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Monday, May 28, 2012 12:03 AM PDT

Today's Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Syrian bombardment of Hama kills 41: opposition Zanzibar Islamists burn churches, riot: police No strict sharia in Mali's independent north: rebels Sudan's Bashir ready to pull troops from Abyei: Carter Egypt presidential election body weighs complaints Tunisia governor 'seeks firing of central bank governor' Analysis: With or without euro, Europe must raise its game Another ousted China party chief challenges case against him U.N. Security Council condemns Syria over massacre Tibet capital sees first anti-China self-immolations Wounded war veterans find brotherhood in softball Republican resigns from labor board in ethics flap Britain's Blair faces grilling over ties to Murdoch China's Huawei, ZTE face EU action on telecom subsidies: FT U.N. Security Council condemns Syria over massacre Blair faces grilling over ties to Murdoch Britain's Blair faces grilling over ties to Murdoch Egypt presidential election body weighs complaints U.N. Security Council condemns Syria over massacre Fresh from defeat, Serbia's Tadic poised for PM Spain may recapitalize Bankia with government debt: source U.N. confirmed use of heavy artillery, tank shells in Houla U.N. says estimates at least 108 dead in Syria massacre Nepal faces fresh turmoil after charter deadline missed Shelling on Syrian opposition centre of Hama kills 30 Syria opposition criticizes U.N. on Houla massacre U.N. Security Council meets on Syria massacre, Russia skeptical No strict sharia in Mali's independent north: MNLA rebels Moscow police arrest dozens at Occupy-style rally Iran not ready for visit to suspect nuclear site Syria massacre deserves condemnation: Russian diplomat Hezbollah "deplores" Houla massacre in Syria White House: Houla killings a "vile testament" to Syria regime NATO has fight on its hands in Afghanistan: Panetta Bahrain convicts six of plotting with Iran Bowles: Not interested in top Treasury job Merkel's lead over German opposition slumps: poll Lawmakers work with Simpson-Bowles for tax deal France Telecom acquires 94 percent of Egypt's Mobinil: bourse Egypt presidential election body weighs complaints Syrian bombardment of Hama kills 41: opposition Sun,27 May 2012 11:42 PM PDT Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - The Syrian army's bombardment of the city of Hama has killed at least 41 people in the past 24 hours, an opposition group in the city said on Monday. Syrian tanks and infantry fighting vehicles opened fire on several neighborhoods of Hama on Sunday after a series of attacks by rebel Free Syrian Army fighters on roadblocks and other positions manned by President Bashar al-Assad's forces, opposition sources said. The dead included five women and eight children, the Hama Revolution leadership Council said in a statement. The report could not be independently verified. ... Full Story Top Zanzibar Islamists burn churches, riot: police Sun,27 May 2012 11:30 PM PDT Reuters - DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Hundreds of supporters of a separatist Islamist group set fire to two churches and clashed with police during protests in Zanzibar over the weekend against the arrest of senior members of the movement, police and witnesses said. Police accused the Uamsho (Awakening) group of ordering its supporters on to the streets - but the movement's leadership denied having any part in the unrest. Clashes broke out in the historic commercial and tourism centre of Stone Town on Saturday night and continued until Sunday afternoon, witnesses told Reuters. ... Full Story Top No strict sharia in Mali's independent north: rebels Sun,27 May 2012 11:21 PM PDT Reuters - DAKAR (Reuters) - Malian rebels who declared an independent Islamic state in the country's north said on Sunday they would impose sharia but not in a strict form. The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), which has fought to make Mali's northern Azawad region an autonomous state, on Saturday signed an agreement to merge with Islamist Ansar Dine rebels seeking to impose sharia across Mali. A mix of rebels have occupied the northern two-thirds of Mali since a March 22 coup led to a collapse of army resistance. ... Full Story Top Sudan's Bashir ready to pull troops from Abyei: Carter Sun,27 May 2012 11:18 PM PDT Reuters - KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has said he is ready to pull troops from a disputed border area with South Sudan, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said on Sunday, describing it as a major step toward achieving peace between the neighbours. Sudan and South Sudan have been at loggerheads over a string of disputes since the southern nation declared independence in July. Clashes near the disputed border raised fears of an all-out war last month. ... Full Story Top Egypt presidential election body weighs complaints Sun,27 May 2012 11:08 PM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's election committee on Sunday considered complaints about a presidential poll that has left voters with what many see as a painful run-off choice between an Islamist apparatchik and a throwback to Hosni Mubarak's era. Both contenders are seeking to lay claim to the mantle of the "revolution" that toppled Mubarak 15 months ago, and to appeal to the many Egyptians who picked more centrist figures in last week's first round. ... Full Story Top Tunisia governor 'seeks firing of central bank governor' Sun,27 May 2012 11:01 PM PDT Reuters - TUNIS (Reuters) - The parties that make up Tunisia's coalition government have proposed removing the governor of the central bank, two party sources said, a step which could alarm investors already jittery after last year's revolution. Tunisia, struggling to emerge from recession, has held a steady course on inflation, interest and exchange rates even in the turmoil that followed the ousting of its president, but talk of firing the central bank chief suggests it may be hard to hold that line. ... Full Story Top Analysis: With or without euro, Europe must raise its game Sun,27 May 2012 10:52 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - The opening last week in northeastern Spain of a 37-million-euro stretch of motorway to nowhere is an irresistible metaphor for the euro, an ambitious project conceived in better times that is now seemingly running out of road. With Spain heavily in debt, the authorities could not afford to finish the highway but opened the completed 6 km section near Lleida in any case to deter illegal joy racing. If only the euro were bringing joy. Maybe the road in Spain will be completed one day, but for now it is one more reminder that much of Europe has been living beyond its means. ... Full Story Top Another ousted China party chief challenges case against him Sun,27 May 2012 09:58 PM PDT Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - The former Communist Party chief of Beijing who was at the heart of one of China's biggest political scandals before this year's upheaval over Bo Xilai has challenged charges that brought him prison and disgrace in a book likely to stir controversy. Chen Xitong was dismissed as Communist Party secretary of Beijing in 1995 and later jailed on corruption charges, which many observers at the time saw as resulting from a power struggle pitting him against then President Jiang Zemin. ... Full Story Top U.N. Security Council condemns Syria over massacre Sun,27 May 2012 09:53 PM PDT Reuters - AMMAN/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Sunday unanimously condemned the killing of at least 108 people, including many children, in the Syrian town of Houla, a sign of mounting outrage at the massacre that the government and rebels blamed on each other. Images of bloodied and lifeless young bodies, laid carefully side by side after the onslaught on Friday, triggered shock around the world and underlined the failure of a six-week-old U.N. ceasefire plan to stop the violence. ... Full Story Top Tibet capital sees first anti-China self-immolations Sun,27 May 2012 09:46 PM PDT Reuters - SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Two Tibetan men set themselves on fire in central Lhasa on Sunday, the first in a series of self-immolation protests against Chinese rule over Tibet to take place in the regional capital, the Xinhua state news agency said on Monday. Police put out the flames within two minutes but one of the men died, it said. The other was seriously injured but later able to talk. ... Full Story Top Wounded war veterans find brotherhood in softball Sun,27 May 2012 09:06 PM PDT Reuters - COOPERSTOWN, New York (Reuters) - When Saul Bosquez, a 27-year-old U.S. Army veteran who lost part of his left leg in Iraq, stepped up to the plate during a softball game this Memorial Day weekend, he knew he needed a big hit. Bosquez, who plays with the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team and wears a prosthetic leg below his left knee, said the hot weather on Sunday in Cooperstown - home to the Baseball Hall of Fame - was making it harder than usual for him to run the bases. Luckily, the ball soared over the outfielders' heads, and Bosquez made it safely to third. ... Full Story Top Republican resigns from labor board in ethics flap Sun,27 May 2012 07:36 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Terence Flynn resigned as a member of the National Labor Relations Board two months after an investigation found that he allegedly disclosed non-public information about the panel, the agency said on Sunday. One of two Republicans on the five-member politically embattled board, Flynn was named as a recess, or short-term, appointee by President Barack Obama in January. He submitted his resignation on Saturday in a letter to NLRB Chairman Mark Pearce. Flynn also requested that his formal nomination to the NLRB, which the Senate has yet to confirm, be withdrawn. ... Full Story Top Britain's Blair faces grilling over ties to Murdoch Sun,27 May 2012 07:35 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Tony Blair's decision to openly court Rupert Murdoch to win power and ensure favorable coverage during his decade-long tenure as British prime minister will come under scrutiny when he faces a media inquiry on Monday. The inquiry, ordered by Prime Minister David Cameron after Murdoch's now defunct News of the World tabloid admitted hacking phones, has tarnished Britain's elite by laying bare the collusion between politicians, the police and the media. ... Full Story Top China's Huawei, ZTE face EU action on telecom subsidies: FT Sun,27 May 2012 06:28 PM PDT Reuters - HONG KONG (Reuters) - The European Union is set to launch a major trade case against China's biggest telecom equipment makers, arguing that they have benefited from illegal government subsidies, the Financial Times said. The EU told member states it had been gathering evidence for an anti-dumping case against Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp, saying that they had obtained illegal government subsidies and sold products in the EU below cost, the newspaper said, quoting unidentified EU officials and executives. ... Full Story Top U.N. Security Council condemns Syria over massacre Sun,27 May 2012 04:51 PM PDT Reuters - AMMAN/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Sunday unanimously condemned the killing of at least 108 people, including many children, in the Syrian town of Houla, a sign of mounting outrage at the massacre that the government and rebels blamed on each other. Images of bloodied and lifeless young bodies, laid carefully side by side after the onslaught on Friday, triggered shock around the world and underlined the failure of a six-week-old U.N. ceasefire plan to stop the violence. ... Full Story Top Blair faces grilling over ties to Murdoch Sun,27 May 2012 04:34 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Tony Blair's decision to openly court Rupert Murdoch to win power and ensure favourable coverage during his decade-long tenure as British prime minister will come under scrutiny when he faces a media inquiry on Monday. The inquiry, ordered by Prime Minister David Cameron after Murdoch's now defunct News of the World tabloid admitted hacking phones, has tarnished Britain's elite by laying bare the collusion between politicians, the police and the media. ... Full Story Top Britain's Blair faces grilling over ties to Murdoch Sun,27 May 2012 04:07 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Tony Blair's decision to openly court Rupert Murdoch to win power and ensure favorable coverage during his decade-long tenure as British prime minister will come under scrutiny when he faces a media inquiry on Monday. The inquiry, ordered by Prime Minister David Cameron after Murdoch's now defunct News of the World tabloid admitted hacking phones, has tarnished Britain's elite by laying bare the collusion between politicians, the police and the media. ... Full Story Top Egypt presidential election body weighs complaints Sun,27 May 2012 03:24 PM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's election committee on Sunday considered complaints about a presidential poll that has left voters with what many see as a painful run-off choice between an Islamist apparatchik and a throwback to Hosni Mubarak's era. Both contenders are seeking to lay claim to the mantle of the "revolution" that toppled Mubarak 15 months ago, and to appeal to the many Egyptians who picked more centrist figures in last week's first round. ... Full Story Top U.N. Security Council condemns Syria over massacre Sun,27 May 2012 03:09 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Sunday unanimously condemned the Syrian government for heavy-weapons attacks on the town of Houla, the site of a massacre of at least 108 people, including many children, the council president said. ... Full Story Top Fresh from defeat, Serbia's Tadic poised for PM Sun,27 May 2012 02:35 PM PDT Reuters - BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia's Boris Tadic, fresh from defeat in a presidential election a week ago, put himself forward on Sunday as his party's candidate for the more powerful post of prime minister at the helm of a renewed centre-left coalition. After eight years as president, Tadic lost his bid for re-election to rightist opposition leader Tomislav Nikolic, a former leader of the ultranationalist Radical Party who says he now shares the goal of taking Serbia into the European Union. ... Full Story Top Spain may recapitalize Bankia with government debt: source Sun,27 May 2012 02:21 PM PDT Reuters - MADRID (Reuters) - Spain may recapitalize Bankia with Spanish government bonds in return for shares in the bank which last week asked for rescue funding of 19 billion euros ($24 billion), a government source said on Sunday. Bankia could use the sovereign paper as collateral to get cash from the European Central Bank, forcing the ECB to get involved with restructuring Spain's banking sector, laid low by lending to property developers in a boom that ended in 2008. ... Full Story Top U.N. confirmed use of heavy artillery, tank shells in Houla Sun,27 May 2012 02:08 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. observers in Syria have confirmed that artillery and tank shells were fired at a residential area of Houla, Syria, where at least 108 people, including many children, were killed, the U.N. chief said on Sunday in a letter to the Security Council. The letter from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, which was obtained by Reuters, said the observers "viewed the bodies of the dead and confirmed from an examination of ordnance that artillery and tank shells were fired at a residential neighborhood. ... Full Story Top U.N. says estimates at least 108 dead in Syria massacre Sun,27 May 2012 01:29 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations believes that at least 108 people were killed in a massacre in the Syrian town of Houla that the world body has blamed on the Syrian army, the U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said on Sunday. Earlier, a diplomat said that General Robert Mood, head of the U.N. observer mission in Syria, told a closed-door meeting via video link from Damascus that at least 116 had died. They later clarified that the 116 figure was actually the rebel Free Syrian Army's estimate, diplomats said. ... Full Story Top Nepal faces fresh turmoil after charter deadline missed Sun,27 May 2012 12:43 PM PDT Reuters - KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's warring political parties failed to meet a midnight deadline to agree on a new constitution on Sunday, plunging the Himalayan republic into further uncertainty, but the government moved quickly to defuse the crisis with a call for elections. A new constitution was widely seen as crucial to ending the instability that has plagued Nepal since the end of a Maoist-led civil war in 2006 and subsequent overthrow of the monarchy, but it has been thwarted by demands for the country to be divided into states along ethnic lines. ... Full Story Top Shelling on Syrian opposition centre of Hama kills 30 Sun,27 May 2012 12:16 PM PDT Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - At least thirty people were killed on Sunday when Syrian army tanks shelled residential neighborhoods in the city of Hama that have been serving as a base for rebel attacks against loyalist forces, opposition activists said. The reports could not be independently verified. (Reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Amman newsroom; Editing by Louise Ireland) Full Story Top Syria opposition criticizes U.N. on Houla massacre Sun,27 May 2012 12:12 PM PDT Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Opposition activists in Syria on Sunday criticized U.N. observers for failing to take action to prevent the massacre of at least 109 people in the town of Houla. They also criticized the U.N mission for not condemning President Bashar al-Assad's forces for the killings on Friday. Syrian authorities have denied responsibility, blaming "terrorists" for the massacre. "The observers' delegation remained helpless and did not take an initiative to intervene, except to count the victims the day after the massacre just as the U.N. ... Full Story Top U.N. Security Council meets on Syria massacre, Russia skeptical Sun,27 May 2012 12:10 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council met on Sunday to discuss the recent massacre in the Syrian town of Houla, which the United Nations has blamed on the Syrian government but Damascus and Moscow suggested was due to a rebel attack. At least 116 people, including many children, were killed in the Houla attack, the head of the U.N. observer mission in Syria General Robert Mood told the 15-nation council, according to a diplomat who was in the closed-door meeting. The diplomat spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity. Russian Deputy U.N. ... Full Story Top No strict sharia in Mali's independent north: MNLA rebels Sun,27 May 2012 11:45 AM PDT Reuters - DAKAR (Reuters) - Malian rebels who declared an independent Islamic state in the country's north said on Sunday they would impose sharia but not in a strict form. The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), which has fought to make Mali's northern Azawad region an autonomous state, on Saturday signed an agreement to merge with Islamist Ansar Dine rebels seeking to impose sharia across Mali. A mix of rebels have occupied the northern two-thirds of Mali since a March 22 coup led to a collapse of army resistance. ... Full Story Top Moscow police arrest dozens at Occupy-style rally Sun,27 May 2012 11:32 AM PDT Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Police detained dozens of opposition protesters on Sunday at an Occupy-style rally against President Vladimir Putin in central Moscow. Activists gathered near Red Square in front of the Kremlin and walked toward the popular Arbat pedestrian district, but were detained upon reaching the sit-in protest which began earlier this month. Witnesses said riot police treated protesters who resisted roughly. "One man in his 50s was grabbed and carried away by his arms and legs. ... Full Story Top Iran not ready for visit to suspect nuclear site Sun,27 May 2012 11:01 AM PDT Reuters - DUBAI (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog has not yet given good enough reasons to visit an Iranian site where it suspects there may have been experiments for developing nuclear weapons, Iranian media said. The Parchin complex is at the centre of Western suspicions that Iran is developing a nuclear weapons capability despite Tehran's repeated denials of any such ambition. A report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last week said satellite images showed "extensive activities" at Parchin. ... Full Story Top Syria massacre deserves condemnation: Russian diplomat Sun,27 May 2012 10:58 AM PDT Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - The massacre of civilians in the Syrian town of Houla is a tragic event that "deserves condemnation", a senior Russian diplomat said on Sunday, but he added that it was necessary to understand what had happened and said Moscow would await "objective evaluations" from the U.N. mission there. "The tragic events in Syria and the deaths of tens of people deserve condemnation. However it is necessary to seriously examine the causes of what happened," Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Twitter. (Reporting By Thomas Grove) Full Story Top Hezbollah "deplores" Houla massacre in Syria Sun,27 May 2012 10:55 AM PDT Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Shi'ite guerrilla group Hezbollah, President Bashar al-Assad's main Lebanese ally, said on Sunday it deplored the Houla massacre in neighboring Syria. Without assigning a blame for the killings of at least 109 civilians in Houla in central Syria, a statement by Hezbollah said it "strongly condemns the massacre and deplores those who carried it out". ... Full Story Top White House: Houla killings a "vile testament" to Syria regime Sun,27 May 2012 10:19 AM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Sunday it was horrified by the credible reports of brutal attacks on women and children in Houla, Syria, calling the acts further evidence of an inhuman and illegitimate Syrian government. "These acts serve as a vile testament to an illegitimate regime that responds to peaceful political protest with unspeakable and inhuman brutality," a White House spokesman said. (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Philip Barbara) Full Story Top NATO has fight on its hands in Afghanistan: Panetta Sun,27 May 2012 10:17 AM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - NATO forces still have a fight on their hands in Afghanistan, where the Taliban has displayed resilience although its fighters have not regained territory they lost during the decade-long war, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Sunday. Panetta said plans for foreign troops to hand over security responsibilities to Afghan forces starting in mid-2013 were on track and necessary to ensure that the Taliban, which governed Afghanistan before the U.S.-led invasion, is kept at bay. U.S. President Barack Obama, who ordered a surge of U.S. ... Full Story Top Bahrain convicts six of plotting with Iran Sun,27 May 2012 09:35 AM PDT Reuters - DUBAI (Reuters) - A Bahraini court on Sunday sentenced six people to 15 years in jail each for plotting with Shi'ite Iran to stage attacks on targets including the Saudi embassy and the Interior Ministry, the official BNA news agency and a lawyer said. Bahrain, a U.S. ally and home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, has been in turmoil since pro-democracy protests led by majority Shi'ites erupted last year after revolts in Egypt and Tunisia. The Sunni-led island, along with fellow Gulf Arab countries, have accused Iran of being behind the unrest which continues to rock the country. ... Full Story Top Bowles: Not interested in top Treasury job Sun,27 May 2012 09:01 AM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles, whose name has surfaced as a potential successor to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, said on Sunday he does not want the job and has not been asked by Democratic President Barack Obama. "I don't want a job. Thank you," Bowles said on the CNN news program "Fareed Zakaria GPS." Economists, investors and veterans of past administrations are weighing potential successors to Geithner, who has said he is leaving the post even if Obama wins a second term in the November 6 election. ... Full Story Top Merkel's lead over German opposition slumps: poll Sun,27 May 2012 08:59 AM PDT Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives saw their lead over the main centre-left opposition party crumble in the sharpest one-week shift in German voter sentiment in seven years, an opinion poll showed on Sunday. An eight percentage point lead by Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) over the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) fell to just two points during a week that saw the chancellor face pressure over the euro crisis and domestic turmoil, according to the Emnid poll. ... Full Story Top Lawmakers work with Simpson-Bowles for tax deal Sun,27 May 2012 08:58 AM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two respected former lawmakers whose names have become synonymous with bipartisan compromise in a highly divisive Congress are meeting with dozens of lawmakers to forestall a potential year-end fiscal crisis dubbed "taxmageddon." Former Democratic White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles said he and former Republican Senator Alan Simpson, are working with a bipartisan group of 47 Senators and as many House members to frame a compromise on $7 trillion in looming fiscal decisions, Bowles said on CNN's news program, "Fareed Zakaria GPS. ... Full Story Top France Telecom acquires 94 percent of Egypt's Mobinil: bourse Sun,27 May 2012 08:33 AM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - France Telecom acquired 94 percent of Egyptian mobile phone company Mobinil in a tender offer, Egypt's stock exchange said on Sunday, giving the French group control of a top sector player in a volatile but lucrative emerging market. Mobinil, founded by Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris, vies with Vodafone Egypt for dominance of Egypt's mobile market, which was buffeted by political headwinds after an uprising ousted President Hosni Mubarak last year. ... Full Story Top Egypt presidential election body weighs complaints Sun,27 May 2012 08:28 AM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's election committee on Sunday considered complaints about a presidential poll that has left voters with what many see as a painful run-off choice between an Islamist apparatchik and a throwback to Hosni Mubarak's era. Both contenders are seeking to lay claim to the mantle of the "revolution" that toppled Mubarak 15 months ago, and to appeal to the many Egyptians who picked more centrist figures in last week's first round. ... Full Story Top

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