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| Mandela's health improving but condition still 'serious' Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 12:38 PM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African President and anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela continues to recover from a lung infection but his condition remains serious, the South African government said on Thursday. President Jacob Zuma visited Madiba, the clan name by which 94-year-old Mandela is popularly known, in the Pretoria hospital to which he was admitted in a "serious but stable" condition on Saturday, a statement said. "We continue to appeal to people to keep Madiba in their prayers and wish him a speedy recovery," Zuma said. ... Full Story | Top |
| CA-NEWS Summary Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 12:33 PM PDT Obama considers Syria moves, Assad turns guns on north BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama is deciding whether to take new action to help Syria's rebels, the White House said on Thursday, while President Bashar al-Assad's surging forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies turned their guns on the north. Assad's forces fought near the northern city of Aleppo on Thursday and bombarded the central city of Homs, having seized the initiative by winning the open backing of Hezbollah last month and capturing the strategic town of Qusair last week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate rejects Republican effort to gut immigration bill Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 12:32 PM PDT  By Thomas Ferraro and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A landmark immigration bill survived a major challenge in the Senate on Thursday when its bipartisan "Gang of Eight" sponsors beat back an amendment that would have delayed a pathway to citizenship for 11 million illegal residents. The proposal by Iowa Republican Charles Grassley would have prohibited a first step toward granting them legal status until the U.S. Department of Homeland Security "has maintained effective control" of the entire U.S.-Mexico border - 1,969 miles - for a period of six months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sunni clerics call for jihad against Syria's Assad, allies Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 12:24 PM PDT By Omar Fahmy CAIRO (Reuters) - A congress of leading Sunni Muslim clerics issued a call to holy war on Thursday against the Damascus government and its Shi'ite allies, hardening sectarian confrontation across the Middle East over the Syrian conflict. Alarmed by reverses for the mainly Sunni rebels since the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah threw its full weight behind President Bashar al-Assad last month, Sunni religious authorities have stepped up rhetoric that could fuel a wider regional conflict and communal bloodshed in Syria and elsewhere. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama considers Syria moves, Assad turns guns on north Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 12:22 PM PDT  By Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama is deciding whether to take new action to help Syria's rebels, the White House said on Thursday, while President Bashar al-Assad's surging forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies turned their guns on the north. Assad's forces fought near the northern city of Aleppo on Thursday and bombarded the central city of Homs, having seized the initiative by winning the open backing of Hezbollah last month and capturing the strategic town of Qusair last week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Czech cabinet in crisis after police sweep government offices Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 11:45 AM PDT  By Jan Lopatka and Robert Muller PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech Republic's main opposition party demanded on Thursday that Prime Minister Petr Necas step down after police raided government offices, seized documents and detained a woman who for years has been one of his closest aides. Necas said he would not consider resigning after the raids, but the investigation is a severe blow to his government, which does not have a stable majority in parliament and has already come close to collapsing several times. ... Full Story | Top |
| Czech opposition demands PM resignation after raids Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 11:33 AM PDT PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech republic's centre-left opposition Social Democrats demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Petr Necas on Thursday after organized crime police raided government offices, party chief Bohuslav Sobotka said. "The Social Democrats demand an immediate resignation of the prime minister," Sobotka told reporters. He called for early elections and said his party would start consultations with political partners and the president to secure that. Necas said earlier on Thursday he would not resign. (Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Michael Roddy) Full Story | Top |
| Explosion at Louisiana chemical plant kills 1, injures 33 Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 11:30 AM PDT  By Jonathan Bachman GEISMAR, Louisiana (Reuters) - An explosion and fire killed at least one person and injured 33 at the Williams Olefins chemical plant in Geismar, Louisiana, on Thursday, leading authorities to order people within two miles to remain indoors. The blast created a huge fireball and column of smoke when it hit at 8:37 a.m. (0937 ET) at the plant along the Mississippi River just south of Baton Rouge and about 60 miles up river from New Orleans. About 600 people were working at the plant at the time, and the fire was still burning more than three hours later, state police said. ... Full Story | Top |
| One dead, over 30 injured in Louisiana chemical blast: police Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 11:12 AM PDT  (Reuters) - At least one person died and more than 30 were injured on Thursday in an explosion and fire at the Williams Olefins chemical plant in Geismar, Louisiana, state police said. A body was recovered at the explosion scene and a search continued for more possible victims, Louisiana State Police Captain Doug Cain said. (Reporting by Karen Brooks; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Sandra Maler) Full Story | Top |
| Lebanese Hezbollah suspects to sue Nigerian government Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 11:01 AM PDT ABUJA (Reuters) - Four Lebanese men suspected of having links to Islamist militant group Hezbollah are seeking 1 billion naira ($6.2 million) in compensation from the Nigerian government for unlawful incarceration, their lawyer said on Thursday. Secret service agents arrested the suspects in northern Nigeria between May 16 and May 28, and a military official told Reuters all had said they were members of the Lebanon-based Shi'ite Muslim organization. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkey's Erdogan to meet protesters' representatives to defuse row Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 11:00 AM PDT  By Nick Tattersall and Jonathon Burch ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan will meet on Thursday with members of a group opposed to the redevelopment of an Istanbul park in a bid to end two weeks of anti-government protests, just hours after Erdogan said his patience had run out. Earlier in the day, Erdogan gave a final warning for those occupying the central Istanbul Gezi Park to leave and struck back at criticism from the European Parliament over the ferocity of a police crackdown on the protesters. "Our patience is at an end. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cypriot TV host gets life in jail for boss's murder Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 10:54 AM PDT  NICOSIA (Reuters) - A Cypriot TV presenter was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday for the murder of her boss in a case which has gripped the Mediterranean island. Prosecutors said Elena Skordelli, 42, was driven by revenge to kill Andis Hadjicostis after she was sacked from her job as news anchor at his Sigma TV channel. Skordelli and her brother Tassos Krasopoulis, 37, were convicted of the premeditated murder of Hadjicostis, CEO of the Dias Group, one of the largest media organizations in Cyprus, who was gunned down outside his home in Nicosia on January 11. ... Full Story | Top |
| Khartoum says rebels based in South Sudan caused oil pipeline blast Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 10:50 AM PDT By Khalid Abdelaziz KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan said that rebels based in South Sudan had attacked a pipeline in its Diffra oilfield on Wednesday, causing an explosion and fire that lasted for several hours. Army spokesman al-Sawarmi Khalid said on Thursday the pipeline, which runs through Diffra oilfield to the Heglig processing facility, was being repaired to restore the flow of oil. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkey's Erdogan to meet with protesters' representatives Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 10:45 AM PDT ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan will meet on Thursday with representatives of a group opposed to the redevelopment of an Istanbul park, hours after Erdogan said his patience had run out after almost two weeks of anti-government protests. "Upon the prime minister's invitation, members of the Taksim Solidarity will discuss with him our view that Gezi Park should remain a park," Eyup Muhcu, head of the Chamber of Architects, told Reuters. (Reporting by Ayla Jean Yackley; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Michael Roddy) Full Story | Top |
| Italian local politician branded a racist after rape comment Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 10:32 AM PDT By Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - A local party official for Italy's Northern League caused a national uproar on Thursday for posting a violent comment on her Facebook page aimed at the country's first black minister. Dolores Valandro, an elected local councilor in the northern city of Padua, wrote above a picture of African-born Integration Minister Cecile Kyenge that she should be raped. Valandro's comment was in reference to a story from an Italian web site called "All the Crimes of Immigrants" about the alleged attempted rape of two woman by an African man. ... Full Story | Top |
| France upholds probe into Equatorial Guinea leader's son: source Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 10:28 AM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - A French court upheld on Thursday an arrest warrant for the son of Equatorial Guinea's president on charges of money-laundering, a source familiar with the case said. The Paris appeals court also ruled that a luxurious property seized last year as part of the probe should remain in the hands of French investigators, who suspect Equatorial Guinea's leaders of embezzling public funds to buy real estate in France. ... Full Story | Top |
| White House says expects Turkey to uphold democratic freedoms Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 10:24 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday said Turkish authorities should uphold the freedoms of expression and assembly, and individuals should not be punished for exercising their rights amid a police crackdown on anti-government protests. "Turkey is a close friend and ally of the United States, and we expect the Turkish authorities to uphold these fundamental freedoms," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. Carney said U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian rebels to tell West: 'Arm us, or Assad gains' Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 10:08 AM PDT By Mariam Karouny BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels will use a planned meeting with Western officials to drive home a warning that continued reluctance to arm them will hand an irreversible military advantage to President Bashar al-Assad's Iranian-backed forces. Deeply frustrated by the foot-dragging over military aid, several rebel commanders contrasted what they said was Western preference for talks over action with the unqualified support Assad enjoyed from his allies in Tehran and Moscow. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greeks strike over state TV closure, PM offers talks Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 10:01 AM PDT  By Lefteris Papadimas and Harry Papachristou ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras moved to defuse a political crisis over the government's abrupt closure of state broadcaster ERT that prompted a nationwide strike on Thursday and brought thousands into the streets in protest. Samaras, who has branded defenders of ERT hypocrites, invited two left-wing junior coalition parties opposed to the shutdown to talks next Monday, his office said, seeking to avert political instability in the bailed-out euro zone country. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sunni clerics call for jihad against Assad, allies Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 10:00 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Leading Sunni Muslim clerics issued a call to jihad in Syria on Thursday at a meeting in Cairo which condemned the conflict as a "war on Islam" and said believers should use all means to ensure victory. ... Full Story | Top |
| Zimbabwean PM Tsvangirai rejects July 31 election date Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 09:57 AM PDT  By MacDonald Dzirutwe HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai rejected President Robert Mugabe's declaration of a July 31 election on Thursday, accusing his rival of breaching the constitution and creating a political crisis. The Constitutional Court ordered Mugabe two weeks ago to hold the poll by the end of July, following an application to the court by a Zimbabwean citizen demanding the president set a date before the current parliament expired. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama concerned about Syria, reviewing options: White House Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 09:54 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama continues to monitor the deteriorating situation in Syria with concern and will make any decision on further steps based on U.S. national interests, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Thursday. "The president and every member of his national security team are greatly concerned by the terrible situation in Syria and the worsening situation in Syria," Carney told reporters at his daily briefing. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bill Clinton urges more forceful U.S. response on Syria: report Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 09:20 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the Obama administration considers whether to arm Syrian rebels, former President Bill Clinton increased pressure for a stronger U.S. role in Syria's civil war, short of sending in U.S. troops, according to a report. "Nobody is asking for American soldiers in Syria," Clinton said, according to the report from the newspaper Politico published late Wednesday. "The only question is: now that the Russians, the Iranians and the Hezbollah are in there head over heels ... ... Full Story | Top |
| FBI director says U.S. will hold Snowden responsible on NSA leak Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 08:45 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - FBI Director Robert Mueller said on Thursday that the U.S. government is doing everything it can to hold confessed leaker Edward Snowden accountable for splashing surveillance secrets across the pages of newspapers worldwide. Mueller said at a U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearing that Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor, harmed national security when he divulged the secrets. "As to the individual who has admitted making these disclosures, he is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation," Mueller said without naming Snowden. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkish lira supported by central bank moves amid protest standoff Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 08:32 AM PDT ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The Turkish lira continued to firm on Thursday in the wake of central bank action to stabilize markets, although gains were limited by uncertainty about the effectiveness of the ruling AK Party's bid to quell anti-government protests. Turkish markets have been hit over the last two weeks as question marks over the outlook for U.S. Federal Reserve money-printing coincided with protests across Turkey, with the lira hitting its weakest level against its euro/dollar basket since October 2011 earlier this week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Czech PM Necas says not considering resigning after raids Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 08:14 AM PDT PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas said he had no reason to consider resigning on Thursday after anti-organized-crime police made a series of raids around the country that also involved his office. "I am personally convinced that I did not do anything dishonest and that my colleagues have not done anything dishonest either," Necas told reporters. "Therefore I do not have any reason to consider a resignation and, thus, the fall of the government." (Reporting by Jan Lopatka) Full Story | Top |
| Three oil protesters held, say they scale roof of UK parliament Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 08:11 AM PDT By Peter Griffiths LONDON (Reuters) - British police arrested three environmentalists on Thursday after protest organizers said they scaled the roof of parliament during a visit by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in an embarrassing security breach before Britain hosts a G8 summit. Two men and a woman were held on suspicion of trespassing on a protected site minutes before Harper gave a speech to both Houses of Parliament as part of his visit to Britain, London's police force said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hardliners still split as Iran election campaign ends Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 08:01 AM PDT  By Jon Hemming DUBAI (Reuters) - Campaigning in Iran's presidential election ended on Thursday, a day before the vote in which the sole moderate candidate has an outside chance of stealing victory from his hardline rivals. Hardliners have failed to agree on a unity candidate, potentially splitting their vote and improving the chances of moderate cleric Hassan Rohani to progress to a run-off poll. ... Full Story | Top |
| Qatar leadership change would herald little shift in policy Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 07:59 AM PDT  By Regan Doherty DOHA (Reuters) - A planned leadership change that could see Qatar's U.S.-allied Emir eventually ceding power to his son is unlikely to change the Gulf state's taste for bold investments overseas and assertive support for Arab Spring revolts. Analysts say Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim will probably pursue the policies of his father, under whose rule the U.S.-allied gas exporter has become a force in global sports, media and business and an enthusiastic political ally of the Muslim Brotherhood. ... Full Story | Top |
| FBI director says all surveillance complies with U.S. law Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 07:47 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - FBI Director Robert Mueller said on Thursday that the government's surveillance programs comply in full with U.S. law and with basic rights guaranteed under the Constitution. Mueller also told a hearing of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee that the government is taking all necessary steps to hold accountable the person responsible for recent leaks to Britain's Guardian newspaper and the Washington Post. (Reporting by David Ingram and Laura MacInnis; Editing by Vicki Allen) Full Story | Top |
| Norway's opposition stretches poll lead as elections loom Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 07:15 AM PDT  OSLO (Reuters) - Norway's centre-right opposition widened an already big lead over the ruling Labor Party in opinion polls, putting it firmly on course to win elections in less than three months, a fresh poll showed on Thursday. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, in office since 2005, has presided over a rare economic success story thanks to Norway's immense oil wealth, but voter discontent has increased over a lack of improvement in health, education and social services, as well as over a number of high-profile sex scandals. Even the economic success appears increasingly fragile. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rights groups criticize Iran for pre-election harassment Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 07:00 AM PDT DUBAI (Reuters) - Human rights groups have criticized Iran for curbing dissidents and journalists before Friday's presidential poll, the first since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election ignited popular fury in 2009. From the disqualification of high-profile candidates to controls on campaigning and televised debates, the authorities have done all they can to prevent any repeat of the unrest. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tide of humanity, as well as rising seas, lap at Kiribati's future Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 06:52 AM PDT  By David Gray SOUTH TARAWA, Kiribati (Reuters) - The ocean laps against a protective seawall outside the maternity ward at Kiribati's Nawerewere Hospital, marshalling itself for another assault with the next king tide. Inside, a basic clinic is crowded with young mothers and newborn babies, the latest additions to a population boom that has risen as relentlessly as the sea in a deeply Christian outpost where family planning is still viewed with skepticism. It is a boom that threatens to overwhelm the tiny atoll of South Tarawa as quickly as the rising seas. ... Full Story | Top |
| Serbia may be on cusp of mining revival after years of decline Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 06:16 AM PDT  By Aleksandar Vasovic and Stephen Eisenhammer BOR, Serbia/LONDON (Reuters) - Serbia's mining sector, stagnant since the wars that tore Yugoslavia apart in the early 1990s, looks set for a revival as volatile commodity prices increase the allure of countries in Europe with established infrastructure and skilled labor. Once home to a core copper and gold mining facility for the former Yugoslavia, the town of Bor in the north-eastern corner of Serbia has a history of mining dating back to Roman times. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ethiopia ratifies Nile treaty in snub to Egypt Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 06:03 AM PDT  By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia's parliament unanimously ratified on Thursday a treaty that strips Egypt of its right to the lion's share of the Nile river waters, raising the political temperature in a dispute between Cairo and Addis Ababa over the construction of a dam. The parliament's move follows days of irate exchanges between two of Africa's most populous nations over Ethiopia's new hydroelectric plant, which Egypt fears will reduce a water supply vital for its 84 million people. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. says 93,000 killed in Syrian conflict, fears for Aleppo Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 05:37 AM PDT  By Stephanie Nebehay and Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - The death toll in Syria reached at least 93,000 at the end of April, but the true number of victims from the violence now in its third year may be much higher, the United Nations human rights office said on Thursday. Navi Pillay, U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights, voiced fears that the bloodshed in recent battles for the Syrian border town of Qusair would be repeated in the northern city of Aleppo. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: France gambles on Syrian rebels as arms decision nears Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 05:35 AM PDT  By John Irish PARIS (Reuters) - It's a warm day on the Turkish-Syrian border. France's recently recalled ambassador to Syria is incognito with his deputy and a security agent. After checking the surroundings are clear, the diplomat pulls out a stash of brown envelopes stuffed with thousands of dollars. The recipients are "viable" rebels operating in zones no longer under President Bashar al-Assad's control. The scene last September, recounted by French officials, could have come from a spy film. Now Assad's forces appear to be regaining the upper hand on the battlefield. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel presses ahead with settlement expansion plans Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 05:31 AM PDT  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel is pressing on with plans for more than 1,000 new homes in two West Bank settlements, officials said on Thursday, moves that could complicate U.S. efforts to persuade Palestinians, seeking a construction freeze, to return to peace talks. An Israeli settlers' council has asked Israeli zoning authorities in the occupied territory to approve the building of 550 housing units in Bruchin, an unauthorized outpost granted legal status by Israel last year. The extent of Bruchin's expansion, where some 350 settlers live, had not been disclosed previously. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU condemns jailing of topless feminists in Tunisia Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 05:15 AM PDT BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union said on Thursday jail sentences handed down to three European feminist activists who staged a topless protest in Tunisia were too severe and urged the Islamist-led government to reform its laws on freedom of expression. A Tunisian court sentenced one German and two French members of women's rights group Femen to four months in prison on Wednesday for indecency after they appeared topless in the capital last month. ... Full Story | Top |
| Czech police detain prime minister's aide: media Thursday, Jun 13, 2013 05:09 AM PDT  By Jan Lopatka and Robert Muller PRAGUE (Reuters) - Police from the Czech Republic's organized crime unit on Thursday detained a senior aide to Prime Minister Petr Necas, local media reported, in raids on several government offices that were confirmed by police and ministry officials. Necas himself was visited by the head of the police unit and two state attorneys, Interior Minister Jan Kubice told parliament, but the purpose of the visit was not clear. Kubice said the visit was "in connection with a step in the criminal proceedings". He gave no further details. ... Full Story | Top |
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