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| Microsoft board close to naming Nadella as new CEO: source Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 06:44 PM PST  By Nadia Damouni and Bill Rigby NEW YORK/SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is likely to appoint its cloud-computing head, Satya Nadella, as its next chief executive, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday, as the board concludes a five-month search for a tech-savvy heavy-hitter to lead the world's largest software company. As part of the move, co-founder Bill Gates may step aside as chairman and be replaced by lead independent director John Thompson, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity because the process is private. Rising star Nadella, a native of Hyderabad, India - where Microsoft has its largest non-U.S. research center - was promoted to run the company's fast-expanding cloud, or internet-based, computing initiatives in July last year as part of current CEO Steve Ballmer's radical re-organization of the company. The appointment of the 22-year Microsoft veteran would make him the most powerful Indian-born tech executive in the world and put him alongside PepsiCo Inc's chief, Indra Nooyi, as the leader of a well-known, large-cap U.S. corporation. Full Story | Top |
| Knox and Sollecito convicted again of Briton's 2007 murder Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 06:23 PM PST  By Naomi O'Leary FLORENCE, Italy (Reuters) - American student Amanda Knox and her former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were found guilty on Thursday for the second time of the 2007 murder of Briton Meredith Kercher, in a retrial that reversed an earlier appeal judgment. The verdict, after 12 hours of deliberations, confirmed Knox and Sollecito's original 2009 conviction. Knox's sentence was increased to 28 years and six months and Sollecito was sentenced to 25 years. Sollecito's lawyer Giulia Bongiorno confirmed that her client would appeal to Italy's highest court, and Knox's lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova said he was "stunned". Full Story | Top |
| Thai polling stations might have to close if trouble on election day Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 09:58 PM PST  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai authorities might close polling booths if violence erupts during Sunday's disputed election which could further undermine the credibility of a vote that is deemed incapable of restoring stability in the polarized country. The government has vowed to push ahead with the general election despite threats by anti-government protesters, camped out at major intersections in Bangkok, that they will disrupt the polls in an attempt to stop Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's Puea Thai Party from returning to power. The anti-government protesters took to the streets in November in the latest round of an eight-year conflict that pits Bangkok's middle class, southern Thais and the royalist establishment against the mostly poor, rural supporters of Yingluck and her brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in 2006. The prospect of polling stations having to close early because of trouble on the streets will only add to doubts about the vote's legitimacy. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. cancels funds for Afghan opinion polls ahead of election Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 10:28 PM PST  By Jessica Donati KABUL (Reuters) - The United States has canceled funding for opinion polls in the run-up to Afghanistan's presidential election after an initial poll in December triggered accusations of U.S. attempts to manipulate the outcome, officials said. A spokesman for the U.S.-funded group Democracy International said on Thursday it and other similar organizations had planned to carry out opinion polls as Afghanistan prepares for the April 5 election. The cut in funding comes as relations between the United States and Afghanistan have been severely strained over President Hamid Karzai's refusal to sign a bilateral security pact that would enable U.S. troops to stay beyond this year. Full Story | Top |
| Syria peace talks take a break as rivals dig in Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 06:41 PM PST  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - A first round of peace talks on Syria wraps up Friday with both sides in entrenched positions and the U.N. mediator expressing frustration that it had not even been possible to get agreement for an aid convoy to enter the besieged city of Homs. After a week of talks at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, the opposing sides in Syria's civil war were still stuck on the question of how to proceed. "I hope that in the next session, when we come back, we will be able to have a more structured discussion," mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said. He was "very, very disappointed" that a U.N. aid convoy was still waiting fruitlessly to enter the rebel-held Old City of Homs, where the United States says civilians are starving. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Top Obama aide predicts drama-free U.S. debt ceiling increase Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 08:54 PM PST  By Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top White House official voiced confidence on Thursday that Republicans would agree in the next few weeks to lift the country's borrowing limit without using the confrontational tactics that rattled financial markets in past years. White House Budget Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell said she believes there is less appetite on Capitol Hill for the messy fiscal standoffs that have taken place in recent years, such as the 2011 struggle over the debt limit and last October's budget fight that led to a 16-day shutdown of the government. In an interview with Reuters, Burwell pointed to the passage earlier this month of a $1.1 trillion bill to keep the government funded for the next nine months. The vote to approve the budget bill followed an agreement reached in December between Republican Representative Paul Ryan and Democratic Senator Patty Murray that included some deficit reduction along with a modest easing of automatic budget cuts known as the "sequester." She said such deals suggested an interest in staying "away from a path of crisis" and said that bodes well for passage of a debt limit increase. Full Story | Top |
| Insight: How Thaksin's meddling sparked a new Thai crisis for PM sister Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 04:03 PM PST  By Andrew R.C. Marshall and Jason Szep BANGKOK (Reuters) - Yingluck Shinawatra's journey from political nobody to prime minister was breathtakingly swift. A political neophyte when she took office in 2011, the 46-year-old former business executive surprised many observers by steadying Thailand after years of often bloody political unrest. Behind Thailand's lurch into its worst crisis in years was a disastrous intervention by Yingluck's billionaire brother Thaksin, who was deposed in a 2006 military coup and now lives abroad to escape a corruption conviction. Thaksin's meddling turned a bill that would have freed ordinary Thais charged with protest-related crimes into a controversial wider amnesty for politicians such as himself, say senior members of Yingluck's ruling Puea Thai Party. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. to seek death penalty for accused Boston Marathon bomber Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 03:00 PM PST By David Ingram and Richard Valdmanis WASHINGTON/BOSTON (Reuters) - The United States will seek the death penalty for accused bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is charged with planting homemade explosives devices that killed three people and wounded 264 at the Boston Marathon last year, the government's chief prosecutor said on Thursday. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement that he was authorizing trial prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Tsarnaev, who is charged with committing one of the largest attacks on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001. Holder had faced a Friday deadline for deciding whether to seek the death penalty as part of Tsarnaev's upcoming trial in Boston. Government prosecutors said in a filing with the U.S. District Court in Boston that reasons for Holder's decision included that the killings were premeditated, cruel and that Tsarnaev had shown a lack of remorse. Full Story | Top |
| Yellen to be sworn in as first woman Fed chair next week Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 02:00 PM PST  Janet Yellen, the first woman to chair the Federal Reserve in its 100-year history, will take over the reins of the U.S. central bank on Saturday and formally be sworn in next week, the Fed said on Thursday. Yellen, 67, who begins her post as the Fed unwinds its unprecedented efforts to boost the U.S. economy, will be sworn in at 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT) on February 3. She will have full authority as the top central banker from Saturday until the swearing-in ceremony, according to the Fed. She succeeds Chairman Ben Bernanke, whose second four-year term expires on Friday. Yellen will be sworn in by Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo, a Fed official said on condition of anonymity. Full Story | Top |
| Suicide bombers storm Iraq ministry building, 24 killed Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 05:06 PM PST  By Suadad al-Salhy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Six suicide bombers burst into an Iraqi ministry building, took hostages and killed at least 24 people including themselves on Thursday before security forces regained control, security officials said. The brazen attack on the building belonging to the Ministry of Transportation in northeast Baghdad coincided with a month-long standoff between the Iraqi army and anti-government fighters in the western province of Anbar. No group claimed responsibility but suicide bombings in Iraq are the trademark of al-Qaeda linked groups. State buildings are a target for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and its allies that have been regaining momentum in a campaign to destabilize the Shi'ite Muslim-led government. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. reviewing whether Russian missile tests violate treaty Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 03:33 PM PST  The United States is reviewing whether Russia's testing of a new ground-launched cruise missile violates a key arms control treaty and has informed NATO about its concerns and discussed them with Moscow, U.S. officials said on Thursday. The New York Times reported earlier on Thursday that American officials believe Russia began conducting flight tests of the missile as early as 2008, in what could be a violation of a 1987 treaty banning medium-range missiles. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the U.S. government was reviewing whether a violation had occurred, saying the United States took questions about such treaties seriously. "When compliance questions arise we work to resolve them with our treaty partners and will continue to do so." Officials at the Russian embassy in Washington were not immediately available for comment. Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Supply test looms for Obama's darling natural gas Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 02:01 PM PST  By Julia Edwards NEW YORK (Reuters) - While the United States is sitting on a bounty of natural gas, the wild volatility of prices this winter could soon become a regular feature as growing demand begins to test supply, potentially curbing plans to increase exports and switch power plants to gas from coal. Ample reserves have depressed prices since 2008, but sudden surges in consumption could jolt the market as early as 2015 when new exports coincide with higher domestic demand and lagging production for the fuel championed by President Barack Obama in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday. The coldest winter in decades pushed prices for natural gas, which is used to heat homes and produce electricity, to four year highs and exposed inadequacies in the pipeline network. "But you need a price signal ahead of time to stimulate the production growth." Dwivedi predicts a first period of high prices to last for up to 6 months in 2016 and be followed by continual unpredicted surges as new projects demanding natural gas come online. Full Story | Top |
| Libya sets February 20 for constitution assembly vote Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 02:35 PM PST  By Ghaith Shennib TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya will elect an assembly on February 20 to draft a constitution intended to advance transition to democracy and break political stalemate more than two years after a NATO-backed uprising toppled Muammar Gaddafi. The North African country is caught up in chaos with its Congress deadlocked between Islamists and a leading nationalist party, and its nascent army struggling to assert itself against unruly former rebels, tribal groups and Islamist militants. Just hours before the congress decision, gunmen kidnapped the son of Libya's special forces commander in Benghazi, later calling the colonel to demand he withdraw troops in return for his son's release, state news agency LANA said. "We want all Libyan people and groups to reconcile and support these elections," Nouri Abusahmain, president of the General National Congress, said after announcing the date of the vote On Thursday. Full Story | Top |
| UPS sees no rerun of glitch-marred December: CFO Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 01:29 PM PST  United Parcel Service Inc has vowed to avoid a repeat of last year's Christmas holiday season when unexpectedly high volume and huge delays frustrated customers who wanted their packages delivered on time. The No. 1 U.S. courier company is investing in new technology and expanded capacity so that the 2014 holiday season should go smoothly, Chief Financial Officer Kurt Kuehn said on Thursday. Full Story | Top |
| Amanda Knox convicted again of Briton's murder Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 03:05 PM PST By Naomi O'Leary FLORENCE, Italy (Reuters) - American student Amanda Knox and her former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were found guilty on Thursday for the second time of the 2007 murder of Briton Meredith Kercher, in a retrial that reversed an earlier appeal judgment. The verdict, after 12 hours of deliberations, confirmed Knox and Sollecito's original 2009 conviction. Knox's sentence was increased to 28 years and six months and Sollecito was sentenced to 25 years. Sollecito's lawyer Giulia Bongiorno confirmed that her client would appeal to Italy's highest court, and Knox's lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova said he was "stunned". Full Story | Top |
| Suicide bombers storm Iraq ministry building, 24 killed Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 10:25 AM PST  By Suadad al-Salhy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Six suicide bombers burst into an Iraqi ministry building, took hostages and killed at least 24 people including themselves on Thursday before security forces regained control, security officials said. The brazen attack on the building belonging to the Ministry of Transportation in northeast Baghdad coincided with a month-long standoff between the Iraqi army and anti-government fighters in the western province of Anbar. No group claimed responsibility but suicide bombings in Iraq are the trademark of al-Qaeda linked groups. State buildings are a target for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and its allies that have been regaining momentum in a campaign to destabilize the Shi'ite Muslim-led government. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. accuses Syria of stalling on chemical arms handover Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 02:31 PM PST  By Lesley Wroughton and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday accused Syria of dragging its feet on giving up its chemical arms, putting at risk a deal to remove such weapons of mass destruction from the country as it splits apart in a chaotic civil war. President Barack Obama this week touted the chemical weapons agreement as one of the few U.S. diplomatic achievements on Syria, but the State Department said just 4 percent of Syria's deadliest chemical agents has been shipped out of the country for destruction at sea. Full Story | Top |
| After stunning debut, India's anti-graft party scrambles to dispel doubts Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 01:07 PM PST  By Frank Jack Daniel GHAZIABAD, India (Reuters) - Anti-corruption crusader Arvind Kejriwal has shaken up India's political landscape with promises to change a rotten system: Now he is scrambling to dispel fears that his populism and rabble rousing could be a liability for Asia's third-largest economy. Barely a year after founding the Aam Aadmi - or Common Man - Party (AAP), the former tax collector made a stunning debut in Delhi legislative elections last month, crushing the ruling Congress party and preventing the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from taking control of the city. As India heads to a general election due by May, Kejriwal - now chief minister of the country's capital - is preparing to wrongfoot the mainstream parties on a much larger scale. He could derail the ambition of BJP figurehead Narendra Modi to become prime minister, and possibly even hold the key to power in post-election maneuvering to form a coalition government. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. says results encouraging for healthcare delivery reforms Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 12:42 PM PST  By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Thursday reported what it called encouraging results from efforts to reduce healthcare costs and improve the quality of care for more than 5 million Medicare beneficiaries under Obamacare As part of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, the efforts center around more than 360 accountable care organizations (ACOs), which are networks of doctors, hospitals and other providers specially organized to help move Medicare away from traditional fee-for-service medicine. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said preliminary data show that the ACOs produced $380 million in savings vis-a-vis traditional Medicare in 2012 by giving doctors and other healthcare providers the incentive to focus on improved outcomes for patients instead of fees from tests and services. Medicare, the $575 billion government healthcare system for 51 million elderly and disabled beneficiaries, faces growing financial pressures as a result of America's aging population. Full Story | Top |
| Households, trade keep U.S. economy humming in fourth quarter Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 09:40 AM PST  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Strong household spending and robust exports kept the U.S. economy on solid ground in the fourth quarter, but stagnant wages could chip away some of the momentum in early 2014. Gross domestic product grew at a 3.2 percent annual rate in the final three months of last year, the Commerce Department said on Thursday, in line with economists' expectations. While that was a slowdown from the third-quarter's brisk 4.1 percent pace, it was a far stronger performance than had been anticipated earlier in the quarter and welcome news in light of some drag from October's partial government shutdown. For today, the sun is out and shining," said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in New York. Full Story | Top |
| Shared moment of silence but little headway at Syria talks Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 10:32 AM PST  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Opposing sides in Syria's civil war stood together in silence to honor victims of the three year conflict on Thursday, but week-old peace talks were still stuck on the question of how to proceed with just one day left before they head home. The United States said on Thursday it was concerned that Syria was falling behind in a schedule to ship out its chemical weapons stockpiles to be destroyed. Reuters reported on Wednesday that Syria had given up less than 5 percent of its chemical weapons arsenal and will miss a deadline next week to send all toxic agents abroad for destruction. The first talks between President Bashar al-Assad's government and his foes have been mired in rhetoric since they began a week ago in Geneva. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: In diplomatic shift, Europe seeks improved ties with Cuba Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 03:29 PM PST  By Robin Emmott and Fiona Ortiz BRUSSELS/MADRID (Reuters) - The European Union will agree next month to deepen relations with Cuba in its most significant overture to the communist nation since diplomatic sanctions were lifted in 2008, people close to the matter told Reuters. Foreign ministers from the EU's 28 countries will give the go-ahead on February 10 to launch talks with Havana on a special cooperation accord to increase trade, investment and dialogue on human rights. "Cuba wants capital, and the European Union wants influence," said one person involved in the talks who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. "This cooperation could serve as a prelude to much more." Two other people with knowledge of the negotiations told Reuters that a consensus had been reached in Brussels to give momentum to the market-oriented reforms introduced under Cuban President Raul Castro and to position European companies for any transition to a more capitalist economy in the longer term. Full Story | Top |
| Jobless claims rise more than expected Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 05:42 AM PST  The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, but the underlying trend suggested the labor market continued to heal. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 348,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The four-week moving average for new claims, considered a better measure of underlying labor market conditions as it irons out week-to-week volatility, edged up 750 to 333,000. A Labor Department analyst said claims for Louisiana were estimated because of inclement weather, adding there were no special factors affecting the state level data. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine's Yanukovich goes on sick leave in midst of political crisis Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 09:11 AM PST  By Richard Balmforth and Pavel Polityuk KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich went on sick leave on Thursday after a bruising session of parliament, leaving a political vacuum in a country threatened with bankruptcy and destabilized by anti-government protests. The 63-year-old president appears increasingly isolated in a crisis born of a tug-of-war between the West and Ukraine's former Soviet overlord Russia. Shortly after his office announced he had developed a high temperature and acute respiratory ailment, Yanukovich defended his record in handling the crisis and accused the opposition, which is demanding his resignation, of provoking the unrest. Several members of Yanukovich's own party voted against the bill, even after he visited parliament himself to rally support, and some of his powerful industrialist backers are showing signs of impatience with the two-month-old crisis. Full Story | Top |
| Insight: After Syria, al Qaeda expanding in Lebanon Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 07:13 AM PST  By Mariam Karouny BEIRUT (Reuters) - Faced with recent setbacks in Iraq and Syria, al Qaeda is slowly but firmly gaining influence in Lebanon, helped by the country's increasing sectarian violence and the turmoil caused by Syria's civil war, sources close to the group say. Lebanon, a small Mediterranean state with a fragile sectarian power sharing system, has seen the worst of the Syria's war spillover with car bombs in Beirut and Tripoli, gunfights in city streets and rocket fire in the Bekaa Valley. The violence is exacerbated by Lebanon's own sectarian divisions and entrenching them. Shi'ite Hezbollah supports President Bashar al-Assad while his rebel opponents are backed by Sunni Muslims including Islamists and al Qaeda fighters. Full Story | Top |
| Thai army to deploy more troops amid warning of poll violence Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 03:18 AM PST  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Khettiya Jittapong BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's army will increase the number of troops in the capital ahead of Sunday's election, it said on Thursday, as the government warned it might not be able to contain violence if anti-government protesters try to stop people voting. The protesters, members of the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), had said they would disrupt the ballot as part of their campaign to overthrow Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, but their leader appeared to backtrack. The government's decision to press ahead with the election has inflamed tension in the capital, Bangkok, where the protesters have blockaded main intersections and forced many ministries to close their doors this month. "In addition to the 5,000 soldiers we have already deployed in and around Bangkok to help monitor security, we will be increasing troops around protest sites as there are people trying to instigate violence," army spokesman Winthai Suvaree told Reuters. Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Fight for Istanbul likely to shape Turkish political landscape Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 04:33 AM PST  By Nick Tattersall and Asli Kandemir ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Immaculately coiffed with a camera-ready smile, Mustafa Sarigul's composure cracks a little as his campaign bus swings towards Istanbul's old city walls. Two months before elections which could reshape Turkey's political landscape, the main opposition candidate for mayor of its biggest city is taking the fight to a bastion of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-rooted AK Party. At stake is much more than just local politics, and Sarigul's secularist Republican People's Party (CHP) is hoping for a breakthrough in places like the conservative district of Fatih in Istanbul's historic heart. "We haven't won Fatih for the last 20 years," said Oguz Kaan Salici, the CHP head in Istanbul and one of Sarigul's campaign organizers. Full Story | Top |
| Politicians under fire as icebound U.S. South gets relief Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 12:45 PM PST By David Beasley ATLANTA (Reuters) - City and state leaders admitted missteps on Thursday in their handling of a rare ice storm that swept across the U.S. South, killing at least 14 people, snarling traffic and setting off a barrage of criticism from Atlanta residents. "I am a disappointed parent and taxpayer," said Stacy Shipman, 43, a corporate trainer in Atlanta. "Someone should have prepared the city for what a mass exodus of 1.2 million people would do to our travels." Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, a Republican running for re-election this year, angered many - including local meteorologists - when he described the storm late Tuesday as "unexpected." After the avalanche of criticism, the governor on Thursday took responsibility for the slow response and vowed to conduct a review aimed at improving procedures. "Our preparation was not adequate." Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, a Democrat who easily won a second term last fall, was mocked for his Tweet on Tuesday that said: "Atlanta, we are ready for the snow." In interviews on Thursday, Reed said government and school leaders shared responsibility for the errors. Full Story | Top |
| China's Lenovo steps into ring against Samsung with Motorola deal Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 12:56 AM PST  By Paul Carsten and Matthew Miller BEIJING (Reuters) - Lenovo Group, the Chinese technology company that earns about 80 percent of its revenue from personal computers, is betting it can also be a challenger to Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple Inc in the smartphone market. On Wednesday, Lenovo said it would buy Google Inc's Motorola Mobility handset unit for $2.91 billion in the fourth-largest U.S. acquisition by a Chinese or Hong Kong company ever. "We are not only the number one PC company in the world but with this agreement we will become a much stronger number three smartphone company," said Wong Waiming, Lenovo's chief financial officer, on a conference call on Thursday. The stock fell 8.2 percent on concerns Lenovo might have overpaid for a loss-making business and would dilute the value of shares by issuing new ones to help pay for the purchases. Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Only time will define Bernanke's crisis-era legacy at Fed Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 02:49 AM PST  Ben Bernanke did not hesitate when asked whether he was confident that his signature response to the Great Recession would work. "Well, the problem with QE is that it works in practice but it doesn't work in theory," the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve quipped earlier this month during his last public appearance. He was referring to his decision during the darkest days of the financial crisis to launch an unprecedented program of massive bond purchases, a policy known as quantitative easing, or QE. The aim was to push long-term interest rates lower given that overnight rates, the Fed's main economic lever, were already near zero. Full Story | Top |
| Damascus detainees languish while Syria envoys talk Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 01:39 AM PST  It was three in the afternoon when Lulu's phone stopped working somewhere in east Damascus near the Air Force Intelligence building, one of Syria's most feared security agencies. The 30-year-old had been shopping in Hamra, a 15-minute drive away. Lulu's disappearance was one of many believed to have occurred in the weeks leading up to the peace talks in Geneva between President Bashar al-Assad's government and members of Syria's political opposition in exile. Trying to highlight the issue on the opening day of the talks, two opposition delegates carried pictures of veteran dissident Abdelaziz al-Khayyer, who disappeared in Damascus two years ago. Full Story | Top |
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