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| Thai anti-government protester shot dead: hospital official Friday, Dec 27, 2013 08:25 PM PST  By Sinthana Kosolpradit BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai protester was killed and four wounded, an emergency official said on Saturday, after an unidentified gunman opened fire on demonstrators whose efforts to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra flared into violence over the past two days. The shooting came 48 hours after clashes between police about 500 protesters, who are determined to disrupt a snap February 2 election called by Yingluck, outside a voting registration center in which two people were killed and scores wounded. Petphong Kamjonkitkarn, director of the Erawan Emergency Center in the Thai capital Bangkok, told Reuters one man in his 30s had been killed and four others suffered gunshot wounds. The protesters have been rallying for weeks in their attempt to topple Yingluck, who they see as a puppet of her brother and former premier, billionaire tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, and have vowed to disrupt the election. Full Story | Top |
| Fire on Indian train kills at least 23 people Friday, Dec 27, 2013 10:35 PM PST At least 23 people were killed on Saturday in a fire on a train in southern India, authorities said. The train was on its way from the city of Bangalore to Nanded in the western state of Maharashtra. The driver stopped the train when he saw flames coming out of an air-conditioned coach, media reports said. "The fire has now been brought under control but there are casualties ... the authorities have gone inside the coach," Arunendra Kumar, the chairman of India's Railway Board, told Reuters Television. Full Story | Top |
| China court jails four security officials over watermelon vendor's death: Xinhua Friday, Dec 27, 2013 10:20 PM PST  A Chinese court jailed four security officials for up to 11 years over the death of a watermelon vendor, the official Xinhua news agency reported, an incident that triggered public outcry over perceived abuses of power by city patrols. Deng Zhengjia, 56, died after a fight with the security officials in the south-central province of Hunan in July. A court in Hunan found the four men guilty of intentionally assaulting Deng and sentenced them to jail terms ranging from three-and-a-half to 11 years, the report late on Friday said. Full Story | Top |
| China formally eases one-child policy, abolishes labor camps Friday, Dec 27, 2013 08:05 PM PST  China formally approved on Saturday easing its decades-long one-child policy and the abolition of a controversial labor camp system, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Both were among a sweeping raft of reforms announced last month after a meeting of the ruling Communist Party that mapped out policy for the next decade. The plan was envisioned by the government about five years ago, with officials worried that the strict controls were undermining economic growth and contributing to a rapidly ageing population China had no hope of supporting financially. The resolution, formally approved by China's largely rubber- stamp parliament on Saturday, will allow local legislatures to decide when to implement the policies, Xinhua said. Full Story | Top |
| Beirut bomb kills Lebanese ex-minister who opposed Assad Friday, Dec 27, 2013 01:03 PM PST By Samia Nakhoul and Stephen Kalin BEIRUT (Reuters) - Former Lebanese minister Mohamad Chatah, who opposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was killed in a massive bomb blast on Friday which one of his political allies blamed on the Shi'ite Hezbollah militia. The attack in Beirut killed five other people and threw Lebanon, which has been drawn into neighboring Syria's conflict, into further turmoil after a series of sectarian bombings aimed at Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims over the past year. Former prime minister Saad al-Hariri accused Hezbollah of involvement in the killing of Chatah, his 62-year-old political adviser, saying it was "a new message of terrorism". "As far as we are concerned the suspects ... are those who are fleeing international justice and refusing to represent themselves before the international tribunal," Hariri said , referring to the upcoming trial in The Hague of five Hezbollah members suspected of killing his father Rafik in 2005. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. military personnel released after being held by Libya government Friday, Dec 27, 2013 10:18 PM PST Four American military personnel were detained by the Libyan government on Friday and held in custody for several hours before being released, U.S. officials said. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said President Barack Obama's administration was looking into the incident, but confirmed that "all four U.S. military personnel being held in Libyan government custody have been released." A U.S. defense official said the Americans appeared to have been checking possible evacuation routes for the U.S. embassy in Tripoli. Psaki said the United States, which backed the 2011 uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, valued its relationship with "the new Libya." "We have a strategic partnership based on shared interests and our strong support for Libya's historic democratic transition," she said. Full Story | Top |
| Russia says Syrian toxin removal deadline will be missed Friday, Dec 27, 2013 03:30 PM PST  By Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) - Deadly toxins that were to have been removed from Syria by December 31 under an international effort to rid the country of its chemical arsenal have not yet been delivered to port to be put on ships, a Russian diplomat was quoted as saying on Friday. The deadline will be missed because toxins that can be used to make sarin, VX gas and other agents were being packed up and still faced a potentially hazardous trip to the port of Latakia, RIA news agency quoted Mikhail Ulyanov as saying. Syria has agreed to abandon its chemical weapons by next June under a deal proposed by Russia and hashed out with the United States, after an August 21 sarin gas attack that Western nations blamed on President Bashar al-Assad's government. Damascus agreed to transport the "most critical" chemicals, including around 20 tons of mustard nerve agent, out of the northern port of Latakia by December 31 to be safely destroyed abroad away from the war zone. Full Story | Top |
| Two policemen wounded in Bahrain bomb attack: ministry Friday, Dec 27, 2013 03:39 PM PST MANAMA (Reuters) - Two policemen were severely wounded by a homemade bomb west of the capital Manama, Bahrain's Interior Ministry said on Friday in a message on its Twitter account. The policemen were attacked in al-Bade'e street near al-Maqsha'a village in what the ministry said was "a terror act." It gave no further details. Bahrain, home of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, has been buffeted by political turmoil since 2011 when mostly Shi'ite protesters took to the streets calling for political reforms and more say in the Sunni ruled island kingdom. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mali's government presents treason case against former president Friday, Dec 27, 2013 04:32 PM PST  By Adama Diarra BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's government said on Friday it had presented to the country's highest court a case for high treason against former President Amadou Toumani Toure, who was toppled in a coup d'etat last year. A communique from the prime minister's office said the case before the National Assembly accused Toure of failing in his duty as commander of Mali's armed forces to prevent foreign forces from seizing national territory. The March 2012 coup was prompted by Toure's failure to quell a Tuareg separatist uprising in northern Mali. The takeover, however, allowed armed Islamist groups to seize control of the northern two-thirds of Mali. Full Story | Top |
| Four killed, scores wounded in clashes across Egypt Friday, Dec 27, 2013 01:53 PM PST By Maggie Fick CAIRO (Reuters) - Muslim Brotherhood supporters and police clashed across Egypt on Friday, leaving at least four dead in protests after the army-backed government declared the group a terrorist organization. The violence broke out after Friday prayers and the health ministry said 87 people were wounded in the clashes, which flared in Cairo and at least four other cities. A second man was killed in Minya, a bastion of Islamist support south of Cairo, and a third person was killed in the capital, the interior ministry said, without providing further details. Security forces detained at least 265 Brotherhood supporters nationwide, including at least 28 women, the ministry also said. Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan offers olive branch to rebels, releases prisoners Friday, Dec 27, 2013 02:37 PM PST  By Aaron Maasho and Richard Lough JUBA/NAIROBI (Reuters) - South Sudan said on Friday it was ready for a ceasefire and would release eight of 11 senior politicians arrested over an alleged coup plot, raising hopes it was edging towards a deal to end ethnic-based fighting ravaging the world's newest nation. There was no immediate reaction from Riek Machar, the former vice president who the government accuses of starting the conflict that has spread quickly over the landlocked state, threatening its vital oil industry. Fighting between rival groups of soldiers erupted in the capital Juba on December 15, then triggered clashes in half of South Sudan's 10 states - often along ethnic lines, between Machar's group, the Nuer, and President Salva Kiir's Dinka. The U.N. Security Council approved plans on Tuesday to almost double the number of U.N. peacekeepers in South Sudan to 12,500 troops and 1,323 police in a bid to protect some 63,000 civilians sheltering at its bases. Full Story | Top |
| India seeks possible U.S. tax violations as stand hardens in row Friday, Dec 27, 2013 01:23 PM PST  By Sanjeev Miglani NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has sought details about staff in American schools in the country for possible tax violations and revoked ID cards of U.S. consular officials and their families, retaliatory steps for the arrest of an Indian diplomat in New York. The measures suggest that the two countries are no closer to a resolution of a diplomatic dispute over the treatment of Deputy Consul General Devyani Khobragade this month on charges of visa fraud and underpayment of her housekeeper. Khobragade, who has denied the charges, was handcuffed and strip-searched while in custody, sparking outrage in India. An Indian government official said on Friday that New Delhi had asked the U.S. embassy to provide details about people working in American schools and other U.S. government facilities to determine if they had permission to do so and if they were paying taxes that are mandatory under Indian law. Full Story | Top |
| Hollande wants bigger U.N. role in Central African Republic Friday, Dec 27, 2013 12:53 PM PST  French President Francois Hollande has asked the United Nations to play a bigger role in the Central African Republic, Hollande's office said in a statement on Friday. France deployed a 1,600 strong peacekeeping mission in its former colony this month to stop massacres between Muslim and Christian militias, but the U.N.-backed intervention is struggling to restore security in the country. "(The president) has asked the United Nations to play a more important role during the transition in Central African Republic," Hollande's office said of his phone call with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Full Story | Top |
| Israel plans 1,400 more West Bank settlement homes, official says Friday, Dec 27, 2013 12:21 PM PST  Israel plans to build 1,400 homes in its settlements in the occupied West Bank and will announce the projects next week after releasing a group of Palestinian prisoners, an Israeli official said on Friday. The Palestinians have said any further expansion of Israeli settlements on land they seek for a state could derail U.S.-brokered peace talks that resumed in July after a three-year break and are set to last until April. The United States said Israel had informed it of plans to release the group of prisoners on December 30, a day later than expected. The release of about two dozen Palestinians, the third group to be freed since the peace talks resumed, is seen by the United States as a vital confidence-building measure. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. judge says NSA phone surveillance is lawful Friday, Dec 27, 2013 11:46 AM PST  By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge ruled that a National Security Agency program that collects records of millions of Americans' phone calls is lawful, calling it a "counter-punch" to terrorism that does not violate Americans' privacy rights. Friday's decision by U.S. District Judge William Pauley in Manhattan diverged from a ruling by another judge this month that questioned the program's constitutionality, raising the prospect that the Supreme Court will need to resolve the issue. In a 54-page decision, Pauley dismissed an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit contending that the NSA collection of "bulk telephony metadata" violated the bar against warrantless searches under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The judge also referred often to the September 11, 2001 attacks, in which nearly 3,000 people died, and said broad counter-terrorism programs such as the NSA's could help avoid a "horrific" repeat of those events. Full Story | Top |
| Turkish protesters clash with police as supporters cheer Erdogan Friday, Dec 27, 2013 11:56 AM PST  By Orhan Coskun and Ece Toksabay ANKARA/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Protesters demanding Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan resign over a high-level corruption scandal clashed with riot police in Istanbul on Friday, while across the city thousands staged a rival show of support for the embattled leader. Erdogan faces a crisis unprecedented during his 11 years in office due to the scandal that has forced three ministers' resignations and a cabinet reshuffle, as well as destabilizing the Turkish economy whose rapid growth has been a showpiece of his rule. However, Erdogan still enjoys the loyalty of many pious Muslims and members of Turkey's wealthy elite. Police detained dozens of people on December 17, among them the sons of the interior minister and two other cabinet members, after a major graft inquiry that was kept secret from commanders who might have informed the government in advance. Full Story | Top |
| World powers, Iran to resume expert nuclear talks on December 30 Friday, Dec 27, 2013 10:09 AM PST  By Justyna Pawlak and Parisa Hafezi BRUSSELS/ANKARA (Reuters) - Experts from Iran and six world powers will resume talks on Monday on how to roll out last month's landmark nuclear deal in Geneva, hoping to resolve numerous technical issues before the accord can take effect. A spokeswoman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who oversees diplomacy with Iran on behalf of the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany, said talks were scheduled to last one day for now. Two rounds of negotiations have been held so far since Iran agreed on November 24 to curb its most sensitive nuclear work in return for relief from some economic sanctions that are damaging its oil-dependent economy. In comments that highlight the challenges facing negotiators, Iran's nuclear chief said on Friday Tehran was pressing on with tests of more efficient uranium enrichment technology. Full Story | Top |
| Foreign convoy attacked in Afghan capital, three dead Friday, Dec 27, 2013 08:26 AM PST A suspected suicide bomber attacked a military convoy on the eastern outskirts of Kabul on Friday, killing at least three foreign soldiers, police and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack which comes as President Hamid Karzai deliberates over an agreement allowing U.S. forces to stay in the country beyond 2014. ISAF put the death toll at three service members. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine police allege opposition ties to reporter's attackers Friday, Dec 27, 2013 07:24 AM PST  By Pavel Polityuk KIEV (Reuters) - Police in Ukraine on Friday accused five suspects detained over the savage beating of a reporter of links to the opposition, an allegation the opposition condemned as an attempt to deflect suspicions of government complicity. Tetyana Chornovil, 34, was chased down by car and beaten shortly after midnight on Wednesday, hours after posting pictures on her blog of a country home she said belonged to Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko. The attack threatened to breathe new life into more than a month of opposition protests in the capital, Kiev, over a decision by the government in November to spurn a landmark pact on closer ties with the European Union and turn instead to former Soviet master Moscow. In a video statement posted on the website of the Interior Ministry, Mykola Chynchyn, the head of the main investigations department, said: "In the course of the investigation it was established that the detained had been in close contact with members of the party UDAR." UDAR, or Punch, is led by heavyweight boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko, the most prominent of a troika of opposition leaders who have seized on the outcry among many Ukrainians over the government's move away from Europe. Full Story | Top |
| Thai crisis deepens as army chief hints at intervention Friday, Dec 27, 2013 03:20 AM PST  By Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's powerful army chief refused on Friday to rule out military intervention to defuse an escalating political crisis, the latest blow for a government determined a February election will go ahead despite deadly clashes with protesters. General Prayuth Chan-ocha said "the door was neither open nor closed" when asked whether a coup would happen, a marked shift from the strong denials the armed forces routinely make. "Anything can happen," Prayuth told a news conference in Bangkok. "It depends on the situation ... we are trying to do the right thing, in a peaceful way and we urge negotiations." The general's comments represent a major setback at a critical time for Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who is under attack from opponents determined to overthrow her and weaken the influence of her self-exiled brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Full Story | Top |
| China media condemns Japan PM for paying homage to 'devils' Friday, Dec 27, 2013 02:14 AM PST  Chinese newspapers denounced Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday, describing his visit to the Yasukuni Shrine for Japan's war dead as paying homage to "devils" and warning that China could crush "provocative militarism". On Thursday, Abe visited the shrine in Tokyo where Japanese leaders convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal after World War Two are honored along with those who died in battle. The visit infuriated China and South Korea, both of which were occupied by Japanese forces until the end of the war, and prompted concern from the United States about deteriorating ties between the North Asian neighbors. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement Abe's visit to the shrine was "not conducive to lowering tensions in the region or to improving relations with Japan's neighbors". Full Story | Top |
| Israel plans 1,400 more West Bank settlement homes, official says Friday, Dec 27, 2013 04:43 AM PST  Israel plans to build 1,400 homes in its settlements in the occupied West Bank and will announce the projects next week after releasing a group of Palestinian prisoners, an Israeli official said on Friday. The Palestinians have said any further expansion of Israeli settlements on land they seek for a state could derail U.S.-brokered peace talks that resumed in July after a three-year break and are set to last until April. Israel has been expected to release about two dozen Palestinians, the third group to be freed since the talks restarted, by the middle of next week and to announce a new settlement push of hitherto undisclosed size shortly after. The Israeli government official said about 600 homes would be announced in Ramat Shlomo, a settlement of mainly Ultra-Orthodox Jews located in an area of the West Bank that Israel annexed to Jerusalem in a move unrecognized internationally. Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan's Kiir to skip Nairobi crisis talks with African leaders Friday, Dec 27, 2013 03:17 AM PST  NAIROBI (Reuters) - South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has not gone to Kenyan capital Nairobi to attend a meeting of African leaders trying to mediate an end to nearly two weeks of fighting that has killed thousands, a Kenyan official said. "Kiir is not coming because (Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam) Desalegn and (Kenyan President Uhuru) Kenyatta met him yesterday in Juba. Everything they needed to discuss was discussed," said a State House official in Nairobi. ... Full Story | Top |
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