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| Twenty-nine dead in clashes on anniversary of Egypt uprising Saturday, Jan 25, 2014 11:47 AM PST By Sameh Bardisi and Maggie Fick CAIRO (Reuters) - Twenty-nine people were killed during anti-government marches on Saturday while thousands rallied in support of the army-led authorities, underlining Egypt's volatile political fissures three years after the fall of autocrat President Hosni Mubarak. Security forces lobbed teargas and some fired automatic weapons in the air to try to prevent demonstrators opposed to the government reaching Tahrir Square, the symbolic heart of the 2011 uprising that toppled the former air force commander. As police tried to calm Cairo's politically-charged streets, a car bomb exploded near a police camp in the Egyptian city of Suez, security sources said. But the growing violence has not dented the popularity of General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose ouster of Islamist Mohamed Mursi, Egypt's first freely-elected president, plunged the country into turmoil. Full Story | Top |
| Syrian civil war foes meet for first time, focus on aid Saturday, Jan 25, 2014 03:50 PM PST  By Mariam Karouny and Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - Syria's civil war foes held their first face-to-face meetings on Saturday, launching talks aimed at ending nearly three years of conflict which has killed 130,000 people and destabilized the wider Middle East. Government and opposition delegates faced each other across a negotiating table at the United Nations headquarters for a total of three hours in the presence of mediator Lakhdar Brahimi, who described the meetings as "a good beginning". While political differences which Brahimi says must form the core of their talks appear insurmountable for now, the two sides focused on Saturday on a possible humanitarian deal aimed at building confidence in the negotiating process. Brahimi said he hoped that authorities in Syria would approve access on Sunday for an aid convoy to reach the rebel-held centre of Homs, allowing it to be delivered on Monday. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine opposition seek more after offer of top government posts Saturday, Jan 25, 2014 03:35 PM PST By Richard Balmforth and Jack Stubbs KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich offered the opposition several top government posts on Saturday, hoping to coax his opponents into ending protests that threaten to bring the country to a standstill. But opposition leaders, whose power base is among thousands of protesters massing in Kiev's city centre, continued to press for further concessions, including early elections and the repeal of an anti-protest law. After meeting opposition leaders, Yanukovich offered former economy minister Arseny Yatsenyuk the post of prime minister to replace Mykola Azarov, whose government would be expected to resign, the presidential website said. Full Story | Top |
| Tunisia premier lacks consensus on new caretaker cabinet Saturday, Jan 25, 2014 04:32 PM PST  By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's new Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa on Sunday was forced to delay naming a caretaker government to lead until elections after failing to reach a consensus over the key post of interior minister. Jomaa had planned to present his cabinet before the president on Saturday, but just after midnight the premier told at a press briefing there was no consensus over the cabinet list and he could not name the government. "It is not a question of a person, but rather I am looking for a real consensus in the government. It was a setback for Tunisia after its assembly finished the country's new constitution last week, progress widely praised as a model in contrast to upheaval in Libya, Egypt and Yemen who also ousted leaders in 2011 uprisings. Full Story | Top |
| Three dead, including gunman, in Maryland mall shooting Saturday, Jan 25, 2014 05:38 PM PST  By Bill Trott COLUMBIA, Maryland (Reuters) - A gunman opened fire with a shotgun in a skate shop at a crowded shopping mall near Baltimore on Saturday, killing two store employees and wounding another person before apparently killing himself, police said. Howard County police said they did not know the motive for the shooting at the large mall in Columbia, Maryland, about 20 miles west of Baltimore. Police identified the victims as Brianna Benlolo, 21, of College Park, Maryland, and Tyler Johnson, 25, of Ellicott City, Maryland. Both were employees of Zumiez, a skate shop where the shooting took place. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt diplomats kidnapped in Libya over militia chief's arrest Saturday, Jan 25, 2014 03:28 PM PST  By Ghaith Shennib TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Five Egyptian diplomats kidnapped in Tripoli in retaliation for Egypt's arrest of a Libyan militia chief pleaded on Saturday for their government to free him to secure their release. Gunman snatched four diplomatic staff from their homes in the Libyan capital on Saturday, including the cultural attaché, and kidnapped another on Friday, forcing Cairo to evacuate its embassy and its Benghazi consulate. The kidnappings of so many diplomats underlined Libya's persistent chaos two years after Muammar Gaddafi's fall, with heavily-armed former rebels and Islamist militants who fought in the uprising still challenging state authority. Calling themselves Libyan revolutionaries, the kidnappers contacted Al-Arabiya television channel to demand the release in 24 hours of Libyan militia chief Shaban Hadia, and put one of the Egyptian diplomats on the line. Full Story | Top |
| Car bombs and mortar attacks kill at least 17 in Iraq Saturday, Jan 25, 2014 12:25 PM PST  At least 17 people were killed in violence across Iraq on Saturday, including by car bombs and a mortar attack on a Shi'ite Muslim village, police and medical sources said. The deadliest attack took place in a village near the Iraqi city of Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, where three mortar bombs killed six people, police said. A woman and a child were among the victims, five of whom belonged to the same family, the police said, adding that the assailants might have been aiming at a nearby police station. Violence in Iraq climbed back to its highest level in five years in 2013, when nearly 9,000 people were killed, most of them civilians, according to the United Nations. Full Story | Top |
| Afghan president says U.S. should start talks with Taliban or leave Saturday, Jan 25, 2014 05:01 AM PST  By Mirwais Harooni KABUL (Reuters) - President Hamid Karzai appeared to stiffen his resolve on Saturday not to sign a security pact with Washington, saying the United States should leave Afghanistan unless it could restart peace talks with the Taliban. The president said pressing ahead with talks with the Taliban, in power from 1996-2001, was critical to ensure that Afghanistan was not left with a weak central government. "Starting peace talks is a condition because we want to be confident that after the signing of the security agreement, Afghanistan will not be divided into fiefdoms," he said. Full Story | Top |
| Madagascar's president takes over; grenade blast kills child Saturday, Jan 25, 2014 11:46 AM PST  By Alain Iloniaina ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Madagascar's new president Hery Rajaonarimampianina, who won the first elections since a coup in 2009, took office on Saturday but his inauguration was marred by an explosion that killed one person and wounded dozens after the ceremony. The government said initial investigations showed the blast was caused by a grenade that was thrown near Mahamasina stadium where a musical show was taking place in the evening, hours after the inauguration there. His inauguration may not have pleased everyone. That's perhaps one of the reasons why this happened," said Arsene Rakotondrazaka, minister of internal security, who was at the scene. Full Story | Top |
| India, Japan seek early agreement on nuclear cooperation Saturday, Jan 25, 2014 10:19 AM PST  India and Japan's talks on nuclear cooperation have gained momentum over the past few months and the two hope for an agreement on civilian nuclear energy soon, leaders of the countries said after meeting on Saturday. "Our negotiations towards an agreement for cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy have gained momentum in the last few months," India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh, said in a statement after meeting his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe. Full Story | Top |
| Three dead, including gunman, in Maryland mall shooting Saturday, Jan 25, 2014 03:42 PM PST By Bill Trott COLUMBIA, Maryland (Reuters) - A gunman opened fire with a shotgun in a skate shop at a crowded shopping mall near Baltimore on Saturday, killing two store employees and wounding another person before apparently killing himself, police said. Howard County police said they did not know the motive for the shooting at the large mall in Columbia, Maryland, about 20 miles west of Baltimore. Police identified the victims as Brianna Benlolo, 21, of College Park, Maryland, and Tyler Johnson, 25, of Ellicott City, Maryland. Full Story | Top |
| Thai government wants end to protests but promises no crackdown Saturday, Jan 25, 2014 10:46 AM PST  Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has called an election for February 2 in the hope of cementing her hold on power in the face of more than two months of protests trying to shove her from office. He also heads the government's crisis committee, the Centre for the Administration of Peace and Order (CAPO). He said CAPO would talk with protest leaders to ask them to stop occupying government offices. The ruling was sought by the Election Commission, which argues that the country is too unstable at the moment to hold a vote and that it would anyway result in too few legitimately elected MPs to form a parliamentary quorum. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. documents new war crimes in Syria for future prosecution Saturday, Jan 25, 2014 03:17 AM PST  By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - U.N. war crimes experts have documented more torture and killings by both sides in Syria and are confident they can build a case that could be taken up by the International Criminal Court, a leading member of the team said on Friday. They are drawing up a fourth confidential list of suspects, either individuals or units linked to crimes committed since July, Karen Koning AbuZayd, an American expert serving on an independent commission of inquiry set up by the United Nations in 2011, said in an interview. U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay said in December that evidence collected by the investigators implicates President Bashar al-Assad, later denying that she had direct knowledge of their secret lists. Full Story | Top |
| Syrian government and opposition meet in presence of mediator Saturday, Jan 25, 2014 02:30 AM PST  Syrian government and opposition delegations met briefly in the presence of international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi at the United Nations on Saturday, their first session of talks aimed at launching political negotations to end Syria's civil war. "The first session has ended - Brahimi spoke for 30 minutes and none of the delegates said anything," opposition delegate Anas al-Abdah told reporters after the meeting. Full Story | Top |
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