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Wednesday, January 4, 2012 8:38 AM PST

Today's Reuters World News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Perry may drop presidential bid after Iowa North Korea military grows stronger, says think-tank China claims success in curbing racy entertainment Syrian rebel leader threatens to escalate attacks Egypt's top Islamist group says will work with rivals Mass. pension fund divests of companies with Iran ties Libya names head of armed forces as militias clash No breakthrough on Mideast peace, talks to go on Egypt economic measures seen possible benchmarks: IMF Battle between Tripoli, Misrata militias kills 4 Israeli government accused of curbing court independence Libya names new head of armed forces U.S. says Egypt stalemate on NGOs "unacceptable" Taliban plan office in Qatar, to improve "understanding" U.S. signals support for new Afghan-Taliban peace moves Three explosions kill 11 in southern Afghanistan U.S. signals support for new Afghan-Taliban peace moves Fire consumes Niger's anti-corruption files White House: Iran's threats are bid to distract from problems Moroccan king names Islamist-led cabinet Egyptians head to polls again in parliament vote Five Islamists, 2 soldiers die in South Yemen fighting Prosecutors open case against Egypt's Mubarak Factbox: Egypt's parliamentary election timetable Head of Syria rebels plans to escalate attacks Exclusive: Pakistan Taliban commanders "at each other's throats" Taliban say office in Qatar has been agreed Iran sentences former president's daughter to jail Greece: Clinch bailout or face euro exit Iran to take action if U.S. carrier returns: Fars agency Iran tells departed U.S. carrier not to return: IRNA Chinese Muslims clash with police over mosque Japan PM eyes election if tax bills don't pass: report Arab League says Syria monitors are helping Santorum sends Iowa caucus rivals scrambling Israelis, Palestinians to meet but prospects bleak Egyptians head to polls again in parliament vote U.S. hopes new Iran sanctions more scalpel than axe Nigerian anger heats up as petrol prices rocket Tens of thousands protest against Hungary government Perry may drop presidential bid after Iowa Tue,3 Jan 2012 10:41 PM PST Reuters - DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Texas Governor Rick Perry, seen just months ago as a strong contender to become the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, said he would reassess his White House bid after a distant fifth place showing in Tuesday's Iowa caucuses. "I have decided to return to Texas, assess the results of tonight's caucus to determine whether there is a path forward for myself in this race," Perry, who had led polls of Republican presidential candidates after he jumped into the race in August but committed a series of gaffes on the campaign trail, told supporters. ... Full Story Top North Korea military grows stronger, says think-tank Tue,3 Jan 2012 10:12 PM PST Reuters - SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's military is growing stronger even as its economy teeters on the brink of collapse, an independent think-tank said Wednesday, calling for better measures to repel the threat from a country that has twice tested a nuclear bomb. Just over two weeks after the reclusive state's leader Kim Jong-il died, North Korea has made it clear its top priority is maintaining a songun, or military-first, policy whereby the army takes precedence over everything else. The Seoul-based Korea Economic Research Institute said in a report that in 2011 North Korea operated a 1. ... Full Story Top China claims success in curbing racy entertainment Tue,3 Jan 2012 07:15 PM PST Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - A campaign to curb "excessive entertainment" by slashing the number of racy programs on Chinese satellite television channels has been successful, state media reported, after President Hu Jintao warned Western culture was out to attack China. The broadcast regulator ordered the two-thirds cutback in October, taking particular aim at dating and talent shows, programs featuring "emotional stories" and those of "low taste. ... Full Story Top Syrian rebel leader threatens to escalate attacks Tue,3 Jan 2012 06:20 PM PST Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - The commander of Syria's armed rebels has threatened to step up attacks on President Bashar al-Assad's forces, saying he was frustrated with Arab League monitors' lack of progress in ending a government crackdown on protests. "If we feel they (the monitors) are still not serious in a few days, or at most within a week, we will take a decision which will surprise the regime and the whole world," the head of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Colonel Riad al-Asaad, told Reuters in an interview. ... Full Story Top Egypt's top Islamist group says will work with rivals Tue,3 Jan 2012 06:17 PM PST Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood said it would not use its success in Egypt's parliamentary election to impose its will on the drafting of a new constitution and would work with all rival political groups on the blueprint. Egyptians go to the polls for a second day Wednesday in the final stage of the election for the lower house of parliament, the first free legislative vote since military officers overthrew the monarchy in 1952. ... Full Story Top Mass. pension fund divests of companies with Iran ties Tue,3 Jan 2012 04:22 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - The Massachusetts public employees pension fund has divested all of its stakes in companies with major ties to Iran's energy industry, joining a campaign to pressure the country to stop developing nuclear weapons, state Treasurer Steve Grossman said on Tuesday. The decision by the nearly $50 billion Massachusetts fund, called Pension Reserves Investment Management, follows similar divestitures by other states including New York, Florida and Georgia, Grossman said by telephone. ... Full Story Top Libya names head of armed forces as militias clash Tue,3 Jan 2012 04:13 PM PST Reuters - TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya on Tuesday named Yousef al-Manqoush, a retired general from the anti-Gaddafi bastion of Misrata, as head of the armed forces in the first significant move to build a new Libyan military. The appointment was announced as four fighters were killed in a gun battle between rival militias in Tripoli, underlining the interim government's difficulties in controlling the increasingly fractious groups who toppled Muammar Gaddafi. ... Full Story Top No breakthrough on Mideast peace, talks to go on Tue,3 Jan 2012 02:47 PM PST Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Israeli and Palestinian negotiators made no breakthrough during their first high-level discussions in more than a year on Tuesday, but agreed to hold further talks in Amman on a confidential basis, Jordan's foreign minister said. Tuesday's talks were aimed at agreeing terms under which the two sides' leaders - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - could resume talks. Negotiations foundered in late 2010 after Israel refused to renew a partial freeze on Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, as demanded by the Palestinians. ... Full Story Top Egypt economic measures seen possible benchmarks: IMF Tue,3 Jan 2012 02:12 PM PST Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday it was still discussing with Egyptian authorities the timing of the IMF mission's visit, adding that economic measures the government had published in June represent possible benchmarks for funding. "We are still discussing with the authorities the exact timing of a mission," the IMF said in a statement released to Reuters. ... Full Story Top Battle between Tripoli, Misrata militias kills 4 Tue,3 Jan 2012 01:35 PM PST Reuters - TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Four fighters were killed in a gun battle between Libyan militias in one of Tripoli's busiest streets on Tuesday, a fresh sign that its new government is struggling to control the increasingly fractious groups that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi. Former rebels from Tripoli controlling a security compound in the capital fought off dozens of fighters from Misrata who were trying to seize a group of prisoners in a gun battle that lasted for more than an hour, medics and former rebels said. ... Full Story Top Israeli government accused of curbing court independence Tue,3 Jan 2012 12:49 PM PST Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conservative government came under attack on Tuesday for promoting legislation that critics said would weaken the independence of Israel's judiciary. Parliament on Monday passed a government-backed amendment that paves the way for a judge perceived by right-wing lawmakers as an ally to be appointed chief of the Supreme Court. In a country that does not have a constitution, the Supreme Court is widely respected as an independent-minded watchdog over the legislature and guarantor of civil rights. ... Full Story Top Libya names new head of armed forces Tue,3 Jan 2012 12:48 PM PST Reuters - TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's transitional authority on Tuesday named Yousef al-Manqoush, a retired general from a bastion of rebels who overthrew Muammar Gaddafi, as the new armed forces chief in the first significant move to build a new Libyan military. The appointment was announced as four fighters were killed in a gunbattle between rival militias in Tripoli on Tuesday, underlining the new government's struggle to control the increasingly fractious groups who toppled Gaddafi. ... Full Story Top U.S. says Egypt stalemate on NGOs "unacceptable" Tue,3 Jan 2012 10:49 AM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Tuesday Egypt's failure to resolve a stand-off over U.S.-backed non-governmental organizations was "unacceptable" and blamed hold-overs from the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak for the crackdown. "We had been assured by leaders within the Egyptian government that this issue would be resolved ... it is frankly unacceptable to us that that situation has not been returned to normal," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. ... Full Story Top Taliban plan office in Qatar, to improve "understanding" Tue,3 Jan 2012 10:38 AM PST Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - The Afghan Taliban said Tuesday they have reached a preliminary agreement to set up a political office in the Gulf nation of Qatar, and asked for the release of prisoners held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay. ... Full Story Top U.S. signals support for new Afghan-Taliban peace moves Tue,3 Jan 2012 10:38 AM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will support Afghan-led efforts to reach a negotiated end to the war with the Taliban, including a possible Taliban political office in the Gulf state of Qatar if that is agreed by all sides, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the United States had not received any formal notification of a Taliban plan to open an office in Qatar, but that it would be willing to consider backing such a plan if it contributed to the goal of an Afghan peace deal. ... Full Story Top Three explosions kill 11 in southern Afghanistan Tue,3 Jan 2012 10:36 AM PST Reuters - KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Three separate explosions killed 11 people and wounded dozens of others in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province on Tuesday, officials said, the latest in a series of attacks in the volatile region. In the first attack, four children and a policeman were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up near a police checkpoint in Kandahar city, said Zalmay Ayoubi, a spokesman for the Kandahar governor. "The bomber was on a motorbike and detonated his explosives before reaching his target," he told Reuters. ... Full Story Top U.S. signals support for new Afghan-Taliban peace moves Tue,3 Jan 2012 10:28 AM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will support Afghan-led efforts to reach a negotiated end to the war with the Taliban, including a possible Taliban political office in the Gulf state of Qatar if that is agreed by all sides, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the United States had not received any formal notification of a Taliban plan to open an office in Qatar, but that it would be willing to consider backing such a plan if it contributed to the goal of an Afghan peace deal. ... Full Story Top Fire consumes Niger's anti-corruption files Tue,3 Jan 2012 10:23 AM PST Reuters - NIAMEY (Reuters) - Arsonists set fire to part of Niger's Justice Ministry on Tuesday, destroying files used in anti-corruption investigations including probes into a number of judges, the government said. The government said the blaze had destroyed paper archives dating back decades as well as information gathered from a hotline that has led to the investigation of around 20 judges in the West African country. Some documents in digital form were saved. The fire is a setback to a drive by President Mahamadou Issoufou to stamp out corruption. ... Full Story Top White House: Iran's threats are bid to distract from problems Tue,3 Jan 2012 10:19 AM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Tuesday Iran's threat to take action if a U.S. aircraft carrier moves into the Gulf showed Tehran was increasingly isolated internationally, faced economic problems from to sanctions and wants to divert attention from its deepening problems. "It reflects the fact that Iran is in a position of weakness," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. (Reporting By Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Vicki Allen) Full Story Top Moroccan king names Islamist-led cabinet Tue,3 Jan 2012 10:08 AM PST Reuters - RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco's King Mohammed awarded the foreign and justice ministries Tuesday to the moderate Islamist party that won a November election but reserved the domestic security portfolio for a veteran conservative close to the monarch. Abdelilah Benkirane, leader of the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), will head up Morocco's first Islamist-led coalition government after his party won 27 percent of parliamentary seats in the November 25 vote. ... Full Story Top Egyptians head to polls again in parliament vote Tue,3 Jan 2012 08:13 AM PST Reuters - MAHALLA EL-KUBRA, Egypt (Reuters) - Party agents flooded the streets with banners and verses from the Koran as the third phase of Egypt's parliamentary election began on Tuesday, with Islamists trying to dominate an assembly that will rival the clout of the ruling generals. The army faced anger over its handling of protests that left 17 people dead in Cairo last month and an economic crisis has made it harder to meet the aspirations of citizens yearning for a better life since the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak. ... Full Story Top Five Islamists, 2 soldiers die in South Yemen fighting Tue,3 Jan 2012 06:22 AM PST Reuters - ADEN (Reuters) - Five Islamist fighters and two Yemeni soldiers were killed on Tuesday, a local official said, in fighting between government forces and an Islamist group that has controlled the capital of a southern province since May. The official said the army shelled fighters from a group calling itself Ansar al-Sharia and exchanged gunfire with them in Zinjibar, in Abyan province. A colonel and another soldier were killed and three other soldiers wounded, he said. ... Full Story Top Prosecutors open case against Egypt's Mubarak Tue,3 Jan 2012 06:15 AM PST Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian prosecutors seeking a conviction against Hosni Mubarak on charges of ordering the killing of protesters took the stand for the first time on Tuesday, criticizing his political record in a session brought to an abrupt end by the presiding judge. The head of the five-member prosecution team said Mubarak, 83, had succumbed to family pressure to arrange a transfer of power to his youngest son, Gamal, who stood alongside his father in a courtroom cage reserved for the accused. ... Full Story Top Factbox: Egypt's parliamentary election timetable Tue,3 Jan 2012 05:09 AM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - Egyptians voted in the third round of a parliamentary election on Tuesday, part of a planned transition from military to civilian rule in the Arab world's most populous country after last year's overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak. The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces will retain power even after a lower house run-off vote ends on January 11, but has promised to hand over to an elected president by July. The lower house election is split into three stages according to region. Two-thirds of the 498 elected seats go to party lists and the rest to individuals. ... Full Story Top Head of Syria rebels plans to escalate attacks Tue,3 Jan 2012 04:46 AM PST Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - The commander of Syrian armed rebels said on Tuesday he was dissatisfied with Arab monitors' progress in halting a military crackdown on protests and threatened to wait only a few days before escalating operations with a new style of attack. "If we feel they (the monitors) are still not serious in a few days, or at most within a week, we will take a decision which will surprise the regime and the whole world," the head of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Colonel Riad al-Asaad, told Reuters. ... Full Story Top Exclusive: Pakistan Taliban commanders "at each other's throats" Tue,3 Jan 2012 04:31 AM PST Reuters - ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Al Qaeda, the Afghan Taliban and Pakistani militants have held a series of meetings aimed at containing what could soon be open warfare between the two most powerful Pakistani Taliban leaders, militant sources have said. Hakimullah Mehsud, the head of the Pakistani Taliban, also known as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and his deputy, Wali-ur-Rehman, were at each other's throats, the sources said. ... Full Story Top Taliban say office in Qatar has been agreed Tue,3 Jan 2012 03:55 AM PST Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - The Afghan Taliban said Tuesday they have reached a preliminary agreement to set up a political office in the Gulf nation of Qatar, and asked for the release of prisoners held at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay. The Taliban office is seen by Western and Afghan officials as a crucial step to moving forward with secretive attempts to reach a negotiated end to a decade of war in Afghanistan. "We are right now ready ... ... Full Story Top Iran sentences former president's daughter to jail Tue,3 Jan 2012 03:41 AM PST Reuters - TEHRAN (Reuters) - The daughter of influential former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was on Tuesday sentenced to jail and banned from political activities for "anti state propaganda" dating back to the 2009 disputed presidential election, Iranian media reported. The Islamic state has piled pressure on the opposition ahead of a parliamentary election in March 2, the first test of the clerical establishment's popularity since the 2009 vote that critics say was rigged to re-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. ... Full Story Top Greece: Clinch bailout or face euro exit Tue,3 Jan 2012 02:09 AM PST Reuters - ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece will have to leave the euro zone if it fails to clinch a deal on a second, 130 billion euro bailout with its international lenders, a government spokesman said on Tuesday. It was an unusually public stark warning from the embattled country, aimed at shoring up domestic support for tough measures and possibly also at the lenders themselves. "The bailout agreement needs to be signed otherwise we will be out of the markets, out of the euro," spokesman Pantelis Kapsis told Skai TV. "The situation will be much worse. ... Full Story Top 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 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 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 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. ... Full Story Top 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. ... Full Story Top 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. ... Full Story Top 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. ... Full Story Top 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. ... Full Story Top 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. ... Full Story Top

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