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Iran to take action if U.S. carrier returns: Fars agency
Mon,2 Jan 2012 11:49 PM PST
Reuters - TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's army chief said the Islamic Republic would take action if the U.S. aircraft carrier that recently left the area returned to the Gulf, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Tuesday. "I advise, recommend and warn them (the Americans) over the return of this carrier to the Persian Gulf because we are not in the habit of warning more than once," Fars quoted Ataollah Salehi as saying. (Created by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Tim Pearce) Full Story | Top |
Iran tells departed U.S. carrier not to return: IRNA
Mon,2 Jan 2012 11:35 PM PST
Reuters - TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's army chief told the United States that a U.S. aircraft carrier which left the area because of Iranian naval exercises should not return to the Gulf, the state news agency reported on Tuesday. "Iran will not repeat its warning ... the enemy's carrier has been moved to the Sea of Oman because of our drill. I recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf," Ataollah Salehi told IRNA. (Created by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Tim Pearce) Full Story | Top |
Ex-warlord warns of S.Nigeria backlash at Boko Haram
Mon,2 Jan 2012 11:35 PM PST
Reuters -  PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (Reuters) - Southern Nigerians could take up arms to fight northern Boko Haram Islamists, and are holding back only out of respect for the president, a former militant leader from the oil-rich Niger Delta said on Monday. Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, a Muslim who led a rebellion in the delta until a peace deal with the government in 2004, said bomb attacks by Boko Haram could provoke retaliation by mostly Christian southerners, including those living in the delta. ...
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Sudan shuts Islamist paper in media crackdown
Mon,2 Jan 2012 11:33 PM PST
Reuters - KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan shut the newspaper of the country's largest Islamist opposition party on Monday, the latest step in a growing crackdown on independent media in the large African country. Security forces raided offices belonging to the daily al-Rai al-Shaab newspaper run by the Popular Congress Party of Hassan al-Turabi. They told staff that publication would be halted and the paper's assets confiscated, the party said. "They haven't given us any reason for the decision. They are now occupying the newspaper's building," said party spokesman Naji Dahab. ... Full Story | Top |
Egyptians head to polls again in parliament vote
Mon,2 Jan 2012 11:30 PM PST
Reuters -  MAHALLA EL-KUBRA, Egypt (Reuters) - Egyptians voted in the third round of a parliamentary election on Tuesday that has so far handed Islamists the biggest share of seats in an assembly that will be central in the planned transition from army rule. Islamist groups came late to the uprising that unseated President Hosni Mubarak in February, but were well placed to seize the moment when Egyptians were handed the first chance in six decades to choose their representatives freely. ...
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Egyptians head to polls again in parliament vote
Mon,2 Jan 2012 11:25 PM PST
Reuters -  MAHALLA EL-KUBRA, Egypt (Reuters) - Egyptians voted in the third round of a parliamentary election on Tuesday that has so far handed Islamists the biggest share of seats in an assembly that will be central in the planned transition from army rule. Islamist groups came late to the uprising that unseated President Hosni Mubarak in February, but were well placed to seize the moment when Egyptians were handed the first chance in six decades to choose their representatives freely. ...
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Chinese Muslims clash with police over mosque
Mon,2 Jan 2012 10:39 PM PST
Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - Hundreds of Muslims in a northwestern China village trying to prevent the demolition of their mosque clashed with police, causing several deaths, Hong Kong media and residents said on Tuesday. Fighting between police and members of the largely Muslim Hui ethnic group broke out on Friday in Ningxia region, adjacent to Inner Mongolia province, after authorities declared their newly built mosque illegal, the South China Morning Post said. Hundreds of residents in Taoshan village confronted police armed with teargas, truncheons and knives, the newspaper said. ... Full Story | Top |
Rupert Murdoch splashes opinions on Twitter
Mon,2 Jan 2012 10:17 PM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has rung in the New Year with a new Twitter account that includes praise for Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum and opinions on President Barack Obama's policies and the Steve Jobs biography. By Monday night, just two days after he started his Twitter account, the 80-year-old chief of News Corp had already issued more than 20 tweets and acquired 74,000 followers. Teri Everett, a spokeswoman for News Corp, confirmed the Twitter account (http://twitter.com/#!/rupertmurdoch) was Murdoch's. ...
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Tight race in Iowa kicks off 2012 campaign
Mon,2 Jan 2012 10:03 PM PST
Reuters -  DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Iowa Republicans cast the first votes of the 2012 White House campaign on Tuesday, with Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul in a high-stakes battle to win the party's kick-off nominating contest. Voters will gather in schools, libraries and other public spots across the state to render judgment in the frequently shifting Republican race to pick a challenger to President Barack Obama in the November 6 election. Santorum, a conservative former U.S. ...
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BP seeks spill costs from Halliburton
Mon,2 Jan 2012 08:41 PM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - BP called on its contractor Halliburton on Monday to pay all costs and expenses the oil major incurred to clean up the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, according to a court filing by BP's lead trial attorney. BP has spent $14 billion in the Gulf Coast region in its response to the spill and set aside $20 billion for economic claims and natural resource restoration, according to its website. The filing did not give a figure on the amount of damages BP is seeking from Halliburton, which provided cement contracting services on the Macondo well project. ...
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Japan PM eyes election if tax bills don't pass: report
Mon,2 Jan 2012 08:37 PM PST
Reuters - TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda wants to call a snap general election if parliament does not approve bills needed for a sales tax increase, the Sankei newspaper reported Tuesday. Japan is saddled with public debt twice the size of its $5 trillion economy and Noda wants to double the sales tax to 10 percent by October 2015 to help fund its ballooning social welfare programs. ... Full Story | Top |
Bachmann seeks miracle in presidential race
Mon,2 Jan 2012 07:24 PM PST
Reuters -  OSKALOOSA, Iowa (Reuters) - Facing colossal odds in the Republican nomination race, presidential candidate Michele Bachmann cast her struggle in Biblical terms on Sunday in a late attempt to win over conservative voters. Bachmann spoke from the pulpit of a small church in rural Iowa, telling the congregation about a small group of Israelites who emerged victorious from a battle in which they were outmatched in numbers and weaponry. ...
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Arab League says Syria monitors are helping
Mon,2 Jan 2012 03:57 PM PST
Reuters -  BEIRUT (Reuters) - The head of the Arab League has said its peace monitors are helping to ease a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in Syria, but urged President Bashar al-Assad's government to carry out a peace plan in full. Meanwhile army defectors whose armed insurgency has threatened to overshadow the peaceful popular uprising captured dozens of members of the security forces by seizing two checkpoints Monday, the opposition said. ...
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Santorum sends Iowa caucus rivals scrambling
Mon,2 Jan 2012 03:52 PM PST
Reuters -  DES MOINES (Reuters) - With time running out, rivals of surging Republican Rick Santorum raised doubts about his conservative record on Monday in hopes of heading off a last-minute victory by the former senator a day before Iowa kicks off the 2012 presidential election season. Santorum, a second-tier candidate until a jump in the polls last week, claimed the momentum as he and the other Republican candidates barnstormed across Iowa making final arguments and trying to bolster turnout ahead of Tuesday's Iowa caucuses. ...
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After endorsing Romney, S.C. governor feels heat
Mon,2 Jan 2012 03:42 PM PST
Reuters -  COLUMBIA, South Carolina (Reuters) - In South Carolina, the governor's mansion is on the grounds of a former arsenal that was burned down by the Union army during the Civil War. These days, that attack in the 1860s seems a metaphor for the besieged tenure of Republican Governor Nikki Haley. Elected last year as a symbol of the conservative Tea Party's rise in U.S. politics, the embattled Haley has had a rocky transition from government critic to government executive -- and potential player in the 2012 presidential campaign. Democrats and Republicans alike accuse her of being petty and distant. ...
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Israelis, Palestinians to meet but prospects bleak
Mon,2 Jan 2012 03:24 PM PST
Reuters -  AMMAN (Reuters) - Israeli and Palestinian negotiators meet in Jordan Tuesday alongside international mediators trying to revive their stalled peace talks, but neither side is raising hopes they can end more than a year of deadlock. Negotiations stalled in late 2010 after Israel refused to renew a partial freeze on Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, as demanded by Palestinians. The Palestinians say they cannot hold talks while Israel cements its hold on land it captured in a 1967 war and on which they intend to establish an independent state. ...
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Egyptians head to polls again in parliament vote
Mon,2 Jan 2012 03:17 PM PST
Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians vote Tuesday in the third round of a parliamentary election that has so far handed Islamists the biggest share of seats in an assembly that will be central in the transition from army rule. Islamist groups came late to the uprising that unseated president Hosni Mubarak in February, but were well placed to seize the moment when Egyptians were handed the first chance in six decades to choose their representatives freely. ...
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U.S. hopes new Iran sanctions more scalpel than axe
Mon,2 Jan 2012 03:00 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has armed itself with some of the toughest sanctions yet targeting Iran but must carefully assess how to avoid catching energy-importing allies such as Japan, South Korea and India in the crossfire. President Barack Obama signed the law on Saturday imposing sanctions on financial institutions that deal with Iran's central bank, the main clearinghouse through which OPEC's No. 2 oil exporter deals with clients around the world. The new U.S. ...
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Lufthansa warns EU scheme to raise fares
Mon,2 Jan 2012 02:34 PM PST
Reuters -  FRANKFURT/PARIS (Reuters) - Germany's Lufthansa told passengers on Monday to brace for higher ticket prices as it refuses to shoulder the costs of a carbon trading scheme at the centre of a brewing trade spat. The world's second largest long-haul carrier after Dubai's Emirates said it faced 130 million euros ($169 million) in extra costs this year and became the first major operator to announce possible surcharges since the EU scheme took effect on January 1. The increases will not go into effect straightaway. ...
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Police arrest man in string of Los Angeles fires
Mon,2 Jan 2012 01:49 PM PST
Reuters -  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Police arrested a man on Monday in connection with a wave of 53 arson fires targeting cars and structures, which caused more than $2 million in damages and left nerves in the second-largest U.S. city badly frayed. Police declined to identify the man but said he was taken into custody in Hollywood early Monday morning after a sheriff's deputy spotted him driving a van similar to one being sought in connection with the fires. ...
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Codelco seeks to lock in Anglo mining stake
Mon,2 Jan 2012 12:57 PM PST
Reuters - SANTIAGO, Jan 2 - Chile's state copper giant Codelco said on Monday it exercised a disputed option to buy a stake in Anglo American's south Chile mining assets, but is willing to consider taking a smaller stake if Anglo proposes a formula that safeguards its full value. Anglo last year announced it had sold a 24.5 percent stake in the assets to Japan's Mitsubishi , which Anglo said halved Codelco's potential 49 percent stake. The move surprised world No. 1 copper producer Codelco, along with investors. ... Full Story | Top |
Venezuela shrinks nationalization payment to Exxon
Mon,2 Jan 2012 12:52 PM PST
Reuters -  CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's PDVSA said on Monday it will pay Exxon Mobil Corp $255 million in compensation for nationalized assets - less than a third of what the U.S. oil giant said it was awarded by an arbitration panel. The South American OPEC member's state oil company issued a defiant statement saying it was deducting debts owed by Exxon, including PDVSA's repurchase of bonds linked to the nationalized project. That cut down the panel's original award of $908 million, PDVSA said, adding it would make the payment within 60 days. ...
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Nigerian anger heats up as petrol prices rocket
Mon,2 Jan 2012 12:49 PM PST
Reuters - ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian motorists and unions vented their anger Monday at a sudden more than doubling of fuel prices, a day after government subsidies were removed in a sweeping economic reform that could trigger mass protests. Opposition leaders, unionists and local rights groups have condemned the move by the state's fuel regulator, which they say will hike the prices of goods at a time when many Nigerians, the majority of whom live on less than $2 per day, already find basic commodities too expensive. ... Full Story | Top |
Tens of thousands protest against Hungary government
Mon,2 Jan 2012 12:36 PM PST
Reuters -  BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Hungarians protested in Budapest on Monday against the government and its new Basic Law in a show of anxiety over what they see as the ruling Fidesz party's moves to weaken democratic institutions and cement its powers. Centre-right Fidesz, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, won a two-thirds majority in elections in 2010 and has rewritten a large body of law since, drawing accusations at home and abroad that it has undermined democratic checks and balances. ...
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Factbox: Three early voting states in presidential election
Mon,2 Jan 2012 11:41 AM PST
Reuters - (Reuters) - Voters kick off the 2012 nominating process to pick the Republican Party's challenger to Democratic President Barack Obama with the Iowa caucuses on Tuesday, followed by primaries in New Hampshire and South Carolina on January 10 and January 21. The three contests are some of the most watched events in the election process. Here are a few facts about them. IOWA * Iowa has been first in the nominating process since 1972 when Iowa Democrats changed the date to meet new rules intended to encourage participation. ... Full Story | Top |
"Father Christmas" stabbed to death in Tajikistan
Mon,2 Jan 2012 11:08 AM PST
Reuters - DUSHANBE (Reuters) - A young man dressed as "Father Frost" - the Russian equivalent of Father Christmas - was stabbed to death in Tajikistan on Monday in an attack police believe was motivated by religious hatred, two police sources said. A crowd attacked 24-year-old Parviz Davlatbekov and stabbed him with a knife as he visited relatives in the early hours of Monday dressed as Father Frost, who by tradition brings Russian children presents at New Year. Russian cultural influence remains strong in Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic. ... Full Story | Top |
Deadly Turkish strike felt by Kurdish refugees in Iraq
Mon,2 Jan 2012 11:06 AM PST
Reuters -  MAKHMOUR, Iraq (Reuters) - Seventeen years away from their homes in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast have done little to diminish their longing to return, but for a group of refugees in Iraq, the killing of 35 relatives by Turkish jets last week showed why it was not safe to go back. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has promised a full investigation into the air strikes close to the Iraqi border that killed 35 mostly teenage smugglers. ...
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Tunisia seeks guarantee to extradite Libyan ex-PM
Mon,2 Jan 2012 11:04 AM PST
Reuters -  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki told Libya on Monday that his country would extradite former Libyan prime minister Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi to Tripoli to face charges of abuse of office if Libya guaranteed him a fair trial. Mahmoudi, who had been prime minister since 2006, fled across the border to Tunisia soon after Muammar Gaddafi's rule collapsed in August. ...
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Analysis: Blocs pursue short-term fixes for Iraq political crisis
Mon,2 Jan 2012 09:51 AM PST
Reuters -  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Looking to step back from the brink, Iraq's fractious political blocs are working on short-term solutions to cool a crisis that threatened a slide back into sectarian strife, but fundamental differences may be left to smolder. Political leaders from Sunni Muslim, Shi'ite Muslim and Kurdish factions are looking to a national conference this month and the courts to defuse hostilities triggered when Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called for the arrest of Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi after the last U.S. troops left. "People are talking about dialogue. ...
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Bahrain says to review some verdicts over unrest
Mon,2 Jan 2012 09:30 AM PST
Reuters -  DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahrain said on Monday it would create a judicial panel to review some verdicts a military court issued over anti-government demonstrations mounted last year by the country's Shi'ite Muslim majority and crushed by the Sunni-led kingdom. A statement carried by the official news agency BNA said the move was a response to recommendations of an inquiry into the turmoil commissioned by the Bahraini government. ...
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Sarkozy, Merkel to meet as Europe seeks crisis exit
Mon,2 Jan 2012 08:17 AM PST
Reuters -  PARIS (Reuters) - France's Nicolas Sarkozy will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on January 9 for talks that are likely to centre on new rules to enforce budget discipline across the European Union. The two leaders are anxious to flesh out a plan agreed at a December summit by all EU members except Britain for a new treaty to forge closer fiscal integration, as Europe battles to stem a sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone. The French president's office announced the upcoming meeting but gave no further details. ...
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Up to 50,000 flee South Sudan violence: U.N.
Mon,2 Jan 2012 08:08 AM PST
Reuters - KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Up to 50,000 people have fled violence in a remote border area of South Sudan, the United Nations said on Monday, after days of clashes between two tribes. South Sudan became independent in July last year under a 2005 peace deal with Khartoum to end decades of civil war. But the new nation is struggling to build state institutions and stop rebel and tribal bloodshed that has killed thousands. On Monday, some 6,000 armed members of the Lou Nuer tribe attacked the remote town of Pibor in Jonglei state bordering north Sudan after days of clashes with the rival Murle tribe, U. ... Full Story | Top |
New York firebomb attacks hit mosque, Hindu site
Mon,2 Jan 2012 12:38 PM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York police are investigating as bias crimes four Molotov cocktail attacks on Sunday night including one against a mosque with 75 people inside and another against a Hindu place of worship. No injuries were reported. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday assigned state law enforcement officials to assist the New York City investigation, saying the attacks "go against everything we stand for as New Yorkers and Americans," and the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the attacks. ...
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American awaits verdict after Iran spy trial: report
Mon,2 Jan 2012 08:00 AM PST
Reuters - TEHRAN (Reuters) - The trial in Iran of an American who confessed in detention to being a CIA spy has ended and he is awaiting the verdict, the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted a judicial official as saying on Monday. Amir Mirza Hekmati, a 28-year-old of Iranian descent, could face the death penalty if found guilty of cooperating with a hostile government and spying for the CIA. He was arrested in December. Iran's Intelligence Ministry accused Hekmati of receiving training at U.S. bases in neighboring Afghanistan and Iraq. ... Full Story | Top |
New York firebomb attacks hit mosque, Hindu site
Mon,2 Jan 2012 07:56 AM PST
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York police are investigating as bias crimes four Molotov cocktail attacks on Sunday night including one against a mosque with 75 people inside and another against a Hindu place of worship. No injuries were reported. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday assigned state law enforcement officials to assist the New York City investigation, saying the attacks "go against everything we stand for as New Yorkers and Americans," and the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the attacks. ... Full Story | Top |
Libyans linked to Gaddafi can't run in election: draft
Mon,2 Jan 2012 07:46 AM PST
Reuters -  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libyans with ties to ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi will be banned from running in elections under a bill drafted by the country's new rulers. Academics who wrote about Gaddafi's "Green Book," containing his musings on politics, economics and everyday life, will also be barred from running under the draft law, published online by the National Transitional Council (NTC) on Sunday night. ...
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Gingrich says in race to stay no matter Iowa result
Mon,2 Jan 2012 07:23 AM PST
Reuters -  WATERLOO, Iowa (Reuters) - Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich pledged on Sunday to stay in the race for the Republican nomination regardless of the results of this week's caucuses in Iowa where he is dropping dramatically in opinion polls. Gingrich, who was the top candidate in the state only weeks ago, has taken a tumble after a barrage of negative-themed ads funded primarily by groups that support rival Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor. ...
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Saudi Arabia seeks arrest of 23 Shi'ites for unrest
Mon,2 Jan 2012 07:23 AM PST
Reuters - RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has ordered the arrest of 23 Shi'ite Muslims in the kingdom's Eastern Province who it says were responsible for unrest that has led to shootings and protests in recent weeks, the Interior Ministry said on Monday. The Sunni-ruled kingdom accused the wanted men of serving the agenda of a foreign power, usually a reference to its Shi'ite rival Iran which Riyadh sees as fomenting sectarian unrest to destabilize the region. "We do have evidence of a relationship with somebody else abroad," Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Mansour Turki told a news ... Full Story | Top |
UK's Cameron to tackle "excess" City pay
Mon,2 Jan 2012 07:16 AM PST
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday he would clamp down on "excess" pay in London's financial sector as part of what he said should be bold measures to boost the country's fortunes. "While a few at the top get rewards that seem to have nothing to do with the risks they take or the effort they put in, many others are stuck on benefits, without hope or responsibility," he said in a New Year message. "So we will tackle excess in the City just as we're reforming welfare to make work pay and support families. ... Full Story | Top |
Syrian rebels capture troops in north: activists
Mon,2 Jan 2012 07:11 AM PST
Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - Armed Syrian rebels captured dozens of members of the security forces by seizing two military checkpoints in the northern province of Idlib on Monday, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. It said the army deserters also clashed with security forces at a third checkpoint, killing and wounding an unspecified number of troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. Rami Abdelrahman, director of the British-based Observatory, said Monday's operation took place in the Jabal al-Zawiyah region of Idlib. ... Full Story | Top |
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