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| Italy PM Letta must confirm new coalition in parliament: president Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 11:56 AM PST  Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta must ask parliament to confirm its backing of his government after center-right leader Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party withdrew its support two days ago, the country's president said on Thursday. Since Letta won a confidence vote in the Senate over the 2014 budget without the backing of Forza Italia on Tuesday, the confirmation is likely to be a procedural formality done at the request of Berlusconi's party. Forza Italia had been a member of the ruling right-left coalition since April, when it was put together to end a political stalemate that followed a deadlocked national election in February. After meeting a Forza Italia delegation, President Giorgio Napolitano said "there will no doubt be a parliamentary passage to mark the shift from the grand coalition government to the one that won confidence over the budget", a spokesman said. Full Story | Top |
| Afghan president condemns U.S. airstrike that killed a child, two women Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 11:49 AM PST  Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai said U.S. forces had bombed a home in Helmand killing a small child and wounding two women on Thursday and condemned the attack as another sign of disregard for civilian life, his spokesman said. The strike could not have come at a worse time, as Karzai is engaged in a stand-off with the American government over a bilateral security agreement that will help shape the presence of U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014. Full Story | Top |
| China military sends air patrols through new defense zone: Xinhua Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 11:38 AM PST  China's military sent several fighter jets and an early warning aircraft on patrol in disputed air space over the East China Sea on Thursday, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported, quoting a spokesman for the People's Liberation Army Air Force. The aircraft were part of what Xinhua called "normal air patrols" in the new air defense zone Beijing has declared. The move raises the stakes in a standoff with the United States, Japan and South Korea over the zone. Japan and South Korea sent their own military aircraft through the air space on Thursday. Full Story | Top |
| Seven killed in Iran quake, no damage to nuclear station reported Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 11:21 AM PST At least seven people were killed in an earthquake in Iran on Thursday near the city of Bushehr, where the country's sole nuclear power plant is situated, state news agency IRNA reported. The earthquake, which had a magnitude of 5.6, struck about 40 miles northeast of Bushehr on the Gulf coast, according to U.S. Geological Survey data. No damage to the nuclear plant was reported. IRNA said seven people had died, and quoted the governor of Bushehr saying there was "total calm" in the area. Full Story | Top |
| Iran shakes up foundation controlled by Ayatollah's business empire Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 11:19 AM PST  By Steve Stecklow LONDON (Reuters) - A multi-billion dollar organization controlled by Iran's supreme leader shook up the management of its charity division, appointing as its new chief a man involved in the confiscation of thousands of properties from Iranian citizens. Aref Nozori was named director general of the Barakat Foundation, Iran's state news agency reported on Wednesday. The foundation is a unit of a massive business empire controlled by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that is known as Setad Ejraiye Farmane Hazrate Emam. The report by the Islamic Republic News Agency stated that Setad's president, Mohammad Mokhber, had ordered the appointment of Norozi, who once headed Setad's real-estate division and served on the boards of several Setad-linked companies. Full Story | Top |
| Top EU powers retreat further on aviation emission plans Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 11:05 AM PST  By Ben Garside LONDON (Reuters) - Britain, France and Germany want to curtail further a European Union plan to regulate CO2 emissions from flights, setting up a clash with Brussels keen to maintain the bloc's climate policy which has sparked threats of a global trade war. "We currently feel that a scope covering flights within the European Economic Area would be the best way (forward)," a UK government spokesman said, referring only to Britain's position. That represents a climb-down from the EU's unified position in September, when the bloc entered negotiations at the U.N.'s aviation body ICAO aiming to craft a global agreement to curb the fast rising output of heat-trapping gases from aviation. The nearly 190 nations at ICAO agreed to design a global scheme by 2016 that would not take effect until 2020 but rejected letting Europe apply its own plan to foreign carriers in the meantime. Full Story | Top |
| EU leaders set for tough table-talk with Ukraine's Yanukovich Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 10:34 AM PST  By Natalia Zinets and Adrian Croft VILNIUS (Reuters) - The European Union told Ukraine it was risking its economic future by rejecting a free-trade deal in favor of closer ties with Russia, hours before a likely frosty encounter on Thursday evening between EU leaders and President Viktor Yanukovich. Yanukovich flew into the Lithuanian capital Vilnius in time for a dinner in honor of the Eastern Partnership, the EU's four-year-old outreach program for former Soviet republics, including Ukraine. He had been expected to sign a far-reaching free-trade and political association deal with the EU at the Vilnius summit, the result of years of negotiation. But last week, following intense pressure from Moscow and growing concerns about Ukraine's dire economic situation, Yanukovich announced he was not ready to sign the EU deal yet and would instead focus on reviving economic dialogue with Russia. Full Story | Top |
| The 'eye sniper' and the girl protesters: Egypt's tale of two trials Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 10:30 AM PST  By Michael Georgy and Abdel Rahman Youssef CAIRO (Reuters) - Two high-profile Egyptian trials, both arising from years of turbulent protests, have delivered sharply contrasting sentences in the space of just a few months. The verdicts stunned the opposition and rights campaigners, even by the standards of a crackdown in which security forces have killed hundreds of Islamists and arrested thousands since the army overthrew President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in July. We could not believe that Egypt would lock up its girls with the excuse that they are a threat to security," said Ramadan Abdel Hamid, whose 15-year-old daughter Rawda and wife Salwa were among those sentenced. "Is this what is going to calm Egypt?" As army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi implements a promised roadmap towards elections, the United States is watching closely and has repeatedly urged the interim government to treat its opponents with restraint. Full Story | Top |
| Four Libyan soldiers killed in new violence in Benghazi Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 10:06 AM PST  By Ayman al-Warfalli BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Four Libyan soldiers were killed when clashes erupted between the army and militant Islamists in the eastern city of Benghazi on Thursday, army and security officials said. Libya's nascent military is struggling to curb Islamist militants and militias who fought in the 2011 uprising against Muammar Gaddafi but refuse to disarm and control parts of the OPEC producer. Western powers fear the North African country will slide towards instability and become a safe haven for al Qaeda as much of the country is controlled by militias or heavily-armed tribes. Fighting initially broke out on Monday between army special forces and members of the Ansar Sharia in Libya's second-largest city, killing at least nine people before the Islamists retreated from their main base. Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Iran sanctions deal sparks hunt for vintage plane parts Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 10:02 AM PST  By Tim Hepher, Parisa Hafezi and Praveen Menon (Reuters) - While foreign ministers raced to Geneva for a crucial phase of talks over Iran's nuclear activities earlier this month, passengers with the country's national airline faced a little-noticed drama on the other side of the world. As a 37-year-old Boeing 747 climbed out of Beijing bound for Tehran, the Iranian crew received a cockpit alert that one of the jumbo jet's four Pratt & Whitney engines was on fire. The Iran Air pilots shut the engine down, activated a fire suppression system and flew back to the Chinese capital. Both the November 8 incident and the actions taken to remedy it, as reported by accident database Aviation Herald, highlight the juggling act needed to keep Iran's fleet in the air after years of sanctions and challenges in procuring parts. Full Story | Top |
| Merkel says door still open to Ukraine on trade pact Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 09:10 AM PST Ukraine is still welcome to seek a trade pact with the European Union, despite Kiev's announcement last week that it was shelving such efforts, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday. Before Ukraine's surprise change of heart, the EU had said it could sign a trade deal with Kiev at the summit, which starts later on Thursday. Full Story | Top |
| Canada allowed widespread NSA surveillance at 2010 G20 summit: report Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 09:06 AM PST  By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada allowed the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct widespread surveillance during the 2010 Group of 20 summit in Toronto, according to a media report that cited documents from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp is the latest potential embarrassment for the NSA as a result of Snowden's leaks, although it remains unclear precisely what information the agency was looking for during the summit. Snowden has already revealed the agency spied on close allies such as Germany and Brazil, prompting heated diplomatic spats with Washington. The CBC report, first aired late on Wednesday, cited briefing notes it said showed the United States turned its Ottawa embassy into a security command post during a six-day spying operation by the top-secret U.S. agency as President Barack Obama and other world leaders met that June. Full Story | Top |
| With military commitments in Africa, France to leave Kosovo Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 09:01 AM PST  By Fatos Bytyci PRISTINA (Reuters) - NATO confirmed on Thursday that France plans to withdraw its 320 troops from Kosovo, citing commitments in Mali and a pending French intervention in Central African Republic. Speaking in Kosovo, NATO's top military commander, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, did not specify when the troops would leave or whether they would be replaced. France is preparing to increase its force in Central African Republic, an anarchic former French colony, to at least 1,000 soldiers to prevent sectarian violence from destabilizing the wider region. Full Story | Top |
| Steam, water may show North Korea trying to restart reactor: IAEA Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 08:46 AM PST  By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear agency said on Thursday it had seen releases of steam and water indicating that North Korea may be seeking to restart a reactor that experts say would be capable of making plutonium for atomic bombs. North Korea announced in April that it would revive its aged research reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex but said it was seeking a deterrent capacity. Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the Vienna-based IAEA continued to monitor developments at Yongbyon, mainly through satellite imagery. "Activities have been observed at the site that are consistent with an effort to restart the 5MW(e) reactor," he told the IAEA's 35-nation board, referring to the Yongbyon research reactor. Full Story | Top |
| IAEA says may need more money to help implement Iran nuclear deal Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 08:44 AM PST  By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. atomic watchdog will probably need more money to verify the implementation of a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, its chief said on Thursday, and it would take some time to prepare for the task. Yukiya Amano also said Iran has invited the agency to visit the Arak heavy-water production plant on December 8, the first concrete step under a new cooperation pact aimed at clarifying concerns about the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. Both agreements indicate how Iran is acting quickly to address fears about its nuclear program after the election in June of a relative moderate, Hassan Rouhani, as new president on a platform to smooth its troubled relations with the world. The International Atomic Energy Agency can mobilize expertise and staff from within the organization for an increased workload in checking whether Iran is complying with the interim accord with the major powers to curb its nuclear program, IAEA Director General Amano told a news conference. Full Story | Top |
| One killed, nine injured in shelling of Russian embassy in Damascus Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 08:28 AM PST One Syrian was killed and nine others were injured during a mortar shelling of the Russian embassy in Damascus, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday. The Russian mission was also damaged in February when a car bomb exploded nearby on a busy Damascus highway, killing 50 people. Full Story | Top |
| Britain's Cameron urged to seek 'red card' to scrap EU laws Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 08:24 AM PST  By Peter Griffiths LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron should push for new powers for European Union member states to repeal existing laws across the bloc as part of his EU reform drive, an influential group of lawmakers in his Conservative Party said on Thursday. Fresh Start, which is backed by more than 100 Conservative members of parliament and has close links to senior ministers, said the EU must return some powers to national governments as part of wider changes or risk "terminal decline". Seeking to influence the debate about Britain's future in Europe, the group published a study setting out the areas where it hopes Cameron will win reforms, from agriculture and energy to immigration and regulation. But their ideas are likely to face resistance from the European Commission and from some other member states, including France and Germany which have warned an increasingly eurosceptic Cameron government against "cherry-picking" from the EU agenda. Full Story | Top |
| Victorious Nepali Congress party tries to woo Maoists for stability Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 08:17 AM PST  By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's oldest political party has emerged as the biggest group after an election last week, a final count showed on Thursday, and the party is now trying to woo Maoist former rebels to join a national unity government in the volatile mountain nation. The result leaves an uncertain future for the Maoists, who fought a ten-year civil war that contributed to the downfall of Nepal's monarchy. The former guerrillas, slumping to third place in the election held to a new constituent assembly, initially said it was rigged and threatened to boycott the body. "We want to form a consensus government and are reaching out to the Maoists to join the government and draft the constitution," Minendra Rijal, a senior leader of the Nepali Congress party which emerged as the largest group in the 601-member assembly, said. Full Story | Top |
| Israel jails six Arabs over 2005 killing of Jewish gunman Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 08:13 AM PST  By Rami Amichay HAIFA, Israel (Reuters) - An Israeli court jailed six Israeli Arab citizens on Thursday over the mob killing in 2005 of a Jewish gunman after he went on a deadly rampage on a bus in their town. None of The six men from Shfaram in northern Israel had been convicted of directly causing the death of Eden Nathan-Zaada, a 19-year-old army deserter and far-right settler in the occupied West Bank. Defense lawyer Siry Khourieh had argued during the trial that it was unfair, as the men had acted in self-defence. Arabs, the vast majority of them Muslim, make up around one fifth of the Jewish state's citizenry, and inter-ethnic relations have long been strained by Israel's conflict with the Palestinians, who want occupied territories for a future state. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's draft constitution strengthens army, to be concluded on Thursday Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 07:59 AM PST  By Tom Perry and Yasmine Saleh CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's new constitution would strengthen the army's hand and could ban Islamist parties outright, according to a final draft published in state media, and the assembly writing the text said it was poised to finish its work on Thursday. A referendum on the constitution expected in December would be a milestone in the army's plan for political transition after it deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July. The new constitution would replace the one signed into law by Mursi last year after it was passed in a referendum. That constitution was suspended when Mursi, Egypt's first freely elected president, was deposed after protests against his rule. Full Story | Top |
| Niger says fugitive wanted by FBI arrested in northern Mali Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 07:30 AM PST A Malian man wanted by the United States for killing a U.S. diplomat in Niger in 2000 and convicted for a deadly attack on Saudi tourists there in 2009, has been arrested by French forces in northern Mali, Niger said on Thursday. Alhassane Ould Mohamed, 42, also known as "Cheibani", was among 22 prisoners, several of them Islamist militants, who escaped from a prison in Niger's capital in June. "I can confirm the arrest on Tuesday of Alhassane Ould Mohamed. He was arrested by French security forces," Marou Amadou, Niger's justice minister and government spokesman, told a news conference in Niamey. Full Story | Top |
| One killed in clashes between Egyptian police and protesters Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 07:24 AM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - One protester was killed in clashes between supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi and security forces at Cairo University on Thursday, medical sources said. Egypt's army-backed government passed a law on Sunday that restricts demonstrations. (Reporting by Mahmoud Omar, writing by Yasmine Saleh; Editing by Janet Lawrence) Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine ducks EU 'surgery', economy still in pain Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 07:18 AM PST By Natalia Zinets and Lidia Kelly KIEV/MOSCOW (Reuters) - When Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich rejected a trade pact with the European Union and turned to Moscow, he put off painful, EU-prescribed economic surgery that could have hurt his re-election prospects. But he disappointed entrepreneurs who had hoped the EU deal would bring long-term growth by giving them easier access to rich markets and pushing Kiev harder to pursue policies - from cutting red tape and graft to tightening state budgets - that the IMF says would make post-Soviet Ukraine more competitive. They suffer a little, but then get well," said Yuri Kryvosheev, 53, owner of international trucking company Magnetik in Poltava. A possible customs union with Russia, which had threatened to cut off gas if Kiev looked west, might bring Yanukovich aid from Moscow to help with a growing budget deficit, shrinking foreign reserves and a spike in debt repayments. Full Story | Top |
| German coalition party sees way paved for Deutschlandbond Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 06:54 AM PST By Rene Wagner BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Social Democrats see a chance to introduce joint federal-regional bonds through their coalition deal with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, a senior party figure said on Thursday. The party has long argued for such bonds, which would lend German states the Berlin government's high creditworthiness, in order to help the regions lower their financing costs. Norbert Walter-Borjans, finance minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, told Reuters provisions to create a real so-called "Deutschlandbond" were included in the 185-page contract signed on Wednesday. "The coalition treaty puts high value on consolidating the overall public budget," said Walter-Borjans, who helped negotiate the deal as part of the finance working group. Full Story | Top |
| Iran's Arab neighbors want assurances nuclear deal not against them Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 06:53 AM PST  Iran's Arab neighbors, deeply worried about Iran's nuclear program, want assurances that Tehran's deal with world powers will indeed enhance regional security, Bahrain's interior minister said on Thursday. U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states, led by top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, have cautiously welcomed the November 24 interim accord as a step towards curbing what they fear is a secret Iranian program to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. Full Story | Top |
| Magnitude 5.6 quake strikes Iran's Bushehr region: USGS Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 06:49 AM PST DUBAI (Reuters) - A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck about 40 miles northeast of Bushehr, where Iran has a nuclear power plant, on Thursday, U.S. Geological Survey data showed. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. There were reports on social media in Saudi Arabia that the quake, at a depth of 10.2 miles, was felt in the kingdom's eastern province, across the Gulf from Iran. (Reporting by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Janet Lawrence) Full Story | Top |
| Iran's Arab neighbours want assurances nuclear deal not against them Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 06:46 AM PST Iran's Arab neighbours, deeply worried about Iran's nuclear programme, want assurances that Tehran's deal with world powers will indeed enhance regional security, Bahrain's interior minister said on Thursday. U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states, led by top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, have cautiously welcomed the November 24 interim accord as a step towards curbing what they fear is a secret Iranian programme to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. Full Story | Top |
| France's Hollande wavers on unemployment deadline Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 06:23 AM PST  French President Francois Hollande wavered on Thursday over his politically sensitive pledge to bring unemployment down by the end of the year, saying it would take as long as necessary. "It will be a battle, it's a battle that we have taken on, fought month by month," Hollande said during a visit to a Paris suburb, hours before October jobless claims were due to be published. An aide said the pledge was more a question of stabilizing unemployment by the end of the year and then getting it lower. The 10.9 percent unemployment rate is close to the all-time high of 11.2 percent set in 1997. Full Story | Top |
| SPD tries to overcome grassroots scepticism on Merkel deal Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 06:22 AM PST  By Stephen Brown and Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Social Democrats began a do-or-die campaign on Thursday to persuade nearly half a million grassroots members, many skeptical about governing with conservative Angela Merkel again, to back the "grand coalition" in a ballot. Germany has already waited two months since the election for a new government. After Merkel and the SPD finally agreed the terms of an alliance, it must now wait until mid-December while the SPD seeks endorsement in an unprecedented ballot. More than 474,000 card-carrying members will receive postal ballots within days asking whether they agree to the terms set out in a 185-page document signed by Merkel, her Bavarian ally Horst Seehofer and SPD Chairman Sigmar Gabriel on Wednesday. Full Story | Top |
| Europe's top court strikes down sanctions on Iranian company Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 05:58 AM PST By John O'Donnell BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's highest court struck down EU sanctions against an Iranian power company on Thursday, the latest legal ruling against measures that the European Union has imposed over Iran's nuclear program. While sanctions are set to be relaxed under a deal last week in which Tehran promised to limit parts of its nuclear work, the EU is still keen to have the option to impose trade restrictions in the future should Iran waver. That could be complicated by this decision, the first such judgment by Europe's top court, and previous EU legal rulings. A lower EU court had already overturned several sanctions due to the refusal by EU states to disclose evidence linking their targets to Iran's nuclear work. Full Story | Top |
| Sri Lanka counts war dead after pressure from abroad Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 05:40 AM PST By Shihar Aneez and Ranga Sirilal COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka began counting the dead from its 26-year civil war on Thursday, less than two weeks after the island nation came under intense international pressure to investigate allegations of war crimes during the climax of the conflict. More than 100,000 people are believed to have died during the 1983-2009 war between Tamil Tiger separatists concentrated in the north and government forces. Full Story | Top |
| Pope names private secretary to supervise Vatican bank Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 05:00 AM PST  Pope Francis named his personal secretary to supervise the activities of the Vatican bank on Thursday, in a sign the pontiff wants to keep a tight grip on the drive to clean up its operations and image. Alfred Xuereb, a 55-year-old Maltese prelate, will be responsible for overseeing two commissions created by the pope to supervise the bank itself and the economic structure and finances of the Holy See, the Vatican said in a statement. Since taking office in March, Francis has moved to tackle years of financial scandals involving the Vatican bank, formally known as the Institute for Works of Religion, which is under investigation on suspicion of money laundering. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told reporters that Xuereb had been working in this role unofficially for some time, but would now be able to do so more effectively. Full Story | Top |
| Leaders urge Croats to reject anti gay marriage referendum Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 04:41 AM PST Croatia's ruling center-left coalition urged citizens to reject Sunday's referendum on constitutionally defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman that has been supported by the conservative opposition and Roman Catholic groups. "I will vote for love, for a Croatia without divisions, and that means I will vote 'against'," Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic said in the video. Government figures, including Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic, have said from the start they disagreed with the referendum's demand and would vote against it. Croatia, which joined the European Union in July, is a staunchly Catholic country and some 90 percent of its 4.4 million people say they belong to the Church. Full Story | Top |
| Embattled Thai PM easily survives no-confidence vote, protests persist Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 04:37 AM PST  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's embattled Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra easily won a no-confidence vote in parliament on Thursday but failed to pacify anti-government protesters who rejected calls for talks and massed by the thousands in the capital. Waving multi-colored flags, blowing whistles and blocking traffic, protesters rallied outside the heavily barricaded national police headquarters, urging police to join their bid to topple Yinglick and her billionaire brother, ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The numbers of the protesters appear to have dwindled since the start of the week, raising questions over what's next in a conflict that broadly pits Bangkok's middle classes against the mostly rural supporters of Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup. Yingluck, who won a 2011 election by a landslide to become Thailand's first female prime minister, called on the protesters to clear the streets and enter into talks to avoid confrontation, saying Thailand's economy was at risk after demonstrators occupied the Finance Ministry on Monday. Full Story | Top |
| Central African Republic needs many more peacekeepers: EU Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 04:36 AM PST  By Joe Bavier ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Central African Republic needs up to four times more peacekeepers than are currently deployed to quell the worsening sectarian conflict and provide security for aid workers, the European Union's top humanitarian official said. The country has descended into chaos since the Seleka coalition of rebels, many of them from neighboring Chad and Sudan, ousted President Francois Bozize in March. France is preparing to boost its force in its anarchic former colony to at least 1,000 soldiers once a U.N. resolution is passed next week to improve security until a 3,600-strong African Union force is operational. Tripling or quadrupling what is there," EU aid chief Kristalina Georgieva said, warning they face a twin risk of a Somalia-like state collapse and potential genocide. Full Story | Top |
| Indian cyclone weakens, authorities say no threat Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 04:34 AM PST  By Jatindra Dash BHUBANESWAR, India, Nov 28 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A severe cyclone weakened before it made landfall on India's east coast on Thursday, and an official said it no longer posed a serious threat to thousands of people in low-lying areas. Forecasts that cyclone Lehar - the third powerful storm to hit Andhra Pradesh state in seven weeks - would bring gale-force winds, heavy rain and storm surges, prompted authorities to evacuate thousands of villagers, suspend fishing and put disaster response teams on standby. C. Parthasarathy, commissioner of the state disaster management department, said Lehar had weakened into a depression bringing moderate rain as it hit the city of Machilipatnam. The wind speed was only 50 kph (30 mph)," Parthasarathy told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. Yemen envoy says former president's camp undermining talks Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 04:32 AM PST  By Sami Aboudi DUBAI (Reuters) - The U.N. envoy to Yemen has accused members of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's government of obstructing reconciliation talks aimed at completing a power transfer deal, and called for international support for the current administration. A Saleh aide denied his camp was undermining the talks and said that the United Nations envoy, Jamal Benomar, had become a burden on the transition process. The Conference of National Reconciliation, launched in March as part of a 2011 Gulf-brokered power transfer deal that eased long-serving Saleh out of office, has been struggling with demands by separatists from what was South Yemen, which merged with North Yemen in 1990. A group of separatists led by Mohammed Ali Ahmed, a former interior minister, quit the talks on Wednesday, dimming prospects that the conference might deliver a new constitution in time for elections originally expected to be held in February. Full Story | Top |
| Hollande backs away from deadline on unemployment Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 04:26 AM PST  French President Francois Hollande backed away on Thursday from a pledge to bring unemployment down by the end of the year, saying instead that it would take as long as necessary. "It will be a battle, it's a battle that we have taken on, fought month by month," Hollande said during a visit to a Paris suburb, hours before October jobless claims were due to be published. "We will have to work on it relentlessly and it will take as much time as necessary." French unemployment now stands at 10.9 percent, close to the all-time high of 11.2 percent set in 1997. As monthly jobless claims have hit record after record, Hollande's popularity has fallen to lows never seen before for a president in France's 55-year-old Fifth Republic. Full Story | Top |
| Video shows execution of Syrian rebels by Al Qaeda-linked group Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 04:25 AM PST Al Qaeda-linked militants have executed the commander of a rival rebel faction and six of his men, an amateur video of the public execution showed, part of their campaign to marginalize other groups. The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, have taken advantage of a power vacuum in rebel-held areas to assert its authority over more moderate elements of the armed opposition. The video, posted online by the anti-Assad Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group on Wednesday, shows armed men in black standing below an ISIL banner. The Observatory said the video was taken in the northern Syrian town of Atarib in Idlib province. Full Story | Top |
| Last of Greenpeace protesters granted bail in Russia Thursday, Nov 28, 2013 04:12 AM PST  A Russian court on Thursday granted bail to the last Greenpeace activist still in custody over a protest against offshore oil drilling in the Arctic. Australian Colin Russell, 59, will be released from pre-trial detention in St. Petersburg when 2-million-rouble ($60,000) bail is posted, Greenpeace said. Russell was a crew member on the Arctic Sunrise, a Greenpeace icebreaker forcibly boarded by Russian coast guards following the September 18 protest, in which activists tried to scale an oil platform run by state-controlled Gazprom. All 30 people arrested have been charged with hooliganism and face up seven years in prison if convicted in a case that has drawn criticism from the West and is seen by Kremlin critics as part of a clampdown on dissent by President Vladimir Putin. Full Story | Top |
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