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Kerry to resume Mideast peace talks after a pause Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 09:09 PM PDT | Top |
Shootouts claim 14 lives in northern Mexican border city Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 08:42 PM PDT At least 14 people were killed in a series of shootouts in the northern Mexican border city of Reynosa on Tuesday as gunmen battled police in a region racked by violence between warring drug gangs. Assailants in armored vehicles opened fire on federal police and military officers in three shootouts in Tamaulipas, an unruly state on the U.S. border where the brutal Zetas drug gang has fought the Gulf Cartel for control. The death toll in Reynosa, which is directly across the border from Hidalgo, Texas, included 10 gunmen, two federal police officers as well two young adults who were caught in the crossfire while driving in separate vehicles. It was not immediately clear if the gunmen were affiliated with any drug cartels, which vie for control of lucrative smuggling routes into the United States. Full Story | Top |
Santos holds lead in Colombia election opinion poll but rival gains Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 07:45 PM PDT | Top |
SeaWorld says San Diego killer whale is pregnant Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 07:37 PM PDT | Top |
Russia's Lavrov scolds U.S., EU for imposing sanctions Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 07:36 PM PDT Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov slammed the United States and European Union on Tuesday for imposing sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis, saying they were the work of weak politicians in the West "attempting to blame others." The European Union on Tuesday announced asset freezes and travel bans on 15 Russians and Ukrainians over Moscow's actions in Ukraine, one day after the United States imposed sanctions on seven Russians and 17 companies linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "We reject sanctions in any of our relationships, in particular those sanctions that were sponsored by the United States and the European Union, which defy all common sense, regarding the events in Ukraine," Lavrov said during a visit to Cuba. Full Story | Top |
Searchers dismiss possibility wreckage in Bay of Bengal is from MH370 Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 06:59 PM PDT | Top |
Iraqis vote on Wednesday as violence grips country Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 05:19 PM PDT | Top |
Patton Boggs' latest case vs Chevron over pollution award tossed Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:39 PM PDT | Top |
EPA's U.S. Supreme Court win a boost for pending carbon rules Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:35 PM PDT By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Supreme Court decision on Tuesday upholding U.S. rules that curb air pollution that floats across state lines was seen as a boost for the Environmental Protection Agency's upcoming plan to crack down on carbon emissions from power plants. The top court backed a federal regulation requiring 28 Midwestern and Appalachian states that cause smog and soot-forming emissions to limit pollution from their smoke stacks before it wafts downwind, mostly to eastern states. The D.C. Circuit court in 2012 had sided with the industry and certain states that said the EPA exceeded its authority by issuing a national plan. Lawyers said the 6-2 Supreme Court decision to side with the EPA was a timely boost for the agency as it moves to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from the country's power plants using a different section of the Clean Air Act. Full Story | Top |
U.N. chief urges South Sudan's Kiir help end violence, anti-U.N. campaign Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:16 PM PDT | Top |
Pakistan should investigate spy agency over journalist attacks: Amnesty Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:06 PM PDT By Mehreen Zahra-Malik ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities should investigate the country's powerful spy agency for human rights abuses against journalists following a spate of attacks on leading reporters, London-based Amnesty International said in a report published on Wednesday. The report sheds light on the threat it says the country's media faces, including from political parties, Islamist insurgents and its own intelligence agencies. At least 34 journalists have been killed in Pakistan as a direct consequence of their work since 2008 and eight have been killed in the past 11 months since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was elected to power in May 2013, Amnesty said. "A critical step will be for Pakistan to investigate its own military and intelligence agencies and ensure that those responsible for human rights violations against journalists are brought to justice," said David Griffiths, Amnesty's Deputy Asia Pacific Director. Full Story | Top |
Study finds Fukushima radioactivity in tuna off Oregon, Washington Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 03:24 PM PDT By Shelby Sebens PORTLAND Ore. (Reuters) - A sample of albacore tuna caught off the shores of Oregon and Washington state have small levels of radioactivity from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, researchers said on Tuesday. But authors of the Oregon State University study say the levels are so small you would have to consume more than 700,000 pounds of the fish with the highest radioactive level to match the amount of radiation the average person is annually exposed to in everyday life through cosmic rays, the air, the ground, X-rays and other sources. Still, the findings shed some light about the impact of the meltdown on the Pacific Ocean following the March 2011 tsunami and subsequent power plant disaster, said Delvan Neville, a graduate research assistant at OSU and lead author of the study. "I think people would rather have an answer on what is there and what isn't there than have a big question mark," Neville said. At the most extreme, radiation levels tripled from fish tested before Fuskushima and fish tested after. Full Story | Top |
U.N. says needs Syrian government consent for cross-border aid deliveries Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 03:08 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations on Tuesday rejected calls for it to deliver humanitarian aid across borders into Syria without the approval of the government in Damascus, saying such operations would be possible only under a stronger U.N. Security Council resolution. Dozens of top lawyers from around the world argued in a letter to the United Nations on Monday that there was no legal barrier for the world body to carry out cross-border aid deliveries or support other organizations to do the same. More than 150,000 people have been killed in Syria's three-year-old civil war. "It's the longstanding and consistent position of the United Nations that consistent with its charter ... the organization can engage in activities within the territory of a member state only with the consent of that government of that state," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday. Full Story | Top |
Italy court says Knox murdered flatmate over argument, not orgy Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 03:07 PM PDT | Top |
Venezuela to crush cars, bikes to build houses Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:55 PM PDT By Diego Ore CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela said on Tuesday it would start crushing abandoned cars and bicycles to provide raw materials for housing construction and supplement drastically reduced amounts of local steel. "We have sent 10,485 automobiles, 9,651 motorbikes and 539 bicycles to the national steel industry," Maria Martinez, a deputy justice minister, said during a visit to an abandoned car deposit outside Caracas. That quantity of steel, she said, could be used for rebars, which reinforce concrete, in the construction of tens of thousands of housing units. In one of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez's most popular policies, the "Great Venezuelan Housing Mission," authorities built or refurbished more than 250,000 housing units in 2012 for low-income families. Full Story | Top |
Putin sees no need to sanction West, may review energy ties Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:54 PM PDT Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Moscow saw no need for counter sanctions against the West, but could reconsider the participation of Western companies in its economy, including energy projects. "But if something like that continues, we will of course have to think about who is working in the key sectors of the Russian economy, including the energy sector, and how." The United States on Monday unveiled a new round of sanctions aimed at business leaders and companies close to Putin, while the European Union followed up on Tuesday by naming 15 Russians and Ukrainians to its blacklist, moving to freeze assets and deny visas. "Regarding the second package, it's not clear at all what this is linked to, because there is no cause and effect link with what is happening now in Ukraine and Russia," he said. SIGNIFICANT TIES Though some Western oil companies left Russia in recent years because of a difficult business climate, U.S. companies Exxon Mobil and Chevron Corp, along with British major BP, have significant ties there. Full Story | Top |
Iran's Rouhani suggests critics benefited from sanctions Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:50 PM PDT By Mehrdad Balali DUBAI (Reuters) - President Hassan Rouhani, in a riposte to hardliners who suggest he is capitulating to the West, accused critics of his government on Tuesday of using lies and exaggeration to oppose his policies, including Iran's nuclear talks with world powers. In an interview on state television, Rouhani suggested his critics were a "tiny minority" who had profited from sanctions and feared losing out if curbs were removed with an eventual resolution of Iran's nuclear dispute with the West. Rouhani and his negotiators have been under strong pressure from Islamic hardliners opposed to the talks with the United States and five other powers seeking curbs on Iran's nuclear program in return for an end to sanctions against Tehran. As the talks move toward a possible deal by late July, the hardliners, many of them hold-outs from the administration of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have stepped up their campaign, accusing Rouhani of sacrificing national pride and revolutionary identity for the sake of an agreement. Full Story | Top |
U.S. offers $5 million for Chinese businessman accused of Iran dealings Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:50 PM PDT | Top |
EU says Egypt mass death sentences in breach of international law Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:45 PM PDT | Top |
Israel, Palestinians at U.N. accuse each other of sabotaging peace Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:34 PM PDT | Top |
U.N. renews Western Sahara mission, but without rights monitors Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:25 PM PDT | Top |
U.S. tornadoes kill 34, threaten more damage in South Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:23 PM PDT | Top |
Senior U.S. lawmaker blocks aid for Egyptian military Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:14 PM PDT | Top |
U.S. senators urge Treasury to keep halt on Russia tax talks Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:13 PM PDT Two U.S. senators on Tuesday urged the Obama administration to continue refusing to negotiate with Russia over a tax agreement that, if not approved by July 1, could result in Russian banks facing steep penalties. Talks were suspended weeks ago with Russia over a pact to help its financial institutions comply with 2010's U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), a Treasury Department spokesperson said on Monday. FATCA requires banks, insurers and investment funds to give the Internal Revenue Service information about the accounts of Americans and U.S. permanent residents worth more than $50,000. The Treasury has more than two dozen FATCA deals with foreign governments. Full Story | Top |
Brunei adopts sharia law, others in region consider it Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 02:02 PM PDT | Top |
Two aides to Guinea-Bissau ex-navy chief plead guilty in U.S. Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 01:59 PM PDT | Top |
Ukraine separatists seize second provincial capital, fire on police Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 01:50 PM PDT | Top |
Secularist underdogs fight to be heard in Iraq election Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 01:48 PM PDT By Isra' al Rubei'i and Ned Parker BAGHDAD (Reuters) - "I am Iraqi, so do I exist?" is the question posed on the Civil Democratic Alliance's Facebook page. The coalition of 10 liberal and secular parties aims to be an alternative to the communal politics defining Wednesday's national vote, aimed at people who feel so marginalized by Iraq's politics that they are hardly counted. In an electoral race filled with old faces and vitriolic hatred, the underdog list hints at a way forward that has appeal for those wishing to move beyond the sectarian fears coloring Iraqi politics. The country is at war, with the Iraqi military and militias battling Sunni extremists in areas surrounding Baghdad. Full Story | Top |
UK PM Cameron faces vote test after lawmaker's resignation Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 01:33 PM PDT | Top |
Seeking deals, France rolls out red carpet for Angolan leader Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 12:55 PM PDT | Top |
Firm says finds plane debris in Bay of Bengal: CNN Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 12:24 PM PDT | Top |
Mozambique extends registration deadline for election Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 12:00 PM PDT MAPUTO (Reuters) - Mozambique has extended voter registration for elections due in October by 10 days, after a request by the main opposition party, Renamo, the government said on Tuesday. Renamo has conducted an insurgency over the past year in parts of central and southern Mozambique and its leader Afonso Dhlakama is holed up in the remote Gorongosa area, preventing him from registering as a presidential candidate. ... Full Story | Top |
Kerry: NATO territory inviolable - 'We will defend every single piece' Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 11:58 AM PDT The United States warned Russia on Tuesday that Washington and its allies would stand united in their defense of Ukraine and that NATO territory was inviolable and the alliance would defend every single piece of it. "Today Russia seeks to change the security landscape of Eastern and Central Europe," Kerry said in a speech in Washington referring to Russia's occupation of Crimea and the threat it posed to eastern Ukraine. Full Story | Top |
Seven dead after blasts at Siberia munition depot: statement Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 11:48 AM PDT Seven people died and four were missing on Tuesday after blasts at a munition depot in Eastern Siberia that also closed a section of the Transsiberian railway, local authorities said, citing preliminary data. Full Story | Top |
'Rebel priest' prays for Ukraine gunmen, denies doing more Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 11:23 AM PDT By Thomas Grove SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Father Vitaly says he prays every day for the armed men who now wield power in Slaviansk, stronghold of pro-Russian separatists who have seized key buildings in a dozen towns across eastern Ukraine this month. "There's a point at which you just can't take it anymore and you have to pick yourself up and stand up for yourself," the bearded, broad-shouldered Orthodox priest said of his hostility to the Ukrainian leadership which has taken power in Kiev. Standing under the dark blue cupolas of his church on the outskirts of town, Father Vitaly denies accusations he has an active role in the uprising - including an allegation that he even provides a logistics and command base for the rebels. But he makes no apology for aiding parishioners who have taken up arms against the new government in Kiev and dismisses suggestions that they - or he - takes orders from Moscow. Full Story | Top |
Merkel urges Germans to think of Ukraine and vote in EU ballot Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 11:12 AM PDT | Top |
European human rights body says Azerbaijan must stop pressure on activists Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 10:40 AM PDT By Margarita Antidze and Nailia Bagirova BAKU (Reuters) - A European rights monitor urged Azerbaijan authorities on Tuesday to ensure that freedom of expression, association and assembly is respected and to halt pressure on human rights defenders. Nils Muiznieks, human rights commissioner for the Council of Europe, made his plea after the detention and a nine-hour questioning of prominent human rights defender Leyla Yunus. Azerbaijan, a mainly Muslim former Soviet republic, has been governed by President Ilham Aliyev since he succeeded his father in 2003. Full Story | Top |
Belgium should avoid new world record of post-election crisis Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 10:29 AM PDT | Top |
Gunmen storm Libyan parliament, stop lawmakers' vote on next PM Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 10:25 AM PDT By Ahmed Elumami TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Gunmen stormed Libya's parliament on Tuesday and opened fire, forcing lawmakers to abandon a vote on the next prime minister, witnesses said. Parliament spokesman Omar Hmeidan said several people were wounded in the shooting by the gunmen, who were linked to one of the defeated candidates for prime minister. The government has been unable to control armed groups and Islamists who helped oust Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 but refuse to disarm and have carved out regional fiefdoms. In the first ballot, businessman Ahmed Maiteeq came out on top among seven candidates. Full Story | Top |
Separatists seize control in another Ukrainian city Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 10:12 AM PDT By Vasily Fedosenko LUHANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Pro-Russian separatists opened fire on a police station in the city of Luhansk on Tuesday after seizing the regional government headquarters, as Kiev's control over swathes of eastern Ukraine evaporates. Earlier, pro-Moscow activists took the headquarters of the government of Luhansk region, the second such institution to fall this month after that of neighboring Donetsk region. The regional prosecutor's office and television center were next to fall, a Reuters photographer at the scene said, before around 20 gunmen opened fire with automatic rifles on the local police headquarters, demanding police surrender their weapons. The government in Kiev has all but lost control of its police forces in parts of eastern Ukraine since pro-Russian activists seized buildings in the region's second biggest city of Donetsk and several smaller towns. Full Story | Top |
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