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| Chavez still has "severe" respiratory problem Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 06:48 PM PST  CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is still suffering a "severe" respiratory infection that has hindered his breathing as he struggles to recover from cancer surgery in Cuba, the government said on Thursday. The 58-year-old socialist leader has not been seen in public nor heard from in more than three weeks. Officials say he is in delicate condition after his fourth operation in just 18 months for an undisclosed form of cancer in his pelvic area. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chavez still has "severe" respiratory problem: Venezuela government Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 06:26 PM PST CARACAS (Reuters) - - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is still suffering from a lung infection that has hindered his breathing as he battles to recover from December 11 cancer surgery, the government said on Thursday. "Commander Chavez has faced complications as a result of a severe lung infection," Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said, reading the latest official update on the president's condition in a hospital in Cuba. ... Full Story | Top |
| Car bomb hits Damascus petrol station, 11 killed Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 05:27 PM PST AMMAN (Reuters) - At least 11 people were killed and 40 wounded when a car bomb exploded on Thursday at a petrol station in the Syrian capital Damascus, opposition activists said. The petrol station was packed with people queuing for fuel that has become increasingly scarce during the country's 21-month-long civil war, the activists said. The bombing took place in the Barzeh al-Balad district, whose residents include a mix of majority Sunni Muslims and several other religious and ethnic minorities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Eleven dead in Damascus gas station blast Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 05:27 PM PST  AZAZ, Syria (Reuters) - At least 11 people were killed and 40 wounded when a car bomb exploded at a crowded petrol station in the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, opposition activists said. The station was packed with people queuing for fuel that has become increasingly scarce during the country's 21-month-long insurgency aimed at overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad. The semi-official al-Ikhbariya television station showed footage of 10 burnt bodies and Red Crescent workers searching for victims at the site. ... Full Story | Top |
| Court hearing delayed for former Haitian President Aristide Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 03:44 PM PST  PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on Thursday won a delay until next week in a court hearing to address accusations he exploited former street children for political gain. Aristide, who did not appear in court, has not been charged with a crime and a judge will ultimately decide whether any charges should be filed. His lawyer successfully argued that the hearing should be delayed to next Wednesday because the court summons was served improperly. ... Full Story | Top |
| Northern Irish police injured as flag row turns violent again Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 03:39 PM PST  BELFAST (Reuters) - Eight police officers were injured in Northern Ireland on Thursday when protests at the removal of the British flag from Belfast City Hall turned violent for the first time in more than two weeks. Pro-British loyalists began rioting and fighting street battles with police after a decision a month ago by mostly nationalist pro-Irish councilors to end the century-old tradition of flying the British flag from City Hall every day in the British-controlled province. More than 40 police officers were injured in the initial wave of violence, which stopped over Christmas. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudan, South Sudan leaders to try to defuse tension at summit Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 03:13 PM PST KHARTOUM (Reuters) - The leaders of Sudan and South Sudan meet on Friday to make another attempt to defuse hostilities after their countries split and restart cross-border oil flows to throw their beleaguered economies a lifeline. Sudan's Omar Hassan al-Bashir and South Sudan's Salva Kiir have both signaled possible concessions at the talks in Addis Ababa to end a stalemate over how to set up a demilitarized buffer zone after the countries came close to war in April. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cuban group says political detentions rose dramatically in 2012 Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 02:55 PM PST  HAVANA (Reuters) - Political detentions rose dramatically in Cuba in 2012 and will likely increase again in 2013 because of a lack of "real reforms" on the communist island, a Cuban human rights group said on Thursday. The independent Cuban Commission of Human Rights said in its annual report there were 6,602 detentions of government opponents last year, compared to 4,123 in 2011 and 2,074 in 2010. Elizardo Sanchez, head of the group, said the rise reflected growing discontent among Cubans and the government's attempts to keep a lid on dissent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Clinton resting, plans to return to the office next week Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 12:11 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is resting at home in New York after being treated for a blood clot and plans to return to her office next week, the State Department said on Thursday. Clinton, 65, has suffered a series of ailments over the last month including a stomach virus, a concussion and a blood clot in a vein behind her right ear. She was released from New York Presbyterian Hospital on Wednesday after a stay of several days during which she was given blood thinners to treat the clot. Her doctors have said they expect her to make a full recovery. ... Full Story | Top |
| Libyan police captain abducted in Benghazi Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 12:06 PM PST  BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - A police investigator was missing after being abducted in the militia-ridden Libyan city of Benghazi, police said on Thursday, but tests on a charred body showed it was not his. The corpse charred with hydrochloric acid and found in the Buhmeida district was not that of the missing Captain Abdel-Salam al-Mahdawi, head of the city's criminal investigation unit, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said. "The body that was found in Benghazi was that of another man's and not Captain al-Mahdawi," Zeidan told reporters. "We wish that he is returned home safely to his family. ... Full Story | Top |
| Basque separatists Batasuna say they are closing down Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 11:41 AM PST BORDEAUX, France (Reuters) - Batasuna, regarded by Spain as the political wing of ETA rebels, said it was closing down on Thursday, two months after a legal party calling for independence for the Basque Country finished second in regional elections. Batasuna, which made the announcement at a press conference in Bayonne, France, where it is legal, said it wanted to clear the way for Basque separatists operating within the political system. The party had been outlawed by Spain in 2003 for links to ETA, which it denied. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ontario government imposes new contracts on teachers Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 11:20 AM PST TORONTO (Reuters) - Ontario's government said on Thursday it will impose labor contracts on tens of thousands of teachers in Canada's most populous province as part of its controversial push to reduce a large budget deficit. Education Minister Laurel Broten announced contract terms covering some 130,000 teachers that included a broad wage freeze, a reduction in the number of sick days and limits on the number of sick days teachers are allowed to cash out when they retire. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkish Kurd deputies meet jailed militant leader Ocalan: lawmaker Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 10:36 AM PST  DIYARBAKIR (Reuters) - Two Kurdish lawmakers made a rare visit to Abdullah Ocalan at his island prison on Thursday, signaling that Turkey is negotiating with the influential militant leader over ending a conflict that has killed tens of thousands over three decades. Pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputy Ayla Akat Ata and prominent Kurdish politician Ahmet Turk went with a lawyer to Imrali, where Ocalan has been held in virtual isolation since his capture in 1999, a Kurdish lawmaker said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Argentina's president urges Falklands talks with Britain Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 10:00 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain rejected calls on Thursday from Argentine President Cristina Fernandez for talks over the disputed Falkland Islands after she wrote an open letter to Prime Minister David Cameron. Britain and Argentina fought a 10-week war in 1982 over the remote South Atlantic islands, which are part of Britain's self-governing overseas territories and are known in Argentina as Las Malvinas. ... Full Story | Top |
| Congo rebels demand government sign ceasefire for talks Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 09:34 AM PST  BUNAGANA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Congolese rebels on Thursday threatened to walk away from this week's peace talks to end their nine-month revolt unless the government signs an official ceasefire, a demand Kinshasa dismissed as unnecessary. The rebel March 23 Movement, preparing for talks on Friday in Kampala, capital of regional mediator Uganda, said government troops had reinforced positions in the east of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and warned it would resist an offensive. ... Full Story | Top |
| Suicide car bomber kills 27 Shi'ite pilgrims in Iraq Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 09:29 AM PST HILLA, Iraq (Reuters) - A suicide bomber driving a car killed at least 27 Shi'ite Muslims at a bus station in the Iraqi town of Mussayab on Thursday, police and medics said, as they were gathering to return home from a religious rite. The attack, which also wounded at least 60, underlines sectarian tensions that threaten to further destabilize the country a year after U.S. troops left. ... Full Story | Top |
| Monti says political rivals should sideline extremists Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 09:00 AM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Mario Monti, bidding for a second term as Italy's prime minister, said on Thursday a left-wing party on track to lead the next government should sideline "extreme" elements who hinder vital economic reforms. The 69-year-old former European Commissioner was appointed in November 2011 to lead an unelected right-left government of experts to save Italy from financial crisis after then-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi quit. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian marines to return to India after Christmas leave Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 08:52 AM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Two Italian marines facing a murder trial in India for killing two fishermen returned there on Thursday after being allowed to spend Christmas in Italy, Rome airport officials said. While in Italy, they were invited to the presidential palace and embraced by head of state Giorgio Napolitano, reflecting a feeling among many Italians that they have been unjustly detained. Several government ministers and high-ranking military officials also met marines Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone while they were in Italy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain extradites al Qaeda suspect to U.S. Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 08:35 AM PST LONDON (Reuters) - A Pakistani man accused by British authorities of being an al Qaeda operative who took part in a plot to bomb U.S. and English targets was extradited from Britain to the United States on Thursday to face terrorism charges. Abid Naseer, 26, was one of a dozen men arrested in April 2009 on suspicion of preparing to cause mass casualties by bombing Manchester city centre in northern England. ... Full Story | Top |
| Benghazi police captain seized by militia Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 08:19 AM PST Benghazi, Libya (Reuters) - The head of Benghazi's criminal investigation police unit is missing after he was seized by armed men, police officials said on Thursday. Captain Abdel-Salam al-Mahdawi was taken by a unknown suspects late on Wednesday night, officials said . "He was taken by force under the threat of weapons from a location close to the criminal investigation police offices," said one police official who declined to be named, because he was not authorized to speak to the media. ... Full Story | Top |
| Saudi coast guard arrests 21 Iranians Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 08:04 AM PST JEDDAH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has detained 21 Iranian nationals who were aboard two boats near an island off the kingdom's eastern coast, the Saudi border guard said on Thursday. Separated by about 250 km (150 miles) of Gulf waters, Shi'ite Muslim power Iran and Sunni-led Saudi Arabia have often had tense relations. U.S. ally Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of fomenting unrest among Shi'ites in its oil-rich Eastern Province, a charge Iran denies. "One of the marine patrols was able to seize two Iranian boats on Wednesday inside Saudi regional waters," a border guard statement said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Drone kills three al Qaeda suspects in Yemen: sources Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 07:23 AM PST SANAA (Reuters) - At least three suspected al Qaeda militants including a local commander were killed on Thursday in Yemen by a strike from an unmanned aircraft, residents and a local official said. The attack in Redaa, in the southern al-Bayda province was the fifth by a pilotless plane in the space of 10 days in the impoverished country, where the United States has stepped up drone strikes against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). ... Full Story | Top |
| Israeli West Bank raid sparks clashes with Palestinians Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 07:17 AM PST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli forces raided the West Bank city of Jenin in search of a suspected Palestinian militant on Thursday, setting off clashes with residents who threw rocks and petrol bombs at them, an Israeli security source said. It was the second time this week that Israeli forces had entered the Jenin area to detain suspects. On Tuesday, Israeli soldiers disguised as Palestinians raided the village of Tamoun, arresting a member of the Islamic Jihad group. Several dozen Palestinians were injured in ensuing clashes, medical officials said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Central African Republic president refuses to leave power, defying rebels Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 07:07 AM PST  BANGUI (Reuters) - Central African Republic President Francois Bozize will refuse to leave power during talks with rebels, his spokesman said on Thursday, rejecting the insurgents' main demand and raising the prospect of a return to fighting. The Seleka rebel alliance, which has accused Bozize of reneging on a past peace deal, advanced to within striking distance of the mineral-rich nation's capital this week before bowing to international pressure to start negotiations. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Soaring Syria death toll brings intervention no closer Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 06:46 AM PST  AZAZ, Syria/LONDON (Reuters) - The death toll in Syria now exceeds 60,000, the United Nations says. Another 100,000 may die this year, warns U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. About 220 were killed on Wednesday alone. "When numbers get serious, they leave a mark on your door," goes a song by American musician Paul Simon. But in Syria those bloody notches show no signs of braking a headlong struggle to the death watched from afar by divided outside powers, most of whose leaders seem convinced that the risks of direct intervention outweigh any possible rewards. ... Full Story | Top |
| Three women die as gunman opens fire in Swiss village Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 06:44 AM PST  DAILLON, Switzerland (Reuters) - A gunman killed three women and wounded two men late on Wednesday in the Swiss village of Daillon, opening fire from his apartment then pursuing the attack in the street, Swiss officials said. The 33-year-old gunman, who has not been named, threatened police when they tried to arrest him and was shot in the chest before being arrested and taken to hospital, police in the Swiss canton of Valais said on Thursday. No police officers were wounded. ... Full Story | Top |
| Yemen's ex-president to seek treatment abroad before talks start Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 06:38 AM PST SANAA (Reuters) - Yemen's ousted president will go abroad for medical treatment, an aide said on Thursday, and his opponents say his absence will improve the chances of success in reconciliation talks seen as crucial for stabilizing the impoverished country. The talks are expected to start in February. Ali Abdullah Saleh, expected to be absent during the discussions, remains influential, and his continuing sway over Yemen is worrying Gulf neighbors and Western nations who fear the political transition could descend into chaos. Restoring stability in Yemen has become a priority for the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Activists launch petition to free Saudi author Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 06:31 AM PST DUBAI (Reuters) - Activists and intellectuals have petitioned Saudi authorities to free a prominent author two weeks after he was detained over tweets deemed insulting to the Prophet Mohammad, campaigners said on Thursday. Turki al-Hamad, one of the best known liberal thinkers and writers in the conservative Muslim kingdom, was detained on December 24 over the comments on microblogging site Twitter which suggested that Islam needed to be rectified. ... Full Story | Top |
| Indian rape accused charged; victim's father calls for hanging Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 06:24 AM PST  NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Five Indian men were formally charged in court on Thursday with the gang rape and murder of a physiotherapy student in a case that has generated widespread anger about the government's inability to prevent violence against women. The December 16 attack on the 23-year-old student and a male companion provoked furious protests close to the seat of government in New Delhi and has fuelled a nationwide debate about the prevalence of sexual crime in India, where a rape is reported on average every 20 minutes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen kill 4 in Nigeria police station attack Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 05:25 AM PST KADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Gunmen have killed four people and burned down a police station in northeast Adamawa state, the police said on Thursday, the latest such attack in a region where Islamist sect Boko Haram has its stronghold. A soldier, a policeman, a civilian and her grandchild were killed by unknown gunmen and a local government office was destroyed in the town of Song, near the border with Cameroon, Adamawa police spokesman Mohammed Ibrahim told Reuters. He said it happened around midnight on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Czech government party signals truce in coalition row Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 04:40 AM PST  PRAGUE (Reuters) - A junior partner in the Czech Republic's shaky coalition signaled on Thursday it may back off its threat to leave the cabinet, reducing the chances Prime Minister Petr Necas will fall. The turnaround, still subject to further negotiations, would resolve the latest in a series of crises that have hurt the government's ability to push through legislation and brought frequent policy changes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sri Lankan chief justice impeachment illegal: Supreme Court Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 04:27 AM PST  COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's Supreme Court said on Thursday parliament does not have the legal authority to investigate accusations of misconduct against senior judges and an impeachment proceeding against the chief justice was against the law. The government and Supreme Court have been at loggerheads since President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling party filed an impeachment motion against Shirani Bandaranayake, Sri Lanka's first female head of the Supreme Court, on November 6. ... Full Story | Top |
| Myanmar says jets used against Kachin rebels Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 03:37 AM PST  YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's military has used jets to attacks rebel fighters in northern Kachin state, the government said on Thursday, its first admission of an intensification of a conflict that has raised doubts about its reformist credentials. Rebel sources have reported aerial bombings, shelling and even the use of chemical weapons since December 28 after the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) ignored an ultimatum to stop blocking an army supply route in the hilly, resource-rich state where more than 50,000 people have been displaced. ... Full Story | Top |
| Social protest leaders hope to shake up Israel ballot Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 03:33 AM PST  TEL AVIV (Reuters) - They are young and they are driven. They got half a million Israelis out on the streets demanding social justice. Now they want their votes. The leaders of a grassroots social protest movement that swept Israel in 2011 have shot to the top of a rejuvenated Labour party that polls say will at least double its power in a January 22 general election that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud is forecast to win. "The next stage is to continue what started in the streets, to bring that to the ballot ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkey's ex-army chief detained over 1997 "post-modern coup" Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 03:29 AM PST ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's former armed forces chief was detained on Thursday in an investigation into the military's role in pushing the country's first Islamist-led government out of power in 1997, local media reported. Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, who pioneered Islamist politics in Turkey, resigned in June 1997, months after the military-dominated National Security Council warned him over policies it perceived as undermining the secular constitution. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. drone strike kills key Pakistan Taliban commander: sources Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 03:20 AM PST  WANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - A U.S. drone strike killed a key Taliban commander, his deputy and eight others in northwest Pakistan, intelligence sources and tribal leaders said Thursday, deaths that could substantially alter the power balance in the Taliban heartland of Waziristan. Maulvi Nazir Wazir, also known as Mullah Nazir, was killed on Wednesday night when missiles struck a mud house in South Waziristan, near the Afghan border, intelligence sources and residents said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan's finance minister in Myanmar with development pledges Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 03:18 AM PST  NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (Reuters) - Japan's new government confirmed its support for the emerging democracy in Myanmar on Thursday when Finance Minister Taro Aso visited the country to reaffirm Japan's intention to cancel debt and help develop a big industrial zone. Myanmar has implemented rapid economic and political reforms since President Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government took over from a long-ruling military junta in March 2011 and Japan has moved quickly to cement business ties. ... Full Story | Top |
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