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| Costa Rica ruling party leads presidential election but run-off looms Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 07:46 PM PST  By Alexandra Alper and Zach Dyer SAN JOSE (Reuters) - Costa Rica's centrist ruling party candidate Johnny Araya took an early lead in Sunday's presidential election but looked on course to face a run-off after a late surge from a left-leaning rival, partial results showed. Araya, a former mayor of the capital San Jose, had around 31.2 percent support with votes in from around 41 percent of polling booths, while leftist newcomer Luis Guillermo Solis was in second place with around 28.4 percent. Left-wing lawmaker Jose Maria Villalta was third with 17.4 percent. Araya, 56, of the National Liberation Party, has promised to reduce poverty and has sought to distance himself from President Laura Chinchilla's scandal-plagued government while painting rivals as radicals. Full Story | Top |
| Magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes off western Greece: USGS Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 07:32 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A strong magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off western Greece early on Monday, the United States Geological Survey said. The quake, which was initially reported as 6.4 in magnitude, struck 76 miles west of Patras at a relatively shallow depth of 8.5 miles at 0308 GMT, the USGS said. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. (Writing by Eric Walsh) Full Story | Top |
| Without Keystone, oil trains may cause six deaths per year: U.S. State Department report Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 06:49 PM PST (Reuters) - Replacing the Keystone XL pipeline with oil-laden freight trains from Canada may result in an average of six additional rail-related deaths per year, according to a U.S. State Department report that is adding to pressure for President Barack Obama to approve the line. The long-awaited study, released on Friday, focused on the environmental impact of TransCanada's $5.4 billion pipeline, but also spent several pages analyzing the potential human impact of various ways to transport oil, using historical injury and fatality statistics for railways and oil pipelines. Shipping another 830,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude "would result in an estimated 49 additional injuries and six additional fatalities for the No Action rail scenarios compared to one additional injury and no fatalities" per year if Keystone XL is built, according to the report. Keystone XL would carry 830,000 bpd from Alberta's oil sands U.S. refiners, but has been awaiting a presidential permit for more than five years. Full Story | Top |
| Defiant protesters disregard Thai poll, still want PM out Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 06:16 PM PST  By Martin Petty and Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) - Anti-government protesters planned to forge ahead on Monday with efforts to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, a day after a disrupted election that is unlikely to settle Thailand's long-running political conflict. The demonstrators blocked balloting in a fifth of the country's constituencies and say Yingluck must resign and make way for an appointed "people's council" to overhaul a political system they say has been taken hostage by her billionaire brother and former premier, Thaksin Shinawatra. Sunday's election, which the main opposition party boycotted, is almost certain to return Yingluck to power and, with voting passing off peacefully across the north and northeast, Yingluck's supporters will no doubt claim a legitimate mandate. But the vote is unlikely to change the dysfunctional status quo in a country popular with tourists and investors yet blighted by eight years of polarization and turmoil, pitting the Bangkok-based middle class and royalist establishment against the mostly poor, rural supporters of the Shinawatras. Full Story | Top |
| Cuban boat people land in Cayman, headed for Honduras Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 06:12 PM PST By Peter Polack GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (Reuters) - A 30-foot (9 meter) sailboat with about 30 Cuban refugees aboard docked in the Cayman Islands on Sunday and passengers said they were hoping to reach Honduras. Ranging in age from teenagers to retirees, said they decided to leave the island because of economic conditions in Cuba, and complained that recent private sector reforms had not been as broadly implemented in the eastern end of the island, far from the capital, Havana. They were provided with supplies after landing in East End, on the island of Grand Cayman, and continued on their journey. Under an agreement between Cuba and the Cayman Islands signed more than a decade ago, Cuban migrant boats are allowed to pass through Cayman waters as long as they do not seek any assistance. Full Story | Top |
| El Salvador ex-rebel has early vote lead, run-off possible Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 06:11 PM PST  By Nelson Renteria and Anahi Rama SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - A former left-wing guerrilla leader took a strong early lead in El Salvador's presidential election on Sunday, early results showed, but he could still face a run-off against a conservative rival who wants to deploy the army to fight powerful street gangs. Salvador Sanchez Ceren, a rebel commander who became a top leader of the now-ruling leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) during El Salvador's civil war, had 49.2 percent support with votes in from about 45.4 percent of polling booths. His right-wing opponent, former San Salvador Mayor Norman Quijano, had 38.9 percent. Two foreign election officials said they expected the vote to go to a run-off given a closer race in El Salvador's two most populated districts. Full Story | Top |
| El Salvador ex-rebel faces gang-fighting conservative in vote Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 03:34 PM PST  By Nelson Renteria and Anahi Rama SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - A former left-wing guerrilla commander faced-off against a conservative rival who wants to send the army in to fight powerful street gangs in El Salvador's presidential election on Sunday. Salvador Sanchez Ceren, a rebel commander who became a top leader of the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) during El Salvador's civil war, went into the election with a solid lead over Norman Quijano, who stepped down as the mayor of San Salvador, the capital, to run, polls showed. But with three main candidates competing, Sanchez Ceren was widely expected to fall short of the more than 50 percent support needed to win outright. Full Story | Top |
| Iran says nuclear talks failure would be 'disaster' Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 03:22 PM PST  By Adrian Croft and Alexandra Hudson MUNICH (Reuters) - Iran's foreign minister held rare private talks with his U.S. counterpart on Sunday and said it would be a "disaster" if Tehran did not turn a provisional agreement to defuse a decade-old dispute over its nuclear program into a permanent deal. In a sign of the thawing climate between the Islamic Republic and the West, Iran's Mohammad Javad Zarif said he had held bilateral talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, as well as with other ministers from the six powers negotiating with Tehran, during a three-day security conference in Munich. His talks looked forward to negotiations starting in Vienna on February 18 when Iran and the six powers will attempt over a period of six months to build on an interim agreement on Tehran's nuclear activities to reach a definitive deal. Full Story | Top |
| Three explosions rock Yemeni capital Sanaa Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 02:28 PM PST  Three large explosions were heard in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Sunday, close to the defense ministry, the central bank and the former president's home, locals told Reuters. Residents added that the third explosion occurred near former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's house which is also within close proximity to the French embassy. In December last year, a suicide bomb and gun attack near the defense ministry killed 52 people. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine frees tortured activist as president returns to work Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 02:07 PM PST  By Alastair Macdonald and Jack Stubbs KIEV (Reuters) - The Ukrainian government bowed to intense Western pressure on Sunday to let an opposition activist fly abroad for treatment after his abduction, torture and then attempted arrest by police outraged critics of President Viktor Yanukovich. The embattled head of state, caught in a tug of war between Russia and the West and facing mass protests that have prompted fears of civil war, announced he would return from four days of sick leave on Monday. Either way, he is under scrutiny from the European Union and United States, who want him to compromise, and from Moscow, which is holding back much needed financing until he names a new government following last week's departure of his prime minister in a concession that failed to appease the protesters. Dmytro Bulatov, 35, whose bloodied face and account of being "crucified" during a week in the hands of mysterious kidnappers has dominated opposition media since Friday, flew to EU state Lithuania. Full Story | Top |
| Demonstrators disregard Thai poll, vow march to oust PM Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 01:37 PM PST By Martin Petty and Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai anti-government protesters planned to forge ahead on Monday with efforts to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, a day after a disrupted election that is unlikely to settle the country's long-running political conflict. The demonstrators blocked balloting in a fifth of the country's constituencies and say Yingluck must resign and make way for an appointed "people's council" to overhaul a political system they say has been taken hostage by her billionaire brother and former premier, Thaksin Shinawatra. Sunday's election, which the main opposition party boycotted, is almost certain to return Yingluck to power and with voting passing off peacefully across the north and northeast, Yingluck's supporters will no doubt claim a legitimate mandate. But the vote is unlikely to change the dysfunctional status quo in a country popular among tourists and investors yet blighted by eight years of polarization and turmoil, pitting the Bangkok-based middle class and royalist establishment against the mostly poor, rural supporters of the Shinawatras. Full Story | Top |
| EU, U.S. working on Ukraine aid plan: Ashton Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 01:14 PM PST The European Union and the United States are working on a plan for significant short-term financial assistance for Ukraine, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was quoted on Sunday as saying. Ashton said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that the package would be aimed at helping Ukraine get through a transition period during which a broad-based interim government could approve political and economic reforms and prepare for presidential elections, currently due next year. The EU and the United States are "developing a plan - a Ukrainian Plan, I have suggested they call it - that looks at what do we need to do in different parts of the economy right now to make things better," the paper quoted Ashton as saying on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. Full Story | Top |
| Pakistan's privatization tsar embarks on quest to revive economy Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 01:09 PM PST  By Mehreen Zahra-Malik ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Mohammad Zubair was on a cruise dinner with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Thailand when he was offered the hardest job of his life: privatizing a huge chunk of the economy while fighting resistance from the opposition and trade unions. Three privatization ministers have gone to jail and most have corruption cases hanging over their heads," he said. "Don't take this job." But Pakistan's new privatization tsar is determined to find buyers for 68 public companies, most of them loss-making, including two gas companies, an oil company, about 10 banks, the national airline and power distribution companies - all within the next two years. The government sees the sell-offs as a life saver for Pakistan's $225 billion economy crippled by power shortages, corruption and militant violence. Full Story | Top |
| Injured activist leaves Kiev for treatment in Lithuania Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 12:41 PM PST By Jack Stubbs KIEV (Reuters) - Dmytro Bulatov, a Ukrainian activist whose torture at the hands of kidnappers outraged anti-government protesters, flew out for treatment in Lithuania on Sunday after officials in Kiev dropped charges against him, allies and diplomats said. Opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko told Reuters at the Kiev clinic where Bulatov had been since Thursday that the activist was flying to Vilnius via the Latvian capital Riga. Arriving in an ambulance convoy accompanied by his wife, Bulatov was met at Kiev's Boryspil airport by Klitschko and another senior opposition figure, Petro Poroshenko. Full Story | Top |
| Sri Lanka rejects 'reckless' U.S. criticism of its rights record Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 12:27 PM PST  By Shihar Aneez and Ranga Sirilal COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka rejected U.S. criticism of its human rights record as "grossly disproportionate" on Sunday, a day after a senior U.S. official said Washington would table a U.N. resolution against Colombo. Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal expressed frustration on Saturday over Sri Lanka's failure to punish military personnel responsible for atrocities in a civil war that the government won in 2009 against separatist Tamil rebels. Biswal, speaking in Colombo after a two-day visit, said the United States would table a third U.N. human rights resolution against Sri Lanka in March to address the war crimes allegations as its human rights climate has been worsening. Full Story | Top |
| Canadian miner Teck reports spill at Columbia River smelter Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 12:24 PM PST Canadian diversified miner Teck Resources Ltd is investigating another spill at its Trail smelting complex in British Columbia, but said on Sunday it does not expect the incident to have a long-term impact on fish or the environment. Up to 25 cubic meters (883 cubic feet) of a solution containing some sodium hydroxide was released into a sewer line on Tuesday, Teck said in a statement. Sodium hydroxide is a corrosive chemical that when concentrated can burn and blister skin. "Initial information indicates that the sewage treatment plant process may have diluted the high pH solution somewhat but otherwise had a limited effect," Teck spokesman Richard Deane said in an email on Sunday. Full Story | Top |
| Keystone report raises pressure on Obama to approve pipeline Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 12:23 PM PST  By Roberta Rampton and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pressure for President Barack Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline increased after a State Department report played down the impact it would have on climate change, irking environmentalists and delighting the project's proponents. But the White House signaled late on Friday that a decision on an application by TransCanada Corp to build the $5.4 billion project would be made "only after careful consideration" of the report, along with comments from the public and other government agencies. "The Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement includes a range of estimates of the project's climate impacts, and that information will now need to be closely evaluated by Secretary (of State John) Kerry and other relevant agency heads in the weeks ahead," White House spokesman Matt Lehrich said. Full Story | Top |
| EPA scrutiny could be linchpin to Keystone review process Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 12:23 PM PST By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's critical assessment of the proposed northern leg of the Keystone pipeline could have outsized influence on the final decision of whether to approve the project, experts familiar with the process said. Friday's State Department report contained the EPA's evaluation that crude produced from Canada's oil sands, which the pipeline would carry, are 17 percent more greenhouse gas intensive than average oil used in the United States. The EPA also said oil sands imports would be 2-10 percent more greenhouse-gas intensive than imported oil from Mexico or Venezuela that would probably replace it. The Departments of Defense, Commerce, Commerce, Energy, Justice, Transportation and Homeland Security are also evaluating the State Department's environmental assessment of the Keystone proposal. Full Story | Top |
| France sees Iran opportunity if sanctions are lifted: Moscovici Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 11:44 AM PST  France will have "significant commercial opportunities" in Iran if sanctions are lifted, but Tehran first has to prove its good faith in abiding by nuclear undertakings, Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said on Sunday. Moscovici was speaking on LCI television as a French business delegation travelled to the Iranian capital for meetings with officials and business leaders. The three-day visit is intended to "convey the message that, if the situation improves, there will be significant commercial opportunities for France in Iran", Moscovici said. Full Story | Top |
| Iraqi army bombards Falluja in preparation for ground assault Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 11:24 AM PST  By Suadad al-Salhy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi army intensified its shelling of Falluja on Sunday in preparation for a ground assault to regain control of the city, which has been under the control of militants for a month. Sunni Muslim anti-government fighters, among them insurgents linked to al Qaeda, overran Falluja in the western province of Anbar on January 1, against a backdrop of deteriorating security across Iraq. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whose Shi'ite-led government many in the Sunni minority accuse of discrimination, had held off an all-out offensive to give local tribesmen a chance to expel the militants themselves. But security officials told Reuters on Saturday that a decision had been made to enter Falluja on Sunday. Full Story | Top |
| Scandals, inequality loom large as Costa Rica votes for new leader Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 10:47 AM PST  By Alexandra Alper and Zach Dyer SAN JOSE (Reuters) - As voters streamed to the polls on Sunday, Costa Rica's centrist ruling party front-runner hoped to fend off a leftist surge fueled by resentment over corruption scandals and rising inequality. Centrist former San Jose Mayor Johnny Araya led polls on promises to reduce poverty, while distancing himself from President Laura Chinchilla's scandal-plagued government and painting rivals as radicals. But voter anger over government corruption has buoyed a challenge from leftist lawmaker Jose Maria Villalta, who also promised to tackle inequality in the coffee-producing nation. "I see Araya as more of the same, a misfortune for this country after all the corruption of the past," said Maria Ines Martinez, 57, a businesswoman, lining up outside a high school to vote as polling stations opened on Sunday. Full Story | Top |
| Syrian forces kill 83 in barrel bomb attacks in Aleppo: activists Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 10:34 AM PST  By Stephen Kalin BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian military helicopters dropped more improvised "barrel bombs" on the northern city of Aleppo on Sunday, a monitoring group said, bringing the death toll to at least 83 people in the latest episode of a campaign that many consider a war crime. Most of the victims killed since Friday have been civilians from the city's eastern districts, including women and children, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a broad network of sources across Syria. The use of barrel bombs - oil drums or cylinders packed with explosives and shrapnel - has drawn international condemnation, not least from Western powers at last week's peace talks in Switzerland. The first round of negotiations wound up on Friday without progress towards ending Syria's three-year civil war or reducing the violence, which regularly kills more than 100 people a day. Full Story | Top |
| French conservatives march against government 'family-phobia' Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 10:29 AM PST  By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor PARIS (Reuters) - Over 100,000 conservative French marched through Paris and Lyon on Sunday accusing the government of "family-phobia" for legalizing gay marriage and other planned policies they say will harm traditional families. The marchers, expressing growing frustration with the unpopular left-wing government, denounced new sex equality lessons in schools and urged the government not to legalize medical procedures to help same-sex couples have children. Most demonstrators were middle-class families, some pushing little children in prams, posing no apparent risk of violent confrontation with the police that Interior Minister Manuel Valls had said would be dealt with severely. The government of President Francois Hollande, suffering poll ratings near record lows, has delayed further social reforms until after next month's municipal elections following massive protests against legalizing same-sex marriage last year. Full Story | Top |
| White House: Obama awaits more Keystone reviews; timing unclear Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 10:18 AM PST  U.S. President Barack Obama still wants to hear from other federal agencies before deciding whether to accept the State Department's finding that the Keystone XL pipeline would have no major impact on climate change, his top aide said on Sunday. White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said Obama would decide once the Environmental Protection Agency, Energy Department and other federal experts offer their assessments of the State Department review, as well as their own analysis. But McDonough offered no word how soon Obama may rule. Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan rebels say army razed town, using foreign fighters Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 09:40 AM PST  By Andrew Green JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudanese rebels accused government forces on Sunday of razing the hometown of their leader Riek Machar, violating a ceasefire, and said the army was drawing support from foreign fighters now in the country. Rebel spokesman Lul Ruai Koang said government SPLA forces and fighters from the Sudanese Justice and Equality Movement - a rebel group from north of the border - had destroyed the northern town of Leer on Saturday, massacring women and children as they fled. An army spokesman said he had not received any reports of fighting in Leer, where the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said last week more than 200 of its staff had been forced to flee because of growing insecurity. The claims and counter-claims came as east African ceasefire monitors began to arrive in South Sudan, seven weeks after violence erupted in the capital, Juba, before spreading across the world's newest state. Full Story | Top |
| Germany promises more engagement: but not on the battlefield Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 08:23 AM PST  By Stephen Brown MUNICH (Reuters) - Germany's U.S. and European allies welcome Berlin's promise of a more robust foreign and security policy, but with no appetite at home for troops to fight, it may mean little more than extra logistical help and tougher rhetoric. At this year's security conference in Munich, where 11 years ago pacifist-turned-foreign minister Joschka Fischer told U.S. defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld "excuse me, I am not convinced" about the war in Iraq, Germany promised its knee-jerk reaction would no longer be a 'no' to overseas missions. "In my view, to be a good partner Germany should get involved more quickly, more decisively and more substantially," said head of state President Joachim Gauck, in a message that was reinforced by the German foreign and defense ministers. "Germany is too big to only comment on world politics from the sidelines," said Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Full Story | Top |
| Central African Republic town retaken by international forces Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 08:08 AM PST  By Paul-Marin Ngoupana BANGUI (Reuters) - International forces in the Central African Republic have retaken a strategic town occupied for days by Muslim Seleka fighters, witnesses said on Sunday. The fighters agreed to quit the central town of Sibut peacefully following talks with French troops from Operation Sangaris and African MISCA peacekeeping forces. Almost a million people have been displaced by fighting since the mostly Muslim Seleka rebel group seized power last March in the majority Christian country of over 4 million. "I am right now in the center of Sibut and all the roads and strategic points are occupied by MISCA and Operation Sangaris," Roland Mongonou, a resident of Sibut, told Reuters by telephone. Full Story | Top |
| Gunfire erupts as police raid radical Kenyan mosque Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 08:03 AM PST By Joseph Akwiri MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) - Gunfire erupted in and around a mosque in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa on Sunday following a raid by armed police who had received a tip-off that Muslim youths were being radicalized and trained for militant attacks. The raid sparked violent protests inside the Masjid Mussa mosque in the city's run-down Majengo neighbourhood and in the surrounding streets. Breaking up Islamist militant networks among its Muslim minority has become a priority for Kenya as it tries to end attacks by Somali militants and their sympathizers bent on punishing it for sending troops to fight al Shabaab rebels. Mombasa's police chief Robert Kitur said the raid followed a tip off. Full Story | Top |
| UAE summons Qatari ambassador over Muslim cleric's comments Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 07:41 AM PST  The United Arab Emirates summoned the Qatari ambassador over what it said were insults against the UAE made by a prominent cleric in a broadcast from Doha, state news agency WAM reported on Sunday. The diplomatic incident reflects growing splits between the two members of the Western-allied Gulf Cooperation Council in their approach to Islamists emboldened by the 2011 "Arab Spring" protests that forced four heads of state from power. While Qatar has sided with Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, the UAE has taken the opposite tack, cracking down on Islamists at home and supporting Egypt's military-backed administration. UAE news agency WAM said the foreign ministry had handed the Qatari ambassador "an official protest memorandum over the insolence shown by the so-called Youssef al-Qaradawi towards the United Arab Emirates". Full Story | Top |
| Advance ceasefire monitor team arrives in South Sudan Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 06:43 AM PST An advance team of monitors sent by east African nations arrived in South Sudan on Sunday to set up a mission tasked with observing a shaky ceasefire agreed by government and rebel forces. The warring sides signed the ceasefire on January 23 to end weeks of fighting, but sporadic clashes have continued, underlining the challenge regional mediators face when peace talks resume in neighboring Ethiopia next week. "We will start our mission, at least the teams will be deployed, within the next week," General Gebreegzabher Mebrahtu, a retired Ethiopian General who is leading the advance team, told reporters in Juba. The team's first task was to meet government officials and non-state organisations and conduct recces of possible areas for deployment, the regional IGAD grouping, which brokered the truce, said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Putin critic Navalny seeks permission to visit Sochi Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 06:36 AM PST  Russian opposition figure and anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny, who is restricted from travelling outside Moscow, has requested permission to visit Sochi during the Winter Olympics, according to his blog and his press secretary. Navalny has criticized spending on the games, which he said last week had already reached $50 billion - five times more than the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Navalny, who described last summer's trial as revenge by President Vladimir Putin for his challenging the Kremlin, was served with new theft and money laundering charges in October. On Friday he requested from Russia's Investigative Committee permission to visit Sochi for three days, partly to look at construction of the facilities, according to a posting of a document on his blog. Full Story | Top |
| Yemeni official says kidnapped Iranian diplomat still alive Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 06:32 AM PST SANAA/DUBAI (Reuters) - An Iranian embassy official kidnapped in the Yemeni capital Sanaa in July is still alive, a Yemeni security official said on Sunday, disputing an earlier report that he had been found beheaded. At the time Iran's Student News Agency quoted an Iranian embassy official as denying that the headless body belonged to the missing employee. On Sunday a Yemeni security official who declined to be named told Reuters: "Contacts with the Iranian diplomat's kidnappers through tribal mediators confirm that he (the diplomat) is still alive and that the body found did not belong to him," the security official told Reuters. Iran's official IRNA news agency on Sunday quoted Yemen's charge d'affaires in Tehran, Abdullah al-Sari, as saying: "Yemen's interior ministry and security forces are following up on the fate of kidnapped Iranian diplomat, Noor Ahmad Nikbakht, and according to latest information he is alive and in good health," Sari told IRNA. Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Ex-guerrilla faces tough-on-gangs rightist in El Salvador election Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 06:17 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 |
| Ex-rebel faces gang-fighting conservative in El Salvador vote Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 06:15 AM PST  By Nelson Renteria and Michael O'Boyle SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - A former guerrilla commander vies 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-leaning rival who wants to use the army to battle powerful street gangs. Salvador Sanchez Ceren, a rebel commander who became a top leader of the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), had a solid lead over his conservative adversary Norman Quijano, who stepped down as the capital's mayor to run. But with three main candidates competing, Sanchez Ceren was projected to fall short of the 50 percent support needed to win outright and so face Quijano in a run-off on March 9. Anywhere you go you are afraid, because they just kill people," said Zoila Guevara, a 35-year old housewife who breastfed her baby as she waited in line to vote for Quijano and his anti-crime plan after polling stations opened. Full Story | Top |
| Shi'ites overrun rival strongholds in north Yemen; 40 dead Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 06:03 AM PST Shi'ite rebels have overrun strongholds of a rival Sunni tribal group in fighting that has killed at least 40 people in northern Yemen in the last two days, tribal sources said on Sunday. The fighting compounds the challenges faced by U.S.-allied Yemen, which is struggling to stabilize a country that is home to one of al Qaeda's most active branches. One of the poorest countries in the Arab world, it has been in turmoil since mass protests in 2011 forced long-serving President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down. Tribal sources said Houthi fighters and their allies from the Hashed tribal federation seized control of al-Khamri, the al-Ahmar family tribal region in Omran province. Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Corruption, poverty charge Costa Rica election Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 05:59 AM PST (Reuters) - The presidential hopeful of Costa Rica's ruling party is seen as the frontrunner in Sunday's election, but analysts say campaign gaffes and scandals dogging President Laura Chinchilla's government will likely force him into a second round run-off against a leftist challenger. Neither the centrist frontrunner Johnny Araya nor the young leftist lawmaker Jose Maria Villalta, seen running second, are likely to secure the more than 40 percent of votes needed to avoid an April run-off. In an eventual second round vote, the earlier votes for a conservative lawyer fighting for third place would likely go to Araya, while votes for left-leaning rival Luis Guillermo Solis would likely go to Villalta. The following are the election's three leading candidates and some of their key platform positions: JOHNNY ARAYA One of Costa Rica's best known political figures, Araya, 56, served as mayor of San Jose for over two decades, winning praise for spearheading public arts projects and expanding a municipal police force. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine president to return from sick leave Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 05:44 AM PST KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich will return to work on Monday, four days after going on sick leave, according to a statement posted on the presidential website on Sunday. "After undergoing required treatment, the president of Ukraine feels well and his health is satisfactory," the website quoted a senior state medical official, Oleksandr Orda, as saying. Yanukovich, who faces a serious crisis and widespread opposition protests, announced on Thursday that he was taking sick leave. (Reporting By Jack Stubbs) Full Story | Top |
| Scotland's pro-independence camp gets small poll boost before vote Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 05:37 AM PST The number of people in Scotland who want their small country to become independent of the United Kingdom in a referendum later this year has risen slightly, a poll showed on Sunday, but those opposed to a breakaway still enjoy a commanding lead. In the referendum, to be held on September 18 this year, voters will decide whether Scotland, which has a population of just over 5 million and is a source of North Sea oil, should end its 307-year-old union with England and leave the UK. A "yes" vote would place the future of Britain's Scotland-based nuclear submarine fleet in doubt and could weaken London's claim to a permanent seat on the United Nations and its influence in the European Union. But it showed support for Scotland remaining part of the UK was steady at 42 percent, the same as in November, suggesting Scots will reject independence. Full Story | Top |
| Turkey says open to alternatives to Chinese missile defense system Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 05:13 AM PST  Turkey's Foreign Minister said on Sunday Ankara had not yet decided which missile defense system it would buy and it was open to bids from other companies besides the current Chinese favorite if these guaranteed joint production. NATO member Turkey's decision last September to choose a $3.4 billion offer from the China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp (CPMIEC) irked Ankara's Western allies as the Chinese company is under U.S. sanctions for violations of the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act. U.S. and NATO officials also voiced concerns that a Chinese product would not be compatible with other NATO systems. "Turkey did not decide yet which system should be bought.. for us three criteria are important - joint production, the time of delivery and price," Ahmet Davutoglu told a panel at the Munich Security Conference. Full Story | Top |
| Yemen tribesmen say seize German to push for relatives' release Sunday, Feb 02, 2014 04:59 AM PST Yemeni tribesmen said on Sunday they had kidnapped a German man to press their government to free jailed relatives, underscoring the breakdown in security in the Western-allied country. Tribesmen telephoned journalists to say the man, who was kidnapped from Sanaa on Friday, was being held by them in Maarib province, a tribal stronghold in the center of Yemen. The emergency task force has been alerted and, together with the embassy in Sanaa and the Yemeni authorities, it is urgently trying to resolve (the matter)." The German embassy in Sanaa said it was checking the report. Kidnapping of foreigners in Yemen is common. Full Story | Top |
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