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| China calls for easing of tensions on Korean peninsula Friday, Mar 29, 2013 12:15 AM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - China called for an easing of tensions on Friday as North Korea put its missile units on standby to attack U.S. military bases in South Korea and the Pacific after the United States flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei made the comments at a daily news briefing. (Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Writing by Ben Blanchard) Full Story | Top |
| As U.S. hardens line on North Korea, South may pay Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 11:17 PM PDT By David Chance and Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) - Washington's decision to fly B-52 and stealth bomber missions over Korea this week in a warning to Pyongyang risks pushing the North into staging an attack on the South just as its threats may have been on the cusp of dying down. New leaders in Seoul, Beijing and most importantly, an untested 30-year-old in Pyongyang who has to prove he is capable of facing down a perceived threat from the United States, have raised the stakes in a month-long standoff that risks flaring into a conflict. ... Full Story | Top |
| CA-NEWS Summary Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 08:14 PM PDT North Korea readies rockets after U.S. show of force SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea put its missile units on standby on Friday to attack U.S. military bases in South Korea and the Pacific, after the United States flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula in a rare show of force. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed off on the order at a midnight meeting of top generals and "judged the time has come to settle accounts with the U.S. imperialists in view of the prevailing situation", the official KCNA news agency said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran, North Korea, Syria block U.N. arms trade treaty Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 08:14 PM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iran, Syria and North Korea on Friday prevented the adoption of the first international treaty to regulate the $70 billion global conventional arms trade, complaining that it was flawed and failed to ban weapons sales to rebel groups. To get around the blockade, British U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant sent the draft treaty to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and asked him on behalf of Mexico, Australia and a number of others to put it to a swift vote in the General Assembly. U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea readies rockets after U.S. show of force Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 08:07 PM PDT  By David Chance and Phil Stewart SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea put its missile units on standby on Friday to attack U.S. military bases in South Korea and the Pacific, after the United States flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula in a rare show of force. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed off on the order at a midnight meeting of top generals and "judged the time has come to settle accounts with the U.S. imperialists in view of the prevailing situation", the official KCNA news agency said. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea pushes up state of missile site readiness: report Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 07:45 PM PDT SEOUL (Reuters) - Increased activities involving vehicles and troops at North Korea's mid- and long-range missile units have been detected by South Korea's military, Yonhap news agency said on Friday, just hours after the North's leader ordered rocket units to be ready to attack U.S. bases. "Sharply increased movements of vehicles and soldiers have been detected recently at North Korea's mid and long-range missile sites," South Korea's Yonhap news quoted a military source as saying. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan says 150 killed in battle with rebels Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:34 PM PDT  JUBA (Reuters) - More than 150 people have been killed in a battle between South Sudan's army and insurgents in the eastern Jonglei state, officials said on Thursday. The African country's army earlier this month launched an offensive against rebels led by David Yau Yau in Jonglei where the government hopes to search for oil with the help of France's Total. Since winning independence from Sudan in July 2011, South Sudan has been struggling to impose its authority across vast swathes of territory bristling with weapons after decades of civil war with Khartoum. ... Full Story | Top |
| North readies rockets after U.S. flies stealth bombers over South Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:18 PM PDT By David Chance and Phil Stewart SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea put its rocket units on standby on Friday to attack U.S. military bases in South Korea and the Pacific, after the United States flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula in a rare show of force. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed off on the order at a midnight meeting of top generals and "judged the time has come to settle accounts with the U.S. imperialists in view of the prevailing situation", official KCNA news agency said. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. nominates Breedlove as top NATO commander Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:10 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama nominated U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove on Thursday to become NATO's top military commander, a key role as NATO aims to wind down an 11-year-old combat mission in Afghanistan that has tested the resolve of allies. Breedlove, whose nomination was widely expected and endorsed by ambassadors from the 28 NATO allies, would succeed Admiral James Stavridis as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe. His appointment requires U.S. Senate confirmation. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea leader orders rocket units on standby to hit U.S. bases: KCNA Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:00 PM PDT  SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un orders the country's rocket units to be on standby to attack U.S. military bases in South Korea and the Pacific in an emergency meeting on Friday after the United States flew Stealth bombers in a show of force to Pyongyang. The North's official KCNA news agency said Kim signed off on the orders at a midnight meeting of top generals and "judged the time has come to settle accounts with the U.S. imperialists in view of the prevailing situation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Gay marriage rights may carry bigger U.S. tax burden for some Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:48 PM PDT  By Kim Dixon and Patrick Temple-West WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down a federal law defining marriage as between a man and woman, the newfound rights for gay married couples may bear something not so welcome - a bigger tax burden. That's because with equality, gay couples will face the same tax woes of many heterosexual couples with similar incomes, including the tax hit known in America as the marriage penalty. ... Full Story | Top |
| France says too early to send arms to Syria rebels Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:33 PM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday that the situation in Syria was still too unsure to start supplying weapons to opposition rebels, an idea France backs in the longer term. France and Britain are both pressing for the relaxation of an arms embargo on Syria so that arms can flow to outgunned rebels waging a two-year-old uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The embargo expires on June 1 and both countries say it should be allowed to lapse. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia to fight move by Syrian opposition to take Syria's U.N. seat Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:27 PM PDT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia vowed on Thursday to oppose an expected push by the Syrian opposition to take over Syria's seat at the United Nations and predicted that any Syrian National Coalition bid at the world body would fail. Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, made the comment to reporters after Moscow criticized the Arab League for giving Syria's seat to the opposition at a league summit. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Arab League had abandoned hope for a peaceful end to Syria's 2-year civil war. ... Full Story | Top |
| Former U.S. soldier accused of fighting with al Qaeda in Syria Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:27 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former U.S. soldier was arrested and charged with conspiring to use a rocket-propelled grenade while fighting with an al Qaeda affiliate in Syria against the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday. Eric Harroun, 30, of Phoenix, Arizona, was accused of fighting with the al-Nusrah Front, also known as al Qaeda in Iraq, which is designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and the FBI said in a joint statement. Even as U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spy who foiled jet bomb plot to be Britain's intelligence chief Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:25 PM PDT  By Peter Griffiths LONDON (Reuters) - A British counterspy who helped to thwart an al Qaeda plot to blow up planes with explosives hidden in soft drink bottles and led the response to the 2005 London transport bombings will be the new head of Britain's domestic intelligence agency, the U.K. government said on Thursday. Andrew Parker has three decades' experience at the Security Service, known as MI5, countering Islamist militants, violent Irish republicans and organized criminals. He has been deputy chief since 2007, and once served as a British security liaison in the United States. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britons in aid convoy briefly kidnapped in Libya Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:24 PM PDT BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Five British nationals who were part of an aid convoy passing through Libya on the way to Gaza were briefly kidnapped by an armed group, and one was sexually assaulted, security officials said on Thursday. The incident happened in the eastern city of Benghazi early on Wednesday morning and the group was released several hours later. They were now with the Turkish consul in Benghazi, Libyan security officials said. "They were on their way to Benghazi airport when they were stopped shortly after passing a checkpoint manned by the national army. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. flies stealth bombers over South Korea in warning to North Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:02 PM PDT  By David Chance SEOUL (Reuters) - The United States flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers on practice runs over South Korea on Thursday, in a rare show of force following a series of North Korean threats that the Pentagon said have set Pyongyang on a dangerous path. The drill by the two B-2 Spirit bombers - flying all the way from the United States and back - appeared to be the first exercise of its kind and showed America's ability to conduct long-range, precision strikes "quickly and at will," the U.S. military said. The bomber flights, and the unusual public announcement of them by the ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. debates how severely to penalize Russia in human rights spat Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:00 PM PDT  By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a controversy underscoring continued stresses in U.S.-Russia relations, Obama administration officials are debating how many Russian officials to ban from the United States under a new law meant to penalize Moscow for alleged human rights abuses. The debate's outcome, expected in about two weeks, is likely to illustrate how President Barack Obama will handle what critics say is a crackdown on dissent in Russia and set the tone for Washington-Moscow relations in the president's second term. ... Full Story | Top |
| French defense spend flat in 2014: Hollande Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 02:49 PM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday there would be no cuts to the country's 31-billion-euro annual defense budget next year despite pressure to save billions of euros in public spending. Hollande's Socialist government is eyeing its defense budget as it struggles to pare down a large public spending bill and meet public deficit targets, telling ministries they must save an extra 5 billion euros in 2014. ... Full Story | Top |
| France to cut Mali troops to 1,000 by year-end Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 02:10 PM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - France will reduce its troop numbers in Mali to 2,000 by July and to 1,000 by the end of the year, down from 4,000 at present, President Francois Hollande said on Thursday. After its intervention in January to halt an advance by northern al Qaeda-linked rebels towards the capital Bamako, France is keen to wind down its presence quickly and hand over to African and U.N. troops. Hollande said France was determined that Mali should hold elections as scheduled in July but insisted that France did not have a preferred candidate. ... Full Story | Top |
| Attempt to end Italy crisis stalls, president mulls next move Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 01:57 PM PDT  By James Mackenzie and Barry Moody ROME (Reuters) - Center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani has failed in his attempt to find a way out of Italy's political deadlock and President Giorgio Napolitano will now seek another solution, the president's palace said on Thursday. Bersani reported back to Napolitano on Thursday night after being given a mandate almost a week ago to see if he could muster enough support to form a government after the inconclusive election in February. ... Full Story | Top |
| Putin flexes Russian military muscle in naval exercise Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 01:56 PM PDT  By Alexei Anishchuk MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin ordered large-scale military exercises in the Black Sea on Thursday, projecting Russian power towards Europe and the Middle East in a move that may vex neighbors. Officials suggested the surprise drill would test reaction speed and combat readiness, but Putin's order also seemed a signal to the West of Russia's presence in the region. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Putin triggered the maneuvers as he flew back overnight from South Africa after a summit of the BRICS emerging economies. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Africa's Mandela "responding positively" to treatment Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 01:52 PM PDT  By Ed Stoddard JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela is "responding positively" to treatment for a recurring lung infection after being admitted to hospital overnight, the government said on Thursday. "He remains under treatment and observation in hospital," it added in a statement, without giving further details about the health of the 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama wishes Mandela well, calls him an inspiration Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 01:52 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sent his best wishes on Thursday to former South African President Nelson Mandela, who is being treated in a hospital for a recurring lung infection, and called the 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader an inspiration. "He is as strong physically as he's been in character and in leadership over so many decades, and hopefully he will ... come out of this latest challenge," Obama told reporters at the White House while meeting with four visiting African leaders. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia's Putin calls NGO inspections "routine" Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 01:41 PM PDT By Gabriela Baczynska and Denis Dyomkin MOSCOW/SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday dismissed criticism of state inspections of non-governmental organizations, saying the office searches that have prompted charges of harassment and caused concern in the West are routine. Rights activists say a wave of inspections at hundreds of NGO offices in recent weeks are aimed at scaring them into registering as "foreign agents" and silencing criticism of Putin, a former KGB spy now in his third term at the Kremlin. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. approves new combat force to "neutralize" Congo rebels Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 01:26 PM PDT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Thursday approved the creation of a unique new combat force that is to carry out "targeted offensive operations" to neutralize armed groups in conflict-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The 15-member Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution establishing the so-called intervention brigade - the first time the United Nations has created such a unit within a traditional peacekeeping force - as part of the existing 20,000-strong U.N. force in Congo, the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mortar kills 15 at Damascus University, Syria says Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 01:16 PM PDT  By Oliver Holmes and Hamdi Istanbullu BEIRUT/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Fifteen Syrian students were killed when rebel mortar shells hit a Damascus University canteen on Thursday, state-run news agency SANA said, as attacks intensified in the center of the capital. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition monitoring group, said a mortar killed 13 people at the university, without saying who fired the bombs. Other activists confirmed the attack but no opposition group has denied or claimed responsibility. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canadian Pacific oil spill cleanup to last two days Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 01:00 PM PDT  By Edward McAllister (Reuters) - Recovery efforts were underway on Thursday to clean up an oil spill in western Minnesota, a day after a mile-long Canadian Pacific Railway train derailed, rupturing three tankers and leaking around 15,000 gallons of fuel. The cleanup was expected to take another day or two, officials said, after 14 cars on a 94-car train heading for the Chicago area left the tracks on Wednesday about 150 miles northwest of Minneapolis near the town of Parkers Prairie. ... Full Story | Top |
| French will have to work longer for pensions: Hollande Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 12:58 PM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - President Francois Hollande said on Thursday that the French will have to work longer to qualify for a full pension under an upcoming overhaul of the overstretched retirement system. "As we are living longer, we are going to have to have longer contribution periods," Hollande said on France 2 television, asked in an interview what changes he will make in a pension reform likely for next year. "There will be a discussion on the terms, on contributions, indexing to inflation and lengthening the contribution period," he said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lawmakers invite divisive Indian Hindu nationalist to visit Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 12:54 PM PDT  By Ross Colvin NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A visiting U.S. congressional delegation on Thursday invited the chief minister of India's Gujarat state, Narendra Modi, to the United States, despite the fact that Washington has denied him a visa since 2005 because of deadly religious riots. The invitation was a symbolic victory for Modi, a popular but divisive Hindu nationalist leader who is widely seen as harboring ambitions to become prime minister in 2014 and has been trying to win greater international acceptance. However, the offer from Republican members of the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| France's Hollande to shift 75 percent tax onto companies Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 12:46 PM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday that he planned to alter his election campaign proposal for a 75 percent tax on income above 1 million euros to put the burden on companies rather than individuals. Hollande said during an interview on France 2 television that he would redraft his original super-tax plan, which has been rejected by the constitutional council, so that companies would pay a 75 percent tax on salaries above 1 million euros ($1.28 million). ... Full Story | Top |
| Irish PM's party wins by-election, junior partner suffers Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 12:41 PM PDT  By Stephen Mangan ASHBOURNE, Ireland (Reuters) - Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny's Fine Gael party held its seat in a by-election on Thursday, but its junior coalition partner Labor was beaten into fifth place in a humiliating defeat. Labour went into government for the first time since the late 1990s two years ago on a promise to end the previous administration's Laboradherence to "Frankfurt's Way", an austerity plan the party said was dictated by the European Central Bank. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. approves creation of special combat force for Congo Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 12:28 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Thursday approved the creation of a special combat force that is to carry out "targeted offensive operations" to neutralize armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The 15-member Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution establishing the so-called intervention brigade within the existing 20,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force in Congo, known as MONUSCO. (Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Vicki Allen) Full Story | Top |
| Kenyatta apologizes for judges gaffe before Kenya poll ruling Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 12:24 PM PDT  By James Macharia NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's president-elect, whose victory is being challenged in the Supreme Court, apologized on Thursday for seeming to dismiss the judges as "some six people" who will "decide something or other". Uhuru Kenyatta, who also faces trial at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity over post-election violence five years ago, made the remarks - which went viral on social media - while consulting allies at a resort. ... Full Story | Top |
| Palestinian journalist gets jail term for Abbas insult Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 12:21 PM PDT  By Noah Browning RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - A Palestinian court sentenced a local journalist to a year in jail on Thursday over a picture posted on Facebook that was deemed insulting to President Mahmoud Abbas. The ruling against Mamdouh Hamamreh, who works for the al-Quds TV channel in Bethlehem, is the second this year in which Palestinians have been given jail terms over caricatures of the president. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy center-left says Bersani has not given up on government hopes Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 11:48 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - Italian center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani has not given up hopes of forming a government despite the failure of his consultations with rival political parties, a spokesman for his Democratic Party said on Thursday. Earlier, an official from President Giorgio Napolitano's office said that the talks had produced no result and that Napolitano would now assess possible options. "Bersani has not given up, you need to keep to the Quirinale statement," the spokesman said. (Reporting By Paolo Biondi; writing by James Mackenzie) Full Story | Top |
| Turkey denies mass deportation of Syrian refugees Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 11:44 AM PDT  By Hamdi Istanbullu and Jonathon Burch ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey denied on Thursday it had rounded up and deported hundreds of Syrian refugees following unrest at a border camp, highlighting the strain the exodus from Syria's civil war is placing on neighboring states. Witnesses said hundreds of Syrians were bussed to the border after Wednesday's clashes in which refugees in the Suleymansah camp, near the Turkish town of Akcakale, threw rocks at military police, who fired teargas and water cannon. ... Full Story | Top |
| Beleaguered Hollande to reach out to nation on TV Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 11:41 AM PDT  By Catherine Bremer PARIS (Reuters) - With his approval ratings and most of his economic pledges in tatters, French President Francois Hollande will try to convince a disillusioned nation on television on Thursday to keep faith in him to restore the economy to health. Hollande will be grilled in a 45-minute interview on France 2 television, his first such appearance in several months, in a studio whose backdrop and lighting have been prepared by his media team to create a somber mood. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Napolitano to assess options after Bersani government bid fails Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 11:39 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - President Giorgio Napolitano will assess the political situation after center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani failed to muster enough support to form a government, an official from the president's office said on Thursday. Donato Marra, the secretary general of Napolitano's office in the Quirinale palace said Bersani had reported to the president that his attempt to form a government had not achieved a solution and Napolitano would now look at options himself. ... Full Story | Top |
| German police arrest Pakistani in drone spying case Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 11:36 AM PDT BERLIN (Reuters) - German police have arrested a 28-year-old Pakistani man on suspicion of spying on high-tech military data, the office of the federal public prosecutor said in a statement on Thursday. A German magazine has said the case involves a firm that did research on reconnaissance drones made by Israel and used by the German army in Afghanistan. "The case is amazing," Focus magazine quoted one of the investigators as saying. German authorities declined to name the firm. The man, identified only as Umar R. ... Full Story | Top |
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