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| Netanyahu calls Palestinian leader Abbas, urges peacemaking Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 12:37 PM PDT  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday telephoned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and said he hoped the two sides could resume peace talks, stalled for three years, Israeli officials said. Netanyahu offered greetings for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, his office said, adding that he told Abbas: "I hope we will have the opportunity to speak with one another not only during festivals, and will start negotiating. It's important. ... Full Story | Top |
| Body of French hostage found in Mali: RFI Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 12:26 PM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - The body has been found in Mali of French geologist Philippe Verdon, who was taken hostage in November 2011, Radio France Internationale (RFI) reported on Sunday. French President Francois Hollande said in his Bastille Day speech on Sunday it was possible Verdon died several weeks ago but his death was not officially confirmed. Citing a source close to the matter, RFI said DNA checks showed that the body found in the north of Mali was that of Verdon and it would be repatriated to France in a few days. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian lawmaker likens black minister to orangutan Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 12:24 PM PDT By Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - A senior parliamentarian in the anti-immigration Northern League party likened Italy's first black minister to an orangutan and only apologized on Sunday after a storm of criticism. Cecile Kyenge, an Italian citizen born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been the target of repeated racial slurs since her appointment as integration minister in April. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rail at center of Quebec town tragedy and heart of its recovery Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 12:08 PM PDT  By Phil Wahba and Julie Gordon LAC-MEGANTIC, Quebec (Reuters) - It was a runaway train that caused this month's deadly inferno in Lac-Megantic, but the Canadian town's leaders, business owners and many of its residents see the railway as crucial to their survival and want it operating again as soon as possible. Fifty people, including 17 still missing, are believed to have been killed on July 6 when a driverless train with 72 oil tanker cars crashed and exploded in the center of the picturesque, lakeside town in rural Quebec. The fire burned for hours and dozens of buildings were leveled. ... Full Story | Top |
| Malawi rules out interim deal over lake dispute with Tanzania Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 11:36 AM PDT LILONGWE (Reuters) - Malawi will not accept any interim deal on a disputed boundary on Lake Malawi with neighboring Tanzania until the wrangle over sovereignty is settled, President Joyce Banda told mediators on Sunday. Malawi, which sits to the west of Africa's third-largest lake, claims the entire northern half of the lake while Tanzania, to the east, says it owns half of the northern area. The southern half is shared between Malawi and Mozambique. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudan's Bashir arrives in Nigeria to anger of rights groups Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 11:33 AM PDT  ABUJA (Reuters) - Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir arrived in Nigeria on Sunday for an African Union summit on HIV/AIDS as his hosts chose to ignore an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him. Bashir, accused of masterminding genocide and other atrocities during Sudan's Darfur conflict, which has left some 200,000 people dead, in theory risks arrest if he travels to one of the more than 120 states including Nigeria that have signed up to the ICC. He has been refused trips to Uganda, South Africa, Malawi and Zambia in the past because of his indictment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Congo army clashes with M23 rebels close to eastern city of Goma Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 11:31 AM PDT KINSHASA (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's army clashed with fighters from the M23 rebel group close to the eastern city of Goma on Sunday, in what appeared to be the most serious combat for several weeks. In a statement, M23 said the fighting started at 2 p.m. local time (1200 GMT) when the army attacked its positions in the town of Mutaho, some 7 km (4 miles) from Goma, a city of a million inhabitants. The rebel group, which sparked international outcry when it seized Goma in November, said its troops were responding firmly. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bombs in Iraqi Shi'ite provinces kill 24 Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 11:22 AM PDT  By Aref Mohammed BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - A string of bomb blasts in predominantly Shi'ite Muslim provinces of Iraq killed at least 24 people on Sunday, police and medics said. The violence is part of a sustained campaign of militant attacks this year that has prompted fears of wider conflict in a country where ethnic Kurds and Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims have yet to find a stable power-sharing compromise. A suicide bomber killed at least four people in a Shi'ite mosque in the town of Mussayab, and in Kut city, a car bomb went off in a busy market, killing five, police and medics said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's new finance minister faces daunting task Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 11:08 AM PDT By Patrick Werr CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's new finance minister is a U.S.-educated economist who will need all his training to help pull his country out of an acute financial crisis aggravated by renewed political turmoil. Ahmed Galal, managing director of the Cairo-based Economic Research Forum since 2007 and for 18 years a researcher at the World Bank, said he had accepted the post of finance minister in the army-backed government of Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi. ... Full Story | Top |
| Zimmerman, cleared in Trayvon Martin death, faces outrage Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 11:03 AM PDT  By Ellen Wulfhorst and Barbara Liston SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - Cleared by a Florida jury, George Zimmerman walked free from criminal charges in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin but still faces public outrage, a possible civil suit and demands for a federal investigation. The six women jurors who deliberated for 16 hours over two days found Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter Saturday night in a case that has polarized the U.S. public. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. pens deal for unarmed surveillance drones over Congo Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 10:18 AM PDT  By Alexandria Sage PARIS (Reuters) - U.N. peacekeepers in Democratic Republic of Congo will begin using unarmed drones on a trial basis to monitor its war-torn east, the head of peacekeeping operations told Reuters on Sunday. U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous, in Paris to attend France's Independence Day celebrations, told Reuters a deal signed on Friday with an unnamed company would allow for a "complete picture of what is happening" on the ground. Thick forests, rugged terrain and few roads have complicated peacekeepers' efforts to control the area. ... Full Story | Top |
| Uganda frets over rebel threat as Congo refugees reach 66,000 Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 09:48 AM PDT By Elias Biryabarema KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda is worried that a rising stream of refugees fleeing fighting in eastern Congo could give easy passage for rebels to launch attacks in the country, the military said on Sunday. The Uganda Red Cross Society said 66,000 Congolese refugees have so far crossed into the east African country since the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) started attacking the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo town of Kamangu on Thursday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senior U.S. diplomat Burns to visit Egypt this week Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 09:46 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns will visit Egypt this week to meet interim government officials and stress the need to end violence and move toward a democratically elected government, the State Department said on Sunday. Burns will also hold talks with executives and members of civil society, said a department statement that made no mention of whether he will meet with the military that ousted President Mohamed Mursi or Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood supporters. "In all these meetings, he will underscore U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel's Netanyahu says Iran closer to nuclear 'red line' Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 09:42 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Iran was getting closer to the "red line" he set for its nuclear program and warned the international community not to be distracted by the crises in Syria and Egypt. Tehran was continuing enrichment activities and building inter-continental ballistic missiles, which could give it a military nuclear capability, he said on CBS' "Face the Nation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian army chief says no group barred from politics Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 09:39 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in a speech on Sunday that no movement would be barred from participating in politics, as he sought to explain his decision to oust elected President Mohamed Mursi amid fierce criticism from Islamists. Addressing an armed forces gathering in Cairo, Sisi said Mursi had lost legitimacy because of mass demonstrations against him. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt government takes shape Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 09:23 AM PDT  By Noah Browning and Shadia Nasralla CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's interim prime minister filled senior posts on Sunday in a cabinet that will lead the country under an army-backed "road map" to restore civilian rule following overthrow of elected President Mohamed Mursi. Hazem el-Beblawi, a 76-year-old liberal economist appointed interim prime minister last week, is tapping technocrats and liberals for an administration to govern under a temporary constitution until parliamentary elections in about six months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tanzania wants stronger mandate for Sudan's Darfur peacekeepers Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 09:14 AM PDT By Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania said on Sunday it would seek a stronger mandate for peacekeepers in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region after seven of its troops were killed in an ambush on Saturday. The head of U.N. peacekeeping operations, Herve Ladsous, told Reuters in Paris that the situation in the area was "totally unacceptable". Tanzania said 36 members of its contingent of soldiers and police had been ambushed by rebels some 20 km (12 miles) from Khor Abeche in South Darfur. Seventeen others were wounded, including two women. "We are communicating with the ... Full Story | Top |
| Polish leader egged during visit to Ukraine massacre site Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 08:53 AM PDT  KIEV (Reuters) - A Ukrainian man smeared Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski with a broken egg when he visited the site of a 1943 massacre of Poles in neighboring Ukraine on Sunday, police said. The attack followed a move by the Polish parliament last week to recognize the massacre by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) during World War Two as "ethnic cleansing bearing the hallmarks of genocide". The move upset Ukrainian nationalists who view the UPA as heroes and freedom fighters. On Sunday, Komorowski visited the western Volyn region and attended mass at a Catholic church. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt to freeze assets of 14 Brotherhood, Islamist leaders Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 08:11 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's public prosecutor on Sunday ordered that the assets of 14 Muslim Brotherhood leaders, including its head Mohamed Badie, be frozen, judicial sources said. Also included in the measure were his deputy, Khairat El-Shater, and the deputy head of the Brotherhood's political party, Essam El-Erian, the sources added. (Reporting by Yasmine Saleh; editing by Mike Collett-White and Kevin Liffey) Full Story | Top |
| Liberal economist says accepts finance minister post Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 07:25 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Liberal economist Ahmed Galal said on Sunday he had agreed to become Egypt's finance minister in the state's army-backed interim government. Egyptian Interim Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi has been holding meetings with candidates for his new cabinet, which is expected to be formed in the next few days. Nabil Fahmy, a former Egyptian ambassador to the United States, had earlier said he accepted the post of foreign minister. Senior Judge Mohamed Amin el-Mahdy also said he agreed to take the post of justice minister. (Writing by Yasmine Saleh, editing by Mike Collett-White) Full Story | Top |
| Germany's anti-euro party stalls before election Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 06:57 AM PDT  By Madeline Chambers BERLIN (Reuters) - Just three months since its launch in a blaze of publicity, Germany's anti-euro party is failing to strike a chord with voters and is unlikely to fulfill predictions it will pose a threat to Chancellor Angela Merkel in September's election. Despite recent developments in Greece and Portugal reviving fears of another flare-up in the euro crisis, polls show support for the Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) languishing around 2 percent, short of the 5 percent needed to enter parliament. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kuwait sends $200 million worth of oil to Egypt: newspaper Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 06:56 AM PDT  KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwait has sent two oil tankers carrying crude and diesel worth $200 million to Egypt, a Kuwaiti newspaper said on Sunday, part of a $4 billion aid package pledged by the Gulf Arab state last week after the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. Kuwait last week joined other oil-producing Gulf states in pledging a massive aid package worth $12 billion to Egypt in a show of support after the army toppled the Muslim Brotherhood government. Most U.S.-allied Gulf monarchies regard the Brotherhood as a threat. ... Full Story | Top |
| Top Italian lawmaker likens black minister to orangutan Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 06:16 AM PDT  By Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - A senior parliamentarian in the anti-immigration Northern League party has likened Italy's first black minister to an orangutan. Cecile Kyenge, an Italian citizen born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been the target of repeated racial slurs since her appointment as integration minister in April. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spain's PM sent texts to party's disgraced ex-treasurer: paper Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 05:56 AM PDT  MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy sent supportive text messages to his party's disgraced ex-treasurer for two months after the eruption of a corruption scandal involving People's Party (PP) leaders, El Mundo newspaper said on Sunday. Luis Barcenas, jailed last month as a flight risk and due to testify in court on Monday, has become a thorn in the side for Rajoy as the premier tries to change recession-hit Spain's image and convince investors a recovery is under way. ... Full Story | Top |
| Australian gored at Spain bull run in 'very serious' condition Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 05:36 AM PDT  PAMPLONA, Spain (Reuters) - A 23-year-old Australian woman gored in the chest on the final day of Spain's annual San Fermin bull-running festival was in a "very serious" condition, local authorities said on Sunday. The woman, who was only identified by her initials J.E., was injured during the early morning run, where bulls chase people down the cobbled streets of Pamplona in northeast Spain, and immediately taken to hospital for surgery. She suffered several fractured ribs and damage to her right lung, according to a medical report released by authorities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen kill four policemen in Russia's Dagestan Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 05:24 AM PDT MAKHACHKALA, Russia (Reuters) - Four policemen were killed in Russia's violence-plagued Dagestan region on Sunday when unidentified gunmen opened fire on their car, local investigators said. The police officers were on their way back from a village of Burshi, some 100 km (62 miles) south-west of regional capital Makhachkala, when their car was attacked by two assailants. Insurgents are fighting to carve out an Islamic state in Dagestan - an ethnically mixed, mostly Muslim region in the North Caucasus between Chechnya and the Caspian Sea. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nine militants killed in U.S. drone, Pakistan air force strikes Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 04:37 AM PDT By Jibran Ahmad PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - At least nine suspected militants, including two foreigners, were killed in Pakistan's lawless tribal region in a U.S. drone strike and a separate Pakistan military operation, security officials said on Sunday. Pakistan has seen a spate of militant attacks since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took office last month, putting pressure on his team to act more aggressively to curb the insurgency. Missile strikes by unmanned U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pakistan Taliban set up camps in Syria, join anti-Assad war Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 03:46 AM PDT  By Maria Golovnina and Jibran Ahmad ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - The Pakistani Taliban have set up camps and sent hundreds of men to Syria to fight alongside rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad, militants said on Sunday, in a strategy aimed at cementing ties with al Qaeda's central leadership. More than two years since the start of the anti-Assad rebellion, Syria has become a magnet for foreign Sunni fighters who have flocked to the Middle Eastern nation to join what they see as a holy war against Shi'ite oppressors. ... Full Story | Top |
| Former Egyptian ambassador to U.S. named foreign minister Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 03:23 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Nabil Fahmy, a former Egyptian ambassador to the United States, accepted the post of foreign minister on Sunday in the interim government being put in place after the removal of president Mohamed Mursi earlier this month. Interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi is assembling a government expected to be made up mainly of technocrats and liberals to lead Egypt under an army-backed "road map" to restore full civilian rule. (Reporting by Cairo bureau; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Mark Heinrich) Full Story | Top |
| Kuwait court rejects election challenge, confirms July 27 vote Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 03:22 AM PDT  KUWAIT (Reuters) - A Kuwaiti administrative court threw out on Sunday legal challenges to a parliamentary election set for July 27, a judicial source and an elections candidate said, effectively paving the way for the vote to proceed on time. Almost constant factional infighting over the past seven years has prompted repeated elections, stalled infrastructure development and held up economic reforms in Kuwait, an important Gulf Arab oil producer and U.S. ally. ... Full Story | Top |
| Zimbabwe police, soldiers cast early votes contested by PM Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 02:25 AM PDT  HARARE (Reuters) - Police officers and soldiers who will be on duty during Zimbabwe's July 31 election began voting on Sunday, the eve of a court hearing to stop the process because Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC party says police numbers were inflated. Zimbabwe will hold presidential and parliamentary elections and police chiefs have been campaigning for Tsvangvirai's arch-rival, President Robert Mugabe, telling rank-and-file to vote for the veteran leader and his ZANU-PF party. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ex-Supply Minister says he declined post in Egypt's new cabinet Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 01:51 AM PDT ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Leftist politician Godah Abdel Khalek said on Sunday he declined an offer to return to the post of minister of supply in Egypt's interim government, citing personal reasons. Two sources in Egypt's transitional administration had earlier said Interim Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi would ask Abdel Khalek to serve in the post. "I was offered the post by Beblawi, but I declined for personal reasons," he told Reuters over the phone. Abdel Khalek had held the post before for a few months in 2011. (Reporting by Maha El Dahan; Editing by Peter Graff) Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Nigeria Islamists hit schools to destroy Western ideas Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 01:47 AM PDT  By Isaac Abrak MAMUDO, Nigeria (Reuters) - They crept up to the school under cover of darkness, armed with petrol and automatic weapons. Most of the teachers and pupils had fled, but some students, one teacher and headmaster Adanu Haruna were still in the compound, one of many rural boarding schools in Nigeria surrounded by forest and farmland. "They made the students line up and strip naked, then they made the ones with pubic hair lie face down on the ground," Haruna said, eyes wide with horror at describing the attack on the iron-roofed school built by British colonizers in the 1950s. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Kenyan peacekeepers aided illegal Somalia charcoal export - U.N. Saturday, Jul 13, 2013 10:08 PM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A confidential report by U.N. monitors accuses Kenyan soldiers in the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia of facilitating illegal charcoal exports from the port city of Kismayu, a business that generates millions of dollars a year for Islamic militants seeking to topple the government. The case of the failed ban on Somali charcoal outlined in the report highlights the difficulty of cutting off al Shabaab militants' funding and ensuring compliance with U.N. sanctions when there is little appetite for enforcing them on the ground. ... Full Story | Top |
| Eighteen killed in Moscow bus crash Saturday, Jul 13, 2013 09:58 PM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Eighteen people were killed and 25 injured when a truck ploughed into a bus in a Moscow suburb on Saturday, according to the Russian emergency ministry. An eyewitness video of the crash, broadcast on state television, showed the green and white passenger bus's windows shattering as it split in half, forcing other vehicles on the road to swerve wildly out of its way. Death rates from Russian road accidents are higher than in most Western countries, and lawmakers are moving to toughen drunk-driving penalties. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkish police fire tear gas at Istanbul protesters Saturday, Jul 13, 2013 09:02 PM PDT  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish police fired water cannon and tear gas on Saturday to disperse hundreds of protesters who gathered to march to Gezi Park, which has been at the heart of fierce unrest against Prime Minister Erdogan's rule. Protesters scattered, running into sidestreets where police pursued them, before starting to regroup on Istiklal Street, meters from the main Taksim Square. The demonstrators also clashed with shopkeepers disgruntled by weeks of bad business due to weeks of demonstrations. ... Full Story | Top |
| Florida jury in Zimmerman case asks about manslaughter charge Saturday, Jul 13, 2013 04:25 PM PDT  By Ellen Wulfhorst SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - The Florida jury deciding the fate of George Zimmerman for killing unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin asked for clarification on Saturday on manslaughter, the less-serious charge in the case that has sparked debate on race and guns. The panel of six women, which has deliberated more than 12 hours over two days, could decide on manslaughter, second-degree murder or acquittal for Zimmerman, who says he shot the 17-year-old Martin in self-defense. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt announces criminal investigation of Mursi Saturday, Jul 13, 2013 03:57 PM PDT  By Yasmine Saleh and Peter Graff CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt announced a criminal investigation on Saturday against deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, with prosecutors saying they were examining complaints of spying, inciting violence and ruining the economy. Egypt's first freely elected leader has been held at an undisclosed location since the army removed him from power on July 3, but has not yet been charged with any crime. In recent days, Washington has called for him to be freed and for the authorities to stop arresting leaders of his Muslim Brotherhood. ... Full Story | Top |
| Northern Ireland violence flares for second day Saturday, Jul 13, 2013 03:56 PM PDT  By Ian Graham BELFAST (Reuters) - Violence flared for a second night around traditional Orange Day parades in Northern Ireland, with police coming under attack from petrol bombs, fireworks, stones and bottles and responding with water cannon. One police officer was engulfed in flames when struck by a petrol bomb, but it was quickly extinguished by colleagues. The officer remained on duty after being examined by medical personnel, a spokesman said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bomb attacks on Sunni mosques in Iraq kill 23 Saturday, Jul 13, 2013 02:48 PM PDT  By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two bomb attacks near Sunni mosques in the Iraqi capital killed at least 23 people who had gathered to pray after breaking their daily fast for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Saturday, police and medics said. A car packed with explosives went off near the Mulla Hwesh mosque in Baghdad's western district of Jamia, killing at least seven people, and a suicide bomber blew himself up in the southern Doura neighborhood, leaving 16 dead. "A bomb exploded while worshippers were leaving the mosque of Khalid Bin al-Waleed. ... Full Story | Top |
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