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| Greek PM faces coalition revolt over state TV shutdown Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 12:42 PM PDT  By Lefteris Papadimas and Renee Maltezou ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras faced down a political revolt on Wednesday from partners in his ruling coalition after his government abruptly switched the state broadcaster off the air in the middle of the night. Screens went black on state broadcaster ERT, cutting newscasters off mid-sentence only hours after the decision was announced, in what the government said was a temporary measure to staunch a waste of taxpayers' money. ... Full Story | Top |
| CA-NEWS Summary Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 12:21 PM PDT Turkish president urges dialogue after police clear square ANKARA/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's president called on Wednesday for dialogue with legitimate demonstrators after riot police cleared the Istanbul square at the center of almost two weeks of protest against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. Abdullah Gul, who has taken a more conciliatory tone than Erdogan during the unrest, said it was the duty of government to engage with its critics but appeared to close ranks with the prime minister, saying violent protests were a different matter. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russian protesters march as Putin seeks firmer political footing Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 12:20 PM PDT  By Gabriela Baczynska and Alexei Anishchuk MOSCOW (Reuters) - Thousands of Russians marched through Moscow demanding Vladimir Putin resign on Wednesday, as the president took the helm of a loyalist movement designed to broaden his power base. With helmeted riot police looking on, some 10,000 protesters chanted "Russia without Putin!" and called for the release of activists who face long jail terms over violence at a protest against his inauguration to a third presidential term last year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisia jails three Europeans for topless feminist protest Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 12:17 PM PDT  TUNIS (Reuters) - A Tunisian court sentenced three European feminist activists to four months in jail on Wednesday after they demonstrated topless in central Tunis last month against the Islamist-led government, one of their lawyers said. Marguerite Stern and Pauline Hillier of France and Josephine Markmann of Germany, all members of the Femen protest group, appeared topless on May 29 to call for the release of fellow activist, Tunisian Amina Tyler, who was detained last month. ... Full Story | Top |
| Snowden says he will stay in Hong Kong and fight extradition Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 12:13 PM PDT  By John Whitesides WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The National Security Agency contractor who revealed the U.S. government's top-secret monitoring of phone and Internet data says he intends to stay in Hong Kong and fight any effort to bring him back to the United States to face charges. Edward Snowden, in his first public comments since he dropped out of view in Hong Kong on Monday, said he did not travel to the former British colony to avoid punishment for leaking details of the surveillance program. "I am not here to hide from justice. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkish ruling party orders protesters to leave Istanbul park Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 12:03 PM PDT ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's ruling AK Party on Wednesday ordered protesters to leave Istanbul's central Gezi Park immediately and said it would consider holding a referendum on redevelopment plans which sparked almost two weeks of violent demonstrations. "Those with bad intentions or who seek to provoke and remain in the park will be facing the police," Deputy Chairman Huseyin Celik told a news conference. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Asli Kandemir; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Michael Roddy) Full Story | Top |
| Jordan removes last hurdle to cleric's extradition from UK Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 11:39 AM PDT  AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan has removed the last hurdle preventing Britain from sending radical cleric Abu Qatada back home for trial by approving an extradition treaty satisfying British concerns about evidence used against him, officials said on Wednesday. The British government has for years been unable to deport Abu Qatada back to his native Jordan, where he is wanted on alleged terrorism charges, because judges have said evidence obtained through torture could be used against him. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada's CBC says two reporters detained in Turkey Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 11:35 AM PDT ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Two foreign correspondents from the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) covering protests in Istanbul were detained by police on Wednesday and the company said it was seeking further information from the Turkish authorities. CBC said on its website it had been in touch with reporters Sasa Petricic and Derek Stoffel following their detention. Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said on his Twitter account he had telephoned the Turkish ambassador to express his concern. "Sasa and I are ok. In police custody but ok. Thanks for kind words. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU worried by violence in Turkey, calls for inquiries Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 11:31 AM PDT BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union expressed concern on Wednesday about Turkish government action to clear Istanbul's Taksim Square of protesters overnight, when police fired tear gas into a crowd of thousands. Top EU officials also called on Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government to investigate cases of excessive use of force and to hold those responsible to account. Riot police used tear gas and water cannon on people in office clothes and families with children, as well as youths in masks who had fought skirmishes for control of the central Istanbul square. ... Full Story | Top |
| Oil tycoon's ex-wife wins landmark UK divorce ruling Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 11:14 AM PDT By Paul Casciato LONDON (Reuters) - The ex-wife of a Nigerian oil tycoon won a landmark divorce settlement battle in the UK's Supreme Court on Wednesday in a closely watched case that had raised concerns about the accessibility of corporate assets in wealthy divorces. Family law practitioners and wealth managers were watching to see how the court could issue a fair judgment without piercing the legal "corporate veil" which treats companies and their shareholders as separate entities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greek PM refuses to back down on state TV closure Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 11:10 AM PDT  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Wednesday said he would press ahead with plans to reform state broadcaster ERT and launched a blistering attack against those opposing its closure. In remarks at an awards ceremony, he made no reference to a demand by his junior coalition partners to hold a meeting to resolve the issue and reopen the state broadcaster immediately. "When thousands of business close and hundreds were losing their jobs there was no such reaction," he said. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. says Israel-Syria ceasefire jeopardized by Golan violence Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 11:00 AM PDT  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A spillover of violence from Syria's civil war into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights is jeopardizing a decades old ceasefire between Israel and Syria, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday. Ban recommended to the 15-member council that self defense capabilities of a U.N. peacekeeping mission in the area, known as UNDOF, be enhanced, "including increasing the force strength to about 1,250 and improving its self defense equipment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazil offers new credit line as Rousseff pushes positive agenda Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:51 AM PDT  By Carl Patchen BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil will hand out 17 billion reais ($8 billion) in cheap loans for home appliance purchases, the government said on Wednesday, in a move to bolster Brazilians' buying power as a lackluster economy and high inflation erode its approval rating. President Dilma Rousseff, a leftist economist who plans to run for re-election next year, saw her high popularity edge lower for the first time in months as Brazilians grow wary of high inflation and slow growth, two recent opinion polls showed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Algeria president makes first TV appearance since stroke Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:41 AM PDT  ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika appeared on state television on Wednesday for the first time since he was rushed to hospital in France on April 27 after a stroke. Bouteflika, 76, had not been seen in public since. The release of the video and a photograph of the same scene appeared aimed at quelling widespread speculation about his health. The footage showed the president at a meeting on Tuesday with the prime minister and the army chief of staff at the Institution Nationale des Invalides in Paris. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kenyan MPs take first pay cut, but allowances mount Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:38 AM PDT By James Macharia NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan members of parliament, among the best paid in Africa, have bowed to public anger by accepting their first pay cut - but only in exchange for a tax-free car grant, pensions and extra allowances, officials said on Wednesday. The announcement of the reduction - to around $75,000 (6.38 million Kenyan shillings) a year from the $120,000 members of the last parliament earned - came a day after hundreds massed outside parliament denouncing MPs as "MPigs". ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Turkey's history of military coups hangs over protests Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:31 AM PDT  By Ralph Boulton and Parisa Hafezi ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's "pashas", the generals who once made politicians quake at the mere hint of disapproval, are staying silent as riots sweep the nation. Today the words "military coup" are nowhere to be heard, a tribute perhaps to the prime minister now accused of trampling on democracy. Until recently Turkish army chiefs repeatedly got rid of politicians who displeased them or proved unable to cope with turmoil. In 1960 they toppled a premier and later hanged him; three more coups followed in 40 years. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greek junior coalition partners demand reopening of state TV Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:02 AM PDT ATHENS (Reuters) - The junior partners in Greece's ruling coalition demanded the reopening of shuttered state broadcaster ERT on Wednesday and called for a meeting with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to resolve the issue. "ERT undoubtedly must be reformed and restructured, it must be upgraded but it is essential that this happens while ERT is open," said Fotis Kouvelis, leader of the small Democratic Left party in the coalition. "It is unacceptable that ERT is shut while there are still outstanding issues. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bulgaria charges ex-interior minister in wiretapping scandal Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 09:47 AM PDT  SOFIA (Reuters) - A former Bulgarian interior minister was charged with abuse of power on Wednesday in a wiretapping scandal that has damaged the public's trust in politicians. Tsvetan Tsvetanov, a senior politician with the now-opposition GERB party, was accused of not imposing enough controls over employees when he was minister, allowing them to carry out illegal wiretaps of politicians and businessmen. He faces eight years in prison if found guilty. ... Full Story | Top |
| Swiss upper house backs U.S. tax deal to protect banks Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 09:45 AM PDT  By Katharina Bart ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland cleared the first hurdle towards ending a long-running U.S. tax probe after one chamber of lawmakers voted to allow banks to sidestep strict secrecy laws to end the threat of criminal charges for helping wealthy Americans evade tax. The draft law is set to face far tougher opposition in Switzerland's lower house next week than in the upper chamber, which passed it by a decisive 24 votes to 15 on Wednesday. The protection of client information has helped to make Switzerland the world's biggest offshore financial center, with $2 trillion in ... Full Story | Top |
| Ethiopia expects Egypt talks over Nile dam, says won't back down Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 09:20 AM PDT  By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr is expected to travel to Addis Ababa on Sunday for talks on a giant dam Ethiopia is building on the Nile, as the countries seek a diplomatic solution to an increasingly heated dispute. But Ethiopia's foreign ministry said on Wednesday the country had no intention of suspending construction of what would be the biggest hydro electric plant on the continent, a project Egypt says could cost it vital water supplies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Moderate cleric carries hopes of reformists in Iran vote Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 09:01 AM PDT By Marcus George DUBAI (Reuters) - A moderate cleric best known for his conciliatory nuclear talks with world powers has emerged as the sole beacon of hope for reformists in the campaign for Iran's presidential election on Friday. Hassan Rohani is someone world powers might prefer to replace hardline populist incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and pursue peaceful ways out of an increasingly tense standoff with Iran over its nuclear activity. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran's Khamenei says big election turnout will frustrate foes Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 09:01 AM PDT  By Yeganeh Torbati DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's supreme leader urged voters to turn out in big numbers for a presidential election on Friday, saying such a show of strength would frustrate Tehran's enemies. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was speaking on the last day of a subdued campaign that has not produced a leading candidate from three main hardliners and one moderate. The winner will replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but inherit an economy struggling with high unemployment and inflation, and buckling under the weight of international sanctions imposed over Iran's disputed nuclear program. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mandela responding better to treatment: South Africa's Zuma Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 08:28 AM PDT  By Wendell Roelf CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela was responding better to treatment in hospital on Wednesday morning after a "difficult last few days", South Africa's President Jacob Zuma said. Mandela, South Africa's first black president, was rushed to a Pretoria hospital on Saturday in a "serious but stable" condition suffering from a recurring lung infection. He was spending a fifth day under the care of its doctors. "We are very happy with the progress that he is now making," Zuma said in a speech to parliament. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greek Socialists call on PM to keep coalition united Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 08:03 AM PDT ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's Socialist PASOK party on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to keep his fragile three-party government united after the state broadcaster's closure triggered a backlash from junior partners in the coalition. "ERT has become a catalyst on issues of democracy, a fair state, cohesion of this government and stability regarding the course of the country," PASOK chief Evangelos Venizelos said in a statement after an internal party meeting to discuss the state TV closure. "We shouldn't create crises without a reason out of nothing. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mediators fly to Mali to salvage northern ceasefire deal Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 07:59 AM PDT By Mathieu Bonkoungou OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - Mediators working to hammer out a ceasefire agreement between Mali's government and Tuareg rebels before July elections flew to Bamako on Wednesday to attempt to convince the country's interim president to sign the deal. Negotiations opened on Saturday in neighboring Burkina Faso after Mali's army last week began advancing towards Kidal, the MNLA rebels' last stronghold in the northeast, sparking the first fighting in months. ... Full Story | Top |
| American who leaked NSA secrets is a free man in Hong Kong - for now Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 07:57 AM PDT By James Pomfret and Anne Marie Roantree HONG KONG (Reuters) - Edward Snowden, an American who has leaked details of top-secret U.S. surveillance programs, is technically free to leave the China-ruled city at any time, local lawyers said on Wednesday, but the ex-CIA employee said he would stay. Snowden has not been charged by the U.S. government nor is he the subject of an extradition request. If Washington asks for his extradition, it will be decided in court. ... Full Story | Top |
| Polish prosecutors get more time for CIA jail probe Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 07:50 AM PDT By Christian Lowe and Marcin Goettig WARSAW (Reuters) - Polish prosecutors have extended until October a five-year-old criminal investigation into allegations that the CIA ran secret jails on Polish soil, a case human rights activists say the authorities are deliberately dragging out. The United States has acknowledged it used a network of facilities in foreign countries to detain al Qaeda suspects in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. cities, though it has never disclosed their location. ... Full Story | Top |
| Migrants in Greece detained based on appearance: HRW Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 07:49 AM PDT  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek police have often detained people based on their physical appearance during a crackdown on illegal immigration and only a fraction of them were found to be in the country unlawfully, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday. Migrants who are stopped and searched are insulted, sometimes physically abused and often detained for hours until their identity is verified, the group said in a report. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkish president urges dialogue after police clear square Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 07:22 AM PDT  By Humeyra Pamuk and Ayla Jean Yackley ANKARA/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's president called on Wednesday for dialogue with legitimate demonstrators after riot police cleared the Istanbul square at the center of almost two weeks of protest against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. Abdullah Gul, who has taken a more conciliatory tone than Erdogan during the unrest, said it was the duty of government to engage with its critics but appeared to close ranks with the prime minister, saying violent protests were a different matter. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian police accused of destroying security papers acquitted Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 07:12 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - A Cairo court on Wednesday acquitted all police officers and officials accused of destroying documents of the internal security agency whose brutality was a rallying point for the revolt that swept Hosni Mubarak from power. The 41 acquitted include the former head of the state security apparatus, Hassan Abdel Rahman, who is also on trial with Mubarak and others for complicity in the murder of more than 800 protesters during the 2011 uprising. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Africa's Zuma talks tough against mining unrest Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 07:01 AM PDT  By Wendell Roelf CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South African President Jacob Zuma vowed on Wednesday to take a hard line against labor unrest in the mining sector, which has been rocked by 18 months of killings and wildcat strikes that have threatened to destabilize Africa's biggest economy. Zuma's decisive comments helped lift the rand about 8 cents to 9.94 per dollar, a stark contrast to last month, when the currency sank to four-year lows after he held a news conference to try and stem its slide. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Divided EU in a bind over Hungary's 'erring' Orban Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 06:10 AM PDT  By Robin Emmott BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe is in a bind over what to do about Hungary and a feeling that the former Soviet satellite is drifting back towards authoritarianism under Prime Minister Viktor Orban. In the next few weeks the European Union's parliament and executive are due to pass judgment on changes to Hungary's new constitution along with the Council of Europe, a broader body that promotes democracy and human rights on the continent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian helicopter fires on Lebanese town, two wounded Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 05:59 AM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - A Syrian helicopter opened fire on a Lebanese border town in the eastern Bekaa Valley on Wednesday, wounding two people, the Lebanese army said in a statement. The incident took place in the mainly Sunni Muslim town of Arsal, whose residents strongly support the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad in neighboring Syria. "A Syrian helicopter fired two rockets towards the square of the town, two people were wounded," the army statement said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Few fireworks as stumbling Croatia joins a troubled EU Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 05:36 AM PDT  By Zoran Radosavljevic ZAGREB (Reuters) - At 700,000 euros, Croatia's budget to celebrate arguably the biggest moment in its 22 years as an independent state might seem a little modest. When Bulgaria and Romania joined the European Union in 2007, champagne flowed and thousands of cheering people poured into the streets to mark a seminal moment in their emergence from Communism. Croatia's July 1 accession finds the country, and the EU itself, in far more somber mood. The union's 28th member is in the grip of its worst recession since fighting its way free of Yugoslavia in the 1991-95 war. ... Full Story | Top |
| Timeline: Recent events in Iran Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 05:33 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Here is a look at recent events in Iran as the nation prepares to vote on Friday for a successor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who by law could not run for a third term. June 2005 - In a stunning upset, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the hitherto little-known mayor of Tehran, defeats former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in a run-off vote for the presidency. February-March 2008 - Hardline state vetting bodies bar hundreds of reformists from running in the March 14 parliamentary election, in which conservatives win a majority. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tehran's 'action man' mayor vies for Iran presidency Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 05:30 AM PDT By Marcus George DUBAI (Reuters) - If you asked anyone in Tehran whether there was anyone running in Friday's presidential election able to make Iran a better place to live after years of crisis, they would probably cite their dynamic modernizing mayor, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. But Qalibaf's chances will hinge on whether his blend of conservatism and pragmatism can garner the trust of a clerical elite wary of independent innovators, and whether he appeals to a more traditionalist electorate beyond the capital. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sole cleric in Iran presidential vote poses moderate challenge Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 05:24 AM PDT  By Marcus George DUBAI (Reuters) - A moderate cleric best known for his conciliatory nuclear talks with world powers has emerged as the sole beacon of hope for reformists in the campaign for Iran's presidential election on Friday. Hassan Rohani is someone world powers might prefer to replace hardline populist incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and pursue peaceful ways out of an increasingly tense standoff with Iran over its nuclear activity. ... Full Story | Top |
| Swiss-U.S. tax deal clears first hurdle in upper house Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 04:50 AM PDT  ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss lawmakers agreed on Wednesday to consider a bill that would let the country's banks sidestep strict secrecy laws to end a long-running United States tax probe, rejecting calls for the legislation to be killed. Five months after U.S. action over tax evasion led to the closure of Switzerland's oldest private bank, and with formal investigations under way into some of its biggest institutions, the Swiss government wants a compromise to end threats of criminal charges that have hurt a vital national industry. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK says will use G8 summit to push for Syria talks Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 04:46 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will use its role as host of a summit of the G8 group of nations next week to try to get both sides in the Syrian conflict to attend a peace conference, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Wednesday. "We should use the G8 to try and bring pressure on all sides to bring about ... a peace conference, a peace process, and a move towards a transitional government in Syria," Cameron told parliament. Russian President Vladimir Putin will fly to London on Sunday for advance talks about Syria before the summit in Northern Ireland, he added. ... Full Story | Top |
| Merkel vows to rein in renewable subsidies Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 04:41 AM PDT  By Vera Eckert and Madeline Chambers BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel promised on Wednesday to scale back Germany's generous system of subsidies to the renewables sector if she is re-elected in September, a move that would reduce the costs of her green revolution on consumers. Merkel's policy to wean Europe's biggest power market off fossil fuels and to embrace renewables has led to a boom in green energy sources, but ballooning costs have led to calls for cuts to feed-in tariffs and for industry to pay more. ... Full Story | Top |
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