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| Panama's first lady tapped as vice presidential candidate Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 08:01 PM PST Panama's ruling party nominated Marta Linares, the wife of President Ricardo Martinelli, as its vice presidential candidate for the May election, the party's presidential candidate announced on his Twitter page on Wednesday. "Marta will be our vice president," said Jose Domingo Arias, the standard-bearer for the Democratic Change party, in a post on the social media website following Linares' formal approval by party members. Full Story | Top |
| Idaho calls off hired hunter to kill wolves in wilderness Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 06:34 PM PST By Laura Zuckerman SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - Idaho has called off a professional hunter hired to kill wolves in a federally protected wilderness area because he had succeeded in reducing the population enough to protect the elk prized by hunters. The push by state wildlife managers to kill wolves in the wilderness renewed a battle over an animal that was nearly extinct in the continental United States when it was declared an endangered species in 1974. As the population rebounded, wolves in the Northern Rockies, including Idaho, lost federal protection and can now be hunted and trapped. The wolves killed were part of two packs in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness in the mountains of central Idaho, where wolves were imported from Canada in the mid-1990s to re-establish the species in the Northern Rockies. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Syria has shipped out less than 5 percent of chemical weapons Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 06:25 PM PST  By Anthony Deutsch AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Syria has given up less than 5 percent of its chemical weapons arsenal and will miss next week's deadline to send all toxic agents abroad for destruction, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The deliveries, in two shipments this month to the northern Syrian port of Latakia, totalled 4.1 percent of the roughly 1,300 tonnes of toxic agents reported by Damascus to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Damascus needs to show it is still serious about relinquishing its chemical weapons, the sources told Reuters. The issue is to be discussed at a meeting of the OPCW's executive council on Thursday in The Hague, a senior U.S. State Department official told Reuters. Full Story | Top |
| Russia to await new Ukraine government before fully implementing rescue: Putin Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 06:10 PM PST  By Steve Gutterman and Richard Balmforth MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin raised the pressure on Ukraine on Wednesday, saying Russia would wait until it forms a new government before fully implementing a $15 billion bailout deal that Kiev urgently needs. Putin repeated a promise to honor the lifeline agreement with Ukraine in full, but left open the timing of the next aid installment as Kiev struggles to calm more than two months of turmoil since President Victor Yanukovich walked away from a treaty with the European Union. A day after Prime Minister Myeloma Azarov resigned on Tuesday, hoping to appease the opposition and street protesters, Russia tightened border checks on imports from Ukraine in what looked like a reminder to Yanukovich not to install a government that tilts policy back towards the West. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: U.S. readies financial sanctions against Ukraine: congressional aides Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 05:46 PM PST  By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is preparing financial sanctions that could be imposed on Ukrainian officials and protest leaders if violence escalates in the political crisis gripping Ukraine, congressional aides said on Wednesday. Congressional aides, who asked not to be identified by name because of the sensitive subject, said they had discussed the sanction preparations with administration officials. They said final details of the package have not been worked out, but it could be put in place quickly against government officials - or leaders of the protest movement - in case of widespread violence. Six people have been killed in Kiev and other Ukrainian cities in protests that erupted more than two months ago after President Viktor Yanukovich walked away from a treaty with the European Union under pressure from Russia. Full Story | Top |
| Deadly ice storm turns Atlanta into parking lot, strands thousands Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 03:45 PM PST By David Beasley ATLANTA (Reuters) - A rare ice storm turned Atlanta into a slippery mess on Wednesday, stranding thousands for hours on frozen roadways and raising questions about how city leaders prepared for and handled the cold snap that slammed the U.S. South. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed came under fire for his response to a storm that trapped hundreds of children in schools overnight, some without provisions, and created traffic jams stretching for miles on roads coated with two inches of snow. "Folks are angry with the mayor of Atlanta, with the governor," said Flavia DiCesare, 54, who spent the night in her office at Cox Enterprises in Atlanta, about 30 miles from home. Georgia Governor Nathan Deal said all of Atlanta's school children had been safely returned to their families by Wednesday evening, with help from the National Guard and State Patrol. Full Story | Top |
| Amanda Knox faces verdict in Italy in retrial on Kercher murder Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 03:28 PM PST  By Naomi O'Leary FLORENCE, Italy (Reuters) - Amanda Knox, the American student who became tabloid fodder, will not be in court on Thursday to hear Italian judges give their verdict in her retrial for the murder of Briton Meredith Kercher when the two were roommates studying abroad in 2007. Knox, who is living in Seattle, is standing trial alongside her Italian former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. Six years of trials and investigations have so far failed to clear up mysteries surrounding the murder of Kercher, 21, who was found stabbed to death in her bedroom in the picturesque town of Perugia, where she shared a student flat with Knox. Knox, 26, and Sollecito, 29, were convicted of the murder in 2009 and spent almost four years in jail, but the verdicts were overturned on appeal and Knox immediately returned home to the United States upon her release in 2011, where she has remained. Full Story | Top |
| European bat population bounces back from the brink: study Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 03:01 PM PST Europe's bat population is vulnerable, but conservation policies have boosted it by more than 40 percent after years of decline, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said on Thursday. European bat populations shrank, particularly during the second half of the 20th century, because of intensive agriculture, disappearing habitats and toxic chemicals used in treating roof timbers where they roost. The new report found conservation policies had helped to reverse the decline, but concluded bats should "still be considered vulnerable". They are also extremely sensitive to environmental change, which means they serve as an early indicator of climate change. Full Story | Top |
| Obama, Jordan's King Abdullah to meet February 14 in California Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 02:38 PM PST U.S. President Barack Obama and Jordan's King Abdullah will discuss Syria and the Middle East at a February 14 summit to be held at a California retreat, the White House said on Wednesday. Obama met China's President Xi Jinping at the same location last June, the Sunnylands retreat in Rancho Mirage, California. Full Story | Top |
| Brahimi says no substantive progress on Syria but hopeful Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 02:36 PM PST  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Mariam Karouny GENEVA (Reuters) - International mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said on Wednesday that he does not expect to achieve anything substantive in the first round of Syria talks ending on Friday, but hoped for a more productive second round starting about a week later. "We talked about the TGB (Transitional Governing Body), but of course it is a very, very preliminary discussion and more generally of what each side expects," Brahimi told reporters. Opposition and government sides said they agreed to use the "Geneva communiqué", a document endorsed by world powers at a conference in June 2012, and which sets out the stages needed to end the fighting and agree on a political transition. "We have agreed that Geneva 1 is the basis of the talks," opposition spokesman Louay al-Safi told reporters. Full Story | Top |
| South Korea urges North to hasten reunions but vows to continue drills Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 02:09 PM PST  South Korea urged the North on Wednesday to speed efforts for reunions of families separated since the war that divided the neighbors, but vowed to continue joint military drills with the United States, despite protests from Pyongyang. Uncertainty remained whether the North would keep its pledge to hold the reunions ahead of the start of the drills, but the South said it would not use the military exercises as a means to secure the family event. The North proposed the family reunions last week in a move welcomed by both China, its sole major ally, and the United States. But the North has yet to respond to a call by the South for the event to be held over six days in February and for a meeting to hammer out location and logistics. Full Story | Top |
| Obama, Jordan's King Abdullah to meet Feb 14 in California Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 01:56 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Jordan's King Abdullah will discuss Syria and the Middle East at a February 14 summit at a retreat in California, the White House said on Wednesday. Obama had met Chinese President Xi Jinping at the same location last June, the Sunnylands retreat in Rancho Mirage, California. Jordan is feeling the strains from the civil war in neighboring Syria, and is providing refuge to thousands of Syrians. (Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Chris Reese) Full Story | Top |
| Yanukovich's allies try to tempt Ukraine protesters with amnesty Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 01:37 PM PST Lawmakers loyal to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich on Wednesday offered an amnesty to people detained in the wave of anti-government protests - but only on condition that activists vacate occupied buildings in Kiev and other parts of Ukraine. The opposition refused to cast their votes on an amnesty law, which Yanukovich loyalists hope will help de-escalate two months of street unrest. The text of the law was not available but its author said the offer of an amnesty for those detained by police was conditional on the City Hall in Kiev being cleared of protesters as well as regional administration buildings in several cities across Ukraine. Though it did not appear to call for barricades or tents to be removed from the main protest zone in Kiev, the law, at first glance, did not seem to be likely to be heeded by protesters. Full Story | Top |
| Veteran negotiator pursues Syria 'mission impossible' Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 01:35 PM PST By Khaled Yacoub Oweis GENEVA (Reuters) - The job was too much for Kofi Annan. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning former U.N. secretary general - hardly known as a quitter - threw in the towel in August 2012, declaring that serving as international mediator for Syria was impossible as long as global powers were hopelessly divided. But since taking on the role, Lakhdar Brahimi, an 80-year-old Algerian diplomat with decades of experience in some of the world's most intractable conflicts, has steadfastly refused to give up on what is expected to be his final mission: seeking an end to Syria's civil war. It took Brahimi a year and a half even to get the warring parties into the same room for this week's peace talks in Geneva. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt to put Al Jazeera journalists on trial - prosecutor Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 01:25 PM PST By Shadia Nasralla CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt will put an Australian, two Britons and a Dutchwoman on trial for aiding 16 Egyptians belonging to a "terrorist organisation", the public prosecutor said on Wednesday, describing the four as Al Jazeera correspondents. Three of the Qatar-based television network's journalists - Peter Greste, an Australian; The British Embassy said it was aware of the report and was seeking more information. The 16 Egyptians are to face trial for belonging to a "terrorist organisation", an apparent reference to the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been protesting against the government since the army toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July. Full Story | Top |
| Baghdad bombs and shooting kill at least 19 Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 01:22 PM PST Car bombs in mainly Shi'ite districts of the Iraqi capital and a shooting killed at least 19 people on Wednesday, police said, driving the death toll so far this month to nearly 1,000, according to Iraq Body Count. No group claimed responsibility for the blasts, but members of the country's Shi'ite majority are often targeted by Sunni Islamist insurgents, some linked with al Qaeda, who have regained ground in Iraq over the past year. The al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has exploited resentment among minority Sunnis against the Shi'ite-led government for policies perceived as unfairly penalizing their once-dominant community. On January 1, militants overran two cities in the Sunni heartland province of Anbar, which shares a border with Syria, where ISIL is also active. Full Story | Top |
| Canada's Trudeau boots unelected senators from Liberal caucus Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 01:12 PM PST  By Randall Palmer OTTAWA (Reuters) - Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau, fighting to unseat Canada's Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the 2015 election, expelled all his party's members in the scandal-plagued Senate from the Liberal caucus on Wednesday. The reputation of Canada's Senate, the unelected upper chamber of its Parliament, is in tatters after controversial expense claims by four senators - three Conservative appointees and one Liberal appointee. Opponents of Trudeau, son of former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, said his motive was to insulate his party from the seething expense scandal. But the Liberal leader said he was moving to fix what he called a broken Senate. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. spy chiefs say number of foreign militants in Syria rises Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 12:52 PM PST By Patricia Zengerle and Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 7,000 foreign militants are fighting for the rebels in Syria's civil war and some are being trained to return home and conduct attacks, U.S. spy chiefs told lawmakers on Wednesday. The estimate, given at a Senate intelligence hearing, was much higher than earlier figures of 3,000 to 4,000 foreign fighters in Syria, and came after news emerged this week that Congress had secretly approved more funding to send weapons to "moderate" rebels. "We estimate, at this point, an excess of 7,000 foreign fighters have been attracted from some 50 countries, many of them in Europe and the Mideast," James Clapper, the U.S. director of national intelligence, told the hearing. "And this is of great concern not only to us, but to those countries," he said at the Senate Intelligence Committee's annual hearing on global security threats. Full Story | Top |
| Israeli ruling coalition wobbles as U.S. peace proposal looms Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 11:51 AM PST  By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A pending U.S. framework proposal to propel stumbling Israeli-Palestinian peace talks forward chipped away on Wednesday at a troubled alliance between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and an ultranationalist ally in his governing coalition. Adding to the fray was a warning by centrist Finance Minister Yair Lapid that any failure of U.S.-brokered peace talks could cause a "dramatic setback" in Israel's economy, citing boycott threats against Israel already heard in the West. No date has been announced for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to unveil his blueprint for an Israeli-Palestinian deal, but new skirmishing between Netanyahu and far-right partner Naftali Bennett suggested crunch time was near. Bennett's Jewish Home party advocates annexation of some of the West Bank - occupied territory that Palestinians seek for a state - and it has threatened to end its partnership with Netanyahu if, he says, any handover of land of biblical significance to Jews were in the offing. Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan frees seven detainees accused of coup plot Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 11:30 AM PST  By James Macharia and Richard Lough NAIROBI (Reuters) - South Sudan freed seven senior political figures on Wednesday who had been arrested on suspicion of plotting a coup, partially meeting a rebel demand at peace talks focused on ending weeks of fighting. President Salva Kiir accused his former vice president Riek Machar of starting fighting between rival groups of soldiers in the capital Juba in mid December in a bid to seize power - a charge denied my Machar. Authorities detained the 11 men, including former justice minister John Luk Jok, on suspicion of being involved, as clashes between government troops and now rebel fighters loyal to Machar quickly spread, killing thousands. South Sudan's current Justice Minister Paulino Wanawilla Unago had prepared the ground for the release on Tuesday, saying no evidence had been found against the seven. Full Story | Top |
| Italy vote reform moves to parliament as parties agree changes Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 11:25 AM PST  By Roberto Landucci ROME (Reuters) - Italy's main political parties agreed adjustments to center-left leader Matteo Renzi's electoral reform proposals that should clear the way for the closely watched package to come before parliament on Thursday. The measures, designed to prevent the kind of messy stalemate left by last year's deadlocked elections, are seen as vital to allowing the creation of stable governments capable of tackling deep reforms to Italy's stagnant economy. Renzi, who is not in government but who has assumed an ever greater role as head of the largest party in Prime Minister Enrico Letta's ruling coalition, says election reform would be the prelude to broader economic reforms. The changes agreed by Renzi's Democratic Party (PD) and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia would make it slightly easier for smaller parties to enter parliament by lowering the minimum entry threshold from 5 percent to 4.5 percent. Full Story | Top |
| Hoping to deter Hezbollah, Israel threatens Lebanese civilians Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 10:48 AM PST  By Dan Williams HERZLIYA, Israel (Reuters) - Israel accused Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas on Wednesday of putting "thousands" of bases in residential buildings and said it would destroy these in a future conflict, even at the cost of civilian lives. The unusually explicit threat by air force chief Major-General Amir Eshel appeared to be part of an effort by Israeli officials to prepare world opinion for high civilian casualties in any new confrontation with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel says Iran and Syria have supplied improved missiles to Hezbollah, which fought the technologically superior Israeli military to a standstill in a 2006 war in Lebanon. Full Story | Top |
| Czech president appoints centre-left cabinet, ending power vacuum Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 10:25 AM PST  By Jan Lopatka PRAGUE (Reuters) - President Milos Zeman appointed a new center-left cabinet on Wednesday, ending a seven-month power vacuum that has hampered policy decisions that the Czech Republic needs to boost recovery from its longest recession. The coalition, led by Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, plans to ease some fiscal restrictions imposed by the former center-right cabinet, bring the country closer to the euro zone and clampdown on corruption - the election's main theme. Social Democrat leader Sobotka, 42, wants to return the central European country to the EU mainstream in contrast to the eurosceptic course of previous cabinets. "Hopes are rising after a long time that the Czech Republic will stop playing the role of troublemaker in the European Union," Jakub Janda from the European Values think-tank wrote in a commentary. Full Story | Top |
| Turkish military strikes al Qaeda-linked rebels in Syria: media Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 10:18 AM PST ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The Turkish armed forces attacked a convoy of al Qaeda-linked rebel vehicles in Syria in retaliation for cross-border fire on Tuesday, destroying three vehicles, Turkish media said on Wednesday. Turkish troops opened fire on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) positions in northern Syria after a mortar shell fired from Syria landed in Turkish territory during clashes between ISIL and the Free Syrian Army, broadcaster NTV reported. It said a pick-up truck, a lorry and a bus were destroyed in the Turkish retaliation on Tuesday evening. ... Full Story | Top |
| Latin Americans pledge to respect Cuba's form of government Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:51 AM PST Latin American leaders pledged on Wednesday to respect the right of all countries in the region to choose their own political systems, a proclamation notable largely for accepting Cuba as the only one-party state in the western hemisphere. Cuba is hosting a summit of 33 countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean states (CELAC) who agreed in a declaration to "fully respect the inalienable right of every state to choose its political system." They also agreed "not to intervene, directly or indirectly, in the internal affairs of any other state and to observe the principles of national sovereignty". CELAC, which excludes the United States and Canada, was the brainchild of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and created as a counterweight to the Organization of American States (OAS), which has its headquarters in Washington. CELAC's second annual summit, a two-day affair, concludes on Wednesday. Full Story | Top |
| Canada's Trudeau boots unelected senators from Liberal group Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:50 AM PST  By Randall Palmer OTTAWA (Reuters) - Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau, fighting to unseat Canada's Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the 2015 election, expelled all his party's members in the scandal-plagued Senate from the Liberal caucus on Wednesday. The reputation of Canada's Senate, the unelected upper chamber of its Parliament, is in tatters after controversial expense claims by four senators - three Conservative appointees and one Liberal appointee. Opponents of Trudeau, son of former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, said his motive was to insulate his party from the seething expense scandal. But the Liberal leader said he was moving to fix what he called a broken Senate. Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Ex-guerrilla faces tough-on-gangs rightist in El Salvador election Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:49 AM PST A former guerrilla commander hopes to secure the left a second term in El Salvador's presidential election on Sunday, but he faces a strong challenge from a right-wing former mayor who wants to use the army to battle powerful street gangs. SALVADOR SANCHEZ CEREN The 69-year-old vice president and education minister is running for the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), the rebel group turned political party. His candidacy was seen as risky since the FMLN lost previous elections when it ran with former guerrilla leaders. The FMLN did not win until it backed journalist Mauricio Funes in 2009. Full Story | Top |
| El Salvador vote pits ex-rebel vs gang-fighting rightist Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:48 AM PST  By Nelson Renteria SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - A former guerrilla commander hopes to keep his left-wing party in power in El Salvador's presidential election on Sunday, but he faces a strong challenge from a right-wing rival who wants to use the army to battle powerful street gangs. Polls give Vice President Salvador Sanchez Ceren of the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, or FMLN, an edge over his conservative adversary Norman Quijano, who stepped down from a second term as mayor of San Salvador to run. But with three main candidates competing, Sanchez Ceren is expected to fall short of the 50 percent support needed to win outright and so face Quijano in a run-off on March 9. Full Story | Top |
| Profile: Czech Finance Minister Andrej Babis Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:45 AM PST PRAGUE (Reuters) - Position: Czech Republic's Finance Minister Incumbent: Andrej Babis Date of Birth: September 2, 1954 Term: Appointed on January 29, 2014 Key Facts: - Slovak-born Babis is one of the richest businessmen in the Czech Republic, worth some $2 billion according to Forbes magazine. Over the past two decades, Babis has built an empire spanning hundreds of firms in the farming, food processing, chemicals and media sectors. ... Full Story | Top |
| Profile: Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:45 AM PST PRAGUE (Reuters) - Position: Prime Minister Incumbent: Bohuslav Sobotka Date of birth: October 23, 1971 Term: Appointed on Jan 17, 2014. Key Facts: - Center-left Social Democrat Sobotka served as finance minister in 2002-2006, an era of record economic growth that kept budget deficits under control. - Sobotka is in favor of deeper European integration, including eventual entry into the euro zone. He favors tax hikes for big firms and top earners to fund social benefits and free healthcare. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisia's Islamists cede power to caretaker government Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:44 AM PST  By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's new caretaker government formally took office on Wednesday, replacing the Islamist party which came to power after a 2011 uprising but stepped down in a deal intended to help the country embrace democracy. Three years after the uprising against autocrat Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali inspired revolts across the region, Tunisia on Monday adopted a new constitution, and a technocrat government has taken over until elections this year. Compromise between Tunisia's Islamist party and their secular opponents to end months of deadlock contrasts with the messy paths taken in neighboring Libya and Egypt, which are still struggling with turmoil and violence. Former premier Ali Larayedh, an Islamist who spent years in prison under Ben Ali, formally handed over to Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa, a technocrat who asked for support to bring stability to the country that started the Arab Spring. Full Story | Top |
| Putin says new Ukraine government needed for full implementation of aid deal Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:33 AM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would wait until Ukraine forms a new government before fully implementing a $15 billion bailout deal for Kiev, but repeated a promise to honor the agreement in full. A day after Ukraine's prime minister resigned, the move could give Russia leverage over Kiev as it struggles with an upheaval brought on by a decision to ditch landmark agreements with the European Union. (Writing by Steve Gutterman; editing by David Stamp) Full Story | Top |
| Israeli soldiers kill alleged Palestinian gunman in West Bank Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:25 AM PST Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian on Wednesday who the military said had opened fire on their position near a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Information Ministry said the man had been unarmed and had been holding a stick or rod he was using to direct traffic. Confirming the man's death, a Palestinian medic identified him as Muhammad Mubarak, 21, a laborer from Jalazoun refugee camp near the Palestinian city of Ramallah, north of Jerusalem. An Israeli military spokeswoman said a Palestinian gunman was shot after attacking troops stationed near the settlement of Ofra. Full Story | Top |
| Brahimi says no substantive progress at Syria talks Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:25 AM PST International mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said on Wednesday that he does not expect to achieve anything substantive in the first round of Syria talks ending on Friday but hoped for a more productive second round starting about a week later. He voiced hope that Russia and the United States would exert greater influence over the two sides to bridge "quite large" gaps, adding that the United Nations and Syria's government were still negotiating access for aid to the rebel-held Old City of Homs. Full Story | Top |
| Battle edges closer to Syrian crusader castle Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:17 AM PST President Bashar al-Assad's forces have surrounded rebels near the already war-damaged Crusader castle of Crac des Chevaliers, a UNESCO World Heritage site in central Syria, residents said on Wednesday. Crac des Chevaliers suffered mortar hits last year when rebels from the town of al-Hosn below the hill-top castle hid behind its thick stone walls, built for battles hundreds of years ago. Syria's nearly three-year-old conflict has devastated whole city neighborhoods and many ancient sites, including Aleppo's medieval covered market and its Umayyad mosque. Although fighting has inched closer to Crac des Chevaliers, the castle has not been hit during the two-day-old offensive by troops and local pro-Assad militiamen besieging al-Hosn. Full Story | Top |
| Bahraini court shuts down Shi'ite clerical group Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 08:45 AM PST By Farishta and Saeed MANAMA (Reuters) - A Bahraini court ordered the dissolution of a group of Shi'ite Muslim clerics on Wednesday, declaring it illegal in a ruling that could harm reconciliation efforts aimed at ending political unrest in the U.S.-allied island kingdom. The court's decision comes a few weeks after stalled reconciliation talks between the Sunni ruling family and the Shi'ite opposition were revived, raising some hope of progress to end the political impasse. Bahrain, home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, has been hit by low-level civil unrest since 2011 when mainly Shi'ite protesters took to the streets calling for democratic reforms. The court said the Islamic Scholars' Council, which is close to the main Shi'ite opposition group al-Wefaq, was not officially registered in the Gulf Arab state. Full Story | Top |
| Merkel tries to quell row over German role in Africa Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 08:18 AM PST  Germany is ready to send logistical support to Central African Republic but will not dispatch combat troops with a planned EU mission, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday, trying to end a domestic row about Berlin's role. A split in Merkel's grand coalition between conservative Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen and Social Democrat (SPD) Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier about Germany's role in Africa has caused strains in the new government. Merkel told the lower house of parliament the government was looking at whether to do more in Central African Republic. It's not about a German combat force, but about our capabilities in rescue and treating the wounded," she said, adding Germany also wanted to strengthen its mandate in Mali to train security forces. Full Story | Top |
| South Africa's AMCU union to take revised platinum offer to members Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 08:00 AM PST  By Zandi Shabalala PRETORIA (Reuters) - The world's top platinum producers have made a revised wage offer to South Africa's AMCU union but it falls short of its demand for a minimum "living wage" of 12,500 rand ($1,100) a month, the union's chief negotiator said on Wednesday. Jimmy Gama told reporters the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) would put the offer to its members on Thursday after the conclusion of government-brokered talks with strike-hit Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin. Tensions were also on the rise on the gritty platinum belt after police fired rubber bullets to disperse AMCU members who were blocking a road and preventing non-strikers from reporting for duty at an Amplats' mine. The AMCU has been demanding minimum entry-level pay of 12,500 rand ($1,100) a month from the three platinum producers, which would be more than double current levels. Full Story | Top |
| Libyan deputy prime minister survives attempt on life Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 07:54 AM PST By Ghaith Shennib TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's deputy prime minister survived unhurt after gunmen fired on his car in Tripoli on Wednesday in an attack reflecting the violent chaos plaguing the North African nation two years after Muammar Gaddafi's fall. The Libyan government is struggling to contain dozens of unruly militias, former rebel brigades and militants who kept their guns after the NATO-backed revolt against Gaddafi in 2011. Deputy Prime Minister Sadiq Abdulkarim said he had been attacked on his way from the Interior Ministry to the General National Congress assembly. "I tell those who did it that Libya is bigger than you and Libya's men will not be threatened by bullets, guns or rockets," Abdulkarim said a two-minute statement on television. Full Story | Top |
| Turkey's Erdogan visits Iran to improve ties after split over Syria Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 07:46 AM PST  By Parisa Hafezi ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan visited Iran on Wednesday to bolster trade and energy ties, state TV said, in what also looked like a bid to defuse tensions over Syria by capitalizing on Tehran's diplomatic opening to regional rivals and the West. Iran has been a strong strategic ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since the start of the uprising against him, while Turkey has been one of his fiercest critics, supporting his opponents and giving refuge to rebel fighters. But Iran's election last June of President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate who says he wants to thaw its ties with the West, and shared concern over the rise of al Qaeda in Syria, have spurred hopes of a Turkish-Iranian rapprochement. While deep divisions remain between Ankara and Tehran over the conflict in Syria, diplomats and government officials say both sides want to mend a relationship that could be pivotal to the fast-changing political map of the Middle East. Full Story | Top |
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