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Monday, November 28, 2011 12:17 AM PST

Today's Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Bomber hits Iraq military base, 11 dead: officials China 2011 inflation to be about 5.5 percent: minister Pakistan fumes amid conflicting accounts of NATO attack "Serious abuses" in Myanmar despite reforms: group Voters queue in Egypt's first post-Mubarak election Congo vote begins despite delay fears, violence Euro area crisis threatens EU sovereign ratings: Moody's Obama to press EU leaders over debt crisis Protests against military rule cloud Egypt election ECB's Noyer: Italy not weak, euro breakup out of PLA researcher says U.S. aims to encircle China Mexico's early frontrunner formalizes presidential bid ECB's Noyer: market confidence in Italy should return Arab sanctions tighten noose on Syria's Assad Mexico eyes legal action against ICC case "slander" Saboteurs blow up Egypt gas pipeline to Jordan, Israel Saboteurs blow up Egypt gas pipeline to Jordan, Israel Congo to vote despite violence Last chance to save Kyoto deal at climate talks Italy's Monti in austerity race as IMF role eyed China keen to invest in Western infrastructure: CIC head Islamists win most seats in Moroccan vote Think-tank proposes short-term euro zone bond fix Egypt vote tests troubled political transition Factbox: Political parties, groups in post-Mubarak Egypt Egypt's new PM says new parliament may change government Factbox: Mexican presidential hopefuls Mexico's early frontrunner formalizes presidential bid Moroccan opposition warns of silent majority Egypt's undecided voters brace for complex poll Rage grips Pakistan over NATO attack Police break up tent protest in Ukraine, one dies Analysis: Deficit flop turns spotlight on tax reform Yemen names interim PM, violence kills at least 25 in north Occupy LA campers face midnight eviction deadline French unemployment rose in Oct, figure "not good": minister French centrist Morin says to run in 2012 election Mexican ruling party smears rivals with drug gangs Protests against military rule cloud Egypt election Republicans to reconfigure budget cuts: lawmaker Bomber hits Iraq military base, 11 dead: officials Sun,27 Nov 2011 11:14 PM PST Reuters - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber struck a military base in the Iraqi town of Taji Monday, killing at least 11 people in the latest attack by insurgents attempting to undermine the government. The attacker detonated a bomb at the entrance to the base, which houses a jail, officials and security sources said. Taji is 20 km (12 miles) north of Baghdad. The attack underscored the fragile state of Iraqi security as Washington pulls its remaining 14,500 troops out by year-end, nearly nine years after the invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein. ... Full Story Top China 2011 inflation to be about 5.5 percent: minister Sun,27 Nov 2011 11:13 PM PST Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China's annual inflation in 2011 is likely to be about 5.5 percent and inflationary pressures will remain next year, Commerce Minister Chen Deming said on Monday. The pace of price rises will overshoot the government's target of 4 percent set earlier this year. Chen also said the country faces risks of further economic slowdown in 2012. (Reporting by Aileen Wang and Kevin Yao; Editing by Ken Wills) Corrects to show minister said inflation could be "about" not "above" 5.5 percent. Full Story Top Pakistan fumes amid conflicting accounts of NATO attack Sun,27 Nov 2011 11:05 PM PST Reuters - ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's military denied reports that NATO forces in Afghanistan came under fire before launching a cross-border attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers over the weekend. "This is not true. They are making up excuses. What are their losses, casualties?" army spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said in a mobile phone text message on Monday. Tensions are running high at a time when deep cooperation is needed between the NATO mission and Pakistan to stabilize Afghanistan as the United States tries to wind up the war there. ... Full Story Top "Serious abuses" in Myanmar despite reforms: group Sun,27 Nov 2011 11:01 PM PST Reuters - BANGKOK (Reuters) - Myanmar soldiers are committing serious human rights abuses including extra-judicial killing and rape in a campaign against guerrillas in the north of the country despite reforms aimed at ending harsh military rule, a relief group said Monday. The abuses could amount to war crimes and Hillary Clinton should bring up the issue in talks this week when she becomes the first U.S. secretary of state to visit Myanmar in five decades, the group Partners Relief and Development said. ... Full Story Top Voters queue in Egypt's first post-Mubarak election Sun,27 Nov 2011 10:41 PM PST Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians queued up to vote Monday in the first big test of a transition born in popular revolutionary euphoria that soured into distrust of the generals who replaced their master, Hosni Mubarak. In the nine months since a revolt ended the ex-president's 30-year rule, political change in Egypt has faltered, with the military apparently more focused on preserving its power and privilege than on fostering any democratic transformation. ... Full Story Top Congo vote begins despite delay fears, violence Sun,27 Nov 2011 10:35 PM PST Reuters - KINSHASA (Reuters) - Voting began in Congo's second-post war election Monday after poll organizers defied fears that a delay would be needed to deal with logistical problems and critics who called for a review because of irregularities. After repeated delays, the run-up to the presidential and parliamentary vote turned violent in the capital at the weekend. Final rallies were canceled due to clashes between rival supporters, security forces opened fire on crowds and the main presidential challenger was prevented from campaigning. ... Full Story Top Euro area crisis threatens EU sovereign ratings: Moody's Sun,27 Nov 2011 10:27 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - Moody's Investors Service warned on Monday the rapid escalation of the euro zone sovereign and banking crisis threatens the credit standing of all European government bond ratings. "While Moody's central scenario remains that the euro area will be preserved without further widespread defaults, even this 'positive' scenario carries very negative rating implications in the interim period," the agency said in a report. ... Full Story Top Obama to press EU leaders over debt crisis Sun,27 Nov 2011 10:23 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will press European Union officials on Monday to reach a definitive solution to their sovereign debt crisis which is emerging as a major 2012 U.S. election worry. As Germany and France scramble to tighten budget controls across the euro zone, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso will face tough questions from Obama at the White House on how much longer the crisis might go on. ... Full Story Top Protests against military rule cloud Egypt election Sun,27 Nov 2011 10:15 PM PST Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Protesters rallied again in Cairo on Sunday to try to evict Egypt's ruling generals, in a trial of strength that has muddied the run-up to Egypt's first vote since a popular revolt deposed former leader Hosni Mubarak. The parliamentary election that gets under way on Monday and Tuesday is the first step in a transfer to civilian rule, promised by the ruling army council that replaced Mubarak. ... Full Story Top ECB's Noyer: Italy not weak, euro breakup out of Sun,27 Nov 2011 09:34 PM PST Reuters - TOKYO (Reuters) - Italy's economy is fundamentally sound and should be able to win back market confidence if it shows fiscal discipline, European Central Bank member Christian Noyer said on Monday, ruling out a collapse of the euro zone because of the sovereign debt crisis. Noyer, also Bank of France governor, said he could not comment on reports that Italy was talking to the International Monetary Fund about possible support if investors continue to push up its borrowing costs. ... Full Story Top PLA researcher says U.S. aims to encircle China Sun,27 Nov 2011 09:28 PM PST Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States clearly wants to encircle China, a prominent Chinese military commentator said on Monday in some of the bluntest criticism of President Barack Obama's recent diplomatic push into the Asia-Pacific region. People's Liberation Army Major General Luo Yuan, well-known for his hawkish views, made the warning in a commentary about Obama's visit to Asia that was published on the website of the People's Daily (www.people.com.cn), the top paper of China's ruling Communist Party. ... Full Story Top Mexico's early frontrunner formalizes presidential bid Sun,27 Nov 2011 07:39 PM PST Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The frontrunner in Mexico's 2012 presidential race pledged on Sunday to break past decades of political paralysis and deliver the country from a deepening spiral of drug violence and sluggish economic growth. Thousands of cheering supporters rallied around Enrique Pena Nieto, the charismatic young ex-governor of Mexico's most populous state, after he registered in Mexico City as the official presidential candidate of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). ... Full Story Top ECB's Noyer: market confidence in Italy should return Sun,27 Nov 2011 06:56 PM PST Reuters - TOKYO (Reuters) - European Central Bank governing council member Christian Noyer said on Monday the level of Italian government debt is high but market confidence should return if the country can demonstrate fiscal discipline. Noyer said he is not in a position to comment on reports about intensifying talks between the International Monetary Fund and Italy about possible assistance. Noyer, also governor of the Bank of France, told a news conference that markets have overlooked the fact that Italy has a primary surplus and a strong industrial base. ... Full Story Top Arab sanctions tighten noose on Syria's Assad Sun,27 Nov 2011 06:51 PM PST Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - The Arab League approved unprecedented economic sanctions against Syria, isolating President Bashar al-Assad's government over its eight-month crackdown on protests against his rule. Britain said the sanctions could help enlist support at the United Nations for action against Damascus, which launched the crackdown against protesters calling for Assad's removal soon after the uprising began eight months ago. The United Nations says Syrian security forces have killed more than 3,500 people in the crackdown. ... Full Story Top Mexico eyes legal action against ICC case "slander" Sun,27 Nov 2011 05:57 PM PST Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico is exploring legal action against activists who asked the International Criminal Court to investigate officials for allowing subordinates to kill and torture civilians as the government battles against drug gangs, President Felipe Calderon's office said on Sunday. Calderon's office called the accusations "absurd" and said the security policy of a democratic state that investigates human rights abuses could not be compared to the war crimes committed by authoritarian states. ... Full Story Top Saboteurs blow up Egypt gas pipeline to Jordan, Israel Sun,27 Nov 2011 04:38 PM PST Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Saboteurs blew up Egypt's gas pipeline to Jordan and Israel on Monday, witnesses and security sources said, a few hours before the country holds its first free election since President Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February. The explosion struck the pipeline west of al-Arish in Sinai, witnesses said. There was a second consecutive blast, about 100 meters away, sources said. State news agency MENA said the explosion was in al-Sabeel area. Security forces and fire trucks raced to the scene. ... Full Story Top Saboteurs blow up Egypt gas pipeline to Jordan, Israel Sun,27 Nov 2011 03:59 PM PST Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Saboteurs blew up Egypt's gas pipeline to Jordan and Israel on Monday, witnesses and security sources said, a few hours before the country holds its first free election since President Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February. The explosion was set off west of al-Arish in Sinai, witnesses said. Security forces and fire trucks raced to the scene. (Reporting by Yusri Mohamed and Dina Zayed; editing by Elizabeth Piper) Full Story Top Congo to vote despite violence Sun,27 Nov 2011 03:55 PM PST Reuters - KINSHASA (Reuters) - Congo plans to push ahead with the country's second-post war election on Monday, defying fears that a delay would be needed due to logistical problems and critics who called for the process to be reviewed because of irregularities. After repeated delays, the run-up to the presidential and parliamentary vote turned violent in the capital at the weekend. Final rallies were canceled due to clashes between rival supporters, security forces opened fire on crowds and the main presidential challenger was prevented from campaigning. ... Full Story Top Last chance to save Kyoto deal at climate talks Sun,27 Nov 2011 03:35 PM PST Reuters - DURBAN (Reuters) - Countries will make a last ditch effort to save a dying Kyoto Protocol at global climate talks starting on Monday aimed at cutting the greenhouse gas emissions blamed by scientists for rising sea levels, intense storms and crop failures. Kyoto, which was adopted in 1997 and entered into force in 2005, commits most developed states to binding emissions targets. The talks are the last chance to set another round of targets before the first commitment period ends in 2012. ... Full Story Top Italy's Monti in austerity race as IMF role eyed Sun,27 Nov 2011 03:27 PM PST Reuters - ROME (Reuters) - Prime Minister Mario Monti faces a testing week seeking to shore up Italy's strained public finances, with an IMF mission expected in Rome and market pressure building to a point where outside help may be needed to stem a full-scale debt emergency. Monti is expected to unveil measures on December 5 that could include a revamped housing tax, a rise in sales tax and accelerated increases in the pension age. But pressure from the markets could force him to act more quickly. ... Full Story Top China keen to invest in Western infrastructure: CIC head Sun,27 Nov 2011 03:22 PM PST Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - China is keen to invest in the ailing infrastructure of Western countries, especially Britain, the chairman and chief executive of the Asian country's sovereign wealth fund wrote in the Financial Times. "Now, infrastructure in Europe and the U.S. badly needs more investment," China Investment Corporation's (CIC) Lou Jiwei wrote in an op ed piece. He said while China had traditionally confined itself to the role of contractor in overseas infrastructure projects, the country's investors now saw a need to invest in, develop and operate such projects. ... Full Story Top Islamists win most seats in Moroccan vote Sun,27 Nov 2011 03:18 PM PST Reuters - RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco's moderate Islamist PJD party won the most seats in the country's parliamentary election, final results showed Sunday, in the latest sign of a resurgence of faith-based movements since the Arab Spring uprisings. The victory for Morocco's Justice and Development Party came a month after Tunisia handed power to a previously-banned party of moderate Islamists. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is also expected to do well in an election starting Monday. ... Full Story Top Think-tank proposes short-term euro zone bond fix Sun,27 Nov 2011 03:08 PM PST Reuters - BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone states should pool their short-term borrowing via a joint fund to enable countries pursuing EU-approved policies, but unable to borrow at normal rates, to access affordable funding, a European think-tank panel proposed on Monday. A group of bankers, economists and market experts from the European League for Economic Cooperation suggested an EMU Bond Fund as a bridging solution to the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis, aimed at restoring market confidence. ... Full Story Top Egypt vote tests troubled political transition Sun,27 Nov 2011 02:53 PM PST Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians vote on Monday in the first big test of a transition born in popular revolutionary euphoria that soured into distrust of the generals who replaced their master, Hosni Mubarak. In the nine months since a revolt ended the ex-president's 30-year rule, political change in Egypt has faltered, with the military apparently more focused on preserving its power and privilege than on fostering any democratic transformation. ... Full Story Top Factbox: Political parties, groups in post-Mubarak Egypt Sun,27 Nov 2011 02:52 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - Egypt starts voting on Monday in its first parliamentary election since President Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February, with more than 50 registered political parties. Details on the most influential parties and groups follow: * FREEDOM AND JUSTICE PARTY The Freedom and Justice Party was set up in April as the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was banned under Mubarak and has emerged as one of the most influential forces. The party has not issued a detailed manifesto. Brotherhood leaders say the party is a civil group that has Islam as a "reference" point. ... Full Story Top Egypt's new PM says new parliament may change government Sun,27 Nov 2011 02:36 PM PST Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Any parliamentary majority that emerges from Egyptian legislative elections may move to install a new government, Egypt's new prime minister-designate Kamal Ganzouri said on Sunday. The comments appeared at odds with remarks by a member of the ruling military council who said on Saturday the new parliament, to be elected in a vote that begins on Monday, would not be able to dismiss the government or pick new ministers. ... Full Story Top Factbox: Mexican presidential hopefuls Sun,27 Nov 2011 02:32 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - The frontrunner in Mexico's 2012 presidential race, Enrique Pena Nieto, formally registered his candidacy to run for the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party on Sunday. Following is a list of the main potential candidates, with the ruling National Action Party nomination still undecided: PAN - SANTIAGO CREEL Interior minister under former president Vicente Fox, Creel is a seasoned politician who lost his party's 2005 nomination to the eventual winner, President Felipe Calderon. ... Full Story Top Mexico's early frontrunner formalizes presidential bid Sun,27 Nov 2011 02:21 PM PST Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The frontrunner in Mexico's 2012 presidential race on Sunday pledged to break past decades of political paralysis and deliver the country from a deepening spiral of drug violence and sluggish economic growth. Thousands of cheering supporters rallied around Enrique Pena Nieto, the charismatic young ex-governor of Mexico's most populous state, after he registered in Mexico City as the official presidential candidate of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). ... Full Story Top Moroccan opposition warns of silent majority Sun,27 Nov 2011 02:18 PM PST Reuters - RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco's parliamentary election shows most people are not interested in King Mohammed's reforms, the main opposition group said, vowing to push ahead with protests to press for a constitutional monarchy and an end to corruption. Final results from Friday's vote, brought forward by almost a year as part of the reform drive, handed the Justice and Development Party (PJD) the second victory for Islamists in the region in the wake of the "Arab Spring" uprisings. Morocco has not had a revolution of the kind seen elsewhere in north Africa and its monarch is still firmly in charge. ... Full Story Top Egypt's undecided voters brace for complex poll Sun,27 Nov 2011 02:07 PM PST Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians go to the polls on Monday for the country's first free parliamentary election in living memory, but many don't know where to vote, let alone who they should vote for. Voters, emerging from decades of oppression, will have to choose between a confusing mass of candidates and rival parties. [ID:nL5E7MQ0CJ] Analysts fear the result of the historic ballot could turn on the last minute decisions of an inexperienced electorate, who have only been given a few weeks to come to grips with a highly complex voting system. "I have never voted before ... ... Full Story Top Rage grips Pakistan over NATO attack Sun,27 Nov 2011 02:03 PM PST Reuters - ISLAMABAD/KABUL (Reuters) - Fury spread in Pakistan Sunday over a NATO cross-border air attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and could undermine the U.S. effort to wind up the war in Afghanistan. Sunday night in Pakistan, more than 40 hours after the incident, many questions remained. NATO described the killings as a "tragic unintended incident" and said an investigation was underway. A Western official and an Afghan security official who requested anonymity said NATO troops were responding to fire from across the border. ... Full Story Top Police break up tent protest in Ukraine, one dies Sun,27 Nov 2011 01:35 PM PST Reuters - DONETSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - One of about 30 protesters who had been on hunger strike in an eastern Ukrainian city over pension cuts died Sunday night after police broke up their tent encampment, the protest leader said. The group were survivors of Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear accident and had been staging their protest in the mining city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine since November 14 after reductions in the state pensions they receive for their part in fighting the 1986 disaster. ... Full Story Top Analysis: Deficit flop turns spotlight on tax reform Sun,27 Nov 2011 12:57 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - For the economy to prosper, major tax reform is emerging as a vital ingredient toward lowering the budget deficit and increasing America's competitiveness. Yet the acrimonious collapse last week of talks in Congress to start fixing the budget deficit has left the country at a political standstill and limits the prospects for a tax overhaul. President Barack Obama and his likely Republican challenger in 2012, Mitt Romney, show little zest for making tax reform a centerpiece of their campaigns which would give them a mandate for overhauling a system riddled with loopholes. ... Full Story Top Yemen names interim PM, violence kills at least 25 in north Sun,27 Nov 2011 12:31 PM PST Reuters - SANAA (Reuters) - Yemen named an opposition leader as interim prime minister on Sunday under a deal aimed at ending months of protests which have brought the country to the verge of civil war. However, unrest continued to plague Yemen with violence between Shi'ite rebels and Sunni Islamists killing at least 25 people in the north - including six foreign citizens, according to the Sunni side. Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi named as premier Mohammed Basindwa, a foreign minister from 1993 to 1994 who later joined the opposition, the state news agency Saba said. ... Full Story Top Occupy LA campers face midnight eviction deadline Sun,27 Nov 2011 12:30 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hundreds of anti-Wall Street protesters who have camped outside Los Angeles City Hall for weeks faced a midnight eviction deadline on Sunday with plans to throw a party they hoped might forestall a raid. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said on Friday that the Occupy LA protesters would be given until 12:01 a.m. on Monday to dismantle their tents, pack up their belongings and clear out -- or face forcible removal. ... Full Story Top French unemployment rose in Oct, figure "not good": minister Sun,27 Nov 2011 11:27 AM PST Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - Unemployment in France rose in October from an 11-year high the previous month, Labor Minister Xavier Bertrand said on Sunday, in more bad economic news for the government five months from elections. Bertrand told LCI television in an interview that France's monthly unemployment figures due to be released on Monday were "not good". "Unemployment is going to rise in October," the minister said. Data for September had shown the number of registered jobseekers in mainland France rose to 2.78 million -- the highest reading since 2.8 million in February 2000. ... Full Story Top French centrist Morin says to run in 2012 election Sun,27 Nov 2011 11:26 AM PST Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - French centrist politician Herve Morin said he would run for the French presidency on Sunday, a move which could eat into the support of conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy at April's election. Morin, a former defense minister who polls see winning only between 1-2 percent of the vote, is the head of the New Center party and has the support of about 20 deputies, senators and European parliamentarians. ... Full Story Top Mexican ruling party smears rivals with drug gangs Sun,27 Nov 2011 11:24 AM PST Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Slowly but surely, drug cartels have ground down support for Mexico's ruling conservatives with a trail of dead over the past five years. Now, President Felipe Calderon's National Action Party (PAN) is trying to use the same gangs as a quick fix for its fading hopes of re-election next year - by painting rivals for the presidency as corrupt and in the pockets of the cartels. ... Full Story Top Protests against military rule cloud Egypt election Sun,27 Nov 2011 10:59 AM PST Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Protesters rallied again in Cairo on Sunday to try to evict Egypt's ruling generals, in a trial of strength that has muddied the run-up to Egypt's first vote since a popular revolt deposed former leader Hosni Mubarak. The parliamentary election that gets under way on Monday and Tuesday is the first step in a transfer to civilian rule, promised by the ruling army council that replaced Mubarak. ... Full Story Top Republicans to reconfigure budget cuts: lawmaker Sun,27 Nov 2011 10:47 AM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans will try to spare defense programs by reconfiguring the $1.2 trillion in spending cuts that are to be triggered starting in 2013 by the collapse of a congressional deficit-cutting committee, a leading Republican senator said on Sunday. "I think there's a broad consensus that too much of the cuts are weighted on our defense's capabilities and would really, really cut in deeply into our ability to defend this nation," said Senator Pat Toomey, a member of the "super committee" that failed last week to reach a deal to reduce the huge U.S. debt. ... Full Story Top

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