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| Gunmen attack Sinai checkpoints close to Israel border Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 12:54 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Armed men launched a series of attacks on Sunday on security checkpoints in the North Sinai towns of Sheikh Zuweid and El Arish close to Egypt's border with Israel and the Gaza Strip, and one soldier was killed. The attacks were part of a spike in violence there since Wednesday's overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. Gunmen in pickup trucks exchanged gunfire with soldiers and police in Sheikh Zuweid in the early hours of the morning, but there were no casualties, security sources said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Huge crowds rally in Egypt, political process blocked Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 12:43 PM PDT  By Shadia Nasralla CAIRO (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of supporters and opponents of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi gathered in Cairo and Alexandria on Sunday, two days after similar gatherings led to nationwide clashes that claimed more than 30 lives. The huge crowds, likely to stay out on the streets until the early hours, raised the risk of further violence while a military-driven plan to resolve the political crisis remained mired in mistrust and confusion, dashing hopes of a quick fix. ... Full Story | Top |
| Investigators seek cause of deadly San Francisco plane crash Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 12:32 PM PDT  By Sarah McBride and Gerry Shih SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - U.S. officials examined flight information recorders and began investigating the crash of an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 that burst into flames upon landing in San Francisco, killing two teenaged Chinese students and injuring more than 180 people, officials said on Sunday. There was no immediate indication of the cause of Saturday's accident but Asiana said mechanical failure did not appear to be a factor. The airline declined to blame either the pilot or the San Francisco control tower. ... Full Story | Top |
| Five die, 40 missing after Canadian freight train disaster Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 11:04 AM PDT  By Richard Valdmanis and Julie Gordon LAC-MEGANTIC, Quebec (Reuters) - At least five people died and 40 were missing on Sunday after a runaway train carrying crude oil exploded and destroyed the center of a small Canadian town in a disaster that raises fresh questions about shipping oil by rail. The train had been hauling crude from North Dakota to eastern Canada, and was parked, without a driver, outside town when it began rolling downhill, gathering speed and derailing on a curve at 1 a.m. on Saturday. Each tanker carried 30,000 gallons (113,000 liters) of crude oil. ... Full Story | Top |
| Libyan protesters call for armed militias to be disbanded Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 10:49 AM PDT  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libyan protesters took to the streets on Sunday calling for the disbanding of militias that have plagued Tripoli since the end of the 2011 war. The government said it was working on taking back control of the interior ministry besieged by an armed group that entered the building on Tuesday and ordered staff to leave. A crowd of 300 people gathered in the capital's central Algeria Square waving white flags and carrying banners reading "No brigades, no militias, we want an army loyal to the state" as well as "Without an army and police, Libya is trouble". ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt court acquits Mursi critics of inciting violence Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 10:40 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - A group of leading Egyptian activists on trial for inciting violence during protests against former President Mohamed Mursi were acquitted on Sunday by a court in Cairo, state news agency MENA reported, days after Mursi was ousted by the armed forces. The eleven defendants - including Alaa Abdel Fattah, Ahmed Douma, and Nawara Negm - were outspoken critics of Mursi and his Islamist movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, and activists said their case was part of a wider crackdown on dissent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazil was target of U.S. signals spying: Globo newspaper Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 10:26 AM PDT  RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - The U.S. National Security Agency monitored the telephone and email activity of Brazilian companies and individuals in the past decade as part of U.S. espionage activities, the Globo newspaper reported on Sunday, citing documents provided by fugitive Edward Snowden, a former NSA intelligence contractor. The newspaper did not say how much traffic was monitored by NSA computers and intelligence officials. But the Globo article pointed out that in the Americas, Brazil was second only to the United States in the number of transmissions intercepted. ... Full Story | Top |
| Zimbabwe's Tsvangirai says no chance of fair vote Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 10:13 AM PDT  By MacDonald Dzirutwe MARONDERA, Zimbabwe (Reuters) - Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, launching his third campaign to unseat veteran President Robert Mugabe, said nothing had been achieved to ensure a fairer vote but even God now wanted Mugabe to go. Tsvangirai, who made a failed attempt to have the July 31 election delayed, said Mugabe's ZANU-PF party was using bureaucratic obstacles and tricks such as keeping dead people on the electoral roll to try to hold onto power. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. lawmakers urge calm, cautious approach to Egypt Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 09:40 AM PDT  (Reuters) - The United States is unlikely to pull its $1.5 billion in mostly military aid to Egypt any time soon, U.S. lawmakers said on Sunday, despite the Egyptian military takeover of the government in what the opposition has called a coup. "We should continue to support the military, the one stabilizing force in Egypt that I think can temper down the political feuding," U.S. Representative Mike Rogers said on CNN's "State of the Union. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis - Merkel's road to a third term could be rocky Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 09:37 AM PDT  By Noah Barkin BERLIN (Reuters) - The German election is still more than two months away but for many the vote's final chapter has already been written. Angela Merkel, it is widely assumed, is cruising to a third victory at the polls. When she wins, the thinking goes, there will be few, if any, major changes to German policy. The vote could well play out according to script. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spanish ruling party funded itself illegally, says ex-treasurer Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 09:33 AM PDT  MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's ruling People's Party funded itself illegally through kickbacks for at least 20 years, former treasurer Luis Barcenas told El Mundo newspaper in an interview published on Sunday. Barcenas, in jail without bail as the High Court continues a pre-trial investigation into profiteering charges against him, is the central figure in two major graft cases which have damaged the credibility of the PP. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada police say five dead, about 40 missing after oil train blast Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 09:24 AM PDT  LAC-MEGANTIC, Quebec (Reuters) - The death toll from the explosion of a runaway freight train in a small Quebec town rose to five on Sunday and another 40 people are missing, police said on Sunday. The driverless train derailed and blew up early Saturday in Lac-Megantic, destroying dozens of buildings in the center of the town. "Two more people have been recovered, two more bodies, which brings the total to five ... there are about 40 people, more or less, who are considered to be missing," police spokesman Michel Brunet told reporters. "There could be more, there could be less. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insurgents increasing in east Afghanistan, but army sees gains Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 09:19 AM PDT  By Rob Taylor FORWARD OPERATING BASE LIGHTNING, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Insurgents have stepped up operations in border provinces close to Pakistan, one of Afghanistan's top generals said on Sunday, with militant numbers up on last summer as government forces work to improve security in the volatile east. Major-General Mohammad Sharif Yaftali, who commands Afghan forces in seven crucial southeast provinces, said insurgent numbers were up around 15 percent on last year's summer fighting months, with an estimated 5,000 insurgents now in his area. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel grounds warplanes after F16 crashes at sea Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 08:42 AM PDT  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli F16 warplane crashed at sea on Sunday due to an engine malfunction and Israel subsequently grounded all its F15 and F16 combat aircraft pending a review of the incident, a military spokesman said. The pilot and navigator on board managed to safely bail out of the U.S.-made plane and a military rescue unit came to evacuate them by helicopter, the spokesman and Israeli media reports said. "An F16 combat aircraft crashed earlier today in the sea after the engine malfunctioned," the spokesman said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico reform drive at stake as regions vote Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 08:37 AM PDT  By Simon Gardner MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's sweeping economic reform plans hang in the balance in local elections on Sunday with a strong opposition showing seen as crucial to preserve a cross-party pact. Nearly half of Mexico's 31 states are voting for a mix of local parliaments and municipal governments, but all eyes are on the race for governor in the state of Baja California, a stronghold of the conservative National Action party (PAN). ... Full Story | Top |
| America's NSA 'in bed with' Germany and most others: Snowden Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 08:33 AM PDT  By Stephen Brown BERLIN (Reuters) - America's National Security Agency works closely with Germany and other Western states on a 'no questions asked'-basis, former NSA employee Edward Snowden said in comments that undermine Chancellor Angela Merkel's indignant talk of "Cold War" tactics. "They are in bed with the Germans, just like with most other Western states," German magazine Der Spiegel quotes him as saying in an interview published on Sunday that was carried out before he fled to Hong Kong in May and divulged details of extensive secret U.S. surveillance. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iraqi Kurd president makes symbolic Baghdad visit Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 08:29 AM PDT  By Suadad al-Salhy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The president of Iraqi Kurdistan, Masoud Barzani, visited Baghdad on Sunday for the first time in more than two years, in a symbolic step to resolve disputes between the central government and the autonomous region over land and oil. The visit follows an equally rare trip by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki who met Barzani in Kurdistan last month, breaking ice between leaders who have repeatedly accused each other of violating the constitution. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian ambassador to U.S. says no military coup Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 08:12 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Egypt's ambassador to Washington said Sunday there had not been a military coup in his country but the army needed to step in to keep violence on the street from spiraling out of control. Ambassador Mohamed Tawfik told ABC's "This Week" that Egypt's powerful military moved to oust President Mohamed Mursi last week after his response to massive street protests was to incite violence among his supporters. Tawfik said he did not believe Egypt was in danger of losing $1. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain deports cleric Abu Qatada after legal marathon Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 07:53 AM PDT  By William James and Suleiman Al-Khalidi LONDON/AMMAN (Reuters) - A radical Muslim cleric once called "Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe" was deported from Britain to Jordan on Sunday, ending years of British government efforts to send him back home to face terrorism charges. A police convoy collected Abu Qatada from London's Belmarsh prison after midnight and drove him through the streets of the capital to a military airport. Soon after arriving in Jordan, he was taken under heavy guard to a nearby military court. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria's Brotherhood says West must step up arms to rebels Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 06:49 AM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood called on Sunday for the United States and Europe to deliver the rebels promised military support after the opposition's National Coalition voted in a new president and ended a months-long leadership vacuum. The United States has signaled it is ready to send arms to the rebels, in addition to humanitarian and non-lethal military aid already in the millions of dollars. Its Gulf allies Qatar and Saudi Arabia are already sending in arms. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Worst recent plane disasters, in the U.S. and globally Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 06:37 AM PDT (Reuters) - Saturday's crash of an Asiana Airlines plane, in which a Boeing 777 flying from Seoul crashed while landing at San Francisco, killed two people and sent as many as 130 to the hospital, initial reports said. Following are some facts about Asiana's safety record, the record of the Boeing 777 and some recent fatal plane crashes in the United States and around the world. Source: the Flight Safety Foundation, a non-profit independent organization that monitors aviation safety and runs a database. (http://aviation-safety. ... Full Story | Top |
| Plane, engines not at fault in Asiana crash: CEO Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 06:37 AM PDT SEOUL (Reuters) - Asiana Airlines does not believe that the fatal crash of one of its Boeing 777 planes in San Francisco on Saturday was caused by mechanical failure, although it refused to be drawn on whether the fault lay with pilot error. "For now, we acknowledge that there were no problems caused by the 777-200 plane or (its) engines," Yoon Young-doo, the president and CEO of the airline, told a media conference on Sunday at the company headquarters. Asiana said the two people who died in the crash were female Chinese teenagers who had been seated at the back of the aircraft. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two more die in Saudi Arabia from MERS coronavirus Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 06:31 AM PDT  RIYADH (Reuters) - Two more people have died of the SARS-like coronavirus MERS, Saudi Arabia's Health Ministry said, bringing to 38 the number of deaths from the disease inside the country shortly before Islam's Ramadan fast when many pilgrims visit. A two-year-old child died in Jeddah and a 53-year-old man died in Eastern Province, where the outbreak has been concentrated, the ministry said late on Saturday in a statement on its website. Four people have died outside the kingdom. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian security forces raid Al Jazeera's Cairo office: Al Jazeera Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 06:24 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - The Qatari-owned media company Al Jazeera reported on Sunday that Egyptian security forces had raided its Cairo office. But a Reuters cameraman outside the office in the centre of the city said he saw no sign of a raid. A spokesman for the channel in Doha said that its Cairo bureau chief was taken in for questioning on Sunday, but had been released. He said he was not aware of any raid. (Reporting By Maggie Fick; Editing by Mike Collett-White) Full Story | Top |
| Greece, foreign lenders close in on deal to unlock aid Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 05:46 AM PDT  By Lefteris Papadimas and Ingrid Melander (Reuters) - Greece is likely to reach a deal with foreign lenders on its latest bailout review before a meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Monday to decide on further aid, EU and Greek officials said on Sunday. Athens has been in talks with inspectors from the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund "troika" for nearly a week to show it can deliver on its pledges after failing to meet public sector reform targets. Greece hopes euro zone finance ministers will free up its next 8.1 billion-euro ($10. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israeli cabinet approves ultra-Orthodox conscription law Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 05:32 AM PDT  By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's cabinet approved a draft law on Sunday to abolish wholesale exemptions from military duty granted to Jewish seminary students, stoking ultra-Orthodox anger over the break with tradition. Many Israelis have long bridled over state privileges handed to the conservative believers or "Haredim" - a Hebrew term meaning "those who tremble before God". The debate heated up when elections in January saw strong performances for two parties who campaigned against the exemptions and created the first cabinet in a decade without ultra-Orthodox members. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pakistan brings back death penalty, to anger of rights groups Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 05:10 AM PDT By Syed Hassan ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's new government, trying to appear determined to rein in escalating crime and militancy, has ended a ban on the death penalty, in a move condemned by international organizations as inhuman and retrograde. Up to 8,000 people languish on death row in dozens of Pakistan's notoriously overcrowded and violent jails. Once a moratorium is in place, reinstatement of capital punishment is rare, with more than 150 countries having already either abolished the death penalty or stopped administering it. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's central bank governor flies to Abu Dhabi Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 04:56 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - The governor of Egypt's central bank, Hisham Ramez, flew to Abu Dhabi on Sunday, officials at Cairo airport said, following Egyptian media reports Cairo was seeking financial aid from Gulf states after the ousting of Islamist president Mohamed Mursi. Egypt's budget and balance of payments and have reached a state of crisis in the two and a half years of political and economic turmoil since veteran leader Hosni Mubarak, was toppled in a popular uprising in 2011. Neither the governor, nor another senior central bank official were immediately available for comment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Back to the future for Egypt's state media Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 04:07 AM PDT  By Maggie Fick and Munir El-Boweti CAIRO (Reuters) - "The army and people, one hand!" was the rallying cry of jubilant masses of Egyptians in Cairo's Tahrir Square on the night Hosni Mubarak fell, and again last Wednesday, when the army overthrew elected President Mohamed Mursi. It resonates loud and clear in state media that have quickly gone "on message", as they had been for 16 tumultuous months of military rule following the 2011 uprising that toppled Mubarak. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia's Putin says Egypt moving towards civil war Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 04:00 AM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday Egypt risked slipping into civil war following the military overthrow of President Mohamed Mursi. Dozens of people have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded in clashes between Mursi's supporters, opponents and the military since the president's exit. "Syria is already in the grips of the civil war ... and Egypt is moving in the same direction," Putin told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti during a visit to Kazakhstan's capital Astana. (Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Andrew Heavens) Full Story | Top |
| Syria's Islamists disenchanted with democracy after Mursi's fall Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 03:18 AM PDT  By Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's Islamist rebels say the downfall of Egypt's popularly elected Muslim Brotherhood president has proven that Western nations pushing for democracy will never accept them, and reinforced the view of radicals that a violent power grab is their only resort. Radical Islamist groups, some of them linked to al Qaeda, have lately been in the ascendancy in Syria's two-year conflict as the death toll rises above 100,000. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greece, troika talks make progress, deal likely on Monday: IMF official Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 03:14 AM PDT  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece made good progress in its talks with international lenders and a deal will likely emerge on Monday before a Eurrogroup meeting decides on releasing further bailout aid, the IMF's mission chief in Greece said on Sunday. "We made very good progress. I hope we will conclude tomorrow morning before the Eurogroup meeting," Poul Thomsen, head of the international Monetary fund's mission to Greece told reporters on Sunday after lengthy talks with Greek officials. Greece's Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said he is optimistic that a deal will be reached on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Austria did not search Morales jet in Vienna: president Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 03:06 AM PDT  VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian officials did not search Bolivia's presidential jet for fugitive U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, Austria's president said, seeking to defuse a diplomatic tussle over the incident. One airport officer did board the aircraft on Tuesday to find out why it had landed in Vienna reporting technical problems, but "there was no formal inspection", Austrian President Heinz Fischer told Kurier newspaper. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two Koreas agree to take steps to reopen joint industrial zone Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 02:12 AM PDT  By Jane Chung SEOUL (Reuters) - North and South Korea agreed early on Sunday to take steps to reopen a jointly run industrial park, including facilities inspections, after the two rivals staged a marathon meeting lasting more than 16 hours to arrange details. The talks at a truce village of Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed in the 1950-53 Korean conflict, were held to find a way to restart operations at the Kaesong Industrial Zone, a rare source of hard currency for the impoverished North. ... Full Story | Top |
| Online videos showcase Syrian rebels' foreign weaponry Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 01:12 AM PDT  By Peter Apps WASHINGTON (Reuters) - From his home in the English town of Leicester, former business administrator Elliot Higgins trawls through sometimes hundreds of online videos a day from Syria's civil war. His research, begun after he took redundancy late last year, has made him a self-taught expert on the weaponry of a conflict largely inaccessible to outsiders, in which disparate rebel groups, some linked to al-Qaeda, form their own supply lines. "I was just interested, and no one else seemed to be doing it," the 34-year-old said in a telephone interview. ... Full Story | Top |
| Blast hits gas pipeline between Egypt and Jordan Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 12:38 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - An explosion has hit an Egyptian gas pipeline in the lawless Sinai peninsula following a spate of attacks on security checkpoints in recent days, state television and witnesses said. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the pipeline blast on Saturday or if the recent attacks were in reaction to the Egyptian army's overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on Wednesday. The fire caused by the explosion was under control by early Sunday morning, state media reported. ... Full Story | Top |
| Asiana jet crash further tarnishes Korean carrier's safety record Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 11:08 PM PDT  By Jack Kim and Hyunjoo Jin SEOUL (Reuters) - Asiana Airlines, the South Korean carrier whose Boeing 777 crashed while landing at San Francisco airport on Saturday, had been trying to clean up a tarnished safety record that included two other fatal crashes in its 25-year history. One of the pilots of flight 214, Lee Jeong-min, is a veteran who has spent his career at Asiana. He was among four pilots on the plane who rotated in two-person shifts during the 10 hour-plus flight, a senior Asiana official told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bahrain bomb kills one policeman: interior ministry Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 09:47 PM PDT DUBAI (Reuters) - A homemade bomb killed one policeman in Bahrain late on Saturday, the interior ministry said, the latest in a string of attacks targeting security personnel. The statement, quoting the chief of public security, said "police had confronted a group of individuals who were targeting Sitra police station", referring to a Shi'ite town. The bomb exploded as police were securing the area, the statement said. Two other policemen were wounded. Police say they have been frequently attacked with homemade bombs since April 2012. ... Full Story | Top |
| Blast hits gas pipeline between Egypt, Jordan Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 07:06 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - An explosion hit an Egyptian pipeline on Saturday in the lawless Sinai peninsula following a series of attacks the last several days on security checkpoints, state TV and witnesses said. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the pipeline and checkpoint attacks or if they were in reaction to the Egyptian army's overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on Wednesday. The pipeline, which supplies gas to Jordan, has been attacked more than 10 times since former autocratic president Hosni Mubarak was ousted in 2011 during the Arab Spring uprisings. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. urges Egypt's army commander on peaceful civilian transition Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 06:33 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel held three conversations with the head of Egypt's armed forces on Friday and Saturday, emphasizing the need for "a peaceful civilian transition in Egypt," the Pentagon said on Saturday. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the conversations between Hagel and General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi lasted more than two hours, showing the intensive contacts Washington is having with the military leader following last week's overthrow of President Mohamed Mursi. ... Full Story | Top |
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