Today's Reuters World News Headlines - Yahoo! News: - China scorns U.S. criticism of religious policies
- Syrian troops kill 35 in Damascus suburb: activists
- Afghan forces thwart insurgent attack on Kabul
- Honduras institutes public gun ban for violence-hit region
- Typhoons shut down most of Taiwan, China on alert
- Prominent judge to be Egypt's new justice minister
- Honduran finance minister resigns following wife's arrest
- Obama authorized secret support for Syrian rebels
- Congress approves new Iran sanctions on oil, shipping sectors
- U.S. concerned over Iraqi threats to force Iran dissidents from camp
- Hamas slams Palestinian visit to "alleged" Holocaust site
- Venezuela's opposition wants to scrap preferential oil deals
- U.S. raises pressure for euro zone crisis action
- Ecuador wants to avoid Assange's extradition to Sweden
- House approves new Iran sanctions on oil, shipping sectors
- Turkish army stages tank exercises near Syria border
- Exclusive: Obama authorizes secret U.S. support for Syrian rebels
- Madagascar to hold presidential election next May
- Analysis: As rich world falters, buoyant SE Asia discovers credit
- U.N. monitors' presence in Syria good for aid delivery: EU
- Once reviled, Indonesia's Prabowo may become next president
- Analysis: China unveils oil offensive in South China Sea squabble
- Syria's Assad praises troops, keeps out of public eye
- U.S. targets five leaders of Naples Mafia
- Blast hits Libyan military intel office in Benghazi
- Congolese hit streets, protest over eastern violence
- U.S. auto sales remain soft in July
- Companies add 163,000 jobs, but manufacturing falters
- NATO should finish job in Afghanistan, Putin says
- Syrian rebels edge towards Aleppo's ancient heart
- Peruvian university worries Opus Dei behind dispute with Church
- U.S. sets aside $25 million for non-lethal aid to Syria rebels
- Russia: both sides in Syria violate human rights
- France to detail U.N. Security Council plan for Syria
- Revolt against Assad draws Briton to Syria
- New Egypt cabinet no quick fix for flailing economy
- Israel's military service law for ultra-Orthodox expires
- Second Israeli dies in self-immolation welfare protest
- Sudan woman shackled with baby, faces death by stoning: activists
- Low-impact blasts hit western Indian city
| | China scorns U.S. criticism of religious policies Wed,1 Aug 2012 10:52 PM PDT Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China has blasted a U.S. State Department report that criticized its controls on religion, saying on Thursday that the document was prejudiced and an attempt to meddle in domestic affairs. The Chinese Foreign Ministry's condemnation of the International Religious Freedom Report released this week was predictable -- and the latest reminder of how human rights issues remain a chronic irritant between Washington and Beijing. ... Full Story | Top | Syrian troops kill 35 in Damascus suburb: activists Wed,1 Aug 2012 10:12 PM PDT Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian troops killed at least 35 people on Wednesday, mostly unarmed civilians, when they shelled and overran a suburb of the capital Damascus, residents and activist organizations said. "The tanks and troops left around 4 p.m. When the streets were clear we found the bodies of at least 35 men," a resident, who gave his name as Fares, said by phone from Jdeidet Artouz, southwest of Damascus. ... Full Story | Top | Afghan forces thwart insurgent attack on Kabul Wed,1 Aug 2012 09:50 PM PDT Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan security forces killed at least eight insurgents during an early morning raid in Kabul on Thursday, with authorities saying they had thwarted a Taliban mass attack on the capital after a seven-hour gun battle. Soldiers from Afghanistan's intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), launched the raid in darkness, entering a building about an hour after midnight in Kabul's Pul-e Charkhi district which the insurgents were using as a base. "We have already killed eight insurgents and also seized explosives. ... Full Story | Top | Honduras institutes public gun ban for violence-hit region Wed,1 Aug 2012 08:51 PM PDT Reuters - TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - The Honduran Congress approved a law on Wednesday that prohibits the public possession and transportation of guns in a region of the country where drug trafficking and other agrarian conflicts are blamed for the killings of more than 60 people in the past three years. The gun law covers Colon, one of the Central American country's 18 departments, and was advocated by President Porfirio Lobo. ... Full Story | Top | Typhoons shut down most of Taiwan, China on alert Wed,1 Aug 2012 08:44 PM PDT Reuters - TAIPEI (Reuters) - Torrential rain and strong winds triggered landslides and flooding, forcing financial markets to shut and disrupting transport, after Typhoon Saola made landfall in eastern Taiwan on Thursday, authorities said. At least one person was killed in a landslide and eight injured in the storm. While some major companies remained open, Taiwanese authorities ordered other businesses and schools to close. Financial markets were also shut, with normal operations expected to resume on Friday. Most domestic flights were cancelled, along with some international services. ...
Full Story | Top | Prominent judge to be Egypt's new justice minister Wed,1 Aug 2012 08:41 PM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian appeals court judge Ahmed Mekky said he has accepted the post of justice minister in Egypt's first cabinet in the government of newly elected President Mohamed Mursi, and is to be sworn in with other cabinet officers on Thursday. Prime Minister Hisham Kandil, who had himself been a little known technocrat in the irrigation ministry until tapped by Mursi, formed the cabinet with career bureaucrats and at least three Islamist politicians, including the education minister. ... Full Story | Top | Honduran finance minister resigns following wife's arrest Wed,1 Aug 2012 07:32 PM PDT Reuters - TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduran Finance Minister Hector Guillen resigned on Wednesday, a day after his wife was arrested with the equivalent of more than $57,600 in her vehicle. Local police stopped Dinora Arambury on Tuesday near Tegucigalpa as she was en route to the city of San Pedro Sula, about 100 miles north of the capital. Arambury was arrested after police found the cash - 1,125,000 Honduran lempiras - a discovery that prompted a media firestorm in the poor Central American country. ... Full Story | Top | Obama authorized secret support for Syrian rebels Wed,1 Aug 2012 06:04 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing U.S. support for rebels seeking to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government, sources familiar with the matter said. Obama's order, approved earlier this year and known as an intelligence "finding," broadly permits the CIA and other U.S. agencies to provide support that could help the rebels oust Assad. This and other developments signal a shift toward growing, albeit still circumscribed, support for Assad's armed opponents - a shift that intensified following last month's failure of the U.N. ...
Full Story | Top | Congress approves new Iran sanctions on oil, shipping sectors Wed,1 Aug 2012 05:40 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Congress overwhelmingly passed a new package of sanctions against Iran on Wednesday that aims to punish banks, insurance companies and shippers that help Tehran sell its oil. The legislation, agreed to by senior lawmakers of both parties, "seeks to tighten the chokehold on the regime beyond anything that has been done before," said Republican Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The bill now heads to the White House for President Barack Obama's signature. ...
Full Story | Top | U.S. concerned over Iraqi threats to force Iran dissidents from camp Wed,1 Aug 2012 05:01 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States expressed concern on Wednesday over Iraqi threats to force an Iranian dissident group out of a camp in Iraq, but it also urged members of the group to relocate voluntarily to a large former U.S. military base in Baghdad. The United Nations also voiced concerns and urged both the Iraqi government and the Iranian dissidents to avoid violence. Iraqi authorities have been locked in a protracted dispute with the Mujahadin-e Khalq (MEK) over plans to move 3,000 MEK members from Camp Ashraf, where they have lived for years, to a former U.S. ...
Full Story | Top | Hamas slams Palestinian visit to "alleged" Holocaust site Wed,1 Aug 2012 04:39 PM PDT Reuters - GAZA (Reuters) - The Hamas Islamist group in charge of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday denounced a Palestinian official's visit to the site of a Nazi death camp in Poland, and called the Holocaust in which 6 million European Jews perished an "alleged tragedy." Ziad al-Bandak, an adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who governs in the occupied West Bank, had made a rare visit by a Palestinian official to the site of the Auschwitz death camp late last month. "It was an unjustified and unhelpful visit that served only the Zionist occupation," said Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas. ...
Full Story | Top | Venezuela's opposition wants to scrap preferential oil deals Wed,1 Aug 2012 04:29 PM PDT Reuters - PUERTO LA CRUZ, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles said on Wednesday he would scrap preferential oil deals with foreign allies if he defeats socialist President Hugo Chavez in an October election to lead the South American OPEC member. Chavez has sought to boost his influence abroad by offering crude deals to nations in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean -- Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA was not paid directly for almost half the crude it pumped last year. ...
Full Story | Top | U.S. raises pressure for euro zone crisis action Wed,1 Aug 2012 04:05 PM PDT Reuters - FRANKFURT/BERLIN (Reuters) - The United States raised the pressure on euro zone leaders to take decisive action on solving the region's debt crisis, notably by lowering troubled members' borrowing costs, on the eve of a crucial European Central Bank meeting. President Barack Obama said he welcomed recent declarations by European leaders and the ECB on the need to do whatever is necessary to preserve the euro. U.S. ...
Full Story | Top | Ecuador wants to avoid Assange's extradition to Sweden Wed,1 Aug 2012 04:05 PM PDT Reuters - QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuador wants to prevent Julian Assange's extradition to Sweden because it is disappointed that the Scandinavian country has turned down an offer to question the WikiLeaks founder in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, a minister said on Wednesday. Assange has been holed up in Ecuador's Embassy in London for six weeks as he awaits a decision on his asylum request by the leftist government of Rafael Correa. The Australian anti-secrecy campaigner, who angered Washington in 2010 when his WikiLeaks website published secret U.S. ...
Full Story | Top | House approves new Iran sanctions on oil, shipping sectors Wed,1 Aug 2012 03:40 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives passed a new package of sanctions against Iran on Wednesday that aim to punish banks, insurance companies and shippers that help Tehran sell its oil. The legislation, agreed to by senior lawmakers of both parties in Congress, "seeks to tighten the chokehold on the regime beyond anything that has been done before," said Republican Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. ...
Full Story | Top | Turkish army stages tank exercises near Syria border Wed,1 Aug 2012 03:03 PM PDT Reuters - ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's army staged tank exercises near the Syrian border on Wednesday, Turkish officials said, in a move highlighting Ankara's unease about security on the frontier. The exercises were held after a series of Turkish military deployments to the area prompted by the spiraling violence in the 17-month uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. There is no indication Turkish forces will cross the border. ... Full Story | Top | Exclusive: Obama authorizes secret U.S. support for Syrian rebels Wed,1 Aug 2012 02:58 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing U.S. support for rebels seeking to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government, U.S. sources familiar with the matter said. Obama's order, approved earlier this year and known as an intelligence "finding," broadly permits the CIA and other U.S. agencies to provide support that could help the rebels oust Assad. This and other developments signal a shift toward growing, albeit still circumscribed, support for Assad's armed opponents - a shift that intensified following last month's failure of the ...
Full Story | Top | Madagascar to hold presidential election next May Wed,1 Aug 2012 02:50 PM PDT Reuters - ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Madagascar will hold presidential elections on May 8 next year, officials said on Wednesday, as the Indian Ocean island follows a political road map aimed at ending three years of unrest. Madagascar has been in crisis since 2009 when then-opposition leader Andry Rajoelina ousted President Marc Ravalomanana with the support of the army after opposition protests. Ravalomanana was sentenced in absentia to life in prison for the killings of demonstrators by elite troops in the coup. ...
Full Story | Top | Analysis: As rich world falters, buoyant SE Asia discovers credit Wed,1 Aug 2012 02:27 PM PDT Reuters - KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Every weekday brings another lucky winner of the "Credit Card Clean" game on Thailand's Get Radio station. Last Thursday it was Chotika Kosaisaevee, nicknamed "Pear", a 23-year-old student who admitted she had got carried away by acquiring three credit cards and racking up debt of about $530. "I've been careless and there's always temptation in the first year (of college) when you feel a lot of pressure to wear nice clothes and keep up with your friends," she said after winning the prize - the full pay-off of her card debt. ... Full Story | Top | U.N. monitors' presence in Syria good for aid delivery: EU Wed,1 Aug 2012 02:23 PM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - The presence of U.N. observers in Syria, who have drastically curtailed their monitoring activities due to the escalating violence, continues to have a positive impact on humanitarian aid delivery, the EU crisis chief said on Wednesday. The U.N. Security Council extended the three-month mandate of the U.N. observer mission in Syria for another 30 days last month and will have to decide in a few weeks whether to extend it again. Some Western diplomats say they are loath to keep the mission in Syria given that there is no truce to monitor. ... Full Story | Top | Once reviled, Indonesia's Prabowo may become next president Wed,1 Aug 2012 02:07 PM PDT Reuters - SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Just over 14 years ago, Prabowo Subianto was one of Indonesia's most reviled men, accused of kidnapping, human rights abuses and a coup attempt. Now, the former general has emerged as the most popular candidate for president. If elected, he says he will not roll back the democratic reforms that Indonesia embraced after his then father-in-law Suharto was ousted from over three decades of autocratic rule. "I think the people want strong, decisive leadership," Prabowo told Reuters in an interview in Singapore. ...
Full Story | Top | Analysis: China unveils oil offensive in South China Sea squabble Wed,1 Aug 2012 02:03 PM PDT Reuters - SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) - First came the diplomatic offensive, then the flexing of military muscle. Now, China is opening a third front to assert its claims in the South China Sea - moving ahead with its first major tender of oil and gas blocks in disputed parts of its waters. China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), a state oil giant, invited foreign firms in late June to bid on oil blocks that overlap territory being explored by Vietnam, putting the 160,000 sq km of water on offer at the forefront of Asia's biggest potential military flashpoint. ...
Full Story | Top | Syria's Assad praises troops, keeps out of public eye Wed,1 Aug 2012 01:09 PM PDT Reuters - ALEPPO, Syria (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad told his troops on Wednesday that their battle against rebels would decide Syria's fate, but his written message gave no clues to his whereabouts two weeks after a bomb attack on his inner circle. In Aleppo, rebel fighters seized three police stations while fighting the army for control of a strategically important district. Explosions could be heard and helicopter gunships cruised the skies as troops tried to push the rebels out of the northern city and preserve one of Assad's main centers of power. ...
Full Story | Top | U.S. targets five leaders of Naples Mafia Wed,1 Aug 2012 01:06 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday took steps to freeze the U.S. assets of five key members of the Italian-based Camorra, also known as the Naples Mafia, and one of Europe's largest criminal groups involved in kidnapping, money laundering and extortion. Americans and U.S. businesses are prohibited from doing business with the five blacklisted Camorra members, three of whom are serving life sentences for murder and conspiracy, the U.S. Treasury said in a statement on its website. ...
Full Story | Top | Blast hits Libyan military intel office in Benghazi Wed,1 Aug 2012 12:59 PM PDT Reuters - BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - A strong explosion rocked the Libyan military intelligence offices in the eastern city of Benghazi on Wednesday but caused no casualties, the latest of several violent incidents to shock the birthplace of last year's revolt. The blast occurred early on Wednesday when attackers threw an explosive device at the building from a passing car, security sources in Benghazi said. The explosion was so strong that it also shattered windows in nearby buildings on Dubai boulevard. ...
Full Story | Top | Congolese hit streets, protest over eastern violence Wed,1 Aug 2012 12:35 PM PDT Reuters - KINSHASA (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters took to the streets across Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday to call for an end to violence in the east of the country, where government troops and United Nations peacekeepers are struggling to halt advancing rebels. The four-month-old uprising by the M23 rebel group has displaced some 470,000 civilians in the mineral-rich North Kivu province on the border with Uganda and Rwanda. A U.N. ...
Full Story | Top | U.S. auto sales remain soft in July Wed,1 Aug 2012 12:29 PM PDT Reuters - DETROIT (Reuters) - Major automakers reported U.S. auto sales for July that were somewhat softer than expected as high U.S. unemployment and weak consumer confidence kept would-be buyers on the sidelines. Industry sales were on track to jump 9 percent in July to 1.1 million vehicles, less than the growth of 10 percent or more expected by many analysts. Kelley Blue Book estimated that the annual sales pace for the month was on track to fall just shy of 14 million. Analysts expected the sales rate to be 14 million. ...
Full Story | Top | Companies add 163,000 jobs, but manufacturing falters Wed,1 Aug 2012 12:17 PM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. companies hired more workers than expected in July, but continued weakness in the manufacturing sector pointed to sluggish economic growth. The economic recovery has lost steam in recent months as it has been buffeted by the euro zone debt crisis, a struggling U.S. labor market and concerns over higher taxes and government spending cuts that are set to take place early next year. Economists said Wednesday's data suggested further slow growth after a 1.5 percent growth rate in the second quarter, though the economy should avoid recession. ...
Full Story | Top | NATO should finish job in Afghanistan, Putin says Wed,1 Aug 2012 12:16 PM PDT Reuters - ULYANOVSK, Russia (Reuters) - NATO forces should stay in Afghanistan until they have finished their job to ensure stability, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, criticizing the planned withdrawal of most combat troops by 2014. Putin reiterated Kremlin concerns that the pull-out of the U.S.-led alliance, due to start next year, will leave the Central Asian region south of Russia vulnerable to militant violence and drug trafficking. "It is regrettable that many participants in this operation are thinking about how to pull out of there. ...
Full Story | Top | Syrian rebels edge towards Aleppo's ancient heart Wed,1 Aug 2012 12:15 PM PDT Reuters - ALEPPO, Syria (Reuters) - At the frontline of the battle for Aleppo, the ancient citadel is tantalizingly close for Syrian rebels. As they push towards the centre of Syria's biggest city, they can see the crumbling stone walls of the 800-year-old fortress perched on a dry, grassy hill just 200 meters away. "One day soon, we're going to march inside it. We will make it to the heart of the city," says Ahmed, a pale and scrawny young rebel. ... Full Story | Top | Peruvian university worries Opus Dei behind dispute with Church Wed,1 Aug 2012 12:13 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - One of Peru's top universities says it thinks maneuvers by the conservative Roman Catholic group Opus Dei are behind the school's high-profile falling out with the Vatican. In a dispute that could drag Peru and the Vatican into a diplomatic spat, the Catholic Church ordered the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP) in a July letter to drop the words "pontifical" and "Catholic" from the official name it has been using for more than 60 years. ... Full Story | Top | U.S. sets aside $25 million for non-lethal aid to Syria rebels Wed,1 Aug 2012 12:07 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has set aside $25 million for aid to Syrian rebels, although the assistance remains limited to non-lethal supplies such as communications gear, the State Department said on Wednesday. The Obama administration originally set aside $15 million to help the Syrian opposition, but some time ago added another $10 million to the amount available, department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said. "The 25 million dollar number actually is the number we're working from," Ventrell told a regular daily news briefing. ... Full Story | Top | Russia: both sides in Syria violate human rights Wed,1 Aug 2012 11:47 AM PDT Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Videos apparently showing rebels killing supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo prove that both sides in the conflict violate human rights, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Wednesday. "The harsh massacre of supporters of the government by the opposition confirms human rights violations are taking place on both sides," Gatilov said on twitter. "It would be useful if Western and Arab politicians looked at the situation in Syria from this angle too. Everybody must stop violence," he added. ... Full Story | Top | France to detail U.N. Security Council plan for Syria Wed,1 Aug 2012 11:47 AM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - France said as it took over the month-long rotating chair of the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday it will shortly outline its plans for a new push by the body to solve a diplomatic impasse over the worsening conflict. The French government has already said it will call by the end of this week for an urgent meeting of the United Nations' Council, likely at ministerial level, following calls from President Francois Hollande for swift action. ... Full Story | Top | Revolt against Assad draws Briton to Syria Wed,1 Aug 2012 11:47 AM PDT Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Moved by his mother's tales of atrocities in her homeland three decades ago, British student Mohammad Qadi Riha set off from London to Syria to join the armed resistance against President Bashar al-Assad. He convinced his mother, a survivor of a 1982 massacre in the city of Hama, that he was going only to film footage on behalf of British media. Rebels, with whom he said he spent six weeks, gave him rudimentary combat training as soon as he arrived in May and took him on their missions. ... Full Story | Top | New Egypt cabinet no quick fix for flailing economy Wed,1 Aug 2012 11:34 AM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - As Egypt's first permanent government since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak took shape on Wednesday, the first names to emerge suggest a continuity that could aid the economy after 17 months of turmoil. Yet the new administration's unclear powers and the scale of the challenges it must face dispel any optimism that Thursday's cabinet unveiling will begin a new era of stability. ...
Full Story | Top | Israel's military service law for ultra-Orthodox expires Wed,1 Aug 2012 10:22 AM PDT Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli law that exempts ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students from military service expired on Wednesday under a court ruling, a highly emotive issue that has shaken Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government. The majority of Israeli men and women are obliged to serve in the military from their 18th year and there is growing pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to strip religious students of their draft exemption, one of the social privileges reserved for many ultra-Orthodox. ... Full Story | Top | Second Israeli dies in self-immolation welfare protest Wed,1 Aug 2012 10:21 AM PDT Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli who set himself on fire in protest at economic difficulties has died of his injuries, the hospital treating him said on Wednesday, the second such death in a few days. Akiva Mafi, a 45-year-old, wheelchair-bound army veteran, doused his body in petrol and lit it at a bus station on July 22, after what friends described as a debilitating battle for welfare benefits. ...
Full Story | Top | Sudan woman shackled with baby, faces death by stoning: activists Wed,1 Aug 2012 10:21 AM PDT Reuters - KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A Sudanese woman accused of adultery has been sentenced to death by stoning and is being held shackled with her six-month-old baby in jail, activists said on Wednesday, in the second such sentence in the past few months in the country. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said last month that Sudan would adopt a "100 percent" Islamic constitution, prompting concerns the country would apply Islamic law more strictly after the secession of mostly non-Muslim South Sudan a year ago. ... Full Story | Top | Low-impact blasts hit western Indian city Wed,1 Aug 2012 10:05 AM PDT Reuters - NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Four small explosions occurred in quick succession in a busy shopping area of the western Indian city of Pune on Wednesday evening and one person suffered light injuries, police said. One explosion was caused by a device hidden in a trash can at a branch of McDonald's while another went off near a popular theatre, senior police officer Satyapal Singh told NDTV. "There have been four blasts and one person has been injured," Singh said. "The fourth blast took place in the dustbin of McDonalds. ... Full Story | Top |
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