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| Thousands march in Istanbul in solidarity with Kurds Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 11:55 AM PDT  By Ece Toksabay ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters marched to Istanbul's Taksim Square on Saturday chanting slogans against the government and police after security forces killed a Kurdish demonstrator in southeastern Turkey. The protest had been planned as part of larger unrelated anti-government demonstrations that have swept through the country since the end of May, but became a voice of solidarity with the Kurds after Friday's killing. "Murderer police, get out of Kurdistan!" some protesters chanted. "This is only the beginning, the struggle continues. ... Full Story | Top |
| Biden asked Ecuador not to give Snowden asylum: Correa Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 11:43 AM PDT  QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuador's President Rafael Correa on Saturday said the United States asked him not to grant asylum for former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden in a "cordial" telephone conversation he held with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. Correa said he vowed to respect Washington's opinion in evaluating the request. The Andean nation says it cannot begin processing Snowden's request unless he reaches Ecuador or one of its embassies. Snowden, who is wanted by the United States for leaking details about U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Detained Somali Islamist commander flown to Mogadishu Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 11:41 AM PDT  By Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - One of Somalia's most prominent Islamist rebel commanders, arrested by a regional administration, was flown to the capital Mogadishu on Saturday, where he agreed to hold talks with the federal government about his fate, Somali officials said. Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, whose capture was a boost to Mogadishu in its battle against Islamist insurgents, was detained in central Somalia and then taken to the town of Adado. Much of Somalia has been stabilized after two decades of turmoil by a campaign that drove back the militant group al Shabaab. ... Full Story | Top |
| Dozens feared dead in fighting for control of Somali port city Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 11:33 AM PDT By Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Dozens of people were feared killed in two days of fierce fighting for control of a strategic Somali port city, according to witness and militia accounts on Saturday, despite efforts to prevent the clashes escalating into broader clan warfare. Scores have died in sporadic fighting in Kismayu since Ahmed Madobe, leader of the Ras Kamboni militia, was chosen by a regional assembly to lead Somalia's southern Jubaland region, where the port is located. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain's Cameron pushes peace in Afghanistan Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 11:18 AM PDT  By Andrew Osborn KABUL (Reuters) - The chance to end 12 years of grinding war in Afghanistan should be seized by those committed to peace, British Prime Minister David Cameron said in Kabul on Saturday. His comments come barely a week after talks between the Afghan state and the Taliban were announced, only to collapse within days due to perceptions that the Taliban were trying to reestablish themselves on the world stage. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian rail workers jailed over train crash that killed 50 Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 11:14 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Two Egyptian railway workers were sentenced to 10 years in prison on Saturday over a train crash last year that killed 50 people, mostly children, and inflamed public anger at the country's shoddy transport network. A court in the southern city of Assiut found Hussein Abdelrahman and Sayed Abdel Radwan guilty of causing the crash last November due to negligence in performing their jobs as rail crossing guards, judicial sources said. It sentenced the men to 10 years in prison each and fined each 100,000 Egyptian pounds ($14,200). ... Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan's vice president to visit Khartoum on Sunday Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 10:47 AM PDT KHARTOUM (Reuters) - South Sudan's vice president will visit Sudan on Sunday, both sides said on Saturday, marking the highest-level talks between the long-time African foes since Khartoum threatened to stop cross-border oil flows. Relations hit a new low three weeks ago when Sudan said it would halt South Sudanese oil exports passing through the north for shipment abroad within 60 days unless Juba ended support for rebels operating across the border. Juba denies the claims. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama tells Egyptians to talk, not fight Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 10:44 AM PDT  By Maggie Fick and Alexander Dziadosz CAIRO (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama called on Egypt's government and opposition on Saturday to engage each other in constructive dialogue and prevent violence spilling out across the region. Bloodshed on Friday killed at least three people, including an American student, and mass rallies are planned for Sunday aimed at unseating Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. Obama said he was "looking at the situation with concern". Hundreds have been wounded and at least eight killed in street fighting for over a week as political deadlock deepens. ... Full Story | Top |
| No threat in China rivalry for Africa business: Obama Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 10:37 AM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Mark Felsenthal PRETORIA (Reuters) - The United States does not feel threatened by the growth of trade and investment in Africa by China and other emerging powers, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday. Suggestions that he has allowed China to steal a march over the United States in doing business with Africa have dogged Obama's three-nation swing through the continent, but he said the increased Chinese engagement was beneficial for all. "I don't feel threatened by it. I feel it's a good thing," Obama told a news conference during a visit to South Africa. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israelis and Palestinians downbeat as Kerry extends peace bid Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 10:24 AM PDT  By Lesley Wroughton JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry extended his Middle East peace mission on Saturday, shuttling between Jerusalem and Amman for more talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on reviving their stalled negotiations. But officials on both the feuding sides played down prospects of the bustle bringing about any imminent diplomatic breakthrough. Cancelling a trip to Abu Dhabi, Kerry flew from Jerusalem to the Jordanian capital for a second meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama meets Mandela family, police disperse protesters Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 10:02 AM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Mark Felsenthal JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama met the family of South Africa's ailing anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela on Saturday, offering words of comfort and praising the critically ill retired statesman as one of history's greatest figures. The faltering health of Mandela, 94, a figure admired globally as a symbol of struggle against injustice and racism, is dominating Obama's two-day visit to South Africa. But Obama also faced protests by South Africans against U.S. foreign policy, especially American drone strikes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Talks with Palestinians unlikely despite Kerry bid: Israeli minister Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 09:41 AM PDT  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A senior Israeli official on Saturday played down the prospect of shuttle diplomacy by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reviving long-stalled peace negotiations with the Palestinians. Asked whether new talks might be imminent, Civil Defense Minister Gilad Erdan, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet, told Israel's Channel Two television: "To my regret, no, as of now." He blamed "preconditions" set by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whom Kerry met in Jordan twice in two days, alternating the meetings with talks with Netanyahu in Jerusalem. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian police officer shot dead in Sinai Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 09:38 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - A senior Egyptian police officer was shot dead by unknown gunmen who ambushed his car in the Sinai Peninsula town of El Arish on Saturday, security sources and state media said. Armed groups have exploited a security vacuum in the Sinai, which borders Israel, since a 2011 uprising ousted president Hosni Mubarak. The mainly Islamist and Bedouin groups have kidnapped tourists and police to press the government for the release of jailed colleagues. ... Full Story | Top |
| Poland economic policy to protect growth:Tusk Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 09:30 AM PDT  CHORZOW (Reuters) - Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the government will run an economy balanced between fiscal discipline and economic expansion, signaling it will not sacrifice growth to spending cuts. The former communist country has posted nearly two decades of uninterrupted growth but its economy began to slow sharply last year and growth fell to near zero in the first quarter of 2013. Tusk said the government would be flexible in its approach to economic growth. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rousseff's popularity plummets in wake of Brazil protests Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 09:27 AM PDT  By Silvio Cascione and Todd Benson SAO PAULO (Reuters) - President Dilma Rousseff's approval rating sank by 27 percentage points in the last three weeks, a poll showed on Saturday, the strongest evidence yet that the recent wave of street protests sweeping Brazil poses a serious threat to her likely re-election bid next year. The share of people who consider Rousseff's administration "great" or "good" plummeted to 30 percent from 57 percent in early June, according to a Datafolha opinion poll published in local newspaper Folha de S.Paulo. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama urges House to pass immigration reform by August Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 09:25 AM PDT  By Jeff Mason PRETORIA (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Saturday urged the House of Representatives to follow the lead of the Senate and pass a bill by August to reform the U.S. immigration system. Speaking during a press conference in South Africa, Obama said there was more than enough time for lawmakers to finish work on the issue before their summer recess. Immigration reform is one of the president's top domestic issues. The Senate recently passed a bill that would strengthen U.S. border security and provide a way for undocumented immigrants in the United States to obtain citizenship. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. bugged EU offices, computer networks: German magazine Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 09:20 AM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - The United States bugged European Union offices and gained access to EU internal computer networks, according to secret documents cited in a German magazine on Saturday, the latest in a series of exposures of alleged U.S. spy programs. Der Spiegel cited from a September 2010 "top secret" document of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) which it said fugitive former NSA contractor Edward Snowden had taken with him and which the weekly's journalists had seen in part. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hundreds of thousands out for London's gay pride Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 09:18 AM PDT  By Costas Pitas LONDON (Reuters) - Rainbow flags, colourful costumes and even a dog dyed pink ushered in London's 42nd gay pride festivities, with hundreds of thousands of people out for the annual celebration. Around 15,000 marched in the parade through the British capital, with up to half a million revellers expected to celebrate in central London, according to organisers. Celebrations are due to culminate in an open-air party in Trafalgar Square, with street celebrations in the gay district expected long into the night. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian army, backed by jets, launches assault on Homs Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 09:14 AM PDT  By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces launched a major offensive on Saturday against rebels in Homs, a centre of the two-year-old uprising, in their latest drive to secure an axis connecting Damascus to the Mediterranean. Activists said jets and mortars had pounded rebel-held areas of the city that have been under siege by Assad's troops for a year, and soldiers fought battles with rebel fighters in several districts. "Government forces are trying to storm (Homs) from all fronts," said an activist using the name Abu Mohammad. ... Full Story | Top |
| Former police chief Bratton launches a social network for cops Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 09:01 AM PDT By Chris Francescani NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bill Bratton, the high-profile police commissioner who has run three of America's largest police forces, is preparing to launch the first comprehensive social media network for police officers - a kind of Facebook for cops. The network, known as BlueLine, will be launched globally at the International Association of Police Chiefs annual conference in Philadelphia in October. ... Full Story | Top |
| American student killed in Egypt violence taught English Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 08:45 AM PDT  ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (Reuters) - An American college student stabbed to death during a protest in Egypt was in the country to teach English to children and improve his Arabic, his family said. Andrew Pochter, 21, from Chevy Chase, Maryland, died after being stabbed in the chest on Friday in the coastal city of Alexandria, where anti-government protesters stormed an office of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood. "As we understand it, he was witnessing a protest as a bystander and was stabbed by a protester," said a statement from the family. Egyptian officials said he was carrying a small camera. ... Full Story | Top |
| France to seek 14 billion euros in cuts next year: paper Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 08:37 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - France will pursue 14 billion euros ($18.2 billion) in spending cuts next year as it attempts to reduce the public deficit to 3 percent of economic output by 2015, Le Monde reported. France's Socialist government aims to tame the deficit by trimming ministerial budgets, cutting state aid to companies and reducing local government funding. With the economy back in a shallow recession, jobless claims at an all-time high and his approval ratings around 30 percent, President Francois Hollande has been reluctant to accelerate the cuts. ... Full Story | Top |
| United States "not threatened" by China's surge in Africa -Obama Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 07:44 AM PDT  By Jeff Mason PRETORIA (Reuters) - The United States does not feel threatened by the growth of trade and investment in Africa by China and other emerging powers, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday. "I don't feel threatened by it. I feel it's a good thing," Obama told a news conference during a visit to South Africa. He said the more countries invested in Africa the more the world's least developed continent could be integrated into the global economy. "I want everybody playing in Africa. The more the merrier," Obama said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russian pro-, anti-gay activists clash, police detain dozens Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 07:38 AM PDT  ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Police detained dozens of people when pro- and anti-gay activists clashed in the Russian city of St Petersburg on Saturday, just two weeks after parliament passed a law banning homosexual "propaganda". Critics say the bill - a nationwide version of laws in place in cities including St Petersburg, President Vladimir Putin's hometown, - effectively bans gay rights rallies and could be used to prosecute anyone voicing support for homosexuals. ... Full Story | Top |
| German finance minister slams Irish bankers as 'aloof super humans' Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 07:36 AM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble slammed Irish bankers caught on tape joking about a bailout, calling them "aloof super humans" worthy of contempt. Schaeuble's remarks quoted by an edition of Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung to be published on Sunday echoed comments by Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday. Transcripts of telephone conversations from 2008 between bankers at Anglo Irish Bank have caused outrage in Ireland and beyond in recent days. ... Full Story | Top |
| Shadow of soldier's death lingers as Britain toasts troops Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 07:26 AM PDT  By Costas Pitas LONDON (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Britons celebrated the work of the military on Saturday in the fifth annual Armed Forces Day, with one of the largest events being held near the site in London where a soldier was murdered in broad daylight. Lee Rigby, a 25-year-old veteran of the Afghan war, was killed last month outside Woolwich barracks in east London. Two men will stand trial in November. The Woolwich barracks hosted a marching band and military display at the start of celebrations expected to draw around 20,000 people over the weekend. ... Full Story | Top |
| China's troubled Xinjiang hit by more violence: state media Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 07:06 AM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - More than a hundred people, riding motorbikes and wielding knifes, attacked a police station in China's ethnically divided western region of Xinjiang, state media said on Saturday, in the latest unrest to hit the region in the past week. The attack in the remote desert city of Hotan, a heavily ethnic Uighur area, comes two days after the region's deadliest unrest in four years that resulted in the deaths of 35 people. China called the incident a "terrorist attack". Xinjiang is home to the mainly Muslim Uighur people who speak a Turkic language. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jordan's first quarter economic growth rises to 2.6 percent Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 06:57 AM PDT  AMMAN (Reuters) - Economic growth in Jordan picked up to 2.6 percent year-on-year in the first quarter from 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter, central statistics office data showed on Saturday. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said earlier this year it expects the economy to expand above 3 percent in 2013, reflecting an increase in government capital spending, a recovery in exports and higher domestic consumption. Other signs of recovery include foreign reserves which have been boosted by at least $1. ... Full Story | Top |
| South African police, protesters clash ahead of Obama visit Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 06:06 AM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African riot police clashed with protesters in Soweto on Saturday shortly before a visit to the sprawling Johannesburg township by U.S. President Barack Obama, a Reuters photographer said. Armed police fired stun grenades to disperse the crowd of several hundred protesters, who had gathered outside the Soweto campus of the University of Johannesburg, where Obama was due to address a town hall meeting with students. (Reporting by Dylan Martinez; Writing by Ed Cropley) Full Story | Top |
| Kurdish mourners blast Turkish government after shootings Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 05:52 AM PDT  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Hundreds of Kurds chanted anti-government slogans at the funeral on Saturday of a demonstrator killed by security forces in southeast Turkey, raising fears of violence at weekend protest marches planned around the country. Turkish security forces killed one person and wounded ten on Friday when they fired on a group protesting against the construction of a new gendarmerie outpost in Kurdish-dominated southeastern Turkey. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mandela remains 'critical but stable' Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 05:21 AM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African president Nelson Mandela's condition remains "critical but stable" but the government hopes the 94-year-old anti-apartheid hero will be out of hospital soon, President Jacob Zuma said on Saturday. "We hope that very soon he will be out of hospital," Zuma said at a televised press conference with visiting U.S. President Barack Obama. Mandela has been in hospital for three weeks for treatment for a recurring lung infection. (Reporting by Ed Stoddard and Ed Cropley; Editing by Ed Cropley) Full Story | Top |
| Greek utility shelves plans for price increases Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 04:59 AM PDT  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's state-controlled utility PPC said on Saturday it had no immediate plans to raise electricity prices for households after their liberalization on July 1. Under the terms of its international bailout, Greece was supposed to raise low-voltage electricity prices in two stages this year, on May 1 and then before their liberalization on July 1, to bring them closer to generation costs. The government, which owns 51 percent of PPC, shelved the May 1 hike, saying it was no longer needed because electricity generation costs were falling. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran's Rouhani hints will balance hardline, reformist demands Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 04:32 AM PDT  By Yeganeh Torbati DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's president-elect Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday he would appoint ministers from across its political spectrum as Iranian voters had chosen a path of moderation over extremism. His victory in the June 14 vote has lifted hopes of a thaw in Iran's antagonistic relations with the West that might create openings for defusing its nuclear dispute with world powers. Rouhani has pledged a more conciliatory approach than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, under whose belligerent presidency the Islamic Republic drew ever more punishing international sanctions. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt protest blast was explosive device: sources Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 04:24 AM PDT  ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) - A fatal blast during a protest against Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi in the Suez Canal city of Port Said was caused by a home-made hand grenade, security sources said Saturday. After the blast late on Friday, which killed one man, traces of an explosive substance were found on the bodies of some of the 15 wounded. Ballistics tests were still under way. ... Full Story | Top |
| Deutsche Bank settles L.A. claims on foreclosure blight Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 04:20 AM PDT  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank said it has settled a lawsuit with the U.S. city of Los Angeles that accused the bank of allowing hundreds of foreclosed properties to deteriorate into slum conditions and destabilize communities. "The settlement will be paid by the (loan) servicers responsible for the Los Angeles properties at issue and by the securitization trusts that hold the properties," the bank said in a statement late on Friday. "Deutsche Bank is not contributing any funds toward the settlement," it said, without disclosing any financial details. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea to discuss nuclear talks in Moscow - report Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 04:16 AM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - North Korea's chief nuclear negotiator will meet senior Russian officials in Moscow next week, state media reported, amid signs of a new push to get Pyongyang to re-join protracted talks over ending its atomic program. Kim Kye-gwan, North Korea's First Deputy Foreign Minister, will meet deputy foreign ministers Vladimir Titov and Igor Morgulov on Thursday "as part of efforts to resume the six-party talks", the RIA Novosti news agency reported. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian army launches offensive in Homs city Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 04:15 AM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad launched a military offensive on Saturday against rebel-held areas of Homs, the country's third-largest city and a centre of the two-year-old uprising against his rule. Activists said jets and mortars pounded rebel territory and soldiers attacked the district of Khalidiyah, where state television reported they were making "great progress". Video uploaded on the Internet showed heavy explosions and clouds of white smoke after what the activists said were air strikes on the adjacent neighborhood of Jouret al-Shiyyah. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama calls on feuding parties in Egypt to avoid violence Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 04:15 AM PDT JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday urged Egypt's opposition parties and President Mohamed Mursi to renounce violence and engage in a constructive dialogue. "Obviously we are all looking at the situation with concern," Obama told a news conference in South Africa, commenting on clashes in Egypt which killed three people, including an American student. He called on the parties involved to avoid violence, saying instability in Egypt could spill over into the surrounding region. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rebels kill policeman, injure 14 others in Chechnya Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 04:14 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Rebels have killed a Russian policeman and injured 14 others in Chechnya, police said on Saturday, a rare clash in the now mostly calm North Caucasus republic which lies near to the venue for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Moscow waged two wars against separatist rebels in mainly Muslim Chechnya in the 1990s but the province has been fairly peaceful in recent years as Islamist insurgents have turned their focus to the nearby regions of Dagestan and Ingushetia. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama says managing Afghanistan exit is a priority Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 04:12 AM PDT  PRETORIA (Reuters) - The United States' foremost foreign policy concern was managing the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday. There are 62,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Obama told a news conference in South Africa that "properly managing" their exit was a priority. (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Pascal Fletcher) Full Story | Top |
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