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| Pope, at Brazil shrine, urges youth to embrace traditional values Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 12:37 PM PDT By Philip Pullella and Esteban Israel APARECIDA, Brazil (Reuters) - Pope Francis, receiving another rapturous welcome in Brazil, on Wednesday urged young people to shun the "ephemeral idols" of money and pleasure and cherish traditional values to help build a better world. On the third day of his week-long visit for World Youth Day, a biennial Church gathering being celebrated in and around Rio de Janeiro, he landed by helicopter in Aparecida, 260 kilometers (161 miles) west of the coastal metropolis. ... Full Story | Top |
| William and Kate name Britain's new royal heir George Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 12:26 PM PDT  By Costas Pitas LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate have chosen three traditional royal names by calling their new-born baby boy George Alexander Louis, William's office said on Wednesday. The baby, born on Monday to global media frenzy and third in line to the British throne, will be known as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge, Kensington Palace said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Interpol issues alert over Iraqi jail breaks Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 12:18 PM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - Interpol issued an international alert on Wednesday over hundreds of fugitives who escaped two Iraqi prisons in attacks claimed by al Qaeda, saying the jail breaks were a "major threat" to global security. More than 500 inmates fled on Monday following the simultaneous raids. "Many of the escaped prisoners were senior-level al Qaeda members, some of whom had been sentenced to death," Interpol said in its statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's army raises pressure on Islamists with call for rallies Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 12:17 PM PDT By Asma Alsharif and Tom Perry CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's military chief called for mass rallies on Friday to give him a mandate to tackle violence that has surged following his overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, ramping up pressure on the ousted leader's Islamist supporters. General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who deposed Mursi on July 3 and installed an interim administration in the wake of huge street protests, said on Wednesday he did not want more bloodshed and urged national reconciliation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fugitive Snowden's hopes of leaving Moscow airport dashed Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 12:07 PM PDT  By Lidia Kelly MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fugitive U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden's hopes of leaving Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport for the first time in a month on Wednesday were dashed when he failed to secure permission from Russia to leave. An airport source said Snowden, who is wanted by the United States on espionage charges for revealing details of government intelligence programs, was handed documents by his lawyer that were expected to include a pass to leave the transit area. ... Full Story | Top |
| Death toll from ethnic clashes in Guinea hits 98 Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 11:54 AM PDT CONAKRY (Reuters) - Three days of ethnic violence in Guinea last week left 98 people dead, nearly double the previous death toll, the government said on Wednesday. The violence erupted on July 14 after a man accused of being a thief was lynched. It took place during tense preparations for long-delayed elections meant to restore civilian rule after a 2008 military coup. "We are today at around 100 dead - 76 victims in (Guinea's second largest city) Nzerekore and 22 others in Koule," government spokesman Damantang Albert Camara said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bomb, attacks hit Egypt's Sinai as army calls for rallies Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 11:51 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - A car bomb exploded near a police base and two soldiers were killed in separate, multiple attacks in Egypt's lawless Sinai peninsula, which has seen a spike in violence since the July 3 army ouster of the country's Islamist president. Four militants died when the car, rigged with gas canisters and carrying explosive belts, detonated in a desert area near the port town of El-Arish on Wednesday, the sources said. The attacks happened just hours after the head of Egypt's military called for rallies to back efforts to quell violence unleashed by the overthrow of Mohamed Mursi. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bulgarians stage new protest rally after siege of parliament Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 11:50 AM PDT  By Tsvetelia Tsolova and Angel Krasimirov SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgarian anti-government protesters rallied peacefully in Sofia for the 41th straight day on Wednesday after more than 100 lawmakers, ministers and journalists spent the night besieged inside parliament before police evacuated them. A political crisis that began over utility price rises and spread to accusations that private interests control state institutions has caused months of protests in the ex-communist Black Sea nation, which joined the European Union in 2007 but has struggled to live up to its governance standards. ... Full Story | Top |
| Polish journalist kidnapped in Syria: activists Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 11:44 AM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - A Polish journalist was taken hostage by Islamist militants in northwest Syria on Wednesday, opposition activists said. Marcin Suder was abducted from an opposition media office in the rebel-held town of Saraqeb in Idlib province, activists from the area told Reuters. The Polish Foreign Ministry said it had set up a team of specialists based in Warsaw and its embassies in the Middle East to deal with what it described as his "likely" kidnapping, but declined to comment on whether it would send anyone into Syria. ... Full Story | Top |
| Timeline: How Edward Snowden evaded U.S. prosecution Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 11:40 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will allow former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden papers to leave the transit area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport. He has been in limbo there since June 23, when he arrived from Hong Kong to evade espionage charges in the United States for disclosing details about secret U.S. surveillance programs. May 20 - Snowden leaves Hawaii for Hong Kong. June 1 - Snowden offers details of U.S. spying programs to Britain's Guardian newspaper. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Diplomats test waters on U.N. Syrian aid resolution Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 11:38 AM PDT  By John Irish PARIS (Reuters) - Diplomats have started exploring whether they could get enough votes to pass a U.N. Security EXCouncil resolution to help aid groups get into Syria as the death count mounts, a French diplomatic source said on Wednesday. Syria's civil war has killed more than 100,000 people and left millions homeless. France's foreign minister said on Monday the Security Council, which has been deadlocked over how to respond to the war, needed to tackle the humanitarian crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt orders fresh arrest of Brotherhood leaders Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 11:23 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's public prosecutor ordered the arrest of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie and eight senior members of the Islamist movement on Wednesday in a probe over accusations of inciting violence, MENA state news agency reported. Badie has been detained for questioning and later released at least once since the army deposed Islamist president Mohamed Mursi, a leader of the Brotherhood, on July 3. (Reporting and writing by Yasmine Saleh; Editing by Matt Robinson) Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's second largest Islamist party rejects army call for rally Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 11:19 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's second biggest Islamist Party said on Wednesday it rejected a call by the head of the army for mass rallies to give him a mandate to confront violence unleashed after the military deposed the country's Islamist president. "The state does not need a mandate to perform its duty as long as it is within the boundaries of the law," the party, Nour, said in a statement. "Violations of the law should be handled by the state, but the state's violations of the law threaten the very existence of the state," it said. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Africa wants Zimbabwe vote to reflect people's will: Motlanthe Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 10:24 AM PDT  By Peroshni Govender and Jon Herskovitz PRETORIA (Reuters) - With a big vested interest in the stability of Zimbabwe, South Africa is keen that next week's election in its northern neighbor should fairly reflect the people's wishes, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said on Wednesday. Hundreds of thousands of refugees fled into South Africa after violence in the last election, in 2008, landing it with an expensive humanitarian crisis. But since it helped to broker a unity government, the economy has been recovering, creating opportunities for South African business. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen attack Pakistan intelligence agency compound Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 09:40 AM PDT By Asim Tanveer MULTAN (Reuters) - A bomb and gun attack on the offices of the Pakistani intelligence agency in the southern town of Sukkur on Wednesday killed four people and wounded at least 40, police officials said, in a brazen challenge to the country's powerful military. More than an hour after the initial explosions, the gun battle was still raging as security services hunted up to 10 militants who detonated four bombs in the heavily guarded compound, Masood Bangash, the deputy superintendent of police in Sukkur, said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Abol Fotouh warns against army-called rally Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 09:25 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - The Egyptian army's call for rallies on Friday risks triggering violence, the party led by former Islamist Presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh said on Wednesday, urging the military to row back for the sake of peace. "That call could lead to civil unrest, God forbid, in light of the opposing mobilization," the Strong Egypt party said in a statement, adding that it had listened to General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's appeal for demonstrations with "deep concern". ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkish president congratulates interim Egypt leader on anniversary Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 09:24 AM PDT  ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Abdullah Gul has sent a message to Egypt's interim leader in a bid to maintain diplomatic ties despite Ankara's refusal to officially recognize his government, officials said on Wednesday. Turkey has emerged as one of the fiercest international critics of what it has called an "unacceptable coup" after Egypt's military ousted the elected president, Mohamed Mursi, from office earlier this month. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Africa's ex-ANC 'bad boy' plans election bid against the odds Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 09:22 AM PDT  By Pascal Fletcher JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - He wears a red beret, talks the language of Revolution and calls himself "Commander in Chief". Any echo of Venezuela's late firebrand socialist leader Hugo Chavez is not accidental. Julius Malema, expelled "bad boy" of South Africa's ruling African National Congress and now facing racketeering charges he denies, this month launched the nation's newest political movement, calling for a revolutionary jolt to Africa's biggest economy through nationalization of mines and expropriation of white-owned land. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jailed Russian female punk rock member loses parole appeal Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 09:14 AM PDT  PERM, Russia (Reuters) - A member of Russian female punk group Pussy Riot lost her appeal for parole on Wednesday after nearly a year in prison for performing a protest song against President Vladimir Putin in a Moscow cathedral. Maria Alyokhina's appeal against a previous decision to deny her early release from a two-year jail sentence was rejected by a court in the city of Perm, where she is serving her sentence, about 1,500 km (940 miles) east of Moscow. ... Full Story | Top |
| Five Russians plead not guilty in murder trial of Putin critic Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 09:05 AM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Five men on trial for murdering Russian investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, an ardent critic of President Vladimir Putin, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in a court case that her family has decried as illegitimate. Politkovskaya, who angered authorities by investigating high-level corruption and documenting human rights abuses by Russian forces in the North Caucasus, was shot dead in 2006 in the Moscow residential building where she lived. ... Full Story | Top |
| Most passengers rescued after asylum seekers boat sinks off Indonesia Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 09:01 AM PDT  JAKARTA (Reuters) - Three people died but another 157 suspected asylum seekers were rescued after their boat sank off the southern coast of Indonesia, officials said on Wednesday after earlier reports that as many as 60 may have perished. The latest case of a boat sinking while attempting the perilous journey came five days after Australia slammed the door on would-be refugees with a deal to send all boat arrivals to Papua New Guinea for assessment and eventual settlement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two killed in Egypt's Sinai after army call for rallies Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 08:47 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Two Egyptian soldiers were killed on Wednesday in the lawless North Sinai region within hours of a call by the head of the army for rallies to back its efforts to quell violence triggered by its removal of the Islamist president. At least five police and army positions were attacked in the region, which has seen a spike in violence since the army deposed Mohamed Mursi on July 3, security sources said. The militants usually strike at night but the two soldiers were killed in separate, daylight attacks in the port town of El Arish. ... Full Story | Top |
| Violent protests disrupt Montenegro's first gay pride parade Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 08:42 AM PDT  By Stevo Vasiljevic BUDVA, Montenegro (Reuters) - Protesters chanting "Kill the gays!" clashed with police trying to stop them reaching marchers taking part in Montenegro's first gay pride parade on Wednesday. Around 200 demonstrators in the coastal town of Budva hurled stones, bottles and flares at police who were keeping them apart from some 40 marchers wearing shirts in the colors of the rainbow, the symbol of the gay rights movement. Protesters chanting "You're sick!" carried banners demanding to keep "Montenegro healthy". ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. seeking clarification from Russia on Snowden's status Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 08:33 AM PDT  ON BOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - The United States is seeking clarification from Russian authorities about any changes to the status of former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Wednesday. Carney, speaking to reporters on Air Force One, said the U.S. position remained that Snowden should be returned to the United States to face espionage charges. A lawyer assisting Snowden in his request for temporary asylum said on Wednesday the 30-year-old was not planning to leave Russia for now. ... Full Story | Top |
| Indian police arrest school principal in food poisoning case Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 07:55 AM PDT  NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian police on Wednesday arrested the headmistress of a school where 23 children died after eating a meal laced with pesticide in one of India's deadliest food poisoning outbreaks in years. The woman, who had been missing for more than a week, was detained while on her way to court to surrender, said Sujit Kumar, superintendent of police in Saran district in the eastern state of Bihar. The children fell ill within minutes of eating a meal of rice and soybean-potato curry in their one-room school on July 16, vomiting and convulsing with stomach cramps. ... Full Story | Top |
| Congo army helicopter strikes hit civilians: park official Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 07:16 AM PDT GOMA (Reuters) - At least 10 civilians were injured, some of them seriously, in an attack by Congolese army helicopters on a rebel-held military base in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, an official said on Wednesday. The assault on the Rumangabo army barracks followed renewed fighting earlier this month between the military and the Tutsi-dominated M23 rebels, who accuse the government of failing to honor a 2009 peace deal. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian authorities blocking access to needy in Homs: Red Cross Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 06:54 AM PDT  GENEVA (Reuters) - Syrian authorities are blocking access to the old city of Homs, where trapped civilians are in dire need of food and medical supplies, the Red Cross said on Wednesday, warning of possible "tragic" consequences. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) revealed last Friday that it was negotiating a humanitarian pause to be able to enter Homs, where President Bashar al-Assad's forces have been conducting a heavy offensive against rebels, with air and artillery strikes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Darfur rebels launch new attack on central Sudan Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 06:45 AM PDT KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Rebels from Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region launched a new assault on the country's once placid heartland on Wednesday, sending civilians running for cover, rebels and witnesses said. Residents in al-Rachad, in the central North Kordofan state, an agricultural area that produces much of Sudan's gum arabic, exported for use in soft drinks, said they could hear explosions and intense gunfire outside the nearby town of Jebel al-Dayer. "People have arrived here today fleeing fighting in the area of Jebel al-Dayer," said a resident of Rachad, asking not to be named. ... Full Story | Top |
| New Qatar ruler will keep backing Syria opposition: rebel envoy Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 06:43 AM PDT  DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar's new emir will keep helping Syrian rebels until President Bashar al-Assad's rule ends, Syria's opposition envoy to Doha said on Wednesday, seeking to dampen speculation the rich Gulf state had scaled back its role in supporting the revolt. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani has not made a detailed statement of foreign policy priorities following his accession last month, and some analysts have speculated the country is rethinking its backing for Arab Spring rebellions. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia says U.S. drive to arm Syria rebels hurts chances for peace Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 06:39 AM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia accused the United States on Wednesday of stalling chances for peace in Syria by pressing ahead with plans to arm rebels fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad. Russia is at loggerheads over the conflict with its U.N. Security Council partner, the United States, where President Barack Obama can now move forward with arming rebels after easing some congressional concerns. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan scrambles jets after China plane flies by southern islands Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 06:10 AM PDT  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan scrambled fighter jets on Wednesday after a Chinese military aircraft flew for the first time through international airspace near its southern islands out over the Pacific, in a move seen by Japan as underlining China's maritime expansion. Ties between China and Japan have been strained by a territorial dispute over uninhabited East China Sea islets and hawkish Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won a decisive victory in upper house elections on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kenyan police seize explosives headed for coastal region Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 06:06 AM PDT NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan police discovered a large quantity of explosives packed in boxes on a bus in the capital Nairobi that was headed to a town in the coastal region, a senior officer said on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear who was behind the consignment - of 403 rolls of ammonium nitrate - but Kenya has suffered a series of grenade and gun attacks since October 2011 when its troops went into neighboring Somalia in pursuit of al Qaeda-linked insurgents it blames for kidnapping security personnel and Western tourists from its territory. ... Full Story | Top |
| French government bans more ultra-right groups after June death Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 05:55 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - The French government said on Wednesday it would close down two more far-right militant groups after outlawing three others this month in response to the death of a militant left-wing student in June in a brawl between fringe groups. The ban aims to smother extreme-right groups who were emboldened by street marches led by conservatives and Catholics earlier this year against the legalization of gay marriage. ... Full Story | Top |
| More foreign pharmaceutical firms could be probed in China: Xinhua Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 05:42 AM PDT  By Michael Martina BEIJING (Reuters) - China's official news agency hinted that more foreign pharmaceutical firms could soon be implicated in a corruption scandal sweeping the industry, in the wake of bribery accusations against British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline. "It will not be surprising if more pharmaceutical companies and hospitals, domestic or international, are to be involved in probes in the days to come," the Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday in an English-language commentary. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ally of Pakistan's Sharif seen as new president Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 05:33 AM PDT  By Mehreen Zahra-Malik ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Mamnoon Hussain, a veteran Pakistani politician and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's trusted ally, is expected to win next week's presidential election after being nominated by the ruling party as a candidate in the largely ceremonial vote. Ousted in a bloodless military coup in 1999, Sharif swept back into power in a May 11 general election that marked the first transition between civilian governments in a country ruled by the military for more than half of its turbulent history. ... Full Story | Top |
| Violence mars first gay parade in Montenegro Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 05:32 AM PDT BUDVA, Montenegro (Reuters) - Police clashed with anti-gay protesters in Montenegro on Wednesday as they tried to disrupt the first gay pride parade to be held in the staunchly conservative Balkan country that is in talks to join the European Union. Around 200 demonstrators hurled stones, bottles and flares at policemen in the coastal town of Budva who were keeping them separate from around 40 marchers wearing shirts bearing the colors of the rainbow, the symbol of the gay rights movement. At least ten demonstrators were arrested and several marchers were slightly injured, according to police. ... Full Story | Top |
| Biden seeks to assure India on Afghanistan, presses on trade Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 05:21 AM PDT  By Prashant Mehra MUMBAI (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden sought on Wednesday to ease Indian concern about a possible political settlement with the Afghan Taliban, saying the insurgents would have to give up ties to al Qaeda and accept the Afghan constitution that guarantees equal treatment to women. Biden, seeking to shore up Indo-U.S. ties that have cooled in recent months over trade disputes and intellectual property rights also urged India to shun protectionism, calling for bold decisions to strengthen its economy. ... Full Story | Top |
| NATO needs defense spending to keep edge: commander says Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 05:20 AM PDT  By Alexandra Hudson BERLIN (Reuters) - NATO is at its most cohesive yet, its new commander said, but must ensure that spending cuts do not erode the power of an alliance facing tasks as diverse as a new training mission in Afghanistan and protecting Turkey's border with Syria. Many European countries have slashed defense spending since the 2008 financial crisis. Apart from the United States, Greece, Britain and Estonia, no member has met NATO's goal of spending 2 percent of economic output on defense. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy government survives confidence vote on growth package Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 05:00 AM PDT  By Naomi O'Leary and Giuseppe Fonte ROME (Reuters) - Italy's government easily survived a confidence vote on Wednesday after President Giorgio Napolitano warned squabbling politicians not to precipitate early elections, saying uncertainty would endanger Italy. Prime Minister Enrico Letta won the lower house vote by 427 to 167 after it was called to accelerate the passage of a package of measures to fund public works projects and cut red tape in Italy's stagnant economy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Southern Europe's leaders eager for Merkel, public fearful Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 04:57 AM PDT  By Julien Toyer MADRID (Reuters) - Southern European leaders await Angela Merkel as a potential savior for their depressed economies after her likely re-election in September, but ordinary citizens from Lisbon to Athens just fear more German-ordained austerity. Four years into the euro zone debt crisis, people in debt-laden Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal and Cyprus are deeply worried that a third term in power for the conservative German chancellor may only bring them more economic pain. ... Full Story | Top |
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