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| South Sudan frees seven detainees accused of coup plot Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 11:30 AM PST  By James Macharia and Richard Lough NAIROBI (Reuters) - South Sudan freed seven senior political figures on Wednesday who had been arrested on suspicion of plotting a coup, partially meeting a rebel demand at peace talks focused on ending weeks of fighting. President Salva Kiir accused his former vice president Riek Machar of starting fighting between rival groups of soldiers in the capital Juba in mid December in a bid to seize power - a charge denied my Machar. Authorities detained the 11 men, including former justice minister John Luk Jok, on suspicion of being involved, as clashes between government troops and now rebel fighters loyal to Machar quickly spread, killing thousands. South Sudan's current Justice Minister Paulino Wanawilla Unago had prepared the ground for the release on Tuesday, saying no evidence had been found against the seven. Full Story | Top |
| Italy vote reform moves to parliament as parties agree changes Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 11:25 AM PST  By Roberto Landucci ROME (Reuters) - Italy's main political parties agreed adjustments to center-left leader Matteo Renzi's electoral reform proposals that should clear the way for the closely watched package to come before parliament on Thursday. The measures, designed to prevent the kind of messy stalemate left by last year's deadlocked elections, are seen as vital to allowing the creation of stable governments capable of tackling deep reforms to Italy's stagnant economy. Renzi, who is not in government but who has assumed an ever greater role as head of the largest party in Prime Minister Enrico Letta's ruling coalition, says election reform would be the prelude to broader economic reforms. The changes agreed by Renzi's Democratic Party (PD) and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia would make it slightly easier for smaller parties to enter parliament by lowering the minimum entry threshold from 5 percent to 4.5 percent. Full Story | Top |
| Brahimi says no substantive progress on Syria but hopeful Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 11:06 AM PST  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Mariam Karouny GENEVA (Reuters) - International mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said on Wednesday that he does not expect to achieve anything substantive in the first round of Syria talks ending on Friday, but hoped for a more productive second round starting about a week later. "We talked about the TGB (Transitional Governing Body), but of course it is a very, very preliminary discussion and more generally of what each side expects," Brahimi told reporters. Opposition and government sides said they agreed to use the "Geneva communiqué", a document endorsed by world powers at a conference in June 2012, and which sets out the stages needed to end the fighting and agree on a political transition. "We have agreed that Geneva 1 is the basis of the talks," opposition spokesman Louay al-Safi told reporters. Full Story | Top |
| Russia to await new Ukraine government before fully implementing rescue: Putin Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 10:50 AM PST  By Steve Gutterman and Richard Balmforth MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin raised the pressure on Ukraine on Wednesday, saying Russia would wait until it forms a new government before fully implementing a $15 billion bailout deal that Kiev urgently needs. Putin repeated a promise to honor the lifeline agreement with Ukraine in full, but left open the timing of the next aid installment as Kiev struggles to calm more than two months of turmoil since President Viktor Yanukovich walked away from a treaty with the European Union. A day after Prime Minister Mykola Azarov resigned on Tuesday, hoping to appease the opposition and street protesters, Russia tightened border checks on imports from Ukraine in what looked like a reminder to Yanukovich not to install a government that tilts policy back towards the West. Full Story | Top |
| Hoping to deter Hezbollah, Israel threatens Lebanese civilians Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 10:48 AM PST  By Dan Williams HERZLIYA, Israel (Reuters) - Israel accused Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas on Wednesday of putting "thousands" of bases in residential buildings and said it would destroy these in a future conflict, even at the cost of civilian lives. The unusually explicit threat by air force chief Major-General Amir Eshel appeared to be part of an effort by Israeli officials to prepare world opinion for high civilian casualties in any new confrontation with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel says Iran and Syria have supplied improved missiles to Hezbollah, which fought the technologically superior Israeli military to a standstill in a 2006 war in Lebanon. Full Story | Top |
| Czech president appoints centre-left cabinet, ending power vacuum Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 10:25 AM PST  By Jan Lopatka PRAGUE (Reuters) - President Milos Zeman appointed a new center-left cabinet on Wednesday, ending a seven-month power vacuum that has hampered policy decisions that the Czech Republic needs to boost recovery from its longest recession. The coalition, led by Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, plans to ease some fiscal restrictions imposed by the former center-right cabinet, bring the country closer to the euro zone and clampdown on corruption - the election's main theme. Social Democrat leader Sobotka, 42, wants to return the central European country to the EU mainstream in contrast to the eurosceptic course of previous cabinets. "Hopes are rising after a long time that the Czech Republic will stop playing the role of troublemaker in the European Union," Jakub Janda from the European Values think-tank wrote in a commentary. Full Story | Top |
| Turkish military strikes al Qaeda-linked rebels in Syria: media Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 10:18 AM PST ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The Turkish armed forces attacked a convoy of al Qaeda-linked rebel vehicles in Syria in retaliation for cross-border fire on Tuesday, destroying three vehicles, Turkish media said on Wednesday. Turkish troops opened fire on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) positions in northern Syria after a mortar shell fired from Syria landed in Turkish territory during clashes between ISIL and the Free Syrian Army, broadcaster NTV reported. It said a pick-up truck, a lorry and a bus were destroyed in the Turkish retaliation on Tuesday evening. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Syria ships out less than 5 percent of chemical arms Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 10:11 AM PST  By Anthony Deutsch AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Syria has given up less than five percent of its chemical weapons arsenal and will miss next week's deadline to send all toxic agents abroad for destruction, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The deliveries, in two shipments this month to the northern Syrian port of Latakia totaled 4.1 percent of the roughly 1433 metric tons of toxic agents reported by Damascus to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Damascus needs to show it is still serious about relinquishing its chemical weapons, the sources told Reuters. Failure to eliminate its chemical weapons could expose Syria to sanctions, although these would have to supported in the U.N. Security Council by Russia and China, which have so far refused to back such measures against President Bashar al-Assad. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt to put Al Jazeera journalists on trial-prosecutor Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 10:04 AM PST By Shadia Nasralla CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt will put an Australian, two Britons and a Dutchwoman on trial for aiding 16 Egyptians belonging to a "terrorist organisation", the public prosecutor said on Wednesday, describing the four as Al Jazeera correspondents. Three of the Qatar-based television network's journalists - Peter Greste, an Australian, Mohamed Fahmy, a Canadian-Egyptian national, and Baher Mohamed - were detained in Cairo on December 29 and remain in custody. The 16 Egyptians are to face trial for belonging to a "terrorist organisation", an apparent reference to the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been protesting against the government since the army toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July. The Brotherhood says it is a peaceful organisation. Full Story | Top |
| Latin Americans pledge to respect Cuba's form of government Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:51 AM PST Latin American leaders pledged on Wednesday to respect the right of all countries in the region to choose their own political systems, a proclamation notable largely for accepting Cuba as the only one-party state in the western hemisphere. Cuba is hosting a summit of 33 countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean states (CELAC) who agreed in a declaration to "fully respect the inalienable right of every state to choose its political system." They also agreed "not to intervene, directly or indirectly, in the internal affairs of any other state and to observe the principles of national sovereignty". CELAC, which excludes the United States and Canada, was the brainchild of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and created as a counterweight to the Organization of American States (OAS), which has its headquarters in Washington. CELAC's second annual summit, a two-day affair, concludes on Wednesday. Full Story | Top |
| Canada's Trudeau boots unelected senators from Liberal group Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:50 AM PST  By Randall Palmer OTTAWA (Reuters) - Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau, fighting to unseat Canada's Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the 2015 election, expelled all his party's members in the scandal-plagued Senate from the Liberal caucus on Wednesday. The reputation of Canada's Senate, the unelected upper chamber of its Parliament, is in tatters after controversial expense claims by four senators - three Conservative appointees and one Liberal appointee. Opponents of Trudeau, son of former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, said his motive was to insulate his party from the seething expense scandal. But the Liberal leader said he was moving to fix what he called a broken Senate. Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Ex-guerrilla faces tough-on-gangs rightist in El Salvador election Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:49 AM PST A former guerrilla commander hopes to secure the left a second term in El Salvador's presidential election on Sunday, but he faces a strong challenge from a right-wing former mayor who wants to use the army to battle powerful street gangs. SALVADOR SANCHEZ CEREN The 69-year-old vice president and education minister is running for the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), the rebel group turned political party. His candidacy was seen as risky since the FMLN lost previous elections when it ran with former guerrilla leaders. The FMLN did not win until it backed journalist Mauricio Funes in 2009. Full Story | Top |
| El Salvador vote pits ex-rebel vs gang-fighting rightist Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:48 AM PST  By Nelson Renteria SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - A former guerrilla commander hopes to keep his left-wing party in power in El Salvador's presidential election on Sunday, but he faces a strong challenge from a right-wing rival who wants to use the army to battle powerful street gangs. Polls give Vice President Salvador Sanchez Ceren of the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, or FMLN, an edge over his conservative adversary Norman Quijano, who stepped down from a second term as mayor of San Salvador to run. But with three main candidates competing, Sanchez Ceren is expected to fall short of the 50 percent support needed to win outright and so face Quijano in a run-off on March 9. Full Story | Top |
| Rare ice storm grips U.S. South, kills at least six Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:47 AM PST By David Beasley ATLANTA (Reuters) - Icy chaos gripped the U.S. South on Wednesday after a rare winter storm that killed at least six people, stranded children in their schools overnight and paralyzed travel in several states, including hundreds of flight cancellations at the world's busiest airport. In Atlanta, motorists remained trapped in their cars on icy Interstates on Wednesday, some of them having spent as long as 18 hours on the road. Some 791 traffic accidents were reported in the city but there were no serious injuries, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said in a Wednesday news conference, adding that the focus was now on rescuing stranded motorists. At least five deaths in Alabama and one in Georgia were blamed on the storm. Full Story | Top |
| Profile: Czech Finance Minister Andrej Babis Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:45 AM PST PRAGUE (Reuters) - Position: Czech Republic's Finance Minister Incumbent: Andrej Babis Date of Birth: September 2, 1954 Term: Appointed on January 29, 2014 Key Facts: - Slovak-born Babis is one of the richest businessmen in the Czech Republic, worth some $2 billion according to Forbes magazine. Over the past two decades, Babis has built an empire spanning hundreds of firms in the farming, food processing, chemicals and media sectors. ... Full Story | Top |
| Profile: Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:45 AM PST PRAGUE (Reuters) - Position: Prime Minister Incumbent: Bohuslav Sobotka Date of birth: October 23, 1971 Term: Appointed on Jan 17, 2014. Key Facts: - Center-left Social Democrat Sobotka served as finance minister in 2002-2006, an era of record economic growth that kept budget deficits under control. - Sobotka is in favor of deeper European integration, including eventual entry into the euro zone. He favors tax hikes for big firms and top earners to fund social benefits and free healthcare. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisia's Islamists cede power to caretaker government Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:44 AM PST  By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's new caretaker government formally took office on Wednesday, replacing the Islamist party which came to power after a 2011 uprising but stepped down in a deal intended to help the country embrace democracy. Three years after the uprising against autocrat Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali inspired revolts across the region, Tunisia on Monday adopted a new constitution, and a technocrat government has taken over until elections this year. Compromise between Tunisia's Islamist party and their secular opponents to end months of deadlock contrasts with the messy paths taken in neighboring Libya and Egypt, which are still struggling with turmoil and violence. Former premier Ali Larayedh, an Islamist who spent years in prison under Ben Ali, formally handed over to Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa, a technocrat who asked for support to bring stability to the country that started the Arab Spring. Full Story | Top |
| Putin says new Ukraine government needed for full implementation of aid deal Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:33 AM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would wait until Ukraine forms a new government before fully implementing a $15 billion bailout deal for Kiev, but repeated a promise to honor the agreement in full. A day after Ukraine's prime minister resigned, the move could give Russia leverage over Kiev as it struggles with an upheaval brought on by a decision to ditch landmark agreements with the European Union. (Writing by Steve Gutterman; editing by David Stamp) Full Story | Top |
| Israeli soldiers kill alleged Palestinian gunman in West Bank Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:25 AM PST Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian on Wednesday who the military said had opened fire on their position near a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Information Ministry said the man had been unarmed and had been holding a stick or rod he was using to direct traffic. Confirming the man's death, a Palestinian medic identified him as Muhammad Mubarak, 21, a laborer from Jalazoun refugee camp near the Palestinian city of Ramallah, north of Jerusalem. An Israeli military spokeswoman said a Palestinian gunman was shot after attacking troops stationed near the settlement of Ofra. Full Story | Top |
| Brahimi says no substantive progress at Syria talks Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:25 AM PST International mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said on Wednesday that he does not expect to achieve anything substantive in the first round of Syria talks ending on Friday but hoped for a more productive second round starting about a week later. He voiced hope that Russia and the United States would exert greater influence over the two sides to bridge "quite large" gaps, adding that the United Nations and Syria's government were still negotiating access for aid to the rebel-held Old City of Homs. Full Story | Top |
| Battle edges closer to Syrian crusader castle Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:17 AM PST President Bashar al-Assad's forces have surrounded rebels near the already war-damaged Crusader castle of Crac des Chevaliers, a UNESCO World Heritage site in central Syria, residents said on Wednesday. Crac des Chevaliers suffered mortar hits last year when rebels from the town of al-Hosn below the hill-top castle hid behind its thick stone walls, built for battles hundreds of years ago. Syria's nearly three-year-old conflict has devastated whole city neighborhoods and many ancient sites, including Aleppo's medieval covered market and its Umayyad mosque. Although fighting has inched closer to Crac des Chevaliers, the castle has not been hit during the two-day-old offensive by troops and local pro-Assad militiamen besieging al-Hosn. Full Story | Top |
| Bahraini court shuts down Shi'ite clerical group Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 08:45 AM PST By Farishta and Saeed MANAMA (Reuters) - A Bahraini court ordered the dissolution of a group of Shi'ite Muslim clerics on Wednesday, declaring it illegal in a ruling that could harm reconciliation efforts aimed at ending political unrest in the U.S.-allied island kingdom. The court's decision comes a few weeks after stalled reconciliation talks between the Sunni ruling family and the Shi'ite opposition were revived, raising some hope of progress to end the political impasse. Bahrain, home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, has been hit by low-level civil unrest since 2011 when mainly Shi'ite protesters took to the streets calling for democratic reforms. The court said the Islamic Scholars' Council, which is close to the main Shi'ite opposition group al-Wefaq, was not officially registered in the Gulf Arab state. Full Story | Top |
| Merkel tries to quell row over German role in Africa Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 08:18 AM PST  Germany is ready to send logistical support to Central African Republic but will not dispatch combat troops with a planned EU mission, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday, trying to end a domestic row about Berlin's role. A split in Merkel's grand coalition between conservative Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen and Social Democrat (SPD) Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier about Germany's role in Africa has caused strains in the new government. Merkel told the lower house of parliament the government was looking at whether to do more in Central African Republic. It's not about a German combat force, but about our capabilities in rescue and treating the wounded," she said, adding Germany also wanted to strengthen its mandate in Mali to train security forces. Full Story | Top |
| South Africa's AMCU union to take revised platinum offer to members Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 08:00 AM PST  By Zandi Shabalala PRETORIA (Reuters) - The world's top platinum producers have made a revised wage offer to South Africa's AMCU union but it falls short of its demand for a minimum "living wage" of 12,500 rand ($1,100) a month, the union's chief negotiator said on Wednesday. Jimmy Gama told reporters the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) would put the offer to its members on Thursday after the conclusion of government-brokered talks with strike-hit Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin. Tensions were also on the rise on the gritty platinum belt after police fired rubber bullets to disperse AMCU members who were blocking a road and preventing non-strikers from reporting for duty at an Amplats' mine. The AMCU has been demanding minimum entry-level pay of 12,500 rand ($1,100) a month from the three platinum producers, which would be more than double current levels. Full Story | Top |
| Libyan deputy prime minister survives attempt on life Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 07:54 AM PST By Ghaith Shennib TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's deputy prime minister survived unhurt after gunmen fired on his car in Tripoli on Wednesday in an attack reflecting the violent chaos plaguing the North African nation two years after Muammar Gaddafi's fall. The Libyan government is struggling to contain dozens of unruly militias, former rebel brigades and militants who kept their guns after the NATO-backed revolt against Gaddafi in 2011. Deputy Prime Minister Sadiq Abdulkarim said he had been attacked on his way from the Interior Ministry to the General National Congress assembly. "I tell those who did it that Libya is bigger than you and Libya's men will not be threatened by bullets, guns or rockets," Abdulkarim said a two-minute statement on television. Full Story | Top |
| Israeli ruling coalition wobbles as U.S. peace proposal looms Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 07:52 AM PST  By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A pending U.S. framework proposal to propel stumbling Israeli-Palestinian peace talks forward chipped away on Wednesday at a troubled alliance between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and an ultranationalist ally in his governing coalition. No date has been announced for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to unveil his blueprint, but new skirmishing between the prime minister and far-right partner Naftali Bennett suggested crunch time was near. Bennett's Jewish Home party advocates annexation of some of the West Bank - occupied territory that Palestinians seek for a state - and it has threatened to end its partnership with Netanyahu if, he says, any handover of land of biblical significance to Jews were in the offing. In a hard-hitting speech to an international security conference on Tuesday, Bennett aired veiled criticism of Netanyahu - sending a signal that he believed the Israeli leader was primed to accept Kerry's peace guidelines. Full Story | Top |
| Turkey's Erdogan visits Iran to improve ties after split over Syria Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 07:46 AM PST  By Parisa Hafezi ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan visited Iran on Wednesday to bolster trade and energy ties, state TV said, in what also looked like a bid to defuse tensions over Syria by capitalizing on Tehran's diplomatic opening to regional rivals and the West. Iran has been a strong strategic ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since the start of the uprising against him, while Turkey has been one of his fiercest critics, supporting his opponents and giving refuge to rebel fighters. But Iran's election last June of President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate who says he wants to thaw its ties with the West, and shared concern over the rise of al Qaeda in Syria, have spurred hopes of a Turkish-Iranian rapprochement. While deep divisions remain between Ankara and Tehran over the conflict in Syria, diplomats and government officials say both sides want to mend a relationship that could be pivotal to the fast-changing political map of the Middle East. Full Story | Top |
| Marathon confirms small diesel spill into Mississippi river Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 07:28 AM PST (Reuters) - Marathon Petroleum Corp confirmed that two barrels of diesel spilled into the Mississippi river on Tuesday from its 490,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Garyville, Louisiana, refinery. "We responded very quickly to clean it up," a company spokeswoman said in an email. Marathon had reported the spill into the Mississippi river in notices filed with the U.S. National Response Center. (For refinery outages in the Reuters Oil Fundamentals Database see http://bond.views.session.rservices. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israeli general says al Qaeda's Syria fighters set up in Turkey Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 07:25 AM PST By Dan Williams TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Some of the al Qaeda militants going to fight in Syria have bases in neighboring Turkey and can easily access Europe from the NATO member state, Israel's military intelligence chief said on Wednesday. Major-General Aviv Kochavi, presenting a map of the Middle East marked with areas of al Qaeda presence, told a security conference al Qaeda fighters from around the world entered Syria weekly, "but they do not stay" there. The map showed three al Qaeda bases inside Turkey. Full Story | Top |
| IAEA visits Iranian mine as part of nuclear transparency pact Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 07:23 AM PST  DUBAI/VIENNA (Reuters) - U.N. nuclear inspectors visited an Iranian uranium mine for the first time in nearly a decade on Wednesday, Iranian media reported, as Tehran gradually opens up its disputed nuclear program to greater international scrutiny. A three-member team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) went to the Gchine mine near the southern Gulf port city of Bandar Abbas, a spokesman for Iran's atomic energy organization said. The IAEA was last there in 2005. They "are now conducting their inspection," Behrouz Kamalvandi was quoted as saying on the web site of Press TV, Iran's English-language state television. Full Story | Top |
| Russia, U.S. to boost pressure on Syrian delegations in Geneva-RIA Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 06:53 AM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian and U.S. experts agreed on Wednesday to increase pressure on the Syrian government and opposition delegations to reach a compromise at talks in Geneva, state-run RIA news agency cited a diplomatic source as saying. "We agreed that we need to first of all strengthen cooperation with each other and increase pressure so that (the sides) more actively work together and seek a compromise," the source was quoted as saying. (Reporting by Thomas Grove; Editing by Steve Gutterman) Full Story | Top |
| Under Gabriel, Germany's SPD sets the pace in Merkel coalition Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 06:46 AM PST  By Madeline Chambers BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's new vice chancellor Sigmar Gabriel has turned his Social Democrats (SPD) into a driving force in Berlin and so far stolen the headlines from his boss Angela Merkel, still hobbling on crutches after a skiing accident. Determined to push through center-left policies in Europe's biggest economy and boost the SPD's chances of winning the next election in 2017, Gabriel and SPD ministers have set the agenda on issues from pensions to energy and foreign policy. But commentators and even some of Merkel's conservatives say that under Gabriel, the SPD has hit the ground running. "In truth, is Sigmar Gabriel governing us?" asked the top-selling Bild newspaper. Full Story | Top |
| Syria's media put differences aside at foundering peace talks Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 06:43 AM PST By Mariam Karouny GENEVA (Reuters) - Journalists and activists loyal to opposing sides of Syria's civil war have managed something the negotiators at this peace conference haven't - talking to each other. Inside the wood-paneled negotiating room at the United Nations' "Geneva 2" talks, delegates for President Bashar al-Assad and the opposition fighting to topple him do not even address each other, only their mediator Lakhdar Brahimi. After days of ignoring each other, journalists began to make eye contact. Can you say they committed crimes?" The group of journalists and activists ended their exchange by agreeing they all love Syria. Full Story | Top |
| Russian says to consider Kiev government to determine Ukraine aid details Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 06:03 AM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said on Wednesday that Moscow will take changes in the Ukrainian government into consideration when determining the schedule and details of a $15 billion financial aid package to Kiev, the Interfax news agency reported. "Our commitment to fulfilling these obligations has been confirmed. As for the schedule and parameters, this is an issue that requires further discussion with our Ukrainian colleagues and consideration of the restructuring of the government," Ulyukayev was quoted as saying. ... Full Story | Top |
| Government delegation ready to discuss Geneva 1 'paragraph by paragraph': Syrian state TV Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 05:57 AM PST Syrian state television said on Wednesday the government delegation announced its "full readiness" to discuss the Geneva 1 communique, which calls for a transitional government, "paragraph by paragraph" at peace talks. "The Syrian government delegation announced its full readiness and since the beginning to put Geneva on the table and discuss it paragraph by paragraph from the first article," a news bulletin said. Full Story | Top |
| South Africa police fire rubber bullets to disperse AMCU strikers Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 05:33 AM PST South African police used rubber bullets on Wednesday to disperse striking members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union who were blocking a road near Anglo American Platinum's Khuseleka shaft, police said. "In order to remove and disperse group of strikers who were sitting in the middle of the road and blocking the free flow of traffic as well as preventing non-striking workers from going to work, the police had to use four rubber bullets to disperse a crowd," police said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Berlin and Washington still 'far apart' on NSA, Merkel says Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 05:14 AM PST  By Stephen Brown BERLIN (Reuters) - Berlin and Washington are still "far apart" in their views on the U.S. National Security Agency's (NSA) mass surveillance of Germany but they remain close allies, Chancellor Angela Merkel told parliament on Wednesday. "But does that make it right for our closest allies, like the United States or Britain, to access all imaginable data - arguing that it helps their own security and that of their partners?" she said towards the end of a one-hour speech to the Bundestag. "Our views are today far apart," said Merkel, who has spoken with U.S. President Barack Obama about former NSA contractor Edward Snowden's revelations of American and British surveillance of allies. Full Story | Top |
| South Africa platinum talks resume, miners gather for rally Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 05:13 AM PST  By Zandi Shabalala PRETORIA (Reuters) - Miners in South Africa gathered for a rally near Lonmin's Marikana mine on Wednesday as government-brokered talks between the world's top three platinum producers and the striking AMCU union continued. It started last Thursday and has hit around 40 percent of global output of the precious metal. The strike by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) has affected the main South African operations of Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin. Under the battle cry of a "living wage", AMCU is demanding minimum entry-level pay of 12,500 rand ($1,100) a month from the three platinum producers, which would be more than double current levels. Full Story | Top |
| Libyan deputy prime minister survives assassination attempt in Tripoli Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 04:59 AM PST Libya's Deputy Prime Minister Sadiq Abdulkarim survived an assassination attempt in the capital Tripoli on Wednesday, the prime minister's office said. Gunmen opened fire when Abdulkarim was about to enter the interior ministry, which he also heads, officials in the prime minister's office said, without giving further details. The identity of the attackers was unclear, an interior ministry official added. Libya is struggling to contain dozens of militias who helped topple Muammar Gaddafi in a 2011 uprising, but kept their guns and have regularly challenged the authority of the new government. Full Story | Top |
| Norway says time for Uganda to reduce troops in South Sudan Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 04:58 AM PST By Edmund Blair and Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Uganda should start withdrawing troops from South Sudan, where they have been backing government forces against rebels, to avoid worsening a crisis in the world's newest state, major donor Norway said on Wednesday. The comments were the clearest statement of concern from a member of the troika of South Sudan's main Western backers about the impact of Uganda's military presence. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who backed South Sudan's ruling SPLM in its long conflict with Sudan before independence in 2011, sent his troops across the border at Juba's invitation shortly after fighting began in mid-December. Both South Sudan's government and rebels have agreed to a ceasefire and shaky peace talks are due to resume in neighboring Ethiopia on February 7. Full Story | Top |
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