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| Egypt foreign minister to Kerry: no "military coup" Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 12:38 PM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr said he assured U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in a telephone call on Thursday that the overthrow of President Mohamed Mursi had not been a military coup. The definition of what happened in Egypt on Wednesday is important because the military overthrow of an elected leader would generally trigger economic sanctions and could entail cutting of vital U.S. aid to Egypt. ... Full Story | Top |
| 'Mandela vs. Mandela' family feud sinks to soap opera Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 12:29 PM PDT  By Yvonne Bell MTHATHA, South Africa (Reuters) - A feud between factions of Nelson Mandela's family descended into soap opera farce on Thursday when his grandson and heir, Mandla, accused relatives of adultery and milking the fame of the revered anti-apartheid leader. In a news conference broadcast live on TV that stunned South Africans, Mandla Mandela confirmed rumors that his young son, Zanethemba, was in fact the child of an illicit liaison between his brother Mbuso and Mandla's now ex-wife Anais Grimaud. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia urges North Korea to help enable new international talks Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 12:10 PM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia urged North Korea on Thursday to help pave the way for a resumption of international talks and told Pyongyang that ending the standoff over its nuclear program would bring economic benefits. North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-Gwan met separately in Moscow with two Russian deputy foreign ministers, Vladimir Titov and Igor Morgulov, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Portugal PM says found formula for government stability Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 12:01 PM PDT  By Shrikesh Laxmidas and Axel Bugge LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's prime minister has found a way to maintain government stability with the junior partner in the ruling coalition, but the full details still need to be agreed to end a political crisis that has threatened Lisbon's adjustment under a bailout. Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said a formula had been found after meeting with the leader of the rightist CDS-PP party three times in the past 24 hours to heal the most damaging political rift since the country received a bailout in 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. seeks $1 billion to feed Sahel, says Syria distracting Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 11:59 AM PDT By Daniel Flynn DAKAR (Reuters) - The United Nations appealed on Wednesday for more than $1 billion to help feed 11 million people at risk across Africa's arid Sahel belt, warning that the crisis in Syria was distracting donors from the humanitarian situation there. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that this year's war in northern Mali, where a French-led military campaign destroyed an Islamist enclave, had worsened annual food shortages across the region. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisian rulers bemoan Egypt's "coup against legitimacy" Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 11:46 AM PDT  By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - The Islamist-led government of Tunisia, birthplace of the Arab Spring popular uprisings, on Thursday criticized the Egyptian army's removal of elected president Mohamed Mursi as "a coup against legitimacy" and urged Cairo to guarantee his safety. Mursi rose to power after autocratic president Hosni Mubarak was toppled in a 2011 uprising inspired by the popular revolution against dictatorship in Tunisia a few weeks before. Moderate Islamists were subsequently elected to govern Tunisia. ... Full Story | Top |
| South American leftists rally to Bolivia's side in Snowden saga Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 11:34 AM PDT  By David Mercado COCHABAMBA, Bolivia (Reuters) - South America's most outspoken leftist leaders will meet in Bolivia on Thursday to rally behind Bolivian President Evo Morales, whose plane was diverted in Europe this week on suspicions that fugitive U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden was aboard. The presidential gathering in Cochabamba, Bolivia - where Morales began his political career as the leader of coca leaf farmers - is aimed at expressing outrage over his "virtual kidnapping" and the U.S. pressure they believe spurred it. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia increasingly impatient over Snowden's airport stay Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 11:27 AM PDT  By Timothy Heritage and Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) - Edward Snowden should find another country to seek refuge in, a Russian official said on Thursday, signaling Moscow's growing impatience over the former U.S. spy agency contractor's stay at a Moscow airport. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Russia had received no request for political asylum from Snowden and he had to solve his problems himself after 11 days in the transit area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport. ... Full Story | Top |
| Aid worker killed in fighting in biggest city in Darfur Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 11:25 AM PDT KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A gunfight broke out between security forces on Thursday in the biggest city of Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region, officials and witnesses said, killing one aid worker and prompting authorities to impose a curfew. Clashes between the army, rebels and rival tribes have surged in the vast and mostly lawless region in recent months, but had until now been confined to rural areas. Residents said heavy gunfire could be heard for hours near the security headquarters in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state and the second-biggest city in Sudan. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia's Putin urges moderate changes in NGO 'foreign agent' law Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 11:09 AM PDT  By Alexei Anishchuk NOVO-OGARYOVO, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that a law branding some non-governmental organizations "foreign agents" should be changed to prevent harassment of groups that are not involved in politics. His remarks signaled a moderate concession to critics of the law, which has raised concerns among Western governments and been condemned by critics of the Kremlin as part of a campaign to silence independent voices. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain's Labour loses election head after row over unions' role Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 11:07 AM PDT  By Peter Griffiths LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Labour Party leader suffered a setback in his fight to replace David Cameron as prime minister on Thursday when his election coordinator quit after a row over whether unions manipulated its selection of candidates. Less than two years before voters go to the polls, Tom Watson stepped down, saying in a letter to Ed Miliband that it was "better for you and the future unity of the party that I go now". ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada politicians announce departure ahead of Cabinet shuffle Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 10:31 AM PDT  By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Four members of Canada's scandal-tinged Conservative government are stepping down ahead of a reshuffle expected next week that is designed to bring younger faces into an aging Cabinet. Marjory LeBreton, 73, leader of the government in the upper Senate chamber, said on Thursday she would quit but gave no reasons. Opposition figures had accused her of trying to play down an expenses scandal that has roiled the Conservatives. ... Full Story | Top |
| Top Zimbabwe court refuses to delay July 31 election Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 10:30 AM PDT By Cris Chinaka HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's Constitutional Court rejected a series of government appeals on Thursday to delay a July 31 general election in order to allow more time for reform of the security forces and state media. Zimbabwe adopted a new constitution this year in a trouble-free referendum backed by both long-serving President Robert Mugabe and his main rival, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brotherhood leader arrested, Egypt's Islamists call protests Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 10:29 AM PDT  By Asma Alsharif and Shadia Nasralla CAIRO (Reuters) - The leader of the Muslim Brotherhood was arrested by Egyptian security forces on Thursday in a crackdown against the Islamist movement after the army ousted the country's first democratically elected president. The dramatic exit of President Mohamed Mursi was greeted with delight by millions of people on the streets of Cairo and other cities overnight, but there was simmering resentment among Egyptians who opposed military intervention. ... Full Story | Top |
| Germany's Merkel hopes for U.S. answers on spying Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 10:27 AM PDT  By Roberta Rampton and Gernot Heller BERLIN/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after a phone call with Barack Obama on Wednesday night that she believed the U.S. president took Germany's concern over reported U.S. spying very seriously, and she hoped coming talks would bring answers. Obama sought to allay the anger in Germany and other European allies in his call with Merkel, during which the chancellor said she made clear to him spying was not what she expected from countries considered friends. ... Full Story | Top |
| Poland's ruling party loses ground to main opposition: poll Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 10:24 AM PDT  WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's ruling Civic Platform (PO) fell nine percentage points behind the rightist Law and Justice (PiS) in a poll published in Thursday, reflecting its growing unpopularity in the midst of a painful economic slowdown. The party of Prime Minister Donald Tusk was supported by 26 percent of Poles surveyed by Millward Brown for broadcaster TV, down six points from the previous reading, while PiS's backing rose four points to 35 percent. The lead by the opposition party, led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, is its largest since September 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Letta presses on after coalition tensions Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 10:17 AM PDT  By Antonella Cinelli ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta said on Thursday he was confident that his fractious left-right coalition was on the right path after a meeting aimed at easing tensions over its halting progress on economic reforms. "There's a good relaunch of the government and of the government program. I'm optimistic and we are on the right path," Letta said after a clear-the-air meeting called when the centrist Civic Choice movement threatened to withdraw support if economic reforms were not stepped up. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexican reforms hostage to opposition in local elections Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 10:15 AM PDT  By Dave Graham MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A year after winning the Mexican presidency, Enrique Pena Nieto needs a solid performance by the opposition in state elections on Sunday to keep alive a fragile alliance he built to steer reforms through Congress. Falling short of a majority when he won, Pena Nieto crafted an informal coalition with the opposition to help realize his economic vision, two key parts of which - opening up state oil giant Pemex to private capital and boosting the tax take - he is planning to send to Congress by September. ... Full Story | Top |
| Authors of 'false news' may face jail under new Gambian law Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 10:09 AM PDT BANJUL (Reuters) - Gambia's parliament has made sweeping changes to the country's information law, introducing new legislation that threatens those who spread "false news" with 15 years in prison and $100,000 in fines. The government said the changes were needed to ensure stability and prevent "unpatriotic behavior" but they are likely to deepen Gambia's reputation as one of West Africa's most repressive countries. The new punishments, which apply to anything that is published, were spelled out in the updated Information and Communications Act adopted late on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| PKK militants attack Turkish military despite ceasefire Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 09:47 AM PDT DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Kurdish militants attacked two military outposts in southeastern Turkey, Turkish officials said on Thursday, breaking a three-month ceasefire, but they denied militant reports one soldier had been killed. The militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) attacked gendarmerie outposts in two separate districts of Diyarbakir province on Wednesday, drawing return fire from security forces, the provincial governor's office said. It said no one had been killed or wounded in the attacks in Diyarbakir's Dicle and Hani districts. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fall of Egypt's Mursi splits region Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 09:44 AM PDT  By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - The toppling of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi divided the Middle East on Thursday, with Tunisia's ruling Islamists denouncing it as a coup while Gulf Arab leaders celebrated. The United States expressed concern at the overthrow of the elected Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood and called for a swift return to democracy, as did the European Union. But they stopped short of calling it a coup, which might have led to sanctions. The 54-nation African Union was likely to suspend Egypt for allowing "unconstitutional change", a senior AU source told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt Islamists call 'Friday of rejection' against coup Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 09:30 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - An Islamist coalition led by the Muslim Brotherhood appealed to Egyptians on Thursday to demonstrate across the nation in a "Friday of Rejection" against a military coup that ousted elected President Mohamed Mursi. The National Coalition in Support of Legitimacy "calls on the Egyptian people to take to the streets and mobilize peacefully" after Friday prayers "to say 'No' to military detentions, 'No' to the military coup". The call was issued at a news conference at a mosque in suburban Cairo where Mursi supporters have staged a sit-in since last week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt shows power only comes from force, Somali militants say Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 08:54 AM PDT NAIROBI (Reuters) - Events in Egypt, where an elected Islamist president was ousted by the army, showed that power only comes from force, not democracy, Somali militant group al Shabaab said on Thursday. In comments on its Twitter account @HSMPRESS1, al Shabaab said the fate of Egypt's ousted president, Mohamed Mursi, showed Islamists will not be allowed to rule, even if elected. "It's time to remove those rose-tinted spectacles and see the world as accurately as it is, change comes by the bullet alone; NOT the ballot," the group wrote. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisian president rejects military intervention in Egypt Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 08:51 AM PDT TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki said on Thursday that the army's removal of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi was unacceptable and urged Egypt to guarantee Mursi's safety. But French President Francois Hollande declined at a joint news conference with Marzouki in Tunis to speak of a coup, saying merely that "the democratic process has stopped and must return". Marzouki said: "Military intervention is totally unacceptable and we call on Egypt to ensure that Mursi is physically protected. ... Full Story | Top |
| Merkel challenger plans investment offensive in Germany Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 08:43 AM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's main opposition party plans to boost infrastructure spending by 80 billion euros a year if it wins a federal election in September, with the help of funds raised by hiking taxes on high earners. "Germany needs an investment offensive to help it modernize," the Social Democrats (SPD) said in a paper emailed to Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy rejects Snowden asylum request Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 08:34 AM PDT  ROME (Reuters) - Italy cannot support an asylum request from fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, Foreign Minister Emma Bonino said on Thursday. Speaking in parliament, she said that any asylum request would have to be presented in person at the border or in Italian territory which Snowden, currently believed to be in a Russian airport transit lounge, had not done. "As a result there do not exist the legal conditions to accept such a request which in the government's view would not be acceptable on a political level either," she said. (Reporting by Steve Scherer) Full Story | Top |
| Qatar hails new Egypt leader in apparent policy shift Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 08:16 AM PDT By Regan Doherty and Amena Bakr DOHA/DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar joined other Gulf Arab states in welcoming Egypt's interim ruler on Thursday in an apparent attempt to salvage diplomatic prestige after the ousting of Cairo's Islamist government which it had backed with billions of dollars in aid. Qatar has been a regional maverick for its support of Arab Spring revolts and its aid to Muslim Brotherhood rule in Egypt alarmed neighboring Gulf dynasties who see the Islamist group as a potential threat to their own hereditary authority. Qatar had extended $7. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria opposition meets to find leader, show it is ready for arms Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 07:54 AM PDT  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - Syria's fractious opposition coalition met on Thursday under pressure to name a new leader and prove to its Western and Arab backers it can be trusted with advanced weapons to beat back a concerted offensive by President Bashar al-Assad. The opposition's inability to unite has made Western countries reluctant to send weapons, even as Assad's forces have seized the initiative in recent months and Washington and its European allies have vowed to aid his enemies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Morales back in Bolivia after plane drama over Snowden Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 07:47 AM PDT  By Daniel Ramos LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivian President Evo Morales arrived home to a hero's welcome late on Wednesday, saying some European countries' refusal to let his plane enter their airspace because of suspicion it carried fugitive U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden was a provocation aimed at all of South America. Morales was greeted by his Cabinet and cheering, fist-pumping crowds at La Paz's airport after a dramatic journey from Moscow that ignited a diplomatic furore when his plane had to make an unscheduled stop in Vienna on Tuesday evening. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen kill high-profile Afghan policewoman Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 07:36 AM PDT LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Unknown gunmen killed one of Afghanistan's most high-profile female police officers on Thursday, the latest in a series of attacks targeting top women officials amid a drawdown of foreign combat forces in the country. Lieutenant Islam Bibi, the most senior policewoman in volatile southern Helmand province, was shot dead on her way to work in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah, officials said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt security forces arrest top Muslim Brotherhood leader: security source Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 07:36 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces arrested the supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood on Thursday in the northern city of Marsa Matrouh following the military overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, security sources said. Police tracked Mohamed Badie to the city, which is near the Libyan border but did not believe he was trying to flee the country, the sources said. The prosecutor's office ordered his arrest earlier on Thursday, along with his influential deputy Khairat el-Shater. Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad said he could not confirm whether Badie had been arrested. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brotherhood party says Egypt state press refuses to print paper Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 07:15 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's state-owned printing press refused to print Thursday's edition of a newspaper run by the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, the party said, in the latest sign of a crackdown after the army ousted elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. The Freedom and Justice newspaper, named after the political party that ruled Egypt until Wednesday, posted on its website that Al-Ahram printing press had refused to print its paper. Two Al-Ahram officials contacted by Reuters said they did not have knowledge of the issue. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gulf Arabs greet Egypt's new leader, Turkey slams 'coup' Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 07:13 AM PDT  By Sami Aboudi DUBAI (Reuters) - Gulf Arab states welcomed Egypt's interim leader on Thursday, hopeful his appointment would stem the rise of Islamists in the Middle East, but the military overthrow of an elected president drew a guarded response from Iran and condemnation from Turkey. The United States expressed concern at the ouster of Mohamed Mursi on Wednesday and called for a swift return to democracy, as did the European Union. But they stopped short of calling it a coup, which might have led to sanctions. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Brotherhood won't work with 'usurper' government Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 06:37 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood will not work with "the usurper authorities", a member of its executive board said on Thursday, rejecting feelers from the newly sworn-in head of state after the military removed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi from power. "We reject participation in any work with the usurper authorities," Sheikh Abdel Rahman al-Barr said in a statement published on the group's website. "We call on protesters to show self restraint and stay peaceful. We reject the oppressive, police state practices: killing, arrests, curbing media freedom and closing TV channels. ... Full Story | Top |
| French agency spies on phone calls, email, web use, paper says Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 06:36 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - France's external intelligence agency spies on the French public's phone calls, emails and social media activity in France and abroad, the daily Le Monde said on Thursday. It said the DGSE intercepted signals from computers and telephones in France, and between France and other countries, although not the content of phone calls, to create a map of "who is talking to whom". It said the activity was illegal. "All of our communications are spied on," wrote Le Monde, which based its report on unnamed intelligence sources as well as remarks made publicly by intelligence officials. ... Full Story | Top |
| Murdoch belittled British police in secret recording by staff Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 06:22 AM PDT  By Kate Holton and Emmaline Okafor LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch belittled a British police inquiry into bribes allegedly paid by his journalists in a secret recording made by his staff, in sharp contrast to the profuse public apologies he made to defuse anger at news gathering practices. Murdoch told staff at his Sun tabloid in a private meeting in March that he had been wrong to help the police investigation into tactics he said reporters had used for decades, and promised unspecified support to reporters snared by the inquiry. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt coup will push some groups to violence: Beltagy Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 06:15 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - A senior politician in Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said on Thursday that the military overthrow of elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi will push other groups, though not his own, to violent resistance. "The issue is not with Brothers being in or out of prison. The Brothers have lived in prisons for ages," Mohamed El-Beltagy, a leading member of the Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, told reporters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia worried by lack of progress towards Iran nuclear talks Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 06:14 AM PDT  By Alissa de Carbonnel MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia voiced concern on Thursday that no progress has been made towards organizing new talks between Iran and six world powers on Tehran's nuclear program, despite the election of a relative moderate as Iran's president. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said a diplomatic push had been launched to arrange a new round of talks after Hassan Rouhani was elected president on June 14 but made clear there had been no breakthrough. "There is no agreement now on when and where the next round will be. That worries us," Ryabkov told Interfax news agency. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mursi probed for 'insulting judiciary' Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 06:08 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian judicial authorities opened an investigation on Thursday into accusations that deposed President Mohamed Mursi and 15 other Islamists had insulted the judiciary, investigating judge Tharwat Hammad said, imposing a travel ban on all of them. It was second formal order banning Mursi from leaving the country since the military removed the Muslim Brotherhood politician from power on Wednesday. (Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Paul Taylor) Full Story | Top |
| South Africa says Mandela still 'critical but stable' Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 06:08 AM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's ailing anti-apartheid hero and former President Nelson Mandela remained in a "critical but stable" condition after nearly four weeks in hospital, the government said on Thursday. Mandela is receiving treatment for a recurring lung infection, his fourth hospitalization in six months. The latest health update from the government followed a visit to the hospital by current President Jacob Zuma. ... Full Story | Top |
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