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| U.N. seeks sanctions waiver to ship arms to Mali via Ivory Coast Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 12:33 PM PDT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations is seeking an exemption from a U.N. Security Council arms embargo on Ivory Coast so it can ship weapons and military equipment across the East African nation to its peacekeeping mission in landlocked Mali, a spokesman said on Thursday. The statement came after U.N. sanctions monitors called for the world body to stop allowing arms to be shipped to the U.N. mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, through Ivory Coast after they said a load of military hardware sent by China violated U.N. restrictions. Full Story | Top |
| Putin says annexation of Crimea partly a response to NATO enlargement Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 12:12 PM PDT President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said Russia had been forced to respond to NATO enlargement and that its annexation of Crimea, home to its Black Sea Fleet, was partly influenced by the Western military alliance's expansion into eastern Europe. Putin said Moscow will respond if the United States moves ahead with plans to base elements of a missile defense shield in eastern Europe, accusing Washington of fuelling a Cold War-style arms race. Full Story | Top |
| Iran cuts sensitive nuclear stockpile, key plant delayed: IAEA Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 12:11 PM PDT  By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has acted to cut its most sensitive nuclear stockpile by nearly 75 percent in implementing a landmark pact with world powers, but a planned facility it will need to fulfill the six-month deal has been delayed, a U.N. report showed on Thursday. The monthly update by the International Atomic Energy Agency , which has a pivotal role in verifying that Iran is living up to its part of the accord, made clear that Iran so far is undertaking the agreed steps to curb its nuclear program. In Washington, the State Department said the United States has taken steps to release a $450 million installment of frozen Iranian funds following the issuance of the report. In addition, Japan has made two more payments totaling $1 billion to Iran for crude imports, two sources with knowledge of the transactions said. Full Story | Top |
| Nigerian state says most abducted schoolgirls still missing Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 12:08 PM PDT By Lanre Ola MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigeria's northeast Borno state said on Thursday only 20 of up to 129 schoolgirls abducted by Islamist rebels were back with their parents, casting doubt on a military claim to have freed most of them. The armed forces said in a statement on Wednesday that most of the schoolgirls abducted by Islamist rebels from the Boko Haram group had been freed in a military rescue operation. Monday's mass abduction of the schoolgirls aged between 15 and 18 shocked Nigeria, a nation growing increasingly inured to tales of horror from its bloody insurgency in the northeast The raid on the Chibok school showed how the five-year-old Boko Haram insurgency has brought lawlessness to swathes of the semi-arid, poor region. The principal of the school has so far received (them)," Borno state Education Commissioner Inuwa Kubo told Reuters by telephone from the school. Full Story | Top |
| Islamist militants kill 30 in attacks around Iraq Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 11:54 AM PDT By Raheem Salman BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Suspected Sunni Muslim militants killed at least 30 people around Iraq on Thursday including 12 soldiers in an assault on a remote army base in the north, deepening insecurity with a national election just two weeks away. Sectarian bloodshed has increased since the Shi'ite Muslim-led Baghdad government began an offensive against insurgents, some of them affiliated with al Qaeda, dug in around Falluja and Ramadi in the western province of Anbar. Early on Thursday morning, gunmen disguised in Iraqi military uniforms drove armored vehicles, including Iraqi army Humvees, up to a small military base outside Mosul and opened fire, killing 12 soldiers and wounding about a dozen, army and police officers said on condition of anonymity. The region around Mosul has been a stronghold of the al Qaeda-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group. Full Story | Top |
| Armed mob under guise of peaceful protest attacks U.N. in South Sudan Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 11:50 AM PDT A mob of armed civilians pretending to be peaceful protesters delivering a petition to the United Nations in South Sudan forced their way into a U.N. base sheltering some 5,000 civilians on Thursday and opened fire, the world body said. A U.N. source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least 20 people had been killed and 60 wounded in the attack on the base in Bor in northern Jonglei state, where there are Indian and South Korean U.N. peacekeepers. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said dozens of civilians were wounded, but the exact number of people killed or wounded had not yet been confirmed. "This attack on a location where civilians are being protected by the United Nations is a serious escalation," Dujarric said. Full Story | Top |
| French troops free five aid workers kidnapped in Mali Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 11:47 AM PDT BAMAKO/PARIS (Reuters) - French troops in Mali on Thursday freed five local aid workers kidnapped in February, the presidents of France and Mali said in a joint statement. Four of the aid workers work for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The statement said the aid workers were freed near the northern town of Timbuktu and were in good health. It was not clear at the time who seized the aid workers and the statement did not give any further details, beyond saying they had been captured by a "terrorist group". Full Story | Top |
| Four-way talks call for end to Ukraine violence Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 11:39 AM PDT  By Arshad Mohammed and Alexei Anishchuk GENEVA/MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States, Russia, Ukraine and European Union together called on Thursday for an immediate halt to violence in Ukraine, where Western powers believe Russia is fomenting a pro-Russian separatist movement. Washington immediately warned Moscow that it would face further sanctions if it did not carry out the agreement, reached in four-party crisis talks in Geneva. Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking in Moscow, accused Ukraine's leaders of committing a "grave crime" by using the army to try to quell unrest in the east of the country, and did not rule out sending in Russian troops. Full Story | Top |
| Algeria's Bouteflika poised to win re-election Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 11:30 AM PDT  By Patrick Markey ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerians voted on Thursday in an election President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is expected to win after 15 years in power, despite speaking only rarely in public since suffering a stroke in 2013. With the dominant National Liberation Front (FLN) party, allied movements and unions behind him, many Algerians believe Bouteflika, 77, is almost assured of victory and another five years governing the North African OPEC state. Appearing in public for one of the few times since his illness, Bouteflika voted sitting in a wheelchair in Algiers' El Biar district. Algeria under Bouteflika has been seen as a partner in Washington's campaign against Islamist militancy in the Maghreb and a stable supplier of around a fifth of Europe's gas imports. Full Story | Top |
| NATO to send ships to Baltic to bolster defense of eastern European allies Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 11:23 AM PDT By Adrian Croft BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO is sending part of its naval rapid reaction force to the Baltic Sea as part of a drive to step up the defense of eastern European allies in response to the crisis in Ukraine, the military alliance said on Thursday. Separately, Canada said it had offered six CF-18 fighter planes as its contribution to NATO efforts to beef up its presence in eastern Europe and reassure nervous allies there that NATO would protect them in the event of any Russian aggression. NATO, the 28-member alliance dominated by the United States, has made clear it does not plan to get involved militarily in Ukraine, which is not a NATO member. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine says Putin destabilizing country, wants to wreck election Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 11:21 AM PDT By Natalia Zinets KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's prime minister on Thursday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of building a terrorist network in Ukraine to destabilize it and wreck its presidential election next month. Arseny Yatseniuk launched the broadside after Putin accused the Kiev government in his annual televised phone-in of dragging Ukraine into the "abyss" and said Moscow might not recognize next month's Ukrainian election. Full Story | Top |
| Armed men put Putin on the air in eastern Ukraine Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 11:08 AM PDT By Thomas Grove ANDRIYIVKA, Ukraine (Reuters) - Armed men took over a television tower in eastern Ukraine on Thursday and switched it to Russian channels playing an almost non-stop stream of sound-bites from a marathon TV phone-in by Russian President Vladimir Putin. TV engineers accompanying the men then took Ukrainian channels off the air and replaced them with five Russian channels. The channels included Russia 1, Russia 24 and ORT - some of the most popular state-controlled channels - which were broadcasting clips of Putin's TV phone-in. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. releases $450 million of frozen Iranian funds after IAEA report Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 11:03 AM PDT The United States has taken steps to release a $450 million installment of frozen Iranian funds following a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verifying that Iran is living up to its part of a landmark nuclear pact with world powers, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said that "all sides have kept the commitments made" under the agreement. She said that "as Iran remains in line with its commitments," the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China, Russia and the European Union "will continue to uphold our commitments as well." The report by the U.N. nuclear agency showed that Iran had - as stipulated under the November 24 agreement - diluted half of its higher-grade enriched uranium reserve to a fissile content less prone to bomb proliferation. Tehran has also continued to convert the other half of its stock of uranium gas refined to a 20 percent fissile purity, the IAEA report said. Full Story | Top |
| Obama, Merkel discuss Ukraine crisis in call Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 10:58 AM PDT President Barack Obama spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel by phone on Thursday about the situation in Ukraine, the offices of both leaders said. Obama and Merkel agreed during the call that Russia should use its influence on armed groups in eastern Ukraine to calm the situation, a German government spokeswoman said on Thursday. "Both shared their worries given current developments in eastern Ukraine, so they called on Russia to help contribute to a de-escalation," the spokeswoman, Christiane Wirtz, said in an email. "They said Russia in particular should use its influence on armed groups in eastern Ukraine to calm the situation," Wirtz said. Full Story | Top |
| Putin, Erdogan discuss Ukraine crisis, Crimean Tatars and energy Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 10:57 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday discussed the turmoil in Ukraine and the situation in Crimea including issues involving the Muslim, Turkic-speaking Tatar minority, the Kremlin said. In a telephone call initiated by the Turkish side, Putin and Erdogan also discussed bilateral ties between the two Black Sea nations, including in the energy sector. Crimean Tatars largely opposed Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine last month. (Writing by Steve Gutterman; Editing by Robin Pomeroy) Full Story | Top |
| Kosovo PM urges vote on new war crimes court but calls it insult Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 10:54 AM PDT  By Fatos Bytyci PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo's premier has summoned parliament to vote on creating an EU-backed special court to try ethnic Albanian ex-guerrillas accused of harvesting organs from murdered Serbs during the Balkan state's 1990s war, but criticized the plan as an insult. The move stems from a 2011 report by Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty alleging that Kosovo Albanian guerrillas fighting a war of independence from Serbia had smuggled the bodies of Serbs into Albania and removed their organs for sale. "This issue is completely unfair and an insult for the state of Kosovo," Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, who was the political chief of the old Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), said on Thursday. Full Story | Top |
| Obama says U.S. will provide South Korea any help needed in ferry accident Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 10:51 AM PDT President Barack Obama on Thursday expressed condolences to the families of the victims of the South Korean ferry sinking and said the U.S. military will provide the country with any help it needs to perform rescue operations. "South Korea is one of our closest allies, and American Navy personnel and U.S. Marines are already on the scene assisting with the search and rescue efforts," Obama said. "As I will underscore on my visit to Seoul next week, America's commitment to our ally South Korea is unwavering - in good times and in bad," he said. Full Story | Top |
| Turkish ruling party wants Erdogan presidential bid: officials Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 10:36 AM PDT  By Orhan Coskun ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's ruling party would overwhelmingly back Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's candidacy in the nation's first direct presidential election, senior officials said on Thursday, a move his opponents fear would feed his autocratic instincts. But Erdogan has said the popular vote will give the post more authority, and he has vowed to exercise its full powers if elected. A majority of the 300 deputies in Erdogan's AK Party voted in a secret ballot on Wednesday in favor of him running in the August presidential election, party officials told Reuters. His party's strong showing in local elections last month, despite a corruption scandal dogging his inner circle, has strengthened expectations he will do so. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry: Russia made no commitments on Ukrainian debt, gas prices Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 10:36 AM PDT U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday Russia had not promised to ease Ukraine's debt or gas prices and suggested any withdrawal of Russian troops from its borders depended on steps to protect the rights of minorities. "(Russia made) no commitments with respect to the debt, no commitments with respect to the gas payments overdue, but a commitment to engage in a dialogue ... which will begin to tackle the whole question of energy," Kerry told reporters. Full Story | Top |
| Clear Kiev protesters first, says pro-Russian sit-in group Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 10:28 AM PDT Pro-Russian separatists occupying a local government building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk said on Thursday they would not leave until supporters of Ukraine's new government quit their camp around Kiev's main square, known as the Maidan. Asked how his group would react to an international accord in Geneva under which the Ukrainian and Russian governments agreed that illegal occupations of buildings and squares must end, Alexander Zakharchenko, a protest leader inside the Donetsk regional government building, told Reuters by telephone: "If it means all squares and public buildings then I guess it should start with the Maidan in Kiev. Full Story | Top |
| U.S., EU say still at loggerheads with Russia over Crimea Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 10:23 AM PDT The United States and European Union still have a significant difference with Russia over the status of Crimea, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Thursday, as they reached a deal at the end of talks with Russia on measures to stabilize Ukraine. Both Kerry and Ashton said it was "crystal clear" that such differences remained, and Kerry said Russia had "illegally" taken over the peninsula from Ukraine last month and the United States had not given up on it. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry: more sanctions on Russia if it does not calm Ukraine tension Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 10:21 AM PDT GENEVA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday there would be additional sanctions on Russia if it did not act within days to calm tensions in Ukraine, where the West accuses Moscow of fomenting separatist unrest. "These next days will be very important to making judgments," Kerry told reporters. "If there is not progress over the course of these next days, and we don't see a movement in the right direction, then there will be additional sanctions, additional costs as a consequence." (Reporting By Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Robin Pomeroy) Full Story | Top |
| Church must be open to sick, homeless, pope says on Holy Thursday Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 10:12 AM PDT  By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, starting four packed days culminating in Easter, said the Catholic Church must always be a refuge for the needy and later washed the feet of 12 disabled people at a traditional Holy Thursday ceremony. In the morning, Francis, who regularly urges priests to shun material comforts or the desire to climb clerical career ladders, led the first of two solemn services on the day that Christians commemorate the founding of the priesthood by Jesus. In the grandeur of St. Peter's Basilica, he celebrated a "Mass of the Chrism" during which he and priests renewed the vows they took on the day of their ordination and he blessed oils to be used in administering sacraments during the year. Full Story | Top |
| Burundi orders U.N. security adviser out after violence warning Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 10:01 AM PDT Burundi ordered a security adviser at the United Nations mission in the country to leave on Thursday, escalating a row that started with a warning by the U.N. last week of a possible outbreak of political violence. Government officials in the tiny central African state reacted angrily to the warning by the U.N. mission on Wednesday, saying it was baseless and had possibly been made to justify an extension of its mandate beyond its December expiry date. The warning was linked to a political crisis over planned changes to the constitution that could allow President Pierre Nkurunziza to run for a third term. "A senior security adviser for the UN mission in Burundi has 48 hours to leave the country," said Willy Nyamitwe, deputy spokesman for Burundi's president. Full Story | Top |
| Turkish parliament approves wider spy agency powers Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 10:00 AM PDT ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's parliament on Thursday approved a law boosting the powers of the secret service (MIT), a move seen by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's critics as a bid to tighten his grip on the apparatus of state as he wages a bitter power struggle. The changes ratified by parliament, which is dominated by Erdogan's AK Party, give the MIT more scope for eavesdropping and foreign operations, as well as greater immunity from prosecution for top agents. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S., Russia, Ukraine, EU call for end to Ukraine violence Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 09:54 AM PDT The United States, Russia, Ukraine and the European Union on Thursday together called for an immediate halt to violence in Ukraine, where Western powers believe Russia is fomenting a pro-Russian separatist movement. Separatists attacked a Ukrainian national guard base overnight and Kiev said three of them were killed, the worst bloodshed yet in a 10-day pro-Russian uprising. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. to send Ukraine's military medical supplies, helmets Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 09:51 AM PDT By Phil Stewart and Missy Ryan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Thursday it would send Ukraine's armed forces medical supplies, sleeping mats and other non-lethal aid, seeking to signal support for Kiev while stopping far short of adding any U.S. weaponry to a deepening standoff with Russia. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel made the announcement at the Pentagon as Kiev grapples with a pro-Russia uprising that has seen fighters seize whole swathes of Ukraine while Moscow masses tens of thousands of troops on the frontier. Hagel voiced deep concern over "Russia's ongoing destabilizing activities in eastern Ukraine." "De-escalation has been our focus and Russia must take steps to make that happen," he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who overturned decades of post-Cold War diplomacy last month by declaring Russia had a right to intervene in neighboring countries and annexing Ukraine's Crimea region, accused the authorities in Kiev on Thursday of plunging the country into an "abyss." Hagel said he spoke on Thursday with his Ukrainian counterpart to inform him of additional non-lethal military assistance, including helmets and water purification units for Ukraine's armed forces. Full Story | Top |
| Putin talks tough on Ukraine but says he hopes for peace Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 09:29 AM PDT By Alissa de Carbonnel and Alexei Anishchuk MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine's leaders on Thursday of committing a "grave crime" by using the army to try to quell unrest in the east of the country, and did not rule out sending in Russian troops. But, addressing Russians in his annual televised phone-in, Putin said he hoped he would not need to take such a step, and that diplomacy could succeed in resolving the standoff, the worst crisis in East-West relations since the Cold War. The former KGB spy's rhetoric on the United States was, as is customary for him, firm and uncompromising, but he also gave clear signals that he did not want to get into a spiraling war of words with Washington. He said Russia has no interest in reviving Cold War-era divisions, even if it felt threatened by NATO's eastward expansion and was angered by U.S. interventions in Iraq, Libya and Syria that had gone ahead over the Kremlin's objections. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine local boss puts price on head of Russian 'saboteurs' Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 09:15 AM PDT By Pavel Polityuk and Alastair Macdonald KIEV (Reuters) - A billionaire regional governor in eastern Ukraine put a $10,000 bounty on the head of any Russian "saboteur" on Thursday and pledged a reward for the Ukrainian troops who shot protesters at their base overnight. Aides to banking and energy tycoon Igor Kolomoisky, who was appointed last month by the new government in Kiev to run the industrial region of Dnipropetrovsk, also offered payments for weapons handed in to the local authorities and a reward of $200,000 for anyone who "liberated" an occupied public building. It was the latest in a cascade of piecemeal initiatives from Ukrainian leaders since pro-Russian militants - backed, Kiev says, by special forces sent by Moscow - seized facilities in the nearby regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. It also highlighted the role of wealthy business "oligarchs" in Ukraine's politics - and in its relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine restricts Russians' entry, Moscow threatens retaliation Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 09:11 AM PDT KIEV/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Thursday it will impose stricter border controls on Russian men trying to enter the country, where separatist rebellions have broken out, prompting Moscow to threaten retaliation. The Kiev government, which has accused Moscow of stirring up trouble in the largely Russian-speaking east, said it would target checks on "men of an active age" due to "possible provocations". However, any restrictions on movements between the neighboring states - which share close cross-border family and business ties - risk aggravating a crisis which erupted when pro-Moscow Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich was ousted in February and Russian troops seized control in Crimea. Russian airline S7 said three passengers on flights from Moscow to the Ukrainian city of Odessa had been turned back, the Interfax news agency reported. Full Story | Top |
| Russia's South Stream pipeline splits EU energy policy Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 09:09 AM PDT  By Henning Gloystein LONDON (Reuters) - Russia's South Stream gas pipeline is splitting European Union energy policy as EU leaders look to block the project while some member states see it as a solution to supply disruptions via Ukraine. The EU has sought for years to reduce its reliance on Russian gas imports, and Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region has focused minds further. Yet some within the bloc argue that Russia has been a reliable energy provider and blame its decision to cut off supplies in 2006 and 2009 on Ukraine, through which almost half of Russia's gas for Europe passes. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine asks ICC to investigate alleged crimes in late 2013-early 2014 Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 08:52 AM PDT Ukraine on Thursday invited the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into any serious international crimes that may have been committed on its territory in late 2013 and early 2014, the court said in a statement. The invitation, in the form of a declaration accepting the court's jurisdiction for the period between November 21 and February 22, does not ask the court to investigate Russia's formal military involvement in Ukraine's Crimea province, which began on February 27. Ukraine's parliament earlier this year urged the ICC to investigate crimes allegedly committed by former President Viktor Yanukovich in an attempt to put down the protests that eventually toppled him and drove him into Russian exile. Full Story | Top |
| Iraqi Kurds entrench political faultline with Syria border ditch Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 08:29 AM PDT By Isabel Coles ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi Kurds are digging a 17-km (10-mile) trench on their border with Syria, reinforcing a political faultline between the two rival parties that dominate on either side of the frontier. Iraqi Kurdish authorities say the ditch, which is approximately 3 meters deep and 2 meters wide, will help reduce smuggling and keep Islamist militants out of their relatively stable region as war grinds on in Syria. But the Kurdish group that controls the Syrian side of the border says the ditch is designed to tighten a blockade against its enclave, and force it to submit to the authority of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Iraq. Whatever the motive, the ditch is highly symbolic, fortifying one of the frontiers regarded by many Kurds as a historic injustice that carved their ethnic homeland up into four parts spread across Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria. Full Story | Top |
| Top diplomats working on Ukraine statement, no agreement yet Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 08:26 AM PDT The United States, Russia, Ukraine and the European Union are working on a joint statement about the crisis in Ukraine but they have not reached any agreement and talks are continuing, a Western official said on Thursday. "The parties are working on a joint statement about the path forward, but they are not there yet and the meeting is ongoing," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, as the U.S., Russian, Ukrainian and EU foreign ministers met in Geneva. Full Story | Top |
| Pistorius trial adjourns until May, state mauls forensic expert Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 08:12 AM PDT  By Siyabonga Sishi PRETORIA (Reuters) - The murder trial of Olympic and Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius was adjourned on Thursday until May 5 after the state wrapped up three days of punishing cross-examination of a forensic expert brought by the defense. Judge Thokozile Masipa granted the state's request for a postponement to avoid conflicts with other cases. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel - nicknamed "The Pitbull" for his aggressive style - tore into defense witness Roger Dixon, questioning his credibility and expertise. Pistorius, 27, is on trial for the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, whom he shot dead with four rounds from a 9mm pistol on Valentine's Day last year in his plush Pretoria house. Full Story | Top |
| Saudi activist sentenced to 15 years in jail for protests: lawyer Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 08:11 AM PDT A judge on Thursday sentenced a Saudi blogger and activist to 15 years in jail for taking part in protests and defaming the kingdom by communicating with foreigners and through publishing articles on the Internet, his lawyer said. Fadhel al-Manasef, 26, is the latest activist to be convicted this week on charges which international human rights groups and activists in the kingdom say are part of a new drive to curb political, religious and social dissent. The Special Criminal Court in the capital Riyadh also fined Manasef 100,000 riyals ($26,700) and barred him from traveling abroad for 15 years after he completes his sentence, the lawyer, Waleed Sulais, told Reuters by email. Sulais said the court found Manasef guilty of charges that included incitement and participation in demonstrations, writing articles against state security and posting them online, signing an anti-government petition and contacting foreign judicial and media outlets without authorization and taking reporters to protests and giving them harmful information on the kingdom. Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen kidnap Tunisian diplomat in Libya Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 08:04 AM PDT A Tunisian diplomat was kidnapped on Thursday in the Libyan capital Tripoli, Libya's foreign ministry said, two days after gunmen seized Jordan's ambassador. The weak government has been unable to disarm former rebels and Islamist militants who fought to depose leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and who have formed increasingly powerful and violent militias. A spokesman for the Libyan foreign ministry said it was unclear who was behind the kidnapping of the Tunisian diplomat, the second to have been seized within one month. An official in Tunisia's foreign ministry said: "We cannot confirm that he has been kidnapped but we have been unable to contact him." The same official said the missing diplomat is called Aroussi Gantassi and works as an adviser at the Tunisian embassy in Tripoli. Full Story | Top |
| Runaway spy Snowden is surprise guest on Putin phone-in Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 07:50 AM PDT By Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) - Edward Snowden, the fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor who leaked details of U.S. intelligence eavesdropping, made a surprise appearance on a TV phone-in hosted by Vladimir Putin on Thursday, asking the Russian president if his country also tapped the communications of millions. The exchange was the first known direct contact between Putin and Snowden since Russia gave the American refuge last summer after he disclosed widespread monitoring of telephone and internet data by the United States and fled the country. Snowden was not in the studio with Putin, who angered U.S. President Barack Obama by refusing to send the American home to face espionage charges. Snowden, 30, wearing a jacket and open-collar shirt and speaking before a dark background, asked Putin: "Does Russia intercept, store or analyze, in any way, the communications of millions of individuals?" "And do you believe that simply increasing the effectiveness of intelligence or law enforcement investigations can justify placing societies, rather than subjects, under surveillance?" he asked. Full Story | Top |
| NATO says sending ships to Baltic to bolster defense of East European allies Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 07:48 AM PDT NATO is sending part of its naval rapid reaction force to the Baltic Sea as part of measures to step up the defense of its eastern European allies in response to the Ukraine crisis, the alliance said on Thursday. A multinational group of five small ships - four minesweepers and a support vessel - will be sent to the Baltic Sea "for the foreseeable future", a spokesman for NATO's Maritime Command said. NATO has made clear it does not plan to get involved militarily in Ukraine, which is not a NATO member. But it said on Wednesday it would send more ships, planes and troops to eastern Europe to reassure allies worried by Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region. Full Story | Top |
| Dutch rightist Wilders blames EU for Ukraine crisis; hints at UKIP alliance Thursday, Apr 17, 2014 07:38 AM PDT  By Thomas Escritt and Anthony Deutsch THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders blamed the crisis in Ukraine on the European Union on Thursday, accusing it of inciting violence by dangling the "carrot" of EU integration. Weeks ahead of European Parliament elections likely to hand big gains to rightists, Wilders also said British Eurosceptic party UKIP - which has so far shunned his staunchly anti-Muslim Freedom Party - would choose to work with him after the polls. "Europe is responsible for a lot of the mess here," Wilders said of Ukraine. Full Story | Top |
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