Today's Reuters World News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
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Gunpowder warehouse blast kills 17 in Myanmar: police
Wed,28 Dec 2011 10:55 PM PST
Reuters -  YANGON (Reuters) - At least 17 people died and 80 were injured after an early morning explosion at a warehouse storing gunpowder, likely for use at mine blast sites, in Myanmar's biggest city of Yangon, police and fire officials said on Thursday. The explosion caused a massive blaze and spewed smoke that was only brought under control by late morning, officials said. A police officer, who declined to be named, said 12 men and five women had been confirmed dead and further deaths were expected. ...
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Venezuela's Chavez: Did U.S. give Latin American leaders cancer?
Wed,28 Dec 2011 10:51 PM PST
Reuters -  CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez speculated on Wednesday that the United States might have developed a way to give Latin American leaders cancer, after Argentina's Cristina Fernandez joined the list of presidents diagnosed with the disease. It was a typically controversial statement by Venezuela's socialist leader, who underwent surgery in June to remove a tumor from his pelvis. But he stressed that he was not making any accusations, just thinking aloud. "It would not be strange if they had developed the technology to induce cancer and nobody knew about it until now ... ...
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U.N. lowers flag to half-staff for Kim funeral
Wed,28 Dec 2011 10:43 PM PST
Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. offices around the world lowered their flags to half-staff to mark the funeral of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on Wednesday in a move the world body said was routine but which prompted objections from some human rights activists. In New York, where the flag outside U.N. headquarters was lowered, spokesman Eduardo del Buey said the gesture had been requested by Pyongyang's U.N. mission but was normal for the funeral of any head of state. "It's a matter of protocol," he said. North Korea is a full member of the 193-nation organization. ... Full Story | Top |
Arab observers fan out across Syria
Wed,28 Dec 2011 10:14 PM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Arab monitors head to three more Syrian cities on Thursday to check if government forces are complying with a peace plan after a delegation to Homs, centre of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, was mobbed by protesters demanding protection. The Arab League mission, the first international involvement on the ground in Syria since the revolt began last March, got off to a controversial start when its Sudanese leader said he had seen "nothing frightening" on his first trip to Homs. ...
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Suspected kidnappers killed in China's restive west
Wed,28 Dec 2011 07:11 PM PST
Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - Police in China's restive far-western Xinjiang region killed seven "kidnappers in a hostage rescue", official media reported on Thursday, calling the suspects members of a "terror gang". The kidnappers took two people hostage late on Wednesday in Pishan County in the southern part of Xinjiang, said the region's official news website (www.tianshannet.com). When police responded "the assailants resisted arrest and launched assaults, killing one police officer and injuring another", said the report. ... Full Story | Top |
Mexico arrests drug dealer linked to boss Guzman
Wed,28 Dec 2011 06:29 PM PST
Reuters -  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico captured a suspected drug trafficker with links to the country's most wanted man, Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, whose operations have recently suffered a string of blows. Mexico's federal police said on Wednesday they had captured Luis Rodriguez Olivera, known as "El Guero" (Blondie), for whom U.S. authorities have offered a reward of up to $5 million. In a statement, Mexican police said Rodriguez Olivera and his brothers were responsible for trafficking cocaine to the United States between 1996 and 2008 for Guzman's gang. ...
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Anti-whaling protest ship in Southern Ocean distress
Wed,28 Dec 2011 04:53 PM PST
Reuters - SYDNEY (Reuters) - Anti-whaling organization Sea Shepherd said one of its boats chasing the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean had issued a distress call after its hull was cracked by a rogue wave. Sea Shepherd flagship the Steve Irwin was fighting heavy seas to help rescue the damaged Brigitte Bardot chase boat and is expected to take 17 hours to reach it, Sea Shepherd founder Captain Paul Watson said Thursday. "This is disappointing, but these are hostile seas and we have always been prepared for situations like this," said Watson via satellite telephone from the Steve Irwin. ... Full Story | Top |
Closing Strait of Hormuz not so easy for Iran: analysts
Wed,28 Dec 2011 03:23 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran's navy chief boasts that closing the Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic would be "easier than drinking a glass of water." Hardly, U.S. analysts say. Iran's navy does not have the size for a sustained physical blockade of the Strait, but does have mine-laying and missile capability to wreak some havoc, analysts said. "It wouldn't be a cakewalk" for Iran, said Caitlin Talmadge, a George Washington University professor who has written about the Strait of Hormuz. "If Tehran really wanted to cause trouble, it could." But the Bahrain-based U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
Arab observers fan out across Syria
Wed,28 Dec 2011 03:17 PM PST
Reuters - (Reuters) - Arab monitors head to three more Syrian cities on Thursday to check if government forces are complying with a peace plan after a delegation to Homs, center of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, was mobbed by a protesters demanding protection. The Arab League mission, the first international involvement on the ground in Syria since the revolt began last March, got off to a controversial start when its Sudanese leader said he had seen "nothing frightening" on his first trip to Homs. ...
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Argentina adopts wide definition of terrorism
Wed,28 Dec 2011 02:36 PM PST
Reuters - BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina enacted a law on Wednesday providing a wide definition of terrorism that critics fear will allow the state to jail people for up to 15 years for activities as diverse as marching in protests or pulling money out of banks. The law, approved by Congress last week, seeks to punish anyone who "terrorizes" the population, leaving the definition of the term open. ... Full Story | Top |
Turkey warns France of more action over genocide bill
Wed,28 Dec 2011 01:40 PM PST
Reuters -  ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey Wednesday warned France it would take further action against Paris should the French senate pass a bill making it a crime to deny the 1915 mass killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey constituted genocide. Ankara reacted furiously when the lower house of the French parliament last week approved the bill, recalling its ambassador from Paris, banning French military aircraft and warships from landing and docking in Turkey and freezing political and economic meetings. ...
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Russia scolds United States for human rights abuse
Wed,28 Dec 2011 12:33 PM PST
Reuters -  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia sought to undermine the authority of the United States as a global judge of human rights on Wednesday with Moscow's first report to detail allegations of torture, phone tapping and abuse by the U.S. government. Criticizing the United States for double standards, Russia said President Barack Obama had failed to shut the military prison at Guantanamo Bay and accused the White House of sheltering officials and CIA operatives from prosecution. ...
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Key military positions dismantled in Yemen capital
Wed,28 Dec 2011 10:22 AM PST
Reuters -  SANAA (Reuters) - Military positions separating Yemen's warring forces in central Sanaa were dismantled on Wednesday in a show of faith by both sides that they want to halt nearly a year of fighting to topple the president. Bulldozers crashed through the walls of sandbags fortifying the fighters' positions on a main street in Hasaba, a flashpoint area where tribal leader Sadeq al-Ahmar's compound is located and the site of fighting between his and outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh's forces, including units led by Saleh's son. ...
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Snow and tears mark funeral for North Korean leader
Wed,28 Dec 2011 01:17 PM PST
Reuters -  SEOUL (Reuters) - The world watched anxiously on Wednesday as North Korea staged a huge funeral in the capital, Pyongyang, for former leader Kim Jong-il, searching for signs of what to expect from the isolated nation that may be close to attaining nuclear weapons capacity. Bleak pictures from state television showed a funeral cortege led by a limousine carrying a huge picture of the 69-year-old, who died on December 17, passing serried ranks of olive green-clad soldiers whose bare heads were bowed in homage in the main square of the snow-covered capital. ...
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Israel detains ultra-Orthodox man in bus row with soldier
Wed,28 Dec 2011 09:57 AM PST
Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel detained an ultra-Orthodox man on Wednesday on suspicion of calling a woman soldier a "whore" on a public bus for refusing his appeals that she move to the back of the vehicle, a police spokesman said. The incident came days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to crack down on acts of harassment by religious zealots, with the publicity surrounding these cases risking upsetting his political alliances with ultra-Orthodox parties. ... Full Story | Top |
Algeria leaders have lost touch, risk anger: review
Wed,28 Dec 2011 09:55 AM PST
Reuters -  ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria's leaders are out of touch with their people who are growing increasingly angry about unemployment, red tape and poor housing, said a senior official carrying out a presidential review of the country's economic and social woes. "Demands for radical changes are huge. People want to see a new way of governance," Mohamed Seghir Babes told Reuters in an interview. He did not say that Algeria could face the kind of uprisings seen this year in its neighbors Tunisia and Libya and across the Arab world. ...
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Factbox: Argentina's president has thyroid cancer
Wed,28 Dec 2011 09:46 AM PST
Reuters - (Reuters) - Argentina's center-left president, Cristina Fernandez, has thyroid cancer and will undergo surgery to remove a carcinoma next week, but doctors say her chances of making a full recovery are very high. Fernandez started her second term in office earlier this month after winning a landslide re-election in October with 54 percent. Her illness could boost her already high approval ratings due to voter sympathy. She is scheduled for surgery on January 4 and a 20-day leave of absence afterward during which Vice President Amado Boudou will assume the presidency. ... Full Story | Top |
Argentine leader urges unity, cancer surgery nears
Wed,28 Dec 2011 09:46 AM PST
Reuters -  BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, who will have cancer surgery next week, called for moderation from unions and big business on Wednesday in her first appearance since her illness was made public. Fernandez, 58, has a papillary carcinoma, the most common form of thyroid cancer, and there is no sign the disease has spread. Doctors say she has a very high chance of recovery and will not need chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The diagnosis was made public on Tuesday. ...
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Factbox: Argentina's Fernandez latest leader treated for cancer
Wed,28 Dec 2011 09:46 AM PST
Reuters - (Reuters) - Argentine President Cristina Fernandez has thyroid cancer and will undergo surgery next month, a government spokesman said, adding that the cancerous cells had not spread. Here are details of some world leaders who have had cancer while in office. * ARGENTINA'S FERNANDEZ: -- Fernandez was diagnosed with a papillary carcinoma that has not metastasized. An operation is scheduled to take place on January 4 and she is expected to take a leave of absence until January 24. ... Full Story | Top |
Putin says ready for talks with Russian opposition
Wed,28 Dec 2011 09:37 AM PST
Reuters -  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin softened his tone towards the protesters who have staged the biggest political rallies of his 12-year rule, saying on Wednesday he was ready for dialogue with Russia's opposition but was at a loss for a leader to hold talks with. Tens of thousands gathered in central Moscow on Saturday to protest against election results that gave Putin's United Russia party a majority in the lower house of parliament, or Duma. International monitors said the vote was marred by violations. ...
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U.S. Fifth Fleet says won't allow Hormuz disruption
Wed,28 Dec 2011 09:12 AM PST
Reuters -  TEHRAN/DUBAI (Reuters) - The U.S. Fifth Fleet said on Wednesday it would not allow any disruption of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran threatened to stop ships moving through the world's most important oil route. "Anyone who threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation in an international strait is clearly outside the community of nations; any disruption will not be tolerated," the Bahrain-based fleet said in an e-mail. ...
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Allawi says Iraq headed for "sectarian autocracy"
Wed,28 Dec 2011 08:00 AM PST
Reuters -  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The head of the Sunni-backed Iraqiya political bloc said Iraq "stands on the brink of disaster" and issued a list of demands on Wednesday in a political crisis triggered by charges against a Sunni leader. Iraqiya leader Iyad Allawi, in an editorial for the New York Times, said Iraq was heading towards a "sectarian autocracy that carries with it the threat of devastating civil war." Sectarian tensions are running high in Iraq ten days after the last U.S. troops pulled out. ...
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Shooting erupts in Syrian city ahead of Arab visit
Wed,28 Dec 2011 07:20 AM PST
Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least seven people were wounded on Wednesday in the Syrian city of Hama when security forces used live ammunition and tear gas to disperse a protest against President Bashar al-Assad, just a day before a visit by Arab peace monitors, a rights group said. Live pictures on al Jazeera television showed gunfire and black smoke rising above a street in Hama as dozens of protesters chanted: "Where are the Arab monitors?" Arab League monitors checking if Syria is ending its violent crackdown on popular unrest are due to visit Hama on Thursday. ... Full Story | Top |
Mexico arrests drug dealer linked to boss Guzman
Wed,28 Dec 2011 07:08 AM PST
Reuters -  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico has captured a senior drug trafficker with links to the country's most wanted man, Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, who has suffered a series of blows in recent weeks. Mexico's federal police said on Wednesday they captured Luis Rodriguez Olivera, known as "El Guero" (Blondie), for whom U.S. authorities are offering a reward of up to $5 million. In a statement, Mexican police said Rodriguez Olivera and his brothers were responsible for trafficking cocaine to the United States between 1996 and 2008 for Guzman's gang. But a "wanted" statement on the ...
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Egypt's Mubarak returns to court in landmark trial
Wed,28 Dec 2011 01:57 PM PST
Reuters -  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, charged with the killing of protesters and abuse of power, was wheeled into court on a hospital trolley on Wednesday as his trial resumed after a delay of almost two months while lawyers demanded a new judge. Many Egyptians hope the trial will heal some of the scars of his autocratic rule and help the country find stability after nearly a year of political turmoil under the military generals who replaced him in power. But the multitude of witnesses and the complexity of the charges mean the case could drag on for months, perhaps years. ...
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Timeline: Egypt since January protests
Wed,28 Dec 2011 06:52 AM PST
Reuters - (Reuters) - Here is a timeline of events in Egypt since protests against former President Hosni Mubarak began. January 25, 2011 - Anti-government protests begin across Egypt following the January 14 overthrow of Tunisia's president in the first of the "Arab Spring" uprisings. January 28 - Mubarak orders troops and tanks into cities to quell demonstrations. Thousands cheer at news of intervention of the army, which is widely seen as a neutral force in politics, unlike police who are regularly deployed to stifle dissent. January 31 - New government is sworn in. ... Full Story | Top |
Russia urges Syria to grant observers free access
Wed,28 Dec 2011 05:41 AM PST
Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia, one of Syria's few remaining allies, urged Damascus on Wednesday to allow members of an Arab League mission to move around the country freely as they investigate whether Syria is implementing a peace plan to end months of violence. "The mission should be able to visit any part of the country, any towns or villages, and come up with its own independent, objective opinion about what is happening and where," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a news conference with his Egyptian counterpart. ... Full Story | Top |
China slams Railways Ministry over deadly crash
Wed,28 Dec 2011 05:39 AM PST
Reuters -  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's cabinet criticized the powerful Railways Ministry on Wednesday for lax safety standards and poor handling of a crash in July which killed 40 people, and said there may be prosecutions though it remained committed to high-speed rail. The government has struggled to address public fury over the accident near the booming coastal city of Wenzhou, when a high-speed train rammed into another one stranded on the track after being hit by lightning. ...
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Nigerian court rejects challenge to Jonathan win
Wed,28 Dec 2011 05:36 AM PST
Reuters - Abuja (Reuters) - Nigeria's Supreme Court threw out a challenge to President Goodluck Jonathan's election victory in April, upholding the result and rejecting calls by the main opposition party for a recount in several parts of the country. Jonathan was declared winner with 59 percent of the vote but his nearest rival, former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, who scored 32 percent, refused to accept the outcome. Buhari's Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) party filed a petition to challenge it in May, arguing the vote was marred by irregularities. ... Full Story | Top |
Families demand Libyan probe into 1992 crash
Wed,28 Dec 2011 05:29 AM PST
Reuters - TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Families of the victims of a Libyan Airlines plane that collided with a combat jet 19 years ago demanded the new Libyan government reinvestigate the crash that killed 157 people on December 22, 1992. Muammar Gaddafi's government said at the time the mid air collision, which took place when a Libyan MiG warplane rammed into flight LN1103 as it approached Tripoli, was an accident. The pilots of the combat plane ejected, but none of the airliner's passengers and crew survived. ... Full Story | Top |
France urges Iran to respect Hormuz shipping rights
Wed,28 Dec 2011 04:50 AM PST
Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - France urged Iran on Wednesday to adhere to international law allowing freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz after Tehran threatened to stop oil moving through the strategic shipping lane. "We call on the Iranian authorities to respect international law and in particular the freedom to navigate international waters and straits," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said in a regular online news briefing on Wednesday . "The Strait of Hormuz is an international strait. ... Full Story | Top |
Ailing India anti-graft activist cuts short hunger strike
Wed,28 Dec 2011 03:56 AM PST
Reuters -  MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian anti-graft activist Anna Hazare, 74, on Wednesday cut short a three-day hunger strike campaign calling for stronger legislation to combat corruption as concerns mounted over his health. "We have decided that I will end my fast today," Hazare said after his doctors advised him to start eating again in the second day of his fast, citing low blood pressure and concerns about his kidneys. ...
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Troubled Ethiopia-Somalia history haunts Horn of Africa
Wed,28 Dec 2011 03:42 AM PST
Reuters - NAIROBI (Reuters) - Five hundred years ago, an Imam who ruled much of what is now Somalia, led a daring invasion of Christian Ethiopia, looting monasteries, burning down churches and slaying all who resisted. Centuries on, memories of Imam Ahmad Gragn still haunt both countries, and echoes of that long and bloody history still ripple across the Horn of Africa region which considers Somalia the greatest threat to its stability. Back then, the Ethiopians were beleaguered as the invaders occupied some two-thirds of the country. ... Full Story | Top |
Thai court jails, then bails firebrand "red shirt"
Wed,28 Dec 2011 03:17 AM PST
Reuters - BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai court jailed a firebrand leader of the country's "red shirt" movement on Wednesday for his role in a 2008 attack on rival political demonstrators but immediately released him on bail pending an appeal. Kwanchai Praipana, formerly the leader of the red shirts in their northeastern stronghold, also faces charges of terrorism in a separate case over his role in the arson and rioting that erupted in May last year after a bloody crackdown by troops on red shirt demonstrators. ... Full Story | Top |
Activists alarmed over Sudanese head of Syria mission
Wed,28 Dec 2011 02:40 AM PST
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - The choice of a Sudanese general to head an Arab League mission in Syria has alarmed opposition activists who say Sudan's own defiance of a war crimes tribunal means the monitors probably won't recommend strong action against Syria's Bashar al-Assad. The Arab League says Lieutenant-General Mustafa al-Dabi brings vital military and diplomatic expertise to its unprecedented mission to verify that Assad is complying with a deal to end Syria's crackdown on protesters. ... Full Story | Top |
Arab mission's view of Syrian town angers locals
Wed,28 Dec 2011 02:40 AM PST
Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - The head of an Arab League mission investigating if Syria is following a peace plan said he saw "nothing frightening" in the flashpoint city of Homs but many residents said they were already losing trust in the monitors. Sudanese General Mustafa Dabi said his team needed more time to inspect Homs before giving a final verdict, but residents in the hard-hit Baba Amr district where the team took an initial tour said they felt monitors were not responding to their grievances. "There were some places where the situation was not good," Dabi told Reuters by telephone on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
Greek abbot goes to jail before trial over land scandal
Wed,28 Dec 2011 01:50 AM PST
Reuters - ATHENS (Reuters) - The abbot of one of Greece's richest and most powerful monasteries went to jail on Wednesday awaiting trial for hoodwinking the government in a high-profile land swap deal six years ago. Cypriot-born Efraim, 56, chief of the Vatopedi Monastery at the monastic community of Mount Athos, is accused of inciting officials to commit acts of fraud, perjury and money-laundering, a charge that can fetch him a jail term of several years. ... Full Story | Top |
Moldova faces election delay as sole candidate pulls out
Wed,28 Dec 2011 01:39 AM PST
Reuters - CHISINAU (Reuters) - Moldova risks a prolonged political stalemate that may further slow down reforms in one of Europe's poorest nations as the only candidate for president said on Wednesday he was pulling out of this month's election. The withdrawal of parliament speaker Marian Lupu means the presidential election, which takes place in parliament rather than by popular vote, might be delayed if no other candidate steps in. The vote is currently scheduled for January 15. ... Full Story | Top |
Nigerian court rejects challenge to Jonathan win
Wed,28 Dec 2011 01:25 AM PST
Reuters - Abuja (Reuters) - Nigeria's Supreme Court threw out a challenge to President Goodluck Jonathan's victory in April 16 elections, upholding the result and rejecting calls by the main opposition party for a recount in several parts of the country. Jonathan was declared winner with 59 percent of the vote but his nearest rival, former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, who scored 32 percent, refused to accept the outcome. Buhari's Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) party filed a petition to challenge it in May. (Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Louise Ireland) Full Story | Top |
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