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| U.S. drone strike kills important Taliban commander: sources Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 10:53 PM PST  WANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - A U.S. drone strike killed a Taliban commander, his deputy and eight others in northwest Pakistan, intelligence sources and tribal leaders said Thursday, weeks after he was wounded in a bomb attack believed to have been launched by Taliban rivals. Maulvi Nazir Wazir, also known as Mullah Nazir, was killed on Wednesday night when missiles struck a house in Angoor Adda, near the capital of Wana, South Waziristan, near the Afghan border, intelligence sources and residents said. His deputy, Ratta Khan, was also killed, sources said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bigger fights loom after "fiscal cliff" deal Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 09:44 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans face even bigger budget battles in the next two months after a hard-fought "fiscal cliff" deal narrowly averted devastating tax increases and spending cuts. The agreement, approved late on Tuesday by the Republican-led House of Representatives and signed by Obama on Wednesday, was a victory for the president, who had won re-election in November on a promise to address budget woes, partly by raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. ... Full Story | Top |
| Google's Schmidt plans North Korea trip: AP Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 08:28 PM PST  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc's executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, will travel this year to reclusive North Korea, where Internet use is subject to some of the world's tightest controls, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday. Schmidt, one of the highest-profile leaders of the U.S. technology industry, could visit as early as this month, the AP said. The announcement was made days after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the third member of his family to rule the country since its inception in the Cold War, signaled a willingness to improve relations with South Korea. ... Full Story | Top |
| Three dead in Swiss shooting, suspect wounded, arrested Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 08:20 PM PST  GENEVA (Reuters) - Three people were killed and two wounded late on Wednesday when a gunman opened fire in the Swiss village of Daillon, Swiss police said on Thursday. The suspect threatened police when they tried to arrest him, and officers shot and wounded him before taking him into custody, police of the Swiss canton of Valais said in a statement. No police officers were wounded. Swiss website 20minutes.ch reported that the gunman was a resident of the village aged about 30 who was armed with an assault rifle and had been drinking heavily. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Korea budgets for sunnier ties with reclusive North Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 07:55 PM PST  SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea has increased its budget to fund North Korea-related projects this year, government data showed on Thursday, with a new president seeking closer relations due to take office in Seoul and signs of an opening from Pyongyang. The two Koreas remain technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended with a truce, not a treaty, and relations plunged under South Korean President Lee Myung-bak who cut aid dramatically after the shooting of a South Korean tourist in the North in 2008. ... Full Story | Top |
| Clinton discharged from hospital, doctors expect full recovery Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 04:35 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was discharged from a New York hospital on Wednesday after being treated for a blood clot near her brain and her doctors expect her to make a full recovery, the State Department said. Clinton, who has not been seen in public since December 7, was at New York-Presbyterian Hospital under treatment for a blood clot behind her right ear that stemmed from a concussion she suffered in mid-December, the department said on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela's opposition demands "whole truth" about Chavez health Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 03:52 PM PST  CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's opposition on Wednesday demanded the government tell "the whole truth" about the health of cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez, who has not been heard from in three weeks after undergoing a grueling operation in Cuba. Officials have acknowledged the usually garrulous former soldier's health is delicate after his fourth cancer surgery in 18 months, but they have offered scant details on his condition. He has not spoken in public in more than three weeks. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hillary Clinton discharged from N.Y. hospital: State Department Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 03:41 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was discharged from hospital on Wednesday after being treated for a blood clot in a vein behind her right ear, and her doctors expect her to make a full recovery, a State Department spokesman said. "Her medical team advised her that she is making good progress on all fronts, and they are confident she will make a full recovery," said Philippe Reines in a statement. "She's eager to get back to the office, and we will keep you updated on her schedule as it becomes clearer in the coming days," he said. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. lifts Syria death toll to "truly shocking" 60,000 Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 02:58 PM PST  AMMAN/GENEVA (Reuters) - More than 60,000 people have died in Syria's uprising and civil war, the United Nations said on Wednesday, dramatically raising the death toll in a struggle that shows no sign of ending. In the latest violence, dozens were killed in a rebellious Damascus suburb when a government air strike turned a petrol station into an inferno, incinerating drivers who had rushed there for a rare chance to fill their tanks, activists said. "I counted at least 30 bodies. They were either burnt or dismembered," said Abu Saeed, an activist who arrived in the area an hour after the 1 ... Full Story | Top |
| Moody's says more steps needed to save U.S. credit rating Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 02:31 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States must do more than the recently passed "fiscal cliff" measures if the country is to rescue its Aaa debt rating from its current negative outlook, rating agency Moody's Investors Service said on Wednesday. Standard & Poor's said the deal does not affect its negative view of the U.S. credit outlook, and said more work remains ahead for policymakers. The last minute deal passed on Tuesday to avert potentially devastating tax hikes and spending cuts clarifies the medium-term deficit and debt trajectory of the federal government, Moody's said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nominee to be Libyan foreign minister turns down the job Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 01:04 PM PST  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - The man proposed as Libya's foreign minister has rejected the post despite being cleared by an Integrity Commission which was asked to examine his ties to deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi. Ali Aujali, Libya's former ambassador to the United States was among eight of the 27 ministers nominated by Prime Minister Ali Zeidan who were referred to the commission, which studies the backgrounds of public officials, after protests outside congress over the makeup of his cabinet. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. worried about reports of air strikes in Myanmar Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 12:46 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced concern on Wednesday at reports of air strikes in Myanmar's Kachin State, where a 20-month conflict between government troops and rebels has been escalating. "(Ban) has taken serious note of the most recent reports indicating air strikes against targets in Kachin State," U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Key political risks to watch in Venezuela Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 12:00 PM PST CARACAS (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez's severely weakened health as a result of an 18-month battle with cancer has raised the possibility of a new presidential election in Venezuela just months after the former soldier was re-elected to a third term. CHAVEZ'S HEALTH Chavez has made no public comments since traveling to Cuba three weeks ago for his fourth cancer operation since his diagnosis in June 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| Central African Republic rebels halt advance, agree to peace talks Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 11:15 AM PST  DAMARA, Central African Republic (Reuters) - Rebels in Central African Republic said they had halted their advance on the capital on Wednesday and agreed to start peace talks, averting a clash with regionally backed troops. The Seleka rebels had pushed to within striking distance of Bangui after a three-week onslaught and threatened to oust President Francois Bozize, accusing him of reneging on a previous peace deal and cracking down on dissidents. ... Full Story | Top |
| Former Chilean military officials held in singer's 1973 slaying Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 10:55 AM PST  SANTIAGO (Reuters) - At least four former military officials were detained in Chile on Wednesday for their alleged role in the slaying of singer-songwriter Victor Jara during the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. Jara was killed days after the coup that ousted left-leaning President Salvador Allende, and his death became a symbol of the political violence and human rights abuses that ravaged Latin America in the 1970s. Chilean prosecutors have accused two former lieutenants, Hugo Sanchez and Pedro Barrientos, of fatally shooting Jara and named six others as accomplices in the 1973 ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen kidnap seven Pakistani soldiers Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 10:32 AM PST ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Gunmen kidnapped seven soldiers from a bus in Pakistan on Wednesday, military officials said, just days after Taliban forces executed 21 pro-government paramilitaries they had seized. The gunmen took the seven soldiers and let go a sweeper on the bus with them, one military official said. The gunmen were wearing military uniforms, other sources said. The men were travelling between army headquarters in Rawalpindi and their stations in the northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when they were taken off their bus in Jand in Punjab province. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Brotherhood says UAE arrests unfounded Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 10:14 AM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said on Wednesday some of its members had been wrongfully arrested in United Arab Emirates (UAE) on allegations of helping to train local Islamists in subversion tactics. "I know 11 people were detained. I know that some of them are from the Brotherhood," said Mahmoud Ghozlan, a Brotherhood spokesman in Cairo. "The claim that they are a cell seeking to destabilize the country is devoid of truth. ... Full Story | Top |
| Guatemala's homicide rate falls for third year in a row Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 09:49 AM PST GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Homicides in Guatemala, which has one of the world's highest murder rates, fell in 2012 for a third year as authorities ramped up their battle against Mexican drug cartels and other organized criminals, the security ministry said on Wednesday. The Central American nation of nearly 15 million people registered 5,174 murders in 2012, an 8.9 percent drop from 2011. "We have improved coordination between the state prosecutor's office and the police ... and we have a new school with more advanced training for officers," Vice-Minister of Security Arkel Benitez told ... Full Story | Top |
| Jordanian peacekeepers kidnapped in Darfur freed Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 09:17 AM PST  KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Two Jordanian peacekeepers abducted in Darfur four months ago were freed on Wednesday, the international force overseeing the conflict-torn region said. A plane carrying the pair landed at Khartoum airport, the force led by the African Union and United Nations said in a statement that did not identify the kidnappers or say where the soldiers were released and whether a ransom was paid. Conflict has raged in Darfur since insurgents took up arms against Sudanese government forces in 2003, complaining that Khartoum had neglected the vast, arid region. The U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran says captures two U.S.-made miniature surveillance drones Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 09:16 AM PST DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran has captured two miniature U.S.-made surveillance drones over the past 17 months, Iranian media reported on Wednesday. Several drone incidents over the past year have highlighted tension in the Gulf as Iran and the United States flex their military capabilities in the vital oil exporting region in a standoff over Iran's disputed nuclear program. The lightweight RQ11 Raven drones were brought down by Iranian air defense units in separate incidents in August 2011 and November 2012, Rear Admiral Amir Rastegari told Fars news agency. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tehran says hoping for nuclear talks "very soon" Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 09:15 AM PST  NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Iran hopes talks with six major powers about its atomic program will begin very soon, the country's top nuclear negotiator said on Wednesday during a trip to India. Last week, Russian media said the six world powers - the United States, Russia, France, Britain, Germany and China - were still negotiating with the Islamic Republic on a possible date and venue for the talks. "We gave our proposal to Russia and they expressed their readiness for a restart of the talks. We welcome them," Saeed Jalili, Iran's national security council secretary, said. "The venue and the time... ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Monti fires opening salvo of second-term campaign Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 08:31 AM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Italy's outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti pledged to cut labor taxes to fuel growth on Wednesday as he shed his neutral technocrat stance and fired the opening salvo of his campaign for a second term. The former European Commissioner was appointed in November 2011 to lead an unelected right-left government of experts to save Italy from financial crisis after Silvio Berlusconi quit amid a sex scandal and a crisis that threatened the euro. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia poised for largest naval exercise for decades Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 08:28 AM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian warships have embarked on a long voyage to the Black and Mediterranean seas to take part in what the Defence Ministry said would be the largest naval exercise in decades. It said on Wednesday that ships from its Northern, Baltic, Black Sea and Pacific fleets would stage the exercise at the end of the month to test their ability to act together outside Russian waters. Its website said the training exercise would also include anti-terrorism and anti-piracy drills. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel completes bulk of Egypt border fence Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 08:15 AM PST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel completed the main segment of a razor-wire fence along its border with Egypt on Wednesday, a barrier against illegal migrants and Islamist militants hiding out in the lawless Sinai region. The five-meter high fence, bolstered by military surveillance equipment, is touted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as proof of his commitment to the Jewish state's security as he campaigns for a national election on January 22. Once the final 14 kilometer (8. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mandela's recovery "on track" at home: South African government Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 07:50 AM PST  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela's recovery is 'on track' at his home in Johannesburg, the government said on Wednesday in its first statement since the anti-apartheid hero was released from hospital a week ago. Mandela, 94, who has been in frail health for several years, spent nearly three weeks in a Pretoria hospital in December for treatment of a lung infection and surgery to remove gallstones, his longest stay for medical care since his release from prison in 1990. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wanted: Diamond polishers in Israel. Piety not a problem Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 07:10 AM PST  RAMAT GAN, Israel (Reuters) - Diamond manufacturing is a dwindling trade in Israel. The country has one of the world's hottest diamond exchanges, but polishers and cutters of the precious stones have been replaced by cheaper workers in newer hubs like India and China. Israel wants to bring them back. To do so, it plans on recruiting a legion of ultra-Orthodox Jews, who because of their dedication to prayer and study, have been unable or unwilling to join the work force, putting a heavy weight on the economy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Death toll from Angola vigil stampede rises to 16 Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 07:04 AM PST LISBON (Reuters) - The death toll from a New Year's Eve stampede during a religious vigil at an overcrowded stadium in the Angolan capital Luanda has risen to 16, state-owned daily newspaper Jornal de Angola said on Wednesday. State news agency Angop said on Tuesday that 10 people had been crushed to death and 120 injured at the gates of the Cidadela Desportiva stadium, where the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (IURD) organized a Pentecostal Christian vigil. The death toll has now risen to 16, including three small children, an emergency services spokeswoman told the newspaper. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cyprus apologizes to Egypt over envoy's footwear row Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 06:51 AM PST NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus apologized to the Egyptian ambassador on Wednesday after a fracas with police over security screening of her footwear at the island's main airport. Egyptian ambassador Menha Mahrous Bakhoum was involved in an argument with police when she was asked to undergo security checks to enter a departure terminal on December 29, where she was seeing off members of her family. Cypriot media reported the ambassador agreed to undergo security screening but objected to removing her boots. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nigerian leader says most bombing suspects arrested Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 06:42 AM PST  ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian police have arrested most of the suspects in bombings that killed hundreds of people in the past two years, President Goodluck Jonathan said. An Islamist insurgency in Nigeria's impoverished north has intensified since Jonathan, a southern Christian, came to office in 2010. It represents the most serious threat to Africa's most populous nation. At least 32 people have died in the past week in gun and bomb attacks in the northeast, where Islamist group Boko Haram is strongest, but Jonathan said the violence was temporary. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ethiopia says breaks up Islamist militant cell Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 05:01 AM PST ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopian police have arrested 15 suspected militants allegedly trained by Islamist rebels in neighboring Somalia and who were plotting attacks in Ethiopia, the country's intelligence agency said on Wednesday. The arrests were the latest in a crackdown on what senior officials say is a growing threat from militant Islam in Ethiopia, a Horn of Africa nation predominantly comprised of Orthodox Christians and a large minority of Muslims. ... Full Story | Top |
| Afghan warlord brands Britain's Prince Harry as "jackal" Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 04:57 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - An Afghan insurgent warlord branded Britain's Prince Harry on Wednesday as a shameless, drunken "jackal" out to kill innocent Afghans while on duty as an attack helicopter pilot for NATO forces in the country. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former Afghan prime minister who leads one of Afghanistan's main militant factions, told the Daily Telegraph in an interview that Queen Elizabeth's 28-year-old grandson was a relic of the colonial past. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria video shows stabbing and stoning blamed on Assad militia Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 04:41 AM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Internet video posted by Syrian rebels appears to show fighters loyal to President Bashar al-Assad stabbing two men to death and stoning them with concrete blocks in a summary execution lasting several minutes. Assad's forces and rebels have both been accused of atrocities in Syria's 21-month-old uprising-turned-civil war. The United Nations says the authorities and their allied militia have been more culpable. Reuters could not verify the provenance of the footage or the identity of the perpetrators and their victims. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israeli TV star-turned-politician seeks social reform Wednesday, Jan 02, 2013 04:22 AM PST  TEL AVIV, Israel (Reuters) - In a matter of months, Yair Lapid has turned from heartthrob television news anchor into a rising star of Israeli politics, leading a new centrist party into elections on January 22. Lapid, 49, may prove an attractive coalition partner for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party, which is widely forecast to lead the next government. ... Full Story | Top |
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