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| Rockets hit south Beirut after Hezbollah vows Syria victory Sunday, May 26, 2013 12:38 AM PDT  By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Two rockets hit a Shi'ite Muslim district of southern Beirut on Sunday and wounded several people, residents said, a day after the leader of Lebanese Shi'ite militant movement Hezbollah said his group would continue fighting in Syria until victory. It was the first attack to apparently target Hezbollah's stronghold in the south of the Lebanese capital since the outbreak of the two-year conflict in neighboring Syria, which has sharply heightened Lebanon's own sectarian tensions. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazil says will cancel Africa debt worth $900 mln Sunday, May 26, 2013 12:37 AM PDT ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Brazil will cancel or restructure almost $900 million in debt owed by African countries, a Brazilian official said on Saturday, as part of a plan to increase future funding to the continent. Latin America's economic powerhouse is increasingly expanding its economic ties with Africa, a sign of how crises in the rich world are pushing faster-growing emerging economies to trade and invest among themselves, economists say. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt court rejects religious slogans in election law Sunday, May 26, 2013 12:32 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's highest court ruled on Saturday that parts of a revised election law setting out terms for a parliamentary vote were unconstitutional, casting fresh doubt over a poll that has already been delayed. The Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament had approved the law last month and sent it to the Supreme Constitutional Court to check the legality of the voting procedures for a new lower house. Opposition politicians had denounced the text of the revised election law approved by parliament and repeated threats to boycott the vote. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kerry stresses respect for human rights with Nigerian president Sunday, May 26, 2013 12:26 AM PDT  ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who last week expressed concern about allegations of gross human rights violations by Nigerian forces fighting the Boko Haram Islamist sect, raised the issue with the country's president directly on Saturday, a U.S. official said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bitter election aftermath undermines Malaysian PM Najib Sunday, May 26, 2013 12:01 AM PDT  By Niluksi Koswanage KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak may have won this month's disputed election but he faces a fight for legitimacy that could slow reforms, embolden a strong opposition protest movement and spark a leadership battle. Already the signs are not good. At a busy intersection across from one of Kuala Lumpur's fanciest shopping malls, a huge poster of Najib and his deputy has been defaced, a rare display of public disrespect in the Southeast Asian nation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Will immigration reform get killed in Republican-led House? Saturday, May 25, 2013 07:26 PM PDT  By Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The biggest overhaul of U.S. immigration laws in a generation won bipartisan approval from a powerful U.S. Senate committee last week, but there is a strong chance that Republicans in the House of Representatives will end up killing it. The problem: House Republicans are far from convinced by arguments from party leaders that passage of the bill would help Republicans draw support from Hispanic voters. Many also believe any kind of amnesty for the estimated 11 million immigrants who are in the United States illegally is just plain wrong. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian opposition struggles for unity as battle rages Saturday, May 25, 2013 06:29 PM PDT  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Syria's opposition resumed talks on Saturday aimed at closing their fractious ranks, as government forces launched a fierce onslaught on a rebel-held border town to try to gain the upper hand in the civil war. A failure of the opposition to unite could weaken the hand of Russia and the United States, co-sponsors of a proposed peace conference on the war, which has killed 80,000 and threatens to spill over borders and whip up wider sectarian violence. The U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cambodian documentary wins Cannes prize for innovative cinema Saturday, May 25, 2013 05:59 PM PDT By Belinda Goldsmith CANNES (Reuters) - A documentary using small clay figures to tell the story of how Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh's family perished under the Khmer Rouge regime won the top prize in the second most important competition at the Cannes film festival on Saturday. "L'Image Manquante" (The Missing Picture) was among the 18 films that premiered in the Un Certain Regard category that was set up to encourage emerging and innovative filmmakers and run alongside the main competition at the world's top film festival. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arab spring nations face delayed economic recovery: IMF Saturday, May 25, 2013 05:17 PM PDT  By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Arab spring countries face rising social tensions that could thwart an early economic recovery from over two years of political turmoil that has worsened fiscal pressures and threatens macroeconomic stability, a senior IMF official said on Saturday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Swedish capital returning to normal after week of violence Saturday, May 25, 2013 05:01 PM PDT  Sweden's capital was relatively calm on Saturday night with only isolated incidents of violence by youths after nearly a week of car-burnings and vandalism that have highlighted growing inequality in Swedish society. Full Story | Top |
| Special Report: Why China's film makers love to hate Japan Saturday, May 25, 2013 04:13 PM PDT  By David Lague and Jane Lanhee Lee HENGDIAN, China (Reuters) - Shi Zhongpeng dies for a living. For 3,000 yuan ($488) a month, the sturdily built stuntman is killed over and over playing Japanese soldiers in war movies and TV series churned out by Chinese film studios. Despite his lack of dramatic range, the 23-year-old's roles have made him a minor celebrity in China. Once, Shi says, he perished 31 times in a single day of battle. ... Full Story | Top |
| British police arrest 3 over soldier's killing Saturday, May 25, 2013 03:39 PM PDT  British counter-terrorism police on Saturday arrested three people suspected of involvement in the killing of a soldier hacked to death in a London street by two men shouting Islamist slogans. The killing of the soldier in what the government said appeared to be a terrorist attack has led to angry protests against radical Islam and fears of a possible anti-Muslim backlash. Michael Adebolajo, 28 and Michael Adebowale, 22, are under armed guard in hospital after being shot and arrested by police on suspicion of murder on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| British police arrest three over soldier's killing Saturday, May 25, 2013 03:38 PM PDT  By Peter Griffiths LONDON (Reuters) - British counter-terrorism police on Saturday arrested three people suspected of involvement in the killing of a soldier hacked to death in a London street by two men shouting Islamist slogans. The killing of the soldier in what the government said appeared to be a terrorist attack has led to angry protests against radical Islam and fears of a possible anti-Muslim backlash. Michael Adebolajo, 28 and Michael Adebowale, 22, are under armed guard in hospital after being shot and arrested by police on suspicion of murder on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kerry presses Egypt on economic reform, says aid depends on it Saturday, May 25, 2013 02:35 PM PDT  By Arshad Mohammed ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry urged Egypt to act swiftly on economic reforms to secure a $4.8 billion International Monetary Fund loan, saying the measures were needed to get further aid from the U.S. Congress, an American official said. Kerry met Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi for about an hour on the sidelines of an African Union summit on Saturday, discussing Syria's civil war, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, human rights in Egypt and the country's faltering economy, the official said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Between 180-200 French militants have fought in Syria: Le Monde Saturday, May 25, 2013 02:02 PM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - Between 180 and 200 French citizens have traveled to Syria in the past year to join a two-year-old rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad, le Monde reported on Saturday, citing figures from France's internal DCRI and external DGSE security services. That number, which is higher than a previous estimate of about 50, includes fighters who took up arms with rebel groups like the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front. About two dozen have already returned to France, Le Monde said. ... Full Story | Top |
| France rules out Iran taking part in Syrian peace talks Saturday, May 25, 2013 02:02 PM PDT By John Irish ABU DHABI (Reuters) - France's foreign minister on Saturday ruled out Iran taking part in a proposed Syria peace conference, saying Tehran was involved in the conflict and had no desire for peace. Laurent Fabius will host Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at a dinner on Monday to discuss how to nudge Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian opposition into the talks in Geneva. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nasrallah says Hezbollah will bring victory to Syrian ally Assad Saturday, May 25, 2013 02:02 PM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - The leader of Lebanese guerrilla movement Hezbollah said on Saturday his group would stay in the Syrian war "to the end of the road" and bring victory to its ally President Bashar al-Assad. Hassan Nasrallah, head of the militant Shi'ite Muslim group, said in a televised speech that Syria and Lebanon were facing a threat from radical Sunni Islamists, which he argued was a plot devised by the United States and its allies to serve Israel's interests in the region. "We will not rely on anyone ... ... Full Story | Top |
| At least five killed as Guinea protests escalate Saturday, May 25, 2013 01:28 PM PDT CONAKRY (Reuters) - At least five people were killed on Saturday when security forces in Guinea opened fire on protesters in opposition strongholds in the capital, medical sources and witnesses said. The violence brings to 11 the number of people killed since Thursday in unrest that began over election preparations but has frequently degenerated into looting and clashes between ethnic groups. "According to our information, they (the five) all died after being shot," said Thierno Maadjou Sow, president of the OGDH human rights group. ... Full Story | Top |
| French soldier stabbed while on patrol near Paris Saturday, May 25, 2013 01:06 PM PDT By Nicolas Bertin PARIS (Reuters) - A French soldier patrolling a business neighborhood west of Paris was stabbed in the neck and injured on Saturday by a man who fled the scene and is being sought by police, President Francois Hollande said. The 23-year-old was patrolling in uniform with two other soldiers as part of France's Vigipirate anti-terror surveillance plan when he was approached from behind around 6 p.m. and attacked with a knife or a box-cutter. ... Full Story | Top |
| As border tightens, some U.S.-Mexico neighbors reach across the fence Saturday, May 25, 2013 12:32 PM PDT  By Tim Gaynor NACO, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexican activist Maria Elena Borquez takes up a paintbrush and daubs a bright splotch of color on the rusted steel fence separating the small Mexican town of Naco from a neighboring town in the United States. "The wall projects hostility," she said, paint pot in hand and surrounded by youngsters from both the United States and Mexico. "The idea is to transform it with art, friendship, colors and life ... into something that unites us," said Borquez, who is director of the local museum. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sexual assault is a 'scourge' on U.S. military: Hagel Saturday, May 25, 2013 11:45 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called sexual assault a "scourge" on Saturday as he addressed graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where a sergeant stands accused of videotaping female cadets in the showers. "Sexual harassment and sexual assault in the military are a profound betrayal - a profound betrayal - of sacred oaths and sacred trusts," Hagel said. "This scourge must be stamped out." His comments came a day after President Barack Obama delivered a similar message to graduates at the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bomb in Yemeni military vehicle kills two and injures six Saturday, May 25, 2013 11:42 AM PDT ADEN (Reuters) - A remotely-detonated bomb planted in a military vehicle killed a soldier and a civilian and injured six other soldiers in the Hadramaut region of eastern Yemen on Saturday evening, a local security official said. The explosion took place in the town of al-Shehr as the vehicle drove along a main road, the official said. He added Islamist militants were suspected of the bombing. Islamist militants seized control of swathes of south and east Yemen during the political chaos of the Arab Spring in 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nigerian army says rescues hostages taken by Islamists Saturday, May 25, 2013 11:26 AM PDT  ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's military has freed a number of women and children held hostage by Islamist sect Boko Haram, the army said on Saturday, after its offensive in the northeast of the country overran three of the insurgents' camps. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said in a video earlier this month that the group had kidnapped several women and children in retaliation against security forces who, it says, detained the wives and children of its members without cause. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hezbollah, Syrian government forces advance in border town Saturday, May 25, 2013 11:11 AM PDT  By Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah launched a fierce campaign to seize more rebel territory in the border town of Qusair on Saturday, sources on both sides of the conflict said. Rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad said additional tanks and artillery had been deployed around opposition-held territory in Qusair, a Syrian town close to the Lebanese border. "I've never seen a day like this since the battle started," said Malek Ammar, an activist speaking from the town by Skype. ... Full Story | Top |
| Interpol rejects Russia's 'political' case against fund manager Browder Saturday, May 25, 2013 09:20 AM PDT By Jason Bush MOSCOW, May 25 - Interpol has refused to include UK-based fund manager William Browder on its international search list after deciding that Russia's tax evasion case against him is "of a predominantly political nature". The decision is the latest twist in a long-running battle between the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Browder, whose investment company Hermitage Capital was once the largest investor in Russia's equity market. ... Full Story | Top |
| Niger attacks launched from southern Libya: Niger's president Saturday, May 25, 2013 09:12 AM PDT  NIAMEY (Reuters) - Islamist militants who carried out simultaneous suicide attacks on an army base and a French uranium mine in northern Niger two days ago came from southern Libya, Niger's president said on Saturday. President Mahamadou Issoufou said the raids showed Libya was a source of regional instability, months after France launched an air-and-ground assault on northern Mali, which Paris warned had become a launchpad for attacks by al Qaeda-linked groups. ... Full Story | Top |
| Madagascar president sets out terms for quitting election race Saturday, May 25, 2013 09:10 AM PDT  By Alain Iloniaina ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Madagascar's president Andry Rajoelina, under international pressure not to seek re-election in July, has set out the terms under which he would withdraw from the race, but warned that the specter of civil war loomed over the Indian Ocean island. Madagascar has been in political crisis since 2009 when Rajoelina seized power with military support, ousting former President Marc Ravalomanana and triggering turmoil that scared off investors and devastated the vital tourism sector. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rugby-Leicester 37 Northampton 17 - English Premiership final result Saturday, May 25, 2013 09:02 AM PDT LONDON, May 25 (Reuters) - Leicester beat Northampton 37-17 (halftime 16-5) in the English Premiership final at Twickenham on Saturday: Scorers: Leicester: Tries: Niall Morris, Graham Kitchener, Manu Tuilagi, Verenki Goneva. Conversion: Toby Flood. Penalties: Flood, George Ford (4) Northampton: Tries: Stephen Myler, Ben Foden, Lee Dickson. Conversion: Myler. Att: 81,703 Red card: Dylan Hartley (Northampton) 39th minute. (Compiled by Mitch Phillips, editing by Mark Meadows; mark.meadows@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 7933; Reuters Messaging:; mark.meadows.reuters.com@reuters.net) Full Story | Top |
| Russian pro-, anti-gay activists arrested after defying ban Saturday, May 25, 2013 07:50 AM PDT  By Jason Bush MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian police detained around 30 pro- and anti-gay activists in central Moscow on Saturday, imposing the city's ban on gay rights demonstrations. The arrests, underlining Russia's tough response to public demonstrations by gay groups, coincided with the first ever gay rally in neighboring Ukraine, which was allowed by the authorities and protected by the police. Russia's parliament has given preliminary approval to a ban on "homosexual propaganda" targeting minors, which critics say would effectively ban gay rights demonstrations. ... Full Story | Top |
| Aid groups urge EU to fulfil commitments to Palestinians Saturday, May 25, 2013 07:10 AM PDT  RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - A group of 80 international aid agencies urged the European Union on Saturday to follow through on pledges it made last year to back Palestinian communities seen as vulnerable to Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. Not enough action has been taken since EU foreign ministers last May urged Israel to ease curbs to growth on Palestinian villages and criticized its settlement policies, the Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA) said in a report. British Foreign Secretary William Hague and U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian-linked death toll grows in Lebanon's Tripoli Saturday, May 25, 2013 06:26 AM PDT TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Reuters) - The death toll in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli reached 25 on Saturday in the seventh straight day of clashes between factions supporting opposing sides in Syria's two-year civil war, security sources said. Residents heard sounds of rocket-propelled grenades and sniper fire throughout the night and into Saturday morning in one of the most violent bouts of fighting so far in the city. Two people were killed on Saturday, according to medical sources. Security sources said 25 had died in the clashes in the past week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sixth night of violence in Sweden, but police say capital calmer Saturday, May 25, 2013 06:24 AM PDT  By Mia Shanley STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Community patrols and a beefed-up police presence helped to calm violence around Stockholm overnight on Saturday but 20 to 30 cars were still torched in poor immigrant suburbs and serious incidents were reported outside the capital for the first time. The rioting in Stockholm abated after a week of masked youths vandalizing schools and police stations, setting cars alight and hurling stones at firefighters, police said. "It was much calmer - rocks weren't being thrown at police or firefighters - and that's a sign that it's calmer. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudan suspends two biggest dailies for critical coverage: editors Saturday, May 25, 2013 05:38 AM PDT KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's security services temporarily suspended the country's two biggest newspapers to punish them for writing about army operations against rebels and the future plans of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, editors said on Saturday. Sudan has clamped down on independent media, think tanks and non-governmental groups since it discovered plans for a coup against Bashir's government in November. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thousands watch murdered anti-Mafia priest beatified in Sicily Saturday, May 25, 2013 05:37 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - A Sicilian priest gunned down by the Mafia twenty years ago outside his home in Palermo was beatified in a seafront ceremony on Saturday attended by an estimated 100,000 people from all over Italy. Father Giuseppe Puglisi was shot in the back of the head in September 1993 in the crime-ridden Brancaccio district of the Sicilian capital where he preached against the Mafia. School parties, local dignitaries and top government ministers braved a stiff wind as the emeritus archbishop of Palermo read out the formal letter of beatification from Pope Francis in Latin. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine's first gay march held under police protection Saturday, May 25, 2013 05:03 AM PDT  KIEV (Reuters) - About 100 Ukrainian gay rights activists held the country's first gay rally on Saturday, helped by police who arrested 13 people for trying to break up the march. The activists walked for about 250 meters (yards) along Victory Avenue in the capital Kiev while Orthodox Christian activists nearby chanted slogans denouncing them. "Ukraine is not America. Kiev is not Sodom,' shouted one anti-gay demonstrator over a loudspeaker. ... Full Story | Top |
| Taliban attack international compound in Afghan capital Saturday, May 25, 2013 05:00 AM PDT  By Amie Ferris-Rotman and Mirwais Harooni KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban militants launched a large-scale attack involving the United Nations in the center of the Afghan capital Kabul on Friday, sparking a five-hour battle with security forces. A plume of smoke hung over Kabul after the attack was launched, with the sound of .50 caliber heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and sniper fire clearly audible throughout the city center as night fell. An Afghan police officer was killed and 10 other people were wounded during the attack, which began at 4 p.m. ... Full Story | Top |
| African Development Bank to issue second Uganda shilling bond Saturday, May 25, 2013 05:00 AM PDT NAIROBI (Reuters) - The African Development Bank (AfDB) is to launch a 12.5 billion shillings bond on the Ugandan market, the second such issue from its 125 billion shilling issuance programme launched last year. The second tranche, which is to be sold as a tap sale on the original medium-term note issued in July last year, will be open for subscription until May 27. The coupon will be 85 percent of the yield on Uganda's benchmark two-year government bond, African development bank said in statement late on Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Suicide car bombing in Russia's Dagestan injures 11 Saturday, May 25, 2013 04:30 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - A suicide bomber blew herself up in car near a police building in Russia's Dagestan region on Saturday, injuring 11 policemen and passers-by, Russian media reported. Dagestan, an ethnically mixed, mostly Muslim region between Chechnya and the Caspian Sea, has become the most violent province in the North Caucasus, where insurgents say they are fighting to carve out an Islamic state out of southern Russia. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan government says unaware of ghosts at PM residence: paper Saturday, May 25, 2013 03:22 AM PDT  TOKYO (Reuters) - A delay in Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife moving into their official residence, the site of past assassinations, has revived talk of ghosts in the corridors, prompting the government to deny any knowledge of hauntings. Abe has not moved into the prime minister's official residence for five months since he took power. Asked by an opposition lawmaker about the reported hauntings, the government issued a formal statement on Friday saying it was not aware of ghost sightings, Asahi newspaper and other media reported. ... Full Story | Top |
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