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| Protesters target Thai PM's party, government seeks to avoid violent confrontation Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 06:45 PM PST  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) - Anti-government demonstrators plan to march towards the headquarters of Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's ruling party on Friday, forging ahead with a campaign to overthrow her after rejecting her call for dialogue. Yingluck breezed through a parliamentary no-confidence vote on Thursday but that failed to pacify protesters who accuse her of abusing her party's majority to push through laws that strengthen the behind-the-scenes power of self-exiled brother and former premier, Thaksin Shinawatra. Though the number of protesters appear to be dwindling since the start of the week, a hard-core remain determined to target symbols of the "Thaksin regime" to weaken a leader they call a puppet, and government they say has lost its mandate to rule. The protest leader, Suthep Thaugsuban, a deputy prime minister in the previous government, rejected Yingluck's televised plea for talks. Full Story | Top |
| Nicaraguan committee passes change to remove presidential term limits Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 06:40 PM PST  By Ivan Castro MANAGUA (Reuters) - A Nicaraguan parliamentary committee on Thursday approved a constitutional change to remove presidential term limits, which could allow incumbent Daniel Ortega stay in power for years and has raised concerns about democracy in the country. The plan put forward this month by Ortega's ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front was passed by the four Sandinista members of the seven-strong committee, paving the way for a full vote on the package of changes in December. The Sandinistas hold 63 of the 92 seats in Nicaragua's National Assembly, giving the party the two-thirds majority needed to change the constitution in a vote due by December 15. Alba Palacios, a Sandinista member of the assembly, said the package originally containing 39 changes had been broadened to include 42, though she did not give details of the new ones. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. military: 'improvised launch device' found near Air Force base in Japan Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 05:20 PM PST An "improvised launch device" was found outside the United States' Yokota Air Force base in Tokyo on Thursday night but there were no injuries and no damage, a U.S. military spokesman in Japan said. Residents near the base in western Tokyo called police last night to report hearing explosions, national broadcaster NHK said, adding that police found several metal pipes pointing at the base in a field some 300 meters (yards) away. Full Story | Top |
| Afghanistan's Karzai stands alone in high-stakes game with U.S. Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 05:17 PM PST  By Maria Golovnina and John Chalmers KABUL (Reuters) - President Hamid Karzai's stubborn refusal to sign a pact that would keep thousands of U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014 is a high-risk gamble that Washington will give in to his demands, one that has left him isolated as the clock runs down on his presidency. Diplomats said he may have overplayed his hand, raising the risk of a complete U.S. withdrawal from a country where Western troops have fought Taliban militants for the past 12 years. It also risks a backlash at home by critics who believe Karzai is playing a dangerous game with Afghanistan's future security. "I don't know if he fully realises the risks," said U.S. Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, the U.S.-led coalition's top commander. Full Story | Top |
| More than 40 killed in depot blast in Libya, more clashes in east Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 04:57 PM PST By Ghaith Shennib and Ayman al-Warfalli TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - More than 40 people were killed on Thursday in an explosion at an army depot in southern Libya after locals tried to steal ammunition, officials said, while four soldiers died in clashes in the restive eastern part of the country. The incidents highlighted the turmoil in Libya where the government is trying to restore order in the oil-producing country, which is awash with weapons after the 2011 ouster of Muammar Gaddafi. Libya's nascent military is struggling to secure army bases and curb Islamist militants, militias and gangs who fought in the uprising against Gaddafi but refuse to disarm and control parts of the country. The four soldiers were killed in Benghazi as clashes erupted between army special forces and militant Islamists of the Ansar al-Sharia group, officials said. Full Story | Top |
| Mexico leftists exit pact, raising hope for deeper energy reform Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 04:27 PM PST  By Ana Isabel Martinez and Dave Graham MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's main leftist party said on Thursday it had pulled out of a cross-party pact on economic reform, raising hopes that the government will agree to a more far-reaching plan to attract private investment for the oil industry. The ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, is hoping its energy reform will spur faster economic growth, and the departure of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) from the accord is likely to push the debate closer to a more business-friendly proposal backed by the center-right. Unveiling his plan to shake up the state-controlled oil and gas industry in August, President Enrique Pena Nieto proposed offering investors profit-sharing contracts to try and reverse a slump in crude output, which is down by a quarter since 2004. But the PRI has no majority in Congress and its natural ally on energy reform, the conservative National Action Party (PAN), has proposed a more radical opening of the oil sector, including concessions and production-sharing contracts. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine, EU fail to salvage trade pact Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 04:15 PM PST  By Justyna Pawlak and Adrian Croft VILNIUS (Reuters) - Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovich failed on Thursday to salvage an ambitious free-trade pact with the European Union despite a warning that Ukraine was risking its future by turning its back on the deal. Ukraine and the 28-nation EU had aimed to sign an ambitious trade and cooperation agreement at Thursday's summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, which would have marked a historic westwards shift by the former Soviet republic away from Russia's orbit. But, under intense pressure from Moscow, Yanukovich renounced plans last week to sign the agreement in favour of closer ties with Russia, dealing a blow to the EU's efforts to build closer relations with former Soviet republics. Yanukovich still flew in for the meeting - held to discuss the EU's four-year-old outreach program for Ukraine and five other east European countries. Full Story | Top |
| Masked artist makes sticky issue out of radiation in Japan Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 04:10 PM PST  By Sophie Knight TOKYO (Reuters) - With his face hidden behind sunglasses and a white surgical mask, the artist is almost as invisible as the radioactive contamination he is protesting against - yet his stickers are graphic reminders of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Known as 281 Antinuke, Japan's answer to Banksy has covered Tokyo streets in images depicting politicians as vampires and children being shielded from radioactive rain to highlight the consequences of a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant after an earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. The disaster and the response by plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) stoked anti-nuclear sentiment and the biggest public protests in Japan since the 1960s, but the movement has since lost momentum. "Perhaps because everyone believes people telling them on television that everything is fine, they don't seem so worried," 281 Antinuke told Reuters. Full Story | Top |
| Britain, Argentina in fresh row over drilling in Falklands: media Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 02:53 PM PST  (Reuters) - Argentina triggered a fresh diplomatic row with Britain on Thursday over the disputed Falkland Islands after the country's Congress passed a law that establishes criminal sanctions for the "illegal exploration" of hydrocarbons in the Argentine continental shelf, according to the Guardian newspaper. the banning of individuals and companies from operating in Argentina; and the confiscation of equipment and any hydrocarbons that would have been illegally extracted". In its response, the British Foreign Office said, "The UK government unequivocally supports the right of the Falkland Islanders to develop their natural resources for their own economic benefit." "Argentine domestic law does not apply to the Falkland Islands or South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which are UK overseas territories," the Foreign Office said. Full Story | Top |
| Journal withdraws controversial French Monsanto GM study Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 02:50 PM PST  By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - The publisher of a controversial and much-criticized study suggesting genetically modified corn caused tumors in rats has withdrawn the paper after a yearlong investigation found it did not meet scientific standards. Reed Elsevier's Food and Chemical Toxicology journal, which published the study by the French researcher Gilles-Eric Seralini in September 2012, said on Thursday the retraction was because the study's small sample size meant no definitive conclusions could be reached. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued a statement in November 2012 saying the study by Seralini, who was based at France's University of Caen, had serious defects in design and methodology and did not meet acceptable scientific standards. In its retraction statement, the Food and Chemical Toxicology journal said that in light of these concerns, it too had requested to view the raw data from the study. Full Story | Top |
| Central African Republic needs many more peacekeepers: E.U. Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 01:57 PM PST  By Joe Bavier ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Central African Republic needs up to four times more peacekeepers than are now deployed to quell a worsening sectarian conflict and provide security for aid workers, the European Union's top humanitarian official said. The country has descended into chaos since the Seleka coalition of rebels, many of them from neighboring Chad and Sudan, ousted President Francois Bozize in March. France is preparing to boost its force in its anarchic former colony to at least 1,000 soldiers once a U.N. resolution is passed next week to improve security until a 3,600-strong African Union (AU) force is operational. Two sources also said France's ambassador to Central African Republic was being replaced, replicating a change of its envoy in Mali two months after French troops launched a mission there earlier this year to oust al Qaeda-linked militants. Full Story | Top |
| With a midnight meeting, delicate new balance emerges in Pakistan Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 01:42 PM PST  By Mehreen Zahra-Malik ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Just after midnight in early October, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and a coterie of his closest advisers met at his palatial Lahore home and made his toughest decision since coming to power - picking the new army chief. The meeting took place only hours after Pakistan's all-powerful army chief General Ashfaq Kayani suddenly announced he would retire in November, scotching rumors he was seeking to extend his tenure. Sharif saw Kayani's departure as a chance to limit the sway of an institution that has ruled Pakistan for more than half its 66-year history. "We have to say 'no' to the Kayani doctrine," the insider quoted Sharif as saying at the meeting. Full Story | Top |
| Draft Egypt constitution strengthens army as talks drag on Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 01:40 PM PST  By Tom Perry and Yasmine Saleh CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's new constitution would strengthen the army's hand and could ban Islamist parties outright, according to a draft published in state media on Thursday, though the drafting body missed a self-imposed deadline for finalizing the text. Mohamed Salmawy, spokesman for the 50-member assembly, had said the committee would announce it had completed the draft on Thursday. The constitution, expected to be put to a referendum in December, will be a milestone in the army's plans for a political transition, due to culminate in parliamentary and presidential elections next year. It underscores the new balance of power after the military deposed Islamist head of state Mohamed Mursi in July following mass protests against his rule. Full Story | Top |
| Iran shakes up foundation controlled by Ayatollah's business empire Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 01:37 PM PST  By Steve Stecklow LONDON (Reuters) - A multi-billion dollar organization controlled by Iran's supreme leader shook up the management of its charity division, appointing as its new chief a man involved in the confiscation of thousands of properties from Iranian citizens. Aref Norozi was named director general of the Barakat Foundation, Iran's state news agency reported on Wednesday. The foundation is a unit of a massive business empire controlled by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that is known as Setad Ejraiye Farmane Hazrate Emam. The report by the Islamic Republic News Agency stated that Setad's president, Mohammad Mokhber, had ordered the appointment of Norozi, who once headed Setad's real-estate division and served on the boards of several Setad-linked companies. Full Story | Top |
| Retailer fires Latvia chairman for comments on roof collapse Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 01:31 PM PST  Lithuanian retail chain Maxima Group fired the chairman of its Latvian operations on Thursday after he stirred a furor by saying he felt no real sense of responsibility for a supermarket roof collapse in Riga that killed 54 people. The chairman, Gintaras Jasinskas, told a news conference he did not see that anyone at Maxima should resign after the collapse that had already brought down Latvia's government. I can look people in the eye," Jasinskas told journalists. On Wednesday, Latvia's Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis resigned over the tragedy that shattered the Baltic state, leaving the country without a government just weeks before it is due to join Eurozone in January. Full Story | Top |
| China military sends air patrols through new defense zone: Xinhua Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 01:20 PM PST  China's military sent several fighter jets and an early warning aircraft on patrol into disputed air space over the East China Sea on Thursday, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported, quoting a spokesman for the People's Liberation Army Air Force. The move raises the stakes in a standoff with the United States, Japan and South Korea over the zone. Japan and South Korea sent their own military aircraft through the air space on Thursday. Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian police arrest leading activist for urging protests Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 01:20 PM PST Egyptian police arrested a leading activist on Thursday for calling for protests in breach of a new law that heavily restricts demonstrations. Alaa Abdel Fattah, a symbol of the 2011 uprising against President Hosni Mubarak, was arrested at his home, security officials said. The protest law passed on Sunday has heightened fears about the future of political freedoms in Egypt after the military deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July. It gives the Interior Ministry the right to ban any meeting of more than 10 people in a public place. Full Story | Top |
| Italy PM Letta must confirm new coalition in parliament: president Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 01:19 PM PST  Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta must ask parliament to confirm its backing of his government after centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party withdrew its support two days ago, the country's president said on Thursday. Since Letta won a confidence vote in the Senate over the 2014 budget without the backing of Forza Italia on Tuesday, the confirmation is likely to be a procedural formality done at the request of Berlusconi's party. Forza Italia had been a member of the ruling right-left coalition since April, when it was put together to end a political stalemate that followed a deadlocked national election in February. After meeting a Forza Italia delegation, President Giorgio Napolitano said "there will no doubt be a parliamentary passage to mark the shift from the grand coalition government to the one that won confidence over the budget," a spokesman in his office said. Full Story | Top |
| In Vietnam, weary apparatchiks launch quiet revolution Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 01:15 PM PST  By Martin Petty HANOI (Reuters) - The Vietnam of today wasn't what Le Hieu Dang had hoped for when he joined the Communist Party 40 years ago to liberate and rebuild a country reeling from decades of war and French and U.S. occupation. The socialist system of the late revolutionary Ho Chi Minh has been corrupted, he says, by a shift to a market economy tightly controlled by one political party that has given rise to a culture of graft and vested interests. But in Vietnam, where politics is taboo, free speech is stifled and the image of unity in the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) sacrosanct, analysts say the significance of comrades speaking out publicly cannot be understated. The CPV-dominated National Assembly on Thursday approved amendments to a 1992 constitution that, despite a public consultation campaign, entrench the party's grip on power at a time when discontent simmers over its handling of land disputes, corruption and an economy suffocated by toxic debt amassed by state-run firms. Full Story | Top |
| In the Gandhi political bastion, India's rural poor eye Modi's promise Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 01:13 PM PST  By Mayank Bhardwaj and Jo Winterbottom SHIVGARH, India (Reuters) - If Sonia Gandhi and her Congress party need evidence that their policies of subsidies and safety nets for India's poor may no longer be enough to keep their support, they need look no further than her own constituency of Rai Bareli. In the family borough in the northern heartland, which has been loyal to India's most powerful dynasty from the days of first Prime Minister Jawaharal Nehru, voters want electricity, hospitals and roads, more than the cheap food on offer. Instead, even in such a bastion of Congress support as Rai Bareli district, opposition leader Narendra Modi's message of growth and investment is gaining ground, despite critics' misgivings about his hardline Hindu nationalist roots and a perceived bias against the nation's minority Muslims. Full Story | Top |
| Mexico leftists exit pact, may boost case for energy reform Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 12:56 PM PST  By Ana Isabel Martinez MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The head of Mexico's main leftist party said on Thursday it had pulled out of a cross-party pact on economic reform, which could push the government toward a more radical plan to spur investment in the oil industry wanted by conservatives. Such a move could herald more intense opposition in the street to President Enrique Pena Nieto's plans to open up the state-run energy industry to greater private investment. Party of the Democratic Revolution Chairman Jesus Zambrano said the PRD was being left out of talks over the energy overhaul, and would leave the pact definitively unless the situation changed. "If they don't correct this, there is no point." Mexico's peso extended gains following the announcement. Full Story | Top |
| Spain passes law that may open the door to fracking Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 12:53 PM PST Spain's parliament passed an environmental impact law on Thursday that could open the door to hydraulic fracturing or fracking, a controversial method of extracting shale gas that has not been used up to now in the country. The government said it would evaluate hydraulic fracturing, the first mention in a Spanish law of the technology, which has been banned in France and Bulgaria. Lawmakers in the northern region of Cantabria had unanimously voted in April to ban fracking on environmental grounds, dashing the center-right government's hopes to develop a region believed to be rich in shale gas. Spain, in the grips of a severe economic downturn marked by high unemployment, imports around three-quarters of its energy needs and fracking could help relieve its dependence on foreign sources of fuel. Full Story | Top |
| One killed, nine injured in shelling of Russian embassy in Damascus Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 12:49 PM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - One Syrian was killed and nine others were injured during a mortar shelling of the Russian embassy in Damascus, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday. One mortar round landed at the embassy's premises and the other exploded close to it, the statement posted on www.mid.ru said, killing and injuring local residents, including guards. "We consider them (shellings) acts of terrorism, whose executors and those inciting and supervising them, should receive a deserved punishment," the ministry said. ... Full Story | Top |
| SPD tries to overcome grassroots skepticism on Merkel deal Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 12:32 PM PST  By Stephen Brown and Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Social Democrats began a do-or-die campaign on Thursday to persuade nearly half a million grassroots members, many skeptical about governing with conservative Angela Merkel again, to back their "grand coalition" in a ballot. Germany has already waited two months since the election for a new government. After Merkel and the SPD finally agreed the terms of an alliance, it must now wait until mid-December while the SPD seeks endorsement in an unprecedented poll of members. More than 474,000 card-carrying members will receive postal ballots within days asking whether they agree to the terms set out in a 185-page document signed by Merkel, her Bavarian ally Horst Seehofer and SPD Chairman Sigmar Gabriel on Wednesday. Full Story | Top |
| Afghan president condemns U.S. airstrike that killed a child Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 12:24 PM PST  President Hamid Karzai said U.S. forces had bombed a home in southern Afghanistan, killing a small child and wounding two women, and condemned the attack as a sign of disregard for civilian lives, his spokesman said on Thursday. The strike could not have come at a worse time, as Karzai is engaged in a stand-off with the U.S. government over a bilateral security agreement that will decide whether U.S. troop stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014. "It shows that U.S. forces have no respect for the decisions of the Loya Jirga and life of civilians in Afghanistan," said Karzai's spokesman, Aimal Faizi. "If such operations continue, there will be no agreement." The United States has threatened to pull its troops out of Afghanistan after 2014 - an outcome known as the "zero option", as it did in Iraq two years ago - unless a deal is clinched by the end of this year, Karzai, however, has so far refused to sign, despite getting approval from the Loya Jirga last week. Full Story | Top |
| Mexico leftists temporarily exit reform-building pact Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 12:14 PM PST  The leader of Mexico's main leftist political party said on Thursday it had temporarily pulled out of a cross-party pact aimed at forging economic reforms, saying they were being sidelined in talks over a key energy reform. Such a move could bode for more intense opposition in the street to President Enrique Pena Nieto's plans to open up the state-run energy industry to greater private investment. PRD Chairman Jesus Zambrano said the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) was being left out of talks over the energy overhaul, and would definitively unless the situation changed. Full Story | Top |
| Seven killed in Iran quake, no damage to nuclear station reported Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 11:21 AM PST At least seven people were killed in an earthquake in Iran on Thursday near the city of Bushehr, where the country's sole nuclear power plant is situated, state news agency IRNA reported. The earthquake, which had a magnitude of 5.6, struck about 40 miles northeast of Bushehr on the Gulf coast, according to U.S. Geological Survey data. No damage to the nuclear plant was reported. IRNA said seven people had died, and quoted the governor of Bushehr saying there was "total calm" in the area. Full Story | Top |
| Top EU powers retreat further on aviation emission plans Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 11:05 AM PST  By Ben Garside LONDON (Reuters) - Britain, France and Germany want to curtail further a European Union plan to regulate CO2 emissions from flights, setting up a clash with Brussels keen to maintain the bloc's climate policy which has sparked threats of a global trade war. "We currently feel that a scope covering flights within the European Economic Area would be the best way (forward)," a UK government spokesman said, referring only to Britain's position. That represents a climb-down from the EU's unified position in September, when the bloc entered negotiations at the U.N.'s aviation body ICAO aiming to craft a global agreement to curb the fast rising output of heat-trapping gases from aviation. The nearly 190 nations at ICAO agreed to design a global scheme by 2016 that would not take effect until 2020 but rejected letting Europe apply its own plan to foreign carriers in the meantime. Full Story | Top |
| EU leaders set for tough table-talk with Ukraine's Yanukovich Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 10:34 AM PST  By Natalia Zinets and Adrian Croft VILNIUS (Reuters) - The European Union told Ukraine it was risking its economic future by rejecting a free-trade deal in favor of closer ties with Russia, hours before a likely frosty encounter on Thursday evening between EU leaders and President Viktor Yanukovich. Yanukovich flew into the Lithuanian capital Vilnius in time for a dinner in honor of the Eastern Partnership, the EU's four-year-old outreach program for former Soviet republics, including Ukraine. He had been expected to sign a far-reaching free-trade and political association deal with the EU at the Vilnius summit, the result of years of negotiation. But last week, following intense pressure from Moscow and growing concerns about Ukraine's dire economic situation, Yanukovich announced he was not ready to sign the EU deal yet and would instead focus on reviving economic dialogue with Russia. Full Story | Top |
| The 'eye sniper' and the girl protesters: Egypt's tale of two trials Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 10:30 AM PST  By Michael Georgy and Abdel Rahman Youssef CAIRO (Reuters) - Two high-profile Egyptian trials, both arising from years of turbulent protests, have delivered sharply contrasting sentences in the space of just a few months. The verdicts stunned the opposition and rights campaigners, even by the standards of a crackdown in which security forces have killed hundreds of Islamists and arrested thousands since the army overthrew President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in July. We could not believe that Egypt would lock up its girls with the excuse that they are a threat to security," said Ramadan Abdel Hamid, whose 15-year-old daughter Rawda and wife Salwa were among those sentenced. "Is this what is going to calm Egypt?" As army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi implements a promised roadmap towards elections, the United States is watching closely and has repeatedly urged the interim government to treat its opponents with restraint. Full Story | Top |
| Four Libyan soldiers killed in new violence in Benghazi Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 10:06 AM PST  By Ayman al-Warfalli BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Four Libyan soldiers were killed when clashes erupted between the army and militant Islamists in the eastern city of Benghazi on Thursday, army and security officials said. Libya's nascent military is struggling to curb Islamist militants and militias who fought in the 2011 uprising against Muammar Gaddafi but refuse to disarm and control parts of the OPEC producer. Western powers fear the North African country will slide towards instability and become a safe haven for al Qaeda as much of the country is controlled by militias or heavily-armed tribes. Fighting initially broke out on Monday between army special forces and members of the Ansar Sharia in Libya's second-largest city, killing at least nine people before the Islamists retreated from their main base. Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Iran sanctions deal sparks hunt for vintage plane parts Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 10:02 AM PST  By Tim Hepher, Parisa Hafezi and Praveen Menon (Reuters) - While foreign ministers raced to Geneva for a crucial phase of talks over Iran's nuclear activities earlier this month, passengers with the country's national airline faced a little-noticed drama on the other side of the world. As a 37-year-old Boeing 747 climbed out of Beijing bound for Tehran, the Iranian crew received a cockpit alert that one of the jumbo jet's four Pratt & Whitney engines was on fire. The Iran Air pilots shut the engine down, activated a fire suppression system and flew back to the Chinese capital. Both the November 8 incident and the actions taken to remedy it, as reported by accident database Aviation Herald, highlight the juggling act needed to keep Iran's fleet in the air after years of sanctions and challenges in procuring parts. Full Story | Top |
| Merkel says door still open to Ukraine on trade pact Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 09:10 AM PST Ukraine is still welcome to seek a trade pact with the European Union, despite Kiev's announcement last week that it was shelving such efforts, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday. Before Ukraine's surprise change of heart, the EU had said it could sign a trade deal with Kiev at the summit, which starts later on Thursday. Full Story | Top |
| Canada allowed widespread NSA surveillance at 2010 G20 summit: report Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 09:06 AM PST  By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada allowed the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct widespread surveillance during the 2010 Group of 20 summit in Toronto, according to a media report that cited documents from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp is the latest potential embarrassment for the NSA as a result of Snowden's leaks, although it remains unclear precisely what information the agency was looking for during the summit. Snowden has already revealed the agency spied on close allies such as Germany and Brazil, prompting heated diplomatic spats with Washington. The CBC report, first aired late on Wednesday, cited briefing notes it said showed the United States turned its Ottawa embassy into a security command post during a six-day spying operation by the top-secret U.S. agency as President Barack Obama and other world leaders met that June. Full Story | Top |
| With military commitments in Africa, France to leave Kosovo Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 09:01 AM PST  By Fatos Bytyci PRISTINA (Reuters) - NATO confirmed on Thursday that France plans to withdraw its 320 troops from Kosovo, citing commitments in Mali and a pending French intervention in Central African Republic. Speaking in Kosovo, NATO's top military commander, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, did not specify when the troops would leave or whether they would be replaced. France is preparing to increase its force in Central African Republic, an anarchic former French colony, to at least 1,000 soldiers to prevent sectarian violence from destabilizing the wider region. Full Story | Top |
| Steam, water may show North Korea trying to restart reactor: IAEA Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 08:46 AM PST  By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear agency said on Thursday it had seen releases of steam and water indicating that North Korea may be seeking to restart a reactor that experts say would be capable of making plutonium for atomic bombs. North Korea announced in April that it would revive its aged research reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex but said it was seeking a deterrent capacity. Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the Vienna-based IAEA continued to monitor developments at Yongbyon, mainly through satellite imagery. "Activities have been observed at the site that are consistent with an effort to restart the 5MW(e) reactor," he told the IAEA's 35-nation board, referring to the Yongbyon research reactor. Full Story | Top |
| IAEA says may need more money to help implement Iran nuclear deal Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 08:44 AM PST  By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. atomic watchdog will probably need more money to verify the implementation of a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, its chief said on Thursday, and it would take some time to prepare for the task. Yukiya Amano also said Iran has invited the agency to visit the Arak heavy-water production plant on December 8, the first concrete step under a new cooperation pact aimed at clarifying concerns about the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. Both agreements indicate how Iran is acting quickly to address fears about its nuclear program after the election in June of a relative moderate, Hassan Rouhani, as new president on a platform to smooth its troubled relations with the world. The International Atomic Energy Agency can mobilize expertise and staff from within the organization for an increased workload in checking whether Iran is complying with the interim accord with the major powers to curb its nuclear program, IAEA Director General Amano told a news conference. Full Story | Top |
| Britain's Cameron urged to seek 'red card' to scrap EU laws Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 08:24 AM PST  By Peter Griffiths LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron should push for new powers for European Union member states to repeal existing laws across the bloc as part of his EU reform drive, an influential group of lawmakers in his Conservative Party said on Thursday. Fresh Start, which is backed by more than 100 Conservative members of parliament and has close links to senior ministers, said the EU must return some powers to national governments as part of wider changes or risk "terminal decline". Seeking to influence the debate about Britain's future in Europe, the group published a study setting out the areas where it hopes Cameron will win reforms, from agriculture and energy to immigration and regulation. But their ideas are likely to face resistance from the European Commission and from some other member states, including France and Germany which have warned an increasingly eurosceptic Cameron government against "cherry-picking" from the EU agenda. Full Story | Top |
| Victorious Nepali Congress party tries to woo Maoists for stability Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 08:17 AM PST  By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's oldest political party has emerged as the biggest group after an election last week, a final count showed on Thursday, and the party is now trying to woo Maoist former rebels to join a national unity government in the volatile mountain nation. The result leaves an uncertain future for the Maoists, who fought a ten-year civil war that contributed to the downfall of Nepal's monarchy. The former guerrillas, slumping to third place in the election held to a new constituent assembly, initially said it was rigged and threatened to boycott the body. "We want to form a consensus government and are reaching out to the Maoists to join the government and draft the constitution," Minendra Rijal, a senior leader of the Nepali Congress party which emerged as the largest group in the 601-member assembly, said. Full Story | Top |
| Israel jails six Arabs over 2005 killing of Jewish gunman Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 08:13 AM PST  By Rami Amichay HAIFA, Israel (Reuters) - An Israeli court jailed six Israeli Arab citizens on Thursday over the mob killing in 2005 of a Jewish gunman after he went on a deadly rampage on a bus in their town. None of The six men from Shfaram in northern Israel had been convicted of directly causing the death of Eden Nathan-Zaada, a 19-year-old army deserter and far-right settler in the occupied West Bank. Defense lawyer Siry Khourieh had argued during the trial that it was unfair, as the men had acted in self-defence. Arabs, the vast majority of them Muslim, make up around one fifth of the Jewish state's citizenry, and inter-ethnic relations have long been strained by Israel's conflict with the Palestinians, who want occupied territories for a future state. Full Story | Top |
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