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| Car bombs kill 28 in Shi'ite districts of Baghdad Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 12:37 PM PDT BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 28 people were killed in five car bombings in predominantly Shi'ite districts of the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Saturday, police and medics said. The deadliest explosion took place in the northern neighborhood of Tobchi, where 10 people were killed when a bomb exploded in car parked in a busy commercial street. Another car bomb exploded in a commercial street in the Karrada neighborhood, killing at least four people. ... Full Story | Top |
| New Egyptian prime minister seeks dialogue, end to divisions Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 12:28 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi appealed on Saturday for a return to dialogue between the country's political parties, still in tumult following the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. "Now I see we have to return to harmony. Divisions cannot last," Beblawi said in an interview with state television. Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood has denounced the ousting of the president as a military coup and has said it will not enter into any dialogue until he is restored to power. (Reporting by Yasmine Saleh; editing by Crispian Balmer) Full Story | Top |
| Weakened Chile conservatives pick woman to take on Bachelet Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 12:17 PM PDT SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chile's weakened conservative UDI party said on Saturday it has picked Labor Minister Evelyn Matthei as its new candidate in the November presidential election, which is expected to see former president Michelle Bachelet triumph. Matthei steps in after the right-wing's former candidate Pablo Longueira unexpectedly quit the campaign on Wednesday due to depression, sending the bloc into disarray. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel, Palestinians still at odds over borders ahead of talks Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 11:30 AM PDT  By Maayan Lubell JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel will not bow to the Palestinians' demand on the borders of their future state before peace talks begin but will meet their request for the release of some prisoners, Israeli officials said on Saturday. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that Israel and the Palestinians had laid the groundwork to resume talks after an almost three-year stalemate, but that the deal was not final and required more diplomacy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Long-time White House reporter Helen Thomas dies Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 11:24 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former White House correspondent Helen Thomas, a trailblazing journalist who reported on every U.S. president from John Kennedy to Barack Obama, died on Saturday at the age of 92, The Gridiron Club and Foundation said. Thomas, who worked the White House beat for 49 years for United Press International and Hearst newspapers, died after a long illness, the Washington journalists' organization said in a statement. As the senior news service correspondent at the White House, Thomas ended dozens of presidential news conferences with the familiar phrase "Thank you, Mr. ... Full Story | Top |
| Trayvon Martin's parents lead protests over Zimmerman verdict Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 11:12 AM PDT  By Edward Upright and Tom Brown NEW YORK/MIAMI (Reuters) - Trayvon Martin's parents joined celebrities and hundreds of protesters on Saturday in rallies across the country to express anger over the acquittal of the man who shot and killed the unarmed black teenager. Singing the civil rights protest song "We Shall Overcome," a crowd gathered around Trayvon's father, Tracy Martin, in Miami exactly one week after a Seminole County jury in central Florida acquitted George Zimmerman of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the incident, where the 17-year-old Martin was shot through the heart. ... Full Story | Top |
| Portugal ruling party vows to meet bailout goals after pact talks fail Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 11:10 AM PDT  By Andrei Khalip LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's ruling Social Democrats (PSD) said on Saturday their coalition government would press on with meeting the country's economic bailout goals after talks on a broader political deal sought by the president collapsed. Reigniting a three-week-old political crisis, the two centre-right coalition parties and main opposition Socialists broke off talks on Friday on a "national salvation" pact to ensure an EU/IMF bailout stays on track, leaving it to the president to decide how to proceed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkish police fire water cannon at Istanbul protesters Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 11:02 AM PDT  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish police fired water cannon on Saturday to disperse hundreds of protesters who gathered to march to Gezi Park in central Istanbul, which has been at the heart of fierce demonstrations against Prime Minister Erdogan's rule. Saturday's protests were triggered when police blocked access to the park where a couple, who met during last month's anti-government rallies, were planning to get married and had posted an invitation for guests to attend online. Groups of riot police chased protesters down side streets leading away from Taksim square where Gezi park is located. ... Full Story | Top |
| Navalny embodies generation of rebellious Russians Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 10:48 AM PDT  By Timothy Heritage MOSCOW (Reuters) - In a battle against President Vladimir Putin that has moved from the streets of Moscow to a courtroom, Alexei Navalny has emerged as the figurehead of a new generation of Russian opposition. The 37-year-old anti-corruption campaigner, who was handed a five-year jail sentence for theft on Thursday then freed on bail on Friday, was one of the first protest leaders arrested when demonstrations against Putin took off in December 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt seeks assertive role, worries about Nile dam Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 10:47 AM PDT  By Yasmine Saleh and Noah Browning CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's new military-backed cabinet made clear on Saturday it wanted to play an assertive role in regional politics, urging Ethiopia to attend talks over a dam on the Nile and stressing it sought change in Syria. "Egypt's leadership is inevitable," said Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy, a member of an interim government sworn into office just four days ago following the ousting of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on July 3. ... Full Story | Top |
| India court sentences six to life in prison in rape of Swiss woman Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 10:23 AM PDT NEW DELHI (Reuters) - An Indian court on Saturday sentenced six men convicted of the gang rape of a Swiss woman to life in prison, in one of several recent cases that have fueled a public outcry over the high rate of sex crimes in India. The 39-year-old Swiss woman was raped while camping with her husband in a forest in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh in mid-March. "It was a good judgment. It came early," said Rajendra Tiwari, a lawyer for the government. The National Crime Records Bureau says more than 24,200 rapes were reported across India in 2011 - about one every 20 minutes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian security forces raid office of Iranian TV channel Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 09:58 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces raided the office of the Iranian Al Alam Arabic language satellite channel in Cairo and detained its director, the outlet reported on Saturday. "The security forces also seized equipment and devices from the channel without giving any explanation for these actions," Al Alam said on its website. A security source confirmed their account and said the raid was conducted because the channel lacked a license. ... Full Story | Top |
| Four election officials kidnapped in northern Mali Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 09:49 AM PDT BAMAKO (Reuters) - Four electoral officials and a deputy mayor were kidnapped by suspected Tuareg separatists in northern Mali on Saturday, officials said, adding to tensions stirred by ethnic clashes before next week's presidential vote. Earlier on Saturday, Mali's government accused the MNLA rebels of violating a ceasefire deal this week after four people died in clashes between pro-separatist Tuareg youths and black Africans in the northern town of Kidal. ... Full Story | Top |
| Algeria kills two deputies to AQIM leader: source Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 09:26 AM PDT By Lamine Chikhi ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian special forces have shot dead four Islamist militants, including two deputies to the leader of al Qaeda's North African wing AQIM, a security source told Reuters. The raid on Friday night in the region of Bouira, east of the capital, also uncovered a cache of money that was likely to have been paid to secure the freedom of Western hostages, said the source, who asked not to be named. "We have also seized a big amount of euros, very likely from the ransoms paid by Western governments to AQIM during hostage taking operations," the source told ... Full Story | Top |
| Dozens of child migrants sleeping on bare earth at Italy's Lampedusa Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 09:24 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - Dozens of African child migrants are having to sleep on the bare earth outside the reception center on Italy's Lampedusa following an upsurge in the number of boats reaching the tiny island, agency Save the Children said on Saturday. Lampedusa is wrestling with a big backlog in unaccompanied minors because Italian authorities stopped considering North Africa as being in a state of emergency some months ago, meaning no national agency is now charged with housing them. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela says it ends efforts for better U.S. ties Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 09:19 AM PDT  By Daniel Wallis CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela said it was ending efforts to improve ties with Washington after the Obama administration's nominee for envoy to the United Nations vowed to oppose what she called a crackdown on civil society in the "repressive" OPEC nation. In an echo of the many bust-ups between the two countries during the late Hugo Chavez's 14-year rule, President Nicolas Maduro has demanded an apology and said the United States had no moral right to criticize his government. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada rate message in tune with G20 debate: Poloz Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 09:16 AM PDT  By Randall Palmer MOSCOW (Reuters) - All the talk of economic weakness during the G20 talks in Moscow does not make the Bank of Canada more inclined to keep rates low for longer than it had otherwise planned, Governor Stephen Poloz said on Saturday. Poloz also came to the defense of the U.S. Federal Reserve, stating that Chairman Ben Bernanke's description of plans eventually to taper its bond buying was carefully communicated, as asked for in Saturday's communiqué of finance ministers and central bankers of the Group of 20 leading economies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fatal Indian school meal contained pesticide, police confirms Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 09:00 AM PDT  PATNA, India (Reuters) - An initial forensic report has confirmed that the free school lunch that killed 23 children this week in India's eastern state of Bihar was contaminated with a pesticide, a senior police official said on Saturday. The children fell ill within minutes of eating a meal of rice and potato curry in their one-room school on Tuesday, vomiting and convulsing with agonizing stomach cramps. The deaths sparked protests in Bihar. The lunch was part of India's Mid-Day Meal Scheme that covers 120 million children and aims to tackle malnutrition and encourage school attendance. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rival accuses Germany's Merkel of deceit over euro zone bailouts Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 08:52 AM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's main opposition leader Peer Steinbrueck accused Chancellor Angela Merkel of covering up the likelihood that German taxpayers will have to fund further euro zone bailouts due to a looming election. Steinbrueck, who is lagging Merkel in the run-up to the September 22 vote, was quoted by a German magazine on Saturday as saying a fresh writedown on Greek debt would mean losses for public creditors, in other words taxpayers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's President issues decree to start work on constitution Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 08:49 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's new president has issued a decree for legal experts to start work amending the country's constitution, which was suspended this month by the military, the state-run news website of Al-Ahram said on Saturday. The committee of 10 experts will meet on Sunday and has just 15 days to come up with proposals to put before a broader-based body that will have a further 60 days to deliver a final draft, opening the way for fresh elections. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bailed Russian opposition leader vows to become Moscow mayor Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 08:35 AM PDT  By Gabriela Baczynska and Maria Tsvetkova MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny told cheering supporters on Saturday he wants to contest and win an election to become Moscow mayor after being freed on bail while he fights a five-year jail sentence. Hundreds of people, some waving white roses, gave one of President Vladimir Putin's biggest critics a hero's welcome when he arrived in Moscow on the overnight train from Kirov, the industrial city where he was convicted of theft on Thursday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Disgruntled man hurt after detonating explosion in Beijing airport Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 08:02 AM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - A man in a wheelchair detonated a home-made explosive in Beijing airport on Saturday, injuring himself and sending smoke billowing through the exit area of the international arrivals section of Terminal 3. There were no other injuries and operations were normal after the blast, the airport said on its microblog. China's official Xinhua news agency said the man, 34-year-old Ji Zhongxing from the eastern province of Shandong, had detonated the loud device after being prevented from handing out leaflets that drew attention to unspecified complaints. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian rebels advance on northern army-held town Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 08:00 AM PDT  By Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels advanced on the northern town of Khan al-Assal on Saturday, activists said, and appeared close to seizing one of the last towns in western part of Aleppo province still held by President Bashar al-Assad's forces. The army has been attempting a slow build-up of troops around the province in order to retake Aleppo city, once Syria's biggest commercial hub. ... Full Story | Top |
| Four election officials seized by gunmen in north Mali Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 07:55 AM PDT BAMAKO (Reuters) - Five people, including four election officials, were kidnapped by gunmen in northern Mali on Saturday close to the town of Tessalit, army and local government sources said, ahead of a presidential vote next weekend. An official in the local governor's office said the gunmen were suspected to be members of the MNLA Tuareg separatist group, which signed a ceasefire with the government last month. It was not immediately possible to confirm this. (Reporting by Adama Diarra; Writing by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Alison Williams) Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Advanced G20 countries ready to commit to debt goals after 2016 Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 07:36 AM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Advanced G20 economies are ready to commit to numerical targets for public debt reduction after 2016 to boost investor confidence and create better conditions for economic growth, a senior G20 official told Reuters on Saturday. The commitment, to be discussed at a summit of leaders of the world's 20 biggest developing and developed economies (G20) in St. Petersburg in early September, will build on a G20 pledge made in 2010 to stabilize debt-to GDP ratios by 2016. Below is a table with the numerical targets of the public debt to GDP ratios, which could be approved. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mali says separatists break peace deal after ethnic clashes Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 07:34 AM PDT  BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's government accused northern Tuareg separatists on Saturday of violating a ceasefire deal signed last month after 4 people were killed in ethnic violence in the northern town of Kidal, a week ahead of elections. The violence raised fears about disruptions to the July 28 presidential election, pushed for by France and Western donors and meant to draw a line under a March 2012 coup that led to a 10-month seizure of northern Mali by al Qaeda-linked rebels. ... Full Story | Top |
| Algerian army kills regional al Qaeda leader's deputy -Ennahar TV Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 07:30 AM PDT (Reuters) - Algerian special forces shot dead four Islamist militants, including regional al Qaeda deputy leader Abu Al Walid Tuhami, in an ambush on Friday night, privately owned television station Ennahar said on Saturday, citing unnamed sources. Tuhami, 36, joined Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in 2002 and became close to leader Abdelmalek Droukdel, one security analyst, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| G20 puts growth before austerity, vows to tread carefully Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 07:23 AM PDT  By Lidia Kelly and Jan Strupczewski MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Group of 20 nations pledged on Saturday to put growth before austerity, seeking to revive a global economy that "remains too weak" and adjusting stimulus policies with care so that recovery is not derailed by volatile financial markets. Finance ministers and central bankers signed off on a communiqué that acknowledged the benefits of expansive policies in the United States and Japan but highlighted the recession in the euro zone and a slowdown in emerging markets. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Detroit filing sends benefits warning to other cities Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 07:03 AM PDT  By Tiziana Barghini NEW YORK (Reuters) - Many U.S. cities have a much better economic outlook than struggling Detroit, but the Motor City's bankruptcy filing on Thursday should still set off alarm bells elsewhere as the cost of paying retirement benefits swells. In recent decades, many municipalities have provided their workers with generous retirement benefits, both pensions and health coverage, often in lieu of pay increases. But this has created an unsustainable future burden for budgets that has only been exacerbated by the loss of real estate and other tax revenue in the financial crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pakistani clerics ban women from shopping alone in northwest area Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 06:15 AM PDT By Saud Mehsud DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - Clerics in northwest Pakistan have issued a temporary ban on women shopping unless accompanied by a male relative, a police official said on Saturday, in a step designed to keep men from being distracted during the holy month of Ramadan. Police are supporting the ban, announced over mosque loudspeakers on Friday in Karak district in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, district police official Fazal Hanif told Reuters. Unaccompanied women will be arrested and shopkeepers may be punished for selling items to women on their own. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt "deeply worried" by Nile water row with Ethiopia Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 05:44 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt said on Saturday it was highly concerned that Ethiopia had not responded to an invitation to discuss a dispute over a giant dam that Ethiopia plans to build on the river Nile. "Egypt is deeply worried that Ethiopia has not yet reacted to the invitation Egypt's minister of water and irrigation made to conduct a meeting in Cairo on the consequences of the dam," a statement issued by the foreign ministry said. Egypt fears the dam will reduce water flows vital for its 84 million people. ... Full Story | Top |
| Three Britons freed from Dubai after being jailed for drugs Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 05:36 AM PDT DUBAI (Reuters) - Three Britons jailed for more than a year in Dubai on drugs charges have been freed as part of an amnesty for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a British legal charity said on Saturday. The three were sentenced to four years in jail in April, and said they had been tortured following their arrest. Grant Cameron, Karl Williams and Suneet Jeerh, all in their 20s, were arrested during a holiday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in July 2012. Police said they had found a form of synthetic cannabis in their hire car. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S., Japan fiscal plans escape mention in G20 communique Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 05:14 AM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States and Japan escaped specific mention in a final communique issued on Saturday by the Group of 20 economies that called for credible medium-term fiscal strategies in advanced economies. The statement, issued after a two-day meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bankers, also tweaked earlier wording to say the G20 was determined to "accelerate", instead of "continue", progress towards rebalancing global demand. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel agrees Palestinian prisoner release to resume peace talks Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 05:04 AM PDT  By Maayan Lubell JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has agreed to release Palestinian prisoners in order to resume peace talks, but will not yield to other demands the Palestinians say must be met before they return to the negotiating table. Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Saturday that Israel was prepared to release some "heavyweight" prisoners but could not accept Palestinian demands over the borders of their future state before talks begin. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Six held over violence in France after police check veiled woman Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 05:03 AM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - Six people were arrested after overnight violence that erupted in a Paris suburb after police checked the identity of a woman wearing a Muslim veil, French authorities said on Saturday. Public disturbances have shaken depressed, largely immigrant quarters of major French cities at regular intervals for years, often triggered by resentment over spot police checks. It is illegal in France for women to wear full face veils in public but the law is contested in the mainly Muslim suburbs that ring major cities - where tensions reign in relations between residents and police. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan to shut down oil production by end of July Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 05:01 AM PDT By Andrew Green and Khalid Abelaziz JUBA/KHARTOUM (Reuters) - South Sudan plans to sell 6.4 million barrels of oil worth $300 million before shutting down its entire production by the end of July due to a row over its alleged support for rebels in neighboring Sudan, its oil minister said on Saturday. Sudan, the sole conduit for South Sudan's oil exports, said a month ago it would close two cross-border oil pipelines within 60 days and insisted output be shut by August 7 unless South Sudan gave up support for the rebels. Juba denies backing insurgents. ... Full Story | Top |
| Detroit bonds drop, judge seeks to halt bankruptcy filing Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 04:58 AM PDT  By Nick Carey DETROIT (Reuters) - Investors dumped Detroit's municipal bonds a day after the city's historic bankruptcy filing even as a ruling in state court raised questions about whether the bankruptcy will stand up to court review. Attempts by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and Detroit's Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr to put a positive spin on the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history failed to reassure investors. Prices on some Detroit bonds plunged and there were wider declines in the $3.7 trillion U.S. municipal bond market. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ex-Monte Paschi executives investigated in tax fraud case: source Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 04:21 AM PDT  MILAN (Reuters) - Eleven former Monte Paschi executives including the troubled bank's former chairman and director general have been investigated for tax fraud and may face trial, a judicial source said on Saturday. Former Chairman Giuseppe Mussari and ex-director general Antonio Vigni were this week notified by a Siena court that an investigation into tax fraud had been concluded and that they could be charged and brought to trial, the source said. The source added that prosecutor Antonino Nastasi would ask for the eleven to stand trial within a few weeks. ... Full Story | Top |
| G20 soft pedals on debt consolidation in favor of growth: Russia Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 04:16 AM PDT  By Lidia Kelly MOSCOW (Reuters) - G20 policymakers have soft-pedaled on goals to cut government debt in favor of a focus on growth and how to exit central bank stimulus with a minimum of turmoil, Russia's finance minister said on Saturday. The final communiqué from Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers addresses fiscal consolidation less strongly than had been expected, with discussion focusing chiefly on spillover effects from the withdrawal of monetary stimulus by developed countries, Russia's Anton Siluanov told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria war widens rift between Shi'ite clergy in Iraq, Iran Saturday, Jul 20, 2013 04:14 AM PDT  By Suadad al-Salhy NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - The civil war in Syria is widening a rift between top Shi'ite Muslim clergy in Iraq and Iran who have taken opposing stands on whether or not to send followers into combat on President Bashar al-Assad's side. Competition for leadership of the Shi'ite community has intensified since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003 toppled Saddam Hussein, empowering majority Shi'ites through the ballot box and restoring the Iraqi holy city of Najaf to prominence. ... Full Story | Top |
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