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| For Mali Islamist rebels, death came from the sky Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 11:03 AM PST DOUENTZA, Mali (Reuters) - The group of Islamist rebels occupying this dusty northern Malian town at the gateway to Timbuktu had been slaughtering a cow to eat at a small hotel. The next instant, they were caught in an explosive blizzard of flying concrete and shrapnel. "They ate no meat. Many were killed, maybe 40," said Hamidou Dicko, a neighbor who had peered over his mud-brick wall at the hotel - used by the rebels as a base - after the French warplanes attacked late on January 12. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iraqi Kurds woo more oil majors in contest with Baghdad Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 11:02 AM PST LONDON (Reuters) - Iraqi Kurdistan said it is negotiating with two or three major international companies to operate oilfields and expects to announce the outcome in about a month, in a move likely to further heighten tensions with Baghdad. The remarks by Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami on Tuesday highlight the autonomous region's resolve to push ahead with development of its oil resources independently of the Baghdad-based central government. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama giving $155 million in humanitarian aid to Syrians Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 11:01 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday said the United States would boost humanitarian aid to Syria and urged other nations to do more to help the United Nations, which is struggling to assist some 4 million people in the war-torn country and more than 700,000 who have fled it. Obama said he authorized an additional $155 million in aid for food, medical care and clothing for Syrians and refugees, bringing the U.S. total to $365 million. He issued a video statement on youtube.com with Arabic subtitles speaking directly to Syrians. ... Full Story | Top |
| Romani artist and Holocaust documenter Stojka dies Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:50 AM PST VIENNA (Reuters) - Romani artist Ceija Stojka, whose work helped expose the Nazis' persecution of the Romani people, died in a Vienna hospital on Monday aged 79, her publisher told the Austria Press Agency on Tuesday. Holocaust survivor Stojka wrote one of the first Romani autobiographical accounts of Nazi persecution, the 1988 book "We Live in Seclusion: The Memories of a Romani", and dedicated decades to telling her people's story through music and art. The Romani people, like the Jews, were sent to concentration camps by Germany's Nazis during the Second World War. Up to 1. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazilian cities crack down on nightclubs after deadly fire Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:47 AM PST  SANTA MARIA, Brazil (Reuters) - Cities across Brazil are beginning to crack down on nightclubs to ensure they comply with fire regulations following a weekend blaze that killed 231 people at a club in the southern university town of Santa Maria. The fire was Brazil's deadliest in half a century and resonated across the country, with many people demanding those responsible be prosecuted and that the government tighten up on safety. Brazilians are outraged at what they see as lax regulation and corrupt officials whose oversights led to the tragedy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain ups aid for Mali, Africa but wary of mission creep Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:46 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain increased its offer of aid to France and African governments on Tuesday to help them counter Islamist militants in Africa but limited the scope of its support for fear of being dragged into an Afghanistan-style quagmire. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond told parliament that up to 240 soldiers could take part in missions to train African troops, and that at least 90 more are already taking part in logistical operations to support French troops fighting in Mali. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mali targets July 31 for elections - interim president Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:46 AM PST ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Mali is hoping to organise elections on July 31, Mali's interim President Dioncounda Traore said on Tuesday as French and Malian forces consolidated the hold on northern towns recaptured during a two-week offensive against Islamists. "I'd like to reiterate our commitment here to conduct the transition in Mali with one agenda, one programme, which is to recover the north and also in particular, bring Mali back to a normal situation," Traore told a donor's conference in Ethiopia. (Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Writing by David Lewis; Editing by Pascal Fletcher) Full Story | Top |
| Mali secures retaken towns, donors pledge funds Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 11:04 AM PST  DOUENTZA/GAO, Mali (Reuters) - French-backed Malian troops searched house-to-house in Gao and Timbuktu on Tuesday uncovering arms and explosives abandoned by Islamist fighters, and France said it would look to hand over longer-term security operations in Mali to an African force. An 18-day offensive in France's former West African colony has pushed the militants out of major towns and into hideouts in the deserts and mountains. French and Malian troops retook the two Saharan trading towns of Timbuktu and Gao at the weekend virtually unopposed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuelan vice president says Chavez is "very optimistic" of recovery Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:34 AM PST  CARACAS (Reuters) - Hugo Chavez is upbeat about recovering from cancer and confident in his medical team, his No. 2 said on Tuesday in the latest message from the Venezuelan leader's sickbed in Cuba. "He told us with great strength: 'I am very optimistic, I trust completely in the treatments I am undergoing, I will beat this again. I'm holding onto Christ and life,'" Vice President Nicolas Maduro said of Chavez's words to him on a recent visit. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wife of deposed Honduran leader leads presidential race: poll Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:29 AM PST TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduran presidential candidate Xiomara Castro, the wife of deposed former President Manuel Zelaya, is leading the race to become the next head of the Central American country, according to a poll released on Tuesday. Political newcomer Castro, the Liberty and Refoundation Party candidate who established her reputation while fighting for her husband's right to rule after his 2009 military-led ouster, leads with 25 percent of those questioned saying they would vote for her, according to the CID Gallup poll. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU could deploy peace force in post-conflict Syria: adviser Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:24 AM PST BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union planners are looking at ways to help stabilize Syria when the civil war is over, and sending an EU military force to keep the peace could be an option, the bloc's top military officer said on Tuesday. The EU has a 2,000-strong rapid reaction force, known as a battle group, on standby at all times, ready for peace keeping or humanitarian action in an emergency, but it has never yet been deployed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Latin America lays out defenses in currency war Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:22 AM PST MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Latin American policymakers are manning their defenses ahead of what could be a new battle in the "currency wars" as flows of hot money put unwelcome upward pressure on their currencies. Economists and investors predict that an easing in the euro zone's debt crisis, new economic stimulus measures in Japan and a return of risk appetite will fuel bumper investment flows into Latin America and other emerging markets in 2013. Some policymakers are already at the barricades. Colombia cut interest rates on Monday and said it would ramp up dollar purchases. ... Full Story | Top |
| Army warns unrest pushing Egypt to the brink Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:16 AM PST  CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) - Egypt's army chief said political unrest was pushing the state to the brink of collapse - a stark warning from the institution that ran the country until last year as Cairo's first freely elected leader struggles to curb bloody street violence. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a U.S.-trained general appointed by President Mohamed Mursi last year to head the armed forces, added in a statement on Tuesday that one of the primary goals of deploying troops in cities on the Suez Canal was to protect the waterway that is vital for Egypt's economy and world trade. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sixty-five found executed in Syria's Aleppo: activists Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:09 AM PST  BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least 65 people were found shot dead with their hands bound in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Tuesday in a "new massacre" in the near two-year revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, activists said. Opposition campaigners blamed the government but it was impossible to confirm who was responsible. Assad's forces and rebels have been battling in Syria's commercial hub since July and both have been accused of carrying out summary executions. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russian investigators search liberal governor's office Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:06 AM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Masked Russian police searched the office of a liberal regional governor who has connections with opponents of Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in what Kremlin critics said was part of a campaign to put pressure on foes of the president. The federal Investigative Committee said law enforcement officers searched the office of Kirov region governor Nikita Belykh as part of a criminal investigation into the alleged theft of 90 million roubles ($3 million). Belykh denied any wrongdoing and said he was cooperating with the investigation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama to tread carefully in immigration debate Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:01 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will move cautiously into the debate over U.S. immigration reform on Tuesday, seeking to build momentum for a new bipartisan plan to offer a pathway to citizenship for the country's 11 million illegal immigrants. Reflecting the growing clout of Hispanic voters, Obama will travel to Nevada little more than a week after his second inauguration and make the case for swift action by Congress to overhaul immigration laws. The trip comes a day after a group of influential Senate Democrats and Republicans laid out a broad plan of their own. ... Full Story | Top |
| Official handling Guantanamo shutdown will not be replaced Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 09:59 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. diplomat charged with closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is taking up a new post and will not be replaced, with most of his duties being turned over to the State Department's top lawyer, U.S. officials said on Tuesday. The fact that Ambassador Dan Fried will not be replaced may raise questions about the Obama administration's plan to close the prison, though the officials denied any erosion in their commitment to shutter the detention center. There are now 166 prisoners held at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea's Kim dashes early hope but U.S. still seeks change: Clinton Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 09:43 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea's missile tests and menacing rhetoric have disappointed U.S. expectations that young leader Kim Jong-un would be different than his father but Washington still hopes to persuade Pyongyang to change course, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday. "With a new young leader we all expected something different," Clinton said in a town hall-style session put together by the State Department and broadcast worldwide. "We expected him to focus on improving the lives of the North Korea people, not just the elite, but everyone. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel worrying about fate of Syria's conventional arsenal Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 09:39 AM PST TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Syria's advanced conventional weapons would represent as much of a threat to Israel as its chemical arms should they fall into the hands of Syrian rebel forces or Hezbollah guerrillas, Israeli sources said on Tuesday. Such concerns suggest that Israel, which has signaled heightened readiness over the last week to react militarily if it thinks Damascus is losing control of its chemical arsenal, could also intervene over Syria's Russian-supplied missiles. "It's clear that unconventional weaponry is a very grave matter. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tourists out in force despite slowdown, set for strong year in 2013: U.N. Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 09:37 AM PST  MADRID (Reuters) - Global tourism is proving resilient in the face of an economic slowdown, with tourist numbers growing at close to pre-crisis levels in 2012 and expected to increase by almost as much this year, the UN World Tourism Organisation said on Tuesday. Europe held onto its position as the world's most-visited region in 2012 but the Asia-Pacific is catching up, recording the biggest increase in tourists in 2012 and expecting another strong performance this year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Government gets initial 340 million pounds from Swiss tax deal Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 09:35 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has received an initial 340 million pounds from the Swiss government as part of a deal to tackle tax evasion that the government expects will net it some 5 billion pounds over the next six years. Switzerland agreed with Britain last year to impose a one-off levy on money in Britons' secret Swiss bank accounts and to tax future interest payments, with effect from the start of 2013. Germany rejected a similar deal. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel boycotts U.N. human rights scrutiny Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 09:33 AM PST GENEVA (Reuters) - Israel boycotted the United Nations' human rights forum on Tuesday, becoming the first country ever to decline to attend a session that was due to scrutinize its own rights record. Israel's no-show at the Human Rights Council drew widespread criticism, including a tacit rebuke from the United States which said the U.N. process of reviewing human rights was a "valuable mechanism" as it was applied to all countries. The council had been due to examine Israel under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of human rights in all U.N. member states. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. government warns of hack threat to network gear Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 09:32 AM PST BOSTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security urged computer users on Tuesday to disable a common networking technology feature, after researchers warned that hackers could exploit flaws to gain access to tens of millions of vulnerable devices. The U.S. government's Computer Emergency Readiness Team advised consumers and businesses to disable a feature known as Universal Plug and Play or UPnP, and some other related features that make devices from computers to printers accessible over the open Internet. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gay German minister raps Russia on homosexual rights: Spiegel Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 09:29 AM PST  BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's openly gay foreign minister has told Moscow's envoy to Berlin a Russian draft law banning "homosexual propaganda" contravenes human rights and could harm the country's ties with Europe, Spiegel online said on Tuesday. The German foreign ministry confirmed the meeting on Monday evening between Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and Russia's ambassador in Berlin, Vladimir Grinin, but declined to comment on what they discussed. Westerwelle had made clear that in Germany's view the law violated the European human rights convention, the report said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Polls show bank scandal hurting Italy's main centre: left party Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 09:28 AM PST ROME (Reuters) - Support for Italy's election frontrunners, the center-left Democratic Party, has dropped since a scandal erupted at Tuscan bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena , with which it has long-standing links, according to opinion polls. But despite the setback, most polls show the center-left coalition led by the Democratic Party (PD) still well ahead of Silvio Berlusconi's center-right. Monte dei Paschi revealed last week that it had suffered nearly $1 billion of losses in complex derivatives deals entered to massage its accounts because of severe financing problems. ... Full Story | Top |
| No need to put Monte Paschi under administration: Italy econonmy minister Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 09:26 AM PST  ROME (Reuters) - The Bank of Italy's review of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena does not show a need for the troubled lender to be placed under special administration, the Italian economy minister told parliament on Tuesday. "The regulator has given a positive evaluation of the bank, and so it does not need to be put under special administration," Vittorio Grilli told the parliamentary finance committee. Grilli said he had not received any specific warnings about the stability of any banks, and did not see any alarm signals concerning the wider Italian banking system. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mali crisis could exacerbate security challenges in Libya: U.N. Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 09:26 AM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A military intervention by France in Mali to combat Islamist rebels could exacerbate a "precarious" security situation in Libya, where armed groups have targeted security officials and diplomats, the United Nations said on Tuesday. U.N. special envoy Tarek Mitri, head of the U.N. mission in Libya, said that country's government faced a serious security challenge in the east, where the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed in September. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate panel approves Kerry for secretary of state Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 09:18 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senator John Kerry won the unanimous support of the chamber's Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday to replace Hillary Clinton as President Barack Obama's new secretary of state. The full Senate was expected to confirm Kerry later on Tuesday, setting in motion a special election for his Massachusetts Senate seat. The five-term senator and losing presidential candidate in 2004 has broad support from fellow Democrats as well as Republicans in the Senate. He is expected to be sworn in as the top U.S. diplomat later this week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cutbacks at Peugeot and Renault meet growing resistance Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 09:16 AM PST  PARIS (Reuters) - Labour tensions at France's carmakers took a turn for the worse on Tuesday as Renault workers protested over planned cuts and PSA Peugeot Citroen's restructuring plan hit a legal setback. While Renault staff demonstrated at the company's Flins plant west of Paris and Peugeot workers marched on company headquarters, the carmakers pursued union talks on plans to improve productivity and eliminate close to 8,000 jobs each. "As things stand now, the conditions are unacceptable," CFDT union chief Laurent Berger said of Renault's proposals for a new nationwide labour deal. ... Full Story | Top |
| Noting progress, Obama to lay out immigration reform vision Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 09:04 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will move cautiously into the debate over U.S. immigration reform on Tuesday, seeking to build momentum for a new bipartisan plan to offer a pathway to citizenship for the country's 11 million illegal immigrants. Reflecting the growing clout of Hispanic voters, Obama is traveling to Nevada little more than a week after his second inauguration to make the case for swift action by Congress to overhaul immigration laws. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cut losses or face new laws, MPs tell football clubs Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 09:03 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - New laws should be introduced to force football clubs to clean up their finances unless they adopt European rules to curb spending, a group of MPs said on Tuesday. The call adds to pressure on the 20-team Premier League to implement Financial Fair Play (FFP) measures which European football's governing body UEFA has already introduced for leading teams across the continent. New television contracts are expected to generate more than five billion pounds over the next three years for the Premier League, the world's richest in term of revenue. ... Full Story | Top |
| Homeownership rate slips, rental vacancies up Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 08:55 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The share of privately owned homes edged down in the fourth quarter and rental vacancies rose, government data showed on Tuesday, underscoring the challenges still confronting the housing market recovery. The homeownership rate slipped to 65.4 percent from 65.5 percent in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said. While the housing market recovery appears to be gaining traction, high unemployment and stringent lending standards are keeping many from owning a home. The homeownership rate peaked at 69. ... Full Story | Top |
| Use of tax havens by U.S. global companies on the rise: report Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 08:37 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.-based global companies are increasingly shifting profits into tax havens like Bermuda and Switzerland, a government report said, a finding likely to fuel debate over the taxes corporations pay and their flexibility in locating profits. The Congressional Research Service analyzed profit data from multinational companies and compared reported profits and other business activity in lower-tax jurisdictions versus higher-tax countries like the United Kingdom and Canada. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greens' push for conservative vote gives Merkel headache Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 08:16 AM PST  BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Greens are on a roll after a big jump in their support in a regional election this month confirmed the growing mainstream appeal of a party once seen as a fringe leftist movement but which now poses a challenge to Angela Merkel. Worryingly for the conservative Chancellor ahead of a federal election in September, support for the Greens is spreading from the cities to rural areas once dominated by her Christian Democrats. In Lower Saxony on Jan 20. ... Full Story | Top |
| Timeline of Germany's Greens Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 08:16 AM PST (Reuters) - Formed in 1980 as a loose coalition of pacifists, socialists environmentalists and feminists, the Greens may become kingmakers after Germany's September 2013 federal election. Here is a look at significant Greens moments in Germany: October 1992 - Germany's Greens co-founder Petra Kelly is found dead. Kelly was one of its first members of parliament. She was shot dead by her partner, former general and Green politician Gert Bastian, who then killed himself. Sept/Oct 1998 - Social Democrats under Gerhard Schroeder win the federal election. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt pounds slides, worries about IMF loan weigh Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 08:14 AM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's pound weakened further against the dollar at the central bank's foreign exchange auction on Tuesday on worries that turmoil on the streets could further delay a long-awaited IMF loan. At Tuesday's foreign exchange auction, the central bank set a cut-off price of 6.6525 pounds to the dollar, prompting the currency to weaken to 6.6857 on the interbank market, where the authorities limit how far the currency can move. The pound has now lost 7. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hundreds of Qaeda-linked militants reinforce south Yemen bastion Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 08:11 AM PST SANAA (Reuters) - Hundreds of al Qaeda-linked militants arrived in southern Yemen on Tuesday to reinforce Islamist fighters facing a major government offensive following the breakdown of talks to free three Western hostages, an official and residents said. Air strikes against militant targets in the al Qaeda stronghold of al-Manaseh and ambushes by the Islamist fighters after Monday's army assault, killed at least six insurgents and 14 soldiers, including 11 killed by a suicide bomber. ... Full Story | Top |
| Debris of F-16 missing in Italy believed found, search focuses on spot Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 08:08 AM PST  RAVENNA, Italy (Reuters) - Italian Coast Guard divers searching for a missing American F-16 and its pilot were focusing on Tuesday on waters where a fishing boat found debris believed to belong to the jet, a Coast Guard official said. The debris, including fragments of carbon steel, was found floating in the northern Adriatic overnight, Rear Admiral Francesco Saverio Ferrara said. The U.S. Air Force said in a statement on Tuesday it was thought to be wreckage from the missing aircraft. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nigeria cautiously welcomes Boko Haram ceasefire Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 08:04 AM PST MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian authorities on Tuesday welcomed a ceasefire declaration by a commander of Islamist sect Boko Haram, but security forces said they would not lower their guard. Sheik Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulazeez, who security sources say is a Boko Haram commander, called on sect members on Monday to halt attacks that have killed many hundreds since it launched an uprising to carve out an Islamic state in Nigeria in 2009. ... Full Story | Top |
| Suicide blast kills two near Somali president's palace Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 07:56 AM PST MOGADISHU (Reuters) - An Islamist militant persuaded Somali government officials he had defected, then walked up to the president's palace compound on Tuesday and blew himself up near the gates, killing at least two soldiers, witnesses and rebels said. Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab rebels said the early morning suicide attack was the start of a new campaign against the country's Western-backed government and its leaders. ... Full Story | Top |
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