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| Gunman opens fire at Los Angeles airport, killing security agent Friday, Nov 01, 2013 09:04 PM PDT  By Dan Whitcomb and Dana Feldman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A lone gunman stormed into a packed terminal at the Los Angeles International Airport and opened fire with an assault weapon on Friday, killing an unarmed federal security agent before he was shot and captured, authorities said. The gunfire in Terminal 3 touched off panic and chaos at one of the world's busiest airports as hundreds of travelers ran frantically for safety or dove for cover behind racks of luggage and loud alarms blared. In addition to the Transportation Security Administration agent who was slain, at least one other was shot and wounded and a number of other people were hurt in the pandemonium. Streets around the airport were blocked off for hours, snarling traffic for miles. Full Story | Top |
| Four extra sites opened to search for U.S. troops missing in Vietnam Friday, Nov 01, 2013 05:26 PM PDT By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vietnam advised the United States at the start of high-level talks this week it would open four additional sites to investigators seeking the remains of American military personnel missing since the Vietnam War, a senior U.S. defense official said. Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Vikram Singh, who oversees U.S. military ties with South and Southeast Asia, said an eight-member delegation led by Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh told U.S. defense officials about the decision at the outset of talks at the Pentagon this week. A U.S. official said on Friday the sites were in the southern part of Vietnam and were small areas where specific incidents are believed to have taken place. The Defense Department's POW/Missing Personnel Office says 1,275 Americans are still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. wants 'inclusive' Iraq: Obama Friday, Nov 01, 2013 05:12 PM PDT  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama pressed Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Friday to build a more inclusive democracy in his country and said the United States would cooperate with Iraq as it tries to push back a resurgent al Qaeda. As Iraq experiences a rising spiral of sectarian violence two years after U.S. troops departed following eight years of war, Maliki came to Washington seeking U.S. help to counter a Sunni insurgency revived in part by Syria's civil war next door. Obama, in White House Oval Office remarks with Maliki at his side, made no mention of supplying the U.S.-made Apache helicopters the Iraqis are seeking from the United States. Full Story | Top |
| Pakistani Taliban chief killed in drone strike Friday, Nov 01, 2013 04:55 PM PDT  By Mehreen Zahra-Malik and Jibran Ahmed ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - The head of the Pakistani Taliban was killed by a U.S. drone strike on Friday, security and Taliban sources said, in a blow to the fragmented movement fighting against the nuclear-armed South Asian nation. Hakimullah Mehsud was one of the most wanted and feared men in Pakistan with a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head, leading an insurgency from a mountain hideout in North Waziristan, the Taliban's stronghold on the Afghan frontier. "We confirm with great sorrow that our esteemed leader was martyred in a drone attack," a senior Taliban commander said. In Washington, two U.S. officials confirmed Mehsud's death in a CIA drone strike. Full Story | Top |
| Africans push deferral of Kenya trials with U.N. draft resolution Friday, Nov 01, 2013 04:39 PM PDT  Rwanda, Togo and Morocco circulated among U.N. Security Council members on Friday a draft resolution to defer the International Criminal Court trials of Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto for one year. The African Union asked the Security Council last week to postpone the trials of Kenyatta and Ruto so they can deal with the aftermath of the Nairobi mall attack by al Qaeda-linked group al Shabaab, in which at least 67 people were killed in September. Kenyatta and Ruto face charges related to the violence after Kenya's 2007 elections, in which 1,200 people died. The Security Council can defer International Criminal Court proceedings for one year under Article 16 of the Rome Statute that established The Hague-based court a decade ago. Full Story | Top |
| UK: Snowden reporter's partner involved in 'espionage' and 'terrorism' Friday, Nov 01, 2013 04:22 PM PDT By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - British authorities claimed the domestic partner of reporter Glenn Greenwald was involved in "terrorism" when he tried to carry documents from former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden through a London airport in August, according to police and intelligence documents. Greenwald's partner, David Miranda, was detained and questioned for nine hours by British authorities at Heathrow on August 18, when he landed there from Berlin to change planes for a flight to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. After his release and return to Rio, Miranda filed a legal action against the British government, seeking the return of materials seized from him by British authorities and a judicial review of the legality of his detention. Full Story | Top |
| Illinois EPA asks for court-ordered probe of Citgo refinery fire Friday, Nov 01, 2013 04:09 PM PDT The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency asked that state's Attorney General to seek a court order compelling Citgo Petroleum Corp to investigate an October 23 fire at the company's refinery at Lemont, Illinois, the agency said in a statement on Friday. Citgo responded in a statement later on Friday that it looks forward to working the state agency as it repairs and restarts the unit most heavily damaged in the fire. "Citgo has worked closely with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and all other state and federal agencies since the incident and has voluntarily provided all information that IEPA has requested." IEPA said it wants Citgo to perform a root-cause analysis of the fire and submit that analysis for review by the state. IEPA spokesman Andrew Mason declined to say if Citgo would be able to restart the 174,500 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery's crude distillation unit, which does the initial refining of oil coming into the plant and provides feedstock liquids to all other units. Full Story | Top |
| German, Brazilian U.N. draft urges halt to excessive spying Friday, Nov 01, 2013 03:55 PM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Germany and Brazil circulated a draft resolution to a U.N. General Assembly committee on Friday that calls for an end to excessive electronic surveillance, data collection and other gross invasions of privacy. The draft resolution, which both Germany and Brazil made public, does not name any specific countries, although U.N. diplomats said it was clearly aimed at the United States, which has been embarrassed by revelations of a massive international surveillance program from a former U.S. contractor. The German-Brazilian draft would have the 193-nation assembly declare that it is "deeply concerned at human rights violations and abuses that may result from the conduct of any surveillance of communications, including extraterritorial surveillance of communications." It would also call on U.N. member states "to take measures to put an end to violations of these rights and to create the conditions to prevent such violations, including by ensuring that relevant national legislation complies with their obligations under international human rights law." The resolution will likely undergo changes as it is debated in the General Assembly's Third Committee, which focuses on human rights. Full Story | Top |
| Pirate money promotes global criminal activity: report Friday, Nov 01, 2013 03:49 PM PDT WASHINGTON, Nov 1 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Pirates hijacking ships off the Horn of Africa and Somalia from 2005 to 2012 garnered well over a quarter of a billion U.S. dollars in ransom and used the money for criminal activities worldwide, according to a report released on Friday. The study reveals the pirates engaged in human trafficking arms trafficking, funding militias and money laundering through trade in the stimulant known as khat, particularly in Kenya, as well as other illegal activities that divert money from the legal economy that would otherwise promote economic development. "Unchallenged piracy is not only a menace to stability and security, but it also has the power to corrupt the regional and international economy," said Stuart Yikona, a financial sector specialist at the World Bank and co-author of the report "Pirate Trails." It recommends a range of measures to combat the problem, including steps to deal with illegal cross-border cash smuggling, anti-money laundering measures and mechanisms to monitor financial flows through the khat trade. Full Story | Top |
| Obama tells Iraqi leader that U.S. wants 'inclusive' Iraq Friday, Nov 01, 2013 03:40 PM PDT By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama pressed Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Friday to build a more inclusive democracy in his country and said the United States would cooperate with Iraq as it tries to push back a resurgent al Qaeda. As Iraq experiences a rising spiral of sectarian violence two years after U.S. troops departed following eight years of war, Maliki came to Washington seeking U.S. help to counter a Sunni insurgency revived in part by Syria's civil war next door. Obama, in White House Oval Office remarks with Maliki at his side, made no mention of supplying the U.S.-made Apache helicopters the Iraqis are seeking from the United States. Full Story | Top |
| Africans set to push deferral of Kenya trials in U.N. draft resolution Friday, Nov 01, 2013 03:22 PM PDT Rwanda, Togo and Morocco are set to circulate to U.N. Security Council members on Friday a draft resolution to defer the International Criminal Court trials of Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto for one year. The African Union asked the Security Council last week to postpone the trials of Kenyatta and Ruto so they can deal with the aftermath of the Nairobi mall attack by al Qaeda-linked group al Shabaab, in which at least 67 people were killed in September. Kenyatta and Ruto face charges related to the violence after Kenya's 2007 elections, in which 1,200 people died. The Security Council can defer International Criminal Court proceedings for one year under Article 16 of the Rome Statute that established The Hague-based court a decade ago. Full Story | Top |
| Stormy Halloween in central U.S. leaves four people dead Friday, Nov 01, 2013 03:10 PM PDT  By Kevin Murphy Kansas City, Missouri (Reuters) - A violent Halloween storm swept from the U.S. Gulf Coast up to the eastern Great Lakes killing at least four people, three in Texas and one in Tennessee, and contributed to the overturning of a school bus in a rain-swollen creek in Kansas. Strong winds and heavy rain lashed the region, and wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour were still being forecast for Friday afternoon in some regions. The National Weather Service said it received 230 reports of high winds across 12 states from Louisiana to Pennsylvania, and reports of tornadoes in Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky and Illinois, although none did major damage. Full Story | Top |
| Two Golden Dawn supporters shot dead in Greece Friday, Nov 01, 2013 03:02 PM PDT By Karolina Tagaris ATHENS (Reuters) - Two members of Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party were killed in a drive-by shooting outside the movement's offices in Athens on Friday, raising fears of an escalation of political violence in the crisis-wracked country. The men, both in their 20s, were gunned down at a time of growing public anger against Golden Dawn and a government crackdown on the party after the killing of a rapper in September blamed on a sympathizer of the group. Politicians who have in the past queued up to pour scorn on Golden Dawn - still Greece's third most popular political force - united in condemning the shooting. Let everyone know this," the government's spokesman Simos Kedikoglou told reporters outside the prime minister's mansion. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt pulls satirist who poked fun at army chief off airwaves Friday, Nov 01, 2013 02:27 PM PDT  By Yasmine Saleh CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's top TV satirist was pulled off the air on Friday, a week after he poked fun at the army chief who ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July. The move is likely to raise further questions about authorities' commitment to freedom in a country stumbling in its political transition since autocrat Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a popular uprising in 2011. Just before satirist Bassem Youssef's show The Program was due to start, an anchor from the CBC channel said the last episode had caused discontent on the street and violated editorial policy. Full Story | Top |
| Director says video shows Sri Lanka army committed war crimes Friday, Nov 01, 2013 12:59 PM PDT By Shihar Aneez and Ranga Sirilal COLOMBO (Reuters) - A documentary maker said on Friday video of a Tamil Tiger television presenter suggests she was captured alive and killed, rather than dying in the chaotic end of Sri Lanka's three decade war. The footage is in the documentary "No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka", the fourth by British journalist and director Callum Macrae to allege the Sri Lankan army committed war crimes at the end of the separatist conflict in 2009. Military spokesman Ruwan Wanigasooriya said the army never resorted to killing those captured or who surrendered, and disputed the authenticity of the video it said was an attempt to discredit Sri Lanka before it hosts a Commonwealth summit. Full Story | Top |
| Russia says better to remove most chemical weapons from Syria Friday, Nov 01, 2013 12:22 PM PDT By Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia believes most of Syria's chemical arsenal should be removed from the country rather than destroyed there, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying on Friday. Ryabkov spoke after meeting Sigrid Kaag, head of the joint United Nations-Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) mission to destroy Syria's chemical weapons. "Much speaks in favor of the overwhelming portion of poisonous substances in Syria being removed beyond its borders," state-run news agency RIA quoted Ryabkov as saying. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. officials see risk of genocide in Central African Republic Friday, Nov 01, 2013 12:13 PM PDT  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Central African Republic is at risk of spiraling into genocide as armed groups incite Christians and Muslims against each other in the virtually lawless country, senior U.N. officials told the Security Council on Friday. The landlocked, mineral-rich nation of 4.6 million people has slipped into chaos since northern Seleka rebels seized the capital, Bangui, and ousted President Francois Bozize in March. "More and more you have inter-sectarian violence because the Seleka targeted the churches and the Christians, so now the Christians have created self-defense militias and they are retaliating against the Muslims," said French U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud after a briefing by U.N. rights and aid officials. Adama Dieng, U.N. special adviser on the prevention of genocide, John Ging, director of operations for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and Ivan Simonovic, U.N. assistant secretary general for human rights, informally briefed the 15-member Security Council. Full Story | Top |
| New Obama order aims to prepare communities for severe weather Friday, Nov 01, 2013 12:10 PM PDT  By Environment Correspondent Deborah Zabarenko WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In another move to address the impact of climate change, President Barack Obama ordered a bipartisan task force on Friday to help U.S. communities brace for longer heat waves, heavier downpours, more severe wildfires and worse droughts. Friday's executive order set up a panel of governors, mayors, county officials and tribal leaders to advise the White House on how the federal government can respond to communities hit by the effects of a changing climate. Federal agencies were also directed to modernize their programs in ways that will support investments that will help cities and towns gird against extreme weather. Friday's White House order builds on a Climate Action Plan unveiled in June, the centerpiece of which was new regulations to be applied to power plants, and comes three days after the anniversary of the landfall of Superstorm Sandy, which caused more than $60 billion in damage along the U.S. Atlantic coast. Full Story | Top |
| Israel vows to deny Hezbollah weapons as details of Syria raid emerge Friday, Nov 01, 2013 11:30 AM PDT  By Crispian Balmer JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said it would not allow advanced weapons to fall into the hands of Hezbollah, after a raid on Syria that opposition sources said had hit an air force garrison believed to be holding Russian-made missiles destined for the militant group. Israel has a clear policy on Syria and will continue to enforce it, officials said on Friday, after U.S. and European sources said Israel had launched a new attack on its warring neighbor. Israel declined to comment on leaks to U.S. media that its planes had hit a Syrian base near the port of Latakia, targeting missiles that it thought were destined for its Lebanese enemy, Hezbollah. "We have said many times that we will not allow the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah," said Home Front Defense Minister Gilad Erdan, a member of the inner security cabinet which met hours before the alleged Israeli attack. Full Story | Top |
| "Do his phone," Murdoch editor told journalist hunting celebrity scoop Friday, Nov 01, 2013 11:16 AM PDT By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - Andy Coulson, an editor of Rupert Murdoch's now defunct News of the World newspaper, instructed a journalist working on a story about a celebrity to "do his phone", a jury trying Coulson and three others for conspiring to hack phones was told on Friday. The trial was also told how a phone call from Queen Elizabeth's grandson Prince Harry was hacked, and fellow ex-editor Rebekah Brooks authorized payments at Murdoch's Sun tabloid to military figures for a picture of Prince William in a bikini and details of soldiers killed on active duty. Coulson and Brooks are the two most high-profile figures among eight defendants on trial on various charges related to phone-hacking, illegal payments to officials for stories, and hindering police investigations. Full Story | Top |
| Violent protest in Mali's Gao over talks to heal north Friday, Nov 01, 2013 11:09 AM PDT Thousands of residents in Mali's northern city of Gao fought street battles with the police on Friday and torched the mayor's house during a protest over talks aimed at healing divisions in the north. Gao was a stronghold of Islamist militants who took over the north of the country in 2012 before France sent troops to Mali in January to drive them out. The violence highlights the challenges newly elected President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita faces in fixing the broken nation, once considered a model democracy in West Africa. The mayor's house was torched and three cars were burnt in front of his office," Gao resident Boubacar Maiga said. Full Story | Top |
| Guinea-Bissau postpones election until 2014 Friday, Nov 01, 2013 10:57 AM PDT Guinea-Bissau will postpone an election planned for November until early next year due to a lack of funds, officials said on Friday. The election is supposed to return the West African country to democracy after a military coup last year and Western and regional powers and the United Nations had all urged it to hold the vote before year end. "There is now sufficient funding to hold general elections," interim President Manuel Sherifo Nhamadjo said. The U.N. special representative to the country, Jose Ramos-Horta, said that $20 million had been raised for the election, adding that he now expected it to happen in February or March. Full Story | Top |
| Toronto mayor's lawyer tells police to release alleged crack video Friday, Nov 01, 2013 10:56 AM PDT  By Cameron French TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's lawyer said on Friday his client was not smoking crack cocaine in a video that has been seen only by a few but has dominated Canadian headlines for months, and he urged the city's police to release the video to the public. His comments come a day after Toronto police said they had recovered a copy of a video that is "consistent" with one reportedly seen by journalists at the Toronto Star newspaper and by media blog Gawker earlier this year. Both the Star and Gawker said the video shows the mayor smoking what appears to be crack cocaine. Ford himself has denied the existence of the video and said he does not use crack cocaine. Full Story | Top |
| Shared concern over Syria brings thaw between Turkey and Iran Friday, Nov 01, 2013 10:40 AM PDT  By Humeyra Pamuk and Tulay Karadeniz ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey and Iran said on Friday they had common concerns about the increasingly sectarian nature of Syria's civil war, signaling a thaw in a key Middle Eastern relationship strained by stark differences over the conflict. Iran has been a firm ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since the start of the 32-month-old uprising against him, while Turkey has been one of his fiercest critics, supporting the opposition and giving refuge to rebel fighters. But the election in June of President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate who says he wants to thaw Iran's ties with the West, and shared concern over the rise of al Qaeda in Syria, have spurred hopes of a rapprochement. "Sitting here together with the Iranian foreign minister you can be sure we will be working together to fight these types of scenarios which aim to see a sectarian conflict," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a conference in Istanbul. Full Story | Top |
| Greenpeace says Russia to move 30 detained activists Friday, Nov 01, 2013 10:38 AM PDT  Russia is preparing to move 30 Greenpeace activists who were arrested over a protest against Arctic drilling from the far-north city of Murmansk to St. Petersburg, the environmental group said on Friday. The detainees, including two journalists, have been charged with hooliganism for the September 18 protest in which the activists tried to scale Russia's first offshore Arctic oil rig, the Prirazlomnaya, owned by state energy company Gazprom. Russia's Investigative Committee, which is leading the case, could not be reached for comment and the reasons behind any such move were not immediately clear. Greenpeace International head Kumi Naidoo said it would be easier for relatives and consular officials to reach them in St. Petersburg, about 700 km (440 miles) from Moscow, rather than in remote Murmansk. Full Story | Top |
| Removal of Fukushima's spent fuel on target: U.S. Energy Secretary Friday, Nov 01, 2013 10:35 AM PDT  A "significant milestone" is at hand for cleanup of Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, with spent nuclear fuel removal likely to start on schedule, the U.S. Energy Secretary said on Friday after a visit to the site. "It appears that spent nuclear fuel will begin to be removed from Unit 4 as scheduled in mid-November," Ernest Moniz said in a statement. "This will be significant milestone for Tepco and the Japanese government and in the process of decommissioning the site." Moniz, a nuclear physicist, is the highest ranking U.S. official to visit the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station since a nuclear disaster in March 2011 that followed an earthquake and tsunami. The cleanup and decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi, which had been operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co, or Tepco, is expected to take decades. Full Story | Top |
| Syrian army captures strategic town at approaches to Aleppo Friday, Nov 01, 2013 10:32 AM PDT  By Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's armed forces said on Friday they had captured a strategic northern town at the eastern gates of Aleppo, the former commercial hub long the scene of fierce fighting between government and rebel fighters. The town of Safira lies on a road the army said would be used to send in medicine and supplies to government-controlled areas of Aleppo, mired in a bloody stalemate for over a year. It is also the site of a chemical weapons installation under government control and cleared of equipment. The capture of Safira is significant in that it marks a rare victory for Assad's forces near the mostly rebel-held north. Full Story | Top |
| Uganda calls for Congo ceasefire as peace talks progress Friday, Nov 01, 2013 10:32 AM PDT By Elias Biryabarema and Kenny Katombe KAMPALA/RUMANGABO, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Uganda called on the Congolese army and M23 rebels to cease fire on Friday as peace talks progressed in Kampala to end a 20-month conflict. But, while the rebels said they were ready for a peace deal, government forces vowed to pursue their military advantage and crush the rebellion in Democratic Republic of Congo's mineral-rich east. Peace talks resumed in the Ugandan capital Kampala on Wednesday, 10 days after they collapsed over rebel demands for amnesty, triggering renewed hostilities. A week-long army offensive has driven the rebels back to mountain bases and many have fled to neighboring Uganda or defected. Full Story | Top |
| Iranian Kurd leader says West shouldn't be fooled by Rouhani Friday, Nov 01, 2013 10:30 AM PDT By Alexandra Hudson BERLIN (Reuters) - The leader of an armed Iranian Kurdish group says new President Hassan Rouhani is taking advantage of the West's wary optimism towards him to step up pressure on citizens at home, particularly Kurds, and has markedly increased executions. The election in June of Rouhani, a relative moderate and a former chief nuclear negotiator, has created a diplomatic opening between Iran and a group of six world powers which are trying to persuade it to curb its nuclear program. Abdul Rahman Haji-Ahmadi, the Germany-based leader of the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK), told Reuters in a written interview that Rouhani "belongs completely to the core system" of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and bringing him to the fore was Tehran's attempt to get out of political deadlock. "Obviously he has played very well so far, managing to escape from some crises as well as deceiving some of the Iranian peoples," Haji-Ahmadi said, but this would end if he fell short of election pledges in a country hungry for change. Full Story | Top |
| Netherlands to send peacekeepers, helicopters to Mali Friday, Nov 01, 2013 10:10 AM PDT  The Netherlands said on Friday it would send combat helicopters and around 380 troops to boost a U.N.-led peacekeeping mission trying to stabilize Mali after a coup and an Islamist incursion. The U.N. force is supposed to take over from an African mission, and French forces who intervened in Mali in January to drive out al Qaeda-linked militants who Paris feared could mount attacks in the region and beyond. But the United Nations last month said the new force, known as MINUSMA, was short of troops and helicopters. "We believe Dutch participation increases the chance of success of the U.N. mission," Prime Minister Mark Rutte told reporters in The Hague Friday after a weekly Cabinet meeting. Full Story | Top |
| Pakistani Taliban confirm death of Hakimullah Mehsud Friday, Nov 01, 2013 10:10 AM PDT ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The Pakistani Taliban confirmed on Friday that their leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, had been killed in a drone strike in the lawless Pakistani region of North Waziristan, senior Taliban and Pakistani intelligence sources told Reuters. "Hakimullah Mehsud's funeral is scheduled for 3 p.m. (Saturday) in Miranshah," an intelligence source said, referring to the main regional city. (Reporting by Mehreen Zahra-Malik; Writing by Maria Golovnina) Full Story | Top |
| Fired deputy PM says he will return to Syria Friday, Nov 01, 2013 09:23 AM PDT Syria's sacked deputy prime minister on Friday dashed rumors he had defected, and said he would return from abroad to speak for the opposition in parliament. Qadri Jamil was fired this week after apparently angering the Syrian government by meeting U.S. officials to discuss a planned Geneva peace conference to halt Syria's civil war. Jamil considers himself part of the Syrian opposition though he does not support the 2-1/2 year uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. "I will return to Damascus because we are the internal opposition and I am a member of the People's Assembly," Jamil told Al Arabiya television from Moscow, where he has held further talks about the Geneva meeting. Full Story | Top |
| Filmed beating raises questions over migrant rights in Saudi Friday, Nov 01, 2013 08:56 AM PDT The beating looks to be happening in the Saudi's home. "We are investigating the incident," Mufleh al-Qahtani, chairman of the government-licensed National Society for Human Rights, told Reuters by telephone. "We have addressed the authorities ... to verify this video and know who did this. If it is proven to be real, then we will demand that the perpetrator be punished and that the Asian worker can realize his rights." State-owned al-Arabiya television said the state Human Rights Commission was looking into the case after receiving complaints. Full Story | Top |
| Four Palestinian militants killed in Gaza clashes with Israel Friday, Nov 01, 2013 08:40 AM PDT By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) - An Israeli air strike killed three militants in the Gaza Strip on Friday, the Islamist group Hamas said, hours after an overnight clash killed a fourth Palestinian gunman and wounded five Israeli soldiers. It was the worst violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the coastal enclave since a ceasefire ended an eight-day conflagration in November. There has also been a rise in shootings and clashes in the occupied West Bank in recent months, even as mediators push on with the latest round of U.S.-brokered peace talks - negotiations that observers say have shown little sign of progress. The Israeli military said its aircraft targeted a tunnel inside the southern Gaza Strip used by militants bent on attacking Israelis, and accused Hamas, Gaza's ruler, of breaching the terms of the ceasefire. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry to visit Egypt, tensions high before Mursi trial Friday, Nov 01, 2013 08:35 AM PDT  By Michael Georgy CAIRO (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Egypt a day before deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi goes on trial, the next likely flashpoint in the struggle between his Muslim Brotherhood and the army-backed interim government. In Alexandria, seven people were wounded after residents clashed with Mursi supporters before security forces intervened, a security official said. Forty-five Mursi supporters were arrested. Ties between Washington and strategic ally Cairo have deteriorated since the overthrow of Mursi, Egypt's first democratically elected president. Full Story | Top |
| Japan, Russia agree on next step toward peace treaty Friday, Nov 01, 2013 08:24 AM PDT  By Kiyoshi Takenaka TOKYO (Reuters) - Foreign ministers from Japan and Russia on Friday agreed to hold a vice ministerial-level meeting early next year to work toward the resolution of an island dispute and signing of a peace treaty formally ending their World War Two hostilities. Tokyo and Moscow have conflicting claims over a string of windswept islands called the Southern Kuriles in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan. The dispute has prevented the two from signing a peace treaty for nearly 70 years. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, in a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, was quick to praise improving Russo-Japanese ties, a prerequisite for achieving the difficult tasks of concluding a peace treaty and putting an end to the island dispute. Full Story | Top |
| Drone strike kills four in Pakistan's North Waziristan Friday, Nov 01, 2013 08:21 AM PDT By Saud Mehsud DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - A drone strike killed four people in Pakistan's lawless North Waziristan region on Friday, possibly including a senior Pakistani Taliban commander, intelligence sources said. North Waziristan is the stronghold of the Taliban insurgency and shares a border with Afghanistan. One Pakistan army source told Reuters separately the military were checking reports that a top Taliban commander might have been killed in the attack. There was no official comment from neither the government nor the Taliban. Full Story | Top |
| Kenyan press, opposition criticize proposed harsh media law Friday, Nov 01, 2013 08:10 AM PDT By James Macharia NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan media and opposition politicians have criticized media rules proposed by the government, saying they would muzzle the press and stunt democracy in the country. Kenyan members of parliament late on Thursday voted to pass a new law that empowers the government to form a powerful tribunal to draw up a code of conduct for the media. In an African region where several nations tightly control news-gathering, Kenya's media has enjoyed broad freedoms to criticize successive governments. The government said the bill was still open for discussion. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. envoy says no preconditions for Syria peace talks Friday, Nov 01, 2013 07:47 AM PDT  By Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United Nations envoy to Syria said on Friday there would be no preconditions for long-delayed peace talks, an assertion likely to anger an opposition movement that says it will only attend if the goal is to remove President Bashar al-Assad. Lakhdar Brahimi said he hoped the conference - known as Geneva 2 - could still be held in the next few weeks despite obstacles that have held it up for months. The talks are meant to bring Syria's warring sides to the negotiating table, but have been repeatedly delayed because of disputes between world powers, divisions among the opposition and the irreconcilable positions of Assad and the rebels. Brahimi has previously said he thought Assad would not be part of the transitional government that Geneva 2 would attempt to install. Full Story | Top |
| Taseko Mines to challenge findings of environment threat Friday, Nov 01, 2013 07:31 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Taseko Mines Ltd said on Friday that it will challenge findings of a Canadian federal review panel, which said that the company's revised plan for a copper-gold mine in British Columbia poses significant threats to the environment. In a statement, Taseko said the findings contradict best practices in place around the world. (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick) Full Story | Top |
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