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| Australia permits dredge dumping near Great Barrier Reef for major coal port Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 11:11 PM PST  By Sonali Paul MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia's Great Barrier Reef watchdog gave the green light on Friday for millions of cubic meters of dredged mud to be dumped near the fragile reef to create the world's biggest coal port and possibly unlock $28 billion in coal projects. The dumping permit clears the way for a major expansion of the port of Abbot Point for two Indian firms and Australian billionaire miner Gina Rinehart, who together have $16 billion worth of coal projects in the untapped, inland Galilee Basin. "This is a significant milestone in developing our Galilee Basin coal projects, which represent the creation of over 20,000 direct and indirect jobs and over $40 billion in taxes and royalties," said Darren Yeates, chief executive of GVK-Hancock, a joint venture between India's GVK conglomerate and Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting. Full Story | Top |
| Keystone pipeline review looming, likely to show little climate risk Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 10:55 PM PST By Lesley Wroughton and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department is poised to issue an environmental review of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline that will likely say the project will not appreciably increase carbon emissions, sources said late Thursday, forcing President Barack Obama closer to a tough decision. Rumors swept through Washington late Thursday that the long-delayed review of the 1,179-mile (1,900-km) pipeline to bring oil from Canada to Nebraska would finally be released as soon as Friday. "The Environmental Impact Statement is in the final stages of preparation and we anticipate a release of the document soon," a senior State Department official said late on Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity. Supporters say the TransCanada Corp project would create thousands of jobs and reduce U.S. reliance oil imports from nations that are less friendly than Canada. 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 |
| Exclusive: Bloomberg tapped to be U.N. cities, climate change envoy: sources Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 10:20 PM PST  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been tapped to be U.N. special envoy for cities and climate change, sources familiar with the situation said on Thursday. Barring any last minute changes, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon - who is seeking to re-energize the global climate change debate and boost the United Nations' role - could make the announcement as early as Friday, the sources said on the condition of anonymity. Bloomberg, a billionaire philanthropist who left office last month, made combating climate change a key focus during his 12 years leading the United States most populous city. He also advocated for national climate change legislation. Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Thailand's election in numbers Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 10:16 PM PST - Thailand holds a general election on Sunday, called by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in December in an attempt to defuse protests aimed at overthrowing her. The main opposition Democrat Party is boycotting the election. THE VOTERS - There are 49 million eligible voters for 375 constituencies. - Bangkok, dominated by the Democrat Party in the last election in 2011, has 33 constituencies. Full Story | Top |
| Thai protesters make up for lack of Bangkok pre-election buzz Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 10:12 PM PST By Pairat Temphairojana BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand goes to the polls on Sunday, but the usual pre-election buzz, banners and loud-hailers on the backs of trucks are noticeable by their absence in the capital, Bangkok. Anti-government protesters have blocked major intersections and flyovers for weeks, setting up camps in neat rows of tents. At a polling station at a school in the Don Muang district in north Bangkok, the only evidence is a signboard listing the candidates, propped up against the wall under a staircase. But that call has been lost on the protesters who want their own reform of the political landscape, setting up a "people's council" to run the country after bringing down Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. 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 |
| Indonesia's trade minister resigns to focus on presidential campaign Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 09:31 PM PST  Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan said on Friday he had resigned, effective immediately, to focus on his campaign to win the presidential nomination for the ruling Democratic Party. The U.S.-educated former investment banker is one of 10 candidates vying for presidential nomination by the party, whose fortunes have been slumping in opinion polls. State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan, a media magnate, is expected to throw his hat in the ring, forcing a small cabinet reshuffle as early as this weekend. Political parties must secure either 20 percent of the seats or 25 percent of the vote to nominate a candidate for the July presidential election. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry to hold talks with Ukraine's opposition in Germany Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 08:56 PM PST  By Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet key Ukrainian opposition figures on Friday on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday, his first meeting with some of the leaders of an anti-government uprising against President Viktor Yanukovich. Washington has welcomed talks in recent days between Yanukovich and the opposition groups to end two months of protests that began when Yanukovich rejected an EU trade deal in favor of closer ties and a financial bailout with Russia. Among those attending the meeting with Kerry is Arseny Yatsenyuk, a former economy minister and leader of the party of jailed former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko; Full Story | Top |
| Rwanda calls Congo 'crybaby' at U.N., Congo says Rwanda 'arrogant' Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 08:54 PM PST  By Michelle Nichols and Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council stressed on Thursday that M23 rebels must be stopped from regrouping in Democratic Republic of Congo and expressed concern at Congolese soldiers aiding Rwandan Hutu militia, sparking a verbal clash between the countries' envoys. Rwanda's U.N. ambassador, Eugene Gasana - a temporary member of the 15-member Security Council - accused Congo of "crying like small babies," while his Congolese counterpart, Ignace Gata Mavita wa Lufuta, said Rwanda's "arrogant behavior must stop." Rwanda has repeatedly intervened in Congo, saying it had to hunt down Hutu militia, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which fled after Rwanda's 1994 genocide. Full Story | Top |
| Knox and Sollecito convicted again of Briton's 2007 murder Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 07:37 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 |
| 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 |
| Ukraine's Yanukovich goes on sick leave in midst of political crisis Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 05:14 PM 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 |
| White House releases plan to make Arctic shipping safer Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 05:06 PM PST By Timothy Gardner and Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As Arctic ice melts away, opening the way for greater oil development and mining, the White House outlined a plan on Thursday to promote safety and security in the region by building ports, improving forecasts of sea ice, and developing shipping rules. With warmer temperatures leaving Arctic sea passages open for longer periods of the year, billions of barrels of oil could be tapped beyond what is already being produced in the region. The White House plan was released on the same day that Royal Dutch Shell canceled drilling this year off Alaska, after a series of costly mishaps in the harsh conditions, as part of efforts to cut spending. The U.S. Defense Department will lead an interagency effort to forecast icy conditions by launching a satellite and improving analytic methods to forecast icy conditions. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. delivers food to residents of besieged Damascus suburb Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 04:14 PM PST A United Nations agency delivered food to a rebel-held Damascus district on Thursday, alleviating the plight of thousands of people trapped for months by a Syrian army siege. The U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which cares for Palestinian refugees, said it had distributed 1,000 food parcels in Yarmouk camp, its biggest delivery there yet. UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said the aid was the first to reach Yarmouk since January 21 when 138 food parcels were sent in. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. tells Syria to take immediate steps to remove chemical weapons Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 04:14 PM PST The United States told Syria on Thursday to take immediate actions to comply with a U.N. resolution to remove its chemical weapons materials saying demands by Damascus for additional equipment were "without merit" and delays were adding to costs. A statement by the United States to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the world's chemicals weapons watchdog in The Hague, said just 4 percent of the chemicals declared by Syria had been removed. "Syria has said that its delay in transporting these chemicals has been caused by 'security concerns' and insisted on additional equipment - armored jackets for shipping containers, electronic countermeasures, and detectors for improvised explosive devices," U.S. representative to the OPCW Robert Mikulak said in the statement to the OPCW's executive council. Full Story | Top |
| Britain and France set to clash over EU reform at summit Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 04:08 PM PST  By William James LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron is set to clash with France's President Francois Hollande over how to reform the European Union on Friday, souring an Anglo-French summit aimed at deepening defence and energy cooperation. The first Anglo-French summit since Hollande won power in May 2012 will announce joint investment in the latest phase of a combat drone scheme, cooperation on civil nuclear power research and an agreement on space and satellite technology. Cameron wants to re-open European Union treaties to try to secure sweeping reforms to make the trade bloc more efficient - an agenda he hopes will both persuade euroskeptic voters to back him at a 2015 election and quell dissent within his party. He has promised a referendum on Britain's EU membership by 2017. 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Mexico leftists to propose raising marijuana allowance in capital Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 02:53 PM PST  By Julia Symmes Cobb MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The opposition party governing Mexico City said on Thursday it would propose raising the amount of marijuana residents of the capital can possess to seven times the current limit to help speed up drug liberalization in Mexico. Since former President Felipe Calderon launched a military crackdown on drug cartels seven years ago, Mexico has been wracked by gang-related violence, and there is growing pressure to explore regulation as a way of tackling the problem. The leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) has led the drive to liberalize Mexico's drug laws, and aims to use the capital, which it has governed since 1997, as starting ground. Vidal Llerenas, a PRD member of the Mexico City assembly, said the initiative that is due to be presented in the next two weeks would increase the amount of marijuana local residents are allowed for personal consumption to 35 grams from 5 grams. 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 |
| 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 |
| Amanda Knox says frightened by "unjust" murder conviction in Italy Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 01:57 PM PST (Reuters) - U.S. student Amanda Knox said on Thursday that she was frightened and saddened by what she called an "unjust" verdict in Italy convicting her in the murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher. "Having been found innocent before, I expected better from the Italian justice system. The evidence and accusatory theory do not justify a verdict of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," Knox said in a statement released by her spokesman. (Reporting by Jonathan Kaminsky; Writing by Dan Whitcomb) 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 |
| 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 |
| California needs big steps to save water as drought worsens: governor Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 12:12 PM PST  By Dana Feldman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California residents should dramatically cut back on water use, the governor said on Thursday, as the worst drought in nearly four decades threatened agriculture, triggered bans on fishing and led to mandatory rationing in some communities. Governor Jerry Brown, a Democrat, urged residents to avoid flushing their toilets unnecessarily and recommended turning off the water while soaping up in the shower or shaving. "Right now, it's voluntary." The situation was unprecedented, said Jeffrey Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California at a meeting with Brown on Thursday. He said he would ask officials to declare a regional water supply alert next week. Full Story | Top |
| In Egypt, just speaking to Brotherhood is a risk for foreign reporters Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 10:50 AM PST  By Michael Georgy CAIRO (Reuters) - When Hosni Mubarak was in power, a foreign journalist could spend unlimited time with members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, who roundly condemned the autocratic leader. The public prosecutor said on Wednesday that Egypt would put an Australian, two Britons and a Dutchwoman working for Al Jazeera on trial for aiding 16 Egyptians belonging to a "terrorist organization", a reference to the Brotherhood. Simply interacting with the Brotherhood may earn them prison sentences in Egypt, a major recipient of U.S. aid. Egypt has cracked down on dissent since the army toppled the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi, the country's first freely elected president, in July after mass protests against him. Full Story | Top |
| Syria can still meet deadlines on chemical weapons: U.S. Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 10:48 AM PST The United States on Thursday said it was still possible for Syria to meet its obligations to remove chemical weapons. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the threat of military force against Syria was never taken off the table but that the United States prefers to pursue diplomatic means. Last year Washington had considered strikes to punish Damascus for using chemical weapons in its 3-year-old civil war. With deadlines looming, the United States has said Syria has removed just 4 percent of the chemical weapons it had declared but Psaki said there was still time to meet the deadlines. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. accuses Syria of dragging its feet on chemical arms handover Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 10:40 AM PST By Lesley Wroughton and Missy Ryan WASHINGTON/WARSAW (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday accused Syria of dragging its feet on the handover of chemical weapons, a delay that puts at risk what President Barack Obama touted only this week as a U.S. diplomatic achievement in Syria's civil war. Saying that just 4 percent of Syria's deadliest chemical weapons materials had been removed, the Obama administration said the Syrian government's requests for additional equipment were "without merit" and demanded action to get back on schedule to comply with an international disarmament deal. 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 |
| 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 |
| Libya congress sets Feb 20 for constitution assembly vote Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 09:27 AM PST  Libya will elect an assembly on February 20 to draft a constitution intended to advance a transition to democracy more than two years after a NATO-backed uprising toppled Muammar Gaddafi, the head of the interim parliament said on Thursday. "We want all Libyan people and groups to reconcile and support these elections," Nouri Abusahmain, president of the General National Congress (GNC), said after announcing the date. Libya is mired in political chaos with the GNC deadlocked between Islamists and the nationalist National Forces Alliance party, and its nascent army struggling to assert itself against unruly former rebels, tribal groups and Islamist militants. Full Story | Top |
| Will US aid be misused? No guarantee at Afghan ministries -auditors Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 09:26 AM PST Sixteen Afghan government ministries cannot ensure that direct American aid to the war-ravaged country will not be misused, auditors privately warned the American government, a U.S. watchdog said in a report released Thursday. The disclosure could further aggravate ties between the United States and Afghanistan, already being tested by Afghan President Hamid Karzai's refusal to sign a bilateral security pact allowing some U.S. troops to stay after NATO wraps up its combat mission this year. The Afghan government has long been dogged by accusations of corruption. Auditors Ernst & Young and KPMG assessed the Afghan ministries from January 2011 to August 2013, examining ways to improve accountability for direct U.S. assistance to Afghanistan. Full Story | Top |
| Zimbabweans round on 'fat cat' state executives Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 08:57 AM PST Amid a rising chorus of public anger, President Robert Mugabe's government this week pressured a health insurer that covers government employees to oust chief executive Cuthbert Dube. Dube earned a monthly base salary of $230,000, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa told parliament - more than 600 times the $370 average for a government worker. Documents seen by Reuters showed Dube's Premier Service Medical Society had debts of $38 million but 14 managers were paid nearly half the firm's $33 million salary bill last year. "DISGUISED THEFT" At the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), the nation's only broadcaster and a loyal Mugabe mouthpiece, chief executive Happison Muchechetere was suspended by the government in December after workers went seven months without pay. Full Story | Top |
| UK's Cameron unhappy newspapers still printing Snowden data leaks Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 08:53 AM PST  British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Thursday he was unhappy that newspapers were still publishing sensitive information leaked by former U.S. intelligence operative Edward Snowden and urged them to stop. Disclosures about the activities of Britain's GCHQ eavesdropping agency and its cooperation with America's National Security Agency (NSA) have embarrassed Britain's government and angered many lawmakers in Cameron's ruling Conservative party who believe they have harmed national security. "I'm worried about the damage that Snowden has done to our security," Cameron told a parliamentary committee. "I would encourage the newspapers that are endlessly dallying in this to think before they act because ... we are in severe danger of making ourselves less safe." Cameron has in the past threatened to act to stop the publication of material linked to Snowden and has accused unnamed newspapers of assisting Britain's enemies by helping them avoid surveillance by its intelligence services. Full Story | Top |
| Sandbags and security in Shi'ite Beirut after bombings Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 08:49 AM PST  By Dominic Evans and Laila Bassam BEIRUT (Reuters) - Eight years ago Hassan Ghamlouche's jewellery shop was gutted when Israeli jets bombarded the Hezbollah-controlled district of southern Beirut where he works. Now a wall of sandbags stands in front of the glittering gold in his shop window to protect Ghamlouche and his customers from a new threat - a wave of car bombs which have struck the capital's Shi'ite neighborhoods in the last six months. Rockets were also fired into Shi'ite southern Beirut last summer and a twin suicide bombing at the nearby Iranian embassy compound killed at least 25 people in November. Iran is the main patron of Hezbollah, the powerful Shi'ite militant group which fought a 34-day war with Israel in 2006 and also plays a leading role in Lebanese politics, with two ministers in the country's caretaker government. Full Story | Top |
| Potatoes for a week: a South African platinum miner on strike Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 08:27 AM PST  By Ed Stoddard MERITING, South Africa (Reuters) - South African miner Venter Mulutsi has one food item in his small fridge: a bag of potatoes that he hopes will last a week. Beyond that, the Impala Platinum miner who has been on strike for a week with around 100,000 of his comrades from the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), has a bag of maize meal and a loaf of bread. The bulk of rival Anglo American Platinum and Lonmin's operations in South Africa have also been hit by the AMCU stoppage, which has affected over 40 percent of global output and dealt a fresh blow to investor confidence in Africa's largest economy. He may not see another one for some time after AMCU mass rallies on Thursday rejected pay hike offers from the three companies of between 7.5 and 9 percent. Full Story | Top |
| Toronto Mayor Rob Ford named in jailhouse beating lawsuit Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 07:56 AM PST  By Allison Martell TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto Mayor Rob Ford faced fresh controversy on Thursday from a lawsuit filed by his sister's former boyfriend alleging Ford conspired to have him threatened and beaten while in prison. Ford's lawyer called the allegations filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and released late Wednesday false and irresponsible. The plaintiff in the lawsuit is Scott MacIntyre, the former common-law spouse of Ford's sister, Kathy Ford. MacIntyre was charged after a January 2012 altercation with the mayor, and later pleaded guilty to threatening him. Full Story | Top |
| White House: Syria must step up efforts to get chemical weapons to port Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 07:53 AM PST ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - The White House said on Thursday that Syria must intensify its efforts to transport chemical weapons to the port of Latakia after a report that less than 5 percent of the arsenal had been delivered and that work to destroy the weapons has fallen behind schedule. "It is the Assad regime's responsibility to transport those chemicals to facilitate removal. We expect them to meet their obligation to do so," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters traveling aboard Air Force One. (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton) Full Story | Top |
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