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| China suspects Tiananmen crash a suicide attack: sources Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 12:41 AM PDT  By Benjamin Kang Lim and Michael Martina BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese authorities suspect suicide attackers drove the vehicle that ploughed into pedestrians at Beijing's Tiananmen Square and set it on fire, killing five people including the three inside, sources told Reuters on Tuesday. At least 38 people were injured in Monday's incident at Tiananmen, part of the closely guarded heart of the Chinese government, but there has been no official word whether it was an accident or an attack. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: From Russia to labor shortages, Latvia faces stern tests in euro Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 12:34 AM PDT  By Alistair Scrutton and Aija Krutaine VALKA, Latvia (Reuters) - From his office near Latvia's border, Valka deputy major Viesturs Zarins can see the future. It's down the road, right at the supermarket and past the derelict house. Across a disused border post lies Estonia, a euro currency nation that Latvia will next year emulate. From a quirk of history this town is split between the two countries, where some street vendors deal in euros and others in Latvian lats. Latvia's adoption of the euro on January 1 may encourage investment and lower borrowing costs. ... Full Story | Top |
| Storm death toll rises as wind, rain batters northern Europe Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 12:26 AM PDT  By Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Anthony Deutsch LONDON/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Hurricane strength winds battered northern Europe on Monday, killing more than a dozen people, cutting power and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights and train journeys. At least seven people died in Germany while there were four deaths in Britain and fatalities in the Netherlands, Denmark and France as the storm brought down trees, blew roofs off houses and turned over trucks, causing chaos across much of the region. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK storm causes two Dungeness nuclear reactors to close Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 12:26 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - The storm that swept across southern Britain on Monday morning caused nuclear power outages at the Dungeness B21 and B22 units, operator EDF Energy said. EDF Energy said on its website that both units, which have a capacity of 550 megawatts (MW) each, came off at 0744 GMT on Monday, adding that unit availability was expected to be zero for the next seven days. "The shutdown was weather-related. The plant reacted as it should and shut down safely," an EDF Energy spokeswoman said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sweden cancels trains in south, issues storm warnings Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 12:26 AM PDT STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden cancelled all passenger trains in the south of the country ahead of the arrival later in the day of a storm that had already killed three people in Britain and The Netherlands. Trains were to top running from late afternoon and remain halted through midday on Tuesday. The weather bureau issued Class 3 storm warnings - its highest alert - for areas in the south west of the country and lower Class 2 warnings for much of the south of the country. (Reporting by Simon Johnson Editing by Jeremy Gaunt) Full Story | Top |
| China suspects Tiananmen vehicle fire was suicide attack: sources Monday, Oct 28, 2013 11:51 PM PDT SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The Chinese government suspects that Monday's incident in which a vehicle ploughed into pedestrians in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, killing five including the three people in the vehicle, was a suicide attack, sources told Reuters. At least 38 people were injured in the incident, but there has been no official word whether it was an accident or an attack. "It looks like a premeditated suicide attack," a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid repercussions for talking to the foreign media. ... Full Story | Top |
| 'Lost world' of Australian rainforest yields up three new species Monday, Oct 28, 2013 07:24 PM PDT SYDNEY (Reuters) - Scientists have discovered three new species of animals in a rainforest 'lost world' in Australia, protected for millions of years by almost impenetrable stacks of granite boulders. The new animals are a leaf-tail gecko, a golden-colored skink and a boulder-dwelling frog living in the unique rocky rainforest in Cape Melville, some 1,500 km (900 miles) north west of Brisbane, Australia's third most populous city. ... Full Story | Top |
| Western U.S. states, British Columbia team up to battle climate change Monday, Oct 28, 2013 06:54 PM PDT By Rory Carroll SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The leaders of the three U.S. states along the Pacific Coast and the Canadian province of British Columbia agreed on Monday to align carbon-cutting policies in the coastal region, which together is equivalent to the world's fifth-largest economy. Under the agreement aimed at aligning climate change strategies, the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington will move to set their first pricing on carbon emissions. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico forces kill two suspects in state energy firm attacks Monday, Oct 28, 2013 05:54 PM PDT  By Lizbeth Diaz MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican security forces killed two people believed to be involved in a string of attacks on electrical installations at the weekend and captured three more, the government said on Monday. An unspecified number of substations and gas stations were attacked and damaged early on Sunday in the troubled western state of Michoacan in an attack that temporarily knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of people. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada scandal deepens as prime minister accused of cover-up Monday, Oct 28, 2013 05:28 PM PDT  By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - A Canadian legislator at the heart of a spending scandal on Monday accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper of being involved in a cover-up deal, deepening a crisis that has engulfed the Conservative government. Senator Mike Duffy made his allegations just days before a Calgary convention of the ruling Conservatives, who have lost support in the polls since the scandal broke in May and are now trailing the opposition Liberals. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kerry says he may travel to Egypt in coming weeks Monday, Oct 28, 2013 04:40 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday he may visit Egypt in the coming weeks in what would be his first trip since the army toppled the country's democratically elected president on July 3. Ties between Washington and Cairo have deteriorated since the ouster of former President Mohamed Mursi, who was elected last year after the toppling of authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak, a longtime U.S. ally, in February 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| German parliament to meet over U.S. spying scandal Monday, Oct 28, 2013 04:31 PM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's parliament will hold a special session on reports the United States tapped Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone and left-wing parties demanded a public inquiry calling in witnesses including former U.S. intelligence operative Edward Snowden. Her conservative party, now in talks with the opposition Social Democrats on forming a new governing coalition after the September 22 election, said it would not stand in the way of any parliamentary committee investigating the espionage affair. Reports last week that the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Yemen police halt fireworks causing rumors of U.S. embassy attack Monday, Oct 28, 2013 03:50 PM PDT  SANAA (Reuters) - Yemeni police moved in to halt a firework display at a wedding party near the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa on Monday that triggered rumors of an attack on the mission, a security guard and a Yemeni diplomat in Washington said. They said security guards around the mission in Sanaa fired some shots in the air. "The U.S. Embassy in Sanaa was not attacked, nor was there any bombing in the vicinity of the Embassy," said Mohammed al-Basha, a spokesman for the Yemeni embassy in Washington in a twitter message. He said some people who had set off the fireworks were arrested. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rebels retreat as Congo army captures eastern strongholds Monday, Oct 28, 2013 03:43 PM PDT  By Kenny Katombe RUTSHURU, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo abandoned a key military base on Monday but vowed to fight on despite four days of a successful army offensive that has stoked tensions with neighboring Rwanda. Rwanda, accused by U.N. experts of backing the M23 rebels, said two of its citizens had been killed by Congolese army fire since Friday, when fighting erupted after two months of relative calm. Kigali, which denies any support for the M23, had warned it would not tolerate Congolese shells landing in its territory. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fernandez's government downplays electoral setback in Argentina Monday, Oct 28, 2013 03:26 PM PDT  By Anthony Esposito and Alejandro Lifschitz BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - President Cristina Fernandez's government sought on Monday to downplay a sobering defeat in Argentina's mid-term elections, asserting that its ability to govern has not been diminished even though voters shrank her majority in Congress and erased her chances of seeking a third term in 2015. The government's coalition took a beating in Sunday's elections, leaving her with only a slim majority in both legislative chambers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkey asks U.S. to extend pricing on Raytheon missile bid: sources Monday, Oct 28, 2013 03:17 PM PDT By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Turkey has asked the United States to extend the pricing on Raytheon Co's Patriot missile defense system proposal, two sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters on Monday, a sign that Ankara is keeping its options open in case its talks with the preferred Chinese supplier fall through. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan last week said Ankara would be open to new offers if its talks about co-producing a long-range air and missile defense system with China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp (CPMIEC) fail. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama, Netanyahu discuss Iran, Middle East talks by phone Monday, Oct 28, 2013 02:56 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone on Monday and discussed recent developments on Iran, Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, and other regional issues, the White House said on Monday. "The two leaders agreed to continue their close coordination on a range of security issues," the White House said. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; editing by Christopher Wilson) Full Story | Top |
| Family says Egypt punishes kung fu champ for pro-Mursi symbol Monday, Oct 28, 2013 02:55 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - The family of an Egyptian kung fu champion says he has been banned from representing the country after he showed support for ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi during a tournament in Russia, although the government denied the accusation. In a photo on the state-run Al-Ahram website, Mohamed Youssef was shown on stage in St. Petersburg holding his medal and wearing a t-shirt with a symbol commemorating the pro-Mursi protest camp that was crushed by security forces on August 14, leaving hundreds dead. The army overthrew Mursi on July 3 and installed an interim government. ... Full Story | Top |
| Drone strike kills at least two in Somalia: residents Monday, Oct 28, 2013 02:33 PM PDT MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A suspected U.S. drone strike killed at least two Islamist al Shabaab insurgents driving in a car south of the Somali capital Mogadishu, residents said on Monday. Ibrahim Ali, believed to be al Shabaab's lead explosives expert, was among the dead, one U.S. official said, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, without offering details on how the United States carried out the strike. Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for a September attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi that killed at least 67 people. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazil to insist on local Internet data storage after U.S. spying Monday, Oct 28, 2013 02:22 PM PDT  By Esteban Israel and Anthony Boadle SAO PAULO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil, seeking to shield its citizens from alleged U.S. spying, is pushing ahead with its plan to force global Internet companies to store data obtained from Brazilian users inside the country, according to a draft of the law seen by Reuters. Despite opposition from multinational software, hardware and telecommunications companies, President Dilma Rousseff is pressing lawmakers to vote as early as this week on the law, sparked by disclosures of widespread U.S. spying on Brazilian telecommunications data. ... Full Story | Top |
| Saudi religious leader urges youths not to fight in Syria Monday, Oct 28, 2013 02:19 PM PDT By Mahmoud Habboush DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's grand mufti, the highest religious authority in the birthplace of Islam, has urged young Saudis to refrain from fighting in Syria. The kingdom has backed the rebels battling President Bashar al-Assad, publicly calling on the world powers to "enable" Syrians to protect themselves, but is wary that fighters could return home ready to wage war on their own dynastic rulers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Czech left leader to start government talks despite party revolt Monday, Oct 28, 2013 02:13 PM PDT  By Jan Lopatka PRAGUE (Reuters) - The leader of the Czech Republic's center-left Social Democrats said on Monday he would start talks with centrists on forming a government despite the fact that his own party ejected him from its negotiating team after a poor election result. The Social Democrats won the largest share of votes in the weekend's parliamentary election, but its 20.5 percent score was the worst result since 1992 and a party leadership body has asked the leader, Bohuslav Sobotka, to resign. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian hackers hit Obama-linked Twitter, Facebook accounts Monday, Oct 28, 2013 01:44 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Syrian Electronic Army, a hacker group sympathetic to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, on Monday seized control of an online tool used by an advocacy organization for U.S. President Barack Obama to redirect links sent from his Twitter and Facebook accounts. The link shortener used by Organizing for Action, a group that evolved from Obama's re-election campaign, was briefly hacked, an official from the group said. Link shorteners abbreviate Web links so they take up less space in a tweet, which is limited to 140 characters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Merkel, SPD agree on transaction tax in coalition talks Monday, Oct 28, 2013 01:23 PM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - Angela Merkel's conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD) said they had agreed in coalition talks on Monday to push for a financial transaction tax but needed to consult further on the key issue of a European banking union. The parties started negotiating policy compromises last week with the goal of having a new "grand coalition" government in place by Christmas. Germany's European partners will be watching the negotiations closely, hoping for a swift deal that allows the bloc to meet looming deadlines for its ambitious banking union. ... Full Story | Top |
| Severe storm kills woman in Netherlands Monday, Oct 28, 2013 12:48 PM PDT AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A falling tree killed a woman in the Dutch capital on Monday, police said, as one of the most powerful storms in decades lashed Britain and the Netherlands with winds of more than 150 kph (90 mph). The woman died when a tree was blown over at the edge of an Amsterdam canal, also injuring another person. In other incidents several people were hit by flying debris and falling trees, police said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Falling tree kills teenage girl in British storm Monday, Oct 28, 2013 12:48 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - A teenage girl was killed when a tree fell onto her home while she slept during a fierce storm that battered southern Britain, police said on Monday. Police said they were called to the scene at 0718 GMT in Hever in Kent following a report the 17-year old was severely injured. "Sadly the 17-year old died," police said in a statement. "The incident is not being treated as suspicious." Britain's strongest storm in a decade battered southern regions on Monday, forcing hundreds of flight cancellations, cutting power lines and disrupting the travel plans of millions of commuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen steal $55 million from Libyan central bank Monday, Oct 28, 2013 12:44 PM PDT TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Gunmen stole $55 million in a heist on a van carrying local and foreign currency for the Libyan central bank on Monday, state news agency Lana said. Ten armed men stopped the van in the coastal city of Sirte carrying 53 million Libyan dinars ($43.49 million) and foreign currency worth $12 million, Lana said. The van was coming from the airport where the cash had been flown in from Tripoli for the local central bank branch. "The robbing is a catastrophe not just for Sirte but the whole of Libya," Abdel-Fattah Mohammed, head of Sirte council, told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chemical weapon inspectors unable to reach two Syrian sites Monday, Oct 28, 2013 12:08 PM PDT By Anthony Deutsch and Dominic Evans AMSTERDAM/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Safety concerns have prevented inspectors from a global chemical weapons watchdog from reaching two of the 23 sites declared by Syria as part of an agreement to destroy its toxic arsenal, the organization said on Monday. The Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) had verified 21 sites up to October 27, the deadline agreed as part of Syria's destruction program. "The two remaining sites have not been visited due to security reasons," the OPCW, which won the Nobel Peace prize this month, said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico beefs up security after attacks on state energy firms Monday, Oct 28, 2013 12:03 PM PDT  By Lizbeth Diaz MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico has stepped up security in a troubled western region after a string of attacks on electricity installations at the weekend that temporarily knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of people. Energy Minister Pedro Joaquin Coldwell told reporters security forces had increased their presence at facilities of the state-run electricity company the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and oil monopoly Pemex in the violent state of Michoacan. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. ships head towards migrant vessel in distress off Greece Monday, Oct 28, 2013 11:54 AM PDT ATHENS (Reuters) - The U.S. navy on Monday sent two guided missile destroyers to help a boat apparently carrying migrants and in distress off southern Greece. No details of the operation were immediately available but a Greek defense official said a commercial vessel had reported sighting a migrant vessel in international waters, heading towards Italy, about 116 nautical miles off the coast of Kalamata. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria envoy in Damascus, but prospects for peace talks dim Monday, Oct 28, 2013 11:52 AM PDT  By Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - International envoy Lakhdar Brahimi held talks in Damascus on Monday at the end of a Middle East tour to promote a Syrian peace conference, but regional tensions have cast a pall over his mission. Brahimi visited capitals across the Middle East to discuss plans for the "Geneva 2" meeting, tentatively set for November 23, to try to halt more than 2-1/2 years of bloodshed in Syria. ... Full Story | Top |
| High-profile British phone-hacking trial begins Monday, Oct 28, 2013 11:50 AM PDT  By Michael Holden and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's former British newspaper chief and Prime Minister David Cameron's ex-media head went on trial for phone hacking on Monday at the start of one of Britain's most high profile court cases in years. Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, both former editors of Murdoch's now defunct News of the World tabloid, are accused of conspiring to illegally access voicemail messages on mobile phones belonging to politicians, the rich and famous, and victims of crime and ordinary people, to obtain exclusive news. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisia's Islamists, opposition haggle over new premier Monday, Oct 28, 2013 11:40 AM PDT  By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's ruling Islamists and opposition parties held talks on Monday to agree on a new prime minister who will lead a caretaker government, under an agreement to end months of unrest in the north African country. Former central bank members and economists are the leading candidates for the post. The ruling Islamist party Ennahda and secular opponents earlier this month reached a deal for the government to resign in three weeks to make way for a non-partisan administration and elections at a date to be agreed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two die in northern Lebanon in spillover from Syria war Monday, Oct 28, 2013 11:15 AM PDT  By Nazih Siddiq TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Two people died in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli on Monday, in fighting between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Lebanese army, as violence continues to spill over from the civil war next door. Tripoli, a city that, like much of Lebanon, is divided along sectarian lines, is only 30 miles from the Syrian border and its majority Sunni Muslims, who back the Syrian rebels, have often clashed with the minority from Assad's Alawite sect. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hollande most unpopular French president on record: poll Monday, Oct 28, 2013 11:02 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - Francois Hollande has become the most unpopular French president on record, an opinion poll showed on Monday, with the Socialist leader hit by anger over tax hikes, unemployment and rows over the government's immigration policy. Hollande's popularity has sunk to 26 percent of those surveyed, the first time the BVA poll has seen a French president's approval ratings fall below 30 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thousands vote in referendum on fate of Sudan's disputed Abyei Monday, Oct 28, 2013 10:35 AM PDT  By Ilya Gridneff ABYEI (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of residents in the remote and disputed Abyei border region voted on Monday in a non-binding referendum on whether to join Sudan or South Sudan despite fears it could trigger violence. The ownership of Abyei was left undecided when South Sudan declared independence from Sudan in 2011 and a long-promised official plebiscite on its status has been stalled by arguments over can vote, prompting the local referendum initiative. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain's Cameron says may act against press over spy leaks Monday, Oct 28, 2013 10:23 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron threatened on Monday to act to stop newspapers publishing what he called damaging leaks from former U.S. intelligence operative Edward Snowden. "If they don't demonstrate some social responsibility it will be very difficult for government to stand back and not to act," Cameron told parliament. Britain's Guardian newspaper had printed damaging material after initially agreeing to destroy other sensitive data, he said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Three Egyptian policemen killed in Nile Delta town Monday, Oct 28, 2013 10:05 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Three Egyptian policemen were killed on Monday when masked men attacked a checkpoint in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura, security sources said. No group has claimed responsibility. Al Qaeda-linked militants have stepped up attacks on soldiers and police since the army toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July. The majority of the attacks have been carried out in the largely lawless Sinai region, although militants have on occasion extended their campaign into major cities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran says offers ideas to end rift with U.N. nuclear watchdog Monday, Oct 28, 2013 09:56 AM PDT  By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran's deputy foreign minister said he had made proposals to the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief on Monday after pledging "a new approach" to easing international concerns about indications of illicit atomic bomb research by Tehran. The U.N. agency wants to resume an investigation, long stymied by Iranian non-cooperation, into what it calls the "possible military dimensions" of the Islamic Republic's atomic activities. Tehran says it is enriching uranium solely for electricity generation and medical treatments. ... Full Story | Top |
| Risking Russia's ire, Georgia seeks closer ties with Europe Monday, Oct 28, 2013 08:54 AM PDT  By Margarita Antidze and Timothy Heritage TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia's new president said on Monday he would press ahead with efforts to deepen the former Soviet republic's ties with the West despite Russian concerns. European leaders and observers hailed Sunday's "clean" election won by Georgy Margvelashvili, an ally of billionaire Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, as a sign that democracy is maturing in the small South Caucasus state. ... Full Story | Top |
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