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| Colombian FARC leader Catatumbo joins peace talks in Havana Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 12:33 PM PDT BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian rebel leader Pablo Catatumbo has joined the team of FARC negotiators hammering out a peace deal in Havana, a move that could help the Marxist group garner more support from low-ranking guerrillas to end the country's five-decade conflict. Catatumbo, who is sought by the United States for drug trafficking, went to Havana with other members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, to reinforce the negotiating team, the rebel group said in a statement on Sunday. "Colombia's destiny cannot be war ... ... Full Story | Top |
| One dead, 66 wounded in Cairo clashes after funeral: MENA Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 12:26 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - One person was killed and 66 were wounded during clashes that broke out in central Cairo on Sunday after a funeral service at the Coptic cathedral for four Christians killed during sectarian violence on Friday, the state news agency MENA said. State television showed fighting continuing late into the night. (Reporting by Ahmed Tolba and Ulf Laessing; Editing by Kevin Liffey) Full Story | Top |
| CA-NEWS Summary Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 12:15 PM PDT In mid-term doldrums, Canada's Conservatives hope to reboot OTTAWA (Reuters) - Voter fatigue with Canada's ruling Conservatives and signs of stress within the government are putting Prime Minister Stephen Harper under pressure to freshen up his team and policies as the telegenic son of Pierre Trudeau starts snapping at his heels. Even though the election is 30 months away - in October 2015 - the next few months will be a critical time for Harper, given mounting evidence in opinion polls that the Conservatives risk losing power after what would be nearly a decade in office. ... Full Story | Top |
| Door still open on Iran atom talks, but not forever: U.S Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 12:14 PM PDT  By Arshad Mohammed ISTANBUL (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday world powers would pursue further talks with Iran to resolve a decade-old dispute over its nuclear programme, but stressed that the process could not go on forever. The six powers and Iran failed again to bridge wide differences at weekend talks in Kazakhstan, prolonging a stand-off that could yet erupt into a new Middle East war. No new talks were scheduled. ... Full Story | Top |
| Powers and Iran fail to end nuclear deadlock in Almaty Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 12:14 PM PDT  By Justyna Pawlak and Yeganeh Torbati ALMATY (Reuters) - World powers and Iran failed again to end the deadlock in a decade-old dispute over Tehran's nuclear program in talks that ended in Kazakhstan on Saturday, prolonging a standoff that could yet spiral into a new Middle East war. No new talks were scheduled but big power negotiators, who earlier this year were insisting that time was running out, were at pains to say the diplomatic process would continue. Iran's critics accuse it of covertly seeking the means to produce nuclear bombs. ... Full Story | Top |
| Afghan attacks kill U.S. diplomat, soldiers, others Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 12:12 PM PDT KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A car bomb blast killed five Americans, including three U.S. soldiers and a young diplomat, on Saturday, while an American civilian died in a separate attack in the east. The diplomat and other Americans were in a convoy of vehicles in Zabul province when the blast occurred, Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement. The soldiers and the diplomat died in the blast along with a civilian employee of the Defense Department and Afghan civilians, Kerry said. His statement gave no overall death toll. ... Full Story | Top |
| China confident it can control bird flu outbreak Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 12:09 PM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - China is confident it can control an outbreak of a new strain of bird flu, a senior Chinese health official said on Sunday as the World Health Organization (WHO) said there had now been 21 human cases of the H7N9 flu with six deaths. China has said it is mobilizing resources nationwide to combat the new strain, monitoring hundreds of close contacts of confirmed cases and culling tens of thousands of birds where traces of the virus were found. ... Full Story | Top |
| Portugal to cut spending after court ruling Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 11:47 AM PDT  LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's government will cut spending to meet targets agreed with its lenders after a court overturned key austerity measures, Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said on Sunday. Passos Coelho said in a televised address Friday's Constitutional Court ruling posed "serious obstacles and risks" this year and next, but reaffirmed his commitment to the fiscal and economic adjustment program under an EU/IMF bailout. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU's Ashton seeks consensus in Egypt on economy and reform Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 11:43 AM PDT  By Paul Taylor CAIRO (Reuters) - The European Union's foreign policy chief met Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi on Sunday against a backdrop of sectarian violence to encourage feuding political leaders to seek a national consensus in tackling mounting problems. "This is a critical time for Egypt's transition. The country is facing huge economic and political challenges," Catherine Ashton said before the talks. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian Copts and Muslims clash again, in central Cairo Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 11:43 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Clashes broke out between Coptic Christians and Muslims in central Cairo on Sunday after the funeral of four Copts killed in sectarian violence outside the Egyptian capital on Friday night, a witness said. The state news agency MENA said 17 people had been injured in fighting after a funeral ceremony at the city's Coptic Orthodox cathedral. Public television showed riot police firing tear gas to disperse the crowd. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nigeria Delta militants kill 12 police in boat ambush Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 11:32 AM PDT By Tife Owolabi YENAGOA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian militants have ambushed a police boat in the oil-producing Niger Delta region, killing 12 police officers, authorities said on Sunday. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the main delta militant group before a 2009 amnesty, claimed responsibility for Friday's attack, staged shortly after it had threatened to resume its campaign of violence. However, another of the armed groups roaming Africa's top oil producer said it had carried out the ambush near the village of Azuzama, which a further 38 police officers ... Full Story | Top |
| Rocket fired from Gaza strikes southern Israel: police Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 11:28 AM PDT JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip struck southern Israel on Sunday, causing no damage or injuries, a police spokesman said. Last week rockets fired by Gaza militants spurred Israel to carry out air strikes on the territory, the first since the ceasefire that ended an eight-day war between Israel and Hamas in November. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the rocket, fired after sundown as Israel began commemorating its national remembrance day of the Nazi Holocaust, landed in an open area. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Stephen Powell) Full Story | Top |
| Opposition holds big rally in Venezuela government stronghold Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 11:02 AM PDT  By Diego Ore and Eyanir Chinea CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's opposition candidate Henrique Capriles called tens of thousands of supporters onto the streets of the government's stronghold in downtown Caracas on Sunday, in a show of strength a week before he faces Nicolas Maduro in a presidential vote. Acting leader Nicolas Maduro has vowed to continue the hard-line socialism of his late boss, Hugo Chavez, if he wins the election on April 14. Maduro was holding a giant rally on Sunday in rural Apure state, on the border with Colombia. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pope installed as bishop of Rome, appeals to lapsed faithful Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 10:21 AM PDT  ROME (Reuters) - Pope Francis was formally installed as bishop of Rome on Sunday and he urged lapsed Catholics not to be afraid to return to God. Francis celebrated a Mass before thousands of people in the Rome Basilica of St. John in Lateran to formally take possession of the cathedral in his capacity as bishop of the Italian capital, his other major role along with the papacy. Francis, the former archbishop of Buenos Aires, has indicated that he intends to embrace his role as Rome's bishop as well as leader of the 1.2-billion-member Catholic Church. ... Full Story | Top |
| China warns against "troublemaking" on Korean peninsula Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 09:55 AM PDT  By Ben Blanchard and Jane Chung BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) - China warned against "troublemaking" on its doorstep, in an apparent rebuke to North Korea, and the United States said it was postponing a missile test to help calm high tension on the divided Korean peninsula. The North, led by 30-year-old Kim Jong-un, has been issuing vitriolic threats of war against the United States and U.S.-backed South Korea since the United Nations imposed sanctions in response to its third nuclear weapon test in February. Pyongyang's anger appears heightened by U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises. ... Full Story | Top |
| Montenegrin president bids for new five-year term Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 09:49 AM PDT  By Petar Komnenic PODGORICA (Reuters) - Montenegro voted on Sunday in a presidential election expected to return incumbent Filip Vujanovic for a third term with the tiny Adriatic republic trying to shed a reputation for crime and corruption to smooth its way into the European Union. Vujanovic, 58, has held the largely ceremonial post since 2003. The country of 680,000 people became independent in 2006 when it narrowly voted to end an 88-year union with Serbia. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudan officers get jail terms for alleged coup attempt Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 09:49 AM PDT  KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A Sudanese court sentenced nine army officers to prison terms of up to five years on Sunday for their role in an alleged coup attempt against President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, a lawyer said. In November, Sudan arrested its former spy chief Salah Gosh and other senior military and security officials after foiling what the government says was a coup plot. In the first verdict since the arrests, a military court in the capital Khartoum handed down jail terms of between two and five years to nine army officers, said Hisham al-Ja'ali, a lawyer for the defendants. ... Full Story | Top |
| Expatriates apprehensive over Saudi Arabia labor crackdown Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 09:18 AM PDT By Marwa Rashad RIYADH (Reuters) - Like many expatriates in Saudi Arabia, Umm Hajar, a 30-year-old Moroccan beautician, stopped going to work two weeks ago fearful of government inspectors checking her residency status. She has lived in the capital Riyadh with her Egyptian husband for two years, but while they both have residence permits, they are in breach of official regulations because they are not sponsored by their employers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's top judicial body urges prosecutor to quit Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 09:00 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's top judicial body urged the prosecutor general appointed by President Mohamed Mursi but reviled by the liberal opposition to resign voluntarily and return to his former job as a judge. The removal of Talaat Ibrahim has been a key demand of liberals, leftists and civil rights campaigners, who accuse him of bias by targeting independent media, opposition activists and critics of Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood movement, such as popular television satirist Bassem Youssef. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt releases weapons ship after investigation: sources Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 09:00 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian authorities released a ship loaded with heavy weapons and its crew three days after they were seized for entering Egyptian territorial waters in the Red Sea, two security sources told Reuters on Sunday. The Togolese-flagged ship named COMR, with a crew of 14, was escorted into the port of Safaga, 569 km (356 miles) south of Cairo, on Wednesday after straying into Egyptian waters off the Sinai Peninsula. Authorities found weapons and ammunition, and detained the crew members for investigation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mubarak's last PM found not guilty on corruption charge Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 09:00 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court acquitted Ahmed Shafik, the last prime minister of deposed president Hosni Mubarak, on a charge of embezzling public funds when he was civil aviation minister, a court official said on Sunday. Shafik, who is on a watch list at border points, was tried in his absence over allegations that he, former civil aviation minister Ibrahim Mannaa, and former Egypt Air chief Tawfiq el-Asi embezzled over 23 million Egyptian pounds ($3.4 million). All three were found not guilty, advisor Ahmed Yousef said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's center left divided over nemesis Berlusconi Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 08:17 AM PDT  By Catherine Hornby ROME (Reuters) - Two months after placing first in a vote but falling short of winning power, Italy's main center-left party is still divided over whether to swallow its animosity and consider a government with its scandal-plagued nemesis, Silvio Berlusconi. Italy has been in limbo since a February election gave no bloc enough votes to govern alone. The center left won a majority in the lower house but not in the Senate, and a huge protest vote for the populist 5-Star Movement has split parliament three ways. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sri Lanka to probe mass grave with more than 150 dead Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 07:52 AM PDT  By Shihar Aneez and Ranga Sirilal COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka is setting up a presidential commission to investigate a mass grave with the remains of more than 150 people, an official spokesman said on Sunday. Two reports submitted to a court last week said that the human remains, in the town of Matale 142 km (88 miles) north of the capital, dated back to the period 1986-1989 when Sri Lanka faced a Marxist insurrection. "The president has decided to appoint a presidential commission to inquire into the mass grave. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ousted GERB woos Bulgarians with promises of fiscal stability Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 07:39 AM PDT SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's center-right GERB party, forced from power by protests over low living standards in February, pledged on Sunday to keep taxes unchanged and boost incomes only in line with economic growth if it wins an early election in May. GERB's leader and ex-premier Boiko Borisov said that was the way to protect the country's currency peg to the euro and avoid economic and financial meltdown. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine leader pardons jailed allies of ex-PM Tymoshenko Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 07:30 AM PDT  By Richard Balmforth KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich pardoned two jailed allies of his main political opponent, former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, on Sunday but took no steps to free the imprisoned opposition leader herself. The European Union, which has curbed its ties with Ukraine over the jailing of Yanukovich opponents, hailed the pardons for former interior minister Yuri Lutsenko and former ecology minister Heorhiy Filipchuk as an important initial step in addressing what it considers "selective justice". ... Full Story | Top |
| Twelve Afghan civilians dead in air strike: Afghan officials Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 06:13 AM PDT By Mohammad Anwar SHIGAL, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Eleven children and a woman were killed by an air strike during a NATO operation targeting Taliban commanders in eastern Afghanistan, officials in the region said Sunday. Civilian deaths have been a long-running source of friction between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his international backers. Karzai has forbidden Afghan troops from calling for air strikes and NATO advise crews not to fire at or bomb in populated areas. ... Full Story | Top |
| Xi promises peaceful, prosperous China helping neighbors Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 06:07 AM PDT  BOAO, China (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping pledged on Sunday that change and peaceful development will power his country's economic rise and sustain growth within its borders and beyond. Stressing that peace was pivotal for the future of the world's second biggest economy, Xi appealed to business and political leaders to use diplomacy and dialogue to resolve disputes and allow wealth to spread and solve problems. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kerry urges Turkey, Israel to take steps to normalizing ties Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 05:24 AM PDT  By Arshad Mohammed and Jonathon Burch ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry urged Turkey and Israel on Sunday to restore full relations, calling this vital to regional stability, but said it was not up to Washington to dictate the conditions of rapprochement. An Israeli-Turkish reconciliation could improve regional coordination to contain spillover from the Syrian civil war and ease Israel's diplomatic isolation in the Middle East as it faces the challenge of Iran's nuclear program. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Africa to send troops to join U.N. mission in Congo Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 05:08 AM PDT JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa will send troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of a U.N. mission to neutralize armed groups in the conflict-torn east of the country, a South African military spokesman said on Sunday. The deployment comes as South Africa is coming to grips with its worst military setback since the end of apartheid in 1994. Thirteen of its troops were killed last month in a shootout with rebels in the neighboring Central African Republic (CAR). "The DRC deployment has nothing to do with the CAR. ... Full Story | Top |
| In mid-term doldrums, Canada's Conservatives hope to reboot Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 05:02 AM PDT  By Randall Palmer and David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Voter fatigue with Canada's ruling Conservatives and signs of stress within the government are putting Prime Minister Stephen Harper under pressure to freshen up his team and policies as the telegenic son of Pierre Trudeau starts snapping at his heels. Even though the election is 30 months away - in October 2015 - the next few months will be a critical time for Harper, given mounting evidence in opinion polls that the Conservatives risk losing power after what would be nearly a decade in office. ... Full Story | Top |
| Calls for Britain to offer asylum to Afghan interpreters Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 04:33 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - British military and political figures on Saturday called on the government to offer asylum to hundreds of Afghan interpreters at risk of Taliban reprisals now that the soldiers they helped start pulling out of the country. In an open letter to the Times newspaper, signatories including Britain's former army chief said there were about 600 interpreters helping British troops in Afghanistan. To date, about 20 have been killed in action and dozens more wounded. ... Full Story | Top |
| France's Hollande under pressure to reshuffle government Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 04:31 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - A majority of the French favor a government reshuffle in the aftermath of a scandal that forced the budget minister to resign after lying about a secret foreign bank account, a poll showed on Sunday. Socialist Hollande and his finance minister have spent the past week fending off accusations of a cover-up after former budget minister Jerome Cahuzac admitted lying about a secret 600,000-euro foreign bank account and was placed under formal investigation by magistrates. ... Full Story | Top |
| Maduro plays up his bus-driver roots for Venezuela campaign Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 04:08 AM PDT  By Daniel Wallis CARACAS (Reuters) - Gripping the wheel and grinning at passengers, acting President Nicolas Maduro drives a bus to campaign rallies before an election he hopes will let him steer Venezuela to six more years of hardline socialism. From banners all around him, the image of the man Maduro calls his "father," the late Hugo Chavez, beams beatifically and salutes. "Chavez sets the route, Maduro takes the wheel!" is the catchy slogan of the government's campaign ahead of the presidential election next Sunday to choose Chavez's successor. ... Full Story | Top |
| Swiss offer to mediate in North Korea crisis Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 04:05 AM PDT ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland has offered to mediate with North Korea as tension rises on the Korean peninsula following U.N. sanctions imposed in response to a North Korean nuclear weapon test in February. The Swiss foreign ministry recently made contact with the North Korean authorities but there are no current plans for any talks, a spokeswoman said. "Switzerland is willing to contribute to a de-escalation on the Korean peninsula and is always willing to help find a solution, if this is the wish of the parties, such as hosting meetings between them," she said in an emailed statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spanish king's popularity plummets as royals face crisis Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 03:57 AM PDT  MADRID (Reuters) - Public opinion in Spain has turned against King Juan Carlos in favor of his son Felipe, an opinion poll showed on Sunday, showing the toll taken on the king by gaffes, friendships with young women and royal family corruption allegations. The survey for El Pais newspaper showed 53 percent disapproved of the 75-year-old king, giving him an overall approval-versus-disapproval rating of -11, compared to +21 in December. Prince Felipe's rating also fell but remained broadly favorable at +28, compared to +37 in December. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel to return to annual budgets after 2014 Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 03:15 AM PDT  TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid decided on Sunday to revert to annual budgets after 2014, rather than the two-year budgets of recent years, because forecasting is more accurate over the shorter time frame, the ministry said. Lapid, the new finance minister, made the decision in coordination with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Building an economic working plan annually enables a reduction in the margin for error between the forecasts for government tax revenue and domestic and global economic processes and actually realizing them," Lapid said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen ambush police boat in Nigeria oil region Sunday, Apr 07, 2013 02:42 AM PDT By Tife Owolabi YENAGOA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian militants have ambushed a police boat in the oil-producing Niger Delta region, leaving 12 officers missing and presumed dead, security officials said on Sunday. The ambush came days after the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the main delta militant group prior to a 2009 amnesty, threatened to restart attacks in retaliation for the jailing of leader Henry Okah by a South African court. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran must be set deadline of weeks to halt enrichment: Israel Saturday, Apr 06, 2013 11:20 PM PDT By Ori Lewis JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A senior Israeli minister called on world powers on Sunday to set a deadline for military action of weeks to persuade Iran to halt its nuclear enrichment program after talks ended without progress at the weekend. World powers and Iran failed again to end a deadlock in the decade-old dispute over Tehran's nuclear program during the meeting in Kazakhstan, prolonging a standoff that could yet spiral into a new Middle East war. "Sanctions are not enough and the talks are not enough. ... Full Story | Top |
| China to let tourists visit disputed South China Sea islets Saturday, Apr 06, 2013 09:43 PM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - China will this month start allowing tourists to visit the Paracel Islands, one of a group of disputed islets and reefs in the South China Sea, state news agency Xinhua said, a move likely to irk rival claimant Vietnam. A cruise ship that can accommodate 1,965 passengers is ready for sailing to the Paracels, known in Chinese as Xisha, Xinhua reported, citing ship owner Haihang Group Corp. Hainan Harbour and Shipping Holdings Co is building another cruise ship. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rights concerns overshadow trade ties on Putin's European trip Saturday, Apr 06, 2013 09:07 PM PDT  By Steve Gutterman and Alexandra Hudson MOSCOW/BERLIN (Reuters) - Growing Western concerns about Vladimir Putin's record on human rights and democracy could mean a chilly reception for the Russian president on a trip to Germany and the Netherlands, Moscow's biggest trade partners in Europe. The nations need Russia for energy and as a market for exports ranging from Volkswagen Touaregs to tulips, but are uneasy about the influence its oil and gas give it and about Putin's treatment of opponents and activists in his new Kremlin term. ... Full Story | Top |
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