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| Pentagon OKs Lockheed or Boeing fighters sale to South Korea Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 12:55 PM PDT By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department said on Wednesday it has approved the sale of either the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 stealth fighter or Boeing Co's F-15 Silent Eagle fighter to South Korea, which is expected to announce the winner of a 60-jet competition later this year. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, or DSCA, which oversees foreign military sales, notified U.S. lawmakers Friday about the possible sales to South Korea as tensions continued to mount with North Korea. The agency said U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ex-Mexican mayor arrested on suspicion of helping kidnappers Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 12:50 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A former mayor in Mexico has been arrested on suspicion of helping a criminal gang kill two men when he ran the western town of Villa Corona last year, prosecutors said on Wednesday. In February 2012, two men who had escaped from kidnappers in Villa Corona went to the police for help but were instead handed over to the gang by the mayor and then killed, the attorney general's office of Jalisco state said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| CA-NEWS Summary Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 12:33 PM PDT North Korea pressures South by halting entry to industrial zone PAJU, South Korea (Reuters) - North Korea closed access to a joint factory zone with South Korea on Wednesday, officials said, putting at risk $2 billion a year in trade that is vital for an impoverished state with a huge army, nuclear ambitions and a hungry population. The move marked an escalation in North Korea's months-long standoff with South Korea and its ally Washington. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spanish king's daughter charged in corruption inquiry Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 12:32 PM PDT  By Elisabeth O'Leary and Emma Pinedo MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Princess Cristina, daughter of King Juan Carlos, was charged on Wednesday with being an accomplice in an embezzlement case against her husband, the latest high-level graft investigation to anger Spaniards suffering a severe recession. Examining magistrate Jose Castro ordered the princess, 47, to appear before him on April 27 to answer charges of complicity in a pre-trial investigation that started two years ago. ... Full Story | Top |
| Serbia has days to decide on Kosovo: minister Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 12:24 PM PDT  By Matt Robinson and Aleksandar Vasovic BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia has days to decide whether to accept a "catastrophic" plan to end the ethnic partition of its former Kosovo province or risk losing out on talks on joining the European Union, the country's powerful deputy prime minister said on Wednesday. The warning followed marathon talks between the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo, their eighth encounter in almost as many months as the EU pushes to stabilize relations between the two and set Serbia on the path to membership of the bloc. ... Full Story | Top |
| Capriles mocks "skin-deep" revolutionaries ahead of Venezuela vote Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 12:17 PM PDT  By Andrew Cawthorne CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's opposition presidential candidate tore into government leaders on Wednesday as false revolutionaries lining their pockets while professing faith to the late Hugo Chavez's radical socialism. Trailing in opinion polls ahead of the April 14 vote, Henrique Capriles is attacking acting President Nicolas Maduro and other senior officials as a corrupt and incompetent coterie unable to solve Venezuelans' basic problems. "They talk of socialism, but it's on the surface only. ... Full Story | Top |
| Libya investigating Zueitina oil pipeline blast Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 12:04 PM PDT  By Ghaith Shennib NEAR ADJABIYAH, Libya (Reuters) - Libya is investigating the cause of an explosion late on Tuesday on oil and condensate pipelines to the eastern port of Zueitina, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said. The blast occurred at 10 p.m. local time on a section of the pipeline linking Field 103, which is operated by Zueitina Oil company, to the export terminal, the state energy company said in a statement on its website. Zueitina workers said repairs were being made and oil was expected to flow through the pipeline to the terminal in a day or two. ... Full Story | Top |
| Portuguese government defeats no confidence motion Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 11:57 AM PDT  By Andrei Khalip and Daniel Alvarenga LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's government defeated a no confidence motion on Wednesday, yet the move united all the opposition in parliament against austerity policies and rattled the stock market. The vote was largely symbolic as the ruling centre-right coalition holds a comfortable majority, but Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said the motion gave the impression of political instability just when Lisbon needs investor confidence to regain full access to debt markets. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. sends missile defenses to Guam over North Korea threat Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 11:56 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Wednesday it was sending an advanced ballistic missile defense system to Guam in the coming weeks, as U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel cited a "real and clear" danger from North Korea. North Korea has singled out U.S. military bases in Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific, and Hawaii among its potential targets in threats in recent weeks that have put the Korean peninsula on edge and triggered a change in the U.S. defense posture and missile defense planning. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. offers up to $5 million reward for Uganda warlord Kony, others Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 11:32 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday offered a reward of up to $5 million each for fugitive Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony and some of his top aides in the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group. Kony, who has been accused of terrorizing northern Uganda for 20 years and was ejected from the country along with his rebel group in 2005, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes. The warlord and a few hundred followers are now believed to roam the remote jungle straddling the borders of South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic. ... Full Story | Top |
| Uganda suspends hunt for warlord Kony after coup Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 11:32 AM PDT  By Elias Biryabarema KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda has suspended the hunt for fugitive warlord Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army fighters, blaming hostility towards foreign troops by Central African Republic rebels who seized power last month. About 100 U.S. special forces helping with intelligence and logistical support also called off operations temporarily, a U.S. embassy official said, but it was not immediately clear if troops from other countries in the regional force were also giving up the search. Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Afghan Taliban kill 44 in suicide attack on courtroom Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 11:11 AM PDT By Sharaf Stanekzai HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Nine Taliban suicide bombers killed themselves and 44 others on Wednesday in an attack on a courtroom in western Afghanistan where 10 of their comrades were on trial, a local official said. Causing the biggest death toll in a single attack since 2011, the militants, strapped with explosives, stormed the governor's compound in the capital of Farah province, bordering Iran, where the trial was taking place. Thirty-four of the dead were civilians, the rest Afghan security forces, the governor's spokesman Abdul Rahman Zhwandai said. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. sees real danger from North Korea, trying to defuse tensions Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 10:55 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States sees a "real and clear" danger from North Korea, given its nuclear and missile capabilities and bellicose rhetoric, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Wednesday. "We take those threats seriously," Hagel said, addressing an audience at the National Defense University in Washington. "We are doing everything we can, working with the Chinese, others, to defuse that situation on the peninsula." (Reporting by Phil Stewart) Full Story | Top |
| Portugal government defeats no confidence motion, warns of instability Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 10:51 AM PDT  LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's austerity-minded government defeated on Wednesday a no confidence motion, which nevertheless united all the opposition in parliament, showing growing resistance against further budget tightening under an EU/IMF bailout. The vote was largely symbolic as the ruling centre-right coalition holds a comfortable majority in parliament, yet Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho warned the move created political instability. The main opposition Socialists and the two smaller left-wing parties backed the motion, garnering 97 votes in a 230-seat parliament. ... Full Story | Top |
| Western envoys to attend ICC-indictee Kenyatta's inauguration Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 10:33 AM PDT  By Edmund Blair NAIROBI (Reuters) - The United States and several other European nations are expecting to send ambassadors to attend the swearing in next week of Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya's president-elect who is indicted for crimes against humanity at The Hague. Western diplomats said this level of attendance was in line with their policy of having only "essential contacts" with indictees of the International Criminal Court. A European Union official also said EU envoys were seeking to meet Kenyatta. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt court bars Gaddafi cousin's extradition to Libya Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 10:28 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court barred the extradition of a cousin of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to his home country on Wednesday, saying Ahmed Gaddaf Alddam should be tried in Egypt, officials said. Gaddaf Alddam, who is wanted in Libya for alleged counterfeiting, forgery, fraud and money laundering, is under investigation on suspicion of attacking Egyptian police during his arrest last month. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pope stresses "fundamental" value of women in Church Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 10:23 AM PDT  By Naomi O'Leary ROME (Reuters) - Pope Francis stressed the "fundamental" importance of women in the Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday, a message hailed as a significant shift from the position of his predecessor Benedict. Supporters of liberal reform of the Church have called on it to give a greater voice to women and recognize their importance to the largest religious denomination in the world, and some groups call for women to be ordained as priests. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Secretary of State Kerry to visit Turkey Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 10:20 AM PDT  ANKARA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Turkey on Sunday as part of a trip to Europe and Asia to consult allies on issues including Syria's civil war, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday. Washington regards Turkey, which shares a 900-km (560-mile) border with Syria, as a pivotal player in backing the Syrian opposition and planning for an era after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "The U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia's 2012 arms exports up 12 percent despite Libya losses Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 10:05 AM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's weapons exports rose 12 percent in 2012 to a record $15.2 billion, President Vladimir Putin said in remarks broadcast on Wednesday, despite losing billions of dollars in deals with Libya after the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Russia, the second biggest arms exporter after the United States, said its largest clients were in Asia. Putin, speaking in televised remarks during a meeting with senior Russian officials, said Russia supplied weapons to 66 countries but gave no breakdown for 2012 exports. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greek anarchists jailed over bombing campaign Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 10:02 AM PDT  ATHENS (Reuters) - Three self-proclaimed Greek anarchists were sentenced to jail on Wednesday for involvement in a seven-year campaign of attacks and attempted murders, including a rocket propelled grenade assault on the U.S. embassy in Athens. The three had admitted being members of Revolutionary Struggle - a group which declared war on all forms of government in 2003 and later said it was also protesting against austerity measures brought in to cope with Greece's financial crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hostilities flare along Israeli-Gaza border Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 09:50 AM PDT  By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel pressed Hamas on Wednesday to rein in rocket-firing militants in the Gaza Strip after the most serious outbreak of cross-border hostilities since the ceasefire that ended an eight-day war in November. The flare-up, sparked by anger in Gaza over the death from cancer of a Palestinian held by Israel, included Israel's first air strike on the Hamas-run coastal enclave since the truce. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rights groups urge public access to UAE dissidents' trial Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 09:38 AM PDT DUBAI (Reuters) - Human rights groups urged United Arab Emirates authorities on Wednesday to grant full public access to the trial of 94 people accused of plotting to seize power in the Gulf Arab state. But a source close to the UAE government said the trial, which began in Abu Dhabi last month, was taking place in a "very transparent manner". More than 60 people have been detained in a crackdown on Islamists in the past year amid heightened worries among officials about a spillover from unrest in other Arab countries. ... Full Story | Top |
| Putin foe Navalny to be put on trial in Russia this month Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 09:21 AM PDT  By Alissa de Carbonnel MOSCOW (Reuters) - A prominent Russian opposition leader will stand trial for theft this month, a court said on Wednesday, in what appeared to be a tough signal to critics of President Vladimir Putin who hope to revive a street protest movement in May. Alexei Navalny, an anti-graft blogger and leader of protests last year whose case has been compared to the prosecution of oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky during Putin's first stint in the presidency in 2000-2008, is to go on trial on April 17. ... Full Story | Top |
| French government clamors to distance itself from disgraced minister Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 09:17 AM PDT  By Catherine Bremer PARIS (Reuters) - The French government on Wednesday fought to limit the damage from a former minister's admission that he had lied over the existence of a foreign bank account, as critics suggested it had been either naive or complicit. President Francois Hollande, already battling to convince the world he has France's finances under control, said he had never protected Jerome Cahuzac, his budget minister until mid-March, and personally ordered him to quit the moment an inquiry was opened into the affair. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Opposition split means Hungary's combative PM could win again Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 08:45 AM PDT  By Marton Dunai BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's authoritarian ways have alarmed international partners and put off millions of voters, but he is on track for reelection next year due to a standoff between two would-be challengers from the left. The "peacock dance" within Hungary's leftist opposition has prevented it from capitalizing on deep dissatisfaction in the recession-hit central European country, whose government has been accused of chipping away at European democratic standards. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela's Flores: from Chavez's lawyer to first lady? Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 08:14 AM PDT  By Marianna Parraga CARACAS (Reuters) - A tough lawyer who helped win Hugo Chavez's release from prison after a failed coup two decades ago, Venezuela's former attorney general Cilia Flores has since never been far from the circle of power around the late socialist leader. If her partner, acting President Nicolas Maduro, wins an April 14 election to replace Chavez after his death from cancer, the 60-year-old Flores will become even more influential. "She has a fiery character. What you saw of her in parliament, that's exactly what she is like at home," Maduro told one rally. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU's Ashton urges Iran to respond to nuclear offer Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 07:57 AM PDT  ANKARA (Reuters) - European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Wednesday Iran must respond to an offer proposed by world powers if this week's nuclear talks were to succeed. Ashton was speaking in the Turkish capital Ankara before talks on the nuclear dispute with Iran in Kazakhstan on Friday and Saturday, at which she will lead negotiations on behalf of the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany. "I remain always cautiously optimistic. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ukrainian court keeps Tymoshenko ally in prison Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 07:54 AM PDT  KIEV (Reuters) - A Ukrainian court on Wednesday dismissed an appeal by a former interior minister and ally of jailed ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko against his conviction, dashing his supporters' hopes that he might be freed as a concession to the West. The European Union says the convictions of Yuri Lutsenko, 48, and of Tymoshenko, in whose government he served, smack of selective justice and political vengeance. Both politicians are opponents of President Viktor Yanukovich. ... Full Story | Top |
| Serbia faces tough decisions on Kosovo to save EU bid Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 07:49 AM PDT  By Matt Robinson and Aleksandar Vasovic BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia said on Wednesday it faced tough decisions in the days ahead as the Balkan country weighs how far to give ground on its former Kosovo province in return for coveted talks on membership of the European Union. The warning followed marathon but inconclusive talks in Brussels between the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo, their eighth encounter in almost as many months as the EU pushes to end the ethnic partition of Kosovo and set Serbia on the path to membership of the bloc. ... Full Story | Top |
| Portugal opposition wants bailout renegotiation, new government Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 07:33 AM PDT  LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's main opposition party leader called on Wednesday to renegotiate Lisbon's EU/IMF bailout program and said the center-right coalition government was "incompetent" and had to be replaced. Presenting a symbolic motion of no confidence to be voted in parliament later on Wednesday, Socialist leader Antonio Jose Seguro said his party supported budget discipline, but was against "blind spending cuts" that the government insists on. "Your government is destroying Portugal and there is only one solution - to replace the incompetent government," he said. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU's Ashton "cautiously optimistic" over Iran nuclear talks Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 07:21 AM PDT  ANKARA (Reuters) - The European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Wednesday she was "cautiously optimistic" about nuclear talks with Iran in Kazakhstan on April 5-6, but said it was vital that Tehran responded to an offer put forward by major powers. "I remain always cautiously optimistic. But I am also very clear that it is very important that we do get a response (from Iran)," Ashton told reporters in the Turkish capital when asked about the talks in Almaty. (Reporting by Parisa Hafezi; Writing by Jonathon Burch; Editing by Alison Williams) Full Story | Top |
| Rebels should hold elections sooner in Central African Republic: AU Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 07:08 AM PDT  By Madjiasra Nako N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Rebels who seized power in Central African Republic should consider holding elections in one year not three to speed up the return to democratic rule, a senior official from the African Union said on Wednesday. African leaders including South African President Jacob Zuma are meeting in Chad's capital N'Djamena to hash out a regional response to the coup. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spaniards take fight against evictions to politicians' doorsteps Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 06:58 AM PDT  By Sarah White MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish protesters seeking to stop a wave of evictions have resorted to embarrassing politicians at their homes over harsh mortgage laws that have multiplied the pain of a property crash in the recession-hit country. Inspired by Latin American human rights campaigns from the 1990s, the "escraches" - Argentine slang for denunciation - have involved protesters posting flyers and shouting slogans on the doorsteps of a number of politicians over the past fortnight. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian jet flies into Lebanon, fires missile Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 06:39 AM PDT ARSAL, Lebanon (Reuters) - A Syrian jet flew 20 km (12 miles) into Lebanon and fired a missile into a field on the outskirts of the border town of Arsal on Wednesday but caused no casualties, witnesses said. Lebanon has maintained a policy of "dissociation" from Syria's two-year-old conflict. But many Lebanese officials feel their country is increasingly at risk of being dragged into the civil war, which the United Nations says has killed 70,000 people. Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have fired mortars into and occasionally entered Lebanese territory in pursuit of rebels. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia delivers aid for Syria refugees in Lebanon Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 06:39 AM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - A Russian plane carrying 36 tonnes of humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees in Lebanon landed in Beirut on Wednesday, the first such shipment by Moscow which has supported President Bashar al-Assad throughout the two-year-old conflict. Russia's ambassador to Beirut Alexander Zasypkin said the Ilyushin transport plane brought blankets, food supplies and generators to Lebanon, where the United Nations says 398,000 Syrians are seeking refuge from the conflict in their country. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sri Lanka newspaper office attacked, five workers hurt Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 06:09 AM PDT By N. Parameswaran JAFFNA, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - An unidentified group of people attacked an office of a Tamil-language newspaper that is critical of the government in Sri Lanka and five workers injured, the publisher said on Wednesday. The attack comes two weeks after the United Nations passed a resolution calling on the government to address human rights violations, including the intimidation of journalists. The attack on the Uthayan newspaper office was the fourth attack on the media since January in Sri Lanka's former war zone in the north of the country. ... Full Story | Top |
| South African doctors say Mandela "much better" Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 05:52 AM PDT  By Tiisetso Motsoeneng SOWETO, South Africa (Reuters) - Former South African president and anti-apartheid titan Nelson Mandela is making "steady improvement" under treatment for pneumonia and is much better now than when he was hospitalized a week ago, the government said on Wednesday. The three-sentence statement from President Jacob Zuma's office was the most upbeat since the 94-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate was admitted to hospital with a recurrence of a lung infection. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jailed Kurdish rebel leader set to make fresh peace process call Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 05:45 AM PDT  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Pro-Kurdish politicians traveled on Wednesday to a Turkish island where jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan was expected to pronounce on efforts to end a decades-old insurgency that has killed 40,000 people. A government official said a co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and two BDP lawmakers were visiting Ocalan in his jail on Imrali island, south of Istanbul. ... Full Story | Top |
| French investigators to get ex-minister's Swiss bank details Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 05:07 AM PDT  GENEVA (Reuters) - France's former budget minister, forced to resign after revelations he held a secret Swiss bank account, has allowed Swiss authorities to pass account details to French judges investigating him for fraud, Geneva's public prosecutor said on Wednesday. Jerome Cahuzac quit his post in charge of French state finances two weeks ago on the orders of President Francois Hollande. On Tuesday he admitted to holding 600,000 euros in a secret foreign account and said on his blog he was "caught in a spiral of lies". ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Mali insurgency endangers French pull-out plan Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 05:02 AM PDT  By John Irish PARIS (Reuters) - France wants to cut its forces in Mali sharply by the year-end and is urging its ex-colony to hold elections in July, but an Islamist insurgency is threatening that timetable. Many people in northern Mali who lived under the rebels' brutal form of Islamic law last year are apprehensive about French plans to leave just 1,000 of the current 4,000 troops in the country by December, with U.N. peacekeepers filling the gap. "The Islamists are waiting for the French to leave to open the gates to hell. Let's hope the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
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