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| Mursi, Egypt army pledge lives in 'final hours' showdown Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 12:41 AM PDT  By Yasmine Saleh and Alastair Macdonald CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army commander and Islamist President Mohamed Mursi each pledged his life to defy the other as a deadline approached on Wednesday that will trigger a military takeover backed by protesters. The military chiefs, wanting to restore order in a country racked by protests over Mursi's Islamist policies, issued a call to battle in a statement headlined "The Final Hours". They said they were willing to shed blood against "terrorists and fools" after Mursi refused to give up his elected office. Mursi said, "The price ... is my life. ... Full Story | Top |
| Al-Ahram: Egypt's Mursi to resign or be sacked on Wednesday Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 12:33 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's flagship state newspaper Al-Ahram said it expected President Mohamed Mursi would either step down or be removed from office on Wednesday when a deadline set by the army for resolving the country's political crisis expires. But a military source denied reports in several local newspapers on details of the road map, describing them as "nothing but predictions". The source expected the next step would be to call political, social and economic figures to talks on the road map. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt military source denies report on road map Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 11:59 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian military source denied local media reports on the details of a political road map to be implemented by the army if political parties fail to resolve the country's political standoff on Wednesday. The source said he expected the next step would be to call political, social and economic figures to talks on the road map. (Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Alison Williams) Full Story | Top |
| Drone attack kills 17 in Pakistan's Waziristan region Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 11:08 PM PDT By Jibran Ahmad PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A U.S. drone strike killed at least 17 people in Pakistan's restive border region early on Wednesday, Pakistani security officials said, in the biggest such attack this year, and the second since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took office. Most of those killed were fighters for the Haqqani network, according to three Taliban commanders and security officials. Two missiles hit a house near the main market in Miranshah, the provincial capital of the tribal region of North Waziristan. The region is considered a Taliban stronghold. ... Full Story | Top |
| South African police investigating Mandela grandson in grave dispute Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 10:47 PM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African police opened an investigation on Tuesday into Nelson Mandela's grandson on suspicion of illegally exhuming the bodies of three of the ailing anti-apartheid hero's children, a police spokesman said. The investigation is the latest twist in an unedifying family feud that has drawn global attention as the 94-year-old Mandela lies in a Pretoria hospital in a critical condition. ... Full Story | Top |
| Merkel's conservatives struggle for modern message in German cities Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 10:42 PM PDT  By Stephen Brown BERLIN (Reuters) - Tall, blond and smartly dressed, Lars Zimmermann is the kind of young man conservative German mothers would like their daughters to bring home to dinner. Unfortunately, that is not the image he is trying to cultivate as the conservative candidate for parliament in Pankow, a trendy district of north-east Berlin where Angela Merkel's center right party placed a dire fourth in 2009. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rivals play down China's overture in S.China Sea, no breakthrough Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 10:31 PM PDT  By Manuel Mogato and Stuart Grudgings BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Reuters) - Philippine Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario walked into a regional security forum this week to hear his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi reel off a list of complaints against Manila for stirring tensions over the South China Sea. Del Rosario was not scheduled to speak, but after hearing Wang's speech at Sunday's closed-door meeting in the kingdom of Brunei, he raised his hand and proceeded to rebut China's allegations one by one, according to Philippine diplomats. The Singapore foreign minister called it "testy exchanges". ... Full Story | Top |
| On trip, Obama brings out the African in the American Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 08:49 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Midway through a three-country trip to Africa and shortly after an emotional tour of his hero Nelson Mandela's Robben Island prison cell, Barack Obama was greeted by another revered African leader, Desmond Tutu, with the words: "Welcome home." America's first black president - 'the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas', as Obama describes himself - had returned to Africa for his first extended trip as the world's most powerful leader. ... Full Story | Top |
| Snowden affair diverts Bolivian president's plane in Europe Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 08:34 PM PDT  By Alissa de Carbonnel and Daniel Ramos MOSCOW/LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivia said President Evo Morales' plane was diverted on a flight from Russia and forced to land in Austria over suspicions that Edward Snowden might be on board, as several countries spurned the former U.S. spy agency contractor's asylum requests. France and Portugal abruptly canceled air permits for Morales' plane, forcing the unscheduled stopover in Vienna. There was no evidence that Snowden, wanted by Washington for espionage after divulging classified details of U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: For Obama, tricky diplomatic geometry in democratic Egypt Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 07:00 PM PDT  By Warren Strobel and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With Egypt and its democratic experiment at a tipping point, U.S. President Barack Obama finds himself trying to nudge the most populous Arab country's bitterly divided antagonists toward compromise but finds his influence limited. ... Full Story | Top |
| Death toll in Cairo University clash rises to 16: TV Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 06:36 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - The death toll in violence involving Islamist supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi near Cairo University rose to 16 on Wednesday and 200 people were wounded, state television quoted a Health Ministry spokesman as saying. Security sources said pro-Mursi demonstrators clashed with security forces. Witnesses said they heard shotgun and rifle fire. (Reporting by Yasmine Saleh; Editing by Alastair Macdonald) Full Story | Top |
| Egypt army says ready to die in "final hours" Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 06:25 PM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's high command said on Wednesday the army was ready to die to defend Egypt's people against terrorists and fools, in a response to Islamist President Mohamed Mursi that was headlined "The Final Hours". The post on the official Facebook page of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), headed by armed forces chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, said: "We swear to God that we will sacrifice even our blood for Egypt and its people, to defend them against any terrorist, radical or fool. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bolivia says Morales' plane diverted, apparently over Snowden Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 06:17 PM PDT  By Daniel Ramos LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivia said President Evo Morales' plane was forced to land in Austria on Tuesday after France and Portugal refused air permits, apparently because they suspected it was carrying Edward Snowden, the former U.S. spy agency contractor wanted by Washington on espionage charges. Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca furiously accused France and Portugal of putting the leftist Morales' life at risk and insisted that Snowden was not on Morales' plane. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazilian lawmaker withdraws 'gay cure' bill before vote Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 05:28 PM PDT By Lucas Iberico-Lozada SAO PAULO (Reuters) - João Campos, the Brazilian lawmaker who drafted legislation that would allow psychiatrists in Latin America's largest country to treat homosexuality as a disease, asked that the bill be withdrawn on Tuesday, according to a congressional website. Opponents of the legislation, popularly referred to as the "gay cure" bill, moved on Tuesday to bring the matter to a vote before the entire Chamber of Deputies, Brazil's lower house of Congress. Campos' request came as it became clear that the legislation was going to be roundly defeated by the chamber. ... Full Story | Top |
| Protest group urges Guard to arrest Mursi Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 05:24 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Organisers of the protest movement that drew millions of Egyptians on to the streets this week to demand the resignation of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi called on his military guard on Wednesday to arrest him. Dismissing the claims to legitimacy that Mursi made in a televised address, the "Tamarud - Rebel!" movement said in a statement: "The only response to Mursi's speech is to protest on the streets in our millions, starting on Wednesday, so that he and his group hear the voice of the great Egyptian people. ... Full Story | Top |
| Three killed, 90 injured in Cairo clash Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 05:07 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Three people were killed and about 90 wounded in clashes near Cairo University between supporters of President Mohamed Mursi and security forces, an aide to Egypt's health minister told Reuters. Witnesses heard shotgun and rifle fire and teargas enveloped the area. Television pictures showed ambulances taking away casualties, small fires burning and hundreds of men, many with the beards typical of Mursi's Islamist supporters, some of them weeping and others chanting slogans. Some held up rifle and shotgun cartridges to the camera. Another man waved his bloodied hand. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mursi says he is a legitimate president, must continue Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 04:55 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi told Egyptians in a televised address on Tuesday that he would defend the legitimacy of his elected office with his life and urged them to reject challenges to the legal order. In a speech, that was continuing after more than 40 minutes, he conceded his first year in office had been difficult and he faced challenges from corrupt remnants of the old regime. In a response to a military ultimatum to share power with his opponents, he said he had tried such dialogue before and had been unsuccessful. ... Full Story | Top |
| Armed group forces closure of Libyan Interior Ministry Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 04:41 PM PDT  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - An armed group forced the closure of Libya's Interior Ministry on Tuesday, emptying the building of officials before leaving the scene, police said. An Interior Ministry source said the group was demanding the resignation of the minister because of the government's reliance on some militias for security, but this could not immediately be verified. "An unknown group dressed in fatigues arrived and demanded that we close the Interior Ministry," a police officer said. The armed group said it wanted police and army to be in charge of security, he added. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mursi speech declares 'civil war': opposition Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 04:33 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian opposition spokesman described a speech on Wednesday by President Mohamed Mursi as a declaration of civil war because he ignored opposition demands that him to resign, which have been backed by mass rallies. Dismissing Mursi's repeated offers of dialogue, Khaled Dawoud, the spokesman for the National Salvation Front, said: "This is an open call for civil war ... The president continues to deny the demands of the Egyptian people that he resign." (Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Alastair Macdonald) Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mursi defies army as it plots future without him Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 04:08 PM PDT  By Yasmine Saleh and Asma Alsharif CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi vowed to stay in power and defend constitutional legitimacy on Wednesday as generals worked on plans to push the Islamist aside within the day and suspend the constitution. In a defiant midnight television address responding to military demands that he share power with his opponents or see the army impose its own solution, Mursi warned that any deviation from the democratic order approved in a series of votes last year would lead Egypt down a dangerous path. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mursi vows to stay course, urges respect for army Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 03:28 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi concluded an address to the nation early on Wednesday by pledging to continue to carry out his democratic duties and to defend the legitimate order enshrined in law. Responding to a military ultimatum to share power with his opponents by later in the day, Mursi made only passing reference in his 45-minute speech to the army, urging Egyptians not to harm the institution he said was a mainstay of the nation. (Reporting by Cairo bureau, editing by Alastair Macdonald) Full Story | Top |
| French energy minister fired for speaking out of turn Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 03:05 PM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande fired his energy and environment minister Delphine Batho on Tuesday for publicly criticizing cuts to her budget. Hollande, whose poll ratings are slumping amid spiraling unemployment and moribund growth, appears increasingly determined to assert his authority over the government while pushing through spending cuts to trim the budget deficit. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said other ministers should take note. "There was an obvious problem of coherence within the government," he told the iTele news channel. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mursi to speak to Egyptians shortly: state TV Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 02:33 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi will address the nation shortly, state television said on Tuesday in an on-screen alert. No details were available. Mursi earlier sent a tweet defying an ultimatum from the armed forces that he share power with his opponents. (Reporting by Yasmine Saleh; Editing by Alastair Macdonald) Full Story | Top |
| Canada charges two in alleged plot to bomb Canada Day party Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 02:27 PM PDT  By Andy Clark SURREY, British Columbia (Reuters) - Canadian police said on Tuesday they arrested a Canadian man and woman in what they described as a plot inspired by al Qaeda ideology to detonate pressure-cooker bombs filled with nuts, bolts and rusty nails at a Canada Day party in British Columbia. Police charged the suspects with plotting to set off the three home-made devices outside the parliament building in Victoria, the capital of the Pacific Coast province, during Canada Day festivities on Monday. Police said the two suspects "were inspired by al Qaeda ideology. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mursi demands army withdraw ultimatum, vows to resist Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 02:02 PM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi called on the armed forces on Tuesday to withdraw an ultimatum for him to share power with his political opponents and said he would not be dictated to. "President Mohamed Mursi asserts his grasp on constitutional legitimacy and rejects any attempt to deviate from it, and calls on the armed forces to withdraw their warning and refuses to be dictated to internally or externally," a tweet on the official Twitter feed of the Egyptian presidency said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Second ministerial resignation plunges Portugal into crisis Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 01:45 PM PDT  By Axel Bugge and Andrei Khalip LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's prime minister refused to accept the resignation of his foreign minister on Tuesday, raising the stakes in a political crisis that could derail Lisbon's plan to exit an international bailout. Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho told the nation that he would continue to head the government to ensure political stability and would work in coming hours to overcome the crisis sparked by the resignation of Foreign Minister Paulo Portas. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fugitive Snowden's options narrow as asylum requests spurned Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 01:34 PM PDT By Alissa de Carbonnel and Alexei Anishchuk MOSCOW (Reuters) - Countries in Latin America, Asia and Europe spurned asylum requests by Edward Snowden on Tuesday, despite a call by Venezuela for the world to protect the former U.S. spy agency contractor wanted by Washington for espionage. Snowden, who revealed secret U.S. electronic surveillance programs, has applied for political asylum in more than a dozen countries in his search for safety from prosecution in the United States. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Countries' reactions to Snowden's asylum applications Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 01:34 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, wanted by Washington on espionage charges for revealing the secret U.S. electronic surveillance program Prism, has applied for political asylum in more than a dozen countries. The 30-year-old American remains in legal limbo in the transit area at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. He has no legal travel documents and has made his asylum applications through a legal representative. Here is a list of the countries which Snowden has asked for asylum, as published by WikiLeaks, and their reactions so far. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazil's Rousseff pushes political reform to quell discontent Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 01:22 PM PDT  By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - President Dilma Rousseff sent Congress reform proposals on Tuesday intended to make Brazilian politics more representative in a bid to recoup popularity she lost in a wave of angry protests against the country's political establishment. Making good on a promise in the wake of the protests that rocked Brazil in June, Rousseff asked Congress to hold a non-binding national vote, or plebiscite, to see what Brazilians want changed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's tweeting Pope hails army, revolutionary youth Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 01:06 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Pope Tawadros tweeted his blessing on Tuesday for a youth-led revolt against Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and for army moves to end a political crisis that the ruling Muslim Brotherhood have denounced as a coup. Reflecting deep anxiety among Egypt's millions of Christians since last year's election victories Mursi and the Brotherhood, the head of the Coptic Church said on Twitter: "A salute, in tribute and glorification, to the trio that makes Egypt great: the people ... the army ... and youth. "Long live my country, free and strong. ... Full Story | Top |
| Portugal PM to carry on, seek solution to political instability Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 12:38 PM PDT LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho will stay at the helm of the government and work to overcome a political crisis after his foreign minister and head of a coalition party tendered his resignation, which the premier refused to accept. "I have not asked the president to remove the foreign minister," Passos Coelho told the nation on Tuesday in a televised address, adding that he will seek "conditions to assure stability" jointly with the coalition partner CDS-PP in coming hours. Passos Coelho said he would travel to Berlin on Wednesday as prime minister. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nearly 50 killed in Iraq bombings Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 12:36 PM PDT  By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 45 people were killed in bomb attacks across Iraq on Tuesday, most of them in busy markets and commercial areas of the capital Baghdad, police and medics said. The deadliest assault took place in the predominantly Shi'ite Shaab neighborhood of northern Baghdad, where two car bombs killed eight people. There were also explosions in the mainly Shi'ite districts of Abu Dsheer, Kamaliya, Tobchi and Shula. "A blast hit near a crowded market full of people shopping," said Ali Sadoun, a policeman whose patrol was stationed in Shula. ... Full Story | Top |
| Prosecutors consider trial for ex-Vatican bank managers: sources Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 12:16 PM PDT By Paolo Biondi ROME (Reuters) - Rome prosecutors are considering requesting that two directors of the Vatican bank who resigned on Monday be sent to trial on suspicion of authorizing illegal financial transactions, judicial sources said on Tuesday. The Vatican bank's director general, Paolo Cipriani, and its deputy director, Massimo Tulli, left after the arrest of a senior cleric who is accused of plotting to smuggle 20 million euros ($26 million) into Italy from Switzerland. A spokesman from the Vatican bank, known formally as the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), declined to comment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama brings out the African in the American Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 12:05 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Midway through a three-country trip to Africa and shortly after an emotional tour of his hero Nelson Mandela's Robben Island prison cell, Barack Obama was greeted by another revered African leader, Desmond Tutu, with the words: "Welcome home." America's first black president - 'the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas', as Obama describes himself - had returned to Africa for his first extended trip as the world's most powerful leader. ... Full Story | Top |
| John Paul II on brink of sainthood after miracle approved: report Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 11:45 AM PDT  VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The late Pope John Paul II moved closer to sainthood on Tuesday after a commission of cardinals and bishops credited him with a second miracle since his death, Italian media reported. A canonization ceremony for the Polish-born pontiff, who died in April 2005, could come as soon as December, news agency ANSA said. That would be the fastest progression to sainthood in modern times. The remaining stage in the ancient procedure is a signature from the current pope, Francis, confirming the decision. Vatican officials declined to comment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Princess Fawzia, Shah's first wife, dies in Egypt Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 11:33 AM PDT By Abdelrahman Youssef ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (Reuters) - Princess Fawzia Fuad, a daughter and sister of Egyptian kings and the first wife of the last Shah of Iran, died on Tuesday in Alexandria, a member of the former royal family and a senior local police officer said. Her death at the age of 91 was also reported on a Facebook page associated with her nephew, King Fuad II, Egypt's deposed and exiled last monarch. Fawzia, the glamorous sister of Fuad's father King Farouk, married Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1939, before he acceded the throne in Tehran. They divorced nine years later. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kenya parliament to debate new tax, opposition grows Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 10:57 AM PDT  By James Macharia NAIROBI (Reuters) - A proposed tax that would raise the price of food and other basic items was presented to Kenya's parliament on Tuesday, even as civil servants demanded higher pay to cope with rising living costs. The unpopular measure is a tough sell for President Uhuru Kenyatta, who came to office in April saying he would rein in the budget deficit and appealing for wage restraint. Finance Minister Henry Rotich said in his budget speech last month that he would re-introduce value-added tax on goods including medicines and the staples rice, milk, bread and wheat. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mursi role at Syria rally seen as tipping point for Egypt army Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 10:55 AM PDT By Yasmine Saleh and Tom Perry CAIRO (Reuters) - Army concern about the way President Mohamed Mursi was governing Egypt reached tipping point when the head of state attended a rally packed with hardline fellow Islamists calling for holy war in Syria, military sources said. At the June 15 rally, Sunni Muslim clerics used the word "infidels" to denounce both the Shi'ites fighting to protect Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the non-Islamists that oppose Mursi at home. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senegal charges ex-Chad leader with crimes against humanity Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 10:49 AM PDT  By Diadie Ba DAKAR (Reuters) - A judge in Senegal formally charged Chad's former president Hissene Habre with crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture on Tuesday and remanded him in custody pending trial, his lawyer said. Habre, 71, was arrested on Sunday in the Senegalese capital Dakar, where he has been living in exile for 22 years since he was overthrown in a 1990 coup in Chad. Human rights groups hold Habre responsible for the torture or killing up to 40,000 people during his 1982-1990 presidency of the poor, oil-rich central African state. ... Full Story | Top |
| Some lawmakers balk at limited abortion legislation in Ireland Tuesday, Jul 02, 2013 10:34 AM PDT By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - Four lawmakers from Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny's party came out on Tuesday against a move to legalize abortion under certain conditions but are unlikely to be able to scuttle the measure or threaten his comfortable majority. Kenny's government is proposing access to abortion when a woman's life is in danger and both sides of the debate have staged protests on an issue that has long polarized the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country. ... Full Story | Top |
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