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| U.S. lays out strict limits on coal funding abroad Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 12:39 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said Tuesday it plans to use its leverage within global development banks to limit financing for coal-fired power plants abroad, part of Washington's international strategy to combat climate change. The U.S. Treasury said it would only support funding for coal plants in the world's poorest countries if they have no other efficient or economical alternative for their energy needs. ... Full Story | Top |
| In Syria outbreak, polio exploits conflict once more Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 12:24 PM PDT  By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent LONDON (Reuters) - With the world tantalizingly close to wiping out polio, conflict in Syria has allowed the crippling disease to take hold again, putting at risk the rest of the region as well as plans for global eradication. War, unrest and poverty have often hindered the long fight against polio, but experts say these obstacles can be overcome, even in Syria where the highly contagious virus has taken advantage of a fall in vaccination rates due to the fighting. ... Full Story | Top |
| Polio outbreak in northeast Syria risks spreading, WHO says Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 12:09 PM PDT  By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Polio has broken out among young children in northeast Syria, the World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed on Tuesday, and could spread inside and outside the country, where civil war has led to falling vaccination rates. Polio, a crippling disease caused by a virus transmitted via contaminated food and water, can spread rapidly among children under five, especially in the kind of unsanitary conditions endured by the displaced in Syria or crowded refugee camps in neighboring countries. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hollande says four French hostages kidnapped in Niger freed Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 12:03 PM PDT By Kader Mazou and John Irish NIAMEY/PARIS (Reuters) - Four French hostages kidnapped by al Qaeda's north African arm three years ago in Niger have been released, President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday. Pierre Legrand, Daniel Larribe, Thierry Dol and Marc Feret were kidnapped by AQIM in September 2010 while working for French nuclear group Areva and a subsidiary of construction group Vinci in Arlit in Niger. The conditions of the release were not immediately clear, but, speaking to French television, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius denied the government had paid a ransom. ... Full Story | Top |
| Libya oil crisis deepens as protesters shun talks Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 11:55 AM PDT TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's oil crisis deepened on Tuesday after protesters blocking western fields shunned talks and locals denied that an eastern terminal would reopen, frustrating government efforts to end three months of disruptions. Libya's oil exports have dropped to less than 10 percent of capacity or 90,000 barrels per day, Reuters calculations show, as renewed protests this week halted operations at western ports and fields, supporting global oil prices. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK energy bosses blame politicians for price rises Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 11:55 AM PDT  By William James and Sarah Young LONDON (Reuters) - The six energy companies that dominate Britain's energy market defended steep price hikes on Tuesday, blaming rising costs and political interference as a panel of lawmakers accused them of abusing their market position at consumers' expense. Lawmakers summoned energy executives after four of Britain's "big six" energy suppliers raised charges for heating homes by more than three times the rate of inflation, stirring a political debate about the cost of living and angering voters on the eve of winter. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU presidency proposes new weakening of EU car rules Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 11:34 AM PDT  By Barbara Lewis BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Lithuania, holder of the EU presidency, has made a new proposal to weaken rules on how much carbon new cars can emit from 2020, in line with demands from Germany and its luxury manufacturers, EU diplomats said. The proposal is stoking anger in Brussels, where Germany's negotiating tactics are regarded as heavy-handed. The latest compromise would allow a phase-in of a 95 grams per kilometer (g/km) limit on auto carbon dioxide emissions until 2022 and increase the number of supercredits, a mechanism that gives companies more flexibility, the diplomats said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bachelet may win Chile election in first round, poll shows Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 11:32 AM PDT  By Rosalba O'Brien SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Center-left former President Michelle Bachelet holds a huge lead in Chile's presidential election this year and may attract enough support to win outright in the first round, a key poll showed on Tuesday. Around 47 percent of Chileans questioned by pollster CEP said they would vote for Bachelet if the election were held this Sunday, while 14 percent backed right-wing candidate Evelyn Matthei and 10 percent supported independent economist Franco Parisi. Around 16 percent said they were undecided or would not vote. ... Full Story | Top |
| Czech left leader gains ground in post-election party row Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 11:09 AM PDT  PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech Social Democrat leader Bohuslav Sobotka gained ground on Tuesday against rivals trying to depose him as party chief and candidate for prime minister, after an unconvincing election win last weekend. The split in the center-left party has crippled attempts to start talks on forming a government between the Social Democrats and two centrist parties, the new anti-corruption movement ANO and the Christian Democrats. The Social Democrats won the election with 20.5 percent of the vote, much less than 30 percent the party had hoped for. ... Full Story | Top |
| Moldovan dancer says she was Concordia captain's lover Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:55 AM PDT By Cristiano Corvino GROSSETO, Italy (Reuters) - A young Moldovan dancer who was on the bridge of the Costa Concordia cruise liner with Captain Francesco Schettino when it capsized last year told an Italian court on Tuesday she had been his lover. Domnica Cemortan had previously denied any affair with Schettino, who faces multiple charges including manslaughter, and her confession may prompt prosecutors to query the quality of her testimony, which had shown him in a positive light. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. urges end of U.S. embargo on Cuba for 22nd time Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:42 AM PDT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly for the 22nd time to condemn the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba, whose foreign minister said the American policy in place since 1959 was barbaric and amounted to genocide. There were 188 votes for the non-binding resolution, entitled "Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba," in the 193-nation General Assembly. The only country that joined the United States in voting against the resolution was Israel. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudan arrests seven university professors in crackdown on protests Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:41 AM PDT KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese authorities arrested seven university professors, a human rights lawyer said on Tuesday, extending a crackdown on opposition activists after fuel price increases touched off the country's worst unrest for years. The Khartoum government cut fuel subsidies to ease a financial crunch aggravated by the secession of oil-producing South Sudan in 2011. The move doubled pump prices overnight and triggered violent protests in which dozens of people were killed and more than 700 people arrested. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. inspectors hold 'very productive' nuclear talks with Iran Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:33 AM PDT  By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog and Iran held "very productive" talks this week on how to advance a long-blocked investigation into Iranian atomic activities and will meet again in Tehran next month, they said in a rare joint statement on Tuesday. The relatively upbeat announcement by Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency may further buoy hopes for a negotiated solution to the international standoff over Tehran's nuclear ambitions after the June election of moderate President Hassan Rouhani, who is seeking to reduce tension with the West. The U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cyprus DNA tests rule out link to lost British toddler Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:24 AM PDT NICOSIA (Reuters) - DNA tests in Cyprus have definitively ruled out the possibility that a Romanian man is Ben Needham, a British toddler who went missing on a Greek island 22 years ago, authorities said on Tuesday. The man had been identified as resembling how Ben would look today. The child, aged 21 months, vanished without trace from his grandparents' home on the Greek island of Kos in 1991. Ben's family have maintained a campaign to find him, and have publicized images of what he might look like today. ... Full Story | Top |
| British justice on trial in phone-hacking trial, jury told Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:20 AM PDT  By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - The jury trying the editors of one of Rupert Murdoch's former newspapers over phone hacking were told on Tuesday that British justice itself would be on trial. Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, former editors of Murdoch's now defunct News of the World tabloid, are accused of conspiring to illegally access voicemail messages on mobile phones belonging to politicians, celebrities, and victims of crime to obtain exclusive news. ... Full Story | Top |
| Man found guilty of rape, mutilation that shocked South Africa Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:09 AM PDT JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African court found a 21-year-old man guilty on Tuesday of the rape, mutilation and murder of a teenager in a case that shocked a nation with one of the world's highest levels of sexual violence. The 17-year-old victim, Anene Booysen, was found at a building site in the town of Bredasdorp, 130 km (80 miles) east of Cape Town, in February with wounds that included a slit from her stomach down to her genitals. Johannes Kana confessed to raping Booysen but denied disembowelling her. Sentencing is expected on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Abyei, Sudan welcome U.N.-backed referendum in disputed region Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:01 AM PDT  By Ilya Gridneff ABYEI (Reuters) - Abyei and Sudanese officials welcomed a push by the African Union to involve the U.N. Security Council in helping plan a referendum to resolve a dispute in the remote border region. The AU last year promised Abyei a plebiscite in October 2013 but shied away from the proposal, and has since discouraged the unilateral referendum that ended on Tuesday, with some analysts saying the outcome could trigger violence. ... Full Story | Top |
| Scotland breakaway vote a risk to national security, Britain says Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 09:58 AM PDT By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's national security could be weakened if Scotland votes to leave the United Kingdom next year, the British government said on Tuesday. An independent Scotland would also be less able to protect itself, a government report said. The intervention, part of the government's campaign to keep Scotland inside the United Kingdom, feeds into an emotive debate which Britain's three main parties think they are winning. Opinion polls suggest only a third of Scots back independence ahead of a vote on September 18, 2014. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia lays new theft charges against Putin foe Navalny Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 09:41 AM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic said on Tuesday he had been served with new theft and money laundering charges, describing them as a part of an attempt to "terrorize" those who displease authorities. Under the charges filed by the federal Investigative Committee, Alexei Navalny and his brother Oleg face up to ten years jail. In a separate case, a Russian court handed Navalny, 37, a suspended five-year sentence for theft last month. "I understand the logic of the authorities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Damascus, rebels coordinate to let 1,800 civilians flee siege Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 09:28 AM PDT  DAMASCUS (Reuters) - A rare moment of coordination between the Syrian government and rebels enabled 1,800 civilians to flee a besieged town on the edge of Damascus on Tuesday, but thousands remain trapped with little food, water or medicine. A source in the Ministry for Social Affairs said the evacuation from Mouadamiya had gone ahead with the help of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and some civil groups. "I was living in terror and now I am free and safe with the army, thank God," a resident of Mouadamiya told a Reuters reporter on condition of anonymity. "There is no food or water. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU makes new bid for deal on Ukraine's jailed Tymoshenko Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 09:26 AM PDT  By Richard Balmforth KIEV (Reuters) - European Union mediators resumed a push on Tuesday to secure the release of jailed Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, with EU politicians warning time was running out before the signing of a landmark trade agreement next month. Russia, dismayed by the westward course of its former Soviet ally, gave vent to its anger again, charging Ukraine with being way behind in its payments for gas deliveries. Its words revived concerns of a new gas "war". ... Full Story | Top |
| Defiant Israel returns to U.N. rights forum Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 09:19 AM PDT  By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Israel appeared before the main United Nations human rights body on Tuesday, ending a 20-month boycott of the Geneva forum which it accuses of bias against the Jewish state. Eviatar Manor, Israel's ambassador in Geneva, led its delegation to the session, held as part of the U.N. Human Rights Council's examination of U.N. member states every four years. "It was not an easy decision to make," Manor said in an opening statement to the talks. "But Israel's unfair treatment must come to an end. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian deputy PM dismissed after U.S. talks Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 09:15 AM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's deputy prime minister, Qadri Jamil, was dismissed on Tuesday for leaving the country and acting without government permission after meeting U.S. officials in Switzerland, state media said. The sacked minister is a member of what President Bashar al-Assad calls the "patriotic opposition" - political parties that consider themselves rivals to the president but have not joined the 2-1/2-year revolt against his rule. "Jamil was dismissed because he left his center of work without prior permission and did not follow up on his duties ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Central Bank falls victim to Libya's rampant crime, anarchy Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 09:14 AM PDT  By Ulf Laessing and Ghaith Shennib TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Gunmen rob millions from Libya's central bank. Boatloads of protesters storm an oil terminal like pirates. Tribesmen block a port - and contradict the prime minister when he tells the nation it will reopen soon. Libyans have become accustomed to chaos in a country flooded with weaponry where militias and tribes call the shots, two years after NATO bombing helped rebels topple Muammar Gaddafi. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt arrests al Qaeda militant previously jailed for Sadat murder Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 09:04 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian authorities have arrested an Islamist militant jailed over the assassination of Anwar Sadat, for plotting bomb attacks on behalf of al Qaeda since his release from prison in 2012, security sources said on Tuesday. Nabil al-Maghraby, a former naval intelligence officer who the sources said was a key al Qaeda operative, was arrested on Sunday. He has been linked to an ex-army major who tried to assassinate the interior minister in September, the sources said. Maghraby had been released from jail after serving 31 years for taking part in the 1981 assassination of Sadat. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iraq's Maliki to seek U.S. arms, role on Iran and Syria Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 08:56 AM PDT  By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki flew to Washington on Tuesday, seeking urgent military supplies to fight an upsurge in sectarian violence spilling over the Syrian border. He will also present himself to President Barack Obama as a potential mediator for him with Iran and Tehran's Syrian ally, Bashar al-Assad, Iraqi sources said - though U.S. officials played down the prospect of Maliki playing such a role. Two years after his last visit, as U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| German SPD urges fast renewables reform in coalition talks Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 08:54 AM PDT  By Markus Wacket BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's center-left Social Democrats (SPD) will push for a quick reform of incentives for green energy in any deal to share power with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, documents showed on Tuesday. Energy policy is a crucial element of ongoing coalition talks between the two camps but many of the points presented in an SPD paper obtained by Reuters did not appear wholly incompatible with conservative ideas. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pistorius to face additional gun charges in murder trial Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 08:52 AM PDT  By Peroshni Govender JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius will face two additional gun-related charges at his trial for the murder of his girlfriend due to start in March next year, prosecutors said on Tuesday. Pistorius, who is on bail, says he acted in self defense mistaking his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp for an intruder when he shot and killed her on Valentine's Day at his upmarket home in February. She was shot in the head, arm and hip. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkey realizes Ottoman dream with rail tunnel linking Europe to Asia Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 08:34 AM PDT  By Ayla Jean Yackley ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey opened the world's first underwater rail link between two continents on Tuesday, connecting Asia and Europe and allowing Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to realize a project dreamt up by Ottoman sultans more than a century ago. The engineering feat spans 13 km (8 miles) to link Europe with Asia some 60 meters below the Bosphorus Strait. Called the Marmaray, it will carry subway commuters in Europe's biggest city and eventually serve high-speed and freight trains. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russian Bolshoi dancer denies ordering acid attack as trial starts Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 08:06 AM PDT  By Maria Tsvetkova MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to ordering an acid attack that nearly blinded the Bolshoi ballet's artistic director, and a jobless former convict accused of carrying it out told a court he had acted alone. Guards brought Dmitrichenko and the suspected attacker, Yuri Zarutsky, handcuffed into a Moscow court room and locked them in a metal cage with a third defendant at the start of a case that has tarnished the reputation of a prime Russian cultural symbol. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spain launches legal inquiry into U.S. spying allegations Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 08:03 AM PDT  MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's public prosecutor launched a preliminary inquiry on Tuesday into reports that U.S. intelligence has spied on million of its citizens. Attorney General Eduardo Torres-Dulce authorized an information gathering process after El Mundo newspaper reported on Monday that the United States had tracked more than 60 million Spanish phone calls, his office said in a statement. Spain summoned the U.S. ambassador on Monday to discuss the allegations, which are similar to reports of U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Letter bomb sent to Northern Ireland minister Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 07:59 AM PDT BELFAST (Reuters) - A letter bomb addressed to the British government's minister for Northern Ireland has been found at the province's administrative buildings and made safe, police and politicians said on Tuesday. A 1998 peace deal largely ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland between Protestants who want to remain British and Catholics favoring unification with Ireland, but divisions and tensions remain. "It was a suspect package containing a viable device, which was made safe at a sorting office at Stormont Castle," a police spokesman said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt and Brotherhood should pursue reconciliation: minister Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 07:57 AM PDT  By Michael Georgy CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army-backed government and the Muslim Brotherhood should seek reconciliation because only an inclusive political process, not security crackdowns, can bring stability to the country, a senior minister said on Tuesday. The most populous Arab state has been shaken by violence since the army toppled President Mohamed Mursi of the Brotherhood in July and announced a plan for new elections. ... Full Story | Top |
| France must beat U.S. at economic intelligence: trade minister Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 07:54 AM PDT  By Ingrid Melander and Jean-Baptiste Vey PARIS (Reuters) - France must get better than the United States at economic intelligence rather than whining about U.S. phone tapping, which is no reason to suspend EU trade talks with Washington, its trade minister told Reuters on Tuesday. Reports that the U.S. National Security Agency extensively intercepted its European allies' phone calls and emails including France and Germany have caused a diplomatic uproar. Asked about the scandal, Trade Minister Nicole Bricq said the lesson was for Paris to improve its own economic intelligence gathering. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bulgaria to seek Roma girl's return from Greece Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 07:47 AM PDT  SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria said on Tuesday it would seek the return of a four-year-old girl found with a Roma family in Greece after DNA tests proved her natural parents were Bulgarian. Tests have confirmed that Sasha Ruseva, a 35-year-old Roma woman with nine other children, is the mother of the girl named Maria whose blue eyes and blonde hair aroused the suspicions of Greek police when they raided a Roma camp. Ruseva has said she wants to take back the child she says she left as a seven-month-old baby with another couple in Greece because she was too poor to care for her. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kenya says some soldiers looted during Nairobi mall attack Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 07:38 AM PDT  NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan soldiers sent to protect civilians looted shops while al Qaeda-linked militants killed scores of people during a siege at a Nairobi shopping mall last month, the army admitted on Tuesday. The head of the Kenyan Defense Forces (KDF) said two members of a special combat unit had been dismissed from the force and jailed and a third was under investigation, though he rejected reports of systematic, large-scale looting by troops. "Discipline is our core driving point and we are not playing with this issue. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iraqi PM flies to U.S., seeking arms to fight militants Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 07:35 AM PDT  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki travelled to the United States on Tuesday to press for urgent help and arms to combat the worst upsurge of violence in years. Nearly three years since the last U.S. troops withdrew, Sunni Islamist militants are waging a campaign to destabilize the Shi'ite-led government that came to power after former dictator Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian foreign minister says up to Syrians to decide leadership Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 07:32 AM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Tuesday government officials would attend planned peace talks in Geneva but that it was up to Syrians to decide the country's political future and leadership, state television reported. It said Moualem made the remarks during a meeting with international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi in Damascus, in which he said Syrians also rejected "any form of foreign intervention". The Geneva talks, tentatively planned for Nov 23, aim to start a political process to find a way to end the civil war in which 100,000 people have been killed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Germany's SPD aims for quick renewables subsidy reform: document Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 07:07 AM PDT BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's center-left Social Democrats (SPD) will push for a quick reform of renewable energy incentives in any deal to share power with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, according to SPD documents prepared for coalition talks on Tuesday. The goal is "agreement on the (main features of) a reform of the Renewable Energy Law by Easter 2014", said the SPD documents which were obtained by Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| India police say Islamists behind attack on opposition rally Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 06:26 AM PDT  By Jatindra Dash and Frank Jack Daniel BHUBANESWAR/NEW DELHI, India (Reuters) - An Islamist militant group is believed to be behind an attack on a rally by Indian Hindu nationalist politician Narendra Modi that killed six people and wounded more than 80, police said on Tuesday. Modi, who has a good chance of becoming India's next prime minister, is seen as a target of militants who hold him responsible for riots a decade ago during his first term as chief minister of Gujarat state. At least 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed in the rioting. ... Full Story | Top |
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