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| Head of Syrian Kurdish group in Turkey for talks: sources Friday, Jul 26, 2013 12:54 AM PDT ANKARA (Reuters) - The head of a Syrian Kurdish group with links to militants in Turkey has flown to Istanbul for talks with government officials after an upsurge in fighting near the Turkish border, Kurdish political sources said on Friday. Saleh Muslim, the head of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), whose militias have seized control of districts in northern Syria over the past year, arrived in Turkey late on Thursday, Kurdish sources told Reuters. Turkish government officials could not confirm Muslim's arrival and said there were no plans for any high-level meetings. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt braces for rival rallies, army signals crackdown Friday, Jul 26, 2013 12:52 AM PDT  By Yasmine Saleh and Matt Robinson CAIRO (Reuters) - A deeply polarized Egypt braced for bloodshed on Friday in rival mass rallies summoned by the army that ousted the state's first freely elected president and by the Islamists who back him. Both sides warned of a decisive struggle for the future of the Arab world's most populous country, convulsed by political and economic turmoil since the 2011 uprising that ended 30 years of autocratic rule by Hosni Mubarak. ... Full Story | Top |
| Vivendi selling most of Activision stake for $8.2 billion Friday, Jul 26, 2013 12:14 AM PDT  By Christian Plumb and Leila Abboud PARIS/BANGALORE (Reuters) - France's Vivendi said on Friday that it planned to sell 85 percent of its stake in Activision Blizzard Inc to the video games maker and its management for $8.2 billion, its second blockbuster deal in the past week. Vivendi is selling the shares for $13.60 each, a 10 percent discount to Activision's closing price on Thursday. After the deal, Vivendi will retain a stake of 83 million shares, or 12 percent of the video games maker best known for the Call of Duty series and online multi-player game World of Warcraft. ... Full Story | Top |
| Timeline: New tragedy on Spanish railways Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:52 PM PDT (Reuters) - A train derailed outside the ancient northwestern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela on Wednesday evening, killing at least 78 people and injuring around 178 in one of Europe's worst rail disasters. Following is a timeline of some other major accidents on the country's railway lines: January 3, 1944 - Three trains collide inside a tunnel near the village of Torre del Bierzo in the region of Castile and Leon. While the official death toll was 78, recent studies put the number killed at over 500. ... Full Story | Top |
| Police to question driver after Spanish train crash kills 80 Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:52 PM PDT  By Tracy Rucinski SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain (Reuters) - The driver of a Spanish train that derailed, killing at least 80 people, was under police guard in hospital on Friday after the accident, which an official source said was caused by excessive speed. The eight-carriage train came off the tracks, hit a wall and caught fire just outside the pilgrimage destination Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain on Wednesday night. It was one of Europe's worst rail disasters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Setbacks to bring quieter Qatar foreign policy but no U-turn Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:27 PM PDT  By Regan Doherty, Amena Bakr and William Maclean DOHA/DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar may tone down its pushy foreign policy, chastened by setbacks in Syria and Egypt, but is likely to keep supporting Arab Spring revolts and bankrolling Islamist influence, albeit a little more quietly. The tiny state provided much of the armed muscle behind the Arab rebellions, while its aid for Muslim Brotherhood rule in Egypt alarmed neighboring Gulf monarchies who see the Islamist movement as a threat to their own hereditary authority. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan to mull ability to hit enemy bases in defense review Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:18 PM PDT  By Linda Sieg and Kiyoshi Takenaka TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan should strengthen the ability of its military to deter and counter missile attacks, including the possible acquisition of the ability to hit enemy bases, the Defence Ministry said, but officials denied this would be used for pre-emptive strikes. The proposal - Japan's latest step away from the constraints of its pacifist constitution - is part of a review of defense policy by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government, which released an interim report on the issue on Friday. Final review conclusions are due by the end of the year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexican President Pena Nieto's thyroid growth benign -official Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 08:32 PM PDT  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A nodule on Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's thyroid gland is benign, an official in the president's office said on Thursday. Pena Nieto is due to undergo surgery to remove the nodule next Wednesday, in a procedure that will last an hour and a half, the president's office said in a statement on Wednesday. The official said the operation was a simple one and that the nodule was being removed because doctors thought that was the best course of action. Pena Nieto will spend four days recovering after the operation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Organization of America States backs fragile El Salvador gang truce Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 08:20 PM PDT  SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Jose Miguel Insulza, the secretary general of the Organization of American States, gave his support to a fragile truce between El Salvador's gangs on Thursday, despite a recent uptick in murders. After meeting with El Salvador's president, Mauricio Funes, Insulza backed the tentative peace treaty between the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, and their rivals, Barrio 18, pointing to an overall decrease in the number of killings in the Central American country since the truce took hold in March 2012. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. navy to recover bombs from Great Barrier Reef Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 06:31 PM PDT  SYDNEY (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy said on Friday it would lead the effort to recover four unarmed bombs it was forced to drop in Australia's World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef marine park. The U.S. 7th Fleet would take the lead in recovering the bombs, coordinating with Australian authorities to ensure "the environment is protected with the greatest care", it said in a statement. "We are fully committed to redressing any potential adverse environmental impact in a timely manner," the Navy said, adding it would announce more detailed plans as they were finalized. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. sidesteps decision whether to cut off aid to Egypt Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 06:23 PM PDT  By Arshad Mohammed and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration sidestepped a decision on cutting off most of the annual $1.55 billion of U.S. aid to Egypt by saying on Thursday it does not plan to rule on whether a military coup took place in Egypt. The stance resolves a dilemma for the White House: whether to comply with a U.S. law that requires eliminating most aid in the event of a military coup or to find that the armed forces' July 3 ouster of President Mohamed Mursi was not in fact a coup. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. will not declare whether coup occurred in Egypt: U.S. official Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 05:01 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration told lawmakers on Thursday it does not intend to make a determination on whether a military coup occurred in Egypt, a senior U.S. official said, in a move that avoids a decision that would automatically force the cut-off of U.S. aid Briefing members of Congress, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns told them the administration was not legally bound to draw any conclusion whether or not the ouster of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi should be designated a coup, and that to make such a declaration would not be in the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. does not plan decision on Egypt coup Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 04:48 PM PDT  By Arshad Mohammed and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration told Congress on Thursday it does not plan to make a determination on whether a military coup occurred in Egypt, avoiding a decision that would force the cut off of most of the annual $1.55 billion in U.S. aid. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns delivered the message in separate briefings to senior members of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, several lawmakers told reporters after meeting the number two U.S. diplomat. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turmoil hits Tunisia after secular politician slain Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 03:46 PM PDT By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi was shot dead on Thursday in the second such assassination this year, setting off violent protests against the Islamist-led government in the capital and elsewhere. "This criminal gang has killed the free voice of Brahmi," his widow, Mbarka Brahmi, told Reuters, without specifying who she thought was behind the shooting outside their home in Tunis. Brahmi's sister later accused the main Islamist Ennahda party of being behind the killing. "Ennahda killed my brother," Souhiba Brahmi said. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. uses Syrian rebel supply lines as it prepares to send arms Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 03:33 PM PDT  By Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has quietly been testing the Syrian opposition's ability to deliver food rations, medical kits and money to rebel-held areas as Washington prepares to send arms to the rebel fighters. U.S. officials meet weekly in Turkey with Syrian opposition leaders to work out how best to keep supply lines open to rebel fighters and war-ravaged towns and districts. ... Full Story | Top |
| Why was doomed Spanish train going so fast? Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 03:21 PM PDT  By Andrés González and Julien Toyer MADRID (Reuters) - Why was the train going so fast? Did the driver fail to heed speed limits on a sharp curve? Did brakes fail? What about the safety system meant to force the train or the driver to slow down if going too fast? These are among issues investigators will look into after Spain's worst train crash in decades, which left at least 80 dead and 94 injured, 35 of them in serious condition. ... Full Story | Top |
| All flights to and from Tunisia cancelled on Friday Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 03:15 PM PDT TUNIS (Reuters) - All flights to and from Tunisia will be canceled on Friday after a general strike was called by the main labor organization in protest at the killing of a prominent opposition figure, the civil aviation office said. "All flights to and from Tunisia will be canceled tomorrow because the workers at the airport responded to the calling of the general strike", a spokesman said. (Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Alison Williams) Full Story | Top |
| Bombings and shootings kill 28 across Iraq Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 03:07 PM PDT BAQUBA, Iraq (Reuters) - At least 28 people were killed in bombings and shootings across Iraq on Thursday, police said. In the deadliest attack, a bomb in a parked car exploded in a busy market killing 14 people in central Muqdadiya, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of the capital Baghdad, police said. "I was sitting in my neighbor's shop when suddenly we heard a big explosion," said eyewitness Salim Aziz. "I had no time to see anything, and when I opened my eyes, I found myself at the hospital and I was injured in my right hand and left leg, surrounded by dozens of wounded people," he added. ... Full Story | Top |
| At least 78 killed, 131 injured, in Spain train disaster Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 02:39 PM PDT  By Teresa Medrano and Miguel Vidal SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain (Reuters) - A train derailed outside the ancient northwestern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela on Wednesday night, on the eve of a major religious festival, killing at least 78 people and injuring up to 131 in one of Europe's worst rail disasters. In what one local official described as a scene from hell, bodies covered in blankets lay next to the overturned carriages as smoke billowed from the wreckage after the disaster. ... Full Story | Top |
| Driver investigated after Spain train crash kills 80 Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 02:38 PM PDT  By Teresa Medrano and Tracy Rucinski SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain (Reuters) - The driver of a Spanish train that derailed, killing at least 80 people, was under police guard in hospital on Thursday after the dramatic accident which an official source said was caused by excessive speed. The eight-carriage train came off the tracks, hit a wall and caught fire just outside the pilgrimage destination Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain on Wednesday night. It was one of Europe's worst rail disasters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisia police fire teargas at protesters at Interior Ministry Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 02:35 PM PDT TUNIS (Reuters) - Riot police fired teargas in front of the Interior Ministry in the Tunisian capital on Thursday to try to disperse hundreds of people protesting against the assassination of opposition figure Mohamed Brahmi, a Reuters witness said. (Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Alison Williams) Full Story | Top |
| Pope scolds rich, demands social justice in visit to Brazil slum Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 02:30 PM PDT  By Philip Pullella and Anthony Boadle RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Thursday issued the first social manifesto of his young pontificate, telling slum dwellers in Brazil that the world's rich must do much more to wipe out vast inequalities between the haves and the have-nots. The pope also urged Brazil's youth, who have taken part in recent protests showing discontent with the status quo, to keep alive their "sensitivity towards injustice" and be a catalyst in the fight against corruption. ... Full Story | Top |
| Police raid Quebec office of MMA Railway in disaster probe Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 02:26 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Police raided the Canadian offices of Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway on Thursday in their investigation into the train crash earlier this month that destroyed the center of the small town of Lac-Megantic, Quebec, and killed 47 people. Sergeant Benoit Richard of the provincial police, Sûréte du Québec, told reporters that about 15 people had raided the MMA building in Farnham, Quebec, about 65 kms (40 miles) east of Montreal, "to gather evidence to support criminal charges". Richard, who gave no further details, denied reports that police had made arrests. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tropical storm Dorian could strengthen slightly in next 48 hours: NHC Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 02:10 PM PDT Tropical storm Dorian may strengthen slightly during the next 48 hours as it moves over warmer water, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory On Thursday. Dorian, located about 1,670 miles east of the Northern Leeward Islands, is packing maximum sustained winds 60 miles per hour (95 km per hour). It is moving toward the west-northwest near 18 miles per hour (30 km per hour), the agency said. (Reporting by Shruti Chaturvedi in Bangalore; Editing by Leslie Adler) Full Story | Top |
| Brazil protests take toll on Rousseff's popularity, economy key Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 01:27 PM PDT  By Alonso Soto BRASILIA (Reuters) - An opinion poll released on Thursday cast fresh doubt on President Dilma Rousseff's re-election chances next year, showing that her approval rating plummeted following massive street protests that swept Brazil last month. The share of Brazilians who consider Rousseff's administration "great" or "good" slumped to 31 percent from 55 percent in mid-June, putting it on par for the first time with those who disapprove of the government, according to the survey by polling firm Ibope. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisair cancels all flights to and from Tunisia on Friday Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 01:23 PM PDT TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisair will cancel all flights on Friday after Tunisia's largest labor organization called a general strike in protest at the assassination of prominent opposition figure Mohamed Brahmi. "All flights to and from Tunisia on Friday will be canceled," a statement from state-owned Tunisair said on Thursday, without giving further details. (Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Alison Williams) Full Story | Top |
| Obama, Vietnam leader agree on trade but clash on human rights Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 01:09 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang pledged to finish talks on a regional free-trade agreement by the end of the year, but the two leaders clashed over human rights during a White House meeting on Thursday. Labor and human rights groups have urged Obama to suspend free-trade negotiations with Vietnam because of that country's treatment of workers and people who criticize the government. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. lawmakers want sanctions on any country taking in Snowden Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 12:18 PM PDT  By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate panel voted unanimously on Thursday to seek trade or other sanctions against Russia or any other country that offers asylum to former spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, who has been holed up for weeks at a Moscow airport. The 30-member Senate Appropriations Committee adopted by consensus an amendment to a spending bill that would direct Secretary of State John Kerry to meet with congressional committees to come up with sanctions against any country that takes Snowden in. ... Full Story | Top |
| Colombian leader Santos defends constitutionality of peace law Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 12:16 PM PDT  By Helen Murphy BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Thursday defended the constitutionality of a law that paved the way for ongoing peace talks with Marxist rebels, as legal challenges risk undermining efforts to end five decades of war. The so-called Legal Framework for Peace, approved in Congress last year, modified the constitution and laid the foundation for punishment of war crimes, reparations for victims and eventual peace with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. ... Full Story | Top |
| Political trials in Ukraine, Tajikistan draw U.N. rebuke Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:57 AM PDT  By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - A United Nations human rights watchdog on Thursday deplored "politically motivated" prosecutions in Ukraine and Tajikistan and told the two former Soviet republics to make sure judges were impartial. It cited the case of former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, jailed for seven years in October 2011 for abuse of office, and of Zaid Saidov, a Tajik politician who was setting up an opposition political party before his arrest in May. In Ukraine, despite steps to reform the judiciary, judges "still remain vulnerable to outside pressure", the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kiir flexes muscles but risks splitting South Sudan Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:47 AM PDT  By Andrew Green JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has asserted his power by firing his biggest political rivals along with his entire cabinet, but he risks splitting the African oil producer at a time of new tensions with civil war foe Sudan. On Tuesday, Kiir removed Vice President Riek Machar and top negotiator Pagan Amum, senior officials in the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) who had indicated they would challenge him as party frontrunner for elections in 2015. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's new finance minister plans stimulus, not austerity Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:41 AM PDT  By Patrick Werr and Asma Alsharif CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt interim government will seek to avoid major austerity measures and instead work to stimulate the economy by improving security and pumping in new funds, the new finance minister, Ahmed Galal, said on Thursday. The government, sworn in last week after the military ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, inherits a budget deficit that since January has been running at around $3.2 billion a month, equivalent to almost half of all state spending. ... Full Story | Top |
| Car bomb in Damascus suburb kills seven: state media Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:34 AM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - A car bomb killed at least 10 people and wounded around 62 on Thursday when it exploded on the edge of the Syrian capital Damascus, state media said. State news agency SANA said the bomb hit the al-Siyouf Square in Jaramanah. It blamed the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham, an al Qaeda-linked group fighting alongside rebels in the two-year-old civil war against President Bashar al-Assad. Bombs have previously hit Jaramanah, a religiously mixed area that houses supporters and opponents of Assad but which is under army control. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisian police fire teargas to disperse protesters in Sfax Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:26 AM PDT TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian police fired teargas to disperse hundreds of protesters who stormed a local government office in Sfax, in the south of the country, in protest at the assassination of opposition figure Mohamed Brahmi, witnesses said The protesters threw stones at the police. There were no immediate reports of any dead or injured. (Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Alison Williams) Full Story | Top |
| Prosecutors say U.S. WikiLeaks soldier was seeking notoriety Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:14 AM PDT  By Medina Roshan FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - Military prosecutors said the U.S. soldier accused of the largest leak of classified information in the nation's history was hoping to make a name for himself by releasing documents on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. As the court-martial of Private First Class Bradley Manning winds down, prosecutors in closing arguments on Thursday said that the 25-year-old intelligence analyst had betrayed the trust his nation put in him. "The only human PFC Manning ever cared about was himself," said Major Ashden Fein, the lead prosecuting attorney. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. makes it easier to sell medical supplies to Iran Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:13 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday expanded the list of medical devices that can be exported to Iran without special permission, as it seeks to show support for humanitarian needs in a country that has been hit hard by Western sanctions. The United States and its European allies have tightened their economic sanctions on Iran to pressure the government to rein in its nuclear program, which the West suspects aims to produce a bomb. Iran says the program is for peaceful purposes such as generating electricity and making medical isotopes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Portugal government sticks to bailout goals in confidence motion Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:06 AM PDT  LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's reshuffled coalition government stuck to plans to complete the country's EU/IMF bailout program while promising to promote growth, in a document sent to parliament on Thursday tabling a symbolic vote of confidence. The ruling center-right coalition narrowly avoided a breakup this month that would have put the country back at the center of the euro zone's debt crisis, by striking a deal giving its junior partner more clout in the cabinet. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. strongly condemns assassination of Tunisian politician Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:58 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday strongly condemned the assassination of Tunisian opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi and called for a thorough investigation to bring those responsible before the courts. "This is not the first political assassination since Tunisia's revolution and there is no justification for such outrageous and cowardly acts in a democratic Tunisia," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told a daily briefing. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mursi's brother stands by Egyptian army in home village Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:54 AM PDT  By Maggie Fick AL-ADWA, Egypt (Reuters) - Even though they ousted his brother from office, Sayed Mursi does not have a bad word to say about Egypt's military. "I have boundless confidence in the army," Sayed said, sitting in his sparse, drafty house, a picture of deposed president Mohamed Mursi hanging on the wall next to a framed verse from the Quran. "I have patience. He does too," he told Reuters, referring to his elder brother. "He taught me that when someone makes you mad, don't antagonize them, you don't respond with anger. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brave faces at Cairo's pro-Mursi vigil belie fear of rallies Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:44 AM PDT By Shadia Nasralla CAIRO (Reuters) - Supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi camping on the streets of Cairo are stocking up with bandages and syringes ahead of mass rallies called by the army that deposed him. And mounting guard with barricades, helmets and sticks. Since Mursi was toppled three weeks ago, more than 100 people, mainly supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood, have died in clashes between his supporters, his opponents and the security forces. ... Full Story | Top |
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