tibet Friday, Nov 01, 2013 10:27 PM PDT  By Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - China aims to stamp out the voice of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in his restive and remote homeland by ensuring that his "propaganda" is not received by anyone on the internet, television or other means, a top official said. China has tried, with varying degrees of success, to prevent Tibetans listening to or watching programs broadcast from outside the country, or accessing any information about the Dalai Lama and the exiled government on the internet. The Dalai Lama's picture and his teachings are also smuggled into Tibet, at great personal risk. Writing in the ruling Communist Party's influential journal Qiushi, the latest issue of which was received by subscribers on Saturday, Tibet's party chief Chen Quanguo said that the government would ensure only its voice is heard. Full Story | Top |
| UK lawmakers chide police over role in 'pleb' scandal Saturday, Nov 02, 2013 05:13 PM PDT  By Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - British lawmakers condemned on Sunday the conduct of police officers involved in a bizarre scandal that forced a cabinet minister to resign after being accused of calling a policeman a "pleb". The scandal, which erupted in September 2012, began as a controversy over class prejudice in Prime Minister David Cameron's ruling Conservative Party but later turned into a public relations nightmare for the police. At issue is whether police officers framed the Conservative minister, Andrew Mitchell, and made misleading comments to media to force his resignation, against a backdrop of government cuts in police budgets that had angered many in the rank and file. "This matter has been hugely damaging to the public's perception of the reputation of the police officers involved ... and the force itself," said opposition Labour Party lawmaker Keith Vaz, who chairs parliament's Home Affairs Committee. Full Story | Top |
| Scuba divers, bomb-sniffing dogs safeguard route at NYC Marathon Saturday, Nov 02, 2013 05:15 AM PDT  By Elizabeth Dilts NEW YORK (Reuters) - In addition to cheering supporters, runners in this Sunday's New York City Marathon will also be monitored by bomb-sniffing dogs, police scuba divers and surveillance helicopters to prevent an attack similar to the one at the Boston race earlier this year. The New York Police Department started planning its extra precautions a day after the deadly April 15 bombings at the Boston Marathon that killed three and injured 264, said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. Taking a lesson from Boston authorities who identified two brothers suspected of setting off the bombs through footage from private security cameras, New York is using 1,400 private sector surveillance cameras at locations ranging from dry cleaners to art museums in addition to the 6,000 city-owned cameras police already monitor. As Kelly spoke to reporters, live feeds from cameras focused from the race start on the Verrazano Bridge to the finish line near Columbus Circle flashed on hundreds of screens stacked from floor to ceiling on the headquarters' joint command center's walls. Full Story | Top |
| Japan, Russia agree to cooperate on security as China rises Saturday, Nov 02, 2013 12:44 AM PDT  Japan and Russia held their first joint defense and foreign ministers' meeting on Saturday and agreed to boost security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific as they both warily watch neighboring China's rising influence. Japan and Russia have never signed a treaty to mark the end of World War Two because of a territorial dispute but they are moving to deepen ties despite that, and despite Russian concern about Japan's role in a U.S. missile defense program. The foreign ministers of both countries said the meeting helped build trust. "To boost cooperation in the field of security, and not just in the field of economic and people exchanges, means that we are improving overall Japan-Russia ties," Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told a news conference. Full Story | Top |
| China says Tiananmen attackers carried out reconnaissance trips Friday, Nov 01, 2013 10:56 PM PDT  By Paul Carsten BEIJING (Reuters) - Eight suspected Islamist separatists behind a deadly attack in the Chinese capital had carried out three reconnaissance trips and collected 400 liters of fuel in preparation for their assault on Tiananmen Square, state media said. The accused all came from Hotan in the restive far western region of Xinjiang and were hiding out in western Beijing ahead of the attack, state television said late on Friday. The car ploughed through bystanders on the edge of the capital's iconic Tiananmen Square and burst into flames, killing the three people in the car and two bystanders, in what the government called a "terrorist attack". The incident has led to increased suppression of the Muslim Uighur minority in Xinjiang, according to the main Uighur exile group, who said 53 people have been arrested by Chinese armed forces for illegally hoarding religious publications as authorities step up inspections. Full Story | Top |
| Accused Los Angeles airport shooter could face death penalty: prosecutor Saturday, Nov 02, 2013 04:38 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The man accused of opening fire at the Los Angeles International Airport faces charges of murder of a federal officer and committing violence at an international airport, U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte told reporters on Saturday. Under the charges, federal prosecutors could seek the death penalty against Paul Anthony Ciancia, 23, Birotte said. (Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Mohammad Zargham) Full Story | Top |
| Los Angeles airport terminal re-opens as shooting probed Saturday, Nov 02, 2013 02:07 PM PDT By Alex Dobuzinskis and Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Los Angeles International Airport terminal where a gunman opened fire on Friday morning, killing an unarmed federal airport security officer and wounding others, re-opened to travelers the day after the shooting as authorities probed the motive behind the attack. Authorities have identified the suspected shooter as Paul Anthony Ciancia, 23, and they said he was shot and wounded by police in an exchange of gunfire at Terminal 3 at one of the world's busiest airports. Authorities said the gunman fatally shot one TSA officer, identified as Gerardo Hernandez, 39, who was the first from the agency to be killed in the line of duty. Hernandez was at a document verification checkpoint when he was shot, said a TSA official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Full Story | Top |
| Georgian PM names successor, ties with Russia a priority Saturday, Nov 02, 2013 08:33 AM PDT  By Margarita Antidze TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia's prime minister named Interior Minister Irakly Garibashvili as his successor on Saturday, handing a close ally the task of treading a political tightrope between Russia and the West. Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili has said he will quit as premier after Georgy Margvelashvili is sworn in as president on November 17. Margvelashvili was elected last month to take over from Mikheil Saakashvili, who spent a decade in power pursuing friendly relations with the West - often at the expense of Russia. He named his successor at the headquarters of his Georgian Dream coalition. Full Story | Top |
| Obamacare website to be down again for maintenance late Saturday Saturday, Nov 02, 2013 09:50 AM PDT  The glitch-ridden website used to sign up for insurance under President Barack Obama's healthcare law will be down for "extended maintenance" overnight on Saturday, the Department of Health and Human Services said. "The HealthCare.gov tech team is performing extended maintenance this weekend to improve network infrastructure and make enhancements to the online application and enrollment tools," said Joanne Peters, the spokeswoman. The administration has said it will fix the site by the end of this month. The government hopes that about 7 million people enroll for insurance by the end of March under the law passed in Obama's first term to expand access to health insurance and require that people have coverage or pay a fine. Full Story | Top |
| Kenyatta vows to ensure controversial new media law is constitutional Saturday, Nov 02, 2013 09:01 AM PDT  Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta told journalists on Saturday not to panic over a new media law which critics say will muzzle the press in East Africa's biggest economy, saying he will veto it to ensure it is constitutional. Kenyan media and opposition politicians say the new rules passed by parliament will stunt democracy in a country which currently enjoys broad press freedoms. Kenyatta asked journalists to report more responsibly, but said he would closely examine the law, which will only become effective once he signs it. Full Story | Top |
| Pakistani Taliban gather for funeral of leader killed by drone Friday, Nov 01, 2013 11:28 PM PDT  By Jibran Ahmad PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani Taliban fighters gathered on Saturday for the funeral of their leader who was killed by a U.S. drone aircraft while some Pakistani politicians denounced the attack and called for the cutting of U.S. supply lines into Afghanistan. Pakistani security officials said Hakimullah Mehsud, who had a $5 million bounty on his head, and three others were killed on Friday in the militant stronghold of Miranshah in northwest Pakistan. Mehsud was killed when his vehicle was hit after he attended a meeting of Taliban leaders, a Pakistani Taliban fighter said. Full Story | Top |
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