Today's Reuters World News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
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Yemen air raids kill 10 suspected Qaeda militants
Fri,9 Mar 2012 10:31 PM PST
Reuters - SANAA (Reuters) - Air strikes launched by the Yemeni air force on positions of al Qaeda-linked fighters in the south killed 10 militants including some of their leaders, a government source said on Saturday. The raids against the militants, who have expanded their base in southern Yemen during the months of turmoil that eventually ousted the president, targeted Bayda, about 130 km (80 miles) southeast of the capital Sanaa, late on Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
Afghan foreign minister to visit Qatar to discuss Taliban talks
Fri,9 Mar 2012 10:07 PM PST
Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmay Rasool will visit Qatar to meet government officials to discuss reconciliation with the Taliban, a ministry spokesman said on Saturday, a sign the nascent peace process could gain momentum. Rasool is scheduled to leave for Qatar in under ten days, Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
Afghan foreign minister to visit Qatar to discuss Taliban talks
Fri,9 Mar 2012 09:00 PM PST
Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmay Rasool will visit Qatar to meet government officials to discuss reconciliation with the Taliban, a ministry spokesman said on Saturday, in a sign the nascent peace process could gain momentum. Rasool is scheduled to leave for Qatar in under ten days, Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
Afghan officials visit Guantanamo in peace bid
Fri,9 Mar 2012 08:19 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Afghan government delegation visited the Guantanamo Bay military prison this week to secure approval from five Taliban detainees who may soon be moved to Qatar, a sign that the Obama administration is inching closer to establishing peace talks to end the war in Afghanistan. The delegation, which visited the top-security detention center in Cuba on Monday, included Ibrahim Spinzada, a senior foreign policy aide to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, sources familiar with the subject said. ...
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Chinese police shoot dead 4 in raid in Xinjiang: report
Fri,9 Mar 2012 08:15 PM PST
Reuters - SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese police have shot dead four people suspected of making bombs in the far western region of Xinjiang, which has been beset by ethnic strife and violent unrest, Radio Free Asia reported on Saturday. The pre-dawn raid on a farmhouse took place on Thursday after a man was injured while making a bomb at home, which raised suspicions, the U.S.-based broadcaster quoted local police as saying. China has blamed violence in Xinjiang on Islamic separatists who want to establish an independent state called East Turkestan. ... Full Story | Top |
Cocoa smugglers on motorbikes evade Ivorian guards
Fri,9 Mar 2012 05:04 PM PST
Reuters -  OSSEIKRO, Ghana (Reuters) - In the dusty town of Osseikro just inside Ghana's border with Ivory Coast, the only billboard for miles welcomes visitors with the order: "Stop Smuggling Cocoa". But the garish sign, put up by Ghana's cocoa sector body during this year's harvest, has done little to deter smuggling through a town which is a hotspot for the illicit trade. "All of our cocoa is going to Ghana this year because of the prices," said Eric Comoe, head of a cocoa-growers cooperative in the Ivorian town of Abengourou, 30 km (20 miles) over the border. ...
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Thousands rally in Libya against autonomy for east
Fri,9 Mar 2012 05:02 PM PST
Reuters -  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Thousands of people protested in Libya's two biggest cities on Friday in a show of opposition to moves from some in the oil-producing east to declare autonomy from central rule. A group of civic leaders in the eastern city of Benghazi this week said they would run their own affairs, defying the government in Tripoli which is already struggling to assert its authority after Muammar Gaddafi was ousted last year. ...
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Slovak left poised to win election, sink reformists
Fri,9 Mar 2012 04:59 PM PST
Reuters -  BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Leftist former prime minister Robert Fico is poised to sweep to victory in Slovakia's election on Saturday on a pledge to tax the rich and better protect the working class as the country grapples with high unemployment and economic turmoil. Polls show the 47-year-old lawyer could win 40 percent of the vote, potentially knocking his reformist rival Mikulas Dzurinda's centre-right SDKU out of power and possibly out of parliament. ...
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Mideast Quartet to meet amid stalled peace talks
Fri,9 Mar 2012 04:34 PM PST
Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The Quartet of Middle East negotiators - the United States, Russia, the United Nations and European Union - will meet on Monday to discuss the long-stalled peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, the United Nations said. The U.N. press office on Friday said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would meet at U.N. headquarters ahead of a special U.N. Security Council session on the Arab Spring uprisings. ... Full Story | Top |
Israel kills 10 Palestinian militants in Gaza strikes
Fri,9 Mar 2012 04:34 PM PST
Reuters -  GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli air strikes killed 10 militants in the Gaza Strip on Friday and Palestinian gunmen fired more than two dozen rockets at the Jewish state, officials said, in the worst violent flareup along the restive frontier in months. The violence escalated after Israel blew up a car in Gaza City, killing two militant leaders, shortly after two rockets were fired at Israel from the coastal Hamas-ruled territory, officials said. The rockets caused no damage or injury. ...
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Israel kills two more militants in Gaza strike: Hamas
Fri,9 Mar 2012 04:19 PM PST
Reuters - GAZA (Reuters) - Israel killed two militants in the Gaza Strip on Friday after rockets were fired at the Jewish state, Hamas officials said. The reported attack came hours after Israel's military said it had killed two other militant leaders in an air strike. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the new report. (Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan; Editing by Andrew Heavens) Full Story | Top |
U.S. glum on prospects for new U.N. Syria resolution
Fri,9 Mar 2012 04:14 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Friday that, amid ongoing opposition from Russia, it was not optimistic the U.N. Security Council could agree on a new resolution urging an end to the Syrian government's brutal crackdown on its opponents. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that negotiations between the five permanent Security Council members and Morocco - the sole Arab state on the 15-nation council - aimed at agreeing on the language for the U.S.-drafted resolution had made no progress. ... Full Story | Top |
Greece averts immediate default, markets skeptical
Fri,9 Mar 2012 04:12 PM PST
Reuters -  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece averted the immediate threat of an uncontrolled default on Friday when a sufficient number of private creditors agreed on a bond swap deal that will cut the country's public debt and clear the way for a new bailout. With euro zone ministers set to approve the 130 billion euro ($172 billion) rescue, French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared the Greek problem had been settled - just as Germany said that any impression the crisis was over "would be a big mistake. ...
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Police, Islamists wage gun battle in Nigeria's Kano
Fri,9 Mar 2012 04:09 PM PST
Reuters - KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - A gun battle broke out on Friday between suspected Islamist militants and police in Nigeria's biggest northern city of Kano, after gunmen opened fire on a police station, a police spokesman said. At least three police officers were wounded in the attack, spokesman Ibrahim Idris said, adding the area had since been cordoned off. "There was an attack on the police station but we were able to repel them. It is a big area so we can't say anything yet on the casualties," he said. ... Full Story | Top |
Boko Haram spokesman denies link to Nigeria kidnap
Fri,9 Mar 2012 04:09 PM PST
Reuters - MAIDUGURI (Reuters) - A purported spokesman for Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram on Friday denied any part in the kidnapping of a Briton and an Italian who were killed by their captors in northwest Nigeria during a rescue operation. Briton Chris McManus and Italian Franco Lamolinara were kidnapped last May while working for a construction company in northwest Nigeria, and were killed during an attempt to free them by allied Nigerian-British forces on Thursday. ... Full Story | Top |
Italy condemns botched British raid in Nigeria
Fri,9 Mar 2012 04:09 PM PST
Reuters -  ROME (Reuters) - A diplomatic row broke out between London and Rome on Friday over Britain's failure to inform the Italian government before launching a botched hostage rescue mission in Nigeria. The raid resulted in the deaths of a Briton and an Italian held hostage by what Nigerian authorities said was a militant Islamist group. Chris McManus and Italian Franco Lamolinara had been kidnapped last May while working for a construction company in northwest Nigeria. ...
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Annan to meet Assad, seeking end to Syria violence
Fri,9 Mar 2012 03:49 PM PST
Reuters -  BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan meets President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday to press for a political solution to Syria's year-long uprising and bloody crackdown in which thousands of people have been killed. Annan's talks in Damascus come a day after activists said Assad's forces killed at least 68 people as they sought to extend control over the rebellious city of Homs and crush armed opposition in the northern province of Idlib. Arab foreign ministers were also due to hold talks in Cairo with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Russia and China vetoed a U.N. ...
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Israel kills 10 Palestinian militants in Gaza strikes
Fri,9 Mar 2012 03:43 PM PST
Reuters -  GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli air strikes killed 10 militants in the Gaza Strip on Friday and Palestinian gunmen fired more than two dozen rockets at the Jewish state, officials said, in the worst violent flareup along the restive frontier in months. The violence escalated after Israel blew up a car in Gaza City, killing two militant leaders, shortly after two rockets were fired at Israel from the coastal Hamas-ruled territory, officials said. The rockets caused no damage or injury. ...
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U.S. aid agency prepares switch to Afghan security
Fri,9 Mar 2012 03:28 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The main U.S. foreign aid agency is preparing to switch from private security contractors in Afghanistan to Afghan government-provided security this month under a new policy mandated by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, raising concern in Washington that this could put U.S. civilians at greater risk. U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Rajiv Shah says the agency may be able to negotiate waivers from the policy for some major infrastructure projects so that they could continue to have access to private security. But U.S. ...
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Greece averts immediate default, markets skeptical
Fri,9 Mar 2012 03:08 PM PST
Reuters - ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece averted the immediate threat of an uncontrolled default on Friday, winning strong acceptance from its private creditors for a bond swap deal which will eat into its mountainous public debt and clear the way for a new bailout. With euro zone ministers set to approve the 130 billion euro ($172 billion) rescue, French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared the Greek problem had been settled - just as Germany said that any impression the crisis was over "would be a big mistake. ...
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Police, Islamists wage gun battle in Nigeria's Kano
Fri,9 Mar 2012 02:34 PM PST
Reuters - KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - A gun battle broke out on Friday between suspected Islamist militants and police in Nigeria's biggest northern city of Kano, after gunmen opened fire on a police station, a police spokesman said. At least three police officers were wounded in the attack, spokesman Ibrahim Idris said, adding the area had since been cordoned off. "There was an attack on the police station but we were able to repel them. It is a big area so we can't say anything yet on the casualties," he said. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. glum on prospects for new U.N. Syria resolution
Fri,9 Mar 2012 02:17 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Friday that, amid ongoing opposition from Russia, it was not optimistic the U.N. Security Council could agree on a new resolution urging an end to the Syrian government's brutal crackdown on its opponents. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that negotiations between the five permanent Security Council members and Morocco - the sole Arab state on the 15-nation council - aimed at agreeing on the language for the U.S.-drafted resolution had made no progress. ... Full Story | Top |
Boko Haram spokesman denies link to Nigeria kidnap
Fri,9 Mar 2012 01:51 PM PST
Reuters - MAIDUGURI (Reuters) - A purported spokesman for Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram on Friday denied any part in the kidnapping of a Briton and an Italian who were killed by their captors in northwest Nigeria during a rescue operation. Briton Chris McManus and Italian Franco Lamolinara were kidnapped last May while working for a construction company in northwest Nigeria, and were killed during an attempt to free them by allied Nigerian-British forces on Thursday. ... Full Story | Top |
Italy condemns botched British raid in Nigeria
Fri,9 Mar 2012 01:50 PM PST
Reuters -  ROME (Reuters) - A diplomatic row broke out between London and Rome on Friday over Britain's failure to inform the Italian government before launching a botched hostage rescue mission in Nigeria. The raid resulted in the deaths of a Briton and an Italian held hostage by what Nigerian authorities said was a militant Islamist group. Chris McManus and Italian Franco Lamolinara had been kidnapped last May while working for a construction company in northwest Nigeria. ...
Full Story | Top |
Italy condemns botched British raid in Nigeria
Fri,9 Mar 2012 01:49 PM PST
Reuters -  ROME (Reuters) - A diplomatic row broke out between London and Rome on Friday over Britain's failure to inform the Italian government before launching a botched hostage rescue mission in Nigeria. The raid resulted in the deaths of a Briton and an Italian held hostage by what Nigerian authorities said was a militant Islamist group. Chris McManus and Italian Franco Lamolinara had been kidnapped last May while working for a construction company in northwest Nigeria. ...
Full Story | Top |
Cocoa smugglers on motorbikes evade Ivorian guards
Fri,9 Mar 2012 01:20 PM PST
Reuters - OSSEIKRO, Ghana (Reuters) - In the dusty town of Osseikro just inside Ghana's border with Ivory Coast, the only billboard for miles welcomes visitors with the order: "Stop Smuggling Cocoa". But the garish sign, put up by Ghana's cocoa sector body during this year's harvest, has done little to deter smuggling through a town which is a hotspot for the illicit trade. "All of our cocoa is going to Ghana this year because of the prices," said Eric Comoe, head of a cocoa-growers cooperative in the Ivorian town of Abengourou, 30 km (20 miles) over the border. ...
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Analysis:Legal fees in Gulf oil spill deal stir conflict
Fri,9 Mar 2012 12:21 PM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The estimated $7.8 billion settlement reached last week between BP Plc and attorneys for victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill left many details unresolved, but at least one thing looks like a sure bet. The lawyers are gearing up for a fee fight. At the moment, there is nothing yet to battle over. It is unknown how many plaintiffs will participate in the deal and what their claims are worth. But with the pot for lawyers likely to reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars, two distinct groups of attorneys are positioned to lock horns. ...
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Germany wants new debate on EU constitution: minister
Fri,9 Mar 2012 12:19 PM PST
Reuters -  COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Germany wants to reignite a debate over creating an EU constitution to strengthen the bloc's ability to fight off financial troubles and counter-balance the rising influence of emerging economies, Germany's foreign minister said on Friday. Guido Westerwelle said the bloc's Lisbon treaty, drafted after Dutch and French voters rejected a proposed constitution in 2005, was not enough to keep European decision-making structures effective. ...
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Mass pro-democracy protest rocks Bahrain
Fri,9 Mar 2012 11:53 AM PST
Reuters -  MANAMA (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Bahrainis demonstrated on Friday to demand democratic reforms, stepping up pressure on the U.S.-allied government with the biggest protest yet in a year of unrest. They began marching along a highway near Manama in response to a call from leading Shi'ite cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim, who urged people to renew their calls for greater democracy. A live blog showed images of the protesters carrying banners denouncing "dictatorship" and demanding the release of detainees. ...
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Afghanistan and U.S. sign prison transfer deal
Fri,9 Mar 2012 11:44 AM PST
Reuters -  KABUL (Reuters) - The United States and Afghanistan signed an agreement on Friday on the transfer of a major U.S.-run detention centre to Afghan authorities, improving the prospects of a deal allowing long-term American involvement in the country. The Strategic Partnership Agreement, which Washington and Kabul have been discussing for over a year, will be the framework for U.S. involvement in Afghanistan beyond 2014, when the last foreign combat troops are due to leave Afghanistan. Afghan Defense Minister Gen. ...
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Pakistan PM appoints new head of powerful spy agency
Fri,9 Mar 2012 11:28 AM PST
Reuters -  ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani appointed a new director-general of the country's powerful spy agency on Friday, Gilani's office said in a statement, possibly allowing a fresh approach to U.S.-Pakistan relations after 15 months of tension. Lieutenant-General Zaheer-ul-Islam will take over as director-general of the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) after serving as the commander of the V Corps, one of the most important in the army and based in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and its commercial hub. ...
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Thousands rally in Libya against autonomy for east
Fri,9 Mar 2012 10:28 AM PST
Reuters - TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Thousands of people protested in Libya's two biggest cities on Friday in a show of opposition to moves from some in the oil-producing east to declare autonomy from central rule. A group of civic leaders in the eastern city of Benghazi this week said they would run their own affairs, defying the government in Tripoli which is already struggling to assert its authority after Muammar Gaddafi was ousted last year. ...
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Israel kills two more militants in Gaza strike: Hamas
Fri,9 Mar 2012 10:03 AM PST
Reuters - GAZA (Reuters) - Israel killed two militants in the Gaza Strip on Friday after rockets were fired at the Jewish state, Hamas officials said. The reported attack came hours after Israel's military said it had killed two other militant leaders in an air strike. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the new report. (Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan; Editing by Andrew Heavens) Full Story | Top |
U.N. nuclear chief doesn't rule out Iran "cleaning" army site
Fri,9 Mar 2012 09:28 AM PST
Reuters -  VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog does not rule out that Iran may be trying to remove evidence from a military site that inspectors want to visit as part of an inquiry into suspected research relevant to atomic bombs, the agency's chief said on Friday. Yukiya Amano's comments, in an interview with Reuters, came a day after six world powers demanded Iran keep its promise to let international inspectors visit the Parchin military complex. ...
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Sarkozy least popular leader in Europe: poll
Fri,9 Mar 2012 09:19 AM PST
Reuters -  PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy is the least liked of Europe's top five leaders, a poll showed on Friday, confirming the scale of the challenge facing the conservative candidate weeks ahead of his bid for re-election. Sarkozy, who badly trails Socialist rival Francois Hollande in polls of French voting intentions, has battled with dire popularity ratings at home for much of his term, but the survey showed he is also less liked than many of his European peers. "There's a lot of strong feeling about Nicolas Sarkozy. ...
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Libyan government reclaims Gaddafi mansion in London
Fri,9 Mar 2012 09:18 AM PST
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - The Libyan government reclaimed possession from Saadi Gaddafi of a London mansion worth 10 million pounds ($16 million) after a British court ruled on Friday it had been bought using stolen Libyan state funds. Anti-corruption activists said it was the first successful asset recovery case brought to court by a country swept up in the "Arab Spring" uprisings that began more than a year ago. ... Full Story | Top |
Pakistan PM appoints new head of powerful spy agency
Fri,9 Mar 2012 09:00 AM PST
Reuters -  ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani appointed a new director-general of the country's powerful spy agency on Friday, Gilani's office said in a statement, possibly allowing a fresh approach to U.S.-Pakistan relations after 15 months of tension. Lieutenant-General Zaheer-ul-Islam will take over as director-general of the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) after serving as the commander of the V Corps, one of the most important in the army and based in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and its commercial hub. ...
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No quick revival seen for Egypt, Tunisia tourism
Fri,9 Mar 2012 08:56 AM PST
Reuters -  BERLIN (Reuters) - Egypt and Tunisia are unlikely to see tourism - a vital prop for their battered economies - revive anytime soon as holidaymakers continue to shun North African destinations a year after the "Arab Spring" revolutions. Bookings to the two countries collapsed last year after popular uprisings across the Arab world toppled veteran rulers in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, and forced Yemen's president to sign away his powers. ...
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White house: Obama to call Russia's Putin on election win
Fri,9 Mar 2012 08:35 AM PST
Reuters -  ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will speak with Vladimir Putin on Friday, for the first time since weekend elections that will return Putin to Russia's presidency, the White House said on Friday. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One that Obama would telephone the Russian president-elect while en route to a visit to the electoral battleground state of Virginia. ...
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Saudi crown prince in U.S. for medical tests
Fri,9 Mar 2012 08:30 AM PST
Reuters - JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Saudi Crown Prince Nayef, a pivotal figure who supervises the daily affairs of the kingdom, is undergoing "routine tests" at the renowned Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, Saudi television and hospital sources said on Friday. Saudi state television said the prince, who has been the kingdom's interior minister for decades, arrived in Cleveland for scheduled medical tests but did not release any further details. Eileen Sheil, a spokeswoman for the Cleveland Clinic, confirmed his arrival. "He is here, the Crown Prince, for routine tests. ... Full Story | Top |
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