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| Hackers post account info of 4.6 million Snapchat users: report Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 07:58 PM PST (Reuters) - Computer hackers posted online usernames and partial phone numbers of 4.6 million users of mobile photo-sharing service Snapchat, media reports said on Wednesday. A website called SnapchatDB.info made the information available for download, according to tech news site TechCrunch. In a statement to TecCrunch, SnapchatDB said that it got the information through a recently identified and patched Snapchat exploit and that it was making the data available in an effort to convince the messaging app to beef up its security. Full Story | Top |
| Syrian Electronic Army says hacked into Skype's social media accounts Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 06:50 PM PST  By Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Syrian Electronic Army, an amorphous hacker collective that supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, claimed credit on Wednesday for hacking into the social media accounts of Internet calling service Skype. The group also posted the contact information of Steve Ballmer, Microsoft Corp's retiring chief executive, on its Twitter account along with the message, "You can thank Microsoft for monitoring your accounts/emails using this details. #SEA" That message was an apparent reference to revelations last year by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden that Skype, which is owned by Microsoft, was part of the NSA's program to monitor communications through some of the biggest U.S. Internet companies. Full Story | Top |
| China's first aircraft carrier completes South China Sea drills Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 06:18 PM PST China's first aircraft carrier has successfully finished a series of tests during a training mission in the disputed South China Sea and has returned to port, state media reported. Last month's drills off the coast of Hainan Island marked not only the first time China has sent a carrier into the South China Sea but the first time it has maneuvered with the kind of strike group of escort ships U.S. carriers deploy, according to regional military officers and analysts. After two decades of double-digit increases in the military budget, China's admirals plan to develop a full blue-water navy capable of defending growing economic interests as well as disputed territory in the South and East China Seas. The aircraft carrier Liaoning carried out more than 100 tests, including of its combat systems, and has now docked at port in the northern city of Qingdao, the official Xinhua news agency said late on Wednesday. Full Story | Top |
| China final HSBC factory PMI dips to three-month low in December Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 05:52 PM PST  China's factory activity expanded at the slowest pace in three months in December, weighed down by shrinking export orders, a private survey showed on Thursday, consistent with views the economy's growth rate has moderated into the end of the year. "The recovering momentum since August 2013 is continuing into 2014, in our view," said Hongbin Qu, chief China economist at HSBC. "With inflation still benign, we expect the current monetary and fiscal policy to remain in place to support growth," he added. A sub-index measuring new export orders touched a four-month low of 49.1 in December, the first time since August that it dropped below the 50-point watershed that separates expansion from contraction, suggesting unsteady external demand. Full Story | Top |
| Mogadishu hotel targeted by bombs, at least 11 killed Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 05:12 PM PST  By Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Three bombs exploded within an hour outside a hotel frequented by government officials in a heavily fortified district of the Somali capital on Wednesday, killing at least 11 people. The attacks on the Jazira hotel, one of the securest places in Mogadishu, underscore the security challenges facing President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, whose election by lawmakers last year was hailed by many as a way to end two decades of conflict. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the Islamist rebel group al Shabaab has carried out a campaign of attacks over the past two and a half years in Mogadishu. "First we heard a big crash and the security forces immediately opened fire," said Abdullahi Hussein who lives 300 meters behind the hotel. Full Story | Top |
| Over 6,000 seek mortgages under UK Help to Buy scheme Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 04:22 PM PST  Over 6,000 people have applied for mortgages under the British government's Help to Buy scheme in its first three months, which if approved would amount to 910 million pounds ($1.5 billion) in loans, Prime Minister David Cameron announced on Thursday. British lenders provided 45,044 mortgages for home purchases in November, more than in any month since December 2009, data from the British Bankers Association showed last week. The Bank of England, which collects fuller data about the British mortgage market, said in November that lenders had approved 67,701 mortgages in October, a six-year high, although still below the pre-crisis average of about 90,000. The Bank in November unexpectedly said it was ending its own incentives for banks to provide mortgages as part of the separate Funding for Lending scheme, which would instead focus exclusively on lending to businesses. Full Story | Top |
| Two killed in clashes between Egyptian police and protesters Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 04:15 PM PST Two people were killed in violent clashes that erupted late on Wednesday between pro-Islamist protesters and police in Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria, the Ministry of Interior said. Egypt has been hit by a wave of violent protests since the army removed elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi from office in July following mass protests against his rule. The Interior Ministry said the clashes happened during two marches organized by some 200 Brotherhood members in Alexandria. "They (the Brotherhood protesters) blocked the road... set shops on fire, burned a citizen's car, fired guns and bird shot and clashed with and terrorized the people," the Ministry of Interior said in a statement on Thursday. Full Story | Top |
| Hyundai, Kia see weakest annual car sales growth since 2003 Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 04:13 PM PST  South Korean auto makers Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors Corp are bracing for their most sluggish growth in annual sales since 2003 as the weakening of the yen fuels exports from Japanese rivals. Hyundai and its affiliate Kia, together ranked fifth in global car sales, aim to boost global sales by 4 percent this year to a combined 7.86 million vehicles, the pair said in regulatory filings on Thursday. It's a fresh challenge for Hyundai chairman Chung Mong-koo as the company shakes up United States management amid a fall in market share there, while German rivals encroach on its once-impregnable domestic stronghold. At their growth peak in 2010, Hyundai and Kia's annual sales climbed 24 percent as the weaker Korean won allowed them to offer stylish, feature-loaded new cars at affordable prices. Full Story | Top |
| Fans keep Mexico Zapatista flame burning 20 years after revolt Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 04:05 PM PST  By Lomi Kriel SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico (Reuters) - The picturesque colonial town high in the mountains in southern Mexico is filled with relics of the rebel Zapatista movement that rocked the region with violence in 1994 and catapulted it to worldwide fame. Now thousands of tourists and sympathizers come here every year to drink mojitos at a bar called Revolucion, visit nearby Zapatista communities with masked guides, and pick up souvenirs emblazoned with the image of Subcomandante Marcos, who thrilled leftists across the globe and won comparisons with Che Guevara. Twenty years after Marcos led armed indigenous insurgents in Chiapas state in a "declaration of war" against the government the day Mexico opened its borders to free trade, the Zapatistas have faded from national view and their legacy is in question. Named for Mexican revolutionary hero Emiliano Zapata, the Zapatista National Liberation Army sparked a 12-day battle with the Army that claimed at least 140 lives, becoming an early symbol for supporters of the anti-globalization movement. Full Story | Top |
| Mali dismisses candidates for fraud in elections Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 03:59 PM PST  Mali dismissed candidates from three constituencies for stuffing ballot boxes in a parliamentary election meant to complete the country's transition to democracy after a 2012 army coup. The West African country's constitutional court was flooded with complaints of electoral fraud from rival parties following the first round of legislative elections in November. The dismissals did not change the overall outcome which granted a victory for President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita's (IBK) RPM party, with 67 of a total 147 seats in Parliament. The confirmation of the final results is due to unlock $3.25 billion of donor pledges to rebuild the West African country after Islamists seized control of the north in the coup's aftermath. Full Story | Top |
| Stung by curbs, Indian iron ore companies throw in towel Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 03:04 PM PST  By Krishna N Das and Manolo Serapio Jr Codli Village, INDIA/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Top Indian trader MMTC's $80 million iron ore export terminal, ready since 2010, has never handled a cargo. Bans on iron ore mining and exports in India's top producing states of Karnataka and Goa have choked the industry so hard that MMTC is one of many firms exiting. Even if efforts to fully lift the bans make it past the many bureaucratic and legal hurdles, iron ore miners do not expect complete resumption of production until late 2014. The bans, put in place as the government tried to clamp down on illegal mining, have cut India's iron ore exports by around 85 percent, or 100 million tonnes, over the past two years. Full Story | Top |
| World's first state-licensed marijuana retailers open doors in Colorado Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 02:58 PM PST By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - The world's first state-licensed marijuana retailers legally permitted to sell pot for recreational use opened for business in Colorado on Wednesday with long lines of customers, marking a new chapter in America's drug culture. Roughly three dozen former medical marijuana dispensaries newly cleared by state regulators to sell pot to consumers interested in nothing more than its mind- and mood-altering properties began welcoming customers as early as 8 a.m. MST (1500 GMT). "I never thought it would happen." The highly-anticipated New Year's Day opening launched an unprecedented commercial cannabis market that Colorado officials expect will ultimately gross $578 million in annual revenues, including $67 million in tax receipts for the state. Possession, cultivation and private personal consumption of marijuana by adults for the sake of just getting high has already been legal in Colorado for more than a year under a state constitutional amendment approved by voters. Full Story | Top |
| Trebling tobacco tax 'could prevent 200 million early deaths' Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 02:02 PM PST  By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Trebling tobacco tax globally would cut smoking by a third and prevent 200 million premature deaths this century from lung cancer and other diseases, researchers said on Wednesday. In a review in the New England Journal of Medicine, scientists from the charity Cancer Research UK (CRUK) said hiking taxes by a large amount per cigarette would encourage people to quit smoking altogether rather than switch to cheaper brands, and help stop young people from taking up the habit. Tobacco kills around 6 million people a year now, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and that toll is expected to rise above 8 million a year by 2030 if nothing is done to curb smoking rates. Richard Peto, an epidemiologist at CRUK who led the study, said aggressively increasing tobacco taxes would be especially effective in poorer and middle-income countries where the cheapest cigarettes are relatively affordable. Full Story | Top |
| Inter-religious violence kills three in Central African Republic's capital Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 01:55 PM PST  By Serge Leger Kokpakpa and Paul-Marin Ngoupana BANGUI (Reuters) - Clashes between Muslims and Christians in Central African Republic's capital killed at least three on Wednesday as angry residents threw grenades and torched homes, witnesses said. French and African troops deployed in the country have struggled to stop the tit-for-tat violence between Muslim Seleka rebels, who seized power in March, and Christian self-defense militia, clashes that killed more than 1,000 people in December. Full Story | Top |
| Doctors, hospitals expect some confusion as Obamacare plans start Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 01:28 PM PST Hospitals and medical practices across the United States braced for confusion and administrative hassles as new insurance plans under President Barack Obama's healthcare law took effect on Wednesday. More than 2 million people enrolled in private plans offered under the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, during the initial sign-up period for health benefits. A spokeswoman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said there were no hiccups to report in the first day the plans were in effect. Over time, the law - which requires most Americans to buy insurance, offers subsidies to help low-income people get covered and sets minimum standards for coverage - aims to dramatically reduce the number of Americans who lack health insurance, which the U.S. government has estimated at more than 45 million. Full Story | Top |
| Sunni militants storm Iraq police stations to free prisoners Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 01:07 PM PST  By Kamal Namaa FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - Islamist militants stormed police stations in several cities of Iraq's western province of Anbar on Wednesday, seizing weapon caches and freeing prisoners after security forces dismantled a Sunni Muslim protest camp on Monday. The attacks on three police stations in Falluja, Ramadi and Tarmiya represent a serious escalation in the confrontation between Iraqi Sunni groups and the Shi'ite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Full Story | Top |
| Former first lady Barbara Bush remains in Houston hospital Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 01:01 PM PST (Reuters) - Former first lady Barbara Bush was in a Houston hospital for a third day being treated for a respiratory ailment, a spokesman for her husband's office said. Bush, 88, was admitted on Monday to Methodist Hospital in Houston's Texas Medical Center, the office of former President George H.W. Bush said on Wednesday. George H.W. Bush was the 41st president of the United States. The former first lady is also the mother of George W. Bush, the 43rd U.S. president. Full Story | Top |
| Jihad Jane: Despite cooperation, U.S. seeks 'decades' in prison Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 12:48 PM PST  By John Shiffman WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pennsylvania woman who called herself Jihad Jane and a teenage accomplice from Maryland provided "very significant" assistance to U.S. authorities in several terrorism investigations but still remain threats to the public, prosecutors say in new court filings. Prosecutors said Colleen LaRose, 50, should be sentenced to "decades behind bars" for her role in a failed 2009 plot to kill Lars Vilks, a Swedish artist who offended many Muslims by drawing the Prophet Mohammed on the head of a dog. After years of delay, the American-born LaRose is expected to be sentenced on Monday in Philadelphia. A similar hearing for Mohammad Hassan Khalid, the youngest person ever charged with terrorism in the United States, is set for Tuesday. Full Story | Top |
| De Blasio sworn in as New York mayor, succeeding Bloomberg Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 12:45 PM PST By Edith Honan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bill de Blasio was formally inaugurated as New York City's 109th mayor on Wednesday at a City Hall ceremony where he promised to take "dead aim" at closing the affordability gap he has decried as New York's tale of two cities. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton administered the oath of office on a Bible once used by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The formal midday service was held hours after De Blasio officially took office just after midnight on January 1 in a small ceremony at his home in Brooklyn. He succeeds Michael Bloomberg, who led the city in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the recession six years later, and whose policies have been credited with making the city safer, greener and more livable. Full Story | Top |
| Palestinian envoy killed by explosion at Prague home Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 12:29 PM PST By Jan Lopatka and Jason Hovet PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Palestinian ambassador to Prague was killed on Wednesday in an explosion that was triggered when he opened the door to a safe, Czech police said. Jamal al-Jamal, 56, died in hospital after the incident at his home on the morning of New Year's Day. "According to information from the investigation so far, this was definitely not a terrorist attack," national police president Martin Cervicek said on Czech Television. Police spokeswoman Andrea Zoulova said an explosive - which may have been part of a security mechanism - went off after the safe was opened. Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan president declares state of emergency ahead of talks Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 12:12 PM PST By Carl Odera and Aaron Maasho JUBA/ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - South Sudanese President Salva Kiir declared a state of emergency in two states on Wednesday as his negotiators prepared for peace talks with rebels to end more than two weeks of violence that has pushed the country towards civil war. Kiir called the emergency in Unity and Jonglei states, the two regions whose capitals are now controlled by rebel forces loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar, who Kiir has accused of plotting a coup. The White House has said it would deny support - vital in a country the size of France that still has hardly any infrastructure more than two years after secession - to any group that seizes power by force. The rebel delegation earlier arrived in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa ready for the ceasefire talks. Full Story | Top |
| Gay couple exchanges wedding vows on Rose Parade float Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 11:46 AM PST  A gay Los Angeles couple exchanged wedding vows atop a flower-covered float trundling through Pasadena on Wednesday as part of the nationally televised Tournament of Roses Parade, capping a momentous year for same-sex marriage in the United States. The nuptials of Danny Leclair, 45, and Aubrey Loots, 42, who have been together for 12 years and own a local chain of hair salons, marked the first same-sex marriage on a Rose Parade float in the 125-year history of the annual event, organizers said. In the past, two heterosexual couples have tied the knot during Rose Parades - in 1989 and last year. Leclair and Loots made it official aboard a float shaped like a wedding cake coated in white coconut chips, accented with red kidney beans and festooned with 12,000 roses and other floral decorations, said Ged Kenslea, a spokesman for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. Full Story | Top |
| Ex-Israeli Prime Minister Sharon's condition worsens: reports Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 11:23 AM PST  Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, comatose since a 2006 stroke, has deteriorated to a "life threatening" condition after suffering kidney malfunction, Israel Radio reported on Wednesday. Officials at the hospital near Tel Aviv where Sharon, 85, has been treated, did not answer their telephones. The ex-general and right-wing leader was known for executing a dramatic political about face with a 2005 Gaza pullout that turned Israeli politics on its head when he quit his party and created a centrist faction that ruled Israel for several years. The radio, echoing reports by other Israeli media outlets, said Sharon's condition had worsened in the past several days and that his life was in danger due to kidney failure. Full Story | Top |
| Triple bomb blasts kill at least 11 people: ambulance service Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 11:11 AM PST MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Three bombs that exploded within an hour outside a hotel in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, killed at least 11 people and the death toll was expected to rise higher. "At least 11 people are dead and 17 others are wounded. That is what we have carried," Abdikadir Abdirahman, the director of a private ambulance service told Reuters. (Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; Editing by Richard Lough and Alison Williams) Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan declares emergency in two states: government Twitter account Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 11:05 AM PST South Sudanese President Salva Kiir declared a state of emergency in two states on Wednesday, the government said on its official Twitter account. "President Kiir has declared a state of emergency for Unity and Jonglei states #SouthSudan," the statement on the @RepSouthSudan Twitter handle said. Full Story | Top |
| Chinese iron trade fuels port clash with Mexican drug cartel Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 10:04 AM PST  By Dave Graham LAZARO CARDENAS, Mexico (Reuters) - When the leaders of Mexico and China met last summer, there was much talk of the need to deepen trade between their nations. Down on Mexico's Pacific coast, a drug gang was already making it a reality. The Knights Templar cartel, steadily diversifying into other businesses, became so successful at exporting iron ore to China that the Mexican Navy in November had to move in and take over the port in Lazaro Cardenas, a city that has become one of the gang's main cash generators. This steelmaking center, drug smuggling hot spot and home of a rapidly growing container port in the western state of Michoacan occupies a strategic position on the Pacific coast, making it a natural gateway for burgeoning trade with China. Full Story | Top |
| Third explosion at Jazira hotel in Somali capital: witness Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 10:02 AM PST NAIROBI (Reuters) - A third bomb exploded on Wednesday outside the Jazira hotel in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, about an hour after two earlier blasts. A Reuters photographer at the scene said the bomb had been planted inside a car that was being searched by security forces. (Reporting by Feisal Omar; Editing by Richard Lough and Alison Williams) Full Story | Top |
| Croatia arrests ex-spy chief wanted in Germany Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 09:41 AM PST Croatia arrested on Wednesday a former intelligence chief wanted in Germany, responding to an extradition row that overshadowed the Balkan state's accession to the European Union last summer. Josip Perkovic was one of 10 people arrested, state news agency Hina reported, as an amended law took effect that brought the country's extradition laws into line with most of the rest of the bloc. His lawyer, Anto Nobilo, told state television HRT that Perkovic would oppose extradition, saying he did not expect a fair trial in Germany and because he had already been investigated and cleared of all charges in Croatia. Full Story | Top |
| India scraps AgustaWestland helicopter deal, agrees to arbitration Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 09:07 AM PST  By Nigam Prusty and Krishna N Das NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India cancelled its $770 million helicopter deal with Italian defense group Finmeccanica's AgustaWestland unit on Wednesday over what it termed a breach of integrity, but agreed to take part in an arbitration process. India froze payments for the 12 AW101 helicopters after Finmeccanica's then chief executive was arrested in February for allegedly paying bribes to secure the deal, embarrassing the New Delhi government before parliamentary elections due by May 2014. The scrapping of the deal, which will now go through a probably lengthy legal process, would be a fresh setback for Finmeccanica. But it would offer an opportunity for rivals such as United Technologies Corp's Sikorsky Aircraft, EADS unit Eurocopter and Lockheed Martin to get a share of India's burgeoning defense market. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. justice grants exemption in contraception mandate challenge Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 08:42 AM PST By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Roman Catholic Church-affiliated organizations on Tuesday obtained last-minute court injunctions that give them temporary exemptions from a part of the Obamacare healthcare law that requires employers to provide insurance policies covering contraception. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor granted one temporary injunction to Baltimore-based Little Sisters of the Poor and Illinois-based Christian Brothers Services, plus related entities. Two different appeals courts granted stays in three other cases that had been pending at the high court, filed by various organizations, including Catholic University of America and non-profits in Michigan and Tennessee, according to a lawyer representing the groups. The lower court action meant the Supreme Court did not need to act in those cases. Full Story | Top |
| The invisible man: Bill Burns and the secret Iran talks Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 07:59 AM PST  By Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The night before a round of high-stakes nuclear talks with Iran, U.S. President Barack Obama told his chief of staff he had "absolute confidence we have the right team on the field." Obama was not referring to his public negotiating team, led by senior State Department official Wendy Sherman, nor even to his secretary of state, John Kerry, who was soon to sweep in from Tel Aviv to join the early November discussions in Geneva. Rather, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough recalled, Obama was talking about a secret group led by Bill Burns, Kerry's discreet, disciplined and self-effacing deputy. At times using U.S. military aircraft, hotel side entrances and service elevators to keep his role under wraps, Burns undertook arguably the most sensitive diplomatic mission of Obama's presidency: secret talks with Iran to persuade it to curb its nuclear program. In picking Burns, seen by his peers as a leading U.S. diplomat of his generation, Obama gave the envoy, who speaks Arabic, French and Russian, a chance to ease more than 30 years of estrangement between the United States and Iran. Full Story | Top |
| EU tries to calm fears of Bulgarian, Romanian exodus Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 07:58 AM PST  By Adrian Croft BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union sought to calm fears in countries like Britain, France and Germany that they face a mass influx of Romanians and Bulgarians following the lifting of restrictions on Wednesday, a change that risks fuelling anti-immigrant sentiment in Europe. The long-planned change has caused alarm in wealthier EU countries, where right-wing politicians and media are telling people to brace for a flood of southern Europeans who will take jobs from locals, strain public services and scrounge off the welfare state. With continent-wide elections to the European Parliament due in May, the scare about 'benefit tourism' provides ammunition for right-wing parties like France's National Front, the Dutch Freedom Party and Britain's UK Independence Party (UKIP). Seeking to calm the debate, EU Employment Commissioner Laszlo Andor said there were already more than 3 million Bulgarians and Romanians living in other EU states, and ending all restrictions was unlikely to lead to any major increase. Full Story | Top |
| Lebanese intelligence questioning Saudi militant, security source says Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 07:49 AM PST  Lebanese intelligence agents are interrogating the Saudi leader of a militant group that claimed a double suicide attack on the Iranian embassy in Beirut last November, a Lebanese security source said on Wednesday. U.S. national security sources on Tuesday confirmed the detention of Majid bin Muhammad al-Majid, reported leader of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, which operates throughout the Middle East and has links to al Qaeda. The Lebanese source, who declined to be named, said Majid had been arrested by the Lebanese army together with another Saudi militant, but did not say when they were captured or identify the second man. He said Majid had been living in the city of Sidon. Full Story | Top |
| Czech police say no evidence blast killing Palestinian envoy was attack Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 07:41 AM PST PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech police said on Wednesday there was no evidence an explosion that killed the Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic was an attack. (Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Writing by Jason Hovet; Editing by Louise Ireland) Full Story | Top |
| Erdogan rallies Turks to thwart 'plot' against nation's success Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 07:37 AM PST  By Daren Butler ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan urged Turks to rally around him in fighting what he termed a dirty plot by foreign-backed elements targeting "the bread on your table, the money in your pocket, the sweat of your brow". "History will not forgive those who have become mixed up in this game," Erdogan said in a televised end of year address devoted almost entirely to a corruption investigation he says has been engineered in police and judiciary to undermine his government and sap its influence in the Middle East and beyond. Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Bill Burns - from junior diplomat to deputy secretary of state Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 07:27 AM PST (Reuters) - Below is the trajectory of Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns 31-year rise from a consular officer at the U.S. embassy in Amman to the State Department's second-ranking official. 1982 Entered Foreign Service 1982-1984 Consular/Political Officer, Amman, Jordan 1984-1985 Staff Assistant, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs 1985-1986 Special Assistant, Deputy Secretary's office 1986-1989 National Security Council staff, Near East office 1989-1993 Deputy Director, Acting Director, Policy Planning Staff 1993-1994 Russian language training, Garmisch, Germany 1994-1996 Political Counselor, ... Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan rebel delegation arrives in Ethiopia for talks -witness Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 05:37 AM PST ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - South Sudanese rebels arrived in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Wednesday for talks to try to end weeks of fighting which has killed more than 1,000 people, a Reuters witness said. The rebel negotiators declined to comment as they entered the city's Sheraton Hotel. (Reporting by Kumerra Gemechu; Writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Richard Lough) Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian police fire tear gas at protesters near Defense Ministry Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 05:33 AM PST  Egyptian police fired tear gas and water cannons at hundreds of pro-Islamist protesters demonstrating near the Defense Ministry in Cairo on Wednesday, state media said. Protests have been staged by supporters of Islamist president Mohamed Mursi since the army removed him from office in July after mass protests against his rule. On Wednesday, the state-run Al-Ahram website said about 300 university students from the Muslim Brotherhood had blocked a road near the Defense Ministry and chanted anti-police and army slogans. "The police had to use water cannons and tear gas after the students refused to open the street and leave," Ahram said adding some protesters were arrested. Full Story | Top |
| Stop the wars, pope says in New Year appeal Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 04:54 AM PST By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis made an impassioned New Year's peace address on Wednesday, saying the heart of humanity seemed to have gone astray and too many people were still indifferent to war, violence and injustice. The pontiff, who took his papal name from St Francis of Assisi, the saint most associated with peace, urged the world to listen to the "cry for peace" from suffering peoples. What on earth is happening in the heart of humanity?" he said to tens of thousands of people in St Peter's Square on the day the Roman Catholic Church celebrates its World Day of Peace. In a message for the World Day of Peace sent to world leaders last month, Francis said that huge salaries and bonuses were symptoms of an economy based on greed and inequality In that letter, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina again urged nations to narrow the gap between rich and poor, more and more of whom were getting only "crumbs". Full Story | Top |
| Coup-leader president's candidate poised to win Madagascar vote Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 04:46 AM PST  By Alain Iloniaina ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - The candidate backed by Madagascar's coup-leader President Andry Rajoelina held on Wednesday an apparently unassailable lead in the island's run-off vote, which his rival's camp has said was rigged. Former Finance Minister Hery Rajaonarimampianina has won more than 53 percent of the December 20 vote with ballots counted in more than 99 percent of polling stations, provisional results showed. The election, the first since former disc jockey Rajoelina ousted then President Marc Ravalomanana in 2009 with the help of renegade troops, is meant to end a crisis that has driven out investors, cut aid flows and sharply slowed the economy. Jean Louis Robinson, who is backed by exiled Ravalomanana and has 46 percent of votes, this week demanded a recount. Full Story | Top |
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