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| Police shoot dead eight during attack in China's Xinjiang Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 08:08 PM PST BEIJING (Reuters) - Police in China's restive far western region of Xinjiang shot dead eight people during a "terrorist attack" on Monday, the regional government said. The incident happened in Yarkand county close to the old Silk Road city of Kashgar in Xinjiang's far south, the Xinjiang government said in a statement on its official news website (www.ts.cn). (Reporting by Ben Blanchard) Full Story | Top |
| Suicide bomber kills at least 16 at Russian train station Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 07:16 PM PST  By Sergei Karpov VOLGOGRAD, Russia (Reuters) - A suicide attacker set off a bomb in the entrance hall of a Russian train station on Sunday, investigators said, killing at least 16 people in the second deadly attack within three days as Russia prepares to host the Winter Olympics. Authorities said the attacker detonated a shrapnel-filled bomb in front of a metal detector just inside the main entrance of the station in Volgograd, a busy hub north of the violence-plagued North Caucasus region on Russia's southern fringe. Islamist militants in the North Caucasus have carried out a long string of attacks since President Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000. They now confront him with his biggest security challenge, threatening to disrupt the Olympics that start in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in 40 days. Full Story | Top |
| Severe Antarctic weather slows Australian icebreaker bid to reach stranded ship Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 07:00 PM PST  By Maggie Lu Yueyang SYDNEY (Reuters) - Severe Antarctic weather was slowing an Australian icebreaker's bid to reach a Russian ship trapped in ice since Christmas eve with 74 people onboard, the Australian maritime rescue agency said on Monday. The Aurora Australis was currently about 11 nautical miles from the stranded Russian ship Akademik Shokalskiy, said the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), which is co-ordinating the rescue. The Aurora Australis is travelling slowly due to the conditions to ensure the safety of all on board," AMSA said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Former aide to retired Chinese security chief probed for graft Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 06:29 PM PST A former aide to retired Chinese security tsar Zhou Yongkang has been placed under investigation for corruption, the government said, the latest move targeting people close to Zhou who is himself subject to a graft probe. The ruling Communist Party's anti-corruption watchdog said on Sunday that Li Chongxi, head of an advisory body to the legislature in the southwestern province of Sichuan, was being investigated for suspected serious breaches of party discipline and the law, the usual euphemism for graft. President Xi Jinping has launched a sweeping crackdown on corruption since taking power, warning corruption is a threat to the ruling Communist Party's very survival, and vowing to pursue powerful "tigers" as well as lowly "flies". Full Story | Top |
| Libyan oil guards threaten to block gas pipeline to Tripoli: sources Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 04:57 PM PST  By Ghaith Shennib TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Oil security guards in central Libya have threatened to block a gas pipeline to the capital Tripoli unless the government meets their salary demands, oil sources and local media said on Sunday. If confirmed, the protest would mark an escalation of a wave of strikes at oilfields and export terminals gripping Libya, reducing its lifeline oil exports to a trickle. The OPEC producer is facing turmoil as the government of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan struggles to control heavily-armed militias who helped topple Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 but kept their weapons to press for political and financial demands. A mix of tribes and militias have seized for months four export ports in the east alone to demand regional autonomy and a greater share of oil revenues from the central government. Full Story | Top |
| Iraq attacks kill at least 18, including army general: police, medics Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 04:56 PM PST At least 18 people were killed in attacks across Iraq on Sunday, including a military general in a bombing in the northern city of Mosul, police and medical sources said. Violence in Iraq has hit its highest levels since the sectarian fighting of 2006-7, which killed tens of thousands of people. A suicide bomber killed at least eight soldiers, including a brigadier general and three other officers, when he blew himself up by their convoy in the eastern part of Mosul, police and medical sources said. At least four soldiers were killed and ten others wounded when gunmen attacked a military barracks in the town of Garma, 30 km (20 miles) northwest of Baghdad, police and medics said. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. defense chief voices concern in call to Egypt army head Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 04:55 PM PST  The top U.S. defense official expressed "concern" about recent developments in Egypt in a call on Sunday to Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Pentagon said. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel expressed his condolences for the victims of a spate of recent bomb attacks in Egypt, and offered U.S. assistance to investigate the incidents, a Pentagon spokesman said in a statement. A bomb exploded outside an Egyptian army building north of Cairo on Sunday, the latest in a series of violent incidents in Egypt. The Egyptian Army labeled the incident a terrorist attack, but did not name the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group it declared a terrorist organization last week. Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Italy's Chinese garment workshops boom as workers suffer Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 02:11 PM PST  By Silvia Aloisi PRATO, Italy (Reuters) - Shen Jianhe lost both her job and home when Italian police shut down her garment factory in the Tuscan city of Prato. By day, the 38-year-old mother of four would sew trousers at one of the nearly 5,000 workshops run by Chinese immigrants in Prato, which largely turn out cheap clothing for fast-fashion companies in Italy and across Europe. Prato, the historical capital of Italy's textile business, has attracted the largest concentration of Chinese-run industry in Europe within less than 20 years. As many as 50,000 Chinese live and work in the area, making clothes bearing the prized "Made in Italy" label which sets them apart from garments produced in China itself, even at the lower end of the fashion business. Full Story | Top |
| El Salvador volcano erupts, evacuations ordered Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 01:47 PM PST  By Nelson Renteria SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - The Chaparrastique volcano in eastern El Salvador belched a column of hot ash high into the air on Sunday, frightening nearby residents and prompting authorities to order evacuations in the area. There were no immediate reports of injuries in the San Miguel region, where the volcano is located and that is known for its coffee plantations. Civil protection authorities said they would evacuate people from within three kilometers (1.9 miles) of the volcano and set up emergency shelters. "The evacuations began almost right after the explosion," said civil protection official Armando Vividor. Full Story | Top |
| Opportunity glimmers through China's toxic smog Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 01:11 PM PST  By Adam Jourdan SHANGHAI (Reuters) - As China's smog levels crept past record highs in early December, the phone lines at pollution-busting kit maker Broad Group lit up with Chinese customers worried about hazardous pollution levels that have gripped China this year. China's government is struggling to meet pollution reduction targets and has pledged to spend over 3 trillion yuan ($494 billion) to tackle the problem, creating a growing market for companies that can help boost energy efficiency and lower emissions. "Recently, we haven't been able to make products fast enough to keep up with demand," said Hu Jie, a general manager at Broad Group, which makes pollution-related products ranging from hand-held monitors to eco-friendly buildings. Pollution problems in China, the world's second-biggest economy, are by no means new. Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan forces battle "White Army" Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 11:23 AM PST  By Carl Odera and Aaron Maasho JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's army fought on Sunday with "White Army" ethnic militia, accusing rebels of mobilizing the force despite its offer of a truce to end the conflict in the new country. Two weeks of fighting have left at least 1,000 dead and split the oil-producing country barely two years after it won independence from Sudan. The feared White Army - made up largely of Nuer youths who dust their bodies with ash - clashed with government troops 18 miles from the town of Bor five days after rebels were driven out, Information Minister Michael Makuei said. A rebel spokesman denied the White Army was controlled by Riek Machar, a Nuer, the former vice president whose followers oppose President Salva Kiir, a Dinka. Full Story | Top |
| Volcano erupts in eastern El Salvador Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 10:39 AM PST SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - The Chaparrastique volcano in eastern El Salvador erupted on Sunday, environment officials said, belching a column of ash high into the air. There were no immediate reports of injuries in the San Miguel region, where the volcano is located and that is known for its coffee production. (Reporting by Hugo Sanchez; Editing by Eric Beech) Full Story | Top |
| Blast at Egyptian army building wounds four soldiers Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 10:34 AM PST  By Yasmine Saleh and Shadia Nasralla CAIRO/ANSHAS (Reuters) - A bomb exploded outside an Egyptian army building north of Cairo on Sunday, wounding four soldiers, the army said, in the second bomb attack on security forces in the Nile Delta in less than a week. Its statement referred to "groups of darkness" and did not name the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group it declared a terrorist organization last week. That decision was a response to a suicide bomb attack on Tuesday on a police compound in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura, north of the site of Sunday's explosion. The army-backed government has used the new classification to detain hundreds of the movement's supporters and thousands more are already in jail. Full Story | Top |
| Earthquake hits southern Italy, early reports say no injuries Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 10:23 AM PST An earthquake hit areas of southern Italy on Sunday, sending many residents out on to the streets but there were no immediate reports of injuries or serious damage. The quake, which was measured by the U.S. Geological Survey at a magnitude of 5.2 and by Italian scientists at about 4.9, was felt in densely populated cities such as Naples, Avellino and Caserta. The same area was hit by a major earthquake in 1980 that killed more than 3,000 people. Full Story | Top |
| Erdogan vows Turkish graft affair will fail to topple him Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 09:47 AM PST  By Seda Sezer and Dan Williams ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan swore on Sunday he would survive a corruption crisis circling his cabinet, saying those seeking his overthrow would fail just like mass anti-government protests last summer. Erdogan accused his opponents of trying to sap the power of Turkey, which has seen rapid economic growth and assertive foreign policies under his 11-year leadership, in the service of an international plot cloaked as criminal proceedings. Yet striking a somewhat milder tone, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu appeared to seek common ground with a U.S.-based Turkish cleric whose rivalry with Erdogan is widely seen as having stoked the controversy. Erdogan, who is touring Turkey to drum up support before local elections in March, defied his accusers over the detention for suspected graft of three ministers' sons and the head of state-run Halkbank on December 17. Full Story | Top |
| Earthquake felt in large parts of southern Italy Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 09:45 AM PST ROME (Reuters) - An earthquake hit areas of southern Italy on Sunday, sending many residents out on to the streets. The quake, which was measured by the U.S. Geological Survey at 5.2 magnitude and by Italian scientists at about 4.9, was felt in densely populated cities such as Naples, Avellino and Caserta. There were no immediate reports of injuries or serious damage. (Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Erica Billingham) Full Story | Top |
| Spain arrests eight over global bank cyber heists Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 09:44 AM PST Spanish police on Sunday said they had arrested eight people suspected of helping to steal more than $60 million from banks worldwide by hacking into credit card processing firms and withdrawing money from cash machines. The arrests are one of the biggest breakthroughs yet outside the United States in connection with a series of global bank heists, coordinated across numerous countries by cells which withdrew millions of dollars in a matter of hours. Spanish police said in a statement they had detained six Romanian citizens and two Moroccans on the outskirts of Madrid, and seized 25,000 euros ($34,400) in cash as well as around 1,000 blank credit cards, IT material and jewels after several building searches. The Spanish police statement said they had acted with the help of an unnamed U.S. security agency. Full Story | Top |
| Saudi Arabia to give Lebanese army $3 billion Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 09:36 AM PST Saudi Arabia is giving the Lebanese army $3 billion in aid, Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman said on Sunday, calling it the largest grant ever to the country's armed forces. Some of the money was likely to be spent on weapons from France, Suleiman indicated in a televised address. One of the few institutions not overtaken by the sectarian divisions that plague the country, Lebanon's army is ill-equipped to deal with internal militant groups, particularly the Shi'ite Muslim guerrilla and political movement Hezbollah. The Sunni Muslim kingdom of Saudi Arabia may be seeking to bolster the army as a counterbalance to Hezbollah, seen as the most effective and powerful armed group in Lebanon and funded by the regional Shi'ite power Iran. Full Story | Top |
| French president says will supply arms to Lebanon army if asked Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 09:20 AM PST RIYADH (Reuters) - France will supply weapons to the Lebanese army if it is asked to do so, French President Francois Hollande said on Sunday during a visit to Saudi Arabia where he met King Abdullah. Riyadh had earlier pledged $3 billion in aid to the Lebanese army to strengthen its capabilities at a time when the country faces renewed instability because of the war in Syria. (Reporting By Julien Ponthus/Natalie Huet; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by William Maclean) Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's president says elections within six months of constitution approval Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 08:57 AM PST Egypt's interim president said on Sunday that the government is committed to holding parliamentary and presidential elections within six months of approval of the new constitution, to be voted on next month. The timetable means Egypt would have an elected government by next summer to replace that installed by the army after it ousted elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July. Adly Mansour also said that it would not be unconstitutional for presidential elections to be held before parliamentary elections. The initial plan unveiled in July required parliamentary elections to be held first, but the constitution to be voted on in a referendum on January 14 and 15 would allow presidential elections first. Full Story | Top |
| Israeli ministers endorse legislation to annex part of West Bank Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 08:53 AM PST  A panel of Israeli cabinet ministers endorsed proposed legislation on Sunday to annex an area of the occupied West Bank likely to be the eastern border of a future Palestinian state. The move, pushed by far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, could weigh on troubled U.S.-brokered peace negotiations several days before another visit to the region by Secretary of State John Kerry. But centrist Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who also heads Israel's negotiations with the Palestinians, immediately challenged the motion, and said she would use her powers to block the legislation from being voted on in Parliament. The target is to reach an agreement by April towards achieving a "two-state solution" in which Israel and a new Palestinian state would co-exist side by side. Full Story | Top |
| Yemen jails nine al Qaeda members for plot to kill president Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 08:44 AM PST  A Yemeni court jailed nine al Qaeda members for between two and 10 years on Sunday for plotting to assassinate President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, the country's news agency Saba reported. Yemen is battling one of the most active wings of al Qaeda, known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has been foiled in several attempted attacks on Western targets, including airliners. The prosecution said the group, which was also convicted of planning to kill military officers and kidnap foreigners, planted an explosive device this year on a road used by Hadi on his way to the presidential palace. It was one of several attempted attacks on Hadi, who was elected in February 2012 after his long-serving predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down as part of a U.S.-backed power transfer deal. Full Story | Top |
| Thousands flood camp in Central African Republic Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 07:27 AM PST  By Paul-Marin Ngoupana BANGUI (Reuters) - More than 100,000 people displaced by inter-religious violence in Central African Republic are sheltering at a makeshift camp at Bangui airport, a medical charity said on Sunday, calling for urgent aid. Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) said it was receiving between 15 and 20 wounded a day at the site from fighting in the riverside capital, where the deployment of French and African peacekeepers in early December has failed to halt violence. Attacks by Muslim Seleka rebels, who seized power in March, and Christian militias have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced an estimated 400,000 in Bangui this month. Full Story | Top |
| Israel cabinet okays plan to curb government spending growth Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 07:16 AM PST  Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved a Finance Ministry proposal to tighten spending limits on the government's budget starting in 2015. As a result, government spending in 2015 will rise by only 2.6 percent instead of the original target of 4 percent. "The meaning of this measure is the prevention of a dramatic increase in taxes and the prevention of a swelling of government expenditure beyond what is needed," Finance Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement. The Finance Ministry has forecast a budget deficit of 3 percent of GDP in 2013 and 2014. Full Story | Top |
| UK Power Networks says its response to holiday blackouts was too slow Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 06:58 AM PST The head of UK Power Networks, one of Britain's biggest electricity distributors, said its response to a storm that cut off more than 300,000 customers on Christmas Eve had been too slow because many staff were on holiday at the same time. Basil Scarsella, chief executive of the company owned by Hong Kong's Cheung Kong Group, was responding to criticism from customers over delays in restoring supply. Around 600 households across Britain, served by various power firms, remained without power on Sunday. A UK Power Networks spokeswoman said on Sunday that 107 of the firm's eight million customers, who are concentrated in the southeast and east of England, remained without power. Full Story | Top |
| Lebanese ex-minister buried to anti-Hezbollah chants Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 06:50 AM PST  By Erika Solomon and Laila Bassam BEIRUT (Reuters) - Mourners chanting anti-Hezbollah slogans laid to rest former Lebanese minister Mohamad Chatah on Sunday after he was killed by a car bomb his allies blame on the powerful Shi'ite group. Friday's attack on Chatah, a Sunni who was a vocal critic of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Lebanese ally Hezbollah, has once again stoked sectarian enmities exacerbated by the spillover of Syria's conflict. "There is no God but God and Hezbollah is the enemy of God," mourners chanted as Chatah's coffin - draped in green and gold cloth - was carried to a central Beirut mosque. It was the latest in a series of attacks on both sides of the divide in Lebanon, where the government is paralyzed by a standoff along sectarian lines. Full Story | Top |
| Ukrainian opposition focuses on 2015 election as protests wane Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 06:39 AM PST  By Olzhas Auyezov KIEV (Reuters) - Tacitly acknowledging that street protests would not topple Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, one of his leading rivals told demonstrators on Sunday that the opposition would steer the country back towards Europe after winning the next election in 2015. Tens of thousands of people gathered on Kiev's Independence Square for what has become a weekly event since late November, when Yanukovich's government refused to sign an association agreement with the European Union and turned instead to Russia for an economic rescue package. The falling numbers have eased the pressure on the government, which is pressing ahead with forging closer ties with Russia, having secured a $15 billion bailout package from Moscow and a discount on vital Russian gas supplies. The opposition wants the country of 46 million people to move closer to Europe and escape the grip of Russia, its former imperial master. Full Story | Top |
| Saudi royal faces death penalty for murder: newspaper Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 05:34 AM PST  A Saudi prince who murdered a fellow Saudi may be executed, a newspaper reported on Sunday, in a rare example of a member of the kingdom's ruling family facing the death penalty. The English-language Arab News did not name the prince or his victim, but said a senior member of the family and government, Crown Prince Salman, had "cleared the way for the possible execution of a prince convicted of murdering a Saudi citizen". In a message about the case to Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, Prince Salman said: "Sharia (Islamic law) shall be applied to all without exception", the daily reported. Prince Salman's message followed a statement from the victim's father that he was not ready to pardon the killer and he was not happy with the amount offered as blood money. Full Story | Top |
| Protesters gather at Libyan ministries demanding PM quit Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 05:04 AM PST  Protesters gathered outside ministries and major institutions across Libya's capital on Sunday, state news agency Lana reported, and those at the foreign ministry said they wanted Prime Minister Ali Zeidan to quit. Zeidan's government is struggling to assert control over the North African country, which is in turmoil and has been awash with arms since the 2011 uprising that ousted Muammar Gaddafi. A witness said that dozens of unarmed protesters, who placed a cement block in front of the foreign ministry's gate in central Tripoli and attached banners accusing Zeidan and his government of failure, were preventing staff from entering. Lana also reported protests at the entrances of Zeidan's office, the oil, finance, transport and justice ministries as well as the central bank and supreme court. Full Story | Top |
| French 'millionaire's tax' gets constitutional go-ahead Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 04:47 AM PST  France's Constitutional Council gave the green light on Sunday to a 'millionaire's tax', to be levied on companies that pay salaries of more than 1 million euros ($1.38 million) a year. The measure, introduced in line with a pledge by President Francois Hollande to make the rich do more to pull France out of crisis, has infuriated business leaders and soccer clubs, which at one point threatened to go on strike. It was originally designed as a 75 percent tax to be paid by high earners on the part of their incomes exceeding 1 million euros, but the council rejected this, saying 66 percent was the legal maximum for individuals. The Socialist government has since reworked the tax to levy it on companies instead, raising the ire of entrepreneurs. Full Story | Top |
| Protests against Bangladesh election turn violent Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 04:45 AM PST  By Ruma Paul DHAKA (Reuters) - Violent clashes erupted in Bangladesh on Sunday as opposition supporters took to the streets to protest against a January 5 general election which they are boycotting. The opposition says it will not take part in the vote unless an interim government oversees it and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina steps down. The leader of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Begum Khaleda Zia, called for a march on the capital, Dhaka, in defiance of a police ban to protest against what she calls the "farcical" election. One person was killed as police opened fire to disperse protesters throwing stones and crude bombs in central Dhaka and a railway guard was killed in a blast at a city station, police said. Full Story | Top |
| Lebanon rocket fire draws Israeli artillery strike Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 04:26 AM PST  By Ari Rabinovitch JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Rockets launched from south Lebanon struck northern Israel on Sunday and Israel responded with artillery shells across a border that has been largely quiet since a war in 2006. The cross-border fire, which caused no injuries on either side, coincided with heightened political tension in Beirut following the assassination on Friday of a former Lebanese government minister. Israeli authorities said five rockets were launched from Lebanon but only one or two struck inside Israel, near the border town of Kiryat Shmona. A U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon, urging restraint, said it was working with the Lebanese Army to obtain further details of the attack. Full Story | Top |
| Cracking ice bodes well for Antarctica ship rescue Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 04:22 AM PST The ice-bound ship, the Akademik Shokalskiy, left New Zealand on November 28 on a privately funded expedition to commemorate the 100th anniversary of an Antarctic journey led by famed Australian explorer Douglas Mawson. The Australian icebreaker the Aurora Australis is expected to reach the stricken ship at about midnight on Sunday. A Chinese icebreaker could not break through the thick ice earlier but the weather on Sunday boded well for a rescue. "The ice conditions seem to have improved and there appears to be some softening and some cracks appearing," Lisa Martin of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is coordinating the rescue, told Reuters. Full Story | Top |
| British police arrest two men over North Sea ferry fire Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 04:20 AM PST British police said on Sunday they had arrested two men after a suspected arson attack on a ferry in the North Sea carrying more than 1,000 people from Newcastle in England to Amsterdam. Police said the incident occurred late on Saturday night on board the MS King Seaways, a ship operated by Denmark's DFDS Seaways, after a passenger set fire to a cabin in circumstances that remained unclear. "Two men have been arrested - a 26-year-old man on suspicion of arson and a 28-year-old man on suspicion of affray," Britain's Northumbria police force said in a statement. "Both are currently helping police with inquiries." DFDS, which operates the daily service from the North Shields port near Newcastle to IJmuiden near Amsterdam, said in a statement that crew members had put the fire out within 15 minutes. Full Story | Top |
| Lightning kills eight worshippers in Malawi church Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 03:42 AM PST JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A lightning bolt struck a church in Malawi, killing eight worshippers and injuring several others, local media reported. Several members of the Seventh Day Adventist church in the capital Lilongwe were admitted to hospital after Saturday's strike, the Nyasa Times said, citing witnesses, police and health officials. It was not immediately clear whether they were injured by the lightning or in the panic to escape. "People were inside the church attending the service when the lightening stuck. ... Full Story | Top |
| Croatia charges doctors, pharmacists in huge drugs bribery case Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 03:38 AM PST Some 300 doctors and pharmacists are among 364 suspects who have been charged in Croatia with offering and taking bribes in exchange for prescribing certain drugs. The main indictees in the case are the managers of a local pharmaceutical company who are accused of planning the scheme, state prosecutors said on their website on Saturday. They did not name the company, in line with standard legal practice in Croatia, which joined the European Union in July, after stepping up its fight against widespread corruption. The managers are accused of creating a network of doctors and pharmacists and offering them money, valuable gifts and paid trips with the aim of boosting the sales of their drugs, the state prosecutors said. Full Story | Top |
| Thousands of Cambodians rally to demand PM steps down Sunday, Dec 29, 2013 02:40 AM PST  By Prak Chan Thul PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Cambodian opposition supporters, backed by striking garment-factory workers, rallied on Sunday to demand long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen step down and call an election. The garment workers have in recent days joined the opposition protests to press their demand that the government raise the minimum wage to $160 a month from $95, as recommended on December 24. "Hun Sen and his illegal government can hear us, they can't ignore us, the people show their will for change," Sam Rainsy, leader of the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, told the rally in a Phnom Penh park. "We demand that Hun Sen to steps down and a new election," Sam Rainsy, a former finance minister, told the crowd, some of whom have been camping out in the park since December 15. Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Small-town squabbles blamed for stalling Philippine storm aid Saturday, Dec 28, 2013 10:04 PM PST  By Nathan Layne and Manuel Mogato PALO, Philippines (Reuters) - Nena Obrero and her family survived without government aid for three weeks after Super Typhoon Haiyan churned across the central Philippines and reduced much of her hometown to rubble. Obrero lives in Guindapunan, a barangay, or district, of the city of Palo, on the east of Leyte island, where more than 1,000 people were killed on November 8. But they missed out on the initial shipments of rice from the municipal office, the main channel for redistributing aid in the disaster-prone Southeast Asian archipelago, due to political squabbling, Obrero said. Even in a tiny barangay, residents say the biggest loyalties are at play - in this case to the clan of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos's widow, whose supporters belong to a collection of opposition parties, and to rival assassinated politician Benigno Aquino, whose son is now president. Full Story | Top |
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