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| Liberal ElBaradei named Egypt PM, Islamists cry foul Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 12:30 PM PDT  By Yasmine Saleh and Asma Alsharif CAIRO (Reuters) - Liberal politician Mohamed ElBaradei was chosen as Egypt's interim Prime Minister on Saturday as the transitional administration fought to restore calm after at least 35 people were killed in Islamist protests that swept the country. ElBaradei, a 71-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner and former U.N. nuclear agency chief, had been favorite to head the temporary leadership installed by the military after it ousted elected President Mohamed Mursi on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazil's Rousseff denies plans for post-protest Cabinet shakeup Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 12:16 PM PDT  SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff firmly denied on Saturday any plans to shake up her Cabinet, following the country's largest protests in 20 years. In a written statement, she called talk of ministerial change "unfounded speculation" and reiterated a plan developed with state governors and local mayors to address concerns raised last month in cities across Latin America's largest economy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's most wanted drug trafficker caught in Colombia Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 12:15 PM PDT ROME (Reuters) - A suspected Italian mafia boss described as Europe's most wanted drug trafficker and the world's biggest cocaine importer was arrested in Colombia on Saturday and deported to Italy. Roberto Pannunzi, compared to the late drug lord Pablo Escobar by Colombian authorities, was caught in a Bogota shopping center carrying a false Venezuelan identity card, Colombia's Defense Ministry announced on Twitter. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) worked with Colombian police to find and arrest Pannunzi, the ministry said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Leading Sunni cleric says in fatwa Egyptians should back Mursi Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 12:05 PM PDT  RIYADH (Reuters) - A leading Qatar-based cleric declared in a religious edict, or fatwa, on Saturday that Egyptians should support ousted President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood and the military should withdraw from the political scene. Egyptian-born Youssef al-Qaradawi, one of the most prominent Sunni clerics in the Middle East, said in the fatwa posted on his website that the military's intervention to depose Mursi on Wednesday was against democracy and the constitution. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian ministers asked to post salaries, assets online Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 11:57 AM PDT  ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta's office said on Saturday it had asked all the ministers in his cabinet as well as junior government officials to declare their salaries and assets online in an effort to boost transparency. It said in a statement that ministers, deputy ministers and undersecretaries in the left-right coalition government should publish their income and benefits related to their public administration roles as well as other assignments. The former government of Mario Monti made a similar move last year while it was stepping up efforts to fight tax evasion. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkish police fire teargas, water cannons to disperse Istanbul protests Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 11:50 AM PDT  By Humeyra Pamuk and Ece Toksabay ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish police fired teargas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of protesters in an Istanbul square on Saturday as they gathered to enter a park that was the center of protests against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan last month. The Taksim Solidarity Platform, combining an array of political groups, had called a march to enter the sealed off Gezi park, but the governor of Istanbul warned that any such gathering would be confronted by the police. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mohamed ElBaradei to be named Egypt's interim PM: sources Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 11:40 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Mohamed ElBaradei, a former U.N. nuclear agency chief, will be named Egypt's interim prime minister later on Saturday, a presidential source told Reuters. Interim head of state Adli Mansour was installed on Thursday to oversee a military roadmap to elections, the day after the army overthrew Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. ElBaradei was among liberal leaders who opposed Mursi and called for the massive protests that showed how the Muslim Brotherhood had angered millions of Egyptians. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen kill 28 in attack on northeast Nigeria school Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 11:40 AM PDT By Lanre Ola MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Suspected Islamist gunmen killed 27 students and a teacher in a boarding school in the northeast Nigerian town of Potiskum on Saturday, a police source said. The attack was the deadliest of at least three on schools since the military launched an offensive in May to try to crush Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram, whose nickname translates as "Western education is sinful" in the northern Hausa language. The attackers set fire to buildings and shot pupils as they tried to flee, the source told Reuters by email. ... Full Story | Top |
| Three Latin American leftist leaders offer asylum to Snowden Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 10:19 AM PDT  By Daniel Ramos and Daniel Wallis LA PAZ/CARACAS (Reuters) - Bolivia offered asylum on Saturday to former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, joining leftist allies Venezuela and Nicaragua in defiance of Washington, which is demanding his arrest for divulging details of secret U.S. surveillance programs. Snowden, 30, is believed to be holed up in the transit area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo international airport and has been trying to find a country that would take him since he landed from Hong Kong on June 23. ... Full Story | Top |
| Islamist coalition calls for protests across Egypt on Sunday Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 09:42 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - An Islamist coalition led by the Muslim Brotherhood called on people to protest across Egypt on Sunday against the military overthrow of elected President Mohamed Mursi. The National Coalition in Support of Legitimacy issued the statement on Saturday, a day after dozens of people were killed as Islamists opposed to Mursi's overthrow took to the streets to vent their fury at what they say was a military coup. (Reporting by Maggie Fick; writing by Mike Collett-White, Editing by Sarah McFarlane) Full Story | Top |
| France detains former Moscow official accused of fraud: Russia Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 09:39 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - French authorities have detained a former Russian politician who has been on an Interpol wanted list since November, accused of fraud worth 3.5 billion roubles ($105 million), Russia's Interior Ministry said on Saturday. Alexei Kuznetsov was arrested at Russia's request, the ministry's website said, as President Vladimir Putin continues an anti-sleaze campaign to cement his grip on power. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian opposition chooses Saudi-backed leader Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 09:27 AM PDT  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Erika Solomon ISTANBUL/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's fractious opposition elected a new leader on Saturday but rebel groups were reported to be fighting among themselves in a sign of growing divisions on the ground between factions trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mubarak trial drags on, impervious to Egypt upheaval Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 08:39 AM PDT  By Asma Alsharif CAIRO (Reuters) - The slow-motion retrial of former Egyptian autocrat Hosni Mubarak dragged on at snail's pace on Saturday, impervious to the latest upheaval in the country he ruled for 30 years - the military overthrow of his elected successor. The presiding judge adjourned the case on charges of conspiracy to murder hundreds of demonstrators in 2011 until August 17, after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, to allow the defense more time to review recently presented evidence. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bolivia's Morales says he would grant asylum to Snowden if asked Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 08:24 AM PDT  LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivian President Evo Morales said on Saturday he would grant asylum, if requested, to former U.S. intelligence agency contractor Edward Snowden. Morales' offer came after two other leftist Latin American leaders - Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega - also said they would help the U.S. fugitive, who is believed to be holed up in the transit area of a Moscow international airport. (Reporting by Daniel Ramos; Writing by Louise Egan; Editing by Eric Beech) Full Story | Top |
| Italy's most wanted drug trafficker arrested in Colombia Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 07:53 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - A suspected Italian mafia boss described as Europe's most wanted drug trafficker and the world's biggest cocaine importer has been arrested in Colombia, the government there said on Saturday. Roberto Pannunzi, compared to the late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar by Colombian authorities, was caught in a Bogota shopping centre carrying a false Venezuelan identity card, the Defense Ministry announced on Twitter. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) worked with Colombian police to find and arrest Pannunzi, the ministry said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rugby-Gibraltar dejected after Spain blocks membership bid Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 07:39 AM PDT By Iain Rogers MADRID, July 6 (Reuters) - The Gibraltar Rugby Football Union (GRFU) has expressed bitter disappointment after the tiny British overseas territory's bid to join the European Rugby Association (FIRA-AER) was blocked by Spain on Saturday. Gibraltar's rugby players were trying to emulate their soccer counterparts, who were accepted as members of governing body UEFA in May in the teeth of Spanish objections, but were denied in a vote of FIRA-AER members in Stockholm. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian opposition coalition elects president Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 07:12 AM PDT ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The main Syrian opposition National Coalition elected Ahmad Jarba as its president on Saturday after a close runoff vote held in Istanbul, coalition members said. Jarba is a tribal figure from the eastern province of Hasaka who has connections with Saudi Arabia. He defeated businessman Mustafa Sabbagh, Qatar's point man in the opposition. "A change was needed," Adib Shishakly, a senior official in the coalition, told Reuters. "The old leadership of the coalition had failed to offer the Syrian people anything substantial and was preoccupied with internal politics. ... Full Story | Top |
| Merkel says EU must not forget U.S. spying in push for free trade Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 06:58 AM PDT  By Matthias Inverardi BAD SALZUFLEN, Germany (Reuters) - Germany's Angela Merkel said on Saturday that Europe should push ahead with free-trade negotiations with the United States next week while making sure that concerns about America's secret surveillance of its EU allies are not swept under the carpet. Though the German Chancellor told a political rally that free-trade talks are long overdue, she also said that the assistance of U.S. intelligence to thwart attacks on Germany in the past cannot justify American spying on the European Union. "Bugging is not what friends do. ... Full Story | Top |
| Anyone seen Snowden? Moscow transit fliers hope for a glimpse Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 06:50 AM PDT  By Thomas Grove MOSCOW (Reuters) - When Edward Snowden finally leaves the transit area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, it will lose its biggest attraction. The former U.S. spy agency contractor has managed to stay out of sight for two weeks since arriving from Hong Kong on June 23, hoping to fly on to a country that would not send him back to the United States to face espionage charges. The hordes of reporters who for days camped out in the hope of finding him have long since packed up and left. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mali state of emergency lifted ahead of election Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 06:44 AM PDT  By Tiemoko Diallo BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali has lifted its state of emergency to allow campaigning for a presidential election being held on July 28 after a French-led offensive to drive Islamist militants from the West African country. But attacks on U.N. peacekeepers in a former rebel stronghold on Saturday underlined the continuing insecurity in the Sahara Desert north. The state of emergency, imposed when the French offensive began in January, was lifted at midnight (0000 GMT), army spokesman Captain Modibo Naman Traore said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rebels clash with Qaeda-linked opposition group in Syria Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 06:26 AM PDT  By Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - Rebels clashed with an opposition unit linked to al Qaeda in northern Syria, activists said on Saturday, in a deadly battle that signals growing divisions among rebel groups and rising tensions between locals and more radical Islamist factions. The rebel infighting comes as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have made gains on the battlefield and drawn comfort from the downfall this week of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, which under ousted President Mohamed Mursi had thrown its weight behind the Syrian opposition. ... Full Story | Top |
| North, South Korea officials hold talks on joint industrial zone Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 06:24 AM PDT  By Jack Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - North and South Korean officials held talks on Saturday seeking a way to reopen a jointly run industrial zone, a rare source of steady cash for the impoverished North, a month after their last attempt at dialogue collapsed in acrimony over protocol. North Korea called for an early restart of the Kaesong Industrial zone, just north of the militarized border, South Korean media reported. But Seoul's chief delegate Suh Ho sought an assurance from the North that it would not repeat the kind of actions it took in April that led to the halt of the factory project. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chile annual inflation speeds up in June to 1.9 percent Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 06:00 AM PDT  SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chile's consumer price index rose 0.6 percent in June, the biggest increase in eight months and slightly above expectations as costs jumped for accommodation, electricity, fuel products and water, the government said on Saturday. Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast a 0.5 percent rise in prices. Inflation in the 12 months through June was 1.9 percent, up sharply from 0.9 percent in May and approaching the central bank's target range of 2 percent to 4 percent. Core inflation was 0.3 percent in the month and 1.3 percent in the year, the national statistics agency said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Prominent Egyptian blogger released from jail, remains on trial Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 05:56 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - A prominent Egyptian blogger jailed for insulting deposed President Mohamed Mursi was released from prison on Saturday, state news agency MENA said, but he remained on trial for inciting violence. Ahmed Douma was sentenced to six months in jail for calling Mursi a criminal and a murderer in media interviews, in a case activists said was part of a crackdown on dissent by Mursi and his Islamist-led government. ... Full Story | Top |
| ECB's Noyer says forward guidance in line with mandate Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 05:40 AM PDT  AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France (Reuters) - The European Central Bank's decision to break with precedent by declaring it would keep interest rates at record lows for an extended period is fully in line with its mandate, ECB policymaker Christian Noyer said on Saturday. "Forward guidance is fully anchored to our mandate and in line with the two pillars of our strategy," Noyer said, referring to the ECB's inflation mandate and, for the pillars of the strategy, to real economy and monetary developments. ... Full Story | Top |
| Coptic priest shot dead in Egypt attack: sources Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 05:36 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Gunmen shot dead a Coptic Christian priest in Egypt's lawless Northern Sinai on Saturday in what could be the first sectarian attack since the military overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, security sources said. The priest, Mina Aboud Sharween, was attacked in the early afternoon while walking in the Masaeed area in El Arish. The shooting in the coastal city was one of several attacks believed to be by Islamist insurgents that included firing at four military checkpoints in the region, the sources said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian prosecutors drop inquiry into former Vatican bank chief Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 05:32 AM PDT  ROME (Reuters) - Italian prosecutors have dropped inquiries into the Vatican bank's former president Ettore Gotti Tedeschi after concluding a money laundering investigation, judicial sources told Reuters. Prosecutors accuse the bank's director general, Paolo Cipriani, and its deputy director Massimo Tulli, who both resigned this week, of "authorizing illegal financial transactions", said the sources, who asked not to be named. The Vatican bank was not immediately available for comment on Saturday and in the past a spokesman has declined to comment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bombs kill 22 in Iraq, Sunni leader urges Egypt-style protests Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 04:39 AM PDT  By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed 15 people as they left a Shi'ite mosque in the Iraqi capital on Friday and a separate attack on Sunni protesters killed seven, police and medics said. In Baghdad's northwestern district of Graiaat, witnesses said guards at the exit to the Shi'ite mosque stopped a woman who then blew herself up amidst worshippers leaving after sunset prayers. Suicide bombings are the hallmark of al Qaeda. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela offers asylum to U.S. fugitive Snowden Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 04:24 AM PDT  By Daniel Wallis and Deisy Buitrago CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro offered asylum to former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden in defiance of Washington, which is demanding his arrest for divulging details of secret U.S. spy programs. Snowden, 30, is believed to be holed up in the transit area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo international airport and has been trying to find a country that would take him since he landed from Hong Kong on June 23. "In the name of America's dignity ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran central bank eliminates cheaper dollar rate: reports Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 03:55 AM PDT  By Yeganeh Torbati DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's central bank has eliminated a subsidized, cheaper rate for foreign currency and reported a weaker official rate in its place, according to Iranian media and the central bank's website on Saturday. The Iranian rial has lost much of its value in the last two years, under pressure from international sanctions over Tehran's disputed nuclear program that have limited the country's oil sales, cut its access to the global banking system, and made it more difficult for it to earn foreign exchange. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela asylum offer Snowden's best option: Russian lawmaker Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 03:26 AM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Political asylum in Venezuela would be the best choice for former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, a senior Russian lawmaker said on Saturday. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Friday offered asylum to Snowden, who is believed to be holed up in the transit area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport. "Asylum for Snowden in Venezuela would be the best solution. That country is in a sharp conflict with the United States," pro-Kremlin lawmaker Alexei Pushkov, chairman of the international affairs committee of Russia's lower house of parliament, said on Twitter. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain to deport radical cleric Abu Qatada on Sunday -papers Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 02:51 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada will be deported by Britain to Jordan on Sunday, ending eight years of government efforts to send him home for trial, British papers reported on Saturday. Abu Qatada, wanted in Jordan on charges of alleged terrorism, will be put on a special flight at around 01:00 GMT (02:00 a.m.), the Times newspaper said. Observers from a Jordanian human rights organisation would accompany him, the Telegraph said. A spokeswoman for the Home Office declined to comment on the reports. ... Full Story | Top |
| ECB's Noyer says financial market regulation needed Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 02:38 AM PDT  AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France (Reuters) - Strengthening regulation of financial markets is necessary to reduce risks, ECB policymaker Christian Noyer said on Saturday, in a speech entitled "The end of the dictatorship of finance". Noyer, who has in the past turned up the heat on London's role as Europe's finance hub, criticized accounting rules which he said fuelled "short-termism" and said the opaque nature of some parts of the markets had fuelled the financial crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tanzania says arrests Briton wanted by UK on terror charges Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 02:22 AM PDT DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania has arrested a British man suspected of involvement in unspecified "terrorism activities" in Britain, police in the east African country said. Iqbal Ahsan Ali was arrested in Tanzania's southern Mbeya region after being found in possession of both British and Tanzanian passports, which is a crime in Tanzania as it forbids dual citizenship, police said. ... Full Story | Top |
| China, Switzerland sign free trade agreement Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 02:17 AM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - China and Switzerland on Saturday signed a free trade agreement in Beijing - a move that came amid escalating tensions between Asia's economic giant and the European Union. The pact followed China's signing in April of its first free trade accord with a European economy, non-EU member Iceland. Saturday's deal, however, marked the first with an economy in continental Europe. China's commerce minister Gao Hucheng and Swiss Economy Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann inked the bilateral agreement in a ceremony in China's capital city. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt counts dead after Islamist protest violence Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 02:10 AM PDT  By Mike Collett-White and Asma Alsharif CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt counted its dead on Saturday after Islamists enraged by the overthrow of President Mohamed Mursi took to the streets in an explosion of violence against what they denounced as a military coup. At least 30 people died and more than 1,000 were wounded after Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood movement called "Friday of Rejection" protests across the country and tried to march on the military compound where the ousted president is held. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bomb blast kills three soldiers in Yemeni capital Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 01:50 AM PDT  ADEN (Reuters) - A roadside bomb in Yemen's capital Sanaa killed three soldiers and injured two others during a security patrol early on Saturday, a security official said. The official said the blast targeted a car in Sanaa's al-Hasaba district, a center of opposition to former Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh who was ousted early last year. The official, who requested anonymity, said it was unknown who carried out the attack. Yemen is the poorest Arab state with a third of the population living on less than $2 a day. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wary Tibetans mark Dalai Lama's birthday quietly in China Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 12:59 AM PDT  By Sui-Lee Wee CHABCHA COUNTY, China (Reuters) - The streets of Chabcha county in western Qinghai province were quiet on Saturday as Tibetan monks marked the Dalai Lama's birthday in their homes, wary that any public celebration could endanger a tentative softening by Chinese authorities. Tibetans in China have always had to steer clear of public ceremonies revering their 78-year-old exiled spiritual leader who Beijing has denounced as a "wolf in monk's robes". ... Full Story | Top |
| Islamist group threatens violence after ousting of Egypt's Mursi Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 12:55 AM PDT  RIYADH (Reuters) - A new Islamist group has announced its formation in Egypt, calling the army's ousting of President Mohamed Mursi a declaration of war on its faith and threatening to use violence to impose Islamic law. Ansar al-Shariah in Egypt said it would gather arms and start training its members, in a statement posted on an online forum for militants in the country's Sinai region on Friday and recorded by the SITE Monitoring organization. ... Full Story | Top |
| Man charged with trying to extort $250,000 from chef Paula Deen Friday, Jul 05, 2013 09:53 PM PDT  (Reuters) - A New York man was arrested Friday on charges that he tried to extort $250,000 from celebrity chef Paula Deen over what he said were "true and damning" statements that would cost her a discrimination lawsuit, the FBI said. Thomas George Paculis, 62, of Newfield, New York, was arrested and charged with extortion, the FBI said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
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