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| Australia's former PM Rudd to challenge Gillard Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 12:23 AM PDT CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's former prime minister Kevin Rudd confirmed on Wednesday he would challenge Prime Minister Julia Gillard for the leadership of the ruling Labor Party, in a move that could see him lead the party to elections due within three months. Rudd led the Labor Party to victory in late 2007, but was dumped by his party in favor of Gillard in June 2010. Gillard called for a party ballot on Wednesday after weeks of destabilizing leadership talk and falling support for her minority government in opinion polls. ... Full Story | Top |
| Australian PM Gillard calls party vote on her leadership Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 12:23 AM PDT  By James Grubel CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has called a snap party vote on her leadership for later on Wednesday, in a bid to squash a campaign to replace her with former leader Kevin Rudd less than three months before national elections. Polls show Rudd is more popular with voters and could help Labor hold on to more seats at the election. Gillard now rules with a one-seat parliamentary majority, with support from the Greens and key independents. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: The energy behind Qatar's rising power Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 12:02 AM PDT (Reuters) - Most of Qatar's wealth is generated from selling liquefied natural gas (LNG) produced from the world's biggest gas field, which it shares with Iran. Western companies supplied Qatar the technology to chill its gas into LNG for export, while western governments have prevented Iran from doing the same with its share. Oil and gas sector generated over half of Qatar's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012, according to the Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA). Gas exports earned about $7. ... Full Story | Top |
| Qatar to change PM under new emir: Jazeera Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 11:15 PM PDT DOHA (Reuters) - Al Jazeera television said on Wednesday that Qatar's prime minister, a driving force behind the country's rise to global prominence, would be replaced in a cabinet reshuffle following the accession of a new emir in the U.S.-allied Gulf Arab state. The Qatar-based satellite channel said current minister of state for interior affairs, Sheikh Abdullah bin Naser al-Thani, had been chosen to be the next prime minister, succeeding the powerful Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, who is also the foreign minister. ... Full Story | Top |
| As floodwaters rose, Calgary mayor made his mark Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 11:14 PM PDT  By Nia Williams and Scott Haggett CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - By last Friday morning in Canada's oil capital, the scope of the disaster facing Calgary was becoming clear, and the reputation of the city's first-term mayor was rising along with the floodwaters. As the two rivers in the city of 1.1 million reached new heights in the worst flooding the province of Alberta has ever seen, a growing list of neighborhoods were evacuated and the downtown home to Canada's largest oil companies was shut down as electrical substations failed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Unrest leaves 27 dead in China's troubled Xinjiang: Xinhua Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 10:59 PM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - Gangs armed with knives attacked a police station and a local government building on Wednesday in China's restive far western Xinjiang region, leaving 27 dead in clashes with police, the government news agency Xinhua said. The unrest in the region, home to a large Muslim Uighur minority, was the deadliest since July 2009, when nearly 200 people were killed in riots pitting Uighurs against ethnic Chinese in the region's capital Urumqi. Xinhua said Wednesday's unrest erupted at about 6 a.m. in the remote township of Lukqun, about 200 km (120 miles) southeast of Urumqi. ... Full Story | Top |
| Scalpel in hand, Chinese Premier Li stirs reform hopes Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 10:34 PM PDT  By Koh Gui Qing BEIJING (Reuters) - Investors getting stung by China's worst financial market rout in years should find solace in the fact that the government, in particular Premier Li Keqiang, is willing to play hardball to force through much-needed policy change. The central bank's refusal to intervene last week to ease an unprecedented cash crunch, where interest rates in the interbank market shot as high as 30 percent, was the clearest sign yet that China's new leaders are willing to stomach economic pain for the long-term good. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico rescues 52 migrants kidnapped near U.S. border Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 07:27 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican security forces on Tuesday rescued 52 kidnapped migrants, mostly Guatemalans, who were being held in a house in the violent state of Tamaulipas near the U.S. border. The migrants had been held for several days in a house in the city of Reynosa, where they were found by a group of federal and state police, officials said. The group was made up of 48 men from Guatemala, two from El Salvador and two more from Mexico, a press release from the state government said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Brazil riots raise questions over sporting mega-events Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 07:25 PM PDT  By Brian Homewood BERNE (Reuters) - Brazilian anger against the cost of staging the World Cup could undermine the argument that host countries benefit from sporting mega-events as they become too big for most countries to handle. UEFA's idea of splitting the Euro 2020 championship into mini-tournaments hosted in 13 different countries could be one of the alternatives which organizers could follow in the future, analysts say. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico arrests ex-governor accused of embezzlement Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 07:01 PM PDT  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico on Tuesday arrested former state governor Andres Granier, who has been accused of embezzling millions of pesos of public money in a scandal that will test the new president's promise to crack down on corruption. Granier, who was governor of Mexico's southern Tabasco state until his term ended in December and is a member of President Enrique Pena Nieto's ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), was released from a Mexico City hospital into the custody of state prosecutors, said a legal source with knowledge of the situation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Putin rules out handing Snowden over to United States Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 06:30 PM PDT  By Alexei Anishchuk and Thomas Grove MOSCOW/NAANTALI, Finland (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed on Tuesday a former U.S. spy agency contractor sought by the United States was in the transit area of a Moscow airport but ruled out handing him to Washington, dismissing U.S. criticisms as "ravings and rubbish". In his first public comments since Edward Snowden flew in on Sunday, Putin appeared to make light of the diplomatic uproar over the fugitive, whose flight from U.S. authorities is becoming a growing embarrassment for President Barack Obama. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rousseff's referendum plan for Brazil runs into trouble Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 05:44 PM PDT  By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's bid to defuse a sudden outburst of national discontent by proposing a referendum on political reforms ran into stiff opposition on Tuesday from politicians and lawyers who questioned its legality. Tens of thousands of Brazilians have taken to the streets this month in the biggest protests in 20 years, fueled by an array of grievances ranging from poor public services to the high cost of World Cup soccer stadiums and corruption. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama, Karzai 'reaffirm' Afghan-led peace process with Taliban: White House Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 05:30 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday discussed stalled peace talks with the Taliban as U.S. officials struggled to get the discussions on track. A White House statement said Obama and Karzai held a video conference call in which they also talked about U.S. and Afghan plans for the handover of security to Afghan forces as U.S. troops seek to exit by the end of 2014. A brazen assault by Taliban militants on Tuesday cast doubt on attempts at peace talks. ... Full Story | Top |
| Australian spy bosses brief government on possible Asian fallout over Snowden: report Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 04:21 PM PDT  SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's main intelligence and spying agencies have briefed the government on the PRISM internet surveillance program amid fears former U.S. security contractor Edward Snowden may release information damaging to Australia's relations with Asian neighbors, local media reported on Wednesday. Canberra, a close U.S. ally, shares intelligence with Washington and is a member of the 'Five Eyes" global security and surveillance network, along with New Zealand, Britain and Canada. ... Full Story | Top |
| Republicans blast Obama over Snowden as case turns partisan Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 03:55 PM PDT By Patricia Zengerle and Rachelle Younglai WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican lawmakers criticized the Obama administration's handling of the Edward Snowden case on Tuesday, calling President Barack Obama weak for failing to persuade Russia and China to return the fugitive intelligence contractor to the United States. Snowden's weekend departure from Hong Kong to Moscow angered and frustrated members of Congress, especially after Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed on Tuesday that Snowden was at a Moscow airport. He ruled out handing him over, dismissing U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Argentina asks U.S. Supreme Court to hear debt appeal Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 03:16 PM PDT  By Nate Raymond and Guido Nejamkis NEW YORK/BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina has taken its legal battle with "holdout" creditors to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking that body to overturn a lower court ruling in a case whose outcome could push the country into default. The country is seeking to void an October 2012 ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York that found it had violated a clause in its bond documents requiring it to treat creditors equally. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. program to build houses in Haiti falls short, report finds Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 03:11 PM PDT  MIAMI (Reuters) - A U.S. government program to build housing in Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake will only construct one-sixth of the homes intended because of poor planning, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released Tuesday. Plans by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to build housing in Haiti after the earthquake were slashed due to "faulty and inaccurate cost estimates," bringing down the number of new homes from 15,000 originally to 2,649. ... Full Story | Top |
| Trade, investment seen as major focus of Obama's Africa trip Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 03:03 PM PDT  By Doug Palmer WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Leveraging the power of the huge U.S. market to spur increased trade and investment with Africa will be a major focus of President Barack Obama's trip to the continent this week, U.S. Trade Representative Mike Froman said on Tuesday. "Much of what the president will be doing on this trip - from meeting with jurists about the rule of law and governance to conferring with leaders about some of Africa's key security challenges - is tied back to trade and investment as key drivers of Africa's economic growth story," Froman said in a speech. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chinese businessman behind $40 billion Nicaragua canal denies special ties Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 03:02 PM PDT By Lucy Hornby BEIJING (Reuters) - The mysterious Chinese businessman behind a $40 billion plan to build a canal through Nicaragua pledged transparency on Tuesday -- but refused to reveal where he attended college. Wang Jing, 40, who says his initial wealth came from a gold mine investment in Cambodia, is the only public face for a project that on paper would challenge the Panama Canal's monopoly on shipping oil, ore and containers between Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico ports and Asian markets via Central America. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada's oil capital Calgary starts slow clean-up from floods Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 01:55 PM PDT  By Nia Williams CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Canada's oil capital, Calgary, started the slow process of cleaning up its downtown on Tuesday in the aftermath of record-breaking floods, with many business owners returning for the first time to properties they were forced to leave last week. Parts of the city's center were still without power, and most shops, hotels and businesses were closed for a fifth consecutive day. "It's kind of spooky, it's so quiet," said Calgary resident Don Usselman, a remediation technologist, as he carried hoses to help pump out a basement. ... Full Story | Top |
| 'Whitey' Bulger lawyers challenge FBI's 700-page informant file Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 01:52 PM PDT  By Scott Malone BOSTON (Reuters) - Reputed mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger's lawyers questioned the accuracy of a key piece of evidence in his murder and racketeering trial on Tuesday, seeking to cast doubt on the 700-page informant file that a now-disgraced FBI agent had kept on him. The attorneys pointed out several times that the agent, John Connolly, is in prison after being convicted on racketeering and murder charges in 2009, and that a federal investigation found that Connolly had falsified some of his reports. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. taps Kerry's deputy as point man with Russia on Snowden Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 01:46 PM PDT By Paul Eckert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The thorny task of convincing Russia to hand over fugitive security contractor Edward Snowden has been put in the hands of U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns, a decorated diplomat with deep contacts in Moscow from a stint as envoy there. The 57-year-old Burns, a top-ranking career diplomat, has faced off with Russian President Vladimir Putin before, serving in Moscow during a particularly rough patch in bilateral ties. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia spies may be chatting with 'tasty morsel' Snowden Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 01:46 PM PDT By Lidia Kelly MOSCOW (Reuters) - Edward Snowden's disappearance from view has heightened speculation that the former U.S. spy agency contractor may be talking to Russian secret services, which see him as a "tasty morsel" that is too good to miss. Even a flat denial by President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday is unlikely to end whispers that Snowden may have been interviewed by intelligence officers anxious to get their hands on whatever information he has not yet leaked. ... Full Story | Top |
| Albanians hand Socialists a landslide, defeated PM silent Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 01:42 PM PDT  By Benet Koleka and Matt Robinson TIRANA (Reuters) - Albania's Socialist opposition claimed a landslide election victory on Tuesday and supporters poured into the streets, but two days after the volatile NATO country voted, its defeated prime minister remained silent. Sali Berisha, Albania's dominant political figure since the end of Stalinist rule in 1991, has not been seen or heard in public since Sunday, when Albanians voted to deny him a third consecutive term as premier. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia, U.S. fail to set up Syria peace talks Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 01:24 PM PDT  By Oliver Holmes and Tom Miles BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) - Talks between the United States and Russia to set up a Syrian peace conference produced no deal on Tuesday, with the powers on either side of the two-year civil war failing to agree when it should be held or who would be invited. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal accused the Syrian government of "genocide" and described the involvement in the conflict of foreign militias backed by Iran as "the most dangerous development". ... Full Story | Top |
| World Bank to help developing nations cope with rising rates: Kim Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 01:19 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the World Bank said on Tuesday that the global lender stands ready to help developing countries cope with a rise in interest rates as a result of the U.S. Federal Reserve's plan to scale back its stimulus program. "There's a tremendous amount of concern about what could happen," World Bank President Jim Yong Kim told reporters after a talk on the bank's goal of reducing extreme poverty to 3 percent by 2030. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico concerned about U.S. bid to beef up border security Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 12:53 PM PDT  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The Mexican government on Tuesday voiced concern about U.S. congressional proposals to beef up security along the U.S.-Mexico border, saying it was divisive and would not solve the problem of illegal immigration. Immigration plays a significant part in the countries' bilateral relations. Millions of Mexicans live and work on the U.S. side of the border and tens try to enter the United States annually, often at peril to their lives. ... Full Story | Top |
| India flood rescue helicopter crash kills eight: government Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 12:48 PM PDT  By Danish Siddiqui GAUCHAR, India (Reuters) - A rescue helicopter delivering wood for the mass cremations of the victims of flooding in northern India crashed on Tuesday, killing the eight people on board, the government said. Floods and landslides unleashed by early monsoon rains last week killed at least 680 people in Uttarakhand state and left thousands of people missing. Government officials fear the toll could cross 1,000 and the rescue operation is still in full swing, with thousands of army personnel involved, supported by air force and private helicopters. ... Full Story | Top |
| French lawmakers gut Hollande's transparency bill Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 12:32 PM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - French lawmakers on Tuesday diluted plans to make politicians declare their wealth and backed harsh penalties for journalists who publish the information, in an embarrassing setback for President Francois Hollande's transparency drive. Hollande's government, reeling from the resignation of a budget minister over a secret Swiss bank account, drafted a bill in April to force politicians to declare their assets, income and potential conflicts of interest to an independent authority. ... Full Story | Top |
| White House urges Russia to expel Snowden without delay Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 11:48 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Tuesday urged Russia to expel former government contractor Edward Snowden without delay, saying Moscow has a "clear legal basis" for his expulsion. White House National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said the legal basis for expelling Snowden are the status of his travel documents and the pending espionage charges against him. "Accordingly, we are asking the Russian government to take action to expel Mr. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU gives go-ahead for Serbia entry talks by January Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 11:45 AM PDT  By Justyna Pawlak and Adrian Croft LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Serbia could start negotiations on joining the European Union by January next year, EU ministers agreed on Tuesday, rewarding Belgrade for improving relations with its ex-province Kosovo. Ministers also agreed the EU should launch preparations with Kosovo on a so-called association agreement, a step on the path to eventual EU membership that can carry economic benefits. ... Full Story | Top |
| Libya assembly votes in first Berber as new chief Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 11:36 AM PDT  By Ghaith Shennib TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's national assembly elected a minority Berber as its new president on Tuesday after his predecessor quit following passage of legislation curbing who can hold public office - a move to ban ex-associates of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The previous assembly chief, Mohammed Magarief, stepped down after the enactment of the law barring anyone who held a senior post under Gaddafi from government, regardless whether they had played a role in toppling him two years ago. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mugabe heads to Singapore for health check before vote Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 11:32 AM PDT  By Cris Chinaka (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe left for a medical check-up in Singapore on Tuesday, his spokesman said, a month before an election in which the 89-year-old is looking to extend his 33 years in power. Africa's oldest leader - who denies reports he has received treatment for prostate cancer - will return at the weekend after a routine visit to an eye specialist, his spokesman George Charamba said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian state newspaper rebukes ruling Islamists Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 11:28 AM PDT By Shadia Nasralla CAIRO (Reuters) - One of Egypt's biggest state-run newspapers accused President Mohamed Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood on Tuesday of meddling and incompetence, in comments that highlight simmering anti-Islamist sentiment in influential official media circles. In an editorial on the front page of Al-Akhbar newspaper, one of Egypt's most widely read, Mohamed Hassan Al-Banna said he was ready to resign after receiving a call from the Muslim Brotherhood criticizing his paper's coverage. He urged Mursi to break away from the movement that launched him to power. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian city on edge before anti-Mursi protests Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 11:26 AM PDT  By Tom Perry and Asma Alsharif EL-MAHALLA EL-KUBRA, Egypt (Reuters) - Fuel is in short supply in El-Mahalla El-Kubra. So is patience. Egyptian riot police marshal motorists who can spend much of the day in line. While some drivers blame each other and fights are common, most in the industrial city agree on the underlying cause: President Mohamed Mursi. "The situation has been terrible since the moment Mursi took power," said Mohamed Ismail, 58, who had been waiting for seven hours to fill his truck with diesel. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. peacekeeping operations in Mali to begin on July 1 Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 11:14 AM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. peacekeepers will start operations in Mali on July 1 after the U.N. Security Council gave the green light on Tuesday for the mission, which will be the world body's third largest when fully deployed by the end of this year, envoys and officials said. The 15-member Security Council unanimously approved in April a mandate for the 12,600-member force, to be known as MINUSMA, but its deployment had been subject to a council review on Tuesday of Mali's security situation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Armed group attacks Libyan oil guards' headquarters Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 10:56 AM PDT TRIPOLI (Reuters) - An armed group guarding a major Libyan oil field attacked the headquarters of the Petroleum Facilities Guard in Tripoli on Tuesday, and five people were wounded in the violence, the oil force said. In a statement on its Facebook page, the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), which secures Libya's oil facilities, said the armed men were from the western mountain town of Zintan and were among guards who protect the Sharara oilfield. Sharara can pump around 350,000 barrels per day (bpd). "A group of armed men came to attack the headquarters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Snowden who? Ecuadoreans blase amid diplomatic tussle over asylum Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 10:50 AM PDT  By Brian Ellsworth and Alexandra Valencia QUITO (Reuters) - Even as Ecuador contemplates offering asylum to former U.S. security contractor Edward Snowden, there are few signs on the streets that the small South American nation is at the center of a global dispute between superpowers. Taking in Snowden would mark the second time in a year that Ecuador has defied the West, following its decision in August to grant asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at its London embassy despite furious objections by Britain. But the country is hardly on guard for a diplomatic fire storm. ... Full Story | Top |
| Twin suicide bombs kill eight Iraqi Turkmen Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 10:20 AM PDT  TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) - Two suicide bombers killed at least eight Iraqi Turkmen on Tuesday when they blew themselves up at a protest by members of the ethnic minority group, police said. The attackers walked into the encampment on the Baghdad-Kirkuk highway, near the town of Tuz Khurmato, 170 km (105 miles) north of the Iraqi capital, where Turkmen were protesting against what they saw as government failure to protect them. Tuz Khurmato is a disputed area with a mixed population of ethnic Kurds, Arab Sunnis and Shi'ite Turkmen. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian minister defends F-35 jet purchase on eve of tense vote Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 10:05 AM PDT  By Paolo Biondi and Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - Italy's cash-strapped government plans to go ahead with purchasing 90 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets, Defense Minister Mario Mauro said on Tuesday, ahead of a vote that risks splitting the ruling coalition. The lower house of parliament is due to vote on Wednesday on a motion, presented last month by opposition groups and some members of Prime Minister Enrico Letta's centre-left Democratic Party (PD), that calls on Italy to drop the fighter investment. ... Full Story | Top |
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