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| Texas responders extend oil cleanup in Matagorda Bay after spill Friday, Mar 28, 2014 12:34 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Responders from the Matagorda Incident Command Post in Port O'Connor, Texas, extended their cleanup efforts to mitigate the environmental effects of a fuel oil spill that occurred in the Houston Ship Channel last weekend, the Texas City "Y" Response Unified Command said in an update on Friday. Members of the public are discouraged from accessing south Matagorda Island until the command announces that response operations are complete, the agency said. The channel was shut on Saturday when a Kirby Inland Marine fuel oil barge collided with a cargo ship near the entrance to Galveston Bay, spilling 4,000 barrels, or 168,000 gallons (636,000 liters), of heavy, black fuel oil. Full Story | Top |
| At least three killed in Cairo clashes Friday, Mar 28, 2014 12:32 PM PDT At least three people were killed in clashes in Cairo on Friday amid protests by the Muslim Brotherhood, days after hundreds of its Islamist supporters were sentenced to death, official sources said. Newspaper Al Dustour said on its website Mayada Ashraf, one of its journalists, had died covering fighting which security sources said had involved Brotherhood supporters, security forces and residents. Security sources said birdshot had been fired during the clashes. State-run news agency MENA quoted an unnamed interior ministry official as saying four citizens were killed in the clashes, blaming Brotherhood supporters for the deaths. Full Story | Top |
| Obama considers new climate regulations for oil, gas sector Friday, Mar 28, 2014 12:31 PM PDT  By Roberta Rampton and Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Friday it will take a hard look at whether new regulations are needed to cut emissions of methane from the oil and gas industry, part of President Barack Obama's plan to address climate change. The suggestion drew a sharp rebuke from the main oil and gas lobby group. The American Petroleum Institute said its members were already taking steps that will cut emissions and expressed concern that more regulations could put a damper on natural gas drilling by raising costs. But environmental groups said regulations are needed to make sure all players take action to reduce methane emissions. Full Story | Top |
| Kenyan president says tourism sector 'on its knees' after attacks Friday, Mar 28, 2014 12:28 PM PDT  By James Macharia NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's vital tourism sector is "on its knees" after attacks by al Qaeda-linked Islamist militants carried out in retaliation for its intervention in neighboring Somalia, President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Friday. Kenyatta met ethnic Somali leaders and asked for their help in identifying people they thought may be behind attacks that have dented the president's plans to boost the tourism sector in east Africa's biggest economy. Kenya has large Somali communities in parts of the country near the frontier with Somalia and in Eastleigh, a part of the capital Nairobi known as "Little Mogadishu" for its large Somali population. Tourist arrivals in Kenya in the first five months of 2013 were down 15 percent on the previous year as visitors stayed away, worried by attacks blamed on Somalia's al Shabaab rebel group and by fears of trouble around elections in March, which in the event passed off peacefully. Full Story | Top |
| Geopolitical games handicap Malaysia jet hunt Friday, Mar 28, 2014 12:25 PM PDT The search for flight MH370, the Malaysian jetliner that vanished over the South China Sea on March 8, has involved more than two dozen countries and 60 aircraft and ships but been bedeviled by regional rivalries. While Malaysia has been accused of a muddled response and poor communications, China has showcased its growing military clout and reach, while some involved in the operation say other countries have dragged their feet on disclosing details that might give away sensitive defense data. That has highlighted growing tensions in a region where the rise of China is fuelling an arms race, and where several countries including China, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines are engaged in territorial disputes, with the control of shipping lanes, fishing and potential hydrocarbon reserves at stake. The Malaysian Airline jet, which disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, was last officially detected hundreds of miles off course on the wrong side of the Malaysian peninsula. Full Story | Top |
| Obama underlines 'strong' Saudi ties in talks with king: US Friday, Mar 28, 2014 12:16 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason RIYADH (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama underlined Washington's "strong" relationship with Saudi Arabia in talks with King Abdullah on Friday, the White House said, on a visit intended to allay the kingdom's concerns that the decades-old alliance is weakening. The elderly king, accompanied by a number of senior princes, had what appeared to be an oxygen tube connected to his nose at the start of the two-hour meeting at his desert farm at Rawdat Khuraim northeast of the capital Riyadh, witnesses said. Saudi state television showed Obama, accompanied by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Adviser Susan Rice, listening attentively while King Abdullah spoke, gesticulating with both hands as he made a point. Full Story | Top |
| French minister in the soup over 'disgusting' food remark Friday, Mar 28, 2014 11:57 AM PDT  France's trade minister had to eat humble pie on Friday after she was caught on film saying that food served at a state dinner for China's President Xi Jinping was "disgusting". President Francois Hollande and Xi were all smiles at the dinner Wednesday at the Elysee presidential palace. But Foreign Trade Minister Nicole Bricq was unimpressed by the fare that included foie gras, roasted poultry with mushrooms, and a chocolate and caramel dessert. Television cameras caught her telling Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault that the food at the Elysee did not compare with that served at Matignon, the prime minister's office, where she had attended a lunch for Xi. Full Story | Top |
| Turkish opposition struggles to close gap with scandal-hit Erdogan Friday, Mar 28, 2014 11:35 AM PDT By Ayla Jean Yackley DENIZLI, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkey's main opposition party has barely dented support for Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan despite months of anti-government protests, an investigation into government graft and hours of incriminating conversations leaked online. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, head of the Republican People's Party (CHP), at campaign rallies in more than 70 cities around Turkey, has emerged as Erdogan's most dogged public critic over the corruption scandal that has implicated the prime minister, his family and his closest ministers. Yet Erdogan's Islamist-rooted AK Party remains comfortably ahead of the centre-left, staunchly secularist CHP in the countdown to Sunday's municipal elections. Full Story | Top |
| Obama reiterates significance of Saudi ties in talks with king: US Friday, Mar 28, 2014 11:14 AM PDT U.S. President Barack Obama reiterated the significance the United States places on its "strong relationship" with Saudi Arabia in talks with King Abdullah on Friday, a White House statement said. It added that Washington and Riyadh were working together to address critical bilateral and regional issues, including "the crisis in Syria, preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, counterterrorism efforts to combat extremism, and supporting negotiations to achieve Middle East peace". Last year senior Saudi officials warned of a "major shift" away from Washington after bitter disagreements about its response to the "Arab Spring" uprisings, and policy towards Iran and Syria, where Riyadh wants more American support for rebels. "In his meetings with King Abdullah in Riyadh, President Obama reiterated the significance the United States places on its strong relationship with Saudi Arabia, which has endured for over 80 years," the statement said. Full Story | Top |
| Russia criticizes U.N. resolution condemning Crimea's secession Friday, Mar 28, 2014 10:58 AM PDT  Russia said on Friday a U.N. resolution declaring invalid Crimea's Moscow-backed referendum on seceding from Ukraine was counterproductive and accused Western states of using blackmail and threats to drum up "yes" votes. The non-binding resolution passed with 100 votes in favor, 11 against and 58 abstentions in the 193-nation U.N. General Assembly on Thursday, in a vote that Western nations said highlighted Russia's isolation. "This counterproductive initiative only complicates efforts to resolve the domestic political crisis in Ukraine," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Several Western diplomats, however, have said Russia's U.N. envoy led an aggressive lobbying campaign against the resolution in what they said showed how seriously Moscow took the U.N. vote condemning a referendum that led to its annexation of Crimea. Full Story | Top |
| Lithuania to boost defense spending after Ukraine crisis Friday, Mar 28, 2014 10:58 AM PDT With the Ukraine crisis raising concerns in the Baltics, Lithuania will bring its military spending in line with NATO requirements of 2 percent of gross domestic product by 2020, up from 0.8 percent of GDP planned for this year. Lithuanian politicians from the ruling coalition and the opposition will sign a declaration to boost military spending on Saturday, as the country celebrates 10 years since it joined the alliance, the government said on Friday. The move is seen as largely symbolic, as the small Baltic nation contributes only about 0.4 percent of NATO's total military budget but relies on the alliance for its defense. "In the context of the Ukrainian events, Lithuania understands it can expect help from NATO if it is needed," Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius said in an emailed statement. Full Story | Top |
| China takes no sides on Ukraine crisis, Xi tells Europe Friday, Mar 28, 2014 10:56 AM PDT  By Stephen Brown and Annika Breidthardt BERLIN (Reuters) - President Xi Jinping said on Friday China would not take sides with the West or Russia over Ukraine, disappointing any hopes Beijing might add its weight to international pressure on Moscow for annexing Crimea. "China does not have any private interests in the Ukraine question," Xi told a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "All parties involved should work for a political and diplomatic solution to the conflict." China has adopted a cautious response to the Ukraine crisis, not wanting to alienate its ally Russia or make comment directly on a referendum in which Crimea voted to join Russia, lest it set a precedent for restive regions of its own such as Tibet. Full Story | Top |
| Xi says China 'not looking for trouble' in South China Sea Friday, Mar 28, 2014 10:51 AM PDT Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday his country would not act aggressively regarding territorial claims in the South China Sea but was determined to safeguard its interests there. "On the issue of the South China Sea, we will not provoke trouble ourselves but we will not fear troubles provoked by others either," he said in a speech during a visit to Berlin. "When it comes to our sovereignty and territorial integrity we will strongly safeguard these interests," said Xi. China's claims over islands, reefs and atolls in resource-rich waters of the South China Sea have set it directly against Vietnam and the Philippines, while Brunei, Taiwan and Malaysia have claims too. Full Story | Top |
| China's Xi says Japan's wartime atrocities 'fresh in our memory' Friday, Mar 28, 2014 10:50 AM PDT  Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday during a visit to Berlin that Japan's wartime atrocities were still "fresh in our memory". Japan occupied parts of China in the 1930s and 1940s. In December, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe angered China and South Korea by visiting Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which they see as a symbol of Japan's wartime aggression as it honors convicted war criminals as well as others who died in battle. "We Chinese have long held the belief that we should not do onto others as we do not wish they do onto us ... China needs peace like humans need air and plants need water," he said. Full Story | Top |
| Syria spillover taints Turkey poll in border province Friday, Mar 28, 2014 10:43 AM PDT By Humeyra Pamuk HATAY (Reuters) - It is already past lunchtime and souvenir shop owner Halil Santoglu has yet to make a sale - a frequent complaint these days in this once bustling bazaar as the war in nearby Syria wreaks havoc with the economy of Turkey's southern borderlands. Santoglu and other residents of Hatay say Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party has mishandled the Syria crisis and exacerbated its impact on their province, and they plan to punish the party in Turkey's municipal elections on Sunday. "Even if I had the right to vote a thousand times, I would not use one for the AK Party," said Santoglu, 54, in his shop in the Long Bazaar by the Orontes river that divides Hatay, the ancient Antioch, administrative capital of Hatay province. Full Story | Top |
| Latin America likely to embark on needed reforms: IADB Friday, Mar 28, 2014 10:43 AM PDT By Alonso Soto COSTA DO SAUIPE, Brazil (Reuters) - The volatility in global markets buffeting emerging economies could push Latin American nations to move ahead with deep reforms needed to restore their dynamism, the head of Inter-American Development Bank, Luis Alberto Moreno, said on Friday. Moreno said most countries understand that reforms to improve productivity are crucial for the region to return to the annual growth rates of 5 percent over the last decade. "Historically Latin America has been better at dealing with crises than managing the good times," Moreno told Reuters on the sidelines of the IADB's annual meeting in Costa do Saiupe. Precisely because of the volatility, which will likely drag on for the next 18 months, reforms become even more important." Latin America's economy is expected to grow only 3 percent this year after expanding a staggering 6 percent four years ago, according to data from the International Monetary Fund. Full Story | Top |
| Zimbabwe's Mugabe says will boycott EU-Africa summit over wife's visa Friday, Mar 28, 2014 10:33 AM PDT  Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will not attend a European Union-Africa summit next week if his wife is denied a visa to travel with him, his spokesman said on Friday. Mugabe, 90, and his wife Grace are subject to travel bans by the EU because of allegations about human rights abuses and election-rigging but the union allowed Zimbabwe's sole ruler to attend the meeting after pressure from the African Union. The president, and Zimbabwe will not be there if they continue to hold out on the visa," Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba said. Full Story | Top |
| Toronto-area courthouse in lockdown after police officer shot Friday, Mar 28, 2014 10:21 AM PDT A Toronto-area courthouse was in lockdown on Friday after a police officer was shot and taken to hospital, and the suspect was also shot, police and local media reported. The male officer was shot in the late morning at the courthouse in Brampton, Ontario, a city of about 500,000 located just northwest of Toronto. "We can confirm that a party has been shot, the extent of the injuries are not yet known," said a tweet from the local police force Peel Regional Police. A police spokesman was not immediately available for comment. Full Story | Top |
| Merkel tells China's President Xi free expression is vital Friday, Mar 28, 2014 09:36 AM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that she told visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping it was crucial to ensure freedom of expression in both China and Germany. "Broad and free expression of opinion is of course a very important element to promote the creativity of a society, be it in research, culture or civil society," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a joint news conference in Berlin. (Reporting by Stephen Brown and Erik Kirschbaum, Writing by Michelle Martin; Editing by Gareth Jones) Full Story | Top |
| Foreigners escape Taliban siege in Kabul, one Afghan child killed Friday, Mar 28, 2014 09:34 AM PDT  By Mirwais Harooni and Hamid Shalizi KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban gunmen stormed a Kabul guesthouse used by a U.S.-based aid group and held four foreigners hostage for several hours on Friday, just eight days before Afghanistan holds a presidential election which the militant group has vowed to derail. Kabul is already on high alert and people across the country are on edge ahead of an April 5 vote the hardline Islamist movement denounces as a Western-backed sham. The siege of the walled compound, which is also home to a small church, lasted several hours before Afghan security forces killed the last remaining Taliban gunman holed up inside. There were no casualties among foreigners. Full Story | Top |
| Dutch police arrest Balkan war crimes suspect: prosecutors Friday, Mar 28, 2014 09:34 AM PDT Dutch police have arrested a man suspected of war crimes during the 1990s Yugoslav wars after a request for his extradition from Croatia, the public prosecutor said on Friday. Milutin Graic, 41, is accused of being a member of a militia that ethnically cleansed Croats, deporting them from the self-proclaimed statelet of Serbian Krajina, which was carved out of the territory of newly independent Croatia in the early 1990s. Prosecutors said a Croatian court had issued a European arrest warrant for the man, who had been living on the run in the southern city of Roosendaal, near the Netherlands' border with Belgium. Full Story | Top |
| China has no 'private interests' in Ukraine crisis: president Friday, Mar 28, 2014 09:32 AM PDT Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a visit to Berlin on Friday his country has no private agenda in the Ukraine crisis and hoped it would be resolved by political and diplomatic means. "China does not have any private interests in the Ukraine question," Xi told a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "All parties involved should work for a political and diplomatic solution to the conflict." In an U.N. Security Council vote earlier this month on a draft resolution to condemn a Moscow-backed referendum in Crimea, paving the way for the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula to Russia, China's abstention isolated Russia. Full Story | Top |
| Russia expands sanctions against the West: reports Friday, Mar 28, 2014 09:24 AM PDT Russia has retaliated against expanded sanctions imposed by Western countries over its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday without naming any U.S. or European Union officials affected. The United States and the EU have imposed two rounds of visa bans and asset freezes on Russian officials, lawmakers and other allies of President Vladimir Putin to punish Moscow for what Western states say is the illegal seizure of Crimea. "Naturally, such actions cannot be left without a reaction," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Washington state death toll expected to soar Friday, Mar 28, 2014 09:06 AM PDT By Eric M. Johnson and Jonathan Kaminsky ARLINGTON, Wash./DARRINGTON, Washington (Reuters) - Rescue officials said the death toll from a catastrophic mudslide in Washington state is soon expected to climb far higher, as some residents voiced anger that they were prevented from helping in the initial disaster response six days ago. At least 26 people were known to have perished when a rain-soaked hillside collapsed without warning on Saturday, unleashing a deluge of mud that flattened dozens of homes in a river valley near the rural town of Oso, in Snohomish County, some 55 miles northeast of Seattle. Although the remains of 26 people killed by the landslide were known to have been found, local authorities for days have been counting only the first 16 victims recovered and examined by coroners for inclusion in the official death toll. Late Thursday night, Snohomish County officials said an infant whose body was recovered earlier in the day had also now been sent to the medical examiner's office. Full Story | Top |
| NATO names Norway's Stoltenberg as next leader Friday, Mar 28, 2014 09:03 AM PDT  By Adrian Croft BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO chose former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg as its next leader on Friday at a time when the Western military alliance must deal with a resurgent Russia following its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea. Stoltenberg will take over as secretary-general of the 28-nation grouping on October 1, succeeding former Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who has led NATO since 2009. Stoltenberg, the first Norwegian to occupy NATO's top post, will take over at a time when NATO, seen by some as a Cold War relic, has gained new relevance because of concerns about what the Ukraine crisis says about a newly assertive Russia. Full Story | Top |
| Turkish security breach exposes Erdogan in power struggle Friday, Mar 28, 2014 08:51 AM PDT  By Ralph Boulton and Orhan Coskun ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's spymaster discusses possible military intervention in Syria with army and civilian chiefs, and days later their words are broadcast on the internet for all the world to hear. The breach appeared to highlight a disturbing truth for Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan: that Turkey can no longer keep even top-level security planning secret, despite his purge of thousands of officials to root out a covert network of enemies he accuses of trying to sabotage the state and topple him. "This crisis is one of the biggest in Turkish history," a senior government official, who declined to be named, told Reuters. We do not know who is in possession of them." Erdogan was out of public action on Friday, resting his voice strained by campaigning for local elections this weekend - the first in a string that will decide the future of a man who has reformed Turkey fundamentally but is now accused by critics of authoritarian and divisive tendencies. Full Story | Top |
| White House unveils plan to cut methane from oil, gas sector Friday, Mar 28, 2014 08:50 AM PDT  The White House said on Friday it will take a hard look at whether new regulations are needed to cut emissions of methane from the oil and gas industry, part of President Barack Obama's plan to address climate change. Regulators will start by proposing new rules later this year to reduce venting and flaring from oil and gas wells on public lands, said Dan Utech, Obama's top energy and climate aide. The Environmental Protection Agency is going to study this year whether additional broader regulations are needed for methane emissions under the Clean Air Act, Utech told reporters. Full Story | Top |
| Kabul guesthouse siege is over, one child dead: commander Friday, Mar 28, 2014 08:47 AM PDT KABUL (Reuters) - The siege of a Kabul guesthouse used by a U.S.-based aid group ended on Friday after Afghan security forces killed the last Taliban gunman holed up inside, a military commander said. At least one Afghan child was killed, he added. "The fight is over. Five attackers are dead," Qadam Shah Shaheem, commander of 111 Military Corps Kabul, told Reuters. "One detonated his car loaded with explosives, three others detonated explosives attached to their bodies inside the building, and one was shot by security forces. All four foreigners are alive and safe now. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia allocates first funds for Crimea's budget Friday, Mar 28, 2014 08:46 AM PDT By Vladimir Soldatkin MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia approved an initial financial aid package for Crimea on Friday to help the local economy as it consolidates control over the region it annexed from neighboring Ukraine this month. Finance minister Anton Siluanov said on Wednesday that Russia would spend up to 243 billion roubles ($6.82 billion) in Crimea this year, to be financed from the budget reserve. The ultimate cost of its action in Crimea, which has sparked the biggest crisis in East-West relations since the Cold War, is likely to be far higher: analysts in a Reuters poll on Friday slashed their forecasts for Russian economic growth. The government said on Friday it would inject 10.7 billion roubles ($300 million) into Crimea's budget and send a further 2.4 billion to the city of Sevastopol for small and medium-sized firms, social security needs and the economy in general. Full Story | Top |
| 'Mind your own business', North Korea says of U.N. demand for justice Friday, Mar 28, 2014 08:39 AM PDT  By Stephanie Nebehay and Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - "Mind your own business," North Korea's ambassador told the U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday, moments before it voted to demand justice for Nazi-style atrocities in his country. U.N. human rights investigators said last month security chiefs and possibly Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un himself should be tried for ordering systematic torture, starvation and killings, saying the crimes were "strikingly similar" to those committed during World War Two. The United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted a resolution, brought by Japan and the European Union and backed by the United States and South Korea, calling for the U.N. Security Council to seek accountability for those responsible. North Korea, also known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), has observer status with no vote. Full Story | Top |
| Putin says Crimea takeover shows Russian military prowess Friday, Mar 28, 2014 08:27 AM PDT By Alissa de Carbonnel MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin on Friday said Russia's takeover of Crimea showed off its military prowess, as his defence minister reported that the Russian flag was now flying over all military sites on the Black Sea peninsula. In a Kremlin ceremony with senior security officials, Sergei Shoigu told Putin that all Ukrainian servicemen still loyal to Kiev have left the Crimea region, whose annexation by Moscow has led to the worst stand-off with the West since the Cold War. "The recent events in Crimea were a serious test," Putin was shown on state television as saying in an echoing and glided Kremlin hall. "They demonstrated both the completely new capabilities of our Armed Forces and the high morale of the personnel." A deputy head of the Federal Security Service, Alexander Malevany, told Putin at the meeting active measures were being taken to counter what he called growing Western efforts to weaken the Russian state and curb Moscow's influence in its post-Soviet backyard. Full Story | Top |
| Germany dismisses suggestions it's soft on Russia Friday, Mar 28, 2014 08:15 AM PDT By Erik Kirschbaum and Hans-Edzard Busemann BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany is not trying to thwart a more forceful NATO reaction to Russia's seizure of Crimea, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Friday in response to a newspaper report. Brushing aside suggestions aired in the conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) that Germany is "passive and hesitant" in NATO, Steinmeier said he had no desire to enter a "blame game" before NATO foreign ministers meet next week. "I don't understand debates like this taking place in public before the NATO meeting next week," he said when asked about the report, which quoted sources in Brussels as saying Germany had reservations about bolstering NATO in Eastern Europe. Full Story | Top |
| Norway's expert negotiator Stoltenberg to become next NATO chief Friday, Mar 28, 2014 08:14 AM PDT By Balazs Koranyi OSLO (Reuters) - From his youth as an anti-war activist who hurled stones at the U.S. Embassy to his later years as Norway's leading statesman and negotiator, Jens Stoltenberg will take over the reins of NATO with honed skills in both confrontation and compromise. The former prime minister and U.N. climate change envoy will assume the role of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation secretary general from October 1 at a delicate time for the security group over Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region. "If the task for NATO now is to defuse the crisis with Russia over Ukraine, then Stoltenberg will be eminent. Full Story | Top |
| Seven killed in funeral attack in Central African Republic Friday, Mar 28, 2014 08:12 AM PDT BANGUI (Reuters) - At least seven people died in the capital of Central African Republic after a grenade exploded among a crowd of mourners attending a funeral, the African Union peacekeeping mission known as MISCA said on Friday. "The figure for the number who died then and there is seven," MISCA spokesman Orlando Bama said, confirming the incident. The deployment of 2,000 French soldiers and a 6,000 strong African Union peacekeeping mission to the impoverished and landlocked country has so far failed to halt violence. ... Full Story | Top |
| NATO confirms Stoltenberg as next alliance leader Friday, Mar 28, 2014 07:58 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO ambassadors chose former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg as the next leader of the Western military alliance, NATO said on Friday. He will take over as secretary-general from October 1, succeeding Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO said in a statement. Rasmussen said on social media site Twitter that Stoltenberg was "the right man to build on NATO's record of strength and success" and said the Ukraine crisis showed the need for NATO to have continued strong and determined leadership. (Reporting by Adrian Croft; editing by Philip Blenkinsop) Full Story | Top |
| Obama ready to expand covert aid to Syrian opposition: report Friday, Mar 28, 2014 07:55 AM PDT The United States is ready to step up covert aid to Syrian rebels under a plan being discussed with regional allies including Saudi Arabia, according to a Washington Post report. The plan includes CIA training of about 600 Syrian opposition forces per month in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar, foreign affairs columnist David Ignatius wrote on Thursday. The Obama administration was debating whether to use U.S. Special Operation forces and other military personnel in the training, something Syrian rebels have argued would carry less political baggage than the CIA, according to the column. President Barack Obama was en route Friday to Saudi Arabia, which has been a strong supporter of Syria's rebels but has clashed with Washington over how aggressively to intervene in Syria. Full Story | Top |
| Bombardier didn't report Canada jet-fuel spill; cleanup continues Friday, Mar 28, 2014 07:49 AM PDT  By Solarina Ho TORONTO (Reuters) - Bombardier Inc said on Thursday it had spilled 10,000 liters (2,642 gallons) of kerosene in February at its Mirabel plant outside of Montreal in Quebec, but failed to report the accident with environment officials immediately. "Everyone was focused on the decontamination and the process for filing the paper work did not happen immediately," spokeswoman Haley Dunne told Reuters. Full Story | Top |
| France apologies to Morocco after minister searched at Paris airport Friday, Mar 28, 2014 07:49 AM PDT France apologised to Morocco on Friday after the kingdom's foreign minister was searched while transiting at a Paris airport, the latest incident that has strained ties between Rabat and its former colonial ruler. The two countries are already at odds over a row that erupted in February when French police tried to question the head of Rabat's intelligence service during a visit to Paris over accusations his agency was involved in torture. The dispute prompted Morocco to suspend judicial cooperation with France and to summon the French ambassador. According to various Moroccan media reports citing sources, Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar was asked to remove his shoes, vest and belt at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport as he transited from The Hague to Morocco earlier this week. Full Story | Top |
| Nigeria arrests 12 including two Britons for oil theft Friday, Mar 28, 2014 07:33 AM PDT Nigeria has arrested two Britons and 10 of its own citizens on charges of trying to bribe a military officer to facilitate oil theft, the military said on Friday. Oil theft by armed gangs is rampant in Africa's top crude-producing country, with estimates ranging from 100,000 barrels to 250,000 barrels a day lost to so-called "bunkerers". Major-General E.J. Atewe, commander of the mixed military and police Joint Task Force (JTF) for the oil-producing Niger Delta region, said two of the bunkerers, both Nigerian, had gone to an officer to request clearance to move the crude oil. Stories of collusion with the security forces are common and the sheer scale of oil theft in Nigeria would not be possible without systematic collusion by various security agencies, security sources say. Full Story | Top |
| At U.N. climate talks, many seek sterner warnings of GDP losses Friday, Mar 28, 2014 07:31 AM PDT By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent OSLO, March 28 (Reuters) - Many governments want sterner warnings of probable economic damage from global warming in a draft U.N. report due on Monday, saying that existing estimates of trillions of dollars in losses are only part of the picture. A final draft before talks this week among governments and scientists in Japan projected that warming would cut economic output by between 0.2 and 2.0 percent a year by damaging human health, disrupting water supplies and raising sea levels. But many countries reckon that is an underestimate because it excludes risks of catastrophic changes, such as a runaway melt of Greenland's ice, collapse of coral reefs or a drying of the Amazon rainforest that could cause massive economic losses. Trying to address the objections, an updated draft text from the meeting on Friday, obtained by Reuters, adds that impact estimates "do not yet account for catastrophic changes, tipping points, and many other details." "The quoted figures of 0.2 to 2.0 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) are at best an under-estimate, and at worst completely meaningless," a note by the British government said before the meeting, faulting the draft for omitting many risks. Full Story | Top |
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