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| Tunisia approves new constitution, appoints government Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 08:04 PM PST  By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's national assembly approved the country's new constitution on Sunday in one of the last steps to establishing full democracy three years after the uprising that toppled autocrat Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. Just before the constitution vote, Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa appointed a caretaker cabinet as part of a deal to end a crisis between Tunisia's Islamist party and its secular opposition until new elections this year. Tunisia's new constitution and progress contrasts sharply with messy transitions in Libya, Egypt and Yemen which are still caught up in turmoil after ousting their own long-standing leaders in 2011 revolts and uprisings. "This constitution was the dream of Tunisians, this constitution is proof of the revival of the revolution, this constitution creates a democratic civil nation," Assembly chief Mustapha Ben Jaafar said. Full Story | Top |
| As 'African' Chinese park money in Hong Kong, Beijing targets 'naked' officials Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 08:02 PM PST By Yimou Lee HONG KONG (Reuters) - Step by step, Chinese authorities are making life tougher for officials looking to spirit assets and family members out of the country to avoid close scrutiny and strict currency controls. As part of President Xi Jinping's crackdown on pervasive corruption, China's so-called "naked officials", those who have moved their spouses, children and assets overseas while they remain at home, will not be considered for promotion, state media reported. Also, China's anti-graft body has asked newly promoted officials to disclose their assets and any foreign residency, while late last month, some 2,000 village chiefs in Guangzhou had to hand over their passports to stop corrupt officials from fleeing, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported. Many officials have been taking advantage of a Hong Kong investment scheme to squirrel away more than $1 million each, which includes buying 'residency' in faraway African nations, since the scheme is not open to mainland Chinese residents. Full Story | Top |
| Syria talks bring offer of exit from siege of Homs Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 06:24 PM PST  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The Syrian government said women and children could leave the besieged rebel city of Homs on Sunday as negotiators from the warring sides discussed humanitarian gestures on a second day of face-to-face talks in Geneva. Government and opposition delegates also spoke of releasing prisoners and enabling access for aid convoys during what the U.N. mediator acknowledged was a slow process but one which he hopes will lead on Monday to broaching the central issue that divides them after three years of civil war - namely Syria's political future and that of President Bashar al-Assad. Homs, occupying a strategic location in the center of the country, has been a key battleground. Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told a news conference after Sunday's meetings that the government would let women and children leave the city center if rebels gave them safe passage. Full Story | Top |
| Thai red-shirt heartland backs government despite rice fiasco Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 06:06 PM PST By Amy Sawitta Lefevre CHAIWAN, Thailand (Reuters) - Rice farmer Thiwakorn Chomchan hasn't been paid in 2 months, but he is not angry with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, whose flagship policy is meant to guarantee him an above-market price. Instead, he blames anti-government protesters in Bangkok. They know the government has its hands tied," said Thiwakorn, 51. Elsewhere across Thailand thousands of farmers, many of whom are owed 4 months' pay, are demonstrating against the multi-billion dollar scheme they say is riddled with corruption and have threatened to join the protests disrupting the capital. Full Story | Top |
| Eight dead in Central African Republic capital, rebel leaders flee city Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 05:26 PM PST By Emmanuel Braun BANGUI (Reuters) - At least eight people were killed in mob violence in Central African Republic's capital, Bangui, on Sunday as senior officers from the Seleka rebel movement fled the city, according to the country's Red Cross and a rights group. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned on Sunday that Washington was prepared to impose targeted sanctions against those responsible for the religious-based violence [ID:nL2N0L100O]. We even had one woman whose throat was slit," Antoine Mbao Bogo, president of the country's Red Cross, told Reuters. It was not immediately clear why the rebel leaders, who were travelling in a convoy of more than two dozen vehicles, left Bangui or where they were heading. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. threatens sanctions to curb Central African Republic conflict Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 05:14 PM PST  The United States is deeply concerned with the escalation in clashes in Central African Republic and is prepared to impose targeted sanctions against those responsible for the religious-based violence, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned on Sunday. At least eight people were killed in mob violence in the capital Bangui on Sunday, the country's Red cross said. A Muslim former minister was hacked to death on Friday by militia, and at least nine others were killed when bands of people, some of them Christian groups, attacked and looted shops in a mostly Muslim neighborhood in the capital. "The United States is prepared to consider targeted sanctions against those who further destabilize the situation, or pursue their own selfish ends by abetting or encouraging the violence," Kerry said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. carries out air strike in Somalia targeting militant suspect Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 04:27 PM PST The U.S. military carried out a missile strike in Somalia on Sunday targeting a suspected militant leader with ties to al Qaeda and al Shabaab, a U.S. military official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. The strike took place in southern Somalia, the official said, without offering further information, including the identity of the suspect or whether the strike was believed to have been successful. Another U.S. official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the operation took place in a remote area near Barawe, Somalia. Barawe, a militant stronghold on Somalia's southern coast, was the site of a failed raid by American commandos in October targeting a militant known as Ikrima. Full Story | Top |
| Italy minister resigns, adding to headaches for government Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 03:35 PM PST By James Mackenzie ROME (Reuters) - Italian Agriculture Minister Nunzia De Girolamo resigned on Sunday, following heavy criticism after she was caught on tape discussing public contracts, adding a further complication to Prime Minister Enrico Letta's fragile coalition. De Girolamo, a member of the small New Centre Right (NCD) party which supports Prime Minister Enrico Letta's left-right coalition, denied any wrongdoing in the affair and said that she had quit her ministerial post to defend her dignity. "I cannot remain in a government which has not defended my honor," she said in a statement. The resignation adds another twist to the delicate situation facing the coalition between Letta's center-left Democratic Party (PD) and the NCD, already tested by strains over plans to reform electoral laws which could penalize smaller parties in a future election. Full Story | Top |
| Quebec premier vows 'never again' at site of senior residence fire Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 03:31 PM PST  By Randall Palmer L'ISLE-VERTE, Quebec (Reuters) - Quebec Premier Pauline Marois on Sunday said a fatal fire in a seniors' residence was "unacceptable" but stopped short of saying her government would make sprinklers mandatory in homes for the elderly. Authorities fear 32 people died early on Thursday when fire ripped through the Residence du Havre in L'Isle-Verte, a picturesque town of 1,500 people some 230 km (140 miles) northeast of Quebec City in eastern Canada. Roch Bernier, co-owner of the residence, greeted the congregation somberly and was given a standing ovation, an emotional show of support in this tight-knit community. Bernier also called on people not to look for blame. Full Story | Top |
| Snowden says 'significant threats' to his life Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 03:24 PM PST  By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuters) - Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden told German TV on Sunday about reports that U.S. government officials want to assassinate him for leaking secret documents about the NSA's collection of telephone records and emails. In what German public broadcaster ARD said was Snowden's first television interview, Snowden also said he believes the NSA has monitored other top German government officials along with Chancellor Angela Merkel. Snowden told ARD that he felt there are "significant threats" to his life but he said that he nevertheless sleeps well because he believes he did the right thing by informing the public about the NSA's activities. Full Story | Top |
| Netanyahu would let Israeli settlers live in future Palestine: report Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 02:42 PM PST  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will insist that Jewish settlers in the West Bank have a right to remain under Palestinian rule in any future peace deal, a government official was quoted as saying on Sunday. The apparent trial balloon, reported on the English-language Times of Israel website, drew a no-comment from a spokesman for Netanyahu and angry words from Naftali Bennett, a key pro-settlement partner in his governing coalition. The Israeli report quoted an official in Netanyahu's office as saying he did not intend to uproot Jewish settlements anywhere in the West Bank, land that Palestinians seek for a state under U.S.-brokered peace talks showing few signs of progress since they resumed in July after a three-year break. Netanyahu would "insist that settlers be given the free choice of remaining in place and living under Palestinian rule, or relocating to areas under Israeli sovereign rule," the official was quoted as saying. Full Story | Top |
| Libya says five kidnapped Egyptian diplomats freed Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 02:08 PM PST By Patrick Markey TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Five Egyptian diplomats kidnapped in Tripoli in retaliation for Egypt's arrest of a Libyan militia commander have been freed, Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Abdul Razak Al-Grady said on Sunday. The abduction of diplomats in the Libyan capital illustrated the fragility of government control over former rebels and militias who two years ago helped topple Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed revolution. Libya's government said earlier the diplomats had been snatched in reaction to the arrest of Shaban Hadia, commander of the Operations Room of Libya's Revolutionaries, a powerful militia in Libya. Heavily armed ex-fighters, militiamen and Islamist militants who battled Gaddafi forces in 2011 have refused to disarm and often remain more loyal to their brigades, tribal leaders or local regions than to the new Libyan government. Full Story | Top |
| Hungary addresses Holocaust after accusations it 'whitewashed' past Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 01:59 PM PST By Marton Dunai BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungarians collaborated with Nazis in sending nearly half a million Jews to their deaths, Hungary's president said on Sunday in a rare public acknowledgement of a war-time past that Jewish groups say is often glossed over. Earlier on Sunday, an American historian said he was returning an award he received from the previous head of state in protest at what he called the government's attempt to erase Hungary's role in the Holocaust. In a statement prepared for Monday's Holocaust Memorial Day, President Janos Ader said that if the war had gone according to the plans of Adolf Hitler and his Hungarian fascist allies, Jews would have been exterminated completely from Hungary. "Auschwitz may be hundreds of kilometers from Hungary but it is part of Hungarian history," Ader wrote. Full Story | Top |
| Pirates hijacked tanker off Angola, stole cargo: owners Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 01:34 PM PST LISBON/ATHENS (Reuters) - The Greek owners of an oil tanker that vanished off the Angolan coast on January 18 said on Sunday that pirates had hijacked the vessel and stolen a large quantity of cargo, contradicting the Angolan navy's denial that such an assault took place. Greece-based Dynacom, owners of the 75,000 deadweight tonne Liberian-flagged tanker MT Kerala, said it had managed to contact crew on the vessel who reported the pirates had left. "Pirates hijacked the vessel offshore Angola and stole a large quantity of cargo by ship-to-ship transfer. Dynacom's version of the events contradicted an account from the Angolan navy, which alleged the crew had turned off the ship's communications to fake a pirate attack. Full Story | Top |
| Thai anti-government protester killed, adds to doubts over election Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 01:31 PM PST  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai anti-government protest leader was shot and killed in Bangkok on Sunday when violence erupted as demonstrators blocked early voting in many areas of the capital ahead of a disputed election next week. It brought the death toll to 10, with scores wounded, since protesters took to the streets in November, vowing to shut down the capital and force Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from office. A spokesman for the national police, Piya Utayo, identified the dead man as Suthin Tharatin, one of the protest leaders. Yingluck called the February 2 election, hoping to cement her hold on power, but the protests have continued and the Election Commission has been pushing to delay the vote. Full Story | Top |
| Police identify gunman in Maryland mall shooting, motive unclear Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 01:20 PM PST  By Alice Popovici COLUMBIA, Maryland (Reuters) - A gunman who shot and killed two people at a Maryland mall was a 19-year-old man who lived with his mother in the city of College Park and arrived at the shopping center in a taxi about an hour before opening fire, police said on Sunday. But a day after Saturday's shootings, police could provide no immediate insight into why Darion Marcus Aguilar killed a young man and a young woman at the mall in Columbia, Maryland, about 20 miles west of Baltimore, before apparently killing himself. Police have yet to find any ties between Aguilar and the two people he killed, employees at a skate shop at the mall, Howard County Police Chief Bill McMahon told a Sunday morning news conference. "We do know that one of our victims also lived in College Park," McMahon said. Full Story | Top |
| Iraqi planes, artillery strike rebel-held Falluja Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 01:04 PM PST  By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi government forces battling al Qaeda-linked militants intensified air strikes and artillery fire on the rebel-held city of Falluja on Sunday, and at least seven people were killed, according to hospital officials and tribal leaders. Religious and tribal leaders in the city, 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, said they feared an imminent assault by the army to expel militants and end a three-week standoff that has driven thousands of people from their homes. Iraqi security forces have set up a loose cordon around Falluja and have clashed sporadically with insurgents inside. "There is no time left for talks and we're afraid a military solution is looming," said a local cleric in Falluja, the scene of two major battles with U.S. troops in 2004. Full Story | Top |
| New clashes as Ukraine's president tries to tempt opposition Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 12:14 PM PST  By Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Zinets KIEV (Reuters) - Police clashed with protesters in central Kiev on Sunday and the fate of Ukraine's government was uncertain after embattled President Viktor Yanukovich offered important posts to opposition leaders, including the role of prime minister. The demonstrations erupted late last year when Yanukovich ditched landmark agreements with the European Union and opted instead for closer ties with Russia. Emboldened opposition leaders said they would press for more concessions, including early elections, setting the stage for a tough political battle when parliament meets for a special session on Tuesday. The two-month standoff has sparked the worst violence in Ukraine since it won independence in 1991 as the Soviet Union collapsed. Full Story | Top |
| Turkish prime minister accuses opposition candidate of graft Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 11:54 AM PST  By Ayla Jean Yackley ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan brandished what he said was a file of graft allegations against a senior opposition figure on Sunday, raising the stakes in a political battle after a corruption investigation implicated his own government. Mustafa Sarigul, the main opposition's candidate for Istanbul mayor, dismissed the allegations as "dishonorable propaganda" on Twitter. Erdogan appeared on live television, holding up enlarged copies of what he described as a report prepared by Sarigul's own party that he said listed "improprieties" during the candidate's time as mayor of the middle-class borough of Sisli. Hundreds of millions of lira of improprieties were conducted," Erdogan said, referring to what he said were allegations in the report. Full Story | Top |
| Japan's Abe says China's prosperity rests on trust, not tensions Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 10:29 AM PST  Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said China's continued economic growth will require building trust, not tensions, with other countries, according to an interview broadcast on Sunday. A steady Chinese military buildup over the last 20 years is a serious concern for countries in the region, Abe said in a CNN interview from Davos, Switzerland, where tensions between Tokyo and Beijing were on display at the World Economic Forum last week. "For China to continue to enjoy economic prosperity, it needs to foster trusting international relationships, not tensions," Abe said on the "Fareed Zakaria GPS" program. "And it is important for China to understand this." "Military expansion will contribute nothing to China's future, its economic growth or prosperity." Abe's top priority since taking office more than a year ago has been reviving a sluggish economy, but he has also pledged to strengthen Japan's military in response to China's rapid military buildup and recent actions to back its claim to Japanese-held islands in the East China Sea. Full Story | Top |
| Syrian govt. will allow women, children to leave Homs: deputy foreign minister Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 10:28 AM PST Syrian deputy foreign minister Faysal Mekdad said on Sunday that the Assad government will allow women and children to leave besieged city of Homs immediately if rebels give them passage. "I assure you that if the armed terrorists in Homs allow women and children to leave the Old City of Homs, we will allow them every access, not only that, we will provide them with shelter, medicines and all that is needed," he told a news conference after talks in Geneva with the Syrian opposition. "We are ready to allow any humanitarian aid to enter into the city through the agreements and arrangements made with the U.N.," he said. Mekdad also said that photos published last week by Britain's Guardian newspaper of some 11,000 corpses, purportedly tortured by Syrian government forces in custody, were "categorically" fabricated. Full Story | Top |
| Snowden won't return to U.S. without amnesty, says legal adviser Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 10:03 AM PST  Edward Snowden would be willing to enter talks with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to negotiate his return to the United States but not without a guarantee of amnesty, his legal adviser said on Sunday. Jesselyn Radack said she was glad Holder indicated last week he would talk to lawyers for the former U.S. spy agency contractor to negotiate his return from Moscow, but that Snowden would need better protection. "It's a little disheartening that he (Holder) seemed to take clemency and amnesty off the table, which are two of the negotiating points," said Radack, who was interviewed via satellite from Moscow by NBC's "Meet the Press". Holder said in an interview on MSNBC on Thursday the United States would not consider the idea of amnesty for Snowden "where we say, no harm, no foul". Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Renzi faces battle in parliament on election reform Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 09:52 AM PST  By James Mackenzie ROME (Reuters) - Italy's center-left leader Matteo Renzi faces opposition in parliament next week over electoral reform plans agreed with Silvio Berlusconi which are being closely watched as a test of wider reforms in the euro zone's third largest economy. The measures are aimed at fixing a system blamed for last year's election deadlock which left no side able to form a government and forced the two main parties of left and right into a fragile coalition that has struggled to pass reforms. Renzi's arrival at the head of the largest party in Prime Minister Enrico Letta's coalition has brought new momentum to the stalled reform process and he says the plans will be the prelude to broader economic reforms. Intended to create strong governments capable of surviving a full term, the proposals would benefit big parties and strong coalitions by setting high thresholds for entering parliament. Full Story | Top |
| Syrian government says women, children can leave Homs district: mediator Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 09:30 AM PST International mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said on Sunday that the Syrian government delegation at peace talks in Geneva had told him that authorities would allow women and children to leave the besieged old district of Homs city straight away. "What we have been told by the government side is that women and children in the besieged area of the old city are welcome to leave immediately," Brahimi told a news conference after talks with government and opposition delegations. The veteran diplomat said the opposition delegation, which has been calling on the government to release tens of thousands of detainees, had agreed to a government request to provide a list of detainees held by armed rebel groups. Full Story | Top |
| China jails prominent rights activist for four years Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 09:27 AM PST  By Sui-Lee Wee BEIJING (Reuters) - A court sentenced one of China's most prominent rights advocates to four years in prison on Sunday after he campaigned for the rights of children from rural areas to be educated in cities and for officials to disclose their assets. Xu Zhiyong's jailing will send a stark warning to activists that the Chinese Communist Party will crush any challenge to its rule, especially from those who seek to organize campaigns. It also diminishes hopes for meaningful political change, even as China pledges to embark on economic reforms. Separately, one of China's most prominent dissidents, Hu Jia, who frequently accuses authorities of infringing civil liberties, said police had summoned him on a charge of "suspicion of causing a disturbance". Full Story | Top |
| German SPD leader raps 'stupid' eurosceptic campaign in Europe vote Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 09:25 AM PST  By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuters) - The head of Germany's Social Democrats in Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition on Sunday denounced eurosceptic parties on the far left and right as "stupid" and pledged a tough fight against them in the European parliamentary election campaign. Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, also Merkel's economy minister and head of the Social Democrats, blasted the "uniting enemies of Europe on the left and right" over their anti-European campaigning for the May election. "Let's stand up against these stupid slogans about Germany being 'the paymaster of Europe'," Gabriel said, referring in particular to the campaign of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party that has attracted voters opposed to spending taxpayer money on bailing out struggling euro zone countries. "We're going to defend Europe against the smart-alec professors, the former lobbyists or the left-wing radicals," Gabriel said in a speech to a special SPD congress in Berlin that overwhelmingly voted for Martin Schulz to lead the center-left party's banner in the May 25 elections. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt calls early presidential election as violence spreads Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 08:12 AM PST  By Asma Alsharif and Shadia Nasralla CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt will hold a presidential vote before parliamentary polls, President Adly Mansour said on Sunday, in a change to a political roadmap that could pave the way for the swift election of army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Parliamentary elections were supposed to be held first under the timetable drawn up after the army overthrew President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in July following mass protests against his rule. The decision to revise the order of elections is likely to deepen tensions in Egypt, which is struggling to cope with waves of political violence. Full Story | Top |
| Quake of 5.8 magnitude hits Cephalonia island in western Greece Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 08:11 AM PST A strong earthquake rocked the island of Cephalonia in western Greece on Sunday but there were no immediate reports of casualties or serious damage, police and fire brigade officials said. The 5.8 magnitude quake struck at 3:55 p.m., according to the Athens Geodynamic Institute. The tremor was felt across western Greece, the Geodynamic Institute said. So far we have no reports of injuries but there are reports of damage in the road network and in homes, but (it is) ... not major," a police official on the Ionian Sea island told Reuters. Full Story | Top |
| Bahraini police, protesters clash after funeral Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 08:10 AM PST  Bahraini police firing teargas and birdshot clashed with stone-throwing protesters in a village west of the capital on Sunday after the funeral of a young man who died in custody, witnesses said. The tiny Gulf Arab island monarchy, a U.S. ally, has suffered unrest since mass protests led by majority Shi'ite Muslims erupted in early 2011 demanding reforms and a bigger share of power in the Sunni-led government. Sunday's violence following the death of 20-year-old Fadhel Abbas threatened to sour a new attempt to restart negotiations between Bahrain's government, led by the ruling al-Khalifa family, and opposition groups. Another person in the vehicle was in police custody, it added. Full Story | Top |
| Syrian negotiators to hold separate political talks: delegate Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 07:34 AM PST Syrian government and opposition negotiators are to hold separate preparatory political discussions with international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi on Sunday after humanitarian talks stalled, opposition delegate Ahmad Ramadan said. Ramadan said the government delegation had yet to respond to opposition demands to release thousands of prisoners taken during almost three years of conflict and to allow humanitarian aid into the city of Homs. Full Story | Top |
| Yemen gunmen shoot dead senior security officer Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 07:30 AM PST ADEN (Reuters) - Gunmen shot dead a senior Yemeni security officer on Sunday, a security official said, the latest in a series of attacks on the police and army in a country battling Islamist insurgents. Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Amir al-Mahthouthi, a senior officer in the investigative branch of state security, was shot outside his home in Hadramout, eastern Yemen, by gunmen who then fled on a motorbike. The authorities have blamed al Qaeda and its local ally Ansar al-Sharia for carrying out hundreds of similar killings of police and army officers over the past two years. ... Full Story | Top |
| Angola navy says missing tanker located, crew faked pirate attack Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 07:30 AM PST Angola's navy said on Sunday the crew of an oil tanker that vanished off its coast on January 18 had turned off communications to fake an attack, seeking to calm energy sector fears that the vessel had been hijacked by pirates. Unconfirmed reports that the tanker had been seized raised concern that piracy off West Africa was spreading south from the Gulf of Guinea, near Africa's biggest oil producer Nigeria, where most hijacking gangs are believed to originate. Pirate attacks jumped by a third last year off West Africa. Any attack off Angola, which is the continent's No. 2 crude producer, would be the most southerly to date. Full Story | Top |
| At least 21 people dead after Indian tourist boat capsizes Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 07:27 AM PST NEW DELHI (Reuters) - At least 21 people died after a boat carrying Indian tourists capsized off India's Andaman Islands, officials said on Sunday. "A boat with some 40 odd people sank earlier today," Anand Prakash, Chief Secretary of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, told Reuters. "Some 13-15 have been rescued. We are continuing rescue operations." He said there were no foreign tourists on board. The relatively remote Andaman and Nicobar islands are a popular tourist destination for many Indians. (Reporting by Krishna Das; Writing by Alistair Scrutton; Editing by Mark Heinrich) Full Story | Top |
| Protesting migrants sew mouths shut in Italy Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 07:16 AM PST Thirteen Moroccan migrants held in a reception center in Rome for more than two months have sewed their mouths shut in protest at the length of their detention, police and campaigners said on Sunday. Italy has struggled to absorb thousands of immigrants in recent years, many of them fleeing the civil war in Syria and travelling through North Africa to the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa on flimsy boats. "They've been left in complete uncertainty, no-one has explained anything to them," said Gabriella Guido, spokeswoman for LasciateCIEntrare, a protest group set up to highlight the tough conditions in the migrant reception centres. Their earlier demonstration coincided with a video released online showing migrants standing naked in the cold while they were sprayed for scabies. Full Story | Top |
| EU, Russia to swap recriminations over Ukraine Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 06:38 AM PST  By Adrian Croft BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union and Russian leaders will trade recriminations over Ukraine at a summit on Tuesday, as the former Soviet republic reels from violent unrest after spurning the EU's embrace and lurching back towards Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin travels to Brussels for talks with EU leaders at a time when relations are strained over Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich's decision in November to turn his back on a trade and political agreement with the EU in favour of closer trade ties with Russia. That decision, rewarded with a $15 billion bailout from Russia, sparked weeks of pro-EU demonstrations in Kiev which three protesters have been killed. The 28-nation EU, which accuses Russia of putting trade pressure on Ukraine and other ex-Soviet states tempted by closer ties with Brussels, showed its anger by cancelling the dinner that traditionally precedes its twice-yearly summits with Russia. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. agency says unable to deliver aid despite Syria government assurances Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 06:17 AM PST A United Nations agency seeking to deliver humanitarian aid to a besieged district of Damascus said on Sunday state checkpoint authorities had hampered its work, despite government assurances it would allow the distributions. The foundering agreement highlights the challenges that lie ahead for humanitarian workers should President Bashar al-Assad's government and the opposition agree on localized ceasefires at peace talks in Geneva this week. Humanitarian efforts in Syria have been hampered by fighting and by combatants on both sides, who often try to block deliveries to areas held by their opponents. Some aid workers say Assad's forces have used a siege on rebel-held areas around the capital to starve out those inside - an indiscriminate tactic that hurts civilians. Full Story | Top |
| Snowden says NSA engages in industrial espionage: TV Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 05:24 AM PST  By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuters) - The U.S. National Security Agency is involved in industrial espionage and will grab any intelligence it can get its hands on regardless of its value to national security, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden told a German TV network. In text released ahead of a lengthy interview to be broadcast on Sunday, ARD TV quoted Snowden saying the NSA does not limit its espionage to issues of national security and he cited German engineering firm, Siemens as one target. "If there's information at Siemens that's beneficial to U.S. national interests - even if it doesn't have anything to do with national security - then they'll take that information nevertheless," Snowden said, according to ARD, which recorded the interview in Russia where he has claimed asylum. Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian liberal finds enemies on all sides Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 04:50 AM PST By Tom Perry CAIRO (Reuters) - Amr Hamzawy's liberal politics put him on the wrong side of the Islamists who rose to power in Egypt after the 2011 uprising. A rare example of a secular critic of the army's decision to depose Islamist president Mohamed Mursi last July after mass protests against his rule, Hamzawy says Egypt is now witnessing a "fast recovery of authoritarianism", challenging the government's depiction of a country on a path to democracy. His story illustrates the sharp twists and turns in Egypt's political journey in the chaotic three years since the historic 2011 uprising that led to President Hosni Mubarak's downfall. He defeated a Muslim Brotherhood member to win a seat in parliament in one of the strongest performances of 2011 legislative elections. Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian soldiers killed in Sinai as protest toll rises to 49 Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 04:48 AM PST  By Maggie Fick CAIRO (Reuters) - Gunmen killed three Egyptian soldiers in an attack on a bus in the Sinai Peninsula on Sunday, the military said, prompting a warning from the army that it would eliminate the Muslim Brotherhood, which it blames for much of Egypt's political violence. Al Qaeda-inspired Islamist militant groups based in Sinai have stepped up attacks on security forces since the army toppled President Mohamed Mursi of the Brotherhood in July following mass protests against his rule. On Saturday, the third anniversary of the uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak, 49 people were killed in anti-government protests which were attacked by supporters of the new political order and security forces, witnesses said. Full Story | Top |
| Libya, Egypt in talks over Tripoli diplomat hostages Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 04:38 AM PST Libya's government was in talks on Sunday with Egypt to resolve a hostage crisis after gunmen kidnapped five Egyptian diplomats in Tripoli in retaliation for Egypt's arrest of a top Libyan militia commander. Gunmen grabbed five diplomatic staff from their homes in the Libyan capital within 24 hours, including the cultural attache, after the powerful Islamist-leaning militia reported its commander Shaban Hadia was detained in Egypt. "They are still being held," Libya's Foreign Ministry spokesman said. "Talks between the Libyan and Egyptian sides are at the top level, the prime ministers are talking to each other." Hadia commands the Operations Room of Libya's Revolutionaries, a powerful militia, which denied it was involved in the Egyptian kidnappings. Full Story | Top |
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