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Tuesday, May 29, 2012 12:05 AM PDT

Today's Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Zimbabwe drops charges against BBC's Petroc Trelawny Government announces "pasty tax" U-turn Congo probes alleged Rwandan support for rebels Egyptians torch Shafiq HQ as vote triggers violence UK politicians "bowed" before Murdoch - Clegg Israel pours cold water on big-power talks with Iran Denmark detains attack plot suspects Afghan insurgents target safest province Bamiyan Romney can seal Republican 2012 nomination in Texas China moves to tame microbloggers amid censorship claims Lethal drug shortage offers Vietnam death-row prisoners reprieve Huawei denies getting illegal Chinese subsidies Exclusive: Pakistan doctor in bin Laden case called corrupt, womanizer China to continue support for service outsourcing: paper Romney tells vets dangerous world demands powerful military Drug war victims' families blast Mexican candidates Egyptians torch Shafiq headquarters as vote triggers violence Radical cleric Abu Qatada loses British bail request Fire kills 19, mostly children, in upscale Qatar mall Blair says feared fight with Britain's media barons UK politicians "bowed" before Murdoch: deputy PM UK politicians "bowed" before Murdoch - deputy PM Assad faces new international pressure after massacre Timeline : Egypt since revolt against Hosni Mubarak Obama calls treatment of Vietnam War veterans "a disgrace" Powerful "Flame" cyber weapon found in Iran Britain announces "pasty tax" U-turn Spain can count on aid from abroad: Polish cenbanker Romney tells vets dangerous world demands powerful military Fed's Plosser says U.S. to withstand euro fallout: WSJ Egypt protesters set fire to Shafiq headquarters: media Congo probes alleged Rwandan support for rebels Canada aims to restore CP Rail service Thursday Quebec students, government try to end strike as tourism officials fret Bankia parent group BFA posts 2011 loss of 3.3 billion euros Factbox: Five facts about "Flame" Turkey approves indictment of Israeli commanders: report Top Pentagon officer urges non-military pressure on Assad Syrian government: Islamists behind Houla massacre Damascus merchants strike over Houla killings Zimbabwe drops charges against BBC's Petroc Trelawny Mon,28 May 2012 11:41 PM PDT Reuters - HARARE (Reuters) - BBC radio presenter Petroc Trelawny, being treated in a Zimbabwe hospital for a fractured arm, will not be prosecuted and is free to fly home, his lawyer told Reuters on Monday. Zimbabwean state lawyers decided not to prosecute Trelawny, who was detained on Thursday at an arts festival in Bulawayo and charged with working without a permit. He had fallen and injured his arm while in police custody, his lawyer said. "Yes, I'm happy to say the prosecution has declined to prosecute him. ... Full Story Top Government announces "pasty tax" U-turn Mon,28 May 2012 11:39 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - The government is to modify VAT on hot takeaway food after months of criticism that its planned "pasty tax" showed it was out of touch with ordinary people. A Treasury spokeswoman said that Value Added Tax (VAT) would not be applied to hot takeaway food that is cooling down after being cooked - for example the popular Cornish pasties which shops rarely sell straight from the oven. ... Full Story Top Congo probes alleged Rwandan support for rebels Mon,28 May 2012 11:38 PM PDT Reuters - GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - A uthorities in Democratic Republic of Congo are investigating allegations that neighbouring Rwanda is recruiting and training fighters in support of a new armed movement in its troubled eastern borderlands, a government spokesman said on Monday. The British Broadcasting Corporation, citing a confidential United Nations document, reported earlier on Monday that among the defectors from the newly formed militia were at least 11 Rwandan nationals who claimed to have been recruited in Rwanda. ... Full Story Top Egyptians torch Shafiq HQ as vote triggers violence Mon,28 May 2012 11:35 PM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Demonstrators furious that Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister made it into the run-off for Egypt's presidential election set ablaze his campaign headquarters on Monday, witnesses said, underscoring the divisive outcome of the country's historic vote. Former air force commander Ahmed Shafiq, who has described Mubarak as a role model, will face the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi in the run-off. It is a contest between the two most polarizing and controversial figures in the race. ... Full Story Top UK politicians "bowed" before Murdoch - Clegg Mon,28 May 2012 11:33 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's political class competed to "bow and scrape" before media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said on Tuesday, in comments aimed at setting his Liberal Democrats apart from the country's two other main parties. The Lib Dems, Britain's third-largest party, has had relatively few dealings with Murdoch and his News Corp media empire, which paid them little attention until they came to power in 2010 as part of a coalition government. ... Full Story Top Israel pours cold water on big-power talks with Iran Mon,28 May 2012 11:29 PM PDT Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - International nuclear talks with Iran have achieved nothing, a senior Israeli official said on Tuesday, suggesting that some Western nations were happy to see the negotiations drag on. Israel, which has threatened to go to war to prevent its arch-foe going nuclear, has fretted on the sidelines as six world powers press for a curb on Iranian uranium enrichment. Breaking Israel's official silence on the second round of talks, held in Baghdad last week, Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon said they had only produced "more Iranian time-buying". ... Full Story Top Denmark detains attack plot suspects Mon,28 May 2012 11:21 PM PDT Reuters - COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish police have detained two brothers from Somalia on suspicion of plotting an attack, the state security police said on Tuesday. The Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) said in a statement the arrests late on Monday had thwarted a "concrete act of terror," but did not elaborate. The brothers, aged 18 and 23, are Danish citizens and have lived in Denmark for 16 years, the PET said. ... Full Story Top Afghan insurgents target safest province Bamiyan Mon,28 May 2012 10:21 PM PDT Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - Insurgents have stepped up attacks in the area thought to be Afghanistan's safest, the rugged central province of Bamiyan, moving into the region in a bid to undermine security ahead of the end-2014 exit from the country of most foreign combat troops. Around 20 Taliban fighters from neighboring Baghlan province have crossed into Bamiyan and launched attacks in several districts, Bamiyan Police Chief General Juma Guldi Yardem told Reuters on Tuesday. ... Full Story Top Romney can seal Republican 2012 nomination in Texas Mon,28 May 2012 10:05 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mitt Romney is likely to formally seal the Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday with a big victory in Texas that may give him a burst of momentum in his November 6 showdown with President Barack Obama. Texas has 155 delegates at stake in its Republican primary election and Romney needs less than half of those to put him past the 1,144 threshold needed for the nomination. ... Full Story Top China moves to tame microbloggers amid censorship claims Mon,28 May 2012 09:29 PM PDT Reuters - SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's Sina Corp has introduced a code of conduct for users of the local version of Twitter amid accusations of censorship to rein in what has grown into a raucous online forum to air political and social grievances. The code of conduct, first announced earlier this month, stipulates that users of Sina's Weibo microblogging site cannot post information that is against the principles of the constitution, cannot harm national unity, disclose state secrets or publish false information, among other rules. ... Full Story Top Lethal drug shortage offers Vietnam death-row prisoners reprieve Mon,28 May 2012 08:37 PM PDT Reuters - HANOI (Reuters) - Hundreds of death-row prisoners in Vietnam have been given a reprieve of sorts due to a shortage of the drug used for lethal injections, a newspaper said on Tuesday. Death by firing squad was replaced by lethal injections to reduce suffering last July - but police have failed to execute anyone since. "In the past year, the execution of more than 400 inmates has not been able to go ahead. More than 100 of them have completed all the paperwork," Deputy Police Minister Dang Van Hieu was quoted by Tuesday's Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper as saying. ... Full Story Top Huawei denies getting illegal Chinese subsidies Mon,28 May 2012 06:51 PM PDT Reuters - HONG KONG (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies Co Ltd denied on Tuesday that it benefited from illegal Chinese government subsidies after a media report said the European Union planned to take action against Chinese telecom equipment makers in an anti-dumping case. The Financial Times quoted unidentified EU officials and executives as saying that the commission had been gathering evidence in a case against China-based Huawei and ZTE Corp. ... Full Story Top Exclusive: Pakistan doctor in bin Laden case called corrupt, womanizer Mon,28 May 2012 06:38 PM PDT Reuters - ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden faced accusations of corruption and other wrongdoing long before he was captured by Pakistani intelligence agents and then jailed for 33 years for treason. In interviews over the weekend, several current and former Pakistani officials described the doctor, Shakil Afridi, as a hard-drinking womanizer who had faced accusations of sexual assault, harassment and stealing. They said his main obsession was making easy money. ... Full Story Top China to continue support for service outsourcing: paper Mon,28 May 2012 06:06 PM PDT Reuters - SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China will continue to support its service outsourcing sector after a tax incentive scheme expires at the end of 2013, the official Shanghai Securities News reported on Tuesday, citing assistant commerce minister Qiu Hong. China granted qualified service outsourcing companies preferential tax policies starting Jan 1, 2009, but the program will come to an end on Dec 31, 2013, the newspaper said. China's Ministry of Commerce will study ways to ensure the continuity of incentive policies for the industry, the article said. ... Full Story Top Romney tells vets dangerous world demands powerful military Mon,28 May 2012 05:42 PM PDT Reuters - SAN DIEGO, California (Reuters) - Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney chose Memorial Day to proclaim to the American people his conviction that the world is a dangerous place, and the United States must remain its most formidable military power. "The world is not safe," Romney told veterans on Memorial Day. He was joined by Senator John McCain, in a speech to honor the veterans of America's wars. The United States now has two paths forward, Romney said. He called one "the pathway to Europe," suggesting Europe had acquiesced to geopolitical threats. ... Full Story Top Drug war victims' families blast Mexican candidates Mon,28 May 2012 05:20 PM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's presidential candidates on Monday faced the families of people murdered, mutilated, and kidnapped in drug violence in a meeting that was marked by strong condemnations of corrupt police and politicians. In a stark reminder of the rampant crime facing Mexico's next president, distraught family members burst into tears and shouted at the four candidates sitting at the table opposite them in Mexico City's elegant Chapultepec Castle. ... Full Story Top Egyptians torch Shafiq headquarters as vote triggers violence Mon,28 May 2012 04:40 PM PDT Reuters - CAIRO/ALEXANDRIA (Reuters) - Demonstrators furious that Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister made it into the run-off for the country's presidential election set ablaze his campaign headquarters on Monday, underscoring the divisive outcome of the nation's historic vote. The campaign offices of Ahmed Shafiq, viewed as a symbol of Mubarak's rule, were set on fire after a group of protesters broke into and vandalized the premises, the state news agency reported. An official in the fire service confirmed the blaze had been extinguished without causing any casualties. ... Full Story Top Radical cleric Abu Qatada loses British bail request Mon,28 May 2012 04:18 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - A radical preacher accused of giving spiritual inspiration to one of the 9/11 hijackers on Monday lost a bid to be freed from the British prison where he is being held ahead of moves to deport him to Jordan to face terrorism charges. The decision to refuse Abu Qatada bail at a special court will come as a relief to the British government which has been trying to expel the Jordanian cleric for a over decade. The judge also said he would not be able to rule on the legality of Qatada's deportation until November, following a two-week hearing starting on October 8. ... Full Story Top Fire kills 19, mostly children, in upscale Qatar mall Mon,28 May 2012 04:11 PM PDT Reuters - DOHA (Reuters) - At least 19 foreign nationals, including 13 children, were killed in a fire that ripped through an upscale shopping mall in Qatar on Monday, the country's interior ministry said. The children were from New Zealand, Spain, Japan, the Philippines, and Benin, among other countries. A Spanish diplomatic source in Madrid told Reuters that four of the dead children were Spanish. It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze, which media reports said broke out at a childcare area at the Villagio Mall in Doha's west. ... Full Story Top Blair says feared fight with Britain's media barons Mon,28 May 2012 04:05 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - British leaders have no choice but to court powerful media barons such as Rupert Murdoch or risk savage press attacks which are "full on, full frontal, day in, day out," former Prime Minister Tony Blair told an inquiry on Monday. Interrupted by a heckler who accused him of being a war criminal for supporting the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Blair paused briefly before continuing calmly to justify his ties to Murdoch with whom he developed a close friendship. ... Full Story Top UK politicians "bowed" before Murdoch: deputy PM Mon,28 May 2012 04:05 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's political class competed to "bow and scrape" before media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said on Tuesday, in comments aimed at setting his Liberal Democrats apart from the country's two other main parties. The Lib Dems, Britain's third-largest party, has had relatively few dealings with Murdoch and his News Corp media empire, which paid them little attention until they came to power in 2010 as part of a coalition government. ... Full Story Top UK politicians "bowed" before Murdoch - deputy PM Mon,28 May 2012 04:04 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's political class competed to "bow and scrape" before media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said on Tuesday, in comments aimed at setting his Liberal Democrats apart from the country's two other main parties. The Lib Dems, Britain's third-largest party, has had relatively few dealings with Murdoch and his News Corp media empire, which paid them little attention until they came to power in 2010 as part of a coalition government. ... Full Story Top Assad faces new international pressure after massacre Mon,28 May 2012 03:47 PM PDT Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad faces renewed international pressure to end the bloodshed in Syria but, with peace envoy Kofi Annan visiting Damascus, his government blamed Islamist militants for a massacre in which U.N. observers had implicated his army. Annan, on a mission from the United Nations and Arab League, is scheduled to meet Assad on Tuesday, when he can be expected to urge compliance with the tattered ceasefire deal which he brokered between government and rebels nearly seven weeks ago. ... Full Story Top Timeline : Egypt since revolt against Hosni Mubarak Mon,28 May 2012 03:31 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - Here is a timeline of events in Egypt since protests against former President Hosni Mubarak began. January 25, 2011 - Anti-government protests begin across Egypt following the January 14 overthrow of Tunisia's president in the first of a series of Arab uprisings. January 28 - Mubarak orders troops and tanks into cities to quell demonstrations. Thousands cheer at news of intervention of the army, which is widely seen as a neutral force in politics, unlike police who are regularly deployed to stifle dissent. January 31 - New government is sworn in. ... Full Story Top Obama calls treatment of Vietnam War veterans "a disgrace" Mon,28 May 2012 03:18 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama called the treatment decades ago of returning Vietnam War veterans a "national shame" on Monday and promised as commander-in-chief not to send U.S. troops back into harm's way without a clear mission and strategy. Obama did not mention rising tensions with Iran and Syria or other potential threats in his remarks to veterans and military families on a hot, sunny Memorial Day, focusing instead on the legacy of Vietnam and his own efforts to wind down the Iraq and Afghanistan wars started by his predecessor, George W. Bush. ... Full Story Top Powerful "Flame" cyber weapon found in Iran Mon,28 May 2012 03:17 PM PDT Reuters - BOSTON (Reuters) - Security experts said on Monday a highly sophisticated computer virus is infecting computers in Iran and other Middle East countries and may have been deployed at least five years ago to engage in state-sponsored cyber espionage. Evidence suggest that the virus, dubbed Flame, may have been built on behalf of the same nation or nations that commissioned the Stuxnet worm that attacked Iran's nuclear program in 2010, according to Kaspersky Lab, the Russian cyber security software maker that took credit for discovering the infections. ... Full Story Top Britain announces "pasty tax" U-turn Mon,28 May 2012 02:52 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Conservative-led government is to modify a levy on hot takeaway food after months of criticism that its planned "pasty tax" showed it was out of touch with ordinary people. A Treasury spokeswoman said that Value Added Tax (VAT) would not be applied to hot takeaway food that is cooling down after being cooked - for example the popular Cornish pasties which shops rarely sell straight from the oven. ... Full Story Top Spain can count on aid from abroad: Polish cenbanker Mon,28 May 2012 02:30 PM PDT Reuters - LIMA (Reuters) - Spain could count on a firewall of international funding if its troubled banks need further recapitalization, but the depth of its problems pale next to those of Greece, Poland's central bank governor said on Monday. Investors are growing increasingly concerned Spain could be forced to seek an international bailout the euro zone can barely afford even though Spain's prime minister has said there will not be any European rescue for Spanish banks. ... Full Story Top Romney tells vets dangerous world demands powerful military Mon,28 May 2012 02:28 PM PDT Reuters - SAN DIEGO, California (Reuters) - Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney chose Veterans Day to proclaim to the American people his conviction that the world is a dangerous place, and the United States must remain its most formidable military power. "The world is not safe," Romney told veterans on Memorial Day. He was joined by Senator John McCain, in a speech to honor the veterans of America's wars. The United States now has two paths forward, Romney said. He called one "the pathway to Europe," suggesting Europe had acquiesced to geopolitical threats. ... Full Story Top Fed's Plosser says U.S. to withstand euro fallout: WSJ Mon,28 May 2012 02:24 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - The United States is well poised to withstand any fallout from Europe's escalating debt crisis, a top Federal Reserve executive told the Wall Street Journal. Charles Plosser, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, said the United States should comfortably weather the debt crisis because its financial institutions have already cut their European exposure. Moreover, he said on the Journal's Monday online edition that "a flood of liquidity" into the United States, as investors seek safer assets, is more likely "than the drying up of liquidity. ... Full Story Top Egypt protesters set fire to Shafiq headquarters: media Mon,28 May 2012 02:09 PM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - A group of Egyptian protesters set fire to the campaign headquarters of presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq in Cairo on Monday, the state news agency reported, after the ex-prime minister made it into the second round of the vote. The privately-owned Al-Hayat channel broadcast images of a the fire at Shafiq's campaign office in the Cairo district of Dokki, saying it had been caused by a group of protesters. It said there were no injuries. ... Full Story Top Congo probes alleged Rwandan support for rebels Mon,28 May 2012 02:01 PM PDT Reuters - GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Authorities in Democratic Republic of Congo are investigating allegations that neighboring Rwanda is recruiting and training fighters in support of a new armed movement in its troubled eastern borderlands, a government spokesman said on Monday. The British Broadcasting Corporation, citing a confidential United Nations document, reported earlier on Monday that among the defectors from the newly formed militia were at least 11 Rwandan nationals who claimed to have been recruited in Rwanda. ... Full Story Top Canada aims to restore CP Rail service Thursday Mon,28 May 2012 01:31 PM PDT Reuters - OTTAWA/VANCOUVER (Reuters) - The Canadian government will force striking workers at Canadian Pacific Railway back to work with fast-track legislation aimed at restoring rail service by Thursday, Labour Minister Lisa Raitt said on Monday. The government introduced the legislation in the House of Commons on Monday to end a work stoppage by 4,800 locomotive engineers, conductors and rail traffic controllers at CP Rail, Canada's second-biggest railway. "From past precedent, we'd like CP Rail continuing to roll on Thursday. ... Full Story Top Quebec students, government try to end strike as tourism officials fret Mon,28 May 2012 01:22 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - The Quebec government opened talks with student leaders on Monday in a bid to end 16 weeks of a sometimes violent strike by students in the Canadian province that is threatening to disrupt next month's Formula One motor race in Montreal. More than 150,000 students, unhappy with proposed tuition hikes, are on strike, with many protesting noisily every night through the streets of Montreal in defiance of a new law that clamps down on demonstrations. "I think we are all obliged to resolve this, not just the government ... ... Full Story Top Bankia parent group BFA posts 2011 loss of 3.3 billion euros Mon,28 May 2012 01:00 PM PDT Reuters - MADRID (Reuters) - BFA, the parent group of nationalized Spanish bank Bankia , said on Monday it had restated its 2011 results to reflect a 3.3 billion euro loss, rather than a 41 million euro profit, following a bailout from the state. In a statement to the stock exchange regulator, BFA said the restated loss reflected a review of its loan portfolios and capital needs after a new audit and as part of the clean-up plan implemented by the government. BFA last Friday asked for a public bailout of 19 billion euros ($23.8 billion) on top of an earlier cash injection of 4.5 billion euros. ... Full Story Top Factbox: Five facts about "Flame" Mon,28 May 2012 12:56 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - Researchers may have gleaned new information about the extent to which nations are engaged in cyber warfare with the discovery of a virus known as Flame. Kaspersky Lab, which on Monday claimed credit for uncovering Flame, believes the virus may be the work of the same nation or nations that built the Stuxnet worm that attacked Iran's nuclear program in 2010. Here are five key facts about Flame, according to researchers with Kaspersky Lab: Complexity: It is one of the most sophisticated pieces of malicious software ever discovered. It has about 20 times as much code than Stuxnet. ... Full Story Top Turkey approves indictment of Israeli commanders: report Mon,28 May 2012 12:44 PM PDT Reuters - ANKARA (Reuters) - A Turkish court has approved an indictment seeking multiple life sentences for four former Israeli military commanders over their alleged involvement in the 2010 killing of nine Turks on a Gaza-bound aid ship, state media reported on Monday. The indictment, prepared by Istanbul state prosecutor Mehmet Akif Ekinci, was submitted to the court last week and its approval effectively marks the start of a trial in absentia against the four men. ... Full Story Top Top Pentagon officer urges non-military pressure on Assad Mon,28 May 2012 12:27 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. military officer deplored the weekend massacre in Syria on Monday and urged the international community to use diplomatic and economic pressure to end the violence there. "The events in Syria over the weekend are just horrific, atrocious really," General Martin Dempsey said on "CBS This Morning" television program. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he expected international pressure to mount on Syria, where the massacre in Houla of 108 civilians, many of them children, drew U.N. National Security Council condemnation on Sunday. ... Full Story Top Syrian government: Islamists behind Houla massacre Mon,28 May 2012 12:25 PM PDT Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian authorities on Monday blamed Islamist militants for the massacre of 108 men, women and children in the town of Houla and denied U.N. and witness accounts that army tanks were in the area at the time. In a letter to the U.N. Security Council published by state media, the Foreign Ministry said the Syrian army had clashed with hundreds of armed men who it said committed Friday's massacre. The ministry said the killers used knives, which it called a "signature" of Islamist militant attacks. ... Full Story Top Damascus merchants strike over Houla killings Mon,28 May 2012 12:24 PM PDT Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Sunni Muslim businesses closed in Old Damascus on Monday in the biggest act of civil disobedience by the capital's merchant class, a backbone of support for President Bashar al-Assad during Syria's 14-month revolt, activists said. The show of defiance was in protest against the massacre of at least 108 civilians in the town of Houla in central Syria, [ID:nL5E8GSF7O] and follows strikes elsewhere over the previous two days, they said. "More than 80 percent of shops have closed in some areas. ... Full Story Top

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